Ballot snafu inquiry opens
County clerk accepts 'full responsibility' for shortage, says printers couldn't meet demand.

 

By John Tuohy
john.tuohy@indystar.com
July 1, 2004
 

A committee investigating mistakes during the May 4 primary heard Wednesday of broken ballot printers, outraged voters and shocked poll workers in testimony that brought more details to light about the failures.

An election poll worker in Franklin Township testified that her precinct ran out of Republican ballots twice, forcing dozens of voters to wait up to two hours until they could vote.

"I never heard anything like this," said Barbara Mohler, who worked in a precinct at Lutheran High School, 5555 S. Arlington Ave. "I was aghast that these people had to wait."

Mohler testified at the first of three scheduled hearings before a City-County Council committee investigating ballot shortages in the May 4 primary.

Marion County Clerk Doris Anne Sadler described the mood at the election board May 4 as "somewhat chaotic" when officials realized the ballot shortages were happening "at more than a couple precincts."

The machines that print ballots churned out new ballots too slowly fewer than an estimated 200 an hour to keep up with demand, she said.

"It was a shockingly low number," Sadler said after Wednesday's hearing. "It wasn't a matter of not being able to get the ballots to the precincts; it was a matter of not having enough."

There were only three printers, and one broke down from overuse.

Sadler asked state election officials whether poll workers could mimeograph copies of the electronic ballots, then count them by hand after voters filled them out, since the scanners wouldn't accept the copies.

She said that wasn't allowed but was told copies could be made at state election headquarters and sent out to the precincts.

Unfortunately, she said, that approval did not come until too late in the day to do it.

Sadler said she takes "full responsibility" for the ballot shortages, which were the result of underestimating voter turnout.

She spoke for 75 minutes Wednesday before the committee a panel whose very existence is controversial.

It consists only of Democrats. Republicans refused to participate, claiming a bipartisan task force appointed by Sadler is sufficient to investigate the election.

Republicans are especially incensed that the committee is using subpoenas to force witnesses to testify a first in the council's history.

Sadler was among those subpoenaed to testify and said the committee had exceeded its authority.

"I do not believe this committee has any lawful authority to subpoena me," she said in her opening statement. Sadler said that if she were simply asked to testify, she would have.

Jack Cline, a poll worker, said a Marion County sheriff's deputy delivered the subpoena to him at 8:15 a.m. Saturday.

It "commanded" him to appear at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

"I didn't know what to think," he said after his testimony. "What are they trying to do, look for a solution to what happened or trying to put the screws to people?"

Cline said he doubted he would have come to testify if he weren't subpoenaed.

Cline said the precinct at Sycamore School, 1750 W. 64th St., was out of ballots from 2:45 until 5:40 p.m. and that 123 voters were turned away without voting.

"We were so busy with people screaming and hollering at us," Cline said, "I didn't know how many of them came back to vote."

The City-County Council committee has two more hearings scheduled July 14 and July 21.

The other committee members are Lonnell Conley, Jackie Nytes and Angela Mansfield.