Election Day Live Thread

[nacho]

A thread just for election day news (and early/absentee voting).  Right now, more just tracking this shit:

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/voting-machine.html

Voters using touch-screen voting machines for early voting in two West Virginia counties have complained that when they tried to vote for Democratic candidates, the machine registered their vote for other Republican candidates instead.

At least three voters in Jackson County, West Virginia, complained that when they tried to cast a vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the machine recorded a check in the box for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

One of the voters reported the same problem in the governor and state senate races. In each case, the voter tried to cast a vote for a Democratic candidate, but the machine marked his vote for the Republican challenger instead. Another voter who tried to cast votes for two state Supreme Court candidates said the machine cancelled one of her choices twice before it finally accepted her selection.

Three other voters in Putnam County say they had the same problem.

Jackson County Clerk Jeff Waybright blamed voters for not touching the screen properly and said that 400 other voters had cast ballots on the machine with no problem. But he agreed to recalibrate the machine's screen after the Secretary of State's office contacted him.

Putnam County's election director complained to the Charleston Gazette that there are "so many negative stories out there and not enough positive ones. We want people to vote. People need to know the facts."

Jackson County uses a touch-screen machine made by Election Systems & Software for early voting. The county uses touch-screen machines with a voter-verified paper trail at polling places on election day.

Putnam County also uses ES&S machines but offers early voters the option of voting on a touch-screen machine or an optical scan machine, which uses a full-size paper ballot. On election day, the county uses optical-scan machines at polling places.

Earlier this year during primaries, Faulkner County, Arkansas reported a different kind of vote-flipping problem involving ES&S touch-screen machines. Two touch-screen machines allocated votes for one race to another race entirely -- a race that wasn't even on the ballot.

ES&S's tabulation software was blamed for another vote-flipping problem in Lawrence County, Ohio last year. In that case, tallies printed from ES&S machines allocated 374 votes to Bill Robinson and 170 votes to Allan Blankenship in a race for Hamilton Township trustee. But the tabulation program at county headquarters flipped the numbers and gave 170 to Robinson and 374 to Blankenship.

[RottingCorpse]

It's going to be a wild ride, I think.

End of the republic begins on 11/4/08 . . .

[RottingCorpse]

I got this email that seemed wonky, so I snoped it and it's true!

Just Passing this on...

For those who normally vote "Straight Democratic", please pay close attention!!!!!  I was informed this weekend by a group of volunteers that when voting for the presidential candidate this November, you have to make sure you punch Barack's name first, then proceed to punch "Straight Democratic" or else the vote for the president won't count.  I'm not sure
if any of you are aware of this, but we know they won't tell us this at the poles.  Please make sure you inform others.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/straightticket.asp

[nacho]

So now every single life-long, multi-generational Democrat who is over the age of 50 won't be counted.

[Cassander]

shouldn't we strike that option?  it's horrible. 

anyway, we are planning on voting early on Friday.  today was the first day you could do it, and they showed on the news long lines of people, but apparently on Nov. 4th it's just going to be a madhouse in new orleans as every previously uninterested/"why bother?"/"i don't want to take the spelling test"/lazy/"i'm going to be cooking that day" black resident is going to head out and vote for Barack "The Dream Fulfilled" Obama.  not that i don't like being around black people.  i just hate waiting in lines with them. 

[Reginald McGraw]

From the snopes article (emphasis mine):

Voting processes vary from region to region, and as far as we know this warning applies only to North Carolina, where, as the Charlotte Observer recently cautioned readers, voters do indeed need to specifically select a presidential candidate in addition to voting a straight ticket

[nacho]

Matt -- you voted early?  How'd it go?  And I'll expect a report from you, Cass.

(MD ruled it unconstitutional in 06, so I have to wait.)

[Matt]

It went fine; had to make a minor update to my registration because I've shifted floors since last year (they never keep RAs on the same floor so my address has technically changed). To be honest I'm doing it half because I don't want to get hassled on that day and that's my day for making prints for my photo class and the other half is that I want to piss off every one of my friends and co-workers who told me that voting early is "un-American."

[Matt]

I have to admit I got a very big thrill as I bubbled in (it's a scantron) the bubble for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

[Tatertots]

Did the pencil graphite migrate to the McCain/Palin bubble?

[Matt]

Nope! No voter fraud here!

[Tatertots]

I still need to fill out my absentee ballot. I'm such a wanker.

[RottingCorpse]

I like going to the polls the day of the election. It makes me feel so American.

[Reginald McGraw]

Yes!  Especially the yelling at the local candidate (or supporter) standing outside...."I'm not voting for YOU (YOUR) bozo!!"

[fajwat]

I agree with RC, but if I ever do vote absentee it'll be because I've stopped being lazy and holding back my inner activist.  I've always wanted to take the day off and volunteer, and the volunteers mostly use absentee ballots so they can focus on the day of.