Ohio: No "Sleepovers" For Voting Machines

Citing Security Concerns, Election Official Won’t Allow Poll Workers To Take Voting Machines Home At Night

(CBS/AP)  Ohio's elections chief says she won't allow poll workers to take voting machines home for safekeeping in the days before the November presidential election.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Tuesday that the practice known as "sleepovers" is an unacceptable security risk.

Many local election officials have argued that the custom makes it easier to transport machines to polling sites.

Otherwise, they would have to hire moving companies to distribute the machines at a cost of thousands of dollars, something they don't have in their budgets.

Brunner says federal money will reimburse counties for the added cost.

Sleepovers are prevalent in Ohio counties that use touch-screen voting machines and are sometimes used in counties with machines that scan paper ballots.

This is the latest decision by the state's chief election official regarding controversial electronic voting machines which she had criticized and gone to court for.

Earlier this month, Brunner sued Premier Election Solutions (formerly known as Diebold Election Systems), accusing the voting machine manufacturer of breach of warranty, fraud, and not fulfilling its contracts, after hundreds of votes in several Ohio counties were "dropped" during March's primary. Those votes were discovered after the fact and reinserted into vote tabulations.

In May Premier claimed that antivirus software and human error were responsible for the glitches, and recommended counties disable the anti-virus software on the tabulating machines. That would have counteracted the state's certification process.

Last December Brunner called for the state to scrap its $21 million electronic touch-screen machines over security concerns.

Brunner this week has also reminded county election boards that, under Ohio law, voters who register within a certain time frame prior to Election Day can be immediately issued an absentee ballot without a reason.

The "no-fault absentee" voting law, passed by a Republican legislature and signed by a Republican governor three years ago, could be used to tap into college campuses, banking thousands of votes in the Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 window. That would benefit Sen. Barack Obama, who enjoys a 2-to-1 lead over Sen. John McCain among 18- to 34-year-olds, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month.

"This is one of many ways we'll be encouraging our supporters to skip the lines on Election Day and make sure their vote is cast early," said Isaac Baker, an Obama spokesman.

Of the more than 470,000 students enrolled in Ohio's public colleges and universities in 2006, the most recent figures available, nine out of 10 were Ohio residents, the state Board of Regents said. To register to vote in Ohio, a person must be a resident of the state for at least 30 days immediately before an election.

Ohio elections officials say they are working out potential kinks, such as questions about whether a vote counts when it is cast or when it's counted. They also are trying to address potential fears of massive voting fraud, and what effect this influx is going to mean on vote security.

Brunner said absentee ballots are verified once they are cast, and counted after polls close Election Day.

Allowing voters to cast their ballots weeks before Election Day is a growing trend. More than a dozen states permit early voting, and more than two dozen provide an absentee ballot to any registered voter for any reason. The battleground states of Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico allow voters both options.

In Ohio, Republicans are clearly not pleased with same-day registration and voting and have not ruled out a lawsuit against Brunner's office.

"You have to wonder, when they look at what they consider a loophole with such excitement," said Jason Mauk, the Ohio Republican Party's executive director. "That would suggest manipulating the process, and I think opens the door to suspicion."

The voting window, so far, is only being implemented in some counties - typically, urban areas or those with college campuses - leading Republicans to cry foul.

"The prospect of someone coming in with no ID and registering and voting is contrary to every sort of protection that legislators and lawmakers have built into this system for decades," said Kevin DeWine, a Republican lawmaker who is poised to take over the state party after the election. "The processes and the law and the systems in our 88 counties are not equipped to handle same-day registration."

People in Ohio can register without identification, but they have to show some sort of ID to vote.

[skyhawk761]

Oh my goodness, a fair election in Ohio? There goes Ohio for the Repubs. Now if we can just get Florida to follow.......

[skyhawk761]

This is a tragedy in the eyes of Jesus!

Posted by gop_forever at 02:31 PM : Aug 19, 2008
+ report abuse


What the heck does this have to do with some Mexican named Jesus?

[Gary Kempf]

Kevin DeWine, a Republican lawmaker who is poised to take over the state party after the election. "The processes and the law and the systems in our 88 counties are not equipped to handle same-day registration."

