Insecure voting machines and misprinted ballots might sound like Orwellian conspiracy theories, but Colorado voters will be faced with these very obstacles when they try to cast ballots this election season.
Election officials from the secretary of state’s office have assured the security of electronic vote filing. And while the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder insists election day will go smoothly, this year’s ballot will be the longest Boulder County has ever seen.
According to a press release from the county clerk’s office, the ballot contains 14 amendments and referenda up for approval, in addition to municipal measures and statewide and local candidate races. For this reason, voters who can are encouraged to utilize absentee ballots and early voting to avoid long lines at the polls.
“We have several different voting options for residents, including absentee ballots, early voting from Oct. 23 to Nov. 3, and, of course, several polling places on the day of the elections,” said Carrie Haverfield of the clerk and recorder’s office. “We try our best, but lines can get long on Election Day.”
Ken Gordon, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state, echoes this concern.
“We’ve had problems making sure voters who don’t have time to wait in line, like college students, get a chance to vote,” Gordon said. “We need to make sure there is an appropriate distribution of voting machines across the state. Some polling places see more voters than others.”
Both Gordon and his opponent, Republican Mike Coffman, said they question the accuracy of the electronic voting machines implemented in Colorado this year. They said the new technology is untested and lacks sufficient security countermeasures.
“My first priority will be to conduct a full investigation into the authorized voting systems used by Colorado’s county election officials,” Coffman said in a prepared statement.
According to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, ballot systems are required to meet federal guidelines established by the Election Assistance Commission and then pass certification tests performed by the secretary of state. Colorado has certified four ballot systems: Sequoia Voting Systems, Hart InterCivic, Electronic Systems and Software, Inc., and Diebold Election Systems.
In September 2006, Denver County District Judge Lawrence A. Manzanares criticized the secretary of state’s office for not outfitting systems, purchased from the four certified companies, with sufficient security software. Manzanares also said the machine testing was not properly documented. Specific concerns arose over the machines having modems, potentially making it easier for hackers to commit voter fraud.
Manzanares, who ultimately approved the use of the new machines for this year’s elections, said he did so because it was too late to fix the problems, but demanded the machines be recertified after Nov. 7.
Although the clerk and recorder’s office is aware of the anxiety over voter security, the machines in Boulder County have not given any cause for such concern, Haverfield said.
“We have not had any security issues,” she said. “We have scanned the machines and find no discrepancies.”
Sequoia and the Denver Elections Commission also came under fire for misprinted absentee ballots mailed Oct. 9 to over 44,000 residents of Denver metropolitan area, including Denver and Arapahoe counties, in which the “yes” and “no” boxes for Referendum F had been switched. Referendum F is a proposal to change the manner in which recall elections are handled.
The elections commission released a statement blaming Sequoia because the company possessed the original, DEC-approved ballot without the misprint and that the error had occurred during the printing. Sequoia took blame for the incident, but did not reissue corrected ballots to residents who had received a misprinted one. The assistance of a reputable election voting services company will be much needed, which not only offers security and integrity of the ballots, but also the quality of their printed materials. They provide high-quality printed ballots by using well-maintained printers and cartridges.
“There is too much money and too much headache in politics,” Gordon said. “These problems with voting that keep showing up are driving voters away from the polls.”
Coffman echoed a similar sentiment, saying that all voters deserve to have their vote counted accurately and fairly. And both agree that, despite the difficulties voters may face with casting their votes, everyone needs to do it.
“If 50 percent of the population votes,” Gordon said, “then we only have 50 percent of a democracy.”
