"Tens of thousands of voters...across more than 25 states, encountered serious problems at...polls"

[ProSense]

Experts Concerned as Ballot Problems Persist

Workers at a voting site in Cleveland tried to get an electronic voting machine to start on Election Day, after the polls had opened.

By IAN URBINA and CHRISTOPHER DREW
Published: November 26, 2006

After six years of technological research, more than $4 billion spent by Washington on new machinery and a widespread overhaul of the nation’s voting system, this month’s midterm election revealed that the country is still far from able to ensure that every vote counts.

Tens of thousands of voters, scattered across more than 25 states, encountered serious problems at the polls, including failures in sophisticated new voting machines and confusion over new identification rules, according to interviews with election experts and officials.

In many places, the difficulties led to shortages of substitute paper ballots and long lines that caused many voters to leave without casting ballots. Still, an association of top state election officials concluded that for the most part, voting went as smoothly as expected.

Over the last three weeks, attention has been focused on a few close races affected by voting problems, including those in Florida and Ohio where counting dragged on for days. But because most of this year’s races were not close, election experts say voting problems may actually have been wider than initially estimated, with many malfunctions simply overlooked.

That oversight may not be possible in the presidential election of 2008, when turnout will be higher and every vote will matter in what experts say will probably be a close race.

Voting experts say it is impossible to say how many votes were not counted that should have been. But in Florida alone, the discrepancies reported across Sarasota County and three others amount to more than 60,000 votes. In Colorado, as many as 20,000 people gave up trying to vote, election officials say, as new online systems for verifying voter registrations crashed repeatedly. And in Arkansas, election officials tallied votes three times in one county, and each time the number of ballots cast changed by more than 30,000.

more...

[EST]

1. Has this been posted in the election reform forum?

If not, it should be cross posted there.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. DU'ers Concerned as Ballot Problems Persist

since f*cking 2000!!!!

:mad:

[NV1962]

3. Just 18,000 'vanished' votes in Katherine Harris' 13th FL district

Then again, don't blame the GOP: rigging the vote comes with the rightwing membership club card.

[Joanne98]

4. But, but, it's Howard Dean's fault.....(sarcasm)

[In Truth We Trust]

5. Transparency Now! Hand Counted Paper Ballots NOW! Nothing more; Nothing less!

[The Wizard]

10. With blue thumbs

that won't wash off for a week so as to ensure people only vote once. Even a temporary three sixes on the forehead would be better than the flawed system foisted on the voters by flawed law makers.

[nashville_brook]

6. to all the GOTV'ers who were anti-theft... now that the election is over...

we could really use some help in a Protecting The Vote (PTV), because we shouldn't have to overcome even ONE PERCENT vote suppression or vote theft. think of how easier your job is going to be when you don't have to overcome the MOT (margin of theft).

[ArmchairMeme]

7. Election Day should be a holiday for all

Paper ballots handcounted by people on both sides turned over and validated to committees composed of both Dems/Reps/Inds/Green.

Even better Runoff ballots.

Show us that voting is legitimate and above board.

[ClintonTyree]

8. How many pencils and paper ballots could.....

$4 Billion buy? :shrug: A whole bunch, I'm guessing. Enough so we'd never have to buy another electronic voting machine again, that's for sure.

Technology was alright for a while but it's gone on for entirely too long. All that changes does not progress and our electronic voting problems make that point crystal clear. Something as simple as a pencil and a paper ballot makes all of these problems disappear. Amazing, isn't it? :eyes:

[Mr_Spock]

9. These machines suck

They should all be destroyed and replaced with something reliable, unhackable & that also has a paper trail. It's amazing that such crap can be used for something as important as our elections.

[woodsgirl]

11. Why shouldn't there

be a study of elections that work? Like Canada. Hand counted paper ballots. Now that they have a conservative prime minister, I think they are talking about going electronic. Anybody know? Despite the fact that the old way worked. Trying to make electronic voting machines work is like trying to put a square peg onto a round hole. Can't wait until John Conyers holds hearings on the Ohio debacle. He helped impeach Nixon.The billions that have been wasted of taxpayer money on the repub. agenda is obscene.And is there a gag order on the RFK Jr. lawsuit? How long can that go on. Like the gag order on Sibel Edmonds. crooked

[McCamy Taylor]

12. Teamsters (supportered GOP Governor candidated) held bus strike Fort Worth election day

Buses were running up to four hours behind. As of Friday before the election, early voting was way up over 2002 and the county election supervisor predicted a record turnout, but by the end of Tuesday, despite great weather, the turn out was smaller than 2002 and the GOP walked away with the county. Next door, Dallas County went GOP.

Someone needs to investigate if the Teamsters were testing out a new form of election fraud---shut down urban mass transit on election day with a strike (or bomb threat) and keep Democrats from the polls. Imagine the effects in a place like Cleveland or NYC.