The Douglas County election fact-finding panel confirmed for county commissioners April 10 what was suspected after last November's huge delays for voters in the General Election: there were not nearly enough machines for the very lengthy ballot and the number of voters.
The only question remaining is which of three potential solutions will be adopted to prevent a recurrance - and how much will it cost.
Some voters waited as long as five hours to cast ballots, the last one in the county was cast at 1:30 a.m. November 8. The county was placed on a so-called 'watch list' of counties that experienced voting problems in the General Election by Secretary of State
Mike Coffman. That office has acknowledged that Douglas County's problems were tied largely to a lack of capacity.
Electronic voting machines used in Colorado must be certified by the state; the Secretary of Stateoffice announced March 20 it will be recertifying electronic voting machines to new testing requirements before the next election to ensure their reliability.
New Clerk and Recorder
Jack Arrowsmith told the commissioners April 10 the 300 eSlate voting machines in place last November 7 were not adequate to handle the flow, and six percent of them experienced technical problems.
The three recommendations from the panel will all be costly. They include: Returning to precincts using paper ballots, with a single voting machine for the disabled in each precinct, estimated cost $1,545,746; using only the eSlate machines - nearly 700 of them - at current vote centers, estimated cost $2,066.500 and going to so-called 'super precincts, with a combination of eSlates and paper ballots, estimated cost $1,303,975.
County spokesperson
Wendy Holmes said commissioners "Would like to wait and see if any outcomes from this legislative session would impact the county's decision. Senate Bill 83, for instance, we're keeping an eye on that." SB 83 concerns revisions in 1992 rules regarding the conduct of elections in the state. The legislative session will end by mid-May, and Holmes says the board would like to finish an analysis by this summer.
"They're working closely with the Secretary of State's office and will begin meeting and paying attention to what's happening legislatively, and they would like to have a recommendation by July." she added.