Some votes miscounted in primary, officials say

So yeah, like we didn't all know this was going to happen. Well, at
least we can say we knew it was a very good possibility. Unfortunately
it seems that the only way these people will learn is if they are f 'd
in the a for a while.

"All options are on the table, including decertification," said Doug
Stone, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office.

That's an encouraging statement. Finally at least someone is listening
to all of this shit that keeps happening. The thing I don't get is why
EVERYONE isn't concerned at that single moment that one person's vote
does not get counted.

double you tee eff ????

that's what i'm saying... wtf

-j

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Some votes miscounted in primary, officials say

By Luis Monteagudo Jr. and Helen Gao
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

April 8, 2004

County officials said yesterday they discovered a new problem with the
flawed March election – 2,821 absentee ballots that were miscounted in
the Democratic presidential and Senate Republican primaries.

The miscounted paper ballots did not affect the outcome of the races,
and county officials have corrected the results.

The software glitch that caused the miscounts has raised new doubts
among county officials about the $31 million electronic voting system
used in the March primaries.

County Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard said his confidence in
the system has been "dampened." Meanwhile, a state official raised the
possibility for the first time that the system could be dropped for the
November election.

"All options are on the table, including decertification," said Doug
Stone, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office.

Ekard sent a letter to the manufacturer, Diebold Election Systems Inc.,
demanding that it fix the problems before November. A Diebold spokesman
said the company will work with county and state officials on any problems.

During the March 2 election, one of the pieces of equipment used at
polling sites was not fully tested, and it failed. That failure was one
of the reasons cited in a county report for the delayed opening of more
than a third of the county's 1,611 polling places.

The latest problem was discovered in the standard canvassing of votes
that county officials conduct after an election.

Most of the absentee miscounts occurred in the Democratic presidential
race, in which 2,747 votes cast for John Kerry were incorrectly credited
to Rep. Dick Gephardt. In the Senate race, in which Bill Jones won, 68
votes cast for Barry L. Hatch were credited to candidate Tim Stoen, and
six votes cast for James Stewart were credited to Stoen.

The miscounts occurred because multiple scanners simultaneously fed the
absentee ballot data into the computer tabulation system. The large
number of ballots and candidates on them overwhelmed the system.

Diebold spokesman David Bear said the company has provided a software
fix to the county for the new problem.

Ekard wants Diebold to have all its equipment tested and certified
before November.

"These performance failures are unacceptable," Ekard wrote. "Having a
reliable and trouble-free voting system is absolutely essential to the
county. Your failure to provide such a system in the March election was
extremely troubling and any issues that remain must be fully resolved
long before the November election."

Ekard has appointed Mikel Haas, the county's former registrar of voters,
to oversee efforts to ensure that all Diebold equipment is certified for
November and to evaluate other systems that could be used as an alternative.

Alex Martinez, a county deputy chief administrative officer who is
leading an internal investigation into the electronic voting problems,
said the county has not yet paid Diebold for the 10,200 touch screens
used March 2.

"We are not about to pay Diebold any amount of money until we are
totally satisfied with the performance of the system," he said.

The state Voting Systems and Procedures Panel is scheduled to discuss
Diebold's performance in the March election at a two-day meeting
starting April 21 in Sacramento.

Martinez said the county is waiting to see the outcome of the meeting
before making any plans on using alternative systems. He said he
believes the Diebold machines could be used successfully in November if
the manufacturer corrects the problems promptly.

County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dianne Jacob said if the problems
can't be fixed, "we need to change to a new system to make sure we have
a reliable and trouble-free voting system in place by the November
election."

The new problem also worried others.

"Unfortunately, what it does is raise more questions than it answers,
and it continues to cause concern with the ability to have an election
in November be accurate and reliable," said Nancy Sasaki, executive
director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Pamela Smith, chairwoman of the local group SAVE-Democracy, which
opposes electronic machines, said the problem reinforces her group's stand.

"Thank God there's paper there so they can recount it," she said of the
absentee ballots.

Luis Monteagudo: (619) 542-4589; luis.monteagudo-lttx/[email protected]




Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040408-9999-1m8vote.html
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