Montrose - Daily Press

Katharhynn Heidelberg

Daily Press News Editor

MONTROSE — Montrose County, you’re on probation.

Advertisement

The Colorado Secretary of State’s office made that determination yesterday, when it placed Montrose and three other counties on its “Election Watch List.” The good news, according to both state and local officials, is that corrective measures are already under way to prevent any repeats of the county’s botched 2006 elections.

Current law allows Secretary of State Mike Coffman to seek court-ordered supervision or control of an election, according to his spokesman, Jonathan Tee.

But Coffman didn’t want to go that far in addressing Election Day snafus in Montrose, Douglas, Pueblo or Denver counties, all of which made the watch list.

“The secretary felt that was too invasive of a step to take without some sort of intermediate step,” Tee said.

“This watch list is really that step. We want to make sure we give specific guidance so they know what steps they need to take to get off the list.”

In Montrose, improperly programmed machines caused lengthy delays at the polls. An investigatory report released last month found “numerous violations of state law,” according to the state’s summary, primarily in terms of security.

It found the county hadn’t secured the room where election results were stored, or sealed mobile ballot card boxes, performed required accuracy testing or submitted a security plan within an established deadline. Part of the problem was that only the elections supervisor had full knowledge of the proper procedures for electronic voting equipment.

The report stated, however, that election results themselves hadn’t been compromised.

The secretary’s watch list requires Montrose and the other counties to fix their election problems or face court-ordered supervision. According to the watch list policy, placement is “tantamount to a probationary period” and “corrective, rather than punitive.” Montrose remains on the list at least through the 2008 general election, Tee said.

Among other requirements, the Montrose clerk’s office must ensure cross training of all its staff members and take steps to train election judges in a consistent manner.

Montrose County Clerk and Recorder Francine Tipton-Long said neither the watch list designation nor the remediation steps required under it came as a surprise.

“A lot of these issues were already well-known by the elections team,” she said, citing the security plan and lack of cross training as “obvious” deficiencies.

“It’s everything we’ve already been working on.”

Since she took office in January, Long has submitted an acceptable security plan to the secretary of state’s office.

“Having a security plan in place further solidifies what we need to do and have done,” she said.

Long is also making sure more staff members are trained and moved voting equipment once stored in a publicly accessible area to a more secure location.

She is in the process of setting up mock elections, so that voters and staff alike can become more familiar with the county’s new electronic voting machines — a step called for under watch list remediation.

Long’s strategy met with approval at the state level, Tee said.

“We’re very pleased and encouraged by the steps the clerk has taken thus far. Some of them (issues) have already been addressed. We’re very encouraged.”

Tee also said the formation of an elections fact-finding task force in Montrose County was a positive step. Denver and Douglas counties also formed task forces for the same basic purpose.

Other requirements under Montrose County’s remediation plan include documentation for all additional voting machines purchased and, next general election, to use a “hybrid system of paper ballots and machines.”

Ongoing communication between the clerk and secretary of state was also ordered and Coffman will be in Montrose Thursday to discuss the watch list. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, which will be held at the Montrose County Courthouse on First Street at 1:30 p.m.

“We really see this as a working relationship,” Tee said. “The end game is the same for all parties: Restore the confidence of voters. That’s what Clerk Long wants and that’s what Secretary of State Coffman wants.”

Long said there was much to learn from the 2006 problems. “I truly believe it is a learning process for all counties,” she said. “We all can learn from our collective mistakes. This will be an open and accountable process for the citizens of the state and Montrose County.”

For the full elections watch list policy, go to www.elections.colorado.gov and click on “county elections watch list.”

Comments

marqthompson wrote on Feb 1, 2010 3:21 AM:

" This is a wonderful article. The things given are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
--------
marqthompson
Noosa real estate "




Report Abuse

Kaitlyn Heichel wrote on Nov 3, 2009 2:01 PM:

" My dad was Robert Heichel and i just wanted to thank again everyone that helped looked for him. It was over 3 years ago that he died, but i will never forget him. I think about him still every single day and life without him is so hard. Thank you everyone who spent time looking for him. I wish this could have been a happy ending but life isn't fair. My dad died when i was 12 and i am now almost 16. Thank you again for everything you guys have done. Your amazing. "




Report Abuse

Sarah Bond wrote on Jul 13, 2009 5:31 PM:

" It really makes me sick that people lie about certain events to make themselves look better than they really are... Just to set the record straight, one of those stories is extremely false. Email me if you want the real story from the person who was actually there. "




Report Abuse