DISQUS

anarchy · 1 year ago

the Rethug strategy: in a fair fight, cheat to win.

because that's ALL they've got.

grandma · 1 year ago

Good reminder.

Also...I heard on Minnesota Public Radio today,some Republican woman saying she was worried about Tuesday's voting, because of ACORN and that some of those who were not legit might try to vote

That takes the cake....after all elections the GOP has lied and cheated their way through.

Delia · 1 year ago

I love Oregon. All mail in ballots. Good solid paper. You know who you voted for. No lines. Honest elections. After 2004 when the Rovian state AG's were riding high they were talking about investigating all the alleged "voter fraud" in our system, but nothing came of it., and it's too late now, baby. This is the way to go.

mckathiki · 1 year ago

My husband and I voted straight ticket Democrat on the first day of early voting here in Texas (yes, we vote on issues but this year we could not have voted for a Repub candidate - just too pissed off). I have been voting on electronic machines for many years but my husband, a relative newcomer to voting and feeling like he actually has a voice in what happens, became confused and started pressing the boxes again when his marked ballot came up for checking. This, of course, unmarked the box checked when he marked straight ticket in the first place. Fortunately he turned to me and I helped him check his ballot and make sure his votes were registered correctly. I know this seems like a no-brainer but please remind your friends and family to be careful and to double-check their electronic ballot before registering the vote. And that, if they have any questions, the poll workers are supposed to help them in a totally objective, non-partisan manner.

Older_Wiser · 1 year ago

When I voted last Tues, it was still those paper ballots you fill in the ovals with. At least the poll workers were giving out slips of paper telling people that they had to vote for pres separately if they were voting straight ticket, something I didn't see in 2004 and which cost something like 70,000 presidential votes in NC.

If there is a way for the Rethugs to steal this election, it's going to be either electronic voting, where they can control the program, or not providing enough polling places/voting booths to accommodate the crowds. I believe the latter is why there are so many people voting early; it was my first year to do so.

I just hope there are enough poll watchers to ensure that everyone gets to vote, and that those votes are recorded correctly. I still wonder, even as I saw my paper ballot go into the "reader", if my vote will actually count. : (

sukabi1 · 1 year ago

Ummm, you guys should really read up on electronic voting machines... the "glitches" that are happening have been going on for a while and are well known "issues"... The BradBlog has been covering and uncovering what's been going on for the last 6 years... he's got several articles -- all well documented -- about what is currently happening in the world of electronic "voting" all over this country...

grandma · 1 year ago

Robert Kennedy Jr's been writing and speaking out about this also....I don't know why it doesn't get more attention.

nicho · 1 year ago

Good -- maybe Oprah will take this on as a cause. If Oprah does, it will get traction.

sukabi1 · 1 year ago

the thing is, WE SHOULD ALL take this issue on, it is OUR VOTE, OUR COUNTRY. If WE don't get informed and DEMAND that OUR VOTES and our right to vote be taken seriously why should we expect someone else to?

RevDrBillyBob · 1 year ago

This entire problem could be solved through the use of PAPER BALLOTS, but the Wimpocrats have been too busy walking on their kneepads and rubber-stamping the war in Iraq to bother. Why not ask Reid, Pelosi, et. al., WHY they haven't cared about the integrity of the voting process, year-in and year-out ? Oh, wait ... we don't want to "embarrass" them, huh ? SORRY.

HereinDC · 1 year ago

UH OH! Even Republicans are running from McCain

McCain's name nowhere to be seen at Palin rally

POLK CITY, Florida (CNN) — At a boisterous Sarah Palin rally in Polk City, Florida on Saturday afternoon, one name was surprisingly absent from the campaign décor — John McCain’s.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/01...

gwpriester · 1 year ago

Maybe she forgot to tell John that she's running as an Independent. :-)

houstonray · 1 year ago

Or maybe she knows something about his health we don't! :-)

Older_Wiser · 1 year ago

Palin Country? Don't they mean KKK Country?

