Published: May 27, 2008 06:56 pm            

Voting hiccup causes concern

Bond timetable remains in place

By Philip Navarrette

reporter@trcle.com



The timeline for Keene ISD’s $15 million bond package will continue as planned despite concerns about voting practices during a portion of early voting.

The district’s school board canvassed and accepted the 96-95 election results May 19, letting the district move forward in asking the state for additional funds to expand facilities.

During the meeting, Keene ISD voters Lane and Amy Campbell and Nick Chesney addressed the board, citing concerns about procedures used for early voting at Keene Elementary on May 5.

Lane Campbell told the board that when he voted, the ballot box was not locked and he was allowed to lift the lid and put his hand inside to cast his vote, which could have allowed him to see other votes inside the box.

Chesney also said the box was not locked and the voting clerk was in the school’s front office, away from the unsecured box.

Attempts to reach Chesney and the Campbells for further comment were unsuccessful.

Superintendent Kevin Sellers admitted to some problems with the box for part of the day, but said the problems are explainable and were rectified immediately, allowing the rest of early voting and the May 10 vote to occur unhindered.

Sellers said the district used a ballot box that election workers were unfamiliar with.

“Every day there is a new seal that is put over the top of the box,” Sellers said. “When the voters started to arrive that morning, the judges that were there could not locate the slot to drop the votes in.”

The slot had several different seals upon it, making it seem firmer than is should have been when the election workers tried to feel for the slot.

“They weren’t sure if the seal had been put over the slot,” Sellers said.

Wynne Loveless, who served as the district’s voting judge for the election, decided to unlock the ballot box and slide its upper lid forward slightly, creating a makeshift slot. As a judge, Loveless was the only person able to unlock the box.

“It was never opened more than three-quarters of an inch,” Loveless said. “You couldn’t get your hand in, and it was always supervised.”

A district employee typically oversees early voting for a school district, but Loveless helped fill in because May 5 was a bad weather make-up day, and no district employees were present at the campus.

She said that during the time she worked that day, she was always with at least one other election worker.

“The lid was never completely off or anything like that, and voters were never in there by themselves,” Sellers said. “Voters were walked to the voting room, and voters were never left unattended.”

The problem with the slot and seal was corrected about 4 p.m. when voting closed, Loveless said.

But the problem with the box on May 5 did not affect voting results because the ballots are numbered and involve voter signatures, she said.

“The count was done. We counted it four times,” she said. “Everything matched.”

“Everything was numbered. Everything balanced — every single time,” Sellers said. “There’s apparently not a question on whether or not it’s a valid vote; the question was just on that one situation with the slot for dropping the votes in.

“If they had a question, do I wish they would have called? Yes, I think hindsight would suggest that,” Sellers said.

The vote count stands and the district is moving forward with its applications to the state for funds to add and renovate portions of Keene Elementary and Keene Junior High schools.

As of Friday afternoon, the Texas Secretary of State’s office had received no complaints about the election.

        

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