Re: Callin Ladyfish
This is the hold up posted in our paper<br />Published May 17, 2004<br /><br />GALVESTON A malfunctioning vote counter and numerous faulty ballots delayed the tabulation of election results for more than 12 hours, poll workers say. <br /><br />A final count for city council and proposition votes was not certified until 10:15 a.m. Sunday morning. <br /><br />Barbara Lawrence, city secretary, said poll workers had to hand count ballots rejected by the ballot machine, which malfunctioned several times Saturday night and Sunday morning. <br /><br />A technician was called to correct the problems about 2 a.m. Sunday, but didnt arrive until 4 a.m., officials said.<br /><br />Despite earlier reports, poll workers said there was never any question about the accuracy of the machines count. <br /><br />Around 9 p.m. Saturday, mayoral candidate Johnny Smecca and Mayor Roger Bo Quiroga raised that issue with the first early vote count, saying it appeared to be off by 200 to 300 votes. <br /><br />Suzanne Peloquin, a poll watcher, said the count was accurate, but the machine rejected about 90 ballots that had to be hand counted. <br /><br />The machine continued rejecting ballots when boxes brought in from precincts were counted, she said. All those ballots had to be counted by hand, as well, she said. <br /><br />Many had been inaccurately filled out, Peloquin said. <br /><br />Some mail-in ballots were filled out in pen rather than pencil. Other ballots had vote choices circled rather than filled in. In some cases, voters had bubbled in the margins or marked along the scanner section of the ballot. <br /><br />Peloquin said poll workers tried to correct the errors and get the votes counted. <br /><br />Everything was done to make sure the voters wishes were honored, she said.<br /><br />Candidates and their supporters stayed at city hall until about 2 a.m. waiting for results. Many returned later in the morning, only to wait for hours more. <br /><br />About 300 ballots had to be hand counted by poll workers. <br /><br />Steve LeBlanc, city manager, said he planned to have the counting machine assessed. He said this and better voter education will help prevent a similar mishap from occurring in the future.