That Aryan Bitch sure knows her audience.

Bush_Bites · 1 year ago

From what I understand, it's best not to vote Straight Party, but to vote for each candidate separately.

grandma · 1 year ago

Good to know...I was wondering about that.

houstonray · 1 year ago

Best in regards to what? Accidentally leaving something off? Or after you press cast ballot funny business? I ask because we (partner and I) voted Straight Party (now there's an oxymoron, but I digress)...we usually don't do that and instead vote issues, but this year I've had it with Republican's and their mismanagement of things for the last 8+ years. Out with all of them if possible. Here in Houston, there are 2 positions without a Democrat running but there was a Libertarian, I voted for them in that case (since straight ticket didn't fill in a choice there).

I went back after each screen and made sure there were check marks beside each candidate and then at the end, when it summarizes, I looked again and even went back to the first screen to make sure there were still marks for Obama/Biden for sure, and then clicked cast ballot.

Now what happened after THAT I have NO idea...LOL

sukabi1 · 1 year ago

there have been reports that when voting "straight ticket" if you then go back and want to change one or two of your choices, the machine will cancel out or switch some of your other votes... but mostly they are "de-selecting" your vote for president....

the election officials in counties where that has been occurring have told folks that's how the machines are programmed... the best way to avoid that scenario is to not select the "straight ticket" option, and to vote for every single office individually...

BradBlog has several articles on this.

AdrianBrowne · 1 year ago

Not an Oprah fan particularly, but I think Oprah's early support of Barack Obama helped him a lot by just getting his name out there. It was well timed.

Bush_Bites · 1 year ago

Especially in North Carolina.

gwpriester · 1 year ago

Gosh, a "quirky" voting machine.

Those bastards.

The DOJ should be investigating the manufacturers of those "proprietary" machines that cannot provide a paper record of the vote.

Well not to worry Oprah. Your vote will fail to get counted when the info from the voting machines is transferred to the main computer.

Bush_Bites · 1 year ago

Just read the Oprah post. This sounds more like the vote didn't register than it was switched.

I voted last Saturday probably in the same polling place that Oprah used, and you do have to make sure you push it down firmly.

But I don't think they're rigged or poorly calibrated. The quality just isn't up to the level of your typical ATM touch screen.

grandma · 1 year ago

I saw Oprah on one of the cable clips saying it didn't register.

sukabi1 · 1 year ago

Umm, you should really go to the BradBlog and read up on some of this stuff... there is NO WAY to even to do an audit on how the machines "function" because the companies REFUSE to allow independent testing, "patches" are done to the machines AFTER they've been "certified" by the states... and the "certification" process is a joke...

Your "typical ATM touch screen" is more accurate because the banks DEMAND independent audits and don't leave it up to the company providing the equipment... but there is STILL a significant "error" rate with them... what do you suppose the error rate is for voting equipment??? and why is an "error rate" even considered acceptable when it comes to voting?

Bush_Bites · 1 year ago

I know the problems happening in other states and I read BradBlog occasionally.

I'm just saying I haven't seen vote-switching problems on the Chicago machines, and I've been using them for three elections now. (The Chicago machines also have paper backup to confirm your selections.)

I could be wrong, but in my opinion, the Chicago screens are insensitive because they're cheap, rather than because of any programming problems.

sukabi1 · 1 year ago

and that's just it Bush_Bites... you likely won't SEE any evidence... and that's the whole point of these machines... once you've cast your vote it's "stored" on a memory card and uploaded into the main tabulator... all the machines -- from the one you cast your vote on, to the memory card to the tabulator and optical scanners can all be hacked in a very short amount of time and without leaving a trace...

Plus you can't verify that the machines are counting accurately in the first place because the companies REFUSE to release the software running the machines so it can be verified as doing what it's supposed to do...

vkobaya · 1 year ago

The banks wouldn't tolerate for a minute if their ATMs were so "error" prone. The old joke about the ATM spewing money at you would be true and the banks would make sure the ATM machine manufacturers suffered the death penalty and their families were sent to Guantanamo.

