More memory card problems at the polls

Though everyone's ballot will be counted today -- and the problem amounts to no more han "a little technical" glitch -- the vote scanners at two precincts are not working.

The scanners at the American Legion and at Chippens Hill Middle School are not working, officials said.

"It's all taken care of," said Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch.

Officials are getting new memory cards from the secretary of the state and trying to get them programmed quickly enough to use soon.

In the meantime, the filled-in ballots are secure, she said, and will be run through the scanners as soon as they can be.

None of this has any real impact on people voting, by the way. It just means the ballots they fill in are put aside to scan later.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

A problem at the polls

The scanner machine that counts the ballots -- the one that you feed these new paper ballots into after you're done voting -- is not working at the busy American Legion precinct on Hooker Court, election officials said this morning.

They're scrambling now to reprogram another scanner and get it into service there at 79B, but it's possible the thousands of ballots likely to be cast there will ultimately have to be counted by hand. There are more than 4,200 registered voters in that district.

Meanwhile, voters are pouring into the polls across town.

Not counting the American Legion precinct, because tallies there are a little hard to come by at the moment, there were 4,045 votes cast by 8 a.m. this morning in Bristol - or 11.7 percent of the electorate. There are 34,720 registered voters in town.

The polls close at 8 p.m. tonight, but don't wait if you can help it. It's a lot easier to resolve problems earlier in the day than in the minutes before the doors close.

Be sure to bring identification with you that has your current address. If you do have any trouble voting, don't hesitate to check with the registrar's office and get some help. Things can go wrong, but they have good people trying to make sure everyone gets to vote.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

More than 13,000 new ballots needed in the 79th District

Some people have likely already cast a vote that won’t be counted.

The apparent suicide of Republican state House candidate Derek Jerome in the 79^th District forced election officials to reprint13,300 ballots for voters in his district to use at the polls on Nov. 4.

But it was too late for those who have already voted by absentee ballot.

Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch said that absentee votes for Jerome, whose name appears on the first run of ballots, won’t be counted.

Election officials also had to send the counting machine memory cards to a Massachusetts company to have them reprogrammed to take into account the change in the 79^th District’s Republican candidate.

The GOP’s decision to name a successor candidate for the position, David L. Norton, had no impact on the necessity to reprint ballots, officials said.

“They were going to have to reprint all the ballots anyway,” said city Republican Chairman T.J. Barnes.

Barnes and Klapatch said that if the party hadn’t named Norton to take Jerome’s place, the new ballots would simply have had an empty slot for the Republicans in the race against incumbent state Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Democrat.

It isn’t clear how much the scramble to fix the ballots and reprogram memory cards is costing taxpayers, though it certainly reaches into the thousands of dollars.

Klapatch said that the federal government is picking up the tab for ballots this year – part of a national effort to modernize voting – so city taxpayers don’t have to cover the expense, as they normally would.

She said she has “no ideas” how much the reprinting will cost.

It’s not clear yet whether the absentee ballots that include Jerome’s name can be counted by machines or if they’ll have to be counted by hand, Klapatch said. The city clerk and the secretary of state are looking into it.

Klapatch said that the changes required “a lot of extra work” by many officials, including her office and the city clerk’s office.

But, she said, she appreciates “the team effort” by everyone involved to speed the work along so that it would be done in plenty of time for Election Day.

“I’m amazed we got all this done,” Klapatch said.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Voters speak up

Standing in the mist outside Stafford School, Rick Centoni said he'd come to cast a vote for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
"She's more qualified than anyone else," Centoni said.
But, he said, he's impressed with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois also and hopes that Clinton will tap him for her vice presidential running mate.
"They'd be a good ticket," Centoni said.
He said that he liked Clinton's husband, Bill Clinton, when he was president for eight years.
"I think she's just like him," Centoni said.
At Greene-Hills School, Brian Brady said he's a registered Democrat, but never votes for them in the general election because the party isn't what it was.
He said he voted for Clinton because he viewed her as the weaker candidate for the Democrats.
"I figured that would flip the burger to the cheesy side," he said, and perhaps help the GOP win in November.
His wife, Kathy Brady, wasn't so calculating.
She said she voted for Obama because "he represents change."
Terry Parker, an election official at Greene-Hills, said he thinks that Democratic turnout in Bristol is probably in the neighborhood of 46 percent today, which is quite good.
He said that in 2000, there were 213 Republicans who voted in the GOP primary at Greene-Hills and 362 Democrats.
Today, with an hour left to go, about 738 Democrats had voted, he said, and about 200 Republians.
"That's probably a record for a presidential primary," he said, though it still lags well behind the hard-fought mayoral primary of the early 1970s when Frank Longo defeated Don Cassin.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Turnout down, but rising

