‘HUMAN ERROR’ HAMPERS MONTGOMERY COUNTY VOTE

ABC’s Teddy Davis reports: A judge has ordered polling stations in Montgomery County to remain open until 9:00 pm ET tonight – an hour later than scheduled — after a "human error" left computerized touch-screen voting machines across the county inoperable.

Margaret Jurgensen, Montgomery County’s Election Director, told ABC News Tuesday that a "voter access card" that enables voters to vote their precinct ballot on the touch-screen unit was "left out."

She attributed it to "human error." But would not identify which person was responsible for the error.

The problem was discovered by one of Montgomery County’s election judges at 6:00 am ET, one hour before the polls opened at 7:00 am ET. The cards are believed to have been delivered to all polling stations by 9:50 am ET.

According to Jurgensen, voters who show up at a time when the touch-screen machines are not working are supposed to be given the option of using a provisional optical scan ballot (akin to filling in-the-bubble on a standardized test), and as far as she knows, this is what happened. (She does not know at this time, however, how many of these optical scan ballots have been filled out).

Based on witness accounts, the Washington Post.com is reporting that "some" poll workers "did not know the provincial ballots were an option and told voters to try again later in the day." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/12/AR2006091200535_pf.html

Jurgensen was not able to confirm the Washington Post’s report that people were not given the option of filling in the bubble to vote.

This afternoon’s voting extension came as a result of an afternoon order by Circuit Court Judge Eric M. Johnson. His order was issued in response to a petition by Montgomery County Board of Elections.

The state’s most hotly contested primary is the Democratic Senate primary. Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD), former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume, and Josh Rales (a businessman who has staked his long-shot Senate bid on Montgomery County support) are vying to take on Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R-MD), the GOP’s all-but-certain Senate nominee who came to national prominence recently when he complained during a background lunch with reporters of his Republican identity feeling like a "scarlet letter." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072400953_pf.html