Inland voters could find themselves casting ballots under the watchful eyes of election monitors March 2 as part of Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's efforts to protect the integrity of touch-screen voting.
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Registrars from throughout the state, including Riverside and San Bernardino counties, fired off an angry response to Shelley this week. The elections officials called the use of monitors and other procedures intrusive, costly and, in some cases, nearly impossible. It remained unclear Thursday whether any orders would be rescinded.
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Shelley wants records of the ballots recorded on paper, which registrars said could be very expensive. He also wants several touch-screen machines handed to the state for experts to test the day of the election. Registrars said this was outside Shelley's authority and violated a law requiring that equipment examinations be conducted at least six months before a statewide election.
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The directives could erode voter confidence, especially because the state monitors could interfere with the system and would not be accountable to county officials, said Scott Konopasek, San Bernardino County registrar.
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Reach Michelle DeArmond at (909) 368-9441 or mdearmond@pe.com.
Online at:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_vote13.57d60.html