The Colorado Independent - Latest Comments in Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Kerri Rebresh — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 15:11:43 -0000

Vote Centers Are a Disaster Voters in Denver are leaving the polls disgusted - and without casting a ballot. I just left Johnson Rec Center at 48th and Williams. Everyone I talked to who stuck it out said they waited more than two hours to vote. But, when these voters arrived, the line did not yet extend outside. When I left, the line snaked outside and down the street. I would estimate it will take these voters three hours to vote, which means some won't cast their ballots until 10 p.m. I also saw many people leave in disgust. Most people there had been to at least one other vote center, where Johnson Rec Center was recommended. Hundreds of frustrated people were packed in a hot gym, many with young children, yet nearly all of the 20 voting machines stood unused. The problem was with the system used to look up voter registration. I timed it, and it took between 2 and 5 minutes to look up each voter. Multiply that times hundreds of voters, and you have loooong lines of very disgruntled people. On top of that, the system went down around 5:30. When that was announced, I counted about 30 people who left - and I'm sure there were more. While the mood earlier in the day outside at the sunny Botanic Gardens was cheery, the mood in the stifling rec center gymnasium was sour. Several voters grumbled that the backup was caused on purpose to encourage early voting next time. Others were becoming angry at poll workers and demanding an explanation as to why they stood in line for hours when voting booths were empty. The biggest problem, though, is that people are leaving without being able to vote.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:00:07 -0000

getting creative for ensure democracy From John Willard at ClearPeak Colorado:

In an effort to keep voters at the polls, several voting groups across the Denver Metro area are dispatching food, drinks, and entertainment to voters waiting in line.

Among the first to respond to the call for support was the Gay Men?s Chorus who will spend the rest of the evening entertaining voters waiting in line at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Efforts are underway to find other ways of keeping Denver voters in line...

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:02:55 -0000

Also from Aaron in JeffCo

The lawyers here in Jeffco are getting reports that some people from Denver are coming over to precincts in Jeffco in the mistaken belief that they can vote provisionally here.

While a provisional vote can count for Statewide races if you vote outside of your precinct, it does NOT count if you cross County lines.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:52:22 -0000

Corona update According to Kerri, the line has doubled at Corona Rec Center.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:51:28 -0000

JeffCo reporting in Endless stream of problems in JeffCo.

The GOP election judge at the Edgewater Plaza Senior Housing polling place tried to kick-out the Dem judge until the election's director intervened.

The Blue Herron location had no emergency or provisional ballots upon opening this morning.

Several polling places had inoperable voting machines. The clerk tech was not returning calls for assistance at the polls.

One poll watcher lawyer received a call on his cell phone from someone claiming to be from the DNC calling on behalf of Howard Dean to ask the lawyer to go to another polling location.

The election protection team has compiled approximately 90 complaints of voting irregularities in Jefferson County.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:37:00 -0000

Johnson Rec Center Kerri Rebresh called in from Johnson Rec Center at 48th and Williams.

20 voting machines stand unused.

The gym is packed and very hot. People are angry. The line has not moved in 20 minutes because poll workers can't verify voter eligibility therefore nobody can cast their ballots.

Frustrated voter Christina DeBarrows said, "I think a lot of people are going to bag it because they can't take off work that long. I've been voting here since 1974 and I've never ever encountered anything like this."

She tried to cast her ballot at 4 other polling places and couldn't because of long lines.

Sean Moore also expressed frustration. He said that he was directed to Johnson Rec Center after driving past four other polling locations. He said he was committed to voting and would stay for as long as took because somebody was watching his kids. Otherwise, he would have left long ago.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

johne — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:31:22 -0000

Report from new election judge volunteer at the Tattered Cover 300spartansgym just told me over the phone:

The Tattered Cover had 4 computers to check people in and three of them just crashed. The election commission is trying to get to more computers over there but nothing has yet showed up. The line is approximately 300 people.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:21:31 -0000

Larimer County No problems reported. No waiting.

I went in to the vote center at Faith Evangelical Church at 3pm and left with my "I Voted" sticker at 3:05pm.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:15:56 -0000

more reports from Dave Cullen La Familia Rec Center -- 145 people in line. Over an hour wait.

La Alma Rec Center -- 100 people in line. 40 minute wait.

New Hope Baptist Church -- 30-40 min wait.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:01:26 -0000

Corona Presbyterian Church Correspondant Paul Preston is reporting that nearly 200 people are in line at the church on 8th and Downing.

DEC workers just delivered an additional two poll books to help with voter verification to add to the four books currently on site.

A poll watcher at that location reported that the server containing the voter registration database that the vote centers workers were using to verify eligibility was not dedicated. City workers started using the server for other business and the increased election day traffic caused it to crash.

