Electronic Voting Machines Changing Votes From Democrat To Republican

[MadRat]

Its so hard to color in the ovals with that #2 pencil that we need easy 15-step processes to calibrate our machines before we vote for the wrong candidate. 1984 came a little late.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: catnap1972
Funny how I've rarely heard of supermarket self checkout's heavily used touch screens that go "out of sync" (and they're used 365 days a year).

Definitely sounds like Broward's supervisor is shoveling something....

Broward is very heavily Democratic

 

[db]

Isn't this Clinton's fault?

 

[BriGy86]

i figured this would go well here, its a myspace video , but it shows the vulnerabilities of one certain voting machine
http://vidsearch.myspace.com/index.cfm?...ion=vids.individual&videoid=1276996461

here are some issues I think could easily be changed
-why are the bottom screws available (why aren't the under a secure locking plate or something)
-why is it able to boot from a memory card, perhaps read only memory should be used
-why does it use a cheap lock

 

[wiin]

Problems are occuring only in democrats controlled area. Democ-rats should quit manipulating the voting machines and run an honest election.

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Text

Glitches cited in early voting
BY CHARLES RABIN AND DARRAN SIMON

After a week of early voting, a handful of glitches with electronic voting machines have drawn the ire of voters, reassurances from elections supervisors -- and a caution against the careless casting of ballots.

Several South Florida voters say the choices they touched on the electronic screens were not the ones that appeared on the review screen -- the final voting step.

Election officials say they aren't aware of any serious voting issues. But in Broward County, for example, they don't know how widespread the machine problems are because there's no process for poll workers to quickly report minor issues and no central database of machine problems.

In Miami-Dade, incidents are logged and reported daily and recorded in a central database. Problem machines are shut down.

''In the past, Miami-Dade County would send someone to correct the machine on site,'' said Lester Sola, county supervisor of elections. Now, he said, ``We close the machine down and put a seal on it.''

Debra A. Reed voted with her boss on Wednesday at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale. Her vote went smoothly, but boss Gary Rudolf called her over to look at what was happening on his machine. He touched the screen for gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, a Democrat, but the review screen repeatedly registered the Republican, Charlie Crist.

That's exactly the kind of problem that sends conspiracy theorists into high gear -- especially in South Florida, where a history of problems at the polls have made voters particularly skittish.

A poll worker then helped Rudolf, but it took three tries to get it right, Reed said.

''I'm shocked because I really want . . . to trust that the issues with irregularities with voting machines have been resolved,'' said Reed, a paralegal. ``It worries me because the races are so close.''

Broward Supervisor of Elections spokeswoman Mary Cooney said it's not uncommon for screens on heavily used machines to slip out of sync, making votes register incorrectly. Poll workers are trained to recalibrate them on the spot -- essentially, to realign the video screen with the electronics inside. The 15-step process is outlined in the poll-workers manual.

''It is resolved right there at the early-voting site,'' Cooney said.

Broward poll workers keep a log of all maintenance done on machines at each site. But the Supervisor of Elections office doesn't see that log until the early voting period ends. And a machine isn't taken out of service unless the poll clerk decides it's a chronic poor performer that can't be fixed.

Cooney said no machines have been removed during early voting, and she is not aware of any serious problems.

In Miami-Dade, two machines have been taken out of service during early voting. No votes were lost, Sola said.

Joan Marek, 60, a Democrat from Hollywood, was also stunned to see Charlie Crist on her ballot review page after voting on Thursday. ''Am I on the voting screen again?'' she wondered. ``Well, this is too weird.''

Marek corrected her ballot and alerted poll workers at the Hollywood satellite courthouse, who she said told her they'd had previous problems with the same machine.

Poll workers did some work on her machine when she finished voting, Marek said. But no report was made to the Supervisor of Elections office and the machine was not removed, Cooney said.

Workers at the Hollywood poll said there had been no voting problems on Friday.

Mauricio Raponi wanted to vote for Democrats across the board at the Lemon City Library in Miami on Thursday. But each time he hit the button next to the candidate, the Republican choice showed up. Raponi, 53, persevered until the machine worked. Then he alerted a poll worker.

