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Missing Denver ballots head to voters’ mailboxes

Thousands now on their way after vendor's mistake

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated October 28, 2008 at 11:21 a.m.

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Letter carrier Ya Lin delivers a new batch of mail-in ballots in Denver on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. The election ballots were never delivered to the post office, and so were never mailed out to registered voters. They are being delivered Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky

Letter carrier Ya Lin delivers a new batch of mail-in ballots in Denver on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. The election ballots were never delivered to the post office, and so were never mailed out to registered voters. They are being delivered Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

A letter carrier delivers a new batch of mail-in ballots in Denver on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. The election ballots were never delivered to the post office, and so were never mailed out to registered voters. They are being delivered Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky

A letter carrier delivers a new batch of mail-in ballots in Denver on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. The election ballots were never delivered to the post office, and so were never mailed out to registered voters. They are being delivered Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

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The vendor for Denver Elections failed to print and ship more than 18,000 mail ballots - 7,000 more than originally thought - but the post office says all of them will be delivered to voters by Wednesday.

The mistake was discovered over the weekend after a local Postal Service official said Sequoia Voting Systems delivered slightly more than 10,000 ballots on Oct. 16 from its Porterville, Calif., printing plant.

It was initally thought that the order was about 11,000 ballots short - a problem that came to light after numerous complaints from voters who said they hadn't received their ballots.

A review of all ballot orders revealed the actual number of missing mail ballots is 18,055, said Denver Elections Director Michael Scarpello.

Sequoia printed them over the weekend and dropped them off Monday morning at the Denver mail processing facility.

U.S. Postal Service spokesman Al DeSarro said at least 90 percent of those ballots will be delivered to homes today, and the rest will reach mailboxes Wednesday.

Michelle Shafer, Sequoia spokeswoman, said the mistake was "completely Sequoia's fault."

"There was a technical problem with the data file we used to prepare this batch of ballots for mailing that caused us to make this very unfortunate mistake."

Troubled history

Sequoia has had a troubled history with elections in Denver.

In 2006, the company miscalculated return postage for thousands of mail ballots, understating the required postage by 24 cents. The company also transposed a "yes" and "no" answer for a question on thousands of ballots.

Sequoia's untested electronic pollbook also crashed on Election Day that year, causing lines that lasted several hours. Up to 20,000 voters left polling places without casting a ballot. Denver scrapped the system after that election.

Shafer said her company is not focused on past problems.

"We are concerned about resolving this specific issue for Denver and working with them in preparation for Nov. 4, as well as making sure this situation never occurs again anywhere," she said.

Denver Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O'Malley said her office had "firm conversations" with Sequoia about the missing ballots and she will reconsider after the election whether to continue working with the company. Denver also may charge Sequoia for the cost of issuing replacement ballots to voters affected by the mistake.

Sending out daily

Denver Councilman-at-large Doug Linkhart said he's been frustrated with Sequoia's performance and voted against renewing the company's contract last summer.

"We've given them millions of dollars and it just doesn't seem like we're getting our money's worth," Linkhart said.

Sequoia has printed and shipped to the Postal Service more than 190,000 mail ballots for Denver in the past month. Denver Elections workers are now sending out mail ballots daily from their headquarters to accommodate new requests.

Voters who already have obtained a replacement ballot should discard the ballot that comes in the mail this week, elections officials said. Once a replacement ballot has been issued, or if someone voted a provisional ballot at the polls, any other ballot will be invalidated.

Roughly 1.6 million Colorado voters have requested a mail ballot for this election. Today is the deadline for requesting a mail ballot. Early voting at polling places continues until Friday.

Frequently asked questions

Is it too late to get a mail ballot?

Almost. Today is the deadline for requesting a ballot to be sent to you. Friday is the deadline to get a mail ballot in person. Election officials are encouraging voters who haven't asked for a mail ballot and want to vote early to go to an early voting site.

What is early voting?

