News Release No. 2006-10
November 3, 2006
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According to Auditor Si Stephens, the lawsuit will not affect the manner in which ballots are counted for the 2006 General Election, which concludes on November 7, 2006. "The ballots were sent out three weeks ago, and people have been voting with confidence," said Auditor Si Stephens. San Juan County officials say that ballot tracker protects voter secrecy and that the concerns raised are only hypothetical because the ballot tracker does not tabulate votes. "The bar code is just like the bar code on the outside of a UPS package. It tells you where the ballot is without telling you how the person voted," added Mr. Stephens. "The ballot tracker system is now in use in 30 counties statewide," said Mr. Stephens. This system was inspected and has the support of the Secretary of State, a bi-partisan panel of citizens and others watching the election process," said Mr. Stephens. "This system protects the secrecy of the voter. Ballots are counted in batches. The encryption is safer than the paper system. No person can read a ballot or search a database to determine how a specific voter casts a ballot," said Prosecutor Randall K. Gaylord. According to Plaintiffs Mr. White and Mr. Rosato, the bar code used by ballot tracker is a "distinguishing mark" which fails to protect "absolute secrecy of the ballot." But, Mr. Gaylord said that the section of the state code relied upon by White and Rosato provides specifically for the numbering of ballots and the removal of the numbers. "This is exactly what ballot tracker does. Voter identification information and ballot barcodes are permanently separated and randomized. This meets the letter and spirit of the law when it is read in its entirety," said Gaylord. Voters and election leaders have shown a preference for mail-in ballots. That form of balloting requires additional safeguards to assure the ability to track ballots for the final tally. The public has demanded that election officials have tools to account for every ballot and every envelope and reconciling them with the votes cast. |