Miami Herald staff writer Linda Topping Streitfeld contributed to this report.

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What I find very interesting is that all the errors reported have favored the GOP candidates. Electronic voting isn't foolproof, I understand that. But if these were truly random errors, you would expect to see errors favoring both parties. With no central database of machine errors being kept, the public is in the dark about how widespread the issue really is. Everybody remembers this gem from our last national elections:

"I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year..." - Walden O'Dell, CEO Diebold Inc.

 

[newmachineoverlord]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
We should be voting by paper only.

It's too bad the contitution doesn't have legacy text requiring ballots to be on paper, and actually counted.

Machines should not be trusted for elections unless they are open source, fully open to public inspection, and meet strict security standards, while leaving an auditable paper trail.

 

[piasabird]

I dont see a problem. They obviously have a chance to do a review and back up and change the vote. As a programmer, I would ask, how come they are not doing some testing with some volunteers? Any system like this needs some vigorous user testing. There could be glitches when there is only one candidate or the screen may not match up with the acutal data or some such thing. These devices need to be tested with a third party with no agenda to verify their accuracy to at least 99.9% Accuracy.

On a side note, you still have to verify that democrats are not voting for people who are dead.

In some locations, they still require the ballot to be on paper as a backup.

The problem is that the whole process is suppose to be Confidential.

 

[darkhorror]

How the hell are voting machines so complicated, this just seems like an extreamly simple thing. Everything running on my computer is more complicated that that stupid thing. If we can do realtime online stock trading, I think we can do eletronic voting.

 

[CellarDoor]

Originally posted by: darkhorror
How the hell are voting machines so complicated, this just seems like an extreamly simple thing. Everything running on my computer is more complicated that that stupid thing. If we can do realtime online stock trading, I think we can do eletronic voting.

Not if the people in charge of the machines have an agenda.

 

[Banzai042]

Originally posted by: piasabird
I dont see a problem. They obviously have a chance to do a review and back up and change the vote. As a programmer, I would ask, how come they are not doing some testing with some volunteers? Any system like this needs some vigorous user testing. There could be glitches when there is only one candidate or the screen may not match up with the acutal data or some such thing. These devices need to be tested with a third party with no agenda to verify their accuracy to at least 99.9% Accuracy.

On a side note, you still have to verify that democrats are not voting for people who are dead.

In some locations, they still require the ballot to be on paper as a backup.

The problem is that the whole process is suppose to be Confidential.

The problem is that even if the machine says that it recorded your vote properly how can you know that it didn't report your vote incorrectly. Really I think that it's going to take something like a huge scandal which gives rise to a nice headline like "Stolen election '06" on every news network before the American public will care.

 

[Specop 007]

I love hearing the liberals whine about the voting machines.

Let me tell you what it comes down to, in a butshell.

The Dems are pissed that we cheat better. Not that we cheat, oh no. Dems cheat as well. Dead people voting, people voting twice etc etc etc.
The issue is the Dems are just pissed that we cheat better then they do. Well tough I say. No matter what voting system is used the Dems will cry when they lose because to them its impossible to image that they could lose. Rather then blame the failings of their own party and own policies they choose the voting method as the scapegoat. Remember the hanging chads? How about the ridiculous smudged bubbles, or half filled bubbles? And now voting machines.......

Yeah. They say their mad that we cheat. What they mean is their mad we cheat better.

To them I say "HA HA"

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Specop 007
I love hearing the liberals whine about the voting machines.

Let me tell you what it comes down to, in a butshell.

The Dems are pissed that we cheat better. Not that we cheat, oh no. Dems cheat as well. Dead people voting, people voting twice etc etc etc.
The issue is the Dems are just pissed that we cheat better then they do. Well tough I say. No matter what voting system is used the Dems will cry when they lose because to them its impossible to image that they could lose. Rather then blame the failings of their own party and own policies they choose the voting method as the scapegoat. Remember the hanging chads? And now voting machines?

