I'd buy this defense of the BOEE - except that pretty much every other state in the union somehow manages to out-perform DC on reporting election results.

That should be the bar DC is measured against, not how the BOEE has performed in the past.

by Alex B. on Sep 16, 2010 9:38 am • link • report

So, so, so do not care about this issue. What? BOEE took 8 hours to determine the victor rather than 6? And people are complaining about this? Seriously?

Hey, maybe if we throw half a million dollars at the problem, we can get that down to 5 hours!

by oboe on Sep 16, 2010 9:48 am • link • report

What Board of Elections can't do is handle change. And since 2000, we've had noting but change. This year, I can't imagine trying to integrate the early ballots into the system. THat is because it was unclear whether they are provisional or not.

There are also very good security reasons to keep the internet out of BOEE systems. I've done elections where you had to carry it by note to some guy in a computer outside for posting.

The real metrics of success are 1) are the elections honest and 2) did everyone get to vote.

by charlie on Sep 16, 2010 10:05 am • link • report

I couldn't understand all the hand-wringing on Tuesday night. We were told by the campaigns (I worked the polls for Gray) not to expect results until midnight. Did everyone else not get that message? It's amazing considering the events of the elections of the last 10 or so years that people still clamor for immediacy.

by Nichole on Sep 16, 2010 10:06 am • link • report

I so agree with you David! I waited for a little while, went to bed, then checked the results when I got up. It didn't change anything. Jack Evans was complaining that "you can't have a victory party." Yes you can, just have it Wednesday night.
and +1 to charlie on the measures of success.
and +1 to Togo West for sticking up for the BOEE staff

by urbanette on Sep 16, 2010 10:11 am • link • report

If results are going to be slower, that's fine - I think we can do better, but I'd rather have accurate results.

What that doesn't excuse is the poor communication on the part of the BOEE. The website said "results will be available when they are available." I didn't realize they were part of the Department of Redundancy Department.

by tabulation on Sep 16, 2010 10:12 am • link • report

Everyone now expects election "results" to be available 10 seconds after the polls close just like on CNN during a presidential race. Of course, those are based on the extensive exit polling that CNN, etc. do and not on actual results from the vote counters. People just don't understand the difference between the two and why it isn't going to happen during a DC primary.

I'm with David on this one - go to sleep and we'll find out in the morning what happened. Who cares if we know who won at 10PM or 10AM? I'd rather have accurate results than screw-ups.

by MLD on Sep 16, 2010 10:12 am • link • report

David, David, David. Can you PLEASE hold DC to the expectations of a modern, functional, 1st-world society? The slow-on-the-uptake release of precinct data was unacceptable. Period.

by JustMe on Sep 16, 2010 10:21 am • link • report

....but DC isn't a state. It's a city. I think we're doing just fine... there are bigger fish to fry than the immediacy of election results.

by andrew on Sep 16, 2010 10:29 am • link • report

Sigh. The press makes people forget that elections are not an internet poll. There are actual votes, that need to be counted, tallied, added and checked for accuracy. This is a serious business.

Personally, I love the way they do it in the UK. After the votes are counted, in every constituency, the head of the election committee (or whatever it's called) stands on a small podium, usually surrounded by the candidates and announces the official results, down to the last single vote.

I love the fact that someone has to officially announce the vote count. I love the fact that the candidates have to be there in that small school gym. Not hiding in their fancy campaign HQ. I love the fact that until the count is read, nobody, not even the candidates, knows the results. This leads to great humility (not humiliation) of the candidates.

by Jasper on Sep 16, 2010 10:46 am • link • report

I monitored the results via the BOEE site, and I thought it was fantastic! They get my appreciation.

I am still stunned that Fenty lost so big. I can't help but think (and I am no insider) that he and Rhee just rolled the dice and said to hell with it. We will tie our fate to the school reform effort. And they did.

