Publish Date: 6/2/2006

Activists sue to ban electronic voting machines in Colorado

By Brad Turner
The Daily Times-Call

Voting rights activists on Thursday sued Secretary of State Gigi Dennis and nine counties, including Boulder County, to stop officials from using electronic voting machines in the upcoming election cycle.

A Denver law firm claims direct recording electronic voting machines (DREs) are too susceptible to tampering and should be scrapped in favor of paper ballots that would be tallied by optical scanners, Paul Hultin of Denver law firm Wheeler, Trigg and Kennedy said during a news conference Thursday in Denver.

Election officials across the country, including those in Boulder County, plan to use DREs to allow disabled voters to cast ballots independently this year, as mandated by the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

“The DRE computerized voting systems that the lawsuit challenges are easily hacked and set an unprecedented opportunity for voter fraud,” Hultin said hours before his firm filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court.

Colorado is one of seven states to face lawsuits from the group Voter Action over the use of DREs at the polls.

The Colorado activists advocated scrapping the DRE machines, claiming electronic voting terminals did not properly tally elections in several states in 2004. In their place, he suggested officials continue using paper ballots and optical scanners — like the system Boulder County used in 2004 and will continue to use for most voters — and purchase devices that help disabled voters mark paper ballots.

Many advocates for the disabled community praised Dennis in recent hearings for approving the new machines, which will let handicapped voters mark and cast ballots unassisted.

But Michael Neal, a quadriplegic Denver resident, said he agreed to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit because he doubts the machines’ reliability after using a DRE to vote in 2004.

“I could press the button, but I didn’t know where the vote was going,” he said Thursday.

Dana Williams, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office, said the devices that help disabled voters mark ballots are not certified for use in Colorado, because state law requires that disabled voters be able to cast ballots unassisted. DRE machines that record votes using a computer but spit out a receipt confirming a voter’s choices are the only type of machines that can be used in the state, she said.

Boulder County officials recently leased $1.7 million in handicap-accessible electronic voting machines to meet state and federal election requirements.

County officials will stick to their plans for the August primary and November election unless they are halted by a judge, county spokeswoman Barb Halpin said Thursday.

“Until the court tells us the machines we’ve agreed to lease are no longer certified, we’re going to go ahead with our plan,” she said.

Several officials in Boulder County clerk Linda Salas’ office did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Brad Turner can be reached at 720-494-5420, or by e-mail at bturner@times-call.com.

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There are several states that have litigation/lawsuits filed.

I've looked on BradBlog and BlackBox and neither have a comprehensive list available at hand. Just sepperste articles. Me thinks I might ask why?

Hey, that's a great idea, Max. I'll work on a good list next week and put it on the homepage somewhere!