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Electronic Voting Machines Getting The Ax
Paper Ballots Will Be Used
POSTED: 4:05 pm MST January 16,
2008
UPDATED: 7:30 pm MST January 16,
2008
DENVER -- The 2008 November elections will primarily be done with paper ballots in Colorado."I think paper is something people can have confidence in and you want people to have confidence in this election," said Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon.Gordon and other lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday allowing Secretary of State Mike Coffman to retest and recertify the electronic voting machines he disqualified last month.
The measure prohibits Coffman from relaxing standards and requires that he explain any decision to recertify a machine."Computers are wonderful but you can't rely on them to always be perfect and we want an election to be as close to perfect as possible," said Gordon.Lawmakers say Colorado will probably end up voting mostly by paper ballot, but some electronic machines must be available for handicapped voters and anyone else who wants them.But lawmakers don’t expect to see electronic voting machines this November.What is unclear is if these ballots will be delivered by mail or polling sites. "Denver does not want to do a mandatory mail-in ballot," said Nancy Reubert, spokeswoman for the Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office. "The mail-in ballot addresses how the ballots will get to voters but does not address how they will be counted.”But some counties, like Boulder and Douglas, said their electronic voting machines work fine and are accurate if the safeguards they put in place are followed.Those counties filed an appeal against Coffman’s de-certification ruling.The county clerks said a decision must be made by Feb. 1 or this year's election could be a disaster.The measure was introduced by Reps. Rosemary Marshall and David Balmer and Sens. Ken Gordon and Steve Johnson.
Copyright 2008 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.









