Voting machine woes force ballot backup

[Judi Lynn]

ELECTION 2006: THE PRIMARIES

Voting machine woes force ballot backup

By John McCormick and James Janega, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporters Michael Hawthorne, David Kidwell, Courtney Flynn, Charles Sheehan, Hal Dardick, Ray Quintanilla and Deborah Horan c
Published March 22, 2006



A high-tech voting system in Chicago and suburban Cook County provided plenty of frustration and confusion for voters during its first test Tuesday, as election officials dealt with missing power cords and ballots, jammed equipment and broken electronic voting machines.

The problems left some pining for the old days, even if they included the notorious punch-card ballot.

"It was easier to worry about hanging chads," said Daniel Fore, an election judge in Oak Park.

After dealing with polling-place problems, election officials nervously awaited results as they slowly trickled in from the more than 3,000 locations in Chicago and suburban Cook.

Cook County Clerk David Orr said remote transmission of results had failed in "dozens" of polling places, slowing results. He said judges were sending some data cards downtown by cab for counting, after they were unable to merge and transmit results from the new touch-screen and optical scanning systems.
(snip/...)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0603220085mar22,1,3756192.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[Mithras61]

1. I'm shocked! SHOCKED I say!

No, not really. It happens everywhere the electronic voting systems are installed and the problems are far worse tham are usually reported (the WORST report I've seen so far is the TX one with a 20% variation in the recount numbers).

The fact is that these systems are broken beyond being fixable, and should never have been implemented in the first place, but the e-vote companies and the Repukes have been pushing e-voting for the better part of 15 years now, so it will take a while to get through to people on this.

Hopefully these damn things will screw up the 'puke votes so badly that even THEY will have to admit they are broken and we'll finally get through that this isn't a Dem vs. Repub issue but rather a Democracy/Republic vs. Secret Dictatorship issue.

[Trillo]

2. Data transmission using the NSA-compromised communication system?

From OPs article, emphasis mine:

"It was easier to worry about hanging chads," said Daniel Fore, an election judge in Oak Park.
...
Cook County Clerk David Orr said remote transmission of results had failed in "dozens" of polling places, slowing results.
...
"Is it a concern that it's transmitting twice?" Republican judge Lionel Lusardi said into a cell phone. "No," the response came back, since the transmitter crashed the second time.
...
"It's a landslide," joked Republican election judge David Masak. "As of right now, I can tell you we are officially the only precinct in Chicago that is going 100 percent Republican."

Why did transmission fail?

IMO, it's likely best to require 100% paper-ballot auditing of all electronic results. How else will the truth ever be known?

[NYC]

5. Why not just the paper ballots?

You said: IMO, it's likely best to require 100% paper-ballot auditing of all electronic results. How else will the truth ever be known?

So, why bother with the faulty (and riggable) electronic voting at all? We should stick to what works, and what can be checked.

[loudsue]

3. K & R Seems like everything on the home page these days is

about faulty REPUBLICAN OWNED & PROGRAMMED voting machines. Let's get this one on the front page, too! :applause:

At SOME point, hopefully, it will build a fire under the people of this nation to realize that WE DIDN'T ELECT THESE BASTARDS!!!

:kick::kick::kick:

[bvar22]

4. Time for another 'Boston Tea Party"....

only this time it will be the BBV machines going in the bay!

[demgrrrll]

6. Woes? Voting Machine Woes? As in woe is me? Nice deflection.

How about something with a little ring of truth instead of this no big deal headline.

[Richard Steele]

7. "All votes are equal", saith Diebold!

[roseBudd]

8. DUers make sure you click through Elections Results folks...

contact the reporters for this story and very nicely try to educate them about the problems with anything that involves computer tabulation.

[lovuian]

9. The machines just can't be trusted...

at least not yet!!!

[SoCalDem]

10. All you need is some folding tables, some sharpies and paper ballots

and HUMANS to count the ballots.. a simple chalkboard used to suffice too..and a regular ole telephone to call in the numbers..

a trusted official to padlock and secure the actual ballots..

There are plenty of unemployed people who would be happy to work elections..

The precincts could be broken into manageable sizes for speedier counting..

It's SO EASY, and yet the people we HIRED to do OUR bidding, have managed to turn it into rocket-science (Challenger-style)...

What needs to happen too, is to break the "nationally held office" elections AWAY from the local.state elections..

Even years= nationally held offices
odd years+ state/local & propositions elections

Most places have elections every year for something or other anyway, and it would make even-year ballots the size of 5x7 cards..never mroe than 3 votes necessary.. It would make the lines shorter, and nerves less frazzled, and it would totally eliminate the THOUSANDS of people who stand in line for hours to SKIP a presidential/senatorial vote ...but DO manage to vote for county commissioner or judges no one even knows :eyes:...

No over votes...no under votes..

Choose ONE in each column

column 1 president.........column 2 senate..........column 3 house
You could even put a little thumbnail picture next to the name in case they are confused

the last entry in each column.. NONE OF THE ABOVE..

That pretty much insures that A VOTE will be cast..even if it's a protest "no vote"..

......

How the local & state elections are held in odd years doesn't concern me at all..

People do not come to blows and angry words over a "glitch" in the at-large commission seat in the 14th district of Podunk, Idaho... but I DO care if their senate election gets screwed up, because that senator they send to DC is probably the one that tips the balance to the other side, and changes the future of the whole country..

.

[texpatriot2004]

11. Electronic Voting Machines are UNRELIABLE nm