Two years ago, during the hard-fought mayoral race between Republican William Stortz and Democrat Gerard Couture, 38.4 percent of the city's registered voters showed up at the polls.
This time around, turnout appears likely to be lower.
As of 1 p.m., when the rain finally began to stop, turnout stood at 16.8 percent overall. That compares to 19.7 percent overall at the same time in 2005.
Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch said that turnout has been "rather slow" this year, but it appeared to be picking up as the sun started coming out early in the afternoon.
At the American Legion precinct, Republican City Council candidate Bob Merrick and Democrat Frank Nicastro, an incumbent, stood outside looking to pick up a few extra votes as voters headed in.
Merrick said that he received a "very positive" response from voters, much like he got going door-to-door during the campaign.
"People are positive about the city," Merrick said. "People love Bristol."
Nicastro said that too many people badmouth Bristol. "They don't realize we have a great city," Nicastro said.
So far, there haven't been any troubles with the new voting machines, officials said.
State Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat, said he liked the new voting system. It's easy, he said.
Klapatch said there haven't been any problems with the machines.
"People seem to be doing fine with the machines," Klapatch said.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Cold and wet at the polls

Republican Party Chairman Art Mocabee reports that it "is cold and wet" and the polls.
"That may account for some light turn out," he said.
He said that "most people are pleased with the new machines but some issues have been raised. For example, one voter indicated that it is now a two step process instead of one in a voter both and that it takes longer. He was concerned about a heavy turnout and how long it would take."
Mocabee said, "We need to be able to vote by cell phone...we do everything else by the cell nowadays!"

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Don't be nervous about the new voting machines

Not only are they simple, we get the results faster. But for those who are worried about what to do, here's a 90-second movie that the secretary of state's office put out to explain how they work:
Link to Quicktime movie file about how to vote on the new optical scan voting machines

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Election machines worked great

The city's first election using the new electronic voting machines seemed to go almost perfectly.
"Everybody says the system is working and they enjoy working with it," said Democratic Registrar Bob Badal.
"Everyone loved it," said city Treasurer Patti Ewen, who spent six hours at the polls talking with voters.
Badal said poll moderators are finding the new machines easy to use, although they have the normal first-time jitters. Badal said he hadn't heard of any voter complaints or problems.
Moderator Terry Parker, who was working the poll at Greene-Hills School Tuesday, said voters like the new machines.
The "vast majority think it's better than the old machines," Parker said. "It's easier."
Voter Roy Gagnon said he was a little apprehensive as he went to cast his ballot on the new machines for the first time, but discovered he had little to worry about.
"I thought it was real easy," said Gagnon.
At the American Legion, moderator Vernon Koch even found counting a breeze.
He watched the clock strike 8 p.m. and declared, "The polls are closed."
Then he fed an Accu-Vote Ender Card into the automatic scanner that had registered ballots all day, pushed the yes and no buttons at the same time, and watched a printout spit out within seconds.
With the old lever machines, the count there took 45 minutes.
Badal said that one counting machine, at Stafford School, failed to operate properly this morning. It had tested perfectly, Badal said, but it didn't work at the polling place. "Something must have happened to the memory card" during the move, he said.
A backup machine was used instead and there was never a hitch in the voting, "not one second, not one vote" was lost, Badal said.
Parker, who said he's been a poll moderator since 1986, said he's had to help voters re-learn the mechanical lever machines many times.
Overall, the process of using the new machines has been smoother, Parker said.
"There may be some growing pains," Parker said. "We'll get through it."
Outside Greene-Hills School, three campaign volunteers stood in the rain, holding signs, hoping to woo voters in the Democratic mayoral primary.
Jim Hopkins and Mike LaMothe were at the poll for the party's endorsed candidate, Ellen Zoppo, and Rich Sivel was there for challenger Art Ward. They all said they'd heard no complaints about the new machines.
Sivel, a union member from West Hartford who came to lend his support in the Bristol race, said he'd been standing there for more than two hours.
LaMothe and Hopkins said they'd both voted and found no trouble using the new machines.
"This is so basic," said LaMothe. "There's very little chance to mess it up."
Hopkins, who also spent time at the poll at Chippens Hill Middle School , said the electronic machines are "pretty simple."
A couple of representatives from the secretary of state's office came by to check on how the voting was going, Badal said, apparently part of a statewide effort to make certain the new electronic machines are doing the job.


