Election Day Puts New Voting System To The Test
DENVER (CBS4)- Voters across Colorado will experience the new voting system that is designed to be easier to cast ballots.
Secretary of State Wayne Williams discussed the new system on CBS4 News at Noon on Election Day.
"There's a number of advantages. The old system that we used in Colorado actually predate the iPhone and so the new systems are easier for people to use. They are easier, particularly for people with disabilities. They also have a specific paper record that is created and so you go in to the many different counties that are trying these out and you'll vote on what looks like an iPad, that's actually a ballot-marking device, that then prints a paper ballot out. So you can verify that the machine actually is recording your vote as you intended it to be recorded and then you turn that in and we're able to process it. It's a great opportunity to try different systems and rather than just buying them, we're trying a new kind of common sense approach of try before you buy."
Williams also talked about the need to have a uniform voting system across the state.
"In the large urban counties you've got great staffs and they're really deep in terms of the number of people who understand elections. In some of our more rural counties, you only have one or two people in the clerk's office who really understand the elections process. If they both leave at the same time they then are in a situation where other people may need to help. Colorado has had that happen with one of our counties, it happened twice in five years, and that county happens to have a completely unique voting system that no one else has. And so it makes it hard to provide that support. By moving to a more uniform system we're able to get better results across the state in terms of training, in terms of other counties assisting where there is a need and in keeping the costs low for taxpayers."
He also talked about the importance of dropping off mail-in ballots at a drop-off site because it's too late to mail it, "Turn in your mail ballot, do not put it in the mail today, it's too late to mail it because it won't get there by 7 o'clock tonight."
