January 23, 2007

"Report details election delays"

"Riverside County's 25-year-old absentee-ballot system hindered the counting of a record number of absentee ballots in the Nov. 7 election, the registrar of voters said Friday.

In a 22-page report heading to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Registrar Barbara Dunmore detailed reasons for the long waits at polling sites and the delayed posting of many of the 160,000 absentee ballots received by her office.

Candidates and voters in close races where ballots were outstanding -- such as the 80th Assembly District -- waited more than two weeks before learning the final results.

County supervisors in November asked Dunmore to produce the report to help them understand why their offices were deluged with complaints from voters and to propose remedies to the problems.

The report comes as a special elections review panel of citizens, appointed by the supervisors, prepares to meet for the first time Tuesday to begin reviewing and recommending changes to the system

Marcia McQuern, a member of the panel, said she would study Dunmore's report from the perspective of someone who does not work inside the county."

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at January 23, 2007 09:47 AM