Tech | September 20, 2008 | 21 comments

Report: voting problems in several swing states

source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/18/voting.problems/index.html

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Conniepae
A new Government Accountability Office report on voting system testing finds that the Election Assistance Commission has not notified election officials across the country about electronic voting machine failures.

A line of voters cast their ballots in the primary March 4 in Columbus, Ohio.

And a new study by Common Cause and the Century Foundation finds that 10 very vital swing states have significant voting problems that have not been addressed since the last election.

Those 10 states, according to Common Cause, are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

In Colorado, 20,000 left polling places without voting in 2006 because of crashed computer registration machines and long lines. And this election day, Colorado will have another new registration system.

"You know, Colorado is two years behind many states in implementing a statewide voter database. ... This is a new system, and there's just a lot of unknowns as to whether or not voters will be successful," said Jenny Flanagan of Common Cause.

The problems listed in the report range from not enough voting machines to glitches with electronic registration poll books. Read the report

"We're seeing a lot of problems where people are being kicked off the data base rolls if their name is on as Alex as opposed to Alexander or they've put a middle initial in there name and it's not there," said Susan Greenhalgh of Voter Action. "These are problems that are being created by software restrictions that are stringent or glitches in some cases where the program is incorrectly bouncing people off the rolls."

For voters with problems in registration, provisional ballots are provided.

But Tova Wang of Common Cause said there is a "very good chance, with all of the new voters that we are going to see this year, that there will be a big demand for the use of provisional ballots."

"And yet I see nothing, except in one of the 10 states, that the states are doing to ensure that there will be enough provisional ballots on hand so that they don't run out of them. Ideally, provisional ballots should be on hand for 10 percent of the voting population," she added. Watch more on the fight for swing states »

Common Cause said it's not too late to fix many of these problems. Although many states don't have the laws on the books to require some safeguards, they can act now to make sure that there are enough back up ballots at the polls, workers are properly trained and there are enough poll workers on election day.

Denver, Colorado, for example, is going back to a paper poll book registration for this election.
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21 comments // Report: voting problems in several swing states

  • khromadjo
  • Music_iz_my_life
  • wanamoka
  • buttcrack
    • 0
      buttcrack  

    • They just need to get rid of this rediculous electoral college thing and just go by popular vote for the Presidential Election.

    • 3 years ago
  • njr
    • 0
      njr  

    • This does not seem to be getting any attention in the mainstream media. The Obama camp needs to really be vigilant. These states are vital in winning this election for the Democrats.

    • 3 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • The election in 2005 was challenged in Ohio. They were instructed by "Court Order" to retain the ballots and what do you know, they "accidentally" destroyed them anyway. No evidence, no crime? Or, "proof" of a crime?

      Was there accountability, NO! Was there shame, NO! Lets not wait in '08, hold them accountable today, shame them today for spin and distorted facts!

      They cant steal a landslide! Get out the vote! We have a little over a month to inform. Expose and shame spinners for misleading Americanst

    • 3 years ago
  • geneonlbk
    • 0
      geneonlbk  

    • Concerned voter groups might set up shadow voting mechanisms at each polling site; where a representative from both parties oversee a blind second ballot, where voters at least designate which presidential candidate they voted for. This would be a good cross check on our current corrupt rotten racist voting theft system.

      I bet we see Ohio and Florida once again embroiled in obvious voter tampering by the GOP. Aren't we sick enough of this to finally put an end to it?

    • 3 years ago
  • MethuselahMouse
    • 0
      MethuselahMouse  

    • WRITTEN paper ballots are a much better way to fight disenfranchisement, which some unscrupulous members of our society are much too eager to practice.

    • 3 years ago
  • Priskillet
  • bishopobispo
  • sueathome
    • 0
      sueathome  

    • Too bad that the Obama campaign has to have representatives in these crooked states monitoring that fairness will be done. These illegal practices only show how scared the some people must be to create these obstacles.

    • 3 years ago
  • huntre
    • 0
      huntre  

    • Okay, citizens. Be at the polls with your cameras and microphones to record anything...ANYTHING...that looks out of sorts. We may need that documented evidence to right a serious wrong. No more stolen elections.
      Cameras don't blink.

    • 3 years ago
  • Bwittany
  • ocanada
    • 0
      ocanada  

    • This is all potentialy made worse by the fact the U.S. has been operating without the Federal Election Commision for the better part of a year. Due to controversial Bush apointments to the F.E.C. congress refused to apoint anyone to fill the gaps left in the commision and without a quorum the commision looses governing authority and was essentialy neutered. So any complaints will go directly to state and local voting commisions and the offices of individual state secrataries. That worked out soooo well with people like Katherine Harris who strucj 70,000 voters from the rolls, refused to investigate any voter fraud cases, and who was Bush's state co-chair. No voter fraud charges were filed against her and now any such charges will be hard to level when even egregious abuses have been allowed to go uncheked.

    • 3 years ago
  • advertisehere
  • ClayCreature
    • 0
      ClayCreature  

    • Well, it has only been 8 years since the massive voting screw up of the 2000 election. Not nearly enough for Americans and their government to get their shit together.

    • 3 years ago
  • Bwittany
  • Varex_Sythe
    • 0
      Varex_Sythe  

    • Protest your local government if they make use of electronic voting that does not back up votes on paper! A hard copy of your vote is required!

    • 3 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • phillyharper, good link. Why dont you post it today! This video stands on its own. I love that you provided the link, but I would also like to see it as a stand-alone post.

    • 3 years ago
  • phillyharper
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