Colorado media reporting on voting machine decertification omitted genesis of problem with former GOP Secretary of State Dennis

Summary: In reporting on Secretary of State Mike Coffman's (R) announcement that his office decertified many of the electronic voting machines set to be used in the 2008 election in counties across the state, numerous Colorado media outlets failed to mention that a Denver District Court judge in 2006 ordered the machines to be retested because former Republican Secretary of State Gigi Dennis' office failed to properly certify their security.

Several Colorado media reports about Secretary of State Mike Coffman's (R) December 17 announcement that his office would ban for the 2008 presidential election numerous electronic voting machines used in counties across Colorado mentioned a 2006 Denver District Court judge's ruling requiring the secretary of state's office to "retest previously certified systems" using "revised security standards" before the 2008 elections. None of these reports, however, mentioned that the ruling resulted from the failure of former Republican Secretary of State Gigi Dennis' office to properly certify the security of the machines used during the November 2006 election.

• The Denver Post reported on December 18 that "Monday's action by Coffman came in response to a federal judge's ruling in September that found the state process for certifying voting machines inadequate and ordered recertification."
• The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction reported on December 17 that "a 2006 ruling by a state judge [determined] that the certification process used by the Secretary of State's Office was inadequate and that voting equipment had to be retested before the 2008 primary election. Under state law, all electronic voting equipment purchased after May 2004 has to be tested and certified by Coffman's office."
• KMGH 7News at 10 p.m. anchor Theresa Marchetta reported on December 17, "Last year a district court judge ruled the certification process used by the secretary of state was inadequate and ordered electronic voting equipment be retested before the 2008 primary election."
• KCNC CBS4 anchor Molly Hughes stated on the December 17 broadcast of CBS4 News at 10 p.m. that "[t]esting by Secretary of State Mike Coffman found many machines are unreliable and not secure. Those tests were conducted after a lawsuit questioned the reliability of the electronic voting machines."
• KWGN CW2 reporter Laurie Cipriano noted on the December 17 News2 at Nine broadcast that "Mike Coffman says he's decertifying some of the voting machines after a lawsuit was filed challenging the methods in which the machines were tested."
• KUSA 9News anchor Bob Kendrick noted in the December 17 9News at 10 p.m. report: "Mike Coffman decided to take a closer look at the electronic voting machines because of a lawsuit, you may remember, that tried to get them banned from the November 2006 election. The judge in that case allowed the machines to be used but called the state's certification process sloppy."

While each of the news reports mentioned the 2006 lawsuit, none reported that "Dennis was sued by a group of 13 residents who alleged that the testing process was flawed and failed to prove that the electronic voting equipment was secure and accurate," as the Rocky Mountain News noted on August 30.

The Post reported on September 23, 2006, that in his ruling, Judge Lawrence Manzanares found that "Dennis' office never created minimum security standards for the machines -- as required by state law." The Post further reported Manzanares' finding that under former Gov. Bill Owens' (R) administration, "the state did an 'abysmal' job of documenting testing during the certification process."

From the article "Voting gear out for count," published in the December 18 edition of The Denver Post:

Colorado's looming primary and presidential elections were thrown into turmoil Monday when many of the state's electronic voting machines were deemed unreliable and unsecure by Secretary of State Mike Coffman.

It's not yet clear if the move means counties will need to purchase new equipment or if they can work with machine-makers and the secretary of state to reassure voters and the state that the equipment works.

It is clear that Coffman's decision to "decertify" machines made by three of four manufacturers -- Sequoia Voting System, Hart InterCivic and Election Systems and Software, or ES&S -- will have far-reaching impact, Coffman and others said.

The decision affects voting systems in 53 counties across the state, including four of the largest: Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Boulder.

[...]

Monday's action by Coffman came in response to a federal judge's ruling in September that found the state process for certifying voting machines inadequate and ordered recertification.

From the article "State decertifies voting machines," published December 17 in The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction:

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office on Monday decertified voting equipment used in several Western Slope counties, sparking angry responses from county officials who have committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to new equipment.

[...]

Coffman's actions irritated Mesa County officials for a few reasons. The ES&S machines used by Mesa County have not had any election troubles. Also, the county just entered into a three-year, $659,000 lease-purchase agreement for 130 ES&S machines to serve an anticipated 94,000 voters -- a record number for Mesa County -- in 2008.

[Mesa County Clerk Janice] Rich also estimated that in Jefferson and Mesa counties, the two counties in the state that use ES&S machines, there will be a half-million voters heading to the polls in 2008.

