Colorado Election Chief Called Away During Vote

Colorado’s top elections official rushed to Arizona to be with her critically injured brother on Monday and will be absent when the votes are counted in an election beset with confusion and fears of fraud.

Secretary of State Donetta Davidson said her top deputy and two other aides would oversee the election in Colorado today. Davidson went to Phoenix, where her brother was hospitalized in a coma after a motorcycle accident on Saturday.

She and Gov. Bill Owens expressed confidence in her staff’s ability to oversee the election, despite reports about voter registration fraud, ineligible voters and last-minute confusion about election rules. The counting of contested ballots is expected to take days and could delay election results.

“The plan is in place and the key decisions have been made,” said the Republican governor’s spokesman, Dan Hopkins. Nonetheless, a state plane will be available to fly Davidson back to Colorado with a few hours’ notice, Hopkins said.

Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic nominee, is said to be within striking distance of President Bush in Colorado. Colorado voters will also decide on a ballot measure to award the state’s electoral votes for president on a proportional basis instead of in the usual winner-take-all manner.