ELECTRONIC BALLOT INVESTIGATION REVEALS MORE PROBLEMS

(03-08-2004) - While elections officials continue to investigate what went wrong with San Diego's first stab at electronic balloting, the problems ran much deeper than a simple technological glitch, it was reported Monday.

After the polls closed Tuesday, signatures on voter rolls in at least one precinct did not match the number of ballots recorded by machines, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. In other polling places, people were wrongly given provisional ballots, the newspaper reported.

Poll inspectors across the county complained they had been poorly trained to deal with even minor problems, according to the Union-Tribune. For long stretches on Election Day morning, the hotline set up to tackle emergencies was so swamped that poll workers were not able to get through, the newspaper reported.

In Carmel Valley, homemaker Kim Perl said she was allowed to cast a second ballot after the computer spit out her activation card while she was weighing her choices, the newspaper reported. She told the newspaper that the card showed her original vote had been counted.

Hundreds of voters were turned away from their polling place because the machines were not operating as planned. Some were advised to return later, while others were sent to alternate precincts, where they were handed provisional ballots.

State and federal agencies are investigating the problem. A county report detailing what went wrong could be released as early as Monday. About 10,000 voting machines were in use throughout the county last Tuesday.