Coffman will meet in Denver today with county clerks, vendors of the machines and legislators in an attempt to resolve the issue, said Richard Coolidge, spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

"We are between a state statute and a (2006) court case," Coolidge said, referring to a 2006 ruling by a state judge that the certification process used by the Secretary of State's Office was inadequate and that voting equipment had to be retested before the 2008 primary election. Under state law, all electronic voting equipment purchased after May 2004 has to be tested and certified by Coffman's office.

"The secretary of state is following state law in testing the machines and following the court order."

From the December 17 broadcast of KMGH's 7News at 10 p.m.:

MARCHETTA: Colorado's electronic voting system needs some serious help.

MIKE LANDESS (anchor): It's a shocker: Three out of every four electronic voting machines set to be used in next year's presidential election have failed to meet compliance rules. A court-ordered test of equipment across the state shows the equipment used in 50 of Colorado's 64 counties fails at least some portion of the test. That's raising questions of accuracy, fraud, and whether every vote will be counted.

MARCHETTA: 7News reporter Lane Lyon is live at the state Capitol. Lane, in a matter of hours, state lawmakers will consider some options.

LYON: Right. First think in the morning, Theresa, legislators will sit down and start to sift through the secretary of state's finding. As you mentioned, this is raising all sorts of questions, like the accuracy of past elections and what to do about upcoming elections with time running out.

[begin video clip]

COFFMAN: You know, there are some issues here that need to be addressed.

LYON: Issues popped up in three out of four vendors that supply voting machines in Colorado.

COFFMAN: No matter how small, the fact is there is a problem with these machines.

LYON: Problems range from security risk factors in some equipment to scanning devices that could not accurately count ballots. Other machines could be disabled by voters.

COFFMAN: If you in fact put a magnet in close proximity or inside the port, it would in fact disable that particular voting machine.

LYON: County clerks from across the state met behind closed doors in Castle Rock to mull over the findings and consider what could happen if millions of dollars of voting equipment can't be used going into a presidential election year.

STEPHANIE O'MALLEY (Denver clerk and recorder): All the clerks across the 64 counties are very concerned about the fiscal impacts that --

LYON: Stephanie O'Malley says the report is part of a larger equation that includes regaining the confidence of Denver voters, who dealt with long lines and headaches in the past.

O'MALLEY: We'll have an election. Now, what it looks like, I couldn't tell you at this very moment.

[end video clip]

LYON: Now, county clerk and recorders from across the state as well as vendors with now decertified equipment have 30 days to either appeal the findings or the standards used to test the equipment. Electronic voting has had its share of critics from the beginning, leaving some to wonder if we'll see more mail-in ballots in '08. We'll just have to wait and see. Live at the state Capitol, Lane Lyon, 7News.

MARCHETTA: Thank you, Lane. Last year a district court judge ruled the certification process used by the secretary of state was inadequate and ordered electronic voting equipment be retested before the 2008 primary election.

From the December 17 broadcast of KCNC's CBS4 News at 10 p.m.:

HUGHES: Voters in the next presidential election will not be able to use some of the current electronic voting machines in several Colorado communities, including the city of Denver and Jefferson County. Testing by Secretary of State Mike Coffman found many machines are unreliable and not secure. Those tests were conducted after a lawsuit questioned the reliability of the electronic voting machines. Denver City Council discussed those findings at tonight's meeting.

MICHAEL HANCOCK (Denver City Council president) [video clip]: Some of our machines are decertified, are not going to be certifiable for the election '08, and that could mean millions of dollars to the city of Denver. We have spent a lot of money on these machines.

HUGHES: State lawmakers will meet tomorrow to discuss what needs to be done between now and next November's election.

From the December 17 broadcast of KWGN CW2's News2 at Nine:

VIDA URBONAS (anchor): Big concerns tonight for Colorado's electronic voting machines. Tonight, the state says it has no faith in them. We are less than a year away from the presidential election. Good evening, I'm Vida Urbonas.

ERNIE BJORKMAN (anchor): And I'm Ernie Bjorkman. Tonight, word that some of Colorado's electronic voting machines have flaws that could undermine the integrity of the upcoming election. It's our top story tonight and News2's Laurie Cipriano is live with more on the actions taken today by the secretary of state. Laurie.

CIPRIANO: Well, Ernie, many of Colorado's electronic voting machines have been decertified, and that's because today it was determined that they may not be accurate or secure.

[begin video clip]

CIPRIANO: New touch-screen voting machines were used in Colorado elections last year, but as you may remember, it didn't go as smoothly as planned. Today, Secretary of State Mike Coffman says he's decertifying some of the voting machines after a lawsuit was filed challenging the methods in which the machines were tested.

COFFMAN: It was determined by the court through litigation last time, in 2006, that the state did not do an adequate job of the testing process.

CIPRIANO: Since the machines may have been inadequately tested, there is the possibility of accuracy and security problems, including that some systems were not password protected, some could not accurately count ballots, and others lacked an audit trail to detect security violations.

