Election uproar; County officials say there were plenty of red flags
By: JULIE DAFFERN, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
03/14/2006

A representative of Election Systems and Software was blasted Monday at Webb County Commissioners Court for errors in programming and inadequately training county staff.
The county paid almost $900,000 in federal grant money for the electronic machines, and officials fear that problems in the March 7 election could lead to more voter apathy and distrust.
"Someone needs to be held accountable," said Commissioner Jerry Garza. "We, here in Webb County, have an apathy problem. We stand to lose more voters and that certainly does not help the democratic process."
Garza added that he's heard talk that the City of Laredo and the Laredo Independent School District don't want the machines used in their elections.
More than 9,000 of the 33,640 votes cast during the primaries were cast electronically.
When Chris Moody, the Texas director for Election Systems and Software, came to the podium to offer an explanation, he simply stated that they had not expected to use flash cards to record the votes. The plan was to use the personal electronic ballots (PEBs) that they trained county officials to use.
A flash card is installed in each electronic machine, and records the votes cast. A PEB is a device that is used to read all the machines from a particular precinct. Due to a programming error, the PEBs could not be used and tabulators had to read each individual flash card, significantly delaying the vote tally.
After Moody's brief explanation Monday, dead silence ensued. Then Carlos Villarreal, county executive administrator, stormed to the podium and angrily told the court, "I think you need more explanation."
Garza responded that he remembered officials with the company coming to Webb County every two weeks to lobby the county to buy their equipment.
"Then we cut you an $800,000 check, and that's it," Garza said. "That's not acceptable.
"It's absurd. You promised us the world, and we got nothing."
Oscar Villarreal, elections administrator, later said county officials were trained how to use the machine three weeks ago, and were not trained to use flash cards because they were only to be used in emergencies.
There was a representative on site Election Day from Election Systems and Software, but Moody said that employee was not trained to use flash cards, either.
When asked what the company would do about the runoff, Moody said he, personally, would be in Laredo to assist with any technical problems.
Garza said county officials would file a complaint with the Texas Secretary of State and the Attorney General's office. Election Systems and Software, based out of Omaha, Neb., currently serves 144 counties in Texas.
Commissioner Judy Gutierrez asked, "Who is going to assure the electorate and the candidates that the totals are right?"
Moody responded that their equipment has been tested by experts and that, "There's no way to hack into it. It's completely flawless."
County Judge Louis Bruni, who along with Gutierrez did not garner enough votes to make the runoff race for county judge, said the elections administrator should have thoroughly checked out the company's history.
"I don't trust this election more than I can throw it," Bruni said.
Bruni quoted an article he found that states, "The California Secretary of State is deeply concerned about counties utilizing Election Systems and Software."
"Is this not a red flag?" Bruni asked.
The story he quoted was published by the San Francisco Chronicle in December 2005.
He later added, "You didn't check the equipment. I place the fault on you, Mr. Villarreal. Your office has more leaks than the Titanic. It's a sinking ship."
Villarreal said that all of the programming was done by the company, and added that problems on Election Day were not isolated to the new machines. Other problems included finding enough judges for each of the precincts and candidates violating campaigning laws.
"I don't think we've ever held an election where there were no problems," Villarreal said.
Carlos Villarreal said the blame was 90 percent on Election Systems and Software, and 10 percent on county employees because of their complacency.
Garza said problems with Election Systems and Software extended beyond Election Day. County officials did not receive the proper coding for electronic ballots until three days after the early voting period began. This was after the county had been sent the coding for McMullen County ballots.
"That should have been a warning sign, a red flag for us for Election Day," Garza said.
Gutierrez said she was concerned that right after voting was over, she was handed a list of results for one precinct. She also stated that people were alone with the ballot boxes.
Oscar Villarreal said that printers were removed from the site, so the results at each precinct could not be leaked.
"You (Villarreal) may not know about it, but those things did happen," Gutierrez said. "I don't feel comfortable at this particular time. It doesn't do anything for our confidence.
"The people that voted out there said, 'I don't trust it,' and that's a great concern," she added. "It's a great debacle and very embarrassing for Webb County."
Bruni added that his lawyers would be involved.
"I have no confidence in your (Villarreal's) office and I have no confidence in your (Moody's) machines," Bruni said. "You've disgraced this county."
When Bruni questioned County Attorney Homero Ramirez about the county's options to rectify the situation, Ramirez said there were many, but he could not discuss all of them in open court and officials were still gathering information.
Bruni then said he was not OK with just a slap on the wrists.
Ramirez said he, too, was concerned.
"I take my right to vote very seriously," Ramirez said. "I am not happy and I will not be happy until the situation is resolved."
He added that the right to vote equalizes American citizens and gives everyone the same power.
For his part, Garza said the court should also consider that the results of the election could be correct and that he will vote electronically again.
"I hope the community does not lose faith in the electronic machines," Garza said.
The court took no action on the matter, but a follow-up is planned once all the information is gathered.