Yeah. They say their mad that we cheat. What they mean is their mad we cheat better.

To them I say "HA HA"

This is more or less completely moronic post is indicative of why it's so hard to get legislation passed to ensure clear, consistent election results. I have to believe most Americans want elections they can trust, but there are always those, like "Specop 007," for whom the ends justify the means.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: Specop 007
I love hearing the liberals whine about the voting machines.

Let me tell you what it comes down to, in a butshell.

The Dems are pissed that we cheat better. Not that we cheat, oh no. Dems cheat as well. Dead people voting, people voting twice etc etc etc.
The issue is the Dems are just pissed that we cheat better then they do. Well tough I say. No matter what voting system is used the Dems will cry when they lose because to them its impossible to image that they could lose. Rather then blame the failings of their own party and own policies they choose the voting method as the scapegoat. Remember the hanging chads? And now voting machines?

Yeah. They say their mad that we cheat. What they mean is their mad we cheat better.

To them I say "HA HA"

This is more or less completely moronic post is indicative of why it's so hard to get legislation passed to ensure clear, consistent election results. I have to believe most Americans want elections they can trust, but there are always those, like "Specop 007," for whom the ends justify the means.

And then there are those, as seen here, who think one side is holding themselves to some sort of higher moral ground and is completely honest and legitimate.
Honestly though the only thing being held is some blinders, which some wear with strong convictions I might add. No explanation about dead people voting, no explanation for trading drugs for votes, no explanation for hanging chads or missfilled bubbles, just more "We need ACCURATE results (Read: We want Dems to win!)".

And for those like me who realize that both sides are cheating....Well hell, if their BOTH going to cheat, it might as well be my side that wins.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

And then there are those, as seen here, who think one side is holding themselves to some sort of higher moral ground and is completely honest and legitimate.
Honestly though the only thing being held is some blinders, which some wear with strong convictions I might add. No explanation about dead people voting, no explanation for trading drugs for votes, no explanation for hanging chads or missfilled bubbles, just more "We need ACCURATE results (Read: We want Dems to win!)".

And for those like me who realize that both sides are cheating....Well hell, if their BOTH going to cheat, it might as well be my side that wins.

You are either representing yourself very poorly or you're a very poor American IMO. I guess either might be consistent with an adult male with no military background who'd refer to himself as "Specop 007."

My own opinion is that all Americans have a right to be confident in the results of our elections. It has become amply clear that existing electronic voting machines are very easily manipulated, and leave no paper trail to audit their results. I don't see this as a partisan issue.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: Specop 007

And then there are those, as seen here, who think one side is holding themselves to some sort of higher moral ground and is completely honest and legitimate.
Honestly though the only thing being held is some blinders, which some wear with strong convictions I might add. No explanation about dead people voting, no explanation for trading drugs for votes, no explanation for hanging chads or missfilled bubbles, just more "We need ACCURATE results (Read: We want Dems to win!)".

And for those like me who realize that both sides are cheating....Well hell, if their BOTH going to cheat, it might as well be my side that wins.

You are either representing yourself very poorly or you're a very poor American IMO. I guess either might be consistent with an adult male with no military background who'd refer to himself as "Specop 007."

My own opinion is that all Americans have a right to be confident in the results of our elections. It has become amply clear that existing electronic voting machines are very easily manipulated, and leave no paper trail to audit their results. I don't see this as a partisan issue.

Personal attacks Don? I'm shocked, SHOCKED I say. I would have never expected something like that from you........

And my opinion, while an opinion it may still be, is far more true then yours. There WILL be cheating in any system used. Which is why I *clearly* pointed out the previous voting systems which you made no mention of (Again, SHOCKED that you disreagrd past instrances).

Remember the bubbles? "Oh, the bubble wasnt completely filled in but they voted D, yes sir they did!"

Remember the chads? "Oh, well the D is hanging even though the R is completely missing, yep they obviously meant to vote D yes sir they did!"

How about dead people voting? How about bribing people with drugs to vote Democrat?