Early voting has been going on at designated polling sites since last week. Polls will be open until Friday evening. Contact your county clerk's office for hours and locations.

I requested a mail ballot but haven't received it. What should I do?

Check your voter file at govotecolorado.com by clicking on "Verify your voter registration information," or call 303-894- 2200 or your county clerk.

When should I stop waiting for my mail ballot?

If you requested a mail ballot before last week and still haven't received it, go to your county election headquarters and request a replacement ballot. If you applied for a mail ballot within the last week, wait until Wednesday before requesting a replacement.

I hadn't received my ballot, so I got a replacement ballot or voted at an early voting site. What should I do if I get another ballot in the mail?

If you've already voted, destroy the second ballot.

If I get two ballots, can I vote twice?

No. The voter registration database keeps track of ballots that are issued to or cast by voters. Any additional ballots will be invalidated by the computer system.

May I drop off my mail ballot at early voting sites?

In many cases, you may do this. Check with your county clerk's office.

Do I have to pay the postage?

Yes. In Denver, it's $1.17.

I'm worried my mail ballot won't get there in time. What should I do?

Election officials want voters to send back or drop off their mail ballots early this week. But be sure your ballot is mailed at least by Friday. After that, drop off ballots at elections offices. Mail ballots will not be accepted after 7 p.m. on Election Day.

I requested a mail ballot, but can I change my mind and vote at the polls?

Yes, but you can only cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots require additional ID to be accepted and won't be added to the count until after Election Day.

Comments

  • October 28, 2008

    3:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GladysKravitz writes:

    Question?: How would you feel if Colorado went with a 100% mail-in ballot system like the state of Oregon. With accomodations made for those who require assistance at a polling place in accoirdance with Federal law.

    By going to 100% mail-in, the election commission would already know in advance how may ballots are needed. With additional over-runs, for spolied ballot replacement new voters etc. It would avoid all the delays that have occured with mailing ballots to voters.

  • October 28, 2008

    3:26 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    frontpage writes:

    Funny, how Sequoia trots out a "Ms. Shafer" to take the hit. where is their CEO or general manager? thats the name the RMNews needs to publish.
    I remember after the 2006 elections that these guys where proven to be just idiots who were given a blank check by the election boards.
    Betcha Ms.Shafer is a 20 or 30-something white chick with admirable charm and physic, and there ain't no reporter gonna come down hard on her.

  • October 28, 2008

    3:33 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    amaikovich writes:

    And where is Mike Coffman during this? Sorry, he's too busy trying to keep people who want to vote off the rolls.

    Reason #1 to vote Mr. Coffman to the US House of Representatives is we can get him out of the Secretary of State's office.

  • October 28, 2008

    5:17 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    dmp2420 writes:

    If the Denver City Council, the Mayor, and the Denver Elections people EVER award another contract to Sequoia Systems, they should ALL be voted out of office.

    They screwed things up in 2006 big time and I waited in line almost three hours. So this time I asked for a mail in ballot and guess what? My ballot is one of those missing that was supposed to have been mailed October 15. MAYBE it will be there today?

    Can these people organize a two car funeral procession?

  • October 28, 2008

    11:21 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    tommytoons writes:

    The CEO of Sequoia is Jack Blaine, a very loyal Republican, his company not only screwed up the voting here in Denver back in 2006 with faulty machines, his company also was very famous for their invaluable "mistakes" in 2000 in the state of Florida during that General Election. Mike Coffman, Our Republican, Sec. of State, signed the Contract with Sequoia to help with the mail-in Ballots to Denver Residences as a vendor for the Denver Election Commission.. A little research and investigation might be in order for this "error" given the fact that over 18,000 votes were delayed, I've still not gotten mine, and Colorado is a battleground state for this election between McCain and Obama, this delay might be a not so subtle way to cause folks to loose their right to vote, without really appearing to loose that right! Too suspect for me to call it an error!!!!