Smooth local voting from dawn to dusk

By Clay Latimer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 4, 2008 at 7:58 a.m.
Updated November 4, 2008 at 8:05 p.m.

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Photo by Judy DeHaas © The Rocky

Stacey Megyesi votes Tuesday at Stedman Elementary School in Park Hill.

Photo by Ken Papaleo © The Rocky

Henritta Rees, left, 94, gets some help with her voting Tuesday from her daughter, Susie Overman at Windsor Gardens.

Photo by Preston Gannaway © The Rocky

Election judges count ballots at the Denver Election Commission on Tuesday morning.

Video: Voting at The Wildlife Experience in Douglas County. Watch »

Video: Voters line up to vote as the polls open at Skinner Middle School in Denver. Watch »

Video: Voting at Stedman Elementary School. Watch »

Long lines? Tempers boiling over? Frustrated election officials?

Not this time.

Despite an unusually high turnout, election-day proceeded smoothly for Colorado voters, who feared another glitch-filled day.

Two years ago polling places in Denver and Douglas counties were forced to remain open for hours after closing time. But there were no lines as they closed at 7 p.m. today.

At least 63 percent of Denver’s active voters cast their ballots before the polls opened today, which greatly eased the last-minute evening rush, say election officials. According to Denver Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O’Malley, nearly two-thirds of Denver’s 312,445 active voters cast their ballots by mail-in or at early voting centers.

The 2008 total is expected to rank among the highest ever in the state.

Colorado in 2004 recorded its highest ever statewide voter turnout, with nearly 88 percent of voters casting ballots.

Signs that turnout would be heavy four years ago came during early voting, when long lines formed at grocery stores and other polling places. Some early voters had to wait hours to cast their ballots.

There were some glitches this time around:

--At a South Denver poll, election workers opened without part of their voter registration list, causing some voters to wait and others to drive to election headquarters for provisional ballots.

--At Manuel High School, reports surfaced that voters were issued paper ballots when some voting machines weren’t working.

--At Church of the Risen Christ on South Monaco Parkway, election workers had to rush ballot “privacy sleeves” over for voters who wanted them.

-- In Greeley, the Colorado Progressive Coalition said a lack of translators and the fact that ballot instructions are printed only in English jeopardized the ability of some Hispanics to cast their ballots. The group planned a demonstration in downtown Greeley. Weld County Clerk in Recorder Steve Moreno says he received no complaints. He says translators were posted at some locations and others were available if needed.

_ And in Arapahoe County, some poll watchers and lawyers say polling sites saw scattered voting machine breakdowns, long lines and provisional ballots being given out to voters who should have been able to vote a regular ballot. The problems starting surfacing around 9 a.m. at a variety of sites mostly in the Aurora area, including Boston Elementary, River Pointe, Heritage Christian Center, Redeemer Baptist Church, St James Presbyterian, and First Presbyterian Church of Englewood.

A larger than usual national turnout was reported at polling stations in several crucial states, and reports of lengthy lines and waits of an hour or more were not uncommon. However, it was uncertain whether younger voters were turning out in greater numbers than in past elections.

Michael McDonald, a voting expert at George Mason University, predicted that turnout would reach about 64 percent of the eligible voters, a record for the number of people who voted.

The 2008 rate would roughly match the 63.8 percent turnout in the 1960 race between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon and rank just below the 65.7 percent turnout of the 1908 presidential contest between William Howard Taft and William Jennings Bryan, McDonald told Politico.

But it would not come close to reaching the astronomical 81.3 percent turnout recorded in 1860, during the Civil War era contest between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Pennsylvania reported some of the longest lines, as a record number of its nearly 8.8 million voters were expected at 9,300 polling locations throughout the state. State officials predicted an 80 percent turnout, the highest in 16 years. The highest turnout the state ever recorded was 88 percent for the Kennedy-Nixon showdown in 1960.

But in Colorado, it was mostly an afternoon of smooth sailing. For example, thanks to strong participation in early voting and mail-in voting, demand for rides to the polls was relatively low at Democratic volunteer field offices around the metro area today.

Throughout the day, voters cast their ballots and shared their concerns with reporters about the country’s future. No surprise, many of those worries centered around the economy.

Before lunchtime, Gene Mahoney, a retired union electrician, sat outside a Starbucks near the Cherry Creek Reservoir this morning, reading today’s Rocky and chatting with coffee buddies who came by to swap election stories.

