Flap over electronic voting heats up

Coffman accused of violating law in machines' review

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 22, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Matt McClain / The Rocky

Secretary of State Mike Coffman listens Thursday as Claudia Kuhns testifies at a public hearing on electronic voting and tallying machines.

The cloud over Colorado's electronic voting and tallying machines grew darker Thursday, as voting activists accused Secretary of State Mike Coffman of violating state law during his review of the equipment.

"He's breaking the law left and right," said Claudia Kuhns, executive director of the Public Integrity Project.

Lawyer Paul Hultin said the Attorney General's Office, rather than Coffman, decided which e-voting machines to certify and that Coffman illegally delegated his duties.

Hultin called Coffman's certification process and Thursday's hearing "substantively and procedurally flawed" because Coffman is moving toward approving machines without following the steps laid out in law.

Coffman denied the allegations, insisting that he made his own decisions about certifications and has been careful to follow the law.

In a written response to the Rocky, Coffman did not address the AG allegations. But his deputy, Bill Hobbs, said Coffman "has carefully followed the requirements of law, both substantively and procedurally."

Hobbs said Coffman is bound by law to seek assistance from the AG and that Coffman "made all decisions personally, based on that assistance."

The new accusations appear to be setting the groundwork for another lawsuit that could throw a wrench in an already uncertain environment regarding how 2008 elections will be conducted.

Thursday's hearing, attended by about 60 people, focused on e-voting and tallying machines Coffman decertified Dec. 17 because of accuracy and security problems. He banned equipment used in all but 12 counties.

Coffman called the hearing and is expected to recertify many of those machines next week because of authority given to him by a new law signed last week by Gov. Bill Ritter.

That law gives him greater flexibility to quickly approve machines for use this year based on new testing and security procedures used by county clerks.

At the hearing, Coffman's testing board explained and demonstrated previously identified problems with machines and how some were fixed after vendors provided more information.

Reliable or flimsy?

They heard testimony from clerks and manufacturers defending the machines and from activists who called the devices flimsy and untrustworthy.

A testing board member placed a magnet in front of one e-voting machine, used in Jefferson and Mesa counties, which prompted the machine to start up. He also showed how a cover attached with industrial-strength Velcro and a lock could protect against such a problem.

A representative from the manufacturer, Election Systems & Software, said his voting machines have never had a security breach during elections.

The testing board said another company's software and machines that tally paper ballots in 47 counties don't properly read mismarked ballots. They outlined a process that could mitigate the problem, but cautioned that they are concerned about using a human procedure to fix a mechanical flaw.

Clerks who use the Hart InterCivic system said the chance that stray marks will affect the outcome of an election is minute. They said their security and audit procedures address the problem.

Voting activists disagreed and said the proposed mitigation procedures are insufficient.

Arapahoe County Clerk Nancy Doty urged Coffman to recertify her machines. The testing board said her Sequoia Voting Systems machines worked in new tests.

Ed Smith, a Sequoia executive, said Colorado's system is "solid" and "one that the voters can trust."

Activists said state law does not allow Coffman to recertify machines unless the devices were modified and he demonstrates that the changes fix flaws. Coffman and Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs disagreed.

Myriah Conroy, the lead plaintiff in a 2006 lawsuit against former Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, urged the state to abandon e-voting equipment. Her suit, which Hultin and Kuhns worked on, led to a judge ordering a new certification process - the results of which Coffman announced in December.

Conroy called the hearing "a charade . . . because the decision more or less has already been made."

Hobbs, who led the four-hour hearing, said his office hasn't decided what machines to recertify. An official from the Attorney General's Office sat among Coffman's panel during the hearing.

Jefferson County Clerk Pam Anderson said clerks have been troubled by the certification process.

"It has been a difficult and strange year."

kimm@RockyMountain News.com or 303-954-2361

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