June 19, 2006

"Problem found in optical scan voting system"

"Mike Moran is positive that he voted for himself May 2 as a Democratic committeeman from Hudson precinct 1C.

He's sure that he not only wrote his name on his ballot next to ``write-in,'' but also filled in the oval on the ballot next to ``write-in'' -- both of which are required by Ohio law.

He's also convinced that other friends and family members wrote his name in as well.

Yet, somehow, Moran managed not to get elected to the precinct post.

The Summit County Board of Elections has the paper ballots. To Moran, the situation is a no-brainer -- go back and look at the them to find out.

But Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's office said no -- the ballots can't be touched.

Moran is one of 28 write-in candidates for precinct committee spots -- 25 Democrats and three Republicans -- who failed to get elected in the primary.

Their nonelections have revealed a problem with the county's new optical-scan voting system, and are giving election officials a lesson in the kind of issues they have to be on the alert for in the future.

``Our election system still needs work if there are that many errors still occurring,'' said Moran, who serves on the Hudson City Council.

Elections board Director Bryan Williams said it's unclear exactly what happened in the races because several types of errors could have taken place.

Those casting a ballot for a write-in candidate needed to fill in the write-in oval and write the candidate's name on the line next to the oval for the votes to count.

Some voters did one but not both, causing some of the problems, Williams said."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at June 19, 2006 08:58 AM