As much as three weeks before Election Day, San Diego County’s touch-screen voting machines were scattered throughout the region, sitting in poll workers’ homes and garages. These machines, a critical player in American democracy today, were the subject of much concern, and their performance on Nov. 7 was closely watched. Little attention has been paid, however, to the volunteers who stored the machines leading up to the election, transported them to the polls on Election Day and inspected them as problems arose.
Many of these civic-minded volunteers, paid a minimal amount for the 16-hour day, had never worked at the polls before. And while many touch-screen inspectors were adults, some were 17-year-old high school students who volunteered in order to complete school community service requirements or government class assignments.
El Programa de trabajadores electorales estudiantiles, que comenzó en el condado de San Diego en 1998, ha brindado a miles de estudiantes de secundaria la oportunidad de trabajar en los recintos electorales desde su inicio, aunque a los estudiantes no se les confió el equipo de votación hasta la elección más reciente.
De hecho, más de 1,500 estudiantes de último año de secundaria se desempeñaron como trabajadores electorales en todo el condado este noviembre, frente a los 200 de junio, con 304 sirviendo como inspectores de pantalla táctil responsables de almacenar las máquinas antes de las elecciones.
"This is the first time we’ve allowed [high school students] to be anything other than clerks. They didn’t go to training before," said San Diego County Registrar of Voters Mikel Haas. "The kids all showed up. They are as trustworthy and as dedicated as the adults. They learn fast and are not intimidated by any technological devices. Their parents, teachers and schools are behind them. We haven’t had an issue with them. They’re diamonds."
Los estudiantes de al menos 16 años con un promedio de calificaciones de 2.5 puntos, la recomendación de un maestro y el permiso de los padres son elegibles para el programa y pueden optar por servir como empleados sin capacitación o como inspectores de pantalla táctil.
Arthur Miramontes, un estudiante de último año de 17 años de Hilltop High School en Chula Vista, recibió cuatro máquinas "" tres pantallas táctiles y una máquina para hacer tarjetas "" para llevar a las urnas después de su orientación. El trabajo electoral lo ayudó a cumplir con el requisito de servicio comunitario de su escuela.
To date, the "sleepover" policy that grants poll workers custody of voting machines leading up to elections has drawn criticism from watchdogs, but there has been little discussion about the inclusion of minors into the pool of volunteers.
In a pre-election interview, Haas refuted criticism of the advance distribution of voting machines, saying, "We know who our poll workers are."
En una entrevista posterior, Haas aclaró su comentario.
"We know who [the poll workers] are. We know their names and their addresses. We know where they live," he said. "It’s a mixed bag out there. Some were touch-screen inspectors before, but there are 1,650 precincts. It’s not indicative of their performance whether they’re experienced or not."
Haas explained that touch-screen inspectors "can be anybody and don’t have to be registered to vote," as with high school poll workers, most of whom are under 18 and ineligible to vote.
Las máquinas de votación basadas en computadoras, que los especialistas en seguridad informática de las universidades de Princeton y Johns Hopkins han demostrado que son vulnerables a la manipulación del software, se distribuyeron a trabajadores seleccionados por su disposición a pasar un largo día como voluntarios en las urnas. Los trabajadores clave también tuvieron que completar una clase de capacitación de cuatro horas, aunque ninguno se sometió a una evaluación o verificación de antecedentes.
When asked if the touch-screen inspectors, who received their machines following the training, were given instructions about safeguarding the touch-screens, Haas said, "All the person had to do was keep them in a secure location."
While an experienced adult poll worker in Point Loma who preferred not to give her name affirmed that her class was told the machines "need to be somewhere secure, not in your car," other volunteers said they did not receive such instruction.
Todd Cullum, de 17 años, estudiante de último año en Carlsbad High School e inspector de pantalla táctil en la Estación de Bomberos 4 en Carlsbad, informó que no le dijeron nada específico sobre el almacenamiento de sus seis máquinas.
"They didn’t give instructions and didn’t say anything particular about where to put them. They didn’t tell you to keep them in a secure place," Cullum said, though he added that each has a lock and seals, and records if and when it has been turned on.
Marsha Alexander, longtime Ocean Beach resident and touch-screen inspector at the Masonic Temple in Ocean Beach, said, "I’ve never worked at the polls and they don’t know me from a hole in the wall."
Alexander notó que estaba preocupada cuando le dieron seis de las máquinas de 28 libras después de su entrenamiento sin instrucciones sobre almacenamiento o seguridad.
