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| It will start here: Major Problems At Polls Feared |
| 2006-09-17 |
| Some Officials Say Voting Law Changes And New Technology Will Cause Trouble An overhaul in how states and localities record votes and administer elections since the Florida recount battle six years ago has created conditions that could trigger a repeat -- this time on a national scale -- of last week's Election Day debacle in the Maryland suburbs, election experts said. In the Nov. 7 election, more than 80 percent of voters will use electronic voting machines, and a third of all precincts this year are using the technology for the first time. The changes are part of a national wave, prompted by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and numerous revisions of state laws, that led to the replacement of outdated voting machines with computer-based electronic machines, along with centralized databases of registered voters and other steps to refine the administration of elections. But in Maryland last Tuesday, a combination of human blunders and technological glitches caused long lines and delays in vote-counting. The problems, which followed ones earlier this year in Ohio, Illinois and several other states, have contributed to doubts among some experts about whether the new systems are reliable and whether election officials are adequately prepared to use them. In a polarized political climate, in which elections are routinely marked by litigation and allegations of incompetent administration or outright tampering, some worry that voting problems could cast a Florida-style shadow over this fall's midterm elections. "We could see that control of Congress is going to be decided by races in recount situations that might not be determined for several weeks," said Paul S. DeGregorio, chairman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, although he added that he does not expect problems of this magnitude. |
| Posted by:Speater Flump2829 |
| #8 CF: agree about the Sno Co ballots, but not confined to only that county; all acros the state an average of 15% are being rejected due to the lack of party affiliation indication. This stems from that Phuqued up State supreme court case where both the Dems and the Rebs said that we the people were taking away thier freedom of choice and it was in our best interest to blindly follow their advice. There is a lot of swirl about this and i predict atht there will be a case filed by Joe Citizen to overturn this turd of a law. When I did my absentee, I did not select any partisan races, but only went for the non-parts and levies. Mrs. RET has already said she is not even going to cast a primary vote. At least we don't have talking cameras (yet). |
| Posted by: USN,Ret 2006-09-17 22:55 |
| #7 "Cause trouble" : dhimmi speak for "Damn! we can't commit voter fraud with these high-tech machines!" |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-17 15:02 |
| #6 #3 CF: "I guess the good news is that conservatives are more likely to be careful - having experience in filling out tax forms and the like." ROFL! I hadn't thought about it but you're right - moonbats living in Mommy's basement don't have to deal with real life, do they? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-17 14:42 |
| #5 guess the good news is that conservatives are more likely to be careful - having experience in filling out tax forms and the like. I know you are just kidding and that is funny. But as Stalin said, it is who counts the votes. I used to vote in California as absentee military. In the 2000 and 2004 elections, they would never send my absentee ballot unless I called and made a stink. There was always some lame technicality. In 2000 they (finally) sent it so late I had to fedex it in. |
| Posted by: Shush Sholuth7794 2006-09-17 11:45 |
| #4 This is what they wanted and now they're yammering. Typical. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-09-17 11:32 |
| #3 In Snohomish County, Washington State, they just went to forced-mail balloting (i.e. you *must* vote by mail) for the Primary. The latest sampling shows that a full 20% of the ballots (so far) are invalid because the people didn't fill them out properly or didn't select a party affiliation. I guess the good news is that conservatives are more likely to be careful - having experience in filling out tax forms and the like. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-09-17 10:46 |
| #2 Some Officials Say Voting Law Changes And New Technology Will Cause Trouble... ...for the Democrats to remain in power by rigging the results as in Washington State, East St. Louis IL, Chicago, etc. and remove even more excuses to blame the loss on someone or something else. |
| Posted by: Omoth Ebboper5461 2006-09-17 10:39 |
| #1 The very thought of a commission run by Jimmah Cahtah and Jimbo Baker makes me sceptical of its results, whatever actual merit they may have. It is hard to think of two more worthless scourges of the public trust except perhaps Bill Clinton and John F'n Kerry. Did I forget Algore? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-09-17 09:46 |