Washblog

I should point out that this problem was not discovered during Federal certification, state certification, or during KCE's own testing.  The problem was discovered by an observant elections worker during the ballot counting phase of the August Primary.

Here is what the Queen Anne News reported:

"A few days into processing ballots for the August Primary, a King County Elections worker compared an actual ballot to its scanned image and noticed that a vote, clearly visible on the ballot, was not shown on the scanned image.

As election workers began exploring what went wrong, two problems emerged. First it was found that the scanners could not read ovals that were lightly filled or not completely filled in. Then it was discovered that minuscule amounts of ink and debris were being scrubbed off as ballots passed over the scanner. This debris would build up until the scanner could no longer see the votes under the line of built-up ink, even though the build-up not visible to the eye.

Department officials decided to zero out, or erase, all data collected to that point and re-scan all ballots. They ordered more frequent equipment cleanings and operators were told to look at scanned images at the end of each batch in hopes of catching problems...Observers from both the Democrats and Republicans on the scene agreed that a large turnout, such as that of last November, would be difficult for the Elections Department to handle until faults in the new equipment are corrected."

I recently heard from one person who has inside knowledge that, due to time limitations, KCE does not plan to be as rigorous in the November election. It feels it is ok to not ensure that everyone's vote is recorded because the number of unrecorded votes will not matter. In close races, all votes do matter so I am not consoled by KCE's cavalier attitude.  

I am really tired of election officials not caring whether or not all votes are recorded and counted as recorded.

Queen Anne Article.