February 17, 2008

Problems plague tallying of ballots

"Calls to count the confusing ballots have come from the voting rights group Courage Campaign, the county Board of Supervisors, and the secretary of state.

The county Registrar-

Recorder/County Clerk's Office has committed to taking at least a sample, but a spokeswoman said Friday that the department has yet to determine whether it can review every ballot, and whether new votes could be legally included in the final total.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen blamed the confusion on the county's ballot design.

"Secretary Bowen believes it's a uniquely flawed ballot design," said spokeswoman Kate Folmar. "She has responsibility for certifying voting systems, but California law does not give her authority to review ballot designs."

Unlike every other county in California, Los Angeles County residents cast their votes on a scantron form separate from the booklet that lists the names of the candidates and titles of the propositions, Folmar said. The ballot also featured the unique and now-infamous "double bubble," requiring non-partisan voters to fill in a bubble specifying which party they wanted to vote under."

The article is here

Posted by Randy Riddle at February 17, 2008 07:54 AM