ES&S Automark Adds 4,875 Phantom Votes in South Dakota Election

Source: Wired magazine
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/voting-machine-adds-nearly-5000... [3]

South Dakota

Voting System Adds Nearly 5,000 Ballots to Tally

By Kim Zetter June 5, 2009

A software glitch in an optical-scan voting system added nearly 5,000 ballots to the tally of a South Dakota election this week. The error was discovered only after the election results were called, according to the Rapid City Journal.

The problem occurred when officials combined tallies from optical-scan machines in three precincts in Rapid City in Pennington County. The tabulation software used to combine the totals added 4,875 phantom ballots to the count. The system indicated 10,488 ballots were cast when, in reality, only 5,613 ballots existed, indicating that the glitch wasn't simply a matter of doubling the votes.

Oddly, no one caught the problem during the initial count. City election officials hadn't bothered to keep a manual tally of the number of ballots cast as voters handed them in and they were scanned into the machines--a procedure designed to catch exactly such a discrepancy. It was only after someone began to question the high voter turnout for the small election, that officials went back to count the ballots.

"By the time we discovered it and realized the right totals, everyone was at home and in bed," the county auditor said.

The incumbent in a city council race who appeared to win the race went to bed believing he'd received just 49.96 percent of the vote, which was more than his opponents received but short of the 50 percent plus 1 vote he needed to avoid a runoff election. A recount found that he actually received 51.8 percent of the votes.

Pennington County uses AutoMark machines and tabulation software from Election Systems and Software. The machines are a hybrid touch-screen and optical scan system. Voters place a full-size paper ballot into the machine, which is displayed on a touch-screen machine. They make their choices on the touch-screen, and the machine prints their selections to the ballot and returns it. The ballot is scanned and tabulated in another machine.

No one in the county election office was available to speak about the issue when [this reporter] called.

South Dakota Voter Registration Rules

South Dakota Voter Registration Database Report:
State Regulations and Procedures Implementing HAVA Voter Registration Requirements

Attached is the South Dakota Voter Registration Information as set forth in Making the List, Database Matching and Verification Processes for Voter Registration as published by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University on March 24, 2006. This document contains available information about voter regtistration current as of the date of publication.

Federal law now requires, as of January 1, 2006, that states create and maintain statewide databases to serve as the central source of voter registration information. Citizens’ ability to get on the rolls (and thus their ability to vote and have their votes counted) will now depend on the policies and procedures governing the use of these databases in the voter registration process. Evidence demonstrates that poor policy and procedure choices could result in the unwarranted disenfranchisement of millions of eligible citizens attempting to register to vote. The new statewide databases, and their role in the voter registration process, are poorly understood, but extremely consequential.

This report, issued just as the state databases begin to come online, presents the first comprehensive catalog of the widely varying state database practices governing how (and in some cases, whether) individuals seeking to register will be placed on the voter rolls.

The report covers the state’s voter registration process, from the application form up through Election Day - including the intake of registration forms, the manner in which information from the forms may be matched to other government lists, the consequences of the match process, and any opportunity to correct errors. Each variation at each step of the process has tangible consequences for voters seeking to register and vote in 2006 and beyond.

IMPORTANT: Because of the possibility that voter information may differ from database to database (abbreviations, street designations, etc.) or because of data entry errors, valid voter registration data may be rejected. Individual voters are urged to contact their county clerk or local election board to determine that they are properly registered. Many such election authorities maintain online services for this purpose, other will require a telephone call or perhaps a written inquiry to determine the voter's eligibility.

As an addendum to this state report, a fill-in form for voter registration is presented which can be completed, printed and sent to the appropriate registratrar of voters (generally the county Clerk or local election board). The proper form of submission and location is included on the registration form.