COFFMAN: And so it was ordered to do it again.

CIPRIANO: Of the four manufacturers that make voting equipment, only one company, Premier, had all their equipment pass for recertification. The other three had equipment that failed the testing process.

COFFMAN: You know, at some level, it affects most of Colorado.

CIPRIANO: Seventy-five percent of jurisdictions. But Coffman says these problems had little to do with last year's problems.

COFFMAN: I think the main problems last year were really mismanagement of the election that caused incredibly long lines, and disenfranchised some voters.

CIPRIANO: But for now there's work to be done to be sure that anyone who is registered to vote in next year's presidential election gets a ballot and their vote is counted accurately.

COFFMAN: In the long term, I think the outlook's a lot better, because I think the voters of Colorado can be assured that the equipment that they vote on is not only secure, but it's going to accurately count every vote that is cast.

[end video clip]

CIPRIANO: Tomorrow, Coffman will explain some of the solutions to the problems. And then on Wednesday and Thursday, he'll meet with the companies that make the voting machines as well as county clerks from throughout Colorado; he'll have a more detailed explanation for them. Reporting live in Denver, Laurie Cipriano, News2.

From the December 17 broadcast of KUSA's 9News at 10 p.m.:

O'MALLEY [video clip]: We'll have an election. Now, what it looks like, I couldn't tell you at this very moment.

MARK KOEBRICH (anchor): County clerks coming to grips with a huge pre-election-year headache after Colorado's top election official decertifies thousands of the state's electronic voting machines. And good evening everyone, I'm Mark Koebrich in tonight for Adele.

KENDRICK: I'm Bob Kendrick. Nice to have you here. Some machines gave out incorrect results, others were easy to disrupt. And the machines that cost tax payers millions of dollars now are about as effective as paper weights. Seventy-five percent of the state is impacted. Large counties like Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Pueblo, and Mesa -- highlighted in pink -- use these machines and now have to figure out what's next. 9News reporter Chris Vanderveen is at the state Capitol tonight. Lawmakers are going to meet with election officials tomorrow, Chris, and there are a lot of questions to be asked.

VANDERVEEN: Bob, that's because many election officials around the state in the individual counties really don't know what their elections are going to look like come 2008 here. Being this late in 2007, they really don't like being put in that position. In the end, however, their decision was in essence made for them, because the secretary of state today said a lot of their e-voting equipment's not reliable enough.

[begin video clip]

VANDERVEEN: Remember this? How could you forget those hanging chads and countless recounts? The year 2000 told lawmakers we need to change the way we vote. And now this.

COFFMAN: My job as the secretary of state is to follow the law.

VANDERVEEN: The state, through Mike Coffman, ...

COFFMAN: You know, there are some issues here that need to be addressed.

VANDERVEEN: ... has decided many of those machines Coloradans decided to use to change the way we vote were not secure and prone to making mistakes.

COFFMAN: The fact is, there is a problem with these machines.

VANDERVEEN: Those machines were not cheap. Jefferson County spent $9.2 million on equipment it potentially can no longer use. Douglas County spent nearly 2 million. Arapahoe and Denver counties each spent about 1.3 million.

O'MALLEY: There's going to be an election both in August of '08 and November of '08, and so we're going to have to move very swiftly and very quickly.

VANDERVEEN: Denver's clerk and recorder, Stephanie O'Malley, is hardly the only clerk and recorder trying to figure out what to do next.

O'MALLEY: This report is 179 pages long; it's very technical in nature. There's a lot of specifics that we have to pay attention to.

VANDERVEEN: Three out of the four companies that have made equipment for the state's elections have problems with their machines, according to the review. And three out of every four counties in the state will feel this.

AL KOLWICZ (Colorado Voter Group): Nobody knows what we're going to do in 2008.

VANDERVEEN: Election reform advocates like Al Kolwicz, who never really warmed to e-voting in the first place, say they hardly feel vindicated.

KOLWICZ: The people that are accountable for it, unfortunately, some of them are involved in the current recertification. Who's going to pay for it? Not them.

VANDERVEEN: Regardless, seven years after that unforgettable election of 2000, many people are wondering if a change in the way we vote was really a change for the better.

[end video clip]

VANDERVEEN: It should be noted that the federal government -- not the individual counties -- paid for most, if not all, of the voting equipment in each of those individual counties. Now the counties and the manufacturers of that voting equipment have 30 days to appeal to the state if they want this decision reversed. Bob.

KENDRICK: All right Chris, thank you. And Mike Coffman decided to take a closer look at the electronic voting machines because of a lawsuit, you may remember, that tried to get them banned from the November 2006 election. The judge in that case allowed the machines to be used but called the state's certification process sloppy.

—T.S.P.