Registrar says electronic vote went smoothly

By MATTHIAS GAFNI, Times-Herald staff writer
A day after Tuesday's landmark election, initiating a new age of electronic voting, the Solano County Registrar of Voters Office called the process "one of the smoothest elections ever conducted in Solano County."

Registrar Laura Winslow offered glowing reviews of the new voting machines Wednesday, downplaying some minor glitches in Benicia. "It was overwhelmingly successful. We were successful beyond our expectations," she said.

Of 171,543 registered county voters, 71,129 (41.5 percent) voted Tuesday.

The county's turnout in last November's election was 28.2 percent; in the gubernatorial primary in 2002, it was 36.3 percent, and in the last presidential primary, in 2000, it was 50 percent.

"The voters spoke (Tuesday). The negativity didn't sway getting out to the polls to vote," Winslow said. "The continual negativity toward the equipment, if anything, brought more out to see what it was all about."

The "negativity" came from outspoken critics like Benician Doug MacDonald, who questioned the technology created by Diebold Election Systems Inc.

"The technology is not federally certified, it's not state certified, it's only conditionally certified and we've never had that before and it's unfortunate," MacDonald said.

The company has been criticized for the system's lack of security, questionable software and a political bias by its leader.

No matter how foolproof the software is, humans must operate the machines, which caused a couple minor problems Tuesday.

Two precincts were set up at the Club Pacifica of Benicia apartment complex clubhouse, 1300 Southampton Road.

At one point a circuit breaker blew because all the machines were plugged into one outlet, Winslow said. Back-up batteries operated for three hours until all the machines shut down, she said.

The poll workers called the Fairfield headquarters and were told to hand out provisional ballots until the circuit was reset and the machines were re-started, Winslow said. She added that no votes were lost because the memory cards are placed in a separate database.

"Unfortunately, when something happens, the media swarms all over it," Winslow said. "No matter what voting system you're changing to, there's a learning curve, so we expected a lot of calls, but we didn't get many calls."

Winslow's office set up a phone bank with seven lines, just in case, but she said the phones were mostly quiet.

Deborah Wojtala, of Benicia, the Club Pacifica apartment manager, voted there and prefers the new system.

"It made a lot more sense than punching a card," Wojtala said. "And it gives you a summary to see if you made a mistake and you could correct it. The old way you couldn't change it. With a punch card, once it's punched it's done."

Receipts were a hot topic among many voters interviewed, although Winslow said only a small percentage of voters mentioned receipts to her staff.

"I'm not hearing that," Winslow said. "It's something the Secretary of State has ordered us to implement by 2006. If it's the direction that the state wants to move by 2006, we will comply."

Volunteers surveys collected Tuesday by the registrar's office asking voters about the new machines will be studied and Winslow's office will return a report on the feedback.

Dana Dean, of Benicia, spent Tuesday with the poll observing committee of the Solano County Democratic Party Control and watched the official counting.

"In observing the election returns I got the sense they all knew what they were doing," Dean said.

"It's almost like a floppy disk and they have to carry it to other computers. Boxes of disks were taken here by car or by truck and I do have some security concerns with that," Dean said.

But, she said driving the disks was better than relying on e-mailing that could pose a security risk.

"It was an interesting experience. I, like others, still am very concerned with the potential security issues," she said. "It's a new system, and you always have problems with a new system.

"I think I'd go for a modified version where each individual person gets a paper receipt and introducing further security measures into the system," she said.

Dean heard reports that seniors who ed the large type screens had problems with the final screen displayed after votes were cast. Only half the summary screen initially appeared and many people didn't know to scroll down for all the results, Dean said.

The registrar's office prepared extensively for all possibilities, Winslow said. Poll workers trained for twice as long, the county administration office provided more than 100 volunteers and county supervisors canceled its weekly meeting to free up staff time.

Other minor problems still occurred that accompany any election, electronic or paper. A precinct opened late when poll workers at one church couldn't enter the building because the pastor had the keys. The workers handed out provisional ballots until the church was opened, Winslow said.

Benician Jan Radesky voted at Fire Station No. 2 with no problems and appreciated the new technology.

"It was very easy, very clear. I was in and out in less than 45 seconds," Radesky said. "I don't like computers, but I prefer computers in this way. Punch cards are archaic."

- E-mail Matthias Gafni at mgafni@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6825.