Article Contributed on: 12/1/2006 4:07:05 PM
On Nov. 7,the citizens of Douglas County went to the polls to elect a governor, congressman, and other officeholders.
Some of these citizens turned away from their polling place in disgust, having waited in the cold and dark for hours. The last person to vote didn't get to exercise that right until 1:30 a.m. This was no way to run a railroad and the County government knew it.
Voting and the right to vote constitute one of the cornerstones of our society and government. When this election system breaks down, as it did on Nov. 7, it breeds discontent, disrespect, and thoughts of anarchy. County Officials have moved swiftly to fix the problems of the Midterm Vote and to reassure the citizens that it won't happen again.
It took a lot of effort by many Americans to give us the right to vote at all. The
U.S. Constitution of 1787 left the issue of voting rights up to the states. The only elected position the people were entitled to vote for was the Congress. Senators were selected by State Legislatures and the President was selected by the Electoral College.
In the original 13 states, only white, property owning men could vote. The transition to universal suffrage, where all adults could vote, was a slow one. It took a civil war for black men to get the right to vote and it took even longer for women to get the right to vote. Colorado extended the vote to women in 1890 and we were way ahead of most other states when we did it. It took the 19th Amendment to give women nationwide the vote.
Douglas County has now created a
Board of Elders to look into its voting problem. The
Douglas County Election Fact Finding Panel consists of
Jack Arrowsmith, the new Clerk & Recorder Elect,
Bill Frey,
Yaron Starosta,
Peter Locke,
Jeanne Meldrum,
Ron Coffee,
Dan Kopelman,
Bob Owens,
Mauren Walen,
Mike Acree,
Doug DeBord,
Charles Wilson,
Matt Krimmer and
Susanna Chapin. The panel had its first public meeting on Nov. 30 and the media gave it a full court press with both TV and print publications present.
Outgoing Clerk & Recorder
Carole Murray was the first speaker to the panel. She gave the panel a broad review of how things transpired, beginning with Congress' passage of the
"Help America Vote" Act passed after the 2000 Bush-Gore election and continuing up to the '06 midterm election. She talked of the "perfect storm" that occurred as federal and state laws combined to mandate great changes for the 2006 midterm.
As part of these great changes, Douglas County jettisoned its 10 year-old paper ballot system in favor of a computerized "paper trail" system to meet both federal and state requirements. The new computerized machines, combined with the very long ballot, and an inital learning curve by the voters combined to make the process too slow to be workable.
Murray defended the decision to go to Vote Centers, by reminding the Panel that the old precinct system made a lot of people angry when they showed up at the wrong pecinct and had to drive to some new, foreign place.
During Murray's eight-year tenure, Douglas County has taken the technological lead in Colorado and anyone who has visited the DC Government Offices or Web site knows it. However, this time, because of the combination of forces as outlined by the Clerk & Recorder in her testimony, the Clerk's office found itself going too far, too fast and the results were played out in both major papers, and all TV stations as well as in the kitchens and living rooms of this suburban county.
Given Douglas County's track record as a well run government, expect them to repair the vote system and to take the lead once again in the '08 election.
To see a streaming video of the panel's first meeting
click here.
colovideonews.com