Home

Election 2006

More Election 2006 stories

Steamboat Springs — Laura Hetrick earned her "I Voted" sticker.

Hetrick spent nearly two hours in line Tuesday, waiting to vote in a midterm election that not only involved a lengthy ballot with numerous local and statewide races, but also was the biggest test yet for the Routt County's new electronic voting system. A limited number of voting machines and several computer malfunctions, combined with what Routt County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland called a "phenomenal turnout" of voters, created huge lines and waits of up to four hours for thousands of voters at centers across Steamboat Springs.

Worse, many voters simply gave up and left.

"This was ridiculous. It was absolutely ridiculous," Hetrick said Tuesday night. "I have never waited more than 15 minutes to vote. Ever."

Routt County voters experienced a scaled-down version of delays and computer problems that overwhelmed Denver's 55 voting centers, causing massive lines and delays in the metro area.

In Steamboat, some voters decided the delay was not worth casting a ballot. Standing outside the Routt County Courthouse Annex, where the line at 6 p.m. snaked up a flight of stairs and around several hallways, Democratic poll watcher Mark Fischer said 32 people within a half-hour period told him they were leaving without voting. At the Steamboat Pilot & Today, also a voting center, more than 50 people had left by noon.

Numerous people leaving polls at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, Yampa Valley Medical Center and Pilot & Today building said voting took from two to four hours.

Election officials shut down one of the four voting machines at the Pilot & Today at about 2:30 in the afternoon, election judge Jo Stanko said. By 6 p.m., officials shut down a second machine at the center. Shortly after 7 p.m., as 150 people waited in line, a technician from Hart InterCivic had all four machines running and recording ballots.

At the Fairfield Inn & Suites, Peggi Murphy of the county clerk and recorder's office said one machine took "an hour and a half to get up and running" after polls opened at 7 a.m. Murphy also cited two minor problems during the day, involving paper used in the machines.

At the medical center, poll watcher Joanne Tucker of the Routt County Democrats said two of the machines took 47 minutes to begin working, but "everything was up and smooth since 8 a.m."

Election judge Shauna Lamansky said the six machines at the courthouse annex worked fine throughout the day, except for one which took "three tries to boot up" in the morning.

Despite the mechanical delays and long lines, the majority of voters in Routt County stuck it out in order to vote.

"I've voted in every election since 1972 - I'm not going to miss one now," said county resident Jeff Droeger, who left the Fairfield Inn to vote in Oak Creek.

Many people drove across Routt County in hopes of shorter lines.

"We figured we would rather drive for an hour than stand in line for two," said Steamboat resident Susie Bird, who drove to Hayden with two co-workers.

Hayden election official Jeanne Wixson said she saw voters from all over the county. At Oak Creek Town Hall, Deputy Clerk Kim Bonner said many Steamboat voters made the drive.

Weinland said the county will need to add more machines next year to trim wait times. This year, 35 voting machines were used in Routt County, with 16 machines supplied for Steamboat's four vote centers.

"Obviously we need to add some more machines. We're learning and we're working on it," Weinland said.