We had a very direct conversation today with the responsible state officials, who explained what happened and took full responsibility for what they called “a dumb mistake.” I made a strong verbal request, which will be followed up in writing, for a full accounting of (1) how this occurred, including a full description of the relevant procedures, software applications, and databases involved; (2) how the “quality control” measures employed in this instance compare and contrast with those employed in other elections, including statewide elections; and (3) measures to be put into place to prevent this mistake from ever happening again.

In brief, the immediate source of the problem was the extraction of Rockville’s poll book information from a statewide database that was accurate and up to date in every way, except that it had been altered for training purposes to simulate a database with absentee voters tagged. The simulation was created by arbitrarily tagging all street addresses beginning with “5,” thereby approximating a 10% absentee vote. Rockville’s poll book was mistakenly created from this database. When the “tags” showed up at our polls this morning, we knew immediately they were incorrect, and took corrective action, including instituting a “work around” process and a separate sign in process for those voters. We are confident the quick response was effective, and that no one was denied their right to vote, all votes will be counted, and if anyone voted twice they will be identified and dealt with.

Now here is the cynical side. The scenario as described has certain similarities to so-called voter caging by registered mail, except it is inverted, in the sense that those asserted to have received an absentee ballot would not get to vote at the polls. The cynical side of me wonders just how big a problem could this have been? What percentage of voters were actually designated as having received absentee ballots? How does that compare to the number of absentee ballot requests tallied by the City of Rockville? Is there any geographical clustering of voters mislabelled as absentee?

The optimist in me says it’s great that the problem was caught and worked around. The cynic wants the matter to be thoroughly investigated to ensure underhanded doings don’t undermine voter confidence in the process.

No problems with the machines. What you are probably referring to is a short delay that occurred early on at some of the polling places. Within the first 5-10 minutes after the polls opened, we discovered a technical mistake in the electronic poll book supplied by the state, and we immediately put in place a simple procedure to work around the mistake. The mistake was caused when the state extracted the Rockville poll book from the larger database. Officials at the polls report that only a small handful of people, estimated at no more than a half dozen, might have been affected. We know of two of those people coming to City Hall and casting their votes successfully.

Other than that brief glitch, the election is going very well so far. We regret the inconvenience to those voters who were delayed early this morning, and we are grateful for their patience and understanding. The poll books are locked when they arrive, and are not allowed to be opened until they are put into use at the polls, so there was no opportunity to examine them for errors. Fortunately, our judges, poll workers, and the City Clerk’s Office jumped on this immediately, contained it successfully, and averted a larger problem.

Please let me know if you encounter other issues.

Thanks everyone.

The continuing problems with the electronic voting system remind us to keep the pressure up on the State to fix the process. I can only imagine the chaos that will ensue in the next Presidential election, and what a demoralizing effect it has on people who are already apathetic or mistrustful.

First, I have heard that on some machines, when a voter voted for a particular candidate, the candidate above or below got selected instead (seems to be a touchscreen calibration issue). It is worth double-checking teh final screen to make sure you are voting for whom you think you are voting for.

Second, I have heard that at least one voter had a popup screen appear that said something along the lines of “Are you sure you want to vote for this person?” Notwithstanding such warnings, press on, voters!

Please keep the tips coming.

ER!K RE@D
Waddington Place

I do hate going through the gauntlet of campaign signs and workers glad-handing voters–it all seems so insincere and full of hype. If people haven’t figured out how they are voting when they arrive, they shouldn’t be swayed by a stranger pushing a brochure in their hand. Having an information table for all the candidates should be sufficient.

Max