New voter database price at $13 million

Two years late, SCORE will be tested April 21

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 11, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Linda McConnell / Special To The Rocky

Jan Kuhnen, former Larimer County elections director, works at the Denver Election Commission office on a plan for an April 21 mock election, to test the new SCORE system. It is scheduled to be used for real in the Aug. 12 statewide primary.

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The cost of creating a statewide voter registration database - a project that's already two years late - has grown to $13 million. The latest $2 million is being spent to help county clerks successfully implement the database before the presidential election.

Meanwhile, the system continues to struggle with speed and technical problems. In fact, it won't be finished until just before the Aug. 12 primary.

The Secretary of State's Office said technical issues with the system, known as SCORE (State of Colorado Registration and Election), are being fixed. State officials expect to encounter further hurdles during simulated statewide elections starting April 21. But they are confident SCORE will perform well when it is used for the first time in a statewide election in the primary.

"I am pleased with the rapid progress that is being made for the implementation of the statewide voter registration database," Secretary of State Mike Coffman said. "I have no doubt that SCORE II will be ready for the primary and general elections."

Others are not so confident.

Voting activists say an outside firm hired by Coffman to monitor the project has documented serious performance problems in its weekly reports. They said less than half of recent tests have passed.

"What this means is that Colorado is most likely headed for either a miracle or a train wreck," said Al Kolwicz, a Boulder software engineer and voting activist.

El Paso County Clerk Bob Balink has said he has no doubts that SCORE will work fine. But Larimer County election officials are worried about numerous work-arounds designed to help them carry out functions they can't do on SCORE.

Colorado behind schedule

Larimer County Clerk Scott Doyle said he hopes the system will work, but he still has concerns. "At this point, the jury's still out," Doyle said.

He said local election officials will get a better sense of the system's capabilities this month during the mock election: "That should be really telling."

Colorado saw the perils of electronic voter databases in November 2006 when Denver's e-pollbook crashed, causing long lines and up to 20,000 voters to leave the polls without casting ballots.

Denver Elections Director Michael Scarpello said he has confidence in the team working on the new state system, but his staff won't have a full picture of how it works until the simulated elections.

Colorado is one of the last states to move to a statewide voter registration database to comply with federal law. The system, which must be used this year, is more than two years late because of problems with the former contractor.

The federal requirement for statewide voter databases is designed to create cleaner, more updated voter lists that can be cross-checked with other agencies.

Colorado's database is now expected to cost about $13 million, paid for with federal funds. That includes the original $9.7 million contract to Saber Corp. of Oregon to develop the system, and contracts to two outside firms to monitor and do testing. Saber is now owned by EDS, the firm that created the problem-plagued Colorado welfare benefits system called CBMS.

Widespread concern among county clerks about the system's readiness spurred the governor's office to hire an Atlanta-based firm, North Highland Company, in January to assess the project.

The North Highland report said SCORE is sound but needs technical and supervisory changes and more staff to be successfully implemented. The firm recommended that the state extend Saber's contract and hire 13 full-time staff members to help counties in the field and provide other support at an estimated cost of $3.5 million.

Coffman recently hired seven more Saber staffers to help support counties in the rollout, at a cost of $1.9 million. He also hired Jan Kuhnen, former director of elections in Larimer County, to oversee the mock election, and William Browning, who conducted the North Highland assessment. The consultant contracts cost $115,700.

Coffman made changes

Coffman also made organizational changes, including establishing a new program management office and beefing up regional field support for the counties.

All 64 counties are using SCORE to update voter information. But many counties haven't used the administrative part of the system, which helps them process petitions, hire and pay election judges and plan for elections. They will use that side of the system during the mock election.

The rollout schedule initially included two mock elections, one to simulate a primary and another to simulate a general election. The second test won't be done.

Larimer County Elections Director Cynthia Coleman said she was told the second test was scrapped because "we're running out of time."

Coolidge said the decision was not made because of lack of time, but because it was decided that a primary election model test was the most effective.

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361

Learning the SCORE

* What is SCORE?

It's the State of Colorado Registration and Election database - a network of about 90 computers and other devices in Denver that will hold all the state's voter information.

* What does SCORE do?

It automatically cross-checks voter information with other state agencies to make sure the person is not incarcerated or a felon on parole, is not dead or otherwise ineligible to vote. It also keeps track of whether a person has voted, and helps election officials plan and carry out elections.

* Why do we need it?

The 2002 federal Help America Vote Act requires all states to implement statewide voter registration databases by 2004 so that voter rolls will be cleaner and more updated. Colorado got a waiver and was supposed to finish by 2006.

* Why is it late?

Accenture, the first company hired to create it, lost its contract because it didn't meet deadlines. The new contractor, Saber Corp., is supposed to deliver the product next month.

* Can voters access SCORE?

No. The system is secure and can only be accessed by election workers.

* Can I check my voter information online?

Yes. You can go to the secretary of state's Web site, sos.state.co.us, to check your voter information. Some counties also may offer more information on their Web sites, including whether a mail ballot was sent or received.

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