TRANSLATION: This will make it extremely difficult to maintain illegal vote manipulation so Republicans can keep control in Ohio.

[terrapin78]

This is a tragedy in the eyes of Jesus! Let us pray that it will not be so!

Posted by gop_forever at 02:31 PM : Aug 19, 2008


How do you know this? If you think I believe that you spoke to Jesus and he expressed that position I''d say you have better drugs than I.

I do not believe that any one who speaks with Jesus and gets a reply is sane. Period.

[dagrandma]

We are using computer voting here in the sticks for the first time this year. I don''t like it. I want to go back to paper ballots.

[jmurrieta1]

What, the head of Bush''s reelection campaign won''t be overseeing Ohio voting this year?

It''s funny how in 2004, the Republican bigshots took the machines home to spend the night with them, but they screwed the American public.

How do they do that?

[irliberal]

"Ohio''s elections chief says she won''t allow poll workers to take voting machines home for safekeeping in the days before the November presidential election."

WHAT? What great moron thought up THIS practice?

The machines should be stored securely in a vault and distributed to various areas on the morning of the election. This nonsense of private voters taking the machines home with them is ABSOLUTE LUNACY. Way to show your intelligence, Ohio!

[jerr11]

So that''s how they did it!

I always wondered what happened to all those exit polls that showed Kerry winning in Ohio in 04 and then wound up losing!

Hmm Sleepovers. These neocons think of everything!

[pandamonium6]

"The prospect of someone coming in with no ID and registering and voting is contrary to every sort of protection that legislators and lawmakers have built into this system for decades," said Kevin DeWine, a Republican

MN has had same day registration for decades. No problem - no long lines - no fraud. It is not that big of a deal!

For those of you that want a paper ballot - vote absentee. That way you get the paper to fill out and not a machine that may or may not have been tampered with!

[oleander8]

[We are using computer voting here in the sticks for the first time this year. I don''''t like it. I want to go back to paper ballots.]Posted by DaGrandma

...no problem, sign up for an absentee ballot.

[redwhtblue2]

Ohio: No "Sleepovers" For Voting Machines
Citing Security Concerns, Election Official Won%u2019t Allow Poll Workers To Take Voting Machines Home At Night

What will the GOP do now that they''ll have a harder time rigging the voting machines this election?

[timdgrim]

What will the GOP do now that they''''ll have a harder time rigging the voting machines this election?
Posted by redwhtblue2
*********
Don''t worry..there''s still Florida.

[nolalou]

Boy those republicans sure are kinky, first there is toe-tapping in Airport men''s rooms, now we find out they take voting machines home for sleep-overs! lol

Good for the Ohio secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner . I read elsewhere that the Ohio GOP has been fighting her reforms (she is a Democrat) and have even filed a lawsuit to prevent this change.

[missingamerica]

Smart, Brunner...very smart.

But there is one other thing you have to worry about:

If those voting machines return their results by landline, you have to take into consideration Congress'' ill-advised "immunity" grant to the Telcos...and the possibility that "black boxes" with software that targets data from voting machines exist, courtesy of the "Patriot Act".

Paranoia, you say?

Would Bush, Cheney, & PNAC, LLP lie to start a war?

Would Bush, Cheney, & PNAC, LLP commit treason by outing a CIA agent?

Would Bush, Cheney, & PNAC, LLP be flat-out caught unlawfully stacking the Department of Justice based upon personal and political beliefs - with an undoubted impact on subsequent investigations into voter fraud?

Paranoia, you still say?

[smiley676]

It wasn''t just the GOP bringing home the machines. The Dems did that too. It is a practice in the rural counties.

The court case they are thinking about filing has nothing to do with brining the machines home, it has to do with whether a person can sign up to vote on election day and then vote that same day.

The answer should obviously be no. Otherwise, you will have people voting absentee and signing up to vote on election day. The waiting period is to ensure things like that don''t happen.

[smiley676]

Of course, the other issue is that the same day voting is only allowed in Dem counties. Equal representation? Obviously not. Either open it up in all counties (bad idea), or don''t open it up at all.

[obama8years]

Ohio: No "Sleepovers" For Voting Machines
Citing Security Concerns, Election Official Won%u2019t Allow Poll Workers To Take Voting Machines Home At Night

What will the GOP do now that they''''ll have a harder time rigging the voting machines this election?
-------------------------------------------
When Mccain wins POTUS I am positive the Liberals will claim fraud. That you can take to the bank.

