Boulder discovers possible vote glitch
The county's voting machines see a fold in a ballot as an ink mark. But officials say that won't mean a repeat of last year's election tally delays.

By George Merritt
Denver Post    12 October 2005  

 
      
  Boulder County officials and clerk and recorder staffers test vote-tallying equipment last week in preparation for next month s election. Election judges will be on hand to resolve problems, election coordinator Josh Liss said. But a voting activist remains concerned about the process. (Post / Lyn Alweis)    
 

Boulder - Almost a year after vote counting was delayed three days, county election officials have found another snag in the tallying process.

The county's eight voting machines read creases caused by folds in ballots as marks on the page. The problems can cause inaccurate tallies.

Every ballot has to be folded because the county is running a mail ballot election Nov. 1. Ballots already are being mailed out.

But election coordinator Josh Liss said that the problem with ballot scanning is minor and will not delay counting or accuracy in this year's election.

"We are adding extra steps to the process, and anything you add would certainly add to the amount of time it takes," he said. "But we don't anticipate anything near like what we had last year."

Liss said officials plan to start counting ballots 10 days before election day - plenty of time to make up for the delay.

The problem was discovered last week during a logic and accuracy test. Clerk and Recorder Linda Salaz said the test served its purpose.

"We have identified a potential problem and have taken steps to ensure that the 'potential problem' never becomes a real one," she said in a release.

Boulder County's voting machines, made by Texas-based Hart InterCivic, scan each ballot into a computer. Tests showed the scanners read the creases as a black line - similar to an ink mark.

If a crease goes through a voting box, the computer could read it as a vote.

"Conceivably, if you have a fold going through any box, it could cause an issue," Liss said.

The voting system will be able to detect most problems, he said, and election judges will examine each ballot for unusual folds and make sure each potential problem is properly resolved, Liss said.

Local voting activist Joe Pezzillo said he is concerned.

"This not a trivial thing," he said. "It means that the voting system is not trustworthy. ... What are the other conditions in which the machine could mistake something for a vote?"

Pezzillo wondered if the problem existed in the last election and went unnoticed.

After last year's results were delayed for three days, an Election Review Committee was appointed to find out why. They found a "perfect storm" of minor problems including issues with ballot scanning, activist interference and challenges created by new voting laws. Commissioner Ben Pearlman said he is glad the crease problem was detected early this year.

"That's precisely why we do the tests," he said, adding, "I do think we are lucky it's a mail ballot election."

Liss encouraged voters to make sure they follow the instructions on the ballot.