Also see below:     
Electronic Voting Glitches in Colorado Take Toll    [

    Senators Propose Funds for Paper Ballots to Back Up Electronic Ones
    By Ian Urbina
    The New York Times

    Tuesday 26 September 2006

    Washington - Three Senate Democrats proposed emergency legislation today to reimburse states for printing paper ballots that can be ready at polling places in case of problems with electronic voting machines on Nov. 7.

    The proposal is a response to grass-roots pressure and growing concern by local and state officials about touch-screen machines. An estimated 40 percent of voters will use those machines in the election.

    "If someone asks for a paper ballot they ought to be able to have it," said Senator Barbara Boxer of California, a co-sponsor of the measure with Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconson.

    Republican leadership aides were skeptical about the prospects for the measure. It would have to advance without opposition from any senator and then make it through the House in the short time available before Election Day.

    Dozens of states are using optical-scan and touch-screen machines to comply with federal laws intended to phase out lever and punch-card machines after the hanging-chads confusion of the 2000 presidential election. Widespread problems were reported with the new technology and among poll workers using the machines this year in primaries in Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio and elsewhere.

    Local and state officials have expressed concern that the new systems might not be ready to handle increased turnouts. Election experts fear that the lack of a paper trail with most touch-screen machines will leave no way to verify votes in case of fraud or computer failure.

    Last week, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Maryland, a Republican, joined the skeptics, saying he lacked confidence in his state's new $106 million electronic system and suggesting that state officials offer all voters paper ballots as an alternative.

    The proposed federal bill would provide 75 cents for each backup paper ballot that local officials print. If ballots are printed for half the 27 million voters expected to use touch-screen machines, Ms. Boxer said, her bill would cost Washington no more than $10.1 million.

    Barbara Burt, vice president and director of election reform programs at Common Cause, a good-governance advocacy group, said that the bill would have been stronger if it had required precincts to provide paper ballots in federal elections, but that it was a step in the right direction.

    "Lack of funding has been the main excuse that local election officials have used to avoid implementing paper precautions," Ms. Burt said. "This takes that excuse away from them entirely."

    Ms. Boxer said ordering paper ballots in all elections would have been impractical.

    "I think Big Brother dictating something to local jurisdictions is a big mistake, because they will balk at it," she said. "What we're saying here is that you run your own elections, and we are going to help you run it properly. If local officials don't take advantage of the option to take precautions, then they're the ones on the line."

    Brad Friedman, a liberal blogger and longtime critic of electronic voting, said that incentives to print paper ballots would help, but that without a federal mandate some voters would still have no choice but to use touch-screens.

    "In the case of many states, such as Florida, there is simply nothing in the state code that allows election directors to provide emergency ballot in the event of machine failure," he said.

    On Thursday, the Committee on House Administration, which has a role in overseeing election procedures, will hold a hearing on whether to require that all voting equipment produce a paper record that lets voters verify how they voted.

    --------

    Carl Hulse contributed reporting to this article.

 

---

    Go to Original

    Electronic Voting Glitches in Colorado Take Toll
    By Lou Kilzer
    Rocky Mountain News

    Tuesday 26 September 2006

    Denver's election commission has decided to mothball part of its controversial new voting system because of troubles that surfaced during August's primary.

    The 50 card activators slated to be decommissioned - at least for the November election - came from Chicago, which sold them at a discount to Denver after a problem- plagued election there in March.

    Denver paid $35,000 for the activators after Chicago began updating its voting system, said Alton Dillard, election commission spokesman. They are used in the city's 240 new Sequoia Voting Systems machines.

    The election commission conceded that a significant number of problems surfaced in August - mainly with voters being given the wrong ballots.

    The commission blamed the problems on poorly trained poll workers and human error.

    John Gaydeski, the city's new election director, denied accusations by City Auditor Dennis Gallagher that the machines are unreliable.

    But he said there isn't enough time before the Nov. 7 election to guarantee that the judges can be adequately trained to avoid a repeat of the problems.

    Denver isn't tossing the activators or sending them back to Chicago for a refund. Instead, it will be determined later whether they can still be used.

    The activators are a small but key part of the $1.4 million voting system. They produce cards - similar to a hotel key card - that are programmed to load the voting machine with the correct ballot for each voter.

    Sequoia maintains that its machines performed well in Chicago, but the Cook County Clerk charged that they resulted in "glitches that involved delays with transmitting elections results, election judges having difficulty with new procedures and reports of malfunctioning voting equipment."

    Auditor Dennis Gallagher wrote a letter to the commission last week, demanding to know what went wrong and who was responsible, saying he had information that the machines "may be flawed and not operable."

    That prompted a fiery retort Monday from Gaydeski, who accused Gallagher of spreading misinformation.

    "He's been issuing letter after letter with misinformation," Gaydeski said Monday.

    He insisted that any problems related to inadequate training.

    Gaydeski said that the process for programming the cards "was not user-friendly" but that the machines worked fine.

    He said he is preparing for the "big game" on Election Day.

    "This is just a distraction," he said.

    Gallagher spokesman Denis Bercke-feldt replied heatedly, saying that the auditor's office has the power to decline payment on commission purchases.

    "Mr. Gaydeski is accountable to the people," Berckefeldt said.

    "If the machines are not working, we will start withholding payments."

    Of assertions that the machines worked fine, Berckefeldt said flatly: "I believe they're lying."

    Berckefeldt told the story of one voter, an office holder, who said his card produced a ballot with only one candidate and one election.

    "He couldn't even vote for himself," he said.

    The commission has decided to manually program the voting machines in November rather than using the cards, according to Dillard.

    Voters also will be permitted to use older machines or send in absentee ballots, "not because of any concern with the machines, but simply due to the length of the November ballot."

    The voting machines were purchased to comply with federal laws mandating improved voting access for persons with disabilities.

    The adoption around the nation of new touch-screen machines meant to meet the federal standards has sparked controversy by groups fearing that they are not secure.

    A Denver district judge ruled last week that Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis did a poor job of certifying that machines statewide are free from manipulation.