Paper ballots cause confusion

PROVO — Poll workers in Utah County mistakenly denied paper ballots to angry registered voters on Election Day because the workers weren't properly prepared for the possibility of a glitch in the state's new electronic voting system.

Confusion between paper ballots and provisional ballots exacerbated the problems in some instances.

A provisional ballot and a paper ballot are the same document, but ballots cast under the definition "provisional" are put in special envelopes with lengthy forms on the front that must be filled out by the voter. After the election, county officials investigate the information on the front of the envelope to determine if the voter was properly registered but mistakenly left off the register. If so, the envelope is opened and the votes are counted.

"State code says provisional ballots can only be used in two cases — voters whose names aren't in the register or those who are challenged by an election judge," said Utah County elections coordinator Sandy Hoffmann, who described herself as a "code junkie." She emphasized the law during training and said Utah County's 826 poll workers followed that training.

Hoffmann accepted the blame for the training problem and praised poll workers for quickly implementing a backup system that overcame the glitch. She said most people returned to vote later, but she apologized to anyone who didn't get to vote because of the error and confirmed reports that she bent rules to help some of those people cast ballots.

Beverly Farland arrived early in the morning at Provo's Grandview Elementary School and asked for a provisional ballot when she learned the electronic system wasn't working. A poll worker told her the provisional ballots were for emergencies only and denied her request even after she said she wouldn't be able to return later in the day.

"Anybody not allowed to vote was ridiculously and overwhelmingly disenfranchised, and whoever did that should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Utah Democratic Party communications director Jeff Bell said. Bell sent an e-mail to voters before the election saying every voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.

"It's unfortunate that occurred," said Joe Demma, chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert. "They should have been able to fill out a provisional ballot at the polling place."