December 04, 2006

"Election probe a good start"

"Our View: The problems have been well-documented, but last week's decision to launch this investigation is the first welcome sign that anyone at the top has any real concerns.

The county Board of Supervisors has taken a good first step in deciding to look into problems that arose during and after the Nov. 7 election.

Among the supposed benefits of electronic voting ---- of which Riverside County was a pioneer, and for which it spent in excess of $30 million ---- were greater accuracy, reliability and speed. What we appear to have gotten for that money was less reliability and slower results. The question of accuracy remains unanswered and here we are, almost four weeks after the election, and the registrar of voters office just posted what appear to be final numbers late Saturday.

State law gives the registrar four weeks after an election to certify it ---- make a final count ---- but it has rarely, if ever, taken that long before. Nor should it.

The problems have been well-documented, but last week's decision by the Board of Supervisors to launch this investigation is the first welcome sign that anyone at the top has any real concerns.

We have been critical of Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore for her lack of urgency in counting ballots, but there are systemic problems that are not her fault, as well.

On Election Night, long lines of voters backed up an hour or more at some polling stations. In some cases, the wait was exacerbated by voting machine printers running out of paper. This despite a voter turnout that was actually smaller than predicted, meaning elections officials seriously underestimated the amount of paper these new machines would use in creating the so-called "paper trail" that is supposed to assure ballots are counted accurately.

There is no reason polling stations should lack enough paper, or that pollworkers would be without training to change it. But much of the crunch at the end, too, is a byproduct of Southwest County's status as a bedroom/commuter community. A great number of residents leave for work too early to vote and don't get back into the area until 6:30 or 7 p.m., creating a crush in that last hour."

The editorial is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at December 4, 2006 10:14 AM