“I voted because of the economy,” said Mahoney. “My pension isn’t affected. But the economy is affecting my kids - the price of food, the price of gas. This financial disaster we’re in - I can’t believe the smart people and economists couldn’t foresee this.”

At Dry Creek Elementary, trucker Brian Johnson had plenty of reason to be concerned. He recently saw his workload drop like a stone.

“This economy is in trouble,” said the 45-year-old. “I saw what it did to my business. That’s why I’m not trucking right now. We hauled scrap steel. And the price dropped 75 percent without warning in a couple of days. So we just parked our trucks and came home.”

Johnson said he has voted in elections past, but was particularly motivated to participate in this one. “We’ve got to make some changes,” he said, declining to reveal who he had voted for.

Meanwhile, in the blue collar neighborhood near the Sons of Italy Hall in Wheat Ridge, Georgia Ayon, 48, joined the chorus.

“I voted for Obama because I’m not rich!” said the 48-year-old barber.

Ayon cast her first vote ever, three decades after she became eligible. Her experience went off without a hitch, which seemed to be the norm for voters. Many expecting long lines were pleasantly surprised during the morning rush, as voting proceeded with few hitches.

“I think they were anticipating the worst and it turned out fine,” said Wendy Boyer, an election judge at University View Church Christian Church in southeast Denver where 15 people were waiting when the polls opened.

Farther east at Cook Park Recreation Center, 25 voters were waiting for the polling place to open as the sun rose.

“They came, they saw, they voted,” joked Margaret Weiland, an election judge with 25 years of battle-tested experience.

“Voting has been steady, no big rushes,” she added. “We are handling it.”

“It wasn’t bad at all,” said V.J. Dionisio, who voted at a precinct at Campus Middle School in Arapahoe County at around 8:30 a.m. “It took me 20 minutes from the time I walked in.”

Voter turnout in Colorado already has been intense. Sensing a historic moment, 1.7 million Coloradans - 53 percent of registered voters - cast their ballots by mail or at early voting stations even before the polls opened Tuesday morning. The statewide turnout was expected to set a record, exceeding 90 percent.

For example, voter turnout at precinct 548 in Aurora climbed to about 80 percent by 3:30 p.m. counting walk-ins and those who voted earlier, the chief election judge said.

"I don't think I've ever seen it this high," said the judge, who declined to give her name.

The judge said she estimated there are 900 people eligible to vote in precinct 548, which is in east Aurora on Alameda Avenue.

Given Colorado’s nearly even split between registered Democrats and Republicans, it was difficult to get a handle on which candidate might win just by talking to those who had voted.

For example, at Heritage West Shopping Center, three men gathered for coffee - one Republican, one Democrat and one Independent in their trio.

“Coffee erases all political problems,” said Al, who at 71, is in the middle, age-wise.

Al, who like the others is happy to share his views but not his last name, said: “I’m proud to be Hispanic, proud to have these friends and proud to live in Lakewood...

“I voted for Obama because of his stance on helping the middle class,” Al, a Democrat said.

On the other hand, Buzz, who at 67 is the youngster in the group and the Independent, said, “I voted for McCain, but it was tough. I just thought he had more experience than Obama. I worry about health care, though.”

And then there was Maury, 84, a World War II vet and the group’s only Republican. He, too, voted for McCain, and he, too had qualms. He thinks McCain will be best for the economy. “But I worry about that $10 billion going each month to Iraq.”

At Rooney Ranch Elementary School in Lakewood, lifelong Republican Rachel Taylor admitted that she voted for Democrat Barack Obama this morning.

“I’m a Republican and I was going to vote for McCain, but frankly, I don’t like Sarah Palin very much,” Taylor, 46, a certified pharmacy technician, said after she left the polling booth.

She noted that her son, who is 25, “Showed me some numbers on the tax issue. I realized I’d be better off voting for Obama.”

The Green Mountain neighborhood in the shadows of the foothills has a recent reputation for splitting almost evenly between Democratic and Republican opponents. In keeping with that, Taylor said she voted for a lot of Republicans further down on the ballot “to kind of balance things out. Same as my friend, who is a Democrat, but she voted for McCain because she didn’t want to see one party get all the power.”

Denver Clerk and Recorder O’Malley encouraged voters to get to call Denver’s 311 hot-line if they have questions about voting.

