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Departments Election Issues Severe election problems seen in ten states "The November 7 election promises to bring more of what voters have come to expect since the 2000 election - a divided body politic, an election system in flux and the possibility - if not certainty - of problems at polls nationwide," the report says. Electionline.org issued a 75-page report, "Election Preview 2006: What's Changed, What Hasn't, and Why," which claims that a handful of the midterm election's hotly contested campaigns in states such as Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida and Indiana may face particular trouble because of the transition to electronic voting machines. The machines have been proven unreliable in choosing the right candidate, as demonstrated by numerous tests cases in the years that the machines have replaced paper ballots. "This was supposed to be the year - and the election - when the voting process nationwide was more secure, more technologically advanced and more trusted by the citizens and candidates participating," Electionline.org said in a summary of its report. "Yet as the mid-term elections approach, machine failures, database delays and foul-ups, inconsistent procedures, new rules and new equipment have some predicting chaos at the polls at worst and widespread polling place snafus at best." The disastrous 2000 presidential election led Congress to pass the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which was signed into law by President Bush in October 2002. The law was supposed to overhaul the electoral process and make it easier for people to choose which candidates to vote for. Instead, the law will force most states to switch from paper balloting to a fully computerized system - one that is currently rife with programming flaws and is incapable of being audited. Computerized voting and the technological problems related to the system had already been realized before hanging chads became a household phrase. In November 1998, an election in Hawaii was held using state-of-the-art computers designed by Electronic Systems & Software, a company with close ties to Republican lawmakers in Washington, DC. Seven of ES&S's 361 voting machines used in Hawaii on Election Day in November 1998 malfunctioned (five units had lens occlusion, one unit had a defective cable and one unit had a defective "read head"), which led to Hawaii's first-ever statewide election review and a first in the history of the United States. Hundreds of people who used the machines complained mightily to local election officials that the candidates they picked did not register in the computerized system. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) was part owner and former chairman and chief executive of ES&S, the company that made all the equipment that counted the votes during his last two runs for office, yet he failed to list his ties to the company on federal disclosure forms. Serious voting irregularities are predicted again in Maryland, which just suffered through a fiasco in the September primary. Diebold, one of the main manufacturers of electronic voting machines, allegedly wrote a computer code specifically for Maryland that was corrupted and caused problems with the electronic poll books, according to Linda Lamone, the state's election director. "The most recent and vivid example of what can go wrong during an election using electronic machines was Maryland's September 12 primary," the Electionline.org report says. "There, a combination of human error and technical problems had voters in the state's most populous county casting provisional ballots and voting on scraps of paper and even campaign literature after an election official forgot to include machine activator cards with materials that went out to more than 200 precincts. In precincts where the machines were started up on time, some reported "widespread trouble with voting apparatuses during Tuesday's primary - machines that froze, access cards that stopped working and computerized voter lists that crashed.The glitches led to long lines at many polling places and caused some voters to worry that their ballots had not been recorded properly, if at all." Additionally, the organization says confusion over the strict new Voter ID law in states like Arizona, where voters are required to show up with a specific form of identification, may deter people from showing up at the polls as well as create long lines that could hinder the ability for some people to cast their ballots before polls close. Critics say the law is aimed at deterring immigrants from voting. In Colorado, Electionline.org says state officials started closing neighborhood polling places in favor of larger locations, possibly making it inconvenient and much more difficult for people to get out and vote. "The use of so-called "vote centers"- consolidated,accessible polling locations where any voter in the county can cast their appropriate ballot - continues to grow in the state," the report says. "In Denver County, home to more than 10 percent of the state's residents,over 400 precincts were closed in favor of opening 47 vote centers." Moreover, residents of Colorado "who first used new touch-screen voting machines this year had problems during early voting for the August primary," the report added. "The state was sued over the use of the machines and a judge ruled to allow their continued use, but criticized the state's certification process of these devices and said they will need to be recertified after this election." The other states identified in the report where voting is expected to be rife with flaws in the polling results are Connecticut, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Georgia, Missouri, and Montana may also experience irregularities at the polls, however, the issues plaguing these states are seen as less severe, according to the Electionline.org report. --- Jason Leopold is a former Los Angeles bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswire. He has written over 2,000 stories on the California energy crisis and received the Dow Jones Journalist of the Year Award in 2001 for his coverage on the issue as well as a Project Censored award in 2004. Leopold also reported extensively on Enron's downfall and was the first journalist to land an interview with former Enron president Jeffrey Skilling following Enron's bankruptcy filing in December 2001. Leopold has appeared on CNBC and National Public Radio as an expert on energy policy and has also been the keynote speaker at more than two dozen energy industry conferences around the country. - Originally published by truthout. |
