Experts Warn Of Nov. 4 Vote Meltdowns

Politico: Election Officials And Citizens Groups Worry About Surge Of New Voters And Bad Equipment

(The Politico)  This story was written by Avi Zenilman and Ben Smith.

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While the two campaigns Tuesday accused one another of trying to steal or suppress votes, experts in election administration are focusing on the old standbys: Faulty machines, questionable voter lists, last-minute litigation.

The likely trouble spots, the experts say, include two familiar election reprobates: Ohio and Florida.

But there are also some new entrants, as the broad new playing field of the 2008 presidential election means more states are competitive, more citizens are participating, and the potential for Election-Day meltdowns like the notorious administrative collapse in Florida in 2000 has increased.

Many pointed, in particular, to Colorado as the possible source of a late night November 4, while others suggested that record turnout in states like Virginia and Georgia could challenge local election officials.

"There's still reason to be concerned in terms of what's going to take place in November," said Kimball Brace, whose firm, Election Data Services, advises local governments on election administration.

Brace cited everything from new machines in Cleveland and South Florida to the rise in absentee voting, many of which are counted by error-prone "optical scan" machines.

"The states that we're keeping an eye on [are] still Florida, but also Ohio, and also Colorado. Those three states are the problem ones from an election administration standpoint," he said.

The location of an Florida-2000-style Election-Day meltdown - with the attendant legal clashes, and lingering doubt - is impossible to predict. Such crises only come about in extremely tight elections, and require the confluence of that close vote with an administrative failure.

But despite eight years of federal and state efforts to create a more standardized, higher-tech national framework for election administration, most state votes will still be administered by county election boards whose competence and equipment vary wildly.

The campaigns, meanwhile, have already begun intense legal skirmishing in states like Ohio and Indiana over a new wave of early voting that began in September.

"In South Florida you've got areas that are going to be on their third separate voting technology in their third consecutive presidential election," said Doug Chapin, the editor of the non-partisan Electionline.org. "Ohio once again is in ground zero for policy changes and litigation."

Colorado, meanwhile, is still reeling from a true Election Day meltdown in 2006, a technical failure in Denver that may have swung at least one close race.

"It's squarely in both campaigns' sights," Chapin said. "They were one of the last states to finish their voter registration list. They had a very bad experience with Election Day voter centers in 2006. Lots of changes, lots."

Many states are taking pressure off their November 4 poll sites with a push for early voting, which has been embraced by both presidential campaigns.

"Mail-in voting helps to relieve a lot of the pressure," said Rich Coolidge, a spokesman for the Colorado secretary of state.

But Chapin said early voting comes with its own concerns: The error rate for optical-scan ballots transported to a central location for counting is sharply higher than those tallied on site, he said.

Florida, the state that has been synonymous with Election Day chaos since the 2000 recount, remains especially troubled despite intense local efforts to remedy its problems. A 2006 congressional election was marred by a dispute concerning more than 18,000 "undervotes" on ballots that registered votes for some offices but not for the congressional race itself. The losing campaign claimed that unusually high number of undervotes was due to a software glitch on "touch-screen" voting machines.

In preparation for the presidential election, 15 Florida counties complied with a new edict to abandon their touch-screen voting machines, and switched to optical scan machines, which leave a physical record of each voter's ballot in case of a recount. But this August in Palm Beach County, a close local primary where 3,400 ballots went uncounted - followed by a series of recounts - led officials to worry and re-test the optical scan voting machines.

"We feel pretty good about the machines," said Jennifer Krell Davis, the communications director for the Florida secretary of state, who said most had had a test-run in this year's presidential primaries.

But just in case, "All of the supervisors have been encouraged to plan as if there is definitely going to be a county-wide recount," she said.

Some observers say that the main problem may simply be delays, and depressed turnout, as voters navigate the new machines.

[emelder]

I think we all know that the vote won''t be tallied on November 4th. It will go to the lawyers and the courts ... that has been the Republican strategy when elections are close. That''s the way they are! The only solution is for us all to get behind Obama/Biden and make it a LANDSLIDE ... leave NO doubt at all for the Republicans to throw lawsuits at!

[john43218]

In Obama''''s own words:"I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance against my mother''''s race...it remained necessary to prove which side you were on,to show your loyalty to the black masses,to strike out and name names."..from "Dreams from My Father".(Which may as well be,"Lies From My Father",as it appears the "ghostwriter" may be none other than Bill Ayers.) The second quote comes from,"The Audacity of Hope":"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." Some people just might find those comments more than a little racially tinged.