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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

New voting machines working great

The new voting machines appear to be working almost perfectly.
“Everybody says the system is working and they enjoy working with it,” said Democratic Registrar Bob Badal.
He said that as of 1 p.m., 1,933 Democrats had cast their ballots. That’s 15 percent of the 12,864 eligible voters, Badal said.
During the 2003 Democratic mayoral primary, where Gerard Couture defeated Joe Wilson by a 55-45 margin, a total of 25.7 percent of Democrats voted. But that total may have been bolstered somewhat by a City Council primary that was held simultaneously.
Badal said that one counting machine, at Stafford School, failed to operate properly this morning.
It had tested perfectly, Badal said, but it didn’t work at the polling place. “Something must have happened to the memory card” during the move, he said.
A backup machine was used instead so there was never a hitch in the voting, “not one second, not one vote” was lost, Badal said.
He said that poll moderators are finding the new machines easy to use, although they have the normal first-time jitters.
Badal said he hadn’t heard of any voter complaints or problems.
He said that he and Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch are working side-by-side to make sure everything goes smoothly.
A couple of representatives from the secretary of state’s office came by to check on how the voting was going, Badal said, apparently part of a statewide effort to make certain the new electronic machines are doing the job.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Electronic voting machines to debut Tuesday

BRISTOL – The old mechanical voting machines that have reliably delivered election results for generations are gathering dust in a forgotten storeroom as officials scramble instead to prepare for the mandatory advent of electronic counters at the polling places Tuesday.
"This is costing a lot of bucks," said Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch.
As Klapatch and Democratic Registrar Bob Badal stood surrounded by packing boxes in a Middle Street warehouse recently, they talked about the difficulties of switching from the tried-and-true lever machines to optical scanners that will now count the ballots automatically.
Tuesday's Democratic mayoral primary, which is expected to draw at least a few thousand voters to the city's 10 polling places, is something of a test run for the Nov. 6 general election, when larger numbers will descend on the polls.
But Klapatch and Badal said they're as ready as they can be.
Klapatch said the state has spent "well over $200,000" buying an astonishing array of new equipment to outfit the polls.
Each polling place will have at least one optical scanner, a backup power supply in case the electricity goes out, privacy booths where voters will blacken the circles on paper ballots to indicate their choice of candidates and alternate voting methods for voters with disabilities.
This isn't the first election in the state to try the new machines. Last fall, 25 municipalities used them, which helped get some of the kinks out of the system.
Klapatch said that Bristol learned a lot from their experiences, including the need to make sure poll workers don't talk too much to voters and that the new booths are set up so that there's a wall behind voters to keep anyone from peeking over someone's shoulder.
For most voters, the new system should be easy, officials said.
Klapatch said that when voters enter the polling place, they'll be greeted by a demonstrator who can show them a DVD about how to use the new system. That's because the state bought Zenith portable DVD players for each precinct to use to play the demonstration videos.
Voters don't have to watch, of course.
There will be a large sample ballot available for voters to review as well, she said.
After that, they'll have their name checked against the roster of registered voters, as usual. Bring a photo identification card to smooth the way.
Then a ballot clerk will give the voter a paper ballot and the voter will sit down at one of the privacy booths to fill in the ovals beside the appropriate candidate or candidates. For Tuesday, that means picking between nominee Ellen Zoppo and challenger Art Ward, which makes the process pretty simple.
A felt pen will be hanging from the booth. It's best to use it.
Once the ballot is done, it will be inserted into the optical scanner, its votes registered and the ballot saved in a locked box inside.
On the off chance that something's wrong, the machine will spit out the ballot, giving voters a chance to try again. That's most likely to happen in the general election when someone mistakenly casts too many votes for one office.
At the end of the day, after the polls close at 8 p.m., the moderator will print off the results on a ticker that looks something like a grocery store receipt.
The registrars said the state is taking precautions to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
For instance, each polling place will have four 8-hour battery backups that could run the optical scanners in case there's no electricity all day, something nobody expects to happen.
It's a lot of stuff to set up, officials said, but they're ready. Movers will haul the machines to each precinct starting at noon Monday.
Badal said some of the equipment will be set up ahead of time, but the scanners and ballots won't be unlocked until shortly before the 6 a.m. start of voting Tuesday.
It won't be simple, especially the first time around, he said.
The privacy booths are "heavy and awkward" and "a little difficult" to set up, Badal said.
But the personnel are ready.
"We've had excellent training sessions," Badal said.
And what about the old lever machines?
The city's trying to figure out what to do with them. For now, they're locked up in the basement at Stafford School, facing an uncertain future.

Also, don't miss this related story by Jackie Majerus about concerns that seniors may have a hard time with the new voting machines.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com