The state board of elections wants Montgomery County election officials to have more training in using electronic poll books and provisional ballots to prevent a repeat of mishaps that occurred in November’s elections.
The state board on Wednesday signed off on a letter censuring Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz and the three members of the county electoral board who were serving during the Nov. 2, 2010, election, when some voters were allowed to cast ballots without having their registration verified. The letter formalizes the state board’s April 29 decision to issue a censure based on findings by the state attorney general’s office.
The state board will have one or two observers in the county during this year’s elections to assist election officials and observe the administration of the election.
The censure stems from mistakes that occurred after election officers at six Montgomery polling places had trouble activating new laptop-based electronic poll books to verify voters’ registration status. When the polls opened on Election Day, election officers did not have printed poll books to use as backups.
At the direction of county electoral board members, election officers still allowed voters to cast electronic ballots after checking their identifications and writing down their names and addresses. About 750 voters cast ballots through this procedure before printed or electronic poll books were available. Of those, 13 later were found to have voted in the wrong precinct.
Full Article: State weighs in on Montgomery County vote flap – Roanoke.com.