So I say again, since both sides are cheating it might as well be mine that wins. And since cheating is inevitable in the voting process I should hope my side has the means to cheat in such a way as to win. And it seems we have. Which as can clearly be seen pisses off the Dems to no end. Of course, everyone knows the Dems would NEVER cheat and the only *possible* way they would lose any election is if we cheated.......

Dont get me wrong. I too would like to have a fair and balanced voting system with no possibility of cheating or corruption....But it will never happen. Ever. Its a pipe dream that fools chase and nothing more. And thats all it will ever be.

Which brings us back to the beginning.

If theres going to be cheating, at least its my party thats cheating better.

 

[CellarDoor]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: Specop 007

And then there are those, as seen here, who think one side is holding themselves to some sort of higher moral ground and is completely honest and legitimate.
Honestly though the only thing being held is some blinders, which some wear with strong convictions I might add. No explanation about dead people voting, no explanation for trading drugs for votes, no explanation for hanging chads or missfilled bubbles, just more "We need ACCURATE results (Read: We want Dems to win!)".

And for those like me who realize that both sides are cheating....Well hell, if their BOTH going to cheat, it might as well be my side that wins.

You are either representing yourself very poorly or you're a very poor American IMO. I guess either might be consistent with an adult male with no military background who'd refer to himself as "Specop 007."

My own opinion is that all Americans have a right to be confident in the results of our elections. It has become amply clear that existing electronic voting machines are very easily manipulated, and leave no paper trail to audit their results. I don't see this as a partisan issue.

Personal attacks Don? I'm shocked, SHOCKED I say. I would have never expected something like that from you........

And my opinion, while an opinion it may still be, is far more true then yours. There WILL be cheating in any system used. Which is why I *clearly* pointed out the previous voting systems which you made no mention of (Again, SHOCKED that you disreagrd past instrances).

Remember the bubbles? "Oh, the bubble wasnt completely filled in but they voted D, yes sir they did!"

Remember the chads? "Oh, well the D is hanging even though the R is completely missing, yep they obviously meant to vote D yes sir they did!"

How about dead people voting? How about bribing people with drugs to vote Democrat?

So I say again, since both sides are cheating it might as well be mine that wins. And since cheating is inevitable in the voting process I should hope my side has the means to cheat in such a way as to win. And it seems we have. Which as can clearly be seen pisses off the Dems to no end. Of course, everyone knows the Dems would NEVER cheat and the only *possible* way they would lose any election is if we cheated.......

Dont get me wrong. I too would like to have a fair and balanced voting system with no possibility of cheating or corruption....But it will never happen. Ever. Its a pipe dream that fools chase and nothing more. And thats all it will ever be.

Which brings us back to the beginning.

If theres going to be cheating, at least its my party thats cheating better.

Just because it's not possible to have a system free of any cheating or corruption does not mean that we shouldn't fix flaws in the system when they are clearly evident.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: CellarDoor
Just because it's not possible to have a system free of any cheating or corruption does not mean that we shouldn't fix flaws in the system when they are clearly evident.

And I assume you were just as concerned about the dead people voting and the hanging chads and "drugs for votes" correct? Or has it just became a problem now that the Republicans are winning??

Be honest now.......

 

[Thump553]

Specop: Drop your partisan blinders for one minute, please. The type of fraud you complain about is already illegal and is prosecuted. If you have actual knowledge of such fraud, FILE A COMPLAINT with the appropriate authorities. Don't sit idly by, they use that allegedly fraud (most likely urban myths based on 3rd and 4th hand stories) as a justification for institutional fraud that goes to the very heart of our democratic system. To paraphrase Stalin, who votes doesn't matter, who counts the votes does. I don't want, and will not accept, that sort of standard in the USA.

I've worked elections, both as a poll worker and as a party's observor (different times, different jurisdictions). Most places the poll workers (almost always selected from both parties) view their job to oversee a fair and impartial election extremely seriously. Party observors are a different beast, but even they usually know to respect the law and the process.