Gee, I wonder why America is negative. they weren''''t until Obama came along.

[slim1h2o]

Experts Warn Of Nov. 4 Vote Meltdowns

Yup,, this will be Bush''s fake national crisis, to take control. Declare Martial law, and not leave the Whitehouse when he''s suppose to.

[a2s2d]

MEET SARAH PALIN%u2019S RADICAL RIGHT-WING PALS
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/

Extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll helped launch Palin%u2019s political career in Alaska, and in return had influence over policy. %u201CHer door was open,%u201D says Chryson %u2014 and still is.

Though Chryson belongs to a fringe political party that advocates the secession of Alaska from the Union, he is not without peculiar influence in state politics, especially the rise of Sarah Palin. During the 1990s, when Chryson directed the AIP, he and another radical right-winger, Steve Stoll, played pivotal role in electing Palin as mayor of Wasilla and shaping her political agenda afterward. Both Stoll and Chryson not only contributed to Palin%u2019s campaign financially, they played major behind-the-scenes roles in the Palin camp before, during and after her victory.

Palin backed Chryson as he successfully advanced a host of anti-tax, pro-gun initiatives, including one that altered the state Constitution%u2019s language to better facilitate the formation of anti-government militias. She joined in their vendetta against several local officials they disliked, and listened to their advice about hiring. She attempted to name Stoll, a John Birch Society activist to an empty Wasilla City Council seat. %u201CEvery time I showed up her door was open,%u201D said Chryson. %u201CAnd that policy continued when she became governor.%u201D

[a2s2d]

MCCAIN AND THE G. GORDON LIDDY SYMBIOSIS

Does John McCain "pal around with terrorists?"

Certainly McCain''s continuing "association" and relationship with the convicted Watergate burglar and domestic terrorist G. Gordon Liddy might suggest that is the case, if we are to apply the standards drawn by the McCain campaign.

In 1998, Liddy gave a fundraiser in his Scottsdale, Arizona home for McCain''s senatorial re-election campaign -- the two posed for photographs together; and as recently as May, 2007, as a presidential candidate, McCain was a guest on Liddy''s syndicated radio show. Inexplicably, McCain heaped praise on his host''s values. During the segment, McCain said he was "proud" of Liddy, and praised Liddy''s "adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great."

Article at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-bernstein/ayers-and-the-mccain-g-go_b_134256.html

[legacyabq]

john 432etc

That was obama''s point.. That being black means certain people in your own community have expectations on you.. he is explaining what it''s like.. He has overcome the stereotypes and shown that rather than being black or white, he is AN AMERICAN, like we all should be..
Personally, I dont care about race, I only care about the "content of your character" as MLKjr said..

[easeup-2009]

ACORN''s motto--"Vote early & vote often!!"

[sallievoter]

If we had not bankrupted the country with the MCAIN-BSUH WAR IN IRAQ, maybe we could have improved our elections systems....ya think?

This is unacceptable in a country such as ours. Americans snicker when we hear of crooked or mismanaged elections in other countries...can ya imagine what the rest of the world is saying about us?

Our system for elections should be the example for all countries to follow. No party should be able to suppress votes or skew tallies...

Quit sending all of our tax money to Iraq so we can repair our failing election system!

[john43218]

With the information age continuously growing, they see their neighbors do better and they want some of what their neighbors have. They think Obama will give it to them by playing Robin Hood. What do they have to lose. They are at the bottom of the capitalist totem pole and have no ability or desire to move up so they want stuff given to them. They would vote for Kim Job Il if there was a chance for them to get more stuff or punish the successful and rich who they blame for their failures.


Obama is playing to this premise even though everyone knows the bottom wont improve under him. They will just have a few extra dollars a month to blow on alcohol or a trip to the Golden Corral. Its just what we have become as a country. Successful people just have to work harder to pay for the bottom group. Only when we get sick of doing it will be look seriously at where are money is going and taking our talents elsewhere.

If the American electorate is foolish enough to elect Obama and his fellow Marxists to govern us, then we will, as a nation, truly deserve the horror that will follow. I will weep for my country, but I will work hard to crush these domestic enemies. As Captain John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy, said to his British counterpart on the flaming deck of the Bon Homme Richard, "Strike my colors, Sir?.... I have not yet begun to fight"!!