Bostonian_Queer_in_Dallas · 1 year ago

Joseph Stalin said, "It does not matter who votes...it matters who counts dee votes."

How much longer are the American people going to tolerate this shit? There should be federal mandates to make ALL voting systems uniform nationwide. Of course that ain't gonna happen because both parties have figured out how to fuck around with this. Whoever has the majority locally can play with the machines all they like. This is what you get when you vote for issues like gay marriage or abortion: a party in power that then goes about dismantling the democracy through dirty tricks. They laughed all the way to the bank at us for buying into junior high issues instead of real issues of the nation's wellbeing.

KarenMrsLloydRichards · 1 year ago

Here's the math in Maryland:

3.4 million registered voters.

19,000 Diebold AccuVote Touch Screen machines.

152 voters per machine (expected 85% turnout)

Polls open one day for 13 hours.

11.6 voters per hour.

No more than 5 minutes allotted for each voter per machine per hour. Optimal.

With inexpert and confused seniors and first time voters, broken and malfunctioning machines, late starts, poll staff inexperience and shortages, I predict: GIANT CLUSTERF^CK!

vkobaya · 1 year ago

Yeah, blame the Republicans for being crooks. But the Democrats have been in power in Congress for two years, controlling both houses and made no attempts to prevent the Republicans from rigging elections with all sorts of dirty tricks. Cowardice, complicity or that they arrogantly believe they can beat the Republicans even with their cheating, this still changes elections and sells out Democratic candidates and issues down ticket from the president. No, if the Republicans are corrupt and criminals, then the Damnocrats are accomplices and accessories, the ones driving the get away car or buying the guns for the crooks.

sukabi1 · 1 year ago

well, the fact of the matter is that the vote machine companies are owned by huge republican backers... but putting that aside, if we leave things in the hands of either party to "clear up" then we all lose... neither party has shown any real interest in cleaning up the election process to make it transparent, fair or accountable to the voter...

That is an issue that we are going to have to FORCE, and change is going to have to come from WE THE PEOPLE.

If we are going to have a democracy, then WE need to take responsibility to see that our votes are counted and our voices heard.

mckathiki · 1 year ago

You know what? I'm sick and tired of people saying the Dems have been in power the past two years - they haven't been. A simple majority does not equate to power and they have been blocked by regressive posturing or outright veto over and over again. John Dean said it very well recently - the Repubs RULE when they are in power and they have used the last 8 years to bring our country to the brink of ruin - facts are facts and there is no way to whitewash what they have done and allowed to happen. I'm also tired of people saying that Obama is the same as some of the boot-licking Dems who have been complicit in allowing the runaway train rule of the Bush/Cheney mob. But I'm most especially tired of all wheel spinning, finger pointing, name calling games - everyone, including every American citizen, has been complicit to some degree in allowing or creating the mess we face as a country. It is just time to fix it up, clean it up, change it up and polish it up so we can all shine again. I don't believe that Obama is some kind of Messiah who will save us from ourselves - I believe that he is an intelligent, efficient, decent American who is willing to roll up his sleeves and work alongside of us. I don't believe that the Dems have all the answers (personally, I've always been an Independent) but they seem to be willing to at least ask the questions. It's time to work together, people, as citizens of the United States and residents of our Earth - these times are too dangerous to not figure out a way forward.

laughingcrow · 1 year ago

It's ridiculous that voting should vary so much state to state and be so confusing. It just shouldn't be this hard. And these touch screen voting machines are just like ATM's, so there is no reason that it can't produce a hard copy with your voting choices listed on it, a receipt so to speak, just like you get from a bank ATM. (These voting machine manufacturers telling us it can't be done is B.S. They are usually the same people that make the ATM's.) Then you could re-verify your vote before depositing your ballot receipt in a locked ballot box which could then be physically counted if a recount was called for. Just trusting malfunctioning machines and an uber-secretive process is absurd!