'Vote centers' could be future of elections
    
Katharhynn Heidelberg    Montrose Press    27 May 2005

MONTROSE - Cross-town drives, precinct confusion and a longer turnaround time for counting votes could be a thing of the past if Montrose County decides to utilize "vote centers," officials and members of the public were told Thursday afternoon.

Vote centers, or "super precincts" are polling locations where any elector who's registered in a particular county can vote, regardless of where his or her home precinct is.

Montrose County, which by federal mandate must replace its current punch-card voting machines, is also considering using vote centers. A blue-ribbon committee was recently formed to consider the feasibility of vote centers and Thursday, it heard how such centers have worked in Larimer County.

Jan Kuhnen, chief deputy and director of elections there, said Larimer County had gone from 143 precincts to 13 voting centers and, among active voters, saw a 94.6 percent turnout in the 2004 general election.

"Can we say it's because of voting centers? No. But can I say I think they had a lot to do with it? Absolutely," Kuhnen said.

Montrose County elections supervisor Debbie Rudy later said that locally, 92 percent of active voters had turned out for the 2004 elections.

Larimer County heeded the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and Americans with Disabilities Act to make its centers equally accessible to all voters.

It also specialized the duties of its judges - some greeted voters and checked ID and signature cards to be sure voters received the ballot appropriate for their precinct; others managed an electronic poll book that checked IDs against the poll book; another group operated a "change station" for changes of address, while more judges manned the provisional ballot station (for voters without ID or not appearing in the poll book) and the ballot stations.

The result, Kuhnen said, were fewer judging errors, fewer judges needed and less stress on those serving in that capacity.

She told an unidentified questioner that she did not have statistics, just fewer reported incidents.

"One of the reasons the vote center came about was in the 2002 election, we had judges come back in after having been at the polling location all day," she explained. "We had one older lady (a judge) just sitting there crying" from the stress. Two other judges were found collapsed on benches, sleeping from exhaustion.

"I looked at them and thought: 'This has got to change. We can't keep pushing people this hard."

But, she told Commissioner Allan Belt, the older election judges hadn't felt slighted, nor were they confused by the changes. "They took to it like ducks to water," Kuhnen said.

The vote center system also allowed for better management control in keeping track of ballots, how many people have voted and for reports to be made every two hours. Results (uncertified) came quickly too - within an hour of polls closing.

"One thing we found was that voters absolutely loved the convenience," she said.

With that very convenience in mind, Kuhnen recommended voting centers be interspersed throughout the county, rather than concentrated in one area, which would defeat the purpose. She also said centers should be designed for efficient traffic flow, and to pull as many voters as possible into the building.

"I don't want anybody to drive by and think 'I can't vote because the line is too long," she said.

County technical employees wanted to know how the West End and small precincts, such as Maher, could be equipped with vote centers. Larimer County spent approximately $1,100 per phone line for some of its centers, though Kuhnen cautioned the figure was not exact and might be different for Montrose.

Maher, which as Rudy pointed out sometimes doesn't even have electricity, could be dealt with by making it a mail-only precinct - a cost effective, if likely unpopular option, she said.

Potential fraud was another concern raised, and with it came the surprising news that younger voters, rather than "traditionally minded" ones tended to worry more about it. Kuhnen said state law required testing of any electronic voting machines and for results of those tests to be made public.

In her county, only 14 people allegedly attempted voter fraud (eight were ineligible felons). They were caught and referred for prosecution.

Montrose County, if it decides to make the switch to the "super precinct," should also develop specific, written contingency plans, Kuhnen advised.

Additionally, it should work to educate the general public about the role of vote centers.

"You've got flexibility you don't have with precincts. ?You're never in the wrong precinct in a vote center."