Despite evidence suggesting that mail-in ballot elections are subject to less fraud and error, the county commissioners this morning voted unanimously to hold  a traditional election during the Aug. 10 primary.

“One of the beauties of a polling place election is that you can vote early, you can vote by mail or you can vote at the polling place,” said commissioner Wayne Williams, who is term-limited and will be running in the primary against several other contenders for the clerk’s job.

Commissioners Williams and Sallie Clark also pointed to  statewide rejection by voters in 2002 of Amendment 28, which would have ended precinct voting and converted to mail-in ballots only.

Commissioner Clark said voters in El Paso County were overwhelmingly opposed to the amendment, with 37.41 percent voting to convert to mail ballot elections and 62.59 percent against. “To me, it’s about giving voters choices,” Clark said.

A longtime precinct judge named Reb Williams told commissioners he favored mail-in elections because there was less chance for error.  ”When you have 2,000 election judges you have 2,000 potential errors,” he said.

After the ballots are mailed back to the clerk’s office, they are scanned in and undergo  a signature verification process.  If there’s a discrepancy that can’t be resolved, the ballot is held and a  letter sent to the voter asking for explanation, said elections manager Liz Olson.

If the voter doesn’t respond, the matter is turned over to the district attorney’s office. One hundred and twenty-eight questionable ballots stemming from the 2009 election were turned over to the DA’s office, she added.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May got some bad news last week. Someone from the Department of Local Affairs called and told him the state’s going to deduct about $42,500 in gaming fund monies for the 2009 year.

That’s on top of  the $520,000 in gaming funds that are going to be withdrawn from El Paso and Teller counties in 2010 as Gov. Bill Ritter attempts to shore up next year’s budget.

The state’s alleging that El Paso county owes the $42,500 because a 2009 contract was signed a month late. But according to Dan May and commissioner Sallie Clark, it was a state official who signed the document late.

Clark said she was “astounded” by the demand. “Why at the eleventh hour, when we are ready to close our books, would they be asking us for these dollars back?”

Amy Lathen

El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark said on Thursday that the turnout for the county fair and other crucial information, such as how much money was made or lost, will be available sometime in the next month. This is important because the fair gets no subsidy from the county, so it must make ends meet on its own.

Commissioner Amy Lathen did her part to try to drum up business for the fair. For weeks before the fair, she reminded people at county commissioner meetings to be sure to attend, promising they could find “just about any kind of food on a stick.” Lathen represents the eastern plains where the fair is held at Calhan.