Trucker Details Vote Machine Delivery Woes

Brett Martel, AP - Oct 1,2004

NEW ORLEANS - A driver who delivered voting machines for the city's primary election described a litany of logistical problems Friday, including dropping off machines in empty, unlocked buildings and handing them over to unauthorized people who refused to sign for them.

Driver Paul Washington spoke before members of a joint legislative government affairs committee investigating the Sept. 18 election, when voting machines showed up late to 53 city polling places, possibly disenfranchising thousands of voters and spawning several lawsuits.

Lawmakers listening to Washington were annoyed and amazed that security for the voting machines was so weak.

"These are not soda pop machines. These are voting machines and they have to be protected," said Democratic state Sen. Charles Jones, chairman of the committee.

But Washington said even fewer machines might have been delivered on time had officials not dropped a requirement that someone sign for the deliveries.

"Sometimes it might be the brother of the custodian," Washington said. "So they'd refuse to sign, but if we hadn't dropped off those machines there would have been even more delays."

Washington also testified that late-arriving machines had actually been hauled to polling places a day earlier, but that drivers found the polling stations locked and empty.

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