While she hopes processing those early ballots will ease the evening crush of voters, she stressed that processing some of the 47,000 outstanding mail-in ballots along with ballots cast at the polls today is no snap. Not all those mail-in ballots will be returned, but those that are take time for election judges to confirm voter signatures and to do other processing steps.

“It’s work to be done,” she said.

The Rocky's Alan Gathright, Bill Scanlon, Gary Massaro, Judi Villa, Julie Poppen and Aaron Lopez, and The Associated Press Politico and The New York Times contributed to this report.

• November 4, 2008

  9:27 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  PonchoVia writes:

  How could anyone go to sleep before we know the result of this baby?! This election is history in the making on so many levels. I hope we see a clear victory (maybe even landslide) early in the evening for Obama, but regardless of the outcome, I'm seeing it through to the end! No sleep until the decision is known!

• November 4, 2008

  9:34 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jamesdenver writes:

  I arrived in line at 6:15am this morning expecting a queue around the block at my voting location - the Denver Botanic Gardens. More people than I thought must have voted in advance because I was the second person in line. They opened at 7am and I was out the door by 7:20.

  I didn't expect paper ballots, but perhaps this is for the best considering the local 2006 issues.

  james http://www.futuregringo.com

• November 4, 2008

  10:07 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:

  From NRO's Campaign Spot which links to this article:

  Republicans Kept Pace in Colorado's Early Voting

  These results from early voting in Colorado are fascinating.

  Out of 1,704,280 "early votes" cast, over 50% of registered voters, the percentage breakdown was:
  
  Dem 33.44% (569,875)
  Rep 32.64% (556,241)
  Ind. 24.71% (421,124)
  
  The print edition of this story shows a graphic with the following information:
  
  Voting by absentee ballot:
  
  Total 1,339,065
  
  Rep. 441,841
  Dem. 441,203
  Ind. 311,196
  
  Voting by early voting:
  
  Total 365,215
  
  Dem. 128,672
  Rep. 114,400

  If I remember correctly, Republicans traditionally have an advantage in early voting in Colorado, so this isn't unalloyed good news. But I generally concur with the Colorado reader who noticed this that "Republicans held their own in both types of early voting in Colorado despite the unprecedented effort by Democrats to get a jump; only 8/10s of 1 percent difference... which casts doubt on the higher Democrat party ID in recent polls."

  The Oct. 30 Marist poll, for example, had Obama leading early voters, 59 to 41. Now, perhaps there are a lot of Obamacans in this state, or perhaps the independents overwhelmingly preferred Obama. But then again, maybe not.

  It's possible that most of the voters who show up today are Democrats, and it's possible that the independents prefer Obama. But judging from the party breakdown of early voting, the Democrats have not yet generated any signficant Party ID advantage among the state's electorate as a whole.

  11/04 11:29 AM

• November 4, 2008

  10:41 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  joggle writes:

  SlouchingTowardBoulder: I think there's good reason to believe that there are more Republicans voting for Obama than Democrats voting for McCain, so don't forget about that factor.

  And your memory is correct, in the past Republicans have far outpaced Democrats in early voting and voting by mail.

• November 4, 2008

  11:53 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  HollyGoLightly writes:

  I voted around 8am this morning in North Thornton. The line wasn't that bad. When I left at 8:30am, the line was nonexistent. If you haven't voted yet and you have the opportunity to go now, I would.

• November 4, 2008

  12:29 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  sweetater writes:

  I tried to vote early and after 3 attempts and no parking for a mile around ,I went this morning got there at 7:45 a.m. out the door at 8:00a.m. I agree I don't think I'll get rest till I know

• November 4, 2008

  12:41 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  leatherneck writes:

  PonchoVia writes:
  How could anyone go to sleep before we know the result of this baby?! This election is history in the making on so many levels. I hope we see a clear victory (maybe even landslide) early in the evening for Obama, but regardless of the outcome, I'm seeing it through to the end! No sleep until the decision is known

  Everyone that is normal will sleep just fine tonight.
  You're a far left waco and you have been for a long time and you need help.
  There is a disease for people like you.
  I just voted
  McCain / Palin 08

• November 4, 2008

  1:05 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  leatherneck writes:

  This is not going to be over tonight
  NO WAY
  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican John McCain's presidential campaign sued the Virginia election board Monday, claiming absentee ballots weren't mailed on time to military members serving overseas.

• November 4, 2008

  1:25 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  anderson writes:

  leatherneck, you diminish the Corps with your partisanship. Does referring to others you don't know as diseased, help grow you a pair?