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Recent Election Issues Articles Renowned computer security expert agrees to meet California county supervisor's '1000 to 1' challenge to 'manipulate' Sequoia voting machine! 100 phantom votes found in one precinct; DelCo board of elections hinders investigation Think globally, protect the vote locally Will they or won't they: last chance for Democrats The vote protectors Ohio's 2006 vote count now includes a higher percentage of uncounted ballots than in 2004, and a statistically impossible swing to the Republicans The drama of empty numbers A monumental victory for the election protection movement Pick a number 2006 How they stole the mid-term election STOP Blackwell, what's that sign: Everyone look what's going down Parallel election midday report Tuesday's outcome may depend on the power of the election protection movement The power of a social movement can beat the GOP double Chickenhawks Check out We Count for a great TownHall confrontation between Vicki Lovegren of Ohio Vigilance and Michael Vu, Supervisor of Cuyahoga County BOE Official states electronic voting system added votes never cast in 2004 Presidential election; audit log missing Repairing the U.S. system of voting: 50 concrete steps Will a shocking new GOP court victory and Karl Rove's attack on Ohio 2006 doom the Democrats nationwide? Renoite sue Sequoia Voting Systems Severe election problems seen in ten states Direct material proof of massive election fraud in Ohio in the 2004 U.S. presidential election A talk with Mark Crispin Miller about what voters can do to prevent another stolen election Will Ken Blackwell find the ways to steal Ohio 2006 as he did in 2004? Important voter activism A loaves & fishes/Holy Ghost victory for the GOP in November? Why is the man who stole Ohio campaigning with a white supremacist? This cannot be Court victory lets preserved Ohio 2004 ballots tell new tales of theft and fraud as indictments and convictions mount Unfit for use in ANY democracy An open letter to Gov. Robert Taft and Sec. of State J. Kenneth Blackwell Coshocton County complaint Saving the ballot evidence from Ohio 2004 San Diego suit’s second hearing: Judge to rule next Tuesday on constitutional and jurisdictional questions New Zogby Poll: It’s Nearly Unanimous How the last presidential election awoke me from an unsound sleep PFAW's Neas praises advance of Voting Rights Act, Calls on Bush Administration to start enforcing the law Why Democrats don't count: lessons from the un-Gore of Mexico Resolution of no confidence in current U.S. elections An open letter from Ohio to the people of Mexico The stolen election of 2004 The Democrats must now say "We Do Not Concede" in the U.S. as it's being said in Mexico Project Vote, voting rights organizations, file to overturn restrictive voter registration rules BBV: Unredacted Hursti Diebold reports, photos released Ignore that man behind the screen, Dorothy Bob Fitrakis for Governor -- he is now on the ballot Alameda County supervisors embrace election fraud San Diego’s run-off election aggregate results are plausible A vote of no confidence: democracy left to languish in living rooms, garages Kennedy's challenge: Salon, Mother Jones & the tortured dialogue Warren County revisited Something smells fishy in San Diego! Response to Salon Magazine Analysis of Connally spreadsheet and other documents RFK and Rolling Stone nail Ohio's stolen 2004 election, but much more must be done Pick a card, any card Will the major media finally cover the electronic election fraud issue? The money pit: Diebold vs. America Worst security flaw ever - 3 states invoke Diebold emergency procedures Cranks and Kooks: Kerry won in '04 Ohio 2004 election thief grabs Gov nod while (surprise! surprise!) voting machines malfunction Hand counted paper ballots in 2008 Busheviks connected to New Hampshire phone-jamming scheme Are mainstream churches finally standing up to the GOP’s hateful “Christian” blitzkrieg? Thousands march in New Orleans for right for Katrina survivors to vote in the city’s April 22 election Shocking Diebold conflict of interest revelations from Secretary of State further taint Ohio's electoral credibility Faith-based voting Targeting the voters in Toledo Targeting the voters in Cincinnati Through a glass Darkely Is the Mainstream Media finally getting half the rigged voting machine story? Please help Clint Curtis Utah testing of the Diebold touch-screen reveals new problems Trust us Harman vs. Winograd, tough choice? Why did J. Kenneth Blackwell seek, then hide, his association with super-rich extremists and e-voting magnates? Did 308,000 cancelled Ohio voter registrations put Bush back in the White House? Statisticians recommend new measures to ensure vote count accuracy, release "Ohio’s 2004 exit poll analysis for novices” As Alito takes Supreme Court seat, Ohio GOP guts election protection The Harri Hursti hack and its importance to our nation Programmer Jeff Dean worked for chief of White House Plumbers unit Free Press Editor in Film at Sundance PA activists sue to vote on machines Important documents The gun is smoking - The gun is smoking - 2004 Ohio precinct-level exit poll data show virtually irrefutable evidence of vote miscount Recipe for hacking ES&S and Sequoia, Hursti-style What’s all the fuss about Diebold in Florida and California? New info may take out Diebold touchscreens Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
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