Judge orders additional instruction for touchscreen voters (NC GOP suit)

[struggle4progress]

Source: WRAL

RALEIGH, N.C. — In response to a complaint filed by the North Carolina Republican Party, a federal judge ruled that counties using touchscreen voting machines add an additional informational alert for voters.

Judge Malcolm Howard held a special Saturday hearing to consider the GOP's accusation that the State Board of Elections knew about problems with the voting machines and didn't address them ...

Read more: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/8539911/

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Updated: 8:01 PM Oct 30, 2010
Judge Rules On GOP Voting Machine Lawsuit
... On Saturday evening, after a two-day hearing, a Federal Judge ordered in the NCGOP's favor, requiring the SBOE to take the following steps on Election Day:
1) Provide written and oral notice to every voter using touch screen machines that problems exist, and to carefully review their ballots before confirming them.
2) Preserve all Personal Electronic programs, ballots, metadata, source codes, and any programs or data that reflects machine calibration.
3) Issue an order that poll workers in all precincts be required to keep a record of all complaints by voters regarding the touch screen voting machines ...
http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/Meeting_About_Electronic_Voting_Machine_Problems_106378699.html

Earlier LBN threads:

N.C. GOP leader: Touchscreen voting machines have flaw that aids Dems
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4591999

NC Touch-Screen Machine Flips Straight-Party Vote Four Times in a Row from GOP to Dem
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4586753

Earlier NC forum post:

Accord may be near on voting machines
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=170x12158

[BeFree]

1. wow

Dems have been raising hell for years and got zilch.

A republican has a vote dropped and a federal case is made of it.

The republicans sure know how to get things done, eh?

[Ian David]

2. Problems with voting machines has been "crazy talk" for 12 years.

Now, suddenly it's an actual problem?

What's changed?

Oh, yeah.

They're flipping votes to Democrats THIS time.

WE TOLD YOU SO!

[EC]

3. This is a set up

I feel it...They've come up with something else that tons of people swamping the polls can't beat, so they have no use for these machines anymore since we've been overwhelming the polls - so now they've decided to set us up for the bad code...just watch they'll pin it one way or another on us...all the years we've complained didn't make a dent, so people will believe them too...There's a new machine or way of voting they are going to pitch, bet on it...

[struggle4progress]

4. Could be: NC GOP is all about litigation; year after year, they're in court complaining

From the stories I've read, nobody's actually complained that they couldn't vote the way they've wanted, though three or four do say they had trouble -- which sounds like miscalibrated screens. I did encounter one story of a guy who misvoted because a portion of the ballot confused him: we have a 13-way race with instant run-off that's unfamiliar to most of us

I'd guess the GOP is making a lot of racket so they can question the