Posted on 10/19/2002 4:50:26 AM PDT by Sursum Corda
Some Voters Seeing Double
Multiple absentee ballot mailings puzzle officials
By Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
October 19, 2002
At least 15 voters have received two absentee ballots, and the Denver Election Commission is scrambling to figure out what went wrong.
Voters who call the commission are told to shred their second ballot.
"This sounds like Florida!" said Bonnie Niblack, a 74-year- old voter who lives in Capitol Hill.
Officials think the error could be the fault of either the printer or the company that does the mailing, said Alan McBeth, a commission spokesman.
But McBeth was quick to say that the system is safeguarded from any double voting.
"It's not a problem in terms of the integrity of the ballot because only one absentee ballot can be counted, even if two come back to us," he said.
The double ballots seem to be coming from one district - a central Denver area that includes Capitol Hill.
Attorney Casey Frank, who also lives in Capitol Hill, received a second ballot. He called the commission and was told it was a printing problem and he should shred the second one, he said.
Frank said he starting using absentee ballots after a frustrating trip to the voting booth one year. After waiting in line for 45 minutes, he still hadn't voted and had to rush off to a business meeting.
Then, when he went back to vote, he found he wasn't aware of all the issues, despite reading lots of newspaper articles and doing his research.
"I said, 'Never again,' " Frank said.
Frank hopes this balloting problem won't hurt the chances of Amendment 28, for which he voted. It would require county clerks to send absentee ballots to all active voters before each election.
Filling out a ballot at home means less guesswork, Frank said. "It's a system head and shoulders above voting in person."
Amendment 28's proponents agree and say problems such as the double balloting wouldn't be an issue if the proposal passes.
"Amendment 28 is exactly the solution to that problem because every ballot will have a valid signature verified," said Peggy Lamm, the initiative campaign manager.
Even if the election commission takes care of the problem, Niblack said, it's still been a hassle for her. Niblack, a former switchboard operator for the Rocky Mountain News, didn't look forward to calling the commission and going through its automated system.
"After being an operator all these years, I don't spend a lot of time on the phone," she said.
lowep@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-5482
Obviously, the reporter can't.
BTW, Peggy Lamm, the author of this Amendment, is the sister of Colorado's former Governor Dick Lamm.
Sursum Corda
Unbelievable! I am surprised it was not already sent filled out with the straight Democratic Party column filled in and a pack of cigarettes promising "there is more where that came from!"
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