[bobnjersey]

[In May Premier claimed that antivirus software and human error were responsible for the glitches, and recommended counties disable the anti-virus software on the tabulating machines. ]

the use of technology is the cause of the glitches ... and there is an endless list of reasons why a bug may appear ... at least one for every line of code used to program the thing to do what it does.

[obama8years]

America get informed.
Obama endorsed "Partial Birth Abortion".
Obama want kindergartner need a *** education
Obama support Gay marriages
Obama endorsed by Oprah who is a Anti Christ(new Age)
Obama worked as Civil Activist(only job before senate)
Obama has voting record of ULTRA LIBERAL OUT OF ONE HUNDRED SENATE MEMBERS(do your study)
Obama is dangerous to the national securities
Obama will abolish tax cut and increase the Tax by 2010
But he is a good ORATOR, Is that a comfort?

[luvienne]

Why are the crooks at Diebold, noe Priemer still allowed to supply voting machines? Republican crooks. WHY?

[inventagod2]

Vote by hand.
Count ballots by hand.
I don''t care how long it takes to count votes.
It is too important.

[bobnjersey]

[But he is a good ORATOR, Is that a comfort?]
[Posted by obama8years at 04:15 PM : Aug 19, 2008]

yes. reagan was suffering from alzheimers in his last years in office ... but he was the great communicator. did you have any problem with that?

didn''t you forget to list that he''s a muslim ... or he''s not patriotic ... or go on and on about where his lapel pin is ... or he was schooled in a madrassa ... or he has a secret ''fist pump'' that he uses to communicate w/ terrorists clandestinely?

[lfitts1]

America get informed.
Obama endorsed "Partial Birth Abortion".
Obama want kindergartner need a *** education
Obama support Gay marriages
Obama endorsed by Oprah who is a Anti Christ(new Age)
Obama worked as Civil Activist(only job before senate)
Obama has voting record of ULTRA LIBERAL OUT OF ONE HUNDRED SENATE MEMBERS(do your study)
Obama is dangerous to the national securities
Obama will abolish tax cut and increase the Tax by 2010
But he is a good ORATOR, Is that a comfort?

Posted by obama8years

If you want to be ill or misinformed--you need go no farther--just read above and you will be misinformed by a paid blogger

[sistatee-2009]

The dead people in Chicago can use absentee ballots this year, so Obama will be stumping cemeteries.

[bks59]

we have same day register/voting in Minnesota, it has been in effect since the mid late 1980''s and it works quite well. Minnesota ranks as one of the states with the highest voter participation.

[jackmayoff2]

Voting Machines? THATS A JOKE!

[jackmayoff2]

VOTING DAY SHOULD BE ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY!!

[barbaraf4]

They have been taking voting machines home? No wonder Ohio has become such a pivotal state.

[random_radar]

Ordinary citizens with voting machines are very likely to take pride in protecting them from tampering. Government officials protecting voting machines until election day are much more likely to rig the election. I would trust citizens of every political stripe much more than the government officials who have proven themselves a corrupt class ad naseum.

[allurfears]

"...(same day registration and) voting is contrary to every sort of protection that legislators and lawmakers have built into this system for decades," said Kevin DeWine, a Republican lawmaker
-----

Yes, it is contrary to the REPUBLICAN POLICY to allow U.S. citizens to vote easily (unless they are Republican). The Republican Party is staffed by traitors who care only about keeping their own power.

[donbl1]

I don''t know how they will vote in Cuyahoga County near Cleveland without sleeping with the machines.

Statistics show that the dead come to life during the sleepovers and there is a much higher voting rate in that county with sleepovers...... nearly 100% of the dead voting during sleepovers are Democratic.

[hermitdave]

Thats OK the republicans used Ohio in 04 to cheat Bush in. They will use a different state to cheat McBush in on the 08 fraud.

[aaabee-2009]

Posted by obama8years at 04:15 PM : Aug 19, 2008

Go ahead, America. Let the GOP talk you out of doing the right thing for this country.

