Decided to write a letter to the county clerk about the issues I had with the primary. On the advice of my boss, I cc’d it to the WV Secretary of State as well as the Diminishing Pest. We’ll see what comes of it.

11 May 2006

Michael A. Oliverio
Monongalia County Courthouse
243 High Street
Morgantown, WV 26505

Dear Mr. Oliverio,

I am writing because I have several concerns and complaints regarding the primary election on May 9th. Specifically, I have concerns about the electronic ballot, and also the set-up in my precinct, the 16th precinct, in the Morgantown Church of the Brethren.

Regarding the ballot itself, unless already designated in the system, I was unable to write in a candidate name. Thus for unopposed candidates I did not find suitable for the job, my alternatives were to vote for the designated candidate or leave that office blank. When we used the optically scanned ballots and voted with pencil and paper, I was able to write in candidates at will. I do not understand why this ability has been taken from us.

Regarding the voting set-up for the 16th precinct, my concerns are more serious.

The layout was such that my ballot was not secret—to vote you had to walk behind the other voting machines, either coming in or going out. Not only would it be easy to see what someone was voting, but considering the size of the font, it was nearly impossible to not see the contents of someone’s screen when walking by.

Secondly, to access the voting machines, you had to step over extension cords. This is a violation of safety rules and regulations, in that such cords present a tripping hazard.

Thirdly, the layout was such I fear it would have been very difficult for someone with accessibility issues to vote. Besides the extension cords, the path to reach the machines was quite narrow—and may have been difficult to navigate with a walker or wheelchair.

I hope that these concerns will be addressed, and steps will be taken to remediate these problems before the next election in November.

Sincerely,
Michelle Klishis

CC: The Honorable Betty Ireland, West Virginia Secretary of State
CC: The Dominion Post

The letters are in the mail, so don’t point out any hideous grammatical mistakes, because it’s too late.