Entries tagged as voting problems
Friday, November 7. 2008
Numerous incidents of vote flipping, voter purges, and voter supression were reported during the 2008 Presidential election. And of course the "experts" say that the same old thing - that " the outcome of the election was not affectee" (by inaccurate counting?). Psych! But a group of 60 international observers have monitored our elections and found that US Democracy is basically in good health. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe had an election observing mission to the United States. Press release US elections showed all fundamentals of a democratic vote, but electoral reform efforts should continue WASHINGTON, 5 November 2008 - Yesterday's elections in the United States demonstrated the essential principles of a pluralistic democracy characterized by transparency and the respect for fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, but efforts to enhance public confidence in the election process should continue, the observer mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded in a statement released today. Voters were able to make informed choices in a competitive and vigorously fought election. Free and pluralistic media and extensive campaign activities provided voters with a wealth of information about the candidates, their platforms and the election process. These elections generally met OSCE commitments. But the observers also said that the concerns that arose during previous elections have not been fully addressed in some states. "We have seen an election that displayed all the fundamentals of a genuinely democratic vote," said Ambassador Audrey Glover, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission....
Thursday, November 6. 2008
Its time to bring out that old photo of a Florida voting machine, because Florida still can't count votes: 
2 days after election Diebold still "counting" votes in Florida County. The governor of Florida has been asked to intervene in Hillsborough County Florida's elections. Election officials in Hillsborough County Florida are having to feed 80,000 ballots into optical scan machines made by "Premier Election Solutions" (Diebold). The election also didn't go so well for Hillsborough Election Supervisor Buddy Johnson, whose election was tied to those uncounted ballots. Johnson ended up conceding the election and county officials are considering a lawsuit against Diebold er I mean "Premier". (We're supposed to be fooled by the name change.) Oh, and isn't it time that Florida started hiring or appointing election directors, instead of creating the conflict of interest of running their own elections? Governor asked to intervene in Hillsborough elections Thursday, 06 Nov 2008 TAMPA – Two state senators are calling on Governor Charlie Crist to get involved in Hillsborough County’s election mess. Senator Charlie Justice, District 16, and Senator Arthenia Joyner, District 18, sent a letter to the governor Thursday requesting he intervene since there are still thousands of uncounted votes and unresolved issues with the optical scan machine software-- two days after the election. ... Elections workers began re-entering nearly 80,000 two-page ballots into the machines Thursday morning. It’s expected to take at least ten hours to complete, then another two hours to upload the results into the system....
An election in Florida without major screwups is like a day without sunshine.... |
|
|
Tuesday, November 4. 2008
Tonight's blog is a last minute reminder to voters everywhere in the United States. Voters, please be prepared before you go to the polls. If you want to make sure your vote counts, then go to the correct polling place. Know your state's voter ID requirements, and if your state doesn't require ID, you might want to bring some anyway, in case there are voter roll problems. If you have a problem voting, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE. They have trained staff to answer your questions, supply help, and document the problems. You can see those reports as they happen, at OURVOTELIVE.
Friday, October 31. 2008
In an article by Todd Weiss at Computerworld, Are design issues to blame for vote 'flipping' in touch-screen machines? - a Diebold spokesman admits that his company isn't designing or improving any touchscreen voting machines. He notes the growing popularity of paper ballots across the US. "Since new touch-screen machines aren't being designed, no usability studies are being done to improve existing designs, he said. Of course Riggal, like makes sure to blame voters for the problems with touch screen machines. What about a possible Oprah effect? Oprah may have helped put another nail in touch screen voting's coffin - when she voted yesterday, electronically, the machine didn't record her vote for President at first. "It didn't record my presidential vote." Charles Stewart III over at Election Updates says that DRES (touch screens) are not gone for good, that "While DREs are declining, they aren’t going to disappear..." Well, I am still hoping that our entire country ends up ditching touch screen voting and goes to simpler more reliable and more transparent systems.