[antoniof123]

Okay everyone sing it with me.

Oh what a mess,
Oh what a mess,
Oh what a mess,
Oh what a mess

Here it comes around again.

Oh what a mess,
Oh what a mess,
Oh what a mess,
Oh what a mess

LOL looks like we are not going to know who the President is until January 09.

[mbourn2]

Bet you didn''''t know that the top 50% of earners pay just over 97% of the taxes collected and the bottom 50% pays just under 3% of all taxes.... but the "rich" are not paying their fair share. Do a google search for Obama and plumber and you will find an interesting little clip of Obama telling a plumber about his tax plan. This the gist of the story... Not that you will see it on CBS.

Barack Obama told a tax-burdened plumber over the weekend that his economic philosophy is to "spread the wealth around" -- a comment that may only draw fire from riled-up John McCain supporters who have taken to calling Obama a "socialist" at the Republican''''s rallies.

Obama made the remark, caught on camera, after fielding some tough questions from the plumber Sunday in Ohio, where the Democratic candidate canvassed neighborhoods and encouraged residents to vote early.

"Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn''''t it?" the plumber asked, complaining that he was being taxed "more and more for fulfilling the American dream."

"It''''s not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they''''ve got a chance for success too," Obama responded. "My attitude is that if the economy''''s good for folks from the bottom up, it''''s gonna be good for everybody ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it''''s good for everybody."

[hologram5]

The GOP is done and they are now just grasping at strings. Nobody wants another 4 yrs of McSame...

[aaabee-2009]

go ahead, GOP, just write McCain on all the ballets and voters won''t even have to make the effort.

Voters do their part: they get their registrations done, and get their ballets or go to their polling places, and cast their votes.

But the electoral places can''t get their act together with 4 YEARS NOTICE????

Less than a month out we hear there "could be problems"?

Is it not possible to just have an election anymore, without all the computers and questions and actions that never seem quite above board?

[julez41]

I agree that with all the American technological expertise it''s unbelievable that we can''t get a voting machine that works right. Our country''s not better off than others when it comes to elections and apparently when compared to our European and Canadian allies'' we''re worse. What a sad state we''re in when we can''t even hold an honest, glitch-free election. I blame the republicans!

[john43218]

Nearly all of Obama''''s appeal requires his supporters to take on faith that he will do things he has never done. But on the question of whether Obama will ever take a meaningful stand against corruption or waste in his own party or stand up to vested interests and ideological extremists on his own side, we already know the answer: Obama is so thoroughly marinated in extremism and corruption that it would be nearly impossibe to extricate himself and still have a meaningful identity left.

You will often hear Obama''''s defenders argue that his ties to this or that extremist or corrupt figure is an isolated aberration, an example of "guilt by association"; that the various favors he dispensed with public money and private charitable foundation funds are nothing unusual in politics.

But when you look at Obama''''s record and biography taken together, what you see is that the favors, the extremists and the machine ties are all inextricably intertwined, and that far from being isolated incidents, Obama''''s modus operandi of mutual back-scratching with radicals and crooks extends to nearly every aspect of his life and career - his family, his faith, his home, his jobs and education, his significant election victories and legislative "accomplishments," his closest advisors and most important mentors, the money and organization that made up his campaigns.

[kc629]

we need to go back to paper ballots to keep a paper trail

[newslink]

There would not be a problem with elections. If People would be honest.

[closethippy1]

Posted by john43218 at 04:34 PM : Oct 15, 2008

Blah, blah, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah, wah!

[skip523]

I''m gonna have a meltdown! Obama has no history and what he does have is nothing but selfish interest. We need real leadership at this time not a pretty hollywood pantywaist. Show your Vote at PitbullPalinNet

[truthspeake2]

Obama/Biden 2008...RIP GOP!

[w95thst]

This just in from a US expatriate friend living in Germany:

"Dear fellow Americans,
Woe is us. I just (finally) got my vote-by-mail ballot and started filling it out when I thought "Hmm. This isn''t the kind of paper they usually print the ballots on." And in the envelope was an extra slip of paper with the fatal message:

''Due to printing delays, we are providing you a sample ballot on which to vote. When we receive it back, we will duplicate your ballot onto an official ballot and will tally your vote.

In other words, when my ballot arrives, a complete stranger (let''s hope it''s at least an election official, but they don''t even say who) is going to read my voted sample ballot and supposedly copy my votes onto a real
ballot, which will then be counted. Whether or not this person really copies my votes or decides to make a few changes is, of course, open to question."