In 2000 we had a presidential election that, I'm sure, 99% of people would conclude, was a procedural fiasco. Supposedly election law reform was made a top agenda. Unfortunately it seems that the "reform" process didn't do one whit to solve the problem, and instead has created a whole new level of fraud and pork (every jurisdiction being required to buy new, expensive voting machines-the old mechanical lever ones used in my state were perfectly fine).

The system is sick, and being made worse. Not good for America, regardless of your political bent.

 

[Termagant]

But..... every lie about our secure voting machines is a liberal conspiracy theory.

If you're voting for the right candidate, you have nothing to worry about!

 

[Rangoric]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: CellarDoor
Just because it's not possible to have a system free of any cheating or corruption does not mean that we shouldn't fix flaws in the system when they are clearly evident.

And I assume you were just as concerned about the dead people voting and the hanging chads and "drugs for votes" correct? Or has it just became a problem now that the Republicans are winning??

Be honest now.......

Did he say he wasn't concerned? Or did you forget to read his post?

Be honest now...

 

[CellarDoor]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: CellarDoor
Just because it's not possible to have a system free of any cheating or corruption does not mean that we shouldn't fix flaws in the system when they are clearly evident.

And I assume you were just as concerned about the dead people voting and the hanging chads and "drugs for votes" correct? Or has it just became a problem now that the Republicans are winning??

Be honest now.......

Absolutely. How about you stop making assumptions?

I have absolutely no problem with the results of any election as long as it can be shown the votes were counted correctly and that we're doing everything to fix any problems we have. Any irregularities should be reported immediately and dealt with. If we don't get to hear the results of the elections for a few days, fine by me. Making sure that our votes count is the most important issue for our country.

This will also help bring Americans together. People are less likely to complain about the results of an election if they believe said election was fair. In the case of 2000, and to a lesser extent 2004, many didn't believe it was and that just allows for more and more hatred to build up on both sides.

Regarding dead people voting in particular...This should definitely be fixed. There seem to be numerous problems though. In some instances people are placing votes for people that are dead. In others, people who are alive are listed as being dead.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Personal attacks Don? I'm shocked, SHOCKED I say. I would have never expected something like that from you........

And my opinion, while an opinion it may still be, is far more true then yours. There WILL be cheating in any system used. Which is why I *clearly* pointed out the previous voting systems which you made no mention of (Again, SHOCKED that you disreagrd past instrances).

Remember the bubbles? "Oh, the bubble wasnt completely filled in but they voted D, yes sir they did!"

Remember the chads? "Oh, well the D is hanging even though the R is completely missing, yep they obviously meant to vote D yes sir they did!"

How about dead people voting? How about bribing people with drugs to vote Democrat?

So I say again, since both sides are cheating it might as well be mine that wins. And since cheating is inevitable in the voting process I should hope my side has the means to cheat in such a way as to win. And it seems we have. Which as can clearly be seen pisses off the Dems to no end. Of course, everyone knows the Dems would NEVER cheat and the only *possible* way they would lose any election is if we cheated.......

Dont get me wrong. I too would like to have a fair and balanced voting system with no possibility of cheating or corruption....But it will never happen. Ever. Its a pipe dream that fools chase and nothing more. And thats all it will ever be.

Which brings us back to the beginning.

If theres going to be cheating, at least its my party thats cheating better.

How can your _opinion_ be "far more true" than mine?

I guess I don't see the relevance of the "hanging chads," since none - not one - of those votes were given to Democrats unless they punched the ballots for Gore, although it was clear many of the voters meant to vote for him and didn't (even Buchanan, the beneficiaries of the butterfly ballots, conceded that most of the votes he received in the contested districts were meant for Gore).

My point is that we need a system that protects against cheating, by either party, through whatever mechanism. It is an embarrassment that the world's wealthiest country has elections that wouldn't pass muster in the third world.

I note, BTW, the way you've changed your position. Now you purport to agree that cheating should be eliminated, but above, you said nothing of the kind, just boasting that your party was better at it. Pathetic. Again, it's not entirely surprising from a grown man calling himself "Specop 007."