Thursday, October 30. 2008
A much needed stress reliever. Enjoy. Kim Zetter, the award winning journalist at Wired News has this treasure. At first I thought it was a joke, but this is a serious video, showing Mr. Rogers voting on a lever machine. This is so nostalgic. Sigh. Here's the Wired News Story Mr. Rogers Has a Voting Machine Mishap By Kim Zetter  October 30, 2008 Tired of electronic voting machines and all of the new problems they've created? Take a nostalgic trip back to 1974 as Mr. Rogers demonstrates how to cast a ballot on a 30-year-old mechanical lever voting machine and experiences a little glitch.... more at the link
Monday, October 27. 2008
Demos has a warning about provisional ballots. Provisional ballots are conditional ballots issued to voters who have registration problems. Some election officials like to describe provisional ballots as "Fail Safe". Demos warns that many states reject tens of thousands of these ballots. What many voters do not realize is that provisional ballots are not counted on election night, have to be approved before they can count, could go uncounted for several days after the election,and in some states a high rate are rejected. Provisional Ballot Problems Loom As 2008 Election Approaches, New Report Finds Oct. 27 NEW YORK, Oct 27, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Some States Reject Tens of Thousands of Provisional Votes in 2006; Provisional Ballots May Play a Significant Role in 2008 Provisional ballots could play a significant role in the 2008 Election, frustrating voters and leading to possible post-election wrangling, according to a study published this week by the non-partisan public policy center Demos. "Provisional Ballots: Where to Watch in 2008" ( http://demos.org/pubs/provisionalballot_brief.pdf) identifies eight states where there is significant concern over provisional ballot implementation and the high risk of many of those ballots going uncounted in this election. ...High rates of provisional ballot usage and rejection suggest persistent shortcomings in election administration. More than one in three of the nearly 2 million provisional ballots cast in 2004 election were ultimately rejected.
Voters should do everything they can to get a regular ballot, and that means making sure they are registered to vote, clearing up any registration problems before voting, and voting at the right polling place on election day. Do your best to get a regular ballot, but if the only way you can vote is by provisional, then accept it. If you have a voting problem at on election day, don't leave anything to chance, get help - call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
Sunday, October 26. 2008
The New York Times has an editorial about North Caroline's confusing straight ticket voting law today: NY Times October 27, 2008 Editorial This Year’s Butterfly Ballot
In Florida’s “butterfly ballot” debacle of 2000, voters in Palm Beach County were so confused by the odd layout that many appear to have voted for the wrong candidate by mistake. At the time, there was a lot of talk about improving ballot design. Eight years later there are still far too many badly done ballots. North Carolina may have the country’s worst. It is already causing confusion with early voters. And if the presidential race is close, it could change the outcome.
Like a number of states, North Carolina allows its voters to choose a straight-party ticket. To do that, voters can mark one box and cast votes for all of the nominees of their preferred party. But North Carolina’s ballot has an unexpected twist. Even if a voter checks the straight-party box, he or she must vote separately for a presidential candidate.
...more at the link
North Carolina, October 27. 2008 NCVVNewswire/NC Coalition for Verified Voting
The State Board of Elections has responded to national concerns about NC's straight ticket voting problem by sending an advisory to all 100 County Boards of Elections. The email was sent Wednesday, at 5 PM 10/22. The email urges all County Board of Elections to have poll workers give handouts about straight ticket voting to all voters showing up to vote. It is not clear that all counties are complying.
Some North Carolina Counties are choosing not to comply with this directive. And the voters will suffer as a result. It is important that every single county, every single polling place - in early voting and on election day in North Carolina comply.
In North Carolina, straight ticket voting does not count for President. Many voters do not realize this and as a result, our state has one of the highestundervote rates for President in the US. In 2004 we lost 92000 votes for President, and in 2000 we lost 75,000 votes for Presidentbecause of this counter-intuitive law. See NC Voters' page on Straight Ticket Confusion
Below is the email sent to all counties, are they all complying? From: Johnnie McLean [mailto:Johnnie.McLean@ncmail.net] Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 5:07 PMTo: Directors.boeCc: ElectTechs.Sboe;
Subject: IMPORTANT INFORMATION In order to ensure that all voters receive the information about President/Vice President being voted separately from all other offices you are directed to reproduce the following message (printed four to a page to be cut) and hand/mail to each voter when the ballot/voting equipment is assigned to the voter. Any color paper may be used to duplicate this information. This measure is in addition to the verbal instructions the pollworkers are to provide
****************************************************************************************************************NOTICE: E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized state official.
