Denver elections office up for count

City officials say they're pleased about overhaul

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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In 2006, the Denver elections office was dysfunctional, disorganized and structured in a way that left no one in charge.

A series of missteps led to an election disaster in November when up to 20,000 voters left long lines at the polls without voting.

Since then, the office has undergone a dramatic transformation.

It has a different name, structure, location and leadership. Nearly half the staff is new. And they're also making drastic changes - the third time in three years - to the way Denver voters will cast ballots. All before a presidential election that is expected to draw a record turnout.

The Denver Elections Division of the Clerk and Recorder - formerly known as the Denver Election Commission - is "a very different animal," said Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O'Malley.

City leaders who criticized the old commission say they are impressed with the changes.

"I think it's like night and day," said Denis Berckefeldt, spokesman for Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher, one of the harshest critics of the former commission.

"They seem to be doing everything right and the way it needs to be done to ensure a successful election."

Denver City Councilwoman Carol Boigon has been monitoring the changes and likes what she has seen.

"I think that we are on our way to a new era in elections in Denver," Boigon said.

Despite the praise, O'Malley said she knows the improvements in her agency won't mean anything unless the Aug. 12 and Nov. 4 elections run smoothly.

She said it has been "extremely" difficult to overcome the agency's negative image.

"At the end of the day we'll be judged on how successful this election is," she said. "It's very difficult."

Comedy of errors

The 2006 general election became a national embarrassment for Denver.

A new, untested electronic poll book crashed, causing lines at the polls that lasted for several hours.

The elections office had no contingency plan for the disaster and also didn't have enough backup paper ballots. The count took weeks to finish.

Two election officials quit amid a storm of criticism.

In January 2007, Denver voters chose to scrap the three-member commission in favor of an elected clerk and recorder.

Secretary of State Mike Coffman also began oversight.

Denver, Douglas, Montrose and Routt counties are on Coffman's watch list, which means that the state is monitoring their election planning and mandating improvements.

The state can take over a county election office if fixes are not made.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper tapped O'Malley, the daughter of former mayor Wellington Webb, to take over the beleaguered office in January 2007.

Voters elected her to the position five months later.

She conducted a national search for an elections director, one of only two appointments she is permitted.

O'Malley chose Michael Scarpello, an elections official from Nebraska who, she said, had strong organizational skills and knowledge of voting systems and administration. He began work in August 2007.

"We basically threw out everything and started from scratch," he said.

The entire staff had to reapply for their positions, and Scarpello made many assignment changes.

Still, that November, the two new leaders faced criticism when it took several days for the count to be completed for the all-mail election, which was set up by the former election commission.

On election night, elderly workers got tired and went home before the count was done.

O'Malley brought in city workers, including SWAT team officers, to help.

Scarpello said the delay in counting was primarily caused by insufficient office space.

The upcoming primary will be the first election designed by the new staff.

It will be the culmination of massive changes to Denver's election process, Scarpello said.

"We've done three years' worth of work in one year," he said.

They switched to a new voter registration system, the statewide database known as SCORE.

Preference for paper

They changed voting systems, from all-electronic voting at any polling site in the county to paper ballots at neighborhood precincts.

And they moved in May to a larger office space in southeast Denver.

That's all on top of the complex logistical preparations for an election.

The paper ballot plan was chosen by an advisory panel of 26 people who met last fall. O'Malley and Scarpello adopted the recommendation in January.

Denver is one of the few large counties in Colorado to use a paper ballot system. Denver also is unique because it is using paper ballots for early voting, conducted a week before the primary.

Other counties are using electronic machines for early voting, which is much easier to manage.

Scarpello warns that the elections aren't going to be perfect, and he encouraged voters to vote by mail or at early-voting sites.

He said he expects some delays in announcing final results because of the volume of paper ballots that must be processed by hand and run through scanners.

But he expects most of the results to be announced on election night.

"We're going to have a hiccup or two. There's going to be some growing pains. But we're positive that we're on the right track."

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361

What Denver voters need to know

* Today is the last day to register to vote in the Aug. 12 Democratic or Republican primaries.

* Options for voting in the primary

Mail

More than 70,000 registered Denver voters who have requested mail ballots will begin receiving them Tuesday. Registered voters still can submit a form to the Denver Elections Division until Aug. 5 if they want a ballot mailed to them for the primary. Voters who don't submit the form will not receive a mail ballot.

Early voting

Denver voters can cast ballots between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8 at 13 locations open to all voters from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the Denver Elections Division office at 3888 E. Mexico Ave. will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for early voting.

* Paper ballots will be used. At least one electronic touch-screen voting machine will be available at each site for disabled voters and those who request to use them.

Primary election day

* In late July, voters will be notified by mail of their polling sites. On Aug. 12, voters who don't vote by mail can go to their neighborhood sites to cast ballots. Voters do not need to bring their voter card, but do need ID.

* For more information, go to denvervotes.org or call the Denver Elections Division, 720-913-8683.

Denver elections timeline

* November 2004: Some voters do not receive absentee ballots and lines are up to 3 hours long at some early- voting locations.

* June 2006: Denver Election Commission acknowledges losing a filing cabinet with sensitive information about more than 150,000 voters when it moved in February. It later found half the information.

* Aug. 8, 2006: Trouble with voting machine card activators causes confusion at some polling sites during the primary. The problem is blamed on inadequate training of election workers.

* Oct. 11, 2006: Sequoia Voting Systems, Denver's voting equipment contractor, says it is sending letters to 44,000 voters, warning of a mistake on absentee ballots. The yes and no boxes on a ballot question are transposed.

* Oct. 30, 2006: A race for an open seat on the Regional Transportation District Board of Directors does not appear on absentee ballots. Error made by secretary of state.

* Nov. 2, 2006: Denver's new electronic pollbook crashes, causing long lines at polling sites. An estimated 18,000 to 20,000 voters left lines without voting. The count was delayed because of misprinted ballots and scanner problems.

* Nov. 14, 2006: Denver Clerk and Recorder Wayne Vaden, appointed by Mayor John Hickenlooper, resigns.

* Dec. 6. 2006: Denver Election Commission Director John Gaydeski resigns.

* Jan. 9, 2007: Stephanie O'Malley is appointed clerk and recorder by Hickenlooper. She previously worked as director of the Department of Excise and Licenses.

* Jan. 30, 2007: Denver voters overwhelmingly decide to scrap the Denver Election Commission and replace it with a single elected clerk and recorder.

* May 1, 2007: O'Malley becomes the first elected Denver clerk and recorder.

* August 2007: Michael Scarpello, hired by O'Malley, begins work as director of elections.

* November 2007: Mail ballot election results are delayed by lack of counting space, because of unexpected last-minute rush of mail ballots and elderly poll workers who left before the count was finished. City workers, including SWAT team officers, are brought in to help. Count is largely finished two days later.

* Jan. 23: O'Malley announces she will use paper ballots at neighborhood polling sites, as recommended by an advisory panel.

* May 23: Denver Elections Division begins working at new site in southeast Denver near I-25 and South Colorado Boulevard.

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