Castle Rock – A blue- ribbon panel began work Thursday night to decipher the factors that created long lines in Douglas County on Election Day, and how to prevent it from ever happening again.
“The thing that’s become clear … is that it wasn’t one single thing that created this problem,” said Jack Arrowsmith, Douglas County clerk and recorder-elect and chairman of the fact-finding committee.
Douglas County and Denver are still grappling with the aftermath of delays that kept voters waiting for hours Nov. 7. Denver’s problems were many, from computer malfunctions to misprinted absentee ballots.
Denver also has appointed an investigative task force.
The 11-member Douglas County panel includes former Douglas County Sheriff Michael Acree and County Administrator Doug DeBord, three residents and two election judges.
The group will give the County Commission a written report before March 30.
“The purpose is not to find guilt,” Arrowsmith said, “but to find solutions.”
The committee will hold nine meetings, as well as interview election officials from all 28 voting centers. The panel also will hear testimony from county staff and citizens who complained about the lines.
The group will assess the 300 voting machines the county purchased last year for $1.4 million. Current Douglas County elections chief Carole Murray said 200 more were needed.
Before the latest election, the county had experienced only a few isolated cases of long lines. But on Nov. 7, delays were reported across the county, and the last voter didn’t cast a ballot until 1:30 a.m.
“The citizens of Douglas County have become accustomed to nearly flawless elections, and this midterm election was problematic,” said County Commission spokeswoman Wendy Holmes.
“We owe it to our citizens, and ourselves, to figure out what happened,” she said.
Murray, who could not seek re-election because of term limits, has said problems with technology were minimal on Election Day.
The length of the ballot – three times longer than normal and one of the longest in state history – caused many voters to spend a lot of time in the voting booth, stalling the lines, she said.
Jennifer Jones, who was among the thousands of Douglas County voters who waited for hours on Election Day, said the mere creation of the fact- finding panel was a promising start.
“It says they care about people’s time,” Jones said Thursday afternoon. “Voting is one of the most important things citizens do, and if we have a system that discourages it, then that is a system (that) has to be fixed.”
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