Corona Rec Center has similar backups.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Nancy Watzman — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:49:33 -0000

If women in labor can do it... The line at the vote center at Denver's Park Hill Methodist Church wound through the building and out the door past the yard filled with leftover Halloween pumpkins out onto the street.

For me, it took about 45 minutes from start to finish--a long wait for 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

But people were in a good mood. A man passed out Halloween candy. Another from FairVote helped an elderly woman to the front of the line. A reporter from KGNU interviewed me about how I felt about standing in line.

But the best sighting of all was a pregnant woman in labor near the front who was sitting in a chair waiting her turn. "I have to vote," she said, "and the doctors said they don't think he'll be born until tomorrow morning."

A poll worker named Jesus told me the wait was then the shortest it had been all day, that earlier it had been more than an hour. Right before I came, he said, the machines also went down for 20 minutes. But they were working well enough for me, as far as I could tell.

I did ask if I could vote for Mark, who is in Erie, PA visiting his sick dad, and one poll worker took me half-way seriously. But the answer was "no."

I did manage to score an "I voted" sticker for Leo.

The scene today:

[crossposted at Muckraking Mom

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Andrew Oh-Willeke — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:31:03 -0000

Cary Kennedy's husband was waiting for more than an hour at Central Christian Church, a vote center in Denver. Several machines appear to be out of order there.

(CK is running for state treasurer.)

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Reader11722 — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:53:36 -0000

The rigging has begun So it begins...jammed phones, broken machines, long lines, intimidation... Why does everyone think this year will be different? They already stole 2 presidential elections (wide scale fraud). You really think they cannot steal House/Senate/Governor elections (small scale fraud)? This is the same group that managed to legalize warrantless wiretaps, suspend habeas corpus, ban books like "America Deceived" from Amazon, detain demonstrators and start 2 illegal wars based on lies. The Republicans will probably lose a few seats today to make it look good but maintain a majority. Then they'll invade Iran on behalf of Israel.

Support indy media.

Final link (before Google Books bends to gov't will and drops the title):

America Deceived (book)

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Erin Rosa — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:32:38 -0000

At tivoli At the Tivoli in Denver the wait is about 1 hour to 45 mins this afternoon, as students and residents alike circle around a stair case leading into the polling place. Progress Now Action reports that there are also paper and computer problems at the Tivoli.

The problem is with those verifying voters. There aren?t enough people.

I am also told that the convention center, which is a short distance from the Tivoli, is no better. It would appear that the majority of voting places in Northwest Denver have long wait times.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:20:18 -0000

Manuel High School report Dave Cullen reports in again that there is a 1 1/2 hour wait to vote at Manuel High School in Denver. The line is shrinking as is the previous 2 1/2 hour wait to vote.

Dave reports that there are approximately 100 very unhappy people in line currently.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:02:02 -0000

Tattered Cover vote center Local blogger Michael Ditto reports friend waited 2 hours to vote at the Tattered Cover book store. People are frustrated and leaving.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Andrew Oh-Willeke — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:01:51 -0000

They are out of provisional ballots at Harvard Gulch

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Leftfielder — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:28:53 -0000

Another Online Vote Protection Source The National Database of Voting Incidents

The election system in the United States may be fatally flawed. Results from the last three national elections are in doubt and the system does not meet the minimum standards required by international organizations that monitor elections. Even though there have been countless reports of failures and fraud in voting around the world, there have been few efforts to gather the reports all in one place so that we can see the true extent of the problems. ReportVotingProblems.org in a incident database designed to keep track of problems with elections in order to quantify and analyze failures and fraud in election systems.

Citizens and organizations can fill out an Incident Report at ReportVotingProblems.org for all types of machine problems, registration errors, voter disenfranchisement, long waits, campaign violations, and ballot problems. Results will be compiled, analyzed and shared with qualified groups and the media.

First person accounts of election problems are the most valuable. Third person accounts and news stories are also accepted as long as enough information is provided so that the incident and those involved can be tracked down.

ReportVotingProblems.org is actively seeking databases that are already compiled to include in this repository in order to make this the most comprehensive collection of voting incidents. The major goal is to make an easily accessible and searchable online database to provide a more true picture of the state of electoral systems around the world.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:28:42 -0000

Luis reports the system is back up at St. Charles

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:23:46 -0000

Blogger field report Local blogger Dave Cullen reports:

GOOD:

- Manuel High School, 1700 E. 28th Ave. NO LINE as of 12:05, but now people are being shuttled there

- LaAlma Rec Center, 1325 W. 11th Ave. NO LINE as of 11:55, but we've been sending people there and it started to get a line, don't know how much. (I also think it will be short again once that influx ends, because it had been no-waiting all morning.)

