Colorado election clerks plan only partial use of new system
May 6 2008 | By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain NewsClerks in several large counties are so nervous about the new $13 million statewide voter registration program that they plan to use their old systems for most Election Day functions this year.
During simulated elections that ended Friday, clerks had problems accessing the system from polling sites and generating data reports. They also said the system, known as SCORE (State of Colorado Registration and Election) slowed down when many poll workers were connected simultaneously.
That's why clerks in Weld, Mesa and Larimer counties plan to use their county systems to check in voters on Election Day. Other clerks also want to limit the use of the new system this year.
SCORE "has great potential, and in a few years it's going to be one slick system," said Sheila Reiner, elections director for Mesa County, which uses electronic voting machines at vote centers. "But right now it's still under development."
Paper poll book in Denver
SCORE, which is more than two years late because of problems with the first contractor, was developed to comply with federal law that requires all states to have a uniform voter registration database.
SCORE's Colorado database is complete, and counties must use it in this election.
But some clerks plan to load the database into their own county systems - systems with which they're comfortable.
Other functions of SCORE are not finished, which worries election officials preparing for a primary just three months away.
