Chicago: New machines, new complaints

December 11, 2006
By Scott Fornek and Steve Patterson Special to the Daily Southtown
For original article

New machines designed to make voting easier became the main source of complaints received by Cook County officials on Election Day.

Voters and election judges logged almost 1,500 complaints about problems with the computerized touch-screen machines Nov. 7, documents provided by Cook County Clerk David Orr's office show.

Most of the gripes were for frustrating, yet common, computer problems -- screens freezing, printers not working, paper jamming and machines suddenly losing power.

Nearly two dozen voters complained that the machines were changing their votes, indicating a vote for the opponent, changing all of their selections to the opposite party or otherwise altering choices.

"If you weren't observant, it had you voting for totally the opposite person than you wanted," said Dennis Semro, of Elk Grove Village.

Officials say some of the problems occurred because machines needed to be calibrated, but they also point to the possibility of human error, such as a finger accidentally brushing a button.

A vote for Stroger, like it or not?

Many voters said they thought machines were rigged to pick Democrat Todd Stroger for Cook County Board president, asserting their votes for Republican Tony Peraica showed up as Stroger votes until they, or an election judge, were able to fix them.

"Voted for Peraica but 'x' kept appearing on Stroger box," a Niles Township complaint read. "Voter claims [touch screens] are fixed to pick Stroger."

Orr emphasizes there was no such nefarious plot, but he's aware of some shaken voter confidence in the machines. Almost half of all voters used touch-screen machines, and those voting early reported 98 percent satisfaction with them, Orr's office said.

"This is an indication that people felt comfortable using them to vote," Orr said.
Although more than 680,000 people voted in suburban Cook County, Orr's office received just 3,650 calls, questions and complaints on Election Day -- representing about 0.5 percent of all voters.

But the election was marred by slow results that led to a chaotic showdown at Orr's office between Stroger and Peraica supporters, followed by claims of chicanery. Orr said the slow returns marked his greatest frustration, and the cause is being studied by an independent panel expected to produce an answer this month.

Records show voter complaints and questions were scattered across the county, as were complaints from 110 election judges who had trouble transmitting results.

County records show Orr and his staff expressed some frustration to Sequoia Voting Systems officials about problems, but Sequoia responded that it had more staffers in Chicago on Nov. 7 than anywhere else.

Human vs. machine error

Sequoia spokesman Christopher Lackner said while they're working with Orr's office, the total number of complaints is not that bad.

"We're looking into ways to remedy situations where we don't know if it was human or machine error," Lackner said.

Chicago Sun-Times