- Johnson Rec Center, 4809 N. Race, NO LINE as of 11:55 (via phone from Ritter people)

- 53rd & Chambers. NO LINE at 11:10 (according to two CU-Research volunteers who had just come from there.)

- (I have also been told that the convention center has been good all morning, though i have not been there or talked to anyone actually there. No one in voter lines want to go there anyway, though, because of parking.)

BAD (listed worst to less worse):

- Botanic Gardens has been awful all morning. Was 2.5 hours, down to about an hour, as of 12:15 (And it's only that short because vans are shuttling people away.) BUT ANOTHER OPTION FROM THERE: vans are now continually shuttling people from there to whichever site has the shortest lines. The Ritter campaign has a continues stream of vans parking right in front to shuttle people there and back. (They're currently going to Manual High.)

- Corona Presbyterian Church 1205 E 8th Ave. awful all morning. it was 2 hours last time i was there, which was 10:10, but phone reports say it continues to be awful and they keep sending people to alt locations.

- Cherry Creek Community Church., 2739 E. 4th Ave (at Garfield). medium-bad all morning. I was last there at 11:25, and it was 1 hour five minutes. (Earlier, it was a bit less.)

MEDIUM:

- Park Hill Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Blvd. was 40 minutes at 9:55. i have only been there once.

VARIABLE:

- New Covenant Christian Church 825 Ivanhoe St. (8th and Holly). It was almost no line (15 min total) at 9:40, but then we sent lots of people there and there computers crashed. at 11:10 it was about 1.5 hours. Since then I've heard from Ritter people that it's still bad, but that's unconfirmed. I will bet it will be good again once they work out there problems, and will check back there soon. (They had low traffic coming in until we sent people there, and a really efficient team. On my first trip, they were moving people through really fast.)

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Wendy Norris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:21:44 -0000

St. Charles Rec Center -- no voting taking place Blogger Colorado Luis reports that approximately 30 people left the voting center at St. Charles Rec Center northeast of downtown Denver because poll workers are unable to determine registration eligibility.

The Denver Election Commission's computer system crashed at 1pm.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Leslie Robinson — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:18:46 -0000

West Slope report Problems with voter files that have not been updated, missing codes to start up the electronic voting machines and many questions about provisional balloting seems to be popping up on the West Slope. Plus some people didn't pay attention to consolidated precinct voter centers and went to their former election sites.

There may be lines at certain locations, but almost half the expected voters had voted early. When voters are given the choice, most are opting for paper ballots. In Garfield County (Glenwood Springs/Rifle area) unscientific stats are 12 to 15 voting paper per one voting electronically.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Andrew_Oh-Willeke — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:14:29 -0000

19 Vote Centers Have Waits Over 45 Minutes One that isn't is Harvard Gulch Rec Center where voters were told by the election commission that there was no voting and that they should go to Porter Place, the nearest location.

Porter Place has lines over an hour and just got its computers back on line after they went down for an extended period.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Erin Rosa — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:04:50 -0000

When I voted at Auraria today I heard the poll worker who was confirming my registration ask another worker where the provisional ballots were to be kept. The poll worker replied that they didn?t actually have a ballot box for the provisional ballots, and that they were to be put in a plastic green bag so no one else could see them.

Re: Election Protection: Problems Voting? Report It Here

Kerri Rebresh — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 08:46:53 -0000

Capitol Hill Vote Centers Botanic Gardens, 12:00: There's a 1 1/2 hour wait, and poll workers say that's the shortest it's been all day. But, the mood of people waiting in line is upbeat and aided by the beautiful 70+ degree weather. People are handing out bottled water, and poll workers are suggesting other, less crowded vote centers to people in line. Not many people seem to be giving up or going elsewhere, though. The line from the street might be deceiving - it's longer than it looks. Here's what the 1 1/2 hour line looks like from the street: <img src="http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r165/karebresh/election016.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></img>

Luckily, parking is plentiful around the Botanic Gardens, but be careful! It's street sweeping day for the right side of York Street, and a long line of cars parked there were ticketed. If you don't want to wait but don't have a ride elsewhere, there are several different groups giving rides to other locations. One woman, returning from a ride to Manuel High School, said she never would have found it on her own. Some vehicles waiting to give rides:<img src="http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r165/karebresh/election017.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></img>

Corona Presbyterian Church, 12:30: Poll workers estimate a1 1/2 to a 2-hour wait. The line wraps around the block, from Corona onto 8th Ave. <img src="http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r165/karebresh/election020.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></img>