November E-Vote a Success, Panel Says

Voters have largely accepted Orange County’s electronic voting system, which saw its first presidential election in November, the county grand jury concluded in a report issued Wednesday.

“The election process was well planned and, despite the usual human foibles, was executed without calamity,” the report said of the November balloting.

The grand jury, which nearly has free rein on what it chooses to examine or the actions it recommends, decided to embark on the election study, according to the report, “after its members became aware of problems encountered during the March 2004 primary,” when the county’s electronic voting system was introduced. That election was marked by voters who struggled with the new system, poll workers who lacked sufficient training and, in some cases, voters who received the wrong ballots.

To find out whether those problems had been rectified by the November election, the jury’s 19 members interviewed more than 900 voters. They also attended poll worker training classes, worked at the polls, rode with election coordinators on election day, visited precincts countywide and viewed election night tally procedures at the registrar of voter’s office.

Among their findings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being best, most voters said their satisfaction with electronic voting rated an 8 or 9.

The only major negative finding, in fact, had to do with the variety of paper ballots also available to voters, which “complicated the counting process” and caused a 22-day delay in arriving at final results, the report concluded. “These allowed opportunities for error and a potential to weaken voter confidence.”

Among the jury’s recommendations: County officials should publish a comparison of the costs of electronic balloting versus paper; explore the possibility of combining the various voting methods in future elections; and address mechanical difficulties encountered in processing paper ballots.

By law, the county must respond to the grand jury’s findings and recommendations within 90 days.