Daily Press Writer
OLATHE — Montrose County wants to understand the problems surrounding the 2006 election.
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The election last week was wrought with computer malfunctions, human error and incorrect information. This created anxiety among the public and an outcry for answers.
Commissioner Bill Patterson said the board began discussions about investigating the problems on Election Day. He said the county has spoken with political party officials and the city of Montrose, which both have raised concerns about the election.
“The city of Montrose appears to be satisfied with the direction we are headed,” Commissioner Allan Belt said.
The commissioners want a seven-member committee and a facilitator. They are seeking people with varied backgrounds, including technical, election and legal.
“We want a bipartisan committee,” Belt said. “One that is balanced with skills.”
The commissioners are asking for letters of interest until Dec. 1. The letter must state the person’s background and qualifications.
There is already interest in serving on the committee. Patterson said he has been contacted by nine people and believes many others are interested.
The commissioners said they want some hard questions asked of Hart InterCivic, the company that provided the new voting equipment.
The machines crashed several times during the election, and the commissioners feel the company did not provide enough technical support.
“We have a lot of questions for Hart,” Patterson said.
People who were closely associated with the election cannot serve on the committee.
“If nothing else, they need to be called as witnesses,” Patterson said.
The group will be independent of the county and elected officials. Belt said the board wants answers but does not want to cast blame on anyone.
“We are not going to push this committee in any direction,” Belt said.
The board will choose the committee members at its Dec. 4 meeting and hopes to have a report completed by the end of February.
“I would like to move forward quickly,” Commissioner Dave Ubell said.
Ubell said the entire election catastrophe was caused by a myriad of issues. He said the federal government mandating counties to purchase the new machines and the state’s delay in certifying the machines added to the problem.
Besides the committee, the county is also looking for the public’s input. Starting Thursday, the county clerk’s office will have a hotline. When people call the number, a person will log people’s concerns about the election into a database.
“That person is not there to answer questions,” Belt said.
The hotline number is 252-4527.
The county is hiring a temporary worker to handle the hotline, because it does not want to take staff time away. The clerk’s office is working to certify the election by Nov. 27.
Karen Connor, Montrose County Democratic Party co-chair, has been publicly critical of the election. She was pleased with how the county is addressing the election problems.
“I think the commissioners are acting in good faith,” Connor said after the meeting.
She said the timeline was a little longer than she expected but understood the controversy was complex.
“It’s a little long, but I understand the process takes time,” Connor said.
Contact James Shea via email at Jamess@montrosepress.com
Kaitlyn Heichel wrote on Nov 3, 2009 2:01 PM:
Sarah Bond wrote on Jul 13, 2009 5:31 PM: