Problems with new electronic systems in Orange and San Diego counties
frustrate voters. Officials call the harm minimal.
By Jeffrey L. Rabin, Stuart Pfeifer and Tony Perry, Times Staff Writers
[Excerpts]
Problems with new electronic voting systems caused some Orange County
residents to vote in the wrong district elections Tuesday and prevented
some San Diego County voters from casting any ballot at all.
In Orange County, poll workers unfamiliar with the new electronic voting
system made mistakes Tuesday that allowed many people to vote in the
wrong districts, potentially endangering the outcomes of several races,
officials acknowledged.
Assemblyman Ken Maddox, a Republican candidate for state Senate in the
35th District, said he had driven to the polls at Westminster Christian
Assembly after fielding calls from voters complaining that his name
wasn't on their ballot.
"I went down there to find out what was going on," Maddox said. "I got
there about noon. They hadn't even bothered to notify the registrar. We
called the registrar and they told us the technician had gone to lunch….
You can imagine how I'm thinking. It's called, 'You don't get lunch
today. Eat in your car.' "
[Fascinating anecdotes in the full story are highly recommended reading,
Internet viewers.]