***************************************************************************************************************
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by anauthorized county official. If you have received this communication in error , please do not distribute it. Please notify the sender by E-mail at the address shown and delete the original message. [Attachment]
PLEASE NOTE:
A "straight party" vote does not include the office of president or
any nonpartisan race or issue. You must vote for president/vice
president separately from the other offices. Nonpartisan offices
and issues also must be voted separately. More detailed instructions are
on your ballot. For paper ballots, be sure to turn the ballot over.
#
Background information
North Carolina Straight Ticket Confusion - Voting Straight Ticket in North Carolina does NOT include the Presidential contest. NC Coalition for Verified Voting 10/17/08
How Bad is North Carolina’s Ballot Flaw? The Numbers Say, Pretty Bad By Lawrence Norden & Margeret Chen, Brennan Center for Justice 10/21/08
It May Be Harder to Vote in Swing States By: David Rosenfeld Miller-McCune 10/22/08
Thursday, October 23. 2008
This is taking software independence to an all new level. There's a surprise ending to this movie but you'll just have to watch it yourself.
Wednesday, October 22. 2008
Ok, last week's news was that touchscreens in West Virginia were flipping votes from Barack Obama to John McCain. And they couldn't stop it. Today, Brad Freidman of Brad Blog reports that in Tennessee, there are machines flipping votes the other way, from John McCain to Barack Obama. And vote flipping has been reported in South Carolina as well. Now that we have both sides pissed of, can we get off this Merry-Go-Round? Please! Brad reports: So NOW Can We Impound These Machines, Take Them Out of Service and Give Every Voter a PAPER BALLOT, Please?! Several Decatur County voters are concerned about problems with the voting machines at the Election Commission Office. Voters claim they tried to vote for McCain for President but the machine checked Obama instead.... At least three voters encountered the problem when casting their early ballot on Saturday morning. Franklin Boroughs says he intended to vote for Republican but rather the computer had checked the Democratic candidate instead.
Brad writes about vote flipping in other years, and that in 2006 the only candidate to demand action was Rick Santorum, (R-PA). At the end, Brad notes how both sides are responsible for doing something about these machines: Unlike the Democrats, for some reason, Republicans don't seem to be afraid of being called "sore losers" or "conspiracy theorists" (most likely because the Rightwing media are the ones who spout such nonsense, and there are few in the media willing to throw such absurd insults at Republicans if/when they actually do the right thing.) We would gladly support the efforts of either party here who does the right thing for the voters and gets these machines the hell out of service. Now!
Agreed, make it stop. We've seen this movie several times, we saw it four years ago as a matter of fact. Make - it - stop!
Google announces their US Voter Info Site today, on Google Blog. Google recognizes a niche. Information. When voters want information about voting, they are not likely to find it easily. Many top state election officials ignore the task of voter education, leaving voters to fend for themselves. So, Google invested some of its brain power to set up a US Voter Info Site. And you can find it by - googling - just type in "where do I vote". Greater access to voting information 10/22/2008
...It's hard to believe that in 2008, information so important to U.S. citizens and the democratic process isn't well organized on the web. To solve this problem, we've released our US Voter Info site, an effort to simplify and centralize voting locations and registration information.
The New York Times says today that: "The U.S. Voter Info site was developed in partnership with with several state and local election officials, the League of Women Voters, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and others involved in the Voting Information Project." So have no fear, you can find it here. Thank you Google!
Tuesday, October 21. 2008
Thanks to Voters Unite, we now know that there are fifteen states at risk of having fouled election results due to confusing straight ticket voting rules and programming errors. In North Carolina, for example, straight ticket does NOT count for President and you must vote for President separately. North Carolina lost around 92,000 votes for President in 2004 due to the straight ticket rule. Conversely, in Texas, straight ticket DOES count for President, and if voters who select the "straight ticket" option also select President, they CANCEL out their vote for President. It has been reported that some partisans are deliberately spreading the wrong instructions to voters in Texas. Then there's the problem with voting machines handling straight ticket voting....Voters Unite warns today: Update: 10/21/08. Straight-party vote-flipping has already occurred in this election on two different e-voting machines in Texas -- the ES&S iVotronic in Dallas and the Hart InterCivic eSlate in Houston.