• November 4, 2008

  1:26 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  chaka419 writes:

  I can sleep tonight, but, if I wake up and Obama has won and gets the Supermajority in the Senate, I will not be sleeping very well at all for the next 2-4 years.

  I voted today in Wheat Ridge. I was in line at 6:50am and there were about 20 in line. By the time I left at 7:30am there were people filing in.

  Get out and vote if you have not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• November 4, 2008

  1:29 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Heidi writes:

  leatherneck,

  Do you have any idea how many ballots were mailed out late? Add this to the many ways the government is letting our troops down!

• November 4, 2008

  1:30 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  kris writes:

  I was in line in Arvada at 6:30am. 55 minutes and I was done, BUT .... "I Voted" stickers were not given to us. Hmmmm

• November 4, 2008

  1:36 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  leatherneck writes:

  Heidi: No idea, just heard about this today.

• November 4, 2008

  1:38 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  BigSky182 writes:

  Be sure to notice that this:

  "RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican John McCain's presidential campaign sued the Virginia election board Monday, claiming absentee ballots weren't mailed on time to military members serving overseas."

  says the ballots were late being SENT TO soldiers and not RECEIVED FROM soldiers.

  McCain is asking that ballots sent out late be given extra time to ensure that each soldier gets a chance to vote.

• November 4, 2008

  1:40 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  anderson writes:

  Sounds pretty reasonable on its face.

• November 4, 2008

  1:42 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  leatherneck writes:

  Heidi: Our troops will see more cut backs then we ever did in the Clinton years if Obama wins. Lates poles on the Military was around 70/30 for McCain last I checked. It's no wonder why McCain is mad.

• November 4, 2008

  1:51 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  TimeLord writes:

  "It's no wonder why McCain is mad."

  He's mad because he's going to lose. His fault for picking a fundie moron running mate to pander to religious right trash. I didn't think much of him before then, but that certainly settled my mind.

• November 4, 2008

  1:58 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  leatherneck writes:

  TimeLord: So what you're saying is: If you were in the military and you found out your vote didn't count because the ballot was given to you late, won't be counted on time, you would be ok with it?
  Right?

• November 4, 2008

  2:06 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Heidi writes:

  leatherneck,

  The guard and reserve are going to be relied on more than ever in the coming years. The recruiters are going to have a hard time keeping the numbers even close to what they want. Employers are becoming less supportive because of the long tours and the financial burden it puts on them. They are not going to want to hire anyone who is a member of the guard or reserve.

• November 4, 2008

  2:36 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  leatherneck writes:

  Heidi: I agree with you but What is the solution or alternative? Our military will suffer greatly with Obama CnC

• November 4, 2008

  2:41 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Excalibur writes:

  From chaka419: I can sleep tonight, but, if I wake up and Obama has won and gets the Supermajority in the Senate, I will not be sleeping very well at all for the next 2-4 years.

  No sympathy here - I haven't slept well for the last 4 years watching Bush cremate our country, and he didn't even need both Houses in his corner.

• November 4, 2008

  2:43 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Heidi writes:

  leatherneck,

  It does look grim. I'm glad I got out a couple of years ago.

• November 4, 2008

  2:50 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  fishman writes:

  It's a crying shame that the left wing no good for nothing, do nothing politicians in this great land don't admire a great millitary.

  These are the same folks that run scared when faced with anything that presence a danger to them.

• November 4, 2008

  3:06 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  psu96 writes:

  fishman,
  do you have an original thought?

• November 4, 2008

  4:39 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  daddyblt writes:

  leatherneck writes:

  Everyone that is normal will sleep just fine tonight.
  You're a far left waco and you have been for a long time and you need help.
  There is a disease for people like you.
  I just voted
  McCain / Palin 08

  No, everyone who has not had to suffer under this current nightmare will sleep fine tonight...or maybe not because of the images that will haunt them of Obama as the new president! If you have been sleeping well it is because you are doing it at the expense of those suffering, who can barely afford a place to lay their heads down at night. Absolutely right, there is a disease for people like us...it's called OBAMAitis and I love it!

  Guess what, I voted too....OBAMA/BIDEN 08'

• November 4, 2008

  6:21 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Spencer writes:

  didn't have time to vote so I just carved a backwards "B" on my face

• November 4, 2008

  6:56 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  rowdy1 writes:

  thank god it's over. if you knew the amount of wasteful political ad spending just here in CO, you would vomit.

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