Let''ve picked Dumb for 8 years, now lets pick Dumber and let the GOP get on with the dismantling of our country, our constitution and the American democratic way of life that has worked for 200 years.

What does McCain offer any of you? Security? Less taxes? More gas with less price? How would you know WHAT McCain wants?

John McCain -- 61 Flip-Flops and Counting
By Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report. Posted July 10, 2008.

McCain argues that flip-flops are an example of a political leader who can''t be trusted. Well, lets start with him. THIS IS WHO YOU WILL VOTE FOR???

If you vote for McCain, you vote to hand this country to the GOP, who is counting on the fact that Americans have become too fat, too stupid, too weak, and too cowardly to fight for their country, their freedoms, and democracy.

Prove them right or prove them wrong. Right now.

[jmurrieta1]

And we need some international observers in Florida as well, to prevent any more thieving Republican operatives from stealing another election. Or at least for exposing the corruption.

Because count on it, the Plumber''s Squads will be out in force for the Repugs, just like the Slime Boaters are.

[emelder]

Man ... Republicans have got to HATE these rule changes!

[kazoodan]

America get informed.
Obama endorsed "Partial Birth Abortion".
Obama want kindergartner need a *** education
Obama support Gay marriages
Obama endorsed by Oprah who is a Anti Christ(new Age)
Obama worked as Civil Activist(only job before senate)
Obama has voting record of ULTRA LIBERAL OUT OF ONE HUNDRED SENATE MEMBERS(do your study)
Obama is dangerous to the national securities
Obama will abolish tax cut and increase the Tax by 2010
But he is a good ORATOR, Is that a comfort?

Posted by obama8years at 04:15 PM : Aug 19, 2008

-------

America get informed.
Obama endorsed "Partial Birth Abortion".
Prove it.
Obama want kindergartner need a *** education
What are you talking about?
Obama support Gay marriages
Lie.
Obama endorsed by Oprah who is a Anti Christ(new Age)
How many Anti-Christs are there?
Obama worked as Civil Activist(only job before senate)
Buncha people everywhere. What''s your point?
Obama has voting record of ULTRA LIBERAL OUT OF ONE HUNDRED SENATE MEMBERS(do your study)
So?
Obama is dangerous to the national securities
Prove it.
Obama will abolish tax cut and increase the Tax by 2010
Good.
But he is a good ORATOR, Is that a comfort?
He''s certainly better than you.

[aaabee-2009]

There isn''t an election anyone could steal if the votes show a margin too large to fake with one or two swing states. This is why Obama is being trashed so hard, the lies and gossip and whisper campaigns.

The GOP only has to close the electoral margins within those "close race" numbers so that if needed, they can use a swing state to "win" the elections.

Electronic voting machines should have been outlawed. And why don%u2019t all states have oversight? Texas among others, has no oversight of their voting machines at all. What is easier than that. Google, people. The truth is right in front of you.

Paper tickets are verifiable and you can''t change enough, quickly enough to affect a national election without someone catching on and (hopefully) speaking up.

Electronic machines are programmed by humans, can be tampered with from remote locations (not taking them home is so idiotic) and very few people are needed to do the work on huge numbers of machines slaved to a centralized server.

Electronic voting machines hand elections to the enemy. Whose marketing and anti-PR work and propaganda is it that will close the electoral margins? America, who are we being programmed to vote for, and if we fail, who are our voting machines being programmed to vote for?

[micma-2009]

Unbelievable the kind of shady stuff the neoclowns have been trying to pull!

[rjso]

Fair elections, what a concept!

[blahblahbla5]

If you vote on an electronic voting machine and the votes are tallied by machine (paper trail or not) then you vote doesn''t count. I work in the industry and it is as simple as that. If the computer tallies the vote then the only affect you have on the election is by exit polling -- which can''t be off by so much without being suspicious. End of story.

Why does your vote not count even with paper printouts? Because in most states a ''recount'' or a random check of the votes literally means to look at the computer-generated tally on the box of votes and verify that the numbers are the same as in the overall list of polls. That''s what a ''recount'' is in many states. Or you have ''recounts'' like in Ohio where they put the right number of votes for each candidate in the box then ''recount'' that and it matches (go figure).

IF A COMPUTER COUNTS THE VOTES THEN YOUR VOTE DOES NOT COUNT.

