/ KVUE News Team

10:15 AM CDT on Thursday, October 21, 2004

By CASEY STEGALL
KVUE News

Early voting began Monday and already KVUE News has received several complaints from voters who say they somehow did not vote on Austin’s commuter rail issue. They are blaming the new E-voting machines.

The county clerk says the matter is one of human error, because voters can get in a hurry and overlook parts of the ballot. Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says most voters find the process easier.

“I thought it was very easy to do. I am used to the paper ballots, so I liked it a lot,” said voter Carla Saunders.

Voter Hugo King expressed little confidence in the new system.

“I think we need a paper trail, because I don't trust the computers and the programmers. I think it's easy to manipulate,” King said.

The computers have been in place since 2002. Still, many voters are using them for the first time.

“They only vote once every four years because it's the presidential election they really care about,” DeBeauvoir said.

Many Austin voters care about another big issue this year – commuter rail. The trouble is, a few people are overlooking it, mainly those voting a straight party ticket.

“On the last page of your ballot, at the very bottom is the Cap Metro referendum. And if you don't page through each one, then you would miss the proposition,” DeBeauvoir said.

There is a simple solution. Before your ballot can be cast, you will be taken to a summary page. Make sure you review that before you press the red button, which sends your ballot to the box.

There is no way to track how many early voters have overlooked the commuter rail item.

On Friday, the Travis County clerk will launch an educational outreach to make sure no other voters make the same mistake.