"I put them in my garage and I covered them up so they weren’t visible. But I didn’t feel very comfortable with it," she said. Alexander also expressed concern about entrusting voting machines to high school students for an extended period of time.
"I don’t think it’s a responsibility they should have to deal with. It’s absolutely not appropriate “” I felt a little put upon myself with the responsibility," she said. "I’m not surprised since I’d heard how desperate they were for poll workers."
Según todos los informes, los estudiantes de secundaria hicieron un excelente trabajo instalando las pantallas táctiles y haciendo ajustes y reparaciones menores. Jim Morrison, trabajador electoral durante 15 años e inspector de distrito en la Escuela Primaria Bayview Terrace en Pacific Beach, quedó impresionado con su inspector de pantalla táctil de 17 años, a pesar de las preocupaciones iniciales.
"She was very diligent. She did a great job. She’d grown up with computers and was very at ease with them," he said.
For Miramontes, "they were easy to operate," but he found himself one of only two workers at his polling place.
Jess Durfee, presidente del Partido Demócrata del Condado de San Diego y exmaestro de secundaria, habló bien sobre el uso de estudiantes en las urnas.
"One of the things we’ve observed is that some of the longtime poll workers aren’t used to the technology. In some regards, the kids are more adept at the new technology than the longtime workers," he said.
Pero los problemas informados con los sistemas de pantalla táctil en todo el condado plantean la pregunta: ¿La inclusión de menores en el proceso electoral detrás de escena es un beneficio o una responsabilidad para el registrador de votantes del condado?
El 7 de noviembre, muchas máquinas fallaron y quedaron fuera de servicio, ya sea temporalmente o por el día. Algunos trabajadores electorales y votantes se quejaron de la capacitación inadecuada, aunque Haas dijo que la capacitación se incrementó de tres a cuatro horas para esta elección.
On the training, Alexander said she was a given a DVD and notebook to review and "at the time, (the training) seemed adequate," though Election Day was "chaos."
"There was a lot to learn in four hours," said the Point Loma poll worker, who noted that there were far more security steps for this election than in previous years. "I felt they went overboard in security, with the checks and rechecks and seals. Everything had to be signed by two people. This election had more procedures than usual."
Sin embargo, algunos votantes experimentaron problemas en las urnas. A la exconcejal de la ciudad Valerie Stallings, quien solicitó una boleta en papel, se le dijo por error que la suya sería tratada como una boleta provisional, a pesar de que su nombre aparecía en el registro de votantes.
Judy Hyde, a University City resident who uses a cane, said she was ridiculed by a 30-something male poll worker when she requested a paper ballot because of her concerns about voting machine security, saying, "Maybe next year you’ll be brave and take a chance on the computers."
"I thought it was extremely inappropriate to make fun of seniors for asking for a paper ballot," Hyde said.
En otros lugares, las boletas de papel se agotaron rápidamente, especialmente cuando las máquinas de votación fallaron. Durfee recibió una de las últimas boletas en papel en su recinto de University Heights a las 9 a. m., momento en el que una de las tres pantallas táctiles ya no funcionaba.
"By the time a friend voted at noon, all three machines were down and everyone was voting on photocopied paper ballots," Durfee said. "These machines shut down all over the county. Mikel Haas assured us that this would not happen."
Durfee señaló que el Partido Demócrata del Condado de San Diego ha compilado más de 200 informes de problemas de votación y que ha pedido la renuncia de Haas.
"We’ve tried this twice. [The machines] don’t work. It’s time to go back to paper ballots and go to optical scanners," Durfee said. "How many people came out of the polling place not sure whether they voted or if their vote counted?"
Mientras que Morrison sintió que los votantes en Pacific Beach estaban mayormente contentos con el nuevo sistema de pantalla táctil y se sentían confiados con las computadoras, Alexander en Ocean Beach no estuvo de acuerdo. En su comisaría, tres de las seis máquinas fallaron, y las seis tuvieron que ser manipuladas para alternar los suministros de energía.
"Most of the people said they were comfortable using the machines, but their last question was, ‘Will my vote be counted?’ People had heard and read the reports of problems. There was an atmosphere of distrust," she said.
Haas, still in the midst of final ballot counting “” he expects counting will continue until election certification in December “” does not anticipate abandoning the electronic systems.
"It’s too soon to see about potential changes. We’ll look at what went right and what went wrong," he said.
No hay duda de que recibirá una enorme contribución de sus críticos.