And this in from another USA expat friend living in Belgium:

" I got my ballot OK, but my friend Kate, who''s from Massachusetts, has been told that there is a delay getting Massachusetts absentee ballots sent out."

Is anyone else getting e-mail like this from abroad? What''s going on and what can we do about it?

[w95thst]

Is anyone else getting e-mail like this from abroad? What''s going on and what can we do about it?

From a US expatriate friend living in Germany:
"Dear fellow Americans,
Woe is us. I just (finally) got my vote-by-mail ballot and started filling it out when I thought "Hmm. This isn''t the kind of paper they usually print the ballots on." And in the envelope was an extra slip of paper with the fatal message:

''Due to printing delays, we are providing you a sample ballot on which to vote. When we receive it back, we will duplicate your ballot onto an official ballot and will tally your vote.

In other words, when my ballot arrives, a complete stranger (let''s hope it''s at least an election official, but they don''t even say who) is going to read my voted sample ballot and supposedly copy my votes onto a real
ballot, which will then be counted. Whether or not this person really copies my votes or decides to make a few changes is, of course, open to question."

And this in from another USA expat friend living in Belgium:

" I got my ballot OK, but my friend Kate, who''s from Massachusetts, has been told that there is a delay getting Massachusetts absentee ballots sent out."

[john43218]

For the first time, I really feel scared about the future. These people are like the Germans in the election of 1933. They know what''s coming but they don''t care. Back then, all they cared about was that Hitler was going to give them a job and keep their lunch pails full. And stick it to the Jews. And restore Germany''s "rightful place" in the world. They knew full well that Hitler would destroy the independent unions, crack down on dissent, and turn Germany from a very free country into a fascist dictatorship.

Part of this is McCain''s fault. He bought into that populist *** about greedy Wall Street. Well, so as ye sow, so shall ye reap. And we''re about to reap the whirlwind.

In this kind of atmosphere any kind of a government is possible. And I don''t know if Obama can resist the kind of raw power these nincompoops are willing to give him. Who could?

You need a license to own a dog but any fool can vote.

[hologram5]

Write in your vote, vote for the third party candidate. What is the worst that could happen? Ron Paul has a lot of things to say about the economy and if you listen, he is right. Write in Ron Paul, you could do worse with these two clowns running...

You need a license to own a dog but any fool can vote. Posted by john43218
----
john, i always heard that as "you have to have a license to drive a car but any fool can own a gun." You may have a point there. But I think this McCain dog don''t hunt. John reminds me of those dogs on the HeeHaw porch. Just lollygagging with tongues hanging out and ears all splayed out there, surrounded by pretty, long legged girls, sorta like Sarah, if you know what I mean. Come to think of it, Sarah might have been there; she''s young enough. John does remind me a lot of Grandpa. Bet Grandpa''s boots didn''t cost any $500.

As far as a meltdown is concerned, get your crying towel ready for November 5th. John is scheduled for a "Wicked Witch of the West" ending, and how symbolic since John is from Arizona! "What a world, what a world!"

[khhammerle]

It''s amazing the vast majority of places with potential problems are controled by the democrats. Are they setting things up for another attempt at stealing the election as in Florida where all the problems were in Democrat controled precincts?

[jjp735i]

This should have been resolved 8 years ago. We have a do nothing Congress and an idiot President. We are just as stupid for not demanding this problem be taken care of as we all knew it was still out there.

[wrmscvsuv]

I''ve often wondered, which is worse, a president who is hated and vilified for standing up for what he believes to be right, or a trailor-trash lying excuse for a chief executive who cares more about his carnal needs than the American people?

I think I''ll go with the former.

[bks59]

in the 20 years i''ve lived in minnesota, where there is high voter participation (75%)+, same day registration and optical scanners, there is hardly if any blip on the voter tabulations, what is the deal with all these other palces that can''t get their votes and voters counted properly?

[oldguy4truth]

National ID. is the single most thing that can solve the most issues in our country. Voter Fraud, Illegal Immigrantation, Criminal "false" ID. Social Security, National Security, and I am sure I missed somthing. This is 2008, "We have the technology", and have had for about 20 years.

[eggy1620]

Posted by WRMSCVSUV

From an old proverb, He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; reject him.

That pretty much sums up your monkey faced hero.

[downsteamjim]

Fogleman''s Law: An election is fair only if a Democrat wins.