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County has 4,000 yet to count By Chris Bristol Tagged by some as the Palm Beach County of Oregon, Jackson County is now not expected to have final election results until much later this week. Even though 95 percent of the vote had been computer-tallied as of 4:15 a.m. last Friday, about 5,000 ballots that were damaged or improperly marked must be counted by hand, county Clerk Kathy Beckett said Monday. "It could be the end of the week" before the hand count is completed, she said. More than 4,000 remained to be counted at day�s end Monday. Coincidentally, the latest unofficial results statewide had Vice President Al Gore besting Texas Gov. George W. Bush for president by fewer than 5,000 votes � 703,840 to 698,994. Bush was easily winning Jackson County, however, 42,934 to 30,861. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was a distant third, with 3,838 votes. But problems with computers and ballots have caused Jackson County to be one of the last in the nation to complete counting. The hand-count problem stems mainly from voters who failed to follow instructions and improperly marked their ballots with ink or felt-tip pens instead of pencils, Beckett said. Because vote-counting machines can recognize only graphite marks made by pencils, teams of election volunteers have been "enhancing" improperly marked ballots with distinctive star-shaped graphite stamps, she said. The procedure is required by state rules to assess voter intent, Beckett said. She added the technique is safe from partisan mischief because the work is being done by election teams made up of volunteers from more than one party. "It�s not done by just one person," she said. "The (teams) are made up of different political party affiliations, so you don�t have two Democrats working together or two Republicans working together as a team." In addition, she said, the graphite stamps are used only in cases where the voter�s intentions are clear. For example, they would not stamp a ballot in which a voter had marked the ballot for two candidates in the same race. As an added precaution, pencils are not even allowed on the table. Even so, the procedure drew a protest from Carl Worden of the Southern Oregon Militia, who said he notified the Secretary of State�s Office Monday that he intends to sue to stop enhancements or invalidate the results. "I don�t care whether their rules allow it; under no circumstances should ballots be altered in any way," he said. Worden also feared that election workers were not being properly supervised, and he said he had a signed affidavit from a volunteer who witnessed just such a problem. "There�s nothing to stop (election workers) from putting extra stamps on unmarked areas," he complained. However, the volunteer told the Mail Tribune later Monday night that she had not witnessed any problems with the enhancement teams and that she only complained about a lack of supervision in general. "The potential was there," she said, asking that her name not be printed. "Ballots were everywhere, and it just seemed so disorganized." Beckett said Jackson County isn�t the only county with a large number of ballots that must be counted by hand. The Secretary of State�s Office reported that Marion County had 6,000 problem ballots, although no other county had more than 100. If the final margin is less than one-fifth of 1 percent, she said, a recount is automatic. As a result, county clerks from across the state are meeting later this week in Eugene to make contingency plans, she said. The state has until Nov. 27 to certify the vote. "This could go on for days," she said. "Not just us (but) across the state." Jackson County�s election results will be updated daily at 6:15 p.m., county Clerk Kathy Beckett said. The county�s website is www.jacksoncounty.org Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.