Counties confident in machines as they prepare for Tuesday's vote

JIM WASSERMAN

Associated Press  01 November 2004

SACRAMENTO - County elections officials predicted California's 28,000 electronic voting machines would work smoothly and count accurately Tuesday, as they prepared to count up to 12 million votes and manage long lines during a 13-hour election day marathon.

In Orange and Alameda counties, where glitches struck electronic voting machines last March, officials said new safeguards were likely to prevent malfunctions and voters using the wrong ballots. In eight other counties offering touch-screen voting, registrars said they expected long lines to be their biggest problem.

"We have 440 machines, and we expect them to work very well," said Merced County Registrar of Voters Stephen Jones. "But if people don't come prepared it will take a while to vote. This is a very long ballot."

Across California, up to 4.5 million voters will use touch screens Tuesday, though electronic voting activists statewide and nationally fear problems and want voters to use paper ballots. Computer concerns, long lines and a record number of observers are among many pressures on 58 county registrars and 80,000 poll workers as they conduct what's expected to be the largest vote in California's history.

Voters across California will encounter 18,000 different ballots, said Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, as they pick a president, U.S. senator, 53 U.S. House members, 100 state lawmakers and hundreds of local officials, while also choosing among 16 statewide ballot initiatives. The state, however, is not expected to be a close presidential battleground, as Democratic Sen. John Kerry holds a significant margin in polls over President Bush.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Voters must be in line by 8 p.m. to vote, according to state law.

Alameda County Registrar Brad Clark said Monday he'll have 80 troubleshooters patrolling 4,000 electronic voting machines Tuesday, and keep backup equipment in each precinct. Last March, machines malfunctioned when shipped with without batteries being fully charged, and many voters had to use paper ballots. Clark said he also ordered more paper ballots as backups just in case.

In Orange County, where 9,000 machines are being used a second time, Deputy Registrar Neal Kelley said there wouldn't be a repeat of March troubles when thousands of voters received the wrong electronic ballots.

"It's a general election and it's one ballot style per precinct," he said. "It won't be an issue."

But months of concerns about the security of voting without a paper backup have sown doubts in voters minds about the new technology. A California Field Poll released Monday showed more than one-third of registered voters aren't confident that computers will properly count California's vote. The survey of 1,216 voters from Oct. 21-27 showed 23 percent of voters are very confident in electronic voting, while 39 percent are somewhat confident.

The poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

"Hopefully voters have heard through the media that they have the right to cast paper ballots," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. "I just wish they were being told at the polling place that they have that right."

Registrars, ordered to have paper ballots for those who don't want to use computers, are largely making people ask for them. In many cases, officials plan to count those paper ballots long after election night.

Among them, Mary Alice George, registrar of voters in Tehama County, said she's confident in her second election with 150 electronic machines that proved popular the first time.

"I had nothing but compliments in March, so I'm hoping that will continue," she said.