By Mark Berglund and Brian Wilson

It appears that more than 600 ballots were not counted and certified into the final tally of the 2004 fall General Election in the City of Medford. A computer glitch is the most likely reason found for the mistake.

A company called Practical Political Consulting of East Lansing, Mich. discovered the glitch in a routine check of Presidential election vote totals against the information it collects from poll lists. The company, which is known as Wisconsin Voter Lists in this state, specializes in providing information to candidates and both parties about voting information and patterns.

Figures provided by Medford City Clerk Virginia Brost show 2,256 people registered with poll workers and took ballots on Nov. 2, 2004. The Wisconsin State Election Board's report of canvassed votes shows 1,598 voters picked either Republican George W. Bush or Democrat John Kerry, a difference of 658. The 2000 contest between Bush and Democrat Al Gore saw the men collect 1,951 votes in the City of Medford. Despite the drop in City of Medford voters, the Taylor County totals for the two major parties increased by 551 voters in this election.

"To me, it is a big deal," Brost said of the vote undercount.

Brost said the computer glitch appears related to the machine's reading of straight party voting. She said the vote tallying machine passed the public test held prior to the election. There appears to be no discrepency between the November 2 poll list and number of ballots drawn.

Brost said she is working with County Clerk Bruce Strama, the county's chief election official, to track down the problem and prevent future mistakes. The County and City have contacted the State Election Board and the supplier of the computer counting equipment and ballots.

Brost said the city has money set aside to purchase new election equipment, but is awaiting guidance from the State Election Board about what to purchase. The State Election Board must approve any ballot counting procedure the City or County uses. "We will get a new system this year, but we don't know what that is going to be," Brost said.

It is still unknown if the computer glitch occurred with the City's voting machine or a Taylor County machine used in the vote counting process. Taylor County Clerk Bruce Strama is gone until Thursday, March 10 and the city is waiting for his return before proceeding.

The glitch appears to be widespread in the City of Medford. District 1, which comprises Wards 1 and 2, saw 628 ballots drawn, but only 448 voters for Bush or Kerry. District 2, which contains Wards 3 and 4, saw 556 ballots drawn and 400 votes for the major party candidates. District 3, which contains Wards 5 and 6, saw 578 ballots drawn and 402 votes. District 4, which contains Wards 7 and 8, saw 494 ballots drawn and 348 votes cast for Bush or Kerry.

The voting demographics of Medford's four wards are balanced and neither major political party saw a big loss of their voters. Bush won the City of Medford in 2000 with 56.7 percent of the votes cast for the two parties. Bush took 57 percent this time.

The 2000 election also saw minor party candidates Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan drawing 94 votes in the City of Medford. All minor party candidates drew 132 votes in the entire county in 2004.

Vote comparisons in the 87th Assembly District seem to confirm a glitch in the count. The 2002 election saw Republican Mary Williams and Democrat Paula Houdek drawing 1,558 combined votes for the open seat. Williams' first reelection bid against Democrat Mary Satterwhite saw the two women draw just 32 more votes in the City of Medford. The two parties drew 2,541 more votes in Taylor County. Once again, the percentages point to an equal undercount for each party. Williams took 56 percent of the votes cast for the two candidates in 2002 and 58.6 percent of the City of Medford vote in 2004.

Compared to the rest of the county, the City of Medford accounted for 21.2 percent of the votes counted in the 2000 Presidential election and 16.7 percent in 2004. The City of Medford accounted for 23.4 percent of the votes counted in the 2002 Assembly election and 17.3 percent in 2004.

The City of Medford and Taylor County held a spring Primary Election on February 15. The election was non-partisan and the nature of spring primaries makes vote comparisons difficult.

Alan Fox, a co-partner with Practical Political Consulting, said problems were found in Medford during a routine check of Presidential vote results against a copy of the community's poll list. The company also found voting problems in other Wisconsin communities.

"In Medford, it's one-fourth of the voters, so there is an issue," Fox said. "I would think someone should have seen that election night."

Outside of a computer problem, most other explanations don't fit for the results. "Wisconsin was probably the place outside Ohio where the most [get out the vote] resources were poured in," Fox said.

It is possible to cast a blank ballot in Wisconsin, and that would not count as a scattered vote. Fox said a blank vote of more than 1 percent would be unusual. "There is no natural reason to explain this," he said.

Fox said machines similar to Medford's are used in some areas of Michigan. A 2000 election saw one Detroit precinct completely missed for six months.

"When they fail, they fail catastrophically," Fox said.

Fox said his company tracks the voter information with desktop computers. It checks voter lists to collect correct addresses and election participation history. This and other information is part of database of more than 4 million people the company keeps.