It’s crunch time for Colorado’s county clerks, and we should all wish them good luck as they try to do the impossible. With less than six months before the Aug. 8 primary, the state’s voting systems are all questions and few answers.
Federal and state regulations require counties to install new machines by August so disabled voters can vote “independently and confidentially.” To do that, most counties will need machines that haven’t even been certified by the secretary of state yet.
Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, who has been in office just six months, expects to certify machines from two vendors by the end of the month. Counties then must sign purchase contracts and hope the machines arrive in time for testing and training.
Concerns over hardware availability and training time have led Denver City Council President Rosemary Rodriguez to call for an all-mail election for 2006. But state law prohibits mail ballots in partisan elections, and lawmakers have shown no interest in changing the law.
Alton Dillard, interim director of the Denver Election Commission, said Denver is planning to abandon the precinct system and use 40 vote centers, with assurance from the secretary of state’s office that new voting machines ordered by Denver will be certified in time. The vendor promised 80 machines four months from the contract signing this month, Dillard said. The commission will make a “final call” on the vote centers at a Feb. 28 meeting. Centers could be located in places from police stations to recreation centers and the convention center, he said.
Larry Kallenberger, executive director of Colorado Counties Inc., said Dennis has made things easier by providing more federal funds than expected to buy the machines. Her office is also helping counties mesh federal and state requirements.
Adams County Clerk Carol Snyder, co- chair of the County Clerks Association legislative committee, said all Colorado counties are in a similar bind. In Adams, 700 new machines are needed
“I don’t want to put fear into voters’ hearts,” Snyder said. “We’ll do the elections. They will be fair and accurate as they have been for years. It’s just a heartburn for me as an elections official because of the timing.”
