Editorial: Problems show need for more election training

Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 14, 2002

The problems that led to 17 missing votes and many other improperly marked ballots in Austin during the general election probably would never have made headlines if the race between Grace Schwab and Dan Sparks had not been as close as it was. But election procedures are in place to ensure that the public’s voice is heard, as accurately as possible, in every case &045; and that is most important when an election is very close.

As we saw in 2000 in Florida, the true test of an electoral system is how it works when the outcome is tough to call. In 2000, the system failed. In 2002 in Senate District 27, the system, on a much smaller scale, also failed. Just as in the last presidential election, the outcome of our area’s senate race is likely to wind up in court as a result.

Now, it’s up to state and local election autorities to see that the mistakes exposed by this close senate race are not repeated.

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More training for election judges is a start. Even after hours of counting ballots, everybody who works with elections should know that no ballot, under any circumstances, is to be removed or destroyed, as 17 were in Austin this year. More rigorous education is the answer.

More emphasis on explaining election procedures to voters, at the local and statewide levels, can also help. Improperly marked ballots, which were missed by machines but later recorded during the hand count, were responsible for large swings in the District 27 senate candidates’ vote totals. No voter should begin marking a ballot without knowing how to do so properly.

They are not major reforms. But a little extra effort could make the difference in a future election, and make sure that we can all be confident that the system works and that voters’ voices are all heard.

Tribune editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s management and editorial staff.