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Rebuttal to CO official that state is protected vs. vote tampering

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Last year, two Colorado elections were reversed when recounts in tight races found that an Optech III-P optical scanner misread paper ballots:

" In Salida, Hugh Young initially lost a city council election to Ron Stowell by three votes. After the recount, he won by three votes.

" In Clear Creek County, a school issue passed by six votes, according to the electronic count, and failed by 18 when the paper ballots were counted. The machines had failed to count more than 100 votes.

The secretary of state's office ordered 10 races audited last year where the Optech III-P Eagle was used. It was found to have miscounted ballots where voters skipped some races.

The Optech was decertified and is no longer used in Colorado, said County Clerk Pam Phipps.

Voting machine lawsuit

" What could happen? Computerized voting equipment in the November elections statewide could be barred from use, forcing election officials to scramble to come up with alternatives.

" Equipment affected: Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart where voters mark their ballots on a computer screen.

" What happens next: Trial set for Wednesday and Thursday, just six weeks before the election.

" Plaintiffs' claim: Tampering with software can cause votes to be miscounted or undercounted.

" Secretary of state's response: Equipment prints paper record so voters can check their ballots before leaving.

" Other responses: State Democratic Party called for voters to cast absentee ballots this fall; Democratic candidate for secretary of state Ken Gordon called for stringent recertification of equipment; Republican candidate for secretary of state Mike Coffman promised to review the equipment if elected.

imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438

Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.

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Al Kolwicz lives in Colorado and is active in CAMBER (Citizens Active for Mail Ballot Election Results) is a dedicated group of volunteers who are working to ensure that every voter gets to vote once, every vote is counted once, and that every (more...)
 
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