The election scene across Denver Tuesday was preposterous: long lines, balky computers and the hapless scurrying of officials who were drafting emergency poll judges and ferrying laptops to clogged poll sites.
In Douglas County, there were reports of equipment problems, and some poll lines were three hours long.
We had to wonder when Colorado’s chief election officer, Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, issued a press release that said elections were going smoothly across the state. “It is great to see so much interest on Election Day,” Dennis said in the statement, and we surely agree with that.
It was clear from the moment polls opened in Denver that the city’s new vote-center system had serious problems. Lines grew to be hours long as poll workers struggled to check in voters. It was so absurd that in some locations, voting machines stood empty because of the slow check-in.
Voters entertained one another with tales of driving to two or three vote centers, attempting to find one that didn’t have a wait that would make them late to work or some other obligation. Though it’s impossible to quantify, common sense and anecdotal evidence tell you that some potential voters walked away Tuesday without casting ballots. The candidates deserved better.
Mayor John Hickenlooper brushed off efforts last year to reform the Denver Election Commission. But Tuesday he was angry and vowed to hold meetings this week “to make sure this never, ever happens again.” The problems must be fixed now.
