Colorado’s looming primary and presidential elections were thrown into turmoil Monday when many of the state’s electronic voting machines were deemed unreliable and unsecure by Secretary of State Mike Coffman.
It’s not yet clear if the move means counties will need to purchase new equipment or if they can work with machine-makers and the secretary of state to reassure voters and the state that the equipment works.
It is clear that Coffman’s decision to “decertify” machines made by three of four manufacturers — Sequoia Voting System, Hart InterCivic and Election Systems and Software, or ES&S — will have far-reaching impact, Coffman and others said.
The decision affects voting systems in 53 counties across the state, including four of the largest: Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Boulder.
Exactly how counties will respond remains to be determined. Denver’s options include holding an almost entirely paper-ballot election, using about 900 Advantage machines that have “grandfathered” certification, or using its nearly 1,200 Sequoia machines pending some sort of rule change or successful appeal, said Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O’Malley.
“The results today will have national repercussions across the country,” Coffman said during a news conference, adding that other states are likely to take a look at new certification standards Colorado has put in place.
Coffman’s announcement puts the state in “dangerous territory,” said Larimer County Clerk Mike Doyle.
“Look, we’ve got a primary election in less than seven months,” said Doyle, whose office uses machines from Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold Election Systems, the only company to have both its voting machines and scanners certified. “In other counties, it’s pretty spooky,” he said.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of clerks out there right now contemplating lots of things, including new careers.”
Coffman decertified both the voting machines and paper ballot-counting scanners from one company — ES&S. Its machines are used in Jefferson and Mesa counties.
Among the problems Coffman detailed was one in which auditors disabled ES&S voting machines by running a magnet across the touch-vote screen.
For two other companies, results were mixed:
Coffman failed Sequoia’s voting machines, but approved its optical scanners.
Hart’s scan devices failed, while its voting machines passed.
Counties in limbo
County officials throughout Monday afternoon struggled with the ramifications.
Denver election director Michael Scarpello said it will take awhile for officials to pore through the 179 pages outlining problems with the Sequoia machines used in Denver. On first reading, he said, “it would appear” that Denver’s 1,184 electronic-voting machines have been decertified.
Denver purchased 240 Sequoia Edge II voting machines in 2006 for $1.3 million, and uses 944 Sequoia Advantage machines bought in 1997 for more than $5 million, Scarpello said.
“Decertification, what does that mean? Can they be recertified? Was the reason because of a major defect, or a minor defect that’s correctable? I can’t answer that question yet,” he said.
O’Malley, Denver’s clerk and recorder, said she still was digesting the findings, but she stressed that her staff already had spent four months investigating potential voting systems.
A committee in October recommended that Denver opt for all-paper ballots except in cases such as a voter disability, requiring electronic machines.
O’Malley said they hoped to make a decision later this month or in early January.
“We have an election to run in the ’08 year, and there has to come some point where we will have to make a definitive decision around this and not take any more precious time off the calendar that we’re all beholden to,” she said. Larimer County’s Doyle detailed what would have to happen to get new equipment — if it comes to that. There’s no longer any room for competitive bids since only Premier machines were certified.
“This is going to have huge fiscal impact,” he stressed.
Doyle said several counties may hope for “legislative relief,” which could, for example, take the form of a bill stating that federal certification is enough.
Today, Coffman will meet with state legislators to discuss the findings of his office and go over possible options for handling future voting.
The option of countywide, all-mail voting for 2008, floated as a possibility by the Colorado County Clerks Association, would require legislative approval.
“We will do whatever is necessary to make sure that in the 2008 election everyone who wants to vote can vote, and that the vote will be counted accurately,” said state Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver.
Interest groups on Monday weighed in quickly, with officials from Colorado Common Cause saying they feared all-mail balloting in the presidential election might leave some voters bewildered and unrepresented.
“About 55 percent of the voters, the majority of Colorado, vote at polling places,” said Jenny Flanagan, executive director of Colorado Common Cause. “If we eliminate that option, we run the risk of leaving voters out.”
Flanagan said the situation is “challenging” and that all sides need to put their “heads together to come up with a solution.”
30 days for challenges
Vendors and county officials have 30 days to formally challenge Coffman’s decisions.
Omaha-based ES&S said it would work with state officials to meet new requirements.
“The ES&S voting technology currently used in Colorado has been tested and proven for accuracy, reliability and security at the national and state levels,” the company said in a statement.
Austin, Texas-based Hart said it “is committed to working with the state of Colorado and local elections officials we serve in order to meet the needs of Colorado’s voters.”
Sequoia Voting Systems vowed to file a response once company officials have studied the report.
Monday’s action by Coffman came in response to a federal judge’s ruling in September that found the state process for certifying voting machines inadequate and ordered recertification.
Staff writer John Ingold contributed to this report.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