I didn't vote for him, but I admire his guts and determination even if he has no social skills. Welcome to Washington!

by Jazzy on Sep 16, 2010 11:04 am • link • report

@Jazzy - Fenty actually won Wards 1,2,3 and 6 by a considerable margin. But the other Wards landslided for Gray with ~80%+ of their ballots cast for VG.

by Paul on Sep 16, 2010 11:11 am • link • report

Every election people complain about BOEE. This time around, we are supposed to be outraged that out of 144 precincts, three or four experienced some technical difficulties. Perhaps I am lucky, but I have voted in every DC election since 1994 and have never had a problem beyond perhaps a bit of a wait in presidential election years. I agree that waiting until the next morning for election results is hardly the end of the world.

by rg on Sep 16, 2010 11:18 am • link • report

I turn into a results junkie almost every election night, even though I should know better, but I am amused by the degree to which election night pundits seem to ascribe candidate agency to the vote-counting process, as if somehow the order in which the votes are counted matters.

by thm on Sep 16, 2010 11:18 am • link • report

@MLD - That is a very important point that I think the complainers are missing. We all remember Bush/Gore and the mess that early poling results led to.

My sole frustration is that at my voting place there was only one electronic machine. So I had to use a paper ballot to avoid waiting in line for the technologically illiterate to try out the new voting-majigum.

by ah on Sep 16, 2010 11:50 am • link • report

The other problem with THIS race is it was so divided that the number of bellweather districts was probably very small. And with the changes in population, those districts might not tracking the same as before. Hence the need for everyone to see a lot of numbers before making the call. You **could** probably make the call just looking at turnout at 7 and 8, but you ** could** also make the call based on pre-election polls.

by charlie on Sep 16, 2010 12:01 pm • link • report

There are ways to speed up the reporting of results, without compromising accuracy. However, considering that this is the first election with many new proceedures and equipment, the focus on accuracy was best. Having learned a few things it is now time to make the counting go more efficiently without compromising accuracy.

by rjs on Sep 16, 2010 1:59 pm • link • report

I was impressed that BOEE was able to roll out all of the mandated changes without having any major problems in the first election in which they were used (long lines/delayed results are not major problems).
If not mistaken, I think DC now offers voters more choices (early or election day voting, in-person or no-excuse absentee voting, touch-screen w/audit trail or paper ballots, pre-registering or same-day registration) than anywhere in the country. So I think BOEE should deal with the PR side a bit better but not change its focus on delivering voters options and then providing accurate tallies when they become available.

by DCster on Sep 16, 2010 4:56 pm • link • report

I blame the ADHD generation. No patience the kids have these days. Jack Evans bitching he can't have a victory party because it runs late into the night? I swear he gets more bitter with every year, knowing he will never be mayor.

Let's also talk about the fact that so few poll workers are the same age as the people complaining. I don't think I've seen more than 10% of the staff being under 60, so maybe people should take matters into their own hands rather than complain.

by copperred on Sep 17, 2010 2:48 am • link • report

@copperred

You complain about the ADHD generation and then cite someone who is 56 years old?

Sounds like the bitching is multi-generational

by TimK on Sep 17, 2010 8:23 am • link • report

"Their job is to get the count right, not to satisfy our thirst for results minutes after polls close." You assume that there is some conflict between accuracy, and prompt release of partial results. Sure, maybe the BoEE would like to sit back quietly and release nothing until they're all done, and we ignorant members of the public should shut up and wait patiently. Sorry, but the people want to see the results as soon as possible, not when the bureaucrats are done fiddling.

Furthermore, delays promote concern that maybe untoward things are happening in those back rooms, out of sight of the public.

As for the complainers being young and impatient -- I'm 68, and count me as one of the impatient ones. Let's have those partial results just as soon as they are done.

by Jack on Sep 17, 2010 8:59 am • link • report

I blame the ADHD generation.

I blame a bunch of mediocrities who are satisfied with things being slower than more functional jurisdictions and settling for second-best. Isn't this supposed the be Greater Greater Washington?

by JustMe on Sep 17, 2010 9:57 am • link • report

"DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN"

by Matt Johnson on Sep 17, 2010 10:13 am • link • report