Posted on 11/07/2006 12:10:07 PM PST by beaversmom
Colorado Democratic Party officials said they will ask a state judge to keep Denver polling places open for two extra hours Tuesday night, saying computer problems forced some voters to wait up to two hours while others were turned away.
A court filing said the Denver city attorney supported the request. A Republican Party spokesman said the GOP would oppose it.
GOP spokesman Bryant Adams said an extension was unnecessary because anyone who showed up at a polling place by 7 p.m. would be allowed to vote, no matter how long it took.
Lines of up to 300 people formed at some Denver polling places.
"This is positively ridiculous," said 82-year-old Jack McCroskey, clutching his cane while waiting at the Washington Park polling place in southeast Denver. "At 82, I don't deserve to have to stand out here. What if it had been 10 degrees today?"
Denver Election Commission spokesman Alton Dillard blamed the delays on an power problem with laptop computers used to check voter registrations.
He said some election officials had to call the central election office for the registration information, which he said added "a couple more minutes" to the process. Dillard said voting machines themselves were not affected.
Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Pat Waak said the problem was major. Party spokesman Brian Mason said the laptop computers were not working at least four Denver polling places and probably more.
"Some (voters) were turned away and told to come back later. Others were given provisional ballots, but they ran out," Mason said.
State GOP spokesman Bryant Adams called the request for longer hours "outrageous."
"Absolutely, we're going to oppose the extension," he said. "All a person has to do to vote is to be line by 7 o'clock," he said.
He accused Democrats of trying to win the election in the courts rather than at the ballot box.
Secretary of state spokeswoman Lisa Doran said long lines were reported around the state, which she blamed on the longest ballot in decades -- with 14 proposals -- and new voting machines.
"Despite the training, some of the election judges are intimidated by the machines," she said.
Jon Winterton, 66, who said he had been waiting for an hour and 15 minutes at the Washington Park polling place, didn't mind.
"I love voting. Tonight is like other people's football games. I love watching the returns," he said.
Up to 300 people stood in line at Denver sites. At one, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter waited an hour and 40 minutes to vote.
"It's actually heartening, because if you're standing in line, that means there are people in front of you and in back of you who are all voters. They understand the process is important enough to be patient and wait in line," he said after voting.
A spokesperson for Ritter said after the legal action was announced that there is a reason to be concerned. He added that the party is trying to make sure everyone who wants to vote is physically able to vote. The Ritter campaign said if extending the hours resolves the problem, then great.
Republican Bob Beauprez, who spent months battling Ritter for governor, summed up the election in a single word: Watershed.
The Beauprez campaign said it was still working to determine the facts of what caused the vote delays. They said there was no current evidence that anything outside of the existing rules and law were needed.
This is insane and needs to stop! This is like a judge picking out a certain area where voters have an open ended amount of time to vote while other areas have to follow the previously written laws. If I were the AG in a state where a judge did something like this I would SHUT DOWN the polls by force if necessary when the law requires it, and not a judge!
You should vacation in that town in Maine that is like 17 people and they are all done voting by dawn - do you know what I mean, or is this pre-drunk babble on my part?
I was going to ask the same question but now I know.
:-)
This country is going to hell and a hand basket. We've got so much trash in this country. This is a true story from today. I took my parents to vote. A woman with hair that would make Cynthia McKinney's look tame walked up--very disheveled with her clothes. Looked like she had just got out of bed. She was with an older man. They started talking with another woman in line. The woman with the crazy do said out loud something about Republicans not believing in God then went on to say that they better let her vote. They let illegals vote so they better let her vote and if they didn't she would burn the place down because she's from the hood. Of course she didn't have the card she was supposed to have so they let her fill out a provisional ballot. Hopefully her "informed" opinion won't count. This is what votes for Democrats. This is the face and mind of the Democrat party and it wasn't pretty inside or out.
for those that don't know Denver, Wash park is a very affluent urban yuppie type neighborhood, very close to DU (denver univ). If I had to guess, it would lean Dem
Ordinarily I am, but not this year. Can you imagine how awful I'd look with Kinky Friedman on one side of my face and (for even-handedness) One Tough Gramma on the other?
Rick Perry would be on my forehead, and you can guess where Chris Bell would be. (Hint: it's not the face.)
But it's a lovely 72 degrees in Denver today, you old fart. Just sit and enjoy the day, eh?
Well, I didn't vote early in the morning, although I did vote before work (I work evenings). But, there were only about 10 people in my polling location this morning.
Yea, but that poor old geezer didn't have to get to work. Geeze, what the crap is wrong with these pathetic people?
LOL! If it was 72 outside here right now, I'd have some of the windows on the house open.
Apparently I wasn't that far off...
That's exactly what I did this morning!
See my post #24 of what I witnessed voting today.
Good...now just stay alive. Otherwise all bets are off from your votes in the afterlife where Dems can resurrect yours. ehehehehehe!
And if it's a chilly 72 degrees, put a damn sweater on.
What if an asteroid came down and destroyed the whole state?........
What if the Democrats retake Congress?
The last time I voted for a RAT was in 1990, when David Duke was the opponent. Never again.
You just answered your own question....keyword 'pathetic'
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