Paper Ballot Option an Unofficial Secret

"I object to having the government tell me I'm not allowed to tell people about their rights," said the Cupertino resident. "It's obviously unconstitutional and nonsensical."

Like Cherlin, poll workers throughout Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties also plan to keep mum about the paper option and hand out such ballots only if voters ask for them. Critics of computerized voting machines say it shows how reluctant counties are to adhere to a state policy requiring all polling places with computerized voting booths to give voters the option of casting paper ballots.

"This certainly is not good enough," said Matt Zimmerman, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, a watchdog organization for electronic voting. "It seems awfully passive-aggressive for the local election officials to be behaving like this. It seems like they're dragging their feet

Zimmerman's group is one of several that are urging voters to avoid electronic voting machines, which they consider unreliable, and cast paper ballots.

Election officials say they are meeting the requirements of the law and take umbrage to the critics, saying they are needlessly creating fear.

"We have a good voting system that voters can have confidence in, and any action that detracts from that and causes doubt in people's minds is a threat to democracy," said Steve Trout, assistant registrar of voters in San Bernardino County.

The paper ballots stem from a directive issued by California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. Citing security concerns and snafus in the March primary election, Shelley barred the use of computer voting machines. But he said 10 counties could regain permission to use them if they met a number of requirements, including offering voters a paper alternative.

"Every county must provide every voter with the option of voting on paper," said Tony Miller, special counsel to the secretary of state. "And we certainly expect all counties to do that."

Miller said his office was investigating allegations that poll workers were being ordered not to tell voters about their paper option.