[book54552134]

All these electronic voting machines need to be trashed & if need be, voting should be undertaken using the old, tried & true method - paper ballots.

These electronic voting machines should never have been allowed to enter the electoral process to begin with. Security problems with these machines has become scandalous, & the machines have been shown as unreliable as far as their ability to register & tabulate votes.

Compounding these problems is that there is no back-up system to enable election officials to validate or double-check voting results. Officials must depend on whatever the machine tells them about voting results without any ability to double-check the machine''s validity.

Voting precincts in every State must be made to revert back to more dependable & verifiable methods of recording & tabulating election results regardless of the cost to the States.

The credibility of the American electoral process depends on the trust voters place in that process. Until that trust is restored, the validity of the American electoral process will remain in doubt.

[tawpdawg111]

if you get in line to vote before the polls close you should get to vote, a simple, effective and just change. My polling place never has line longer than five minutes. Some in Ohio had long lines. If you show up in time and are faced by unexpected line, YOUR VOTE SHOULD COUNT!

If you show up LATE, however, you cannot join the line and thus no vote. I know all about lines.

How, in this day and age, can we not get the right number of machines in place.

Strange, indeed.

[blahblahbla5]

If you vote on an electronic voting machine and the votes are tallied by machine (paper trail or not) then you vote doesn''''t count. I work in the industry and it is as simple as that. If the computer tallies the vote then the only affect you have on the election is by exit polling -- which can''''t be off by so much without being suspicious. End of story.

Why does your vote not count even with paper printouts? Because in most states a ''''recount'''' or a random check of the votes literally means to look at the computer-generated tally on the box of votes and verify that the numbers are the same as in the overall list of polls. That''''s what a ''''recount'''' is in many states. Or you have ''''recounts'''' like in Ohio where they put the right number of votes for each candidate in the box then ''''recount'''' that and it matches (go figure).

IF A COMPUTER COUNTS THE VOTES THEN YOUR VOTE DOES NOT COUNT.

[chalres-2009]

Here we go again. The Repubs are gone to steel it again.

[sandy19731]

It makes no sense that billions of dollars are traded around the world every day by computer without error and very little "paper trail" and we have not been able to come up with a voting machine that is as accurate as our local ATM machine. Or as the cash register at McDonald''s come on.....this is ridiculous. Somebody is just not trying. And that would be Diebold.

[downsteamjim]

To chalres: Remember Fogleman''s law. An election is fair only if a democrat wins.

[dnamj]

two points:

1. Finally some common sense out of Ohio. Next they should make sure that nobody is thrown off the voter rolls for having the same name, but not birthday, as a felon.

2. To the people who think banks and ATMs never make mistakes: I have some wonderful real estate for you to buy in Central Florida.

[downsteamjim]

The most effective voter fraud that I have heard of used paper ballots for absentee voting. The vote fixers had a copy of the ballot marked for their candidates. The voter was given the fixed ballot. The voter then went in to ''vote'' casting the fixed ballot and pocketing the unused ballot. After leaving the poll, the voter gives the blank ballot to the fixer in exchange for money, wine etc. The blank ballot is then marked and ready for the next voter.

[dnsallday]

In a potentially ominous sign for the presumptive Democratic nominee, a new poll shows Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) trailing far behind G.O.P. standard bearer Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) among voters who identify themselves as racists.
Pundits and pollsters alike have wondered about the role racists might play in the 2008 presidential contest, but the new survey released today was the first concrete attempt to take the pulse of this key voting bloc.
The poll, conducted by Duh Magazine, suggests that Mr. Obama faces an uphill battle in his effort to win the votes of dyed-in-the-wool bigots.
"We wanted to know, why isn''t Barack Obama closing the deal among racists?" said Charles Plugh, editor-in-chief of Duh. "The answer seems to be, because he''s black

[tawpdawg111]

if you get in line to vote before the polls close you should get to vote, a simple, effective and just change. My polling place never has line longer than five minutes. Some in Ohio had long lines. If you show up in time and are faced by unexpected line, YOUR VOTE SHOULD COUNT!

If you show up LATE, however, you cannot join the line and thus no vote. I know all about lines.

How, in this day and age, can we not get the right number of machines in place.

Strange, indeed.