So what is the best advice? Don't select "straight party". If you want to vote for all candidates of one party, fine, do so, but vote for them one by one, and do not select the "straight party" option on your ballot. Doing so puts your vote at risk of mis programmed ballots or the risk that machines simply can't count according to your state's rules. The other pitfall of straight ticket voting is that each state has different rules. You need to find out your particular state's rules on what counts and how to keep from deselecting your choices. The best place to find your straight party voting instructions is at Voters Unite, who has looked up the laws and also called Secretary of States. Would you be surprised to know that at least one Secretary of State did NOT know the straight party voting rules in their state? True. So go to Voters Unite to see the handy chart and scary warning about straight ticket voting. Don't say you weren't warned!
Friday, October 17. 2008
Straight Ticket Confusion causes North Carolina voters to throw away tens of thousands of presidential votes away every four years. Our state has one of the highest undervote rates for President in the Country because of this. In 2004 our state through away 92,000 votes for president. I am writing to ask you for your help in making more votes count. NC is one of two states in the country where straight ticket voting does not count for President. This unusual exception trips up tens of thousands of voters every 4 years. Voters have very little reason to know about this exception, since it is not intuitive, and it was not even mentioned in the 3 million + voter guides mailed to households all over North Carolina. Now I am getting feedback from poll workers and observers that we still have voters who do not understand NC's straight ticket voting exceptions. How to make your vote count if you choose the straight ticket option
Continue reading "Confused North Carolina Voters Throw Votes Away - Straight Ticket Voting Warning"
Thursday, October 16. 2008
Here is a list of amusing security maxims from the website of Argonne National Lab's Nuclear Engineering Division. These are tongue in cheek, but bear much truth. See how many you think apply directly to election security. A special favorite: Mr. Spock Maxim: The effectiveness of a security device, system, or program is inversely proportional to how angry or upset people get about
the idea that there might be vulnerabilities.
We've come a long ways in 5 years of e-voting activism, but still have more work to do. The Brennan Center, Common Cause and Verified Voting Foundation today issued a 50 state report card today grading states on their preparedness for the November election. States were graded by four criteria: procedures for issuing emergency paper ballots, reconciling ballot tallies, providing paper records of votes cast, and post-election audits. I am proud to say that North Carolina ranked in the "most prepared" in all four categories, and partly because of an improvement this week in post election audit procedures. The owner of this website, David Allen, deserves high praise and thanks for North Carolina's high grade because he actually wrote parts of NC's Public Confidence in Elections Law, which has improved our elections so much. So, thank you David. Here's the press release and I recommend you click on the link to the report, it provides details and maps of states color coded by their grade of readiness States Get Mixed Reviews on Readiness for Voting Machine Problems Citing Improvements, Election Experts Call for Backup Measures to Secure the Vote on Nov 4th |
Continue reading "50 State Report Card on 2008 Election Readiness - How did your state do?"
Wednesday, October 15. 2008
Will your vote count in 2008? Find out by listening in on the conference call with some of the top national experts on the US voting issues. Thursday, October 16, at 12 PM eastern you can dial in and join the conference call lead by Lawrence Norden, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Susannah Goodman, Common Cause, director of election reform and Pamela Smith, Verified Voting Foundation, President. # Watchdogs Ask: Is America Ready to Vote?
Last update: 2:23 p.m. EDT Oct. 14, 2008
WASHINGTON, Oct 14, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Report
Assesses 50 States on Ability to Address Voting Machine Problems on
Election Day
With millions of Americans expected to confront an array of voting
technologies on Nov. 4, election experts from the Brennan Center for
Justice, Common Cause and Verified Voting will release on Thursday a
50-state report card that grades every state on its preparedness to
respond to Election Day voting system problems like broken machines,
software malfunctions, or long lines that result from voting equipment
breakdowns or misallocation of machines.
As the authors will explain in a conference call on Thursday, October
16, 2008 at 12PM EDT, some states still have not adopted laws and
procedures to effectively address an election system meltdown, even as
the country has invested billions of dollars to improve its voting
technology.
Continue reading "Is America Ready to Vote? Join Watchdogs Thurs Conference Call"
|
