Cheh Says Too Many Problems Remain With D.C. Voting

In her opening remarks at a roundtable on voting in the District, Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) acknowledged the hard work of the Board of Elections and Ethics to ensure last Tuesday's general election ran smoothly, but she said she couldn't ignore that problems still persisted leading up to the election.

"My office alone fielded dozens and dozens of phone calls and emails from distraught residents who had not received absentee ballots," she said. "I have deep concerns over quality control."

Cheh also noted there were improperly printed and misdelivered absentee ballots, concerns with touch screen voting machines and the slow release of results, which came in small batches on election night.

She spoke before an audience of about 20 people, several of them scheduled to be witnesses today. But the first scheduled witness, Sylvia Goldsberry-Adams, acting exec director of the Board of Elections and Ethics, was not in the room. Goldsberry-Adams had a last-minute medical emergency, Cheh said from the dais.

The council member said she was working on getting a witness from the board to attend.

Tim Wilson