Electronic voting figure takes new job
Gardner snared in lawsuit over qualifications
By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published June 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
An employee in the secretary of state's office who was a controversial figure in a lawsuit filed by activists opposed to electronic voting has left for a post in the El Paso County clerk's office.
John Gardner, of Colorado Springs, worked in the elections division for three years under three secretaries of state and managed the testing of electronic voting and tallying machines used statewide.
It does not appear Gardner left under negative circumstances.
He said Friday he left because he was offered his old job back by El Paso County Clerk Bob Balink.
Gardner's co-worker in Secretary of State Mike Coffman's office, Timothy Bishop, also left for a post in Balink's office.
Gardner began working Monday as manager of Balink's IT division.
In their 2006 lawsuit against former Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, voting activists accused Gardner of being unqualified for the e-voting certification job because of his lack of expertise in computer science.
The judge in that case ordered new testing with stricter security standards.
Coffman, who took office in January 2007, kept Gardner on as testing manager but also hired outside auditors to check his team's work.
Activists still contend Coffman's certification process violated law and are mulling another lawsuit.
Paul Hultin, the lead lawyer in the 2006 suit, said Gardner's exit from Coffman's office is good.
"Through no fault of his own, the important responsibilities (of certifying e-voting equipment) were thrust upon him for which he was not qualified."
Gardner said the three state election officials under whom he worked "all had confidence in me that I could do the job."
kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361
Featured
-
Rocky Multimedia
The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.
-
Holiday Lights
Is your house the jolliest on the block? Submit your holiday lights display.
-
Holiday Gift Guide
Looking to get a jump-start on the holiday shopping season?
-
Mount Crushmore
Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's midweek rant on the Chiefs.
-
Broncos Video
Get the latest from Dove Valley as the Broncos prepare for Sunday's matchup.
-
Calendar wallpaper
Download this month's desktop wallpaper calendar
-
Sam Adams' Open Mic
Open Mic: Stirrin' the Soup with Matt Iseman
-
The Rocky @ 150 Years
Read the Rocky's coverage of Colorado's cannibal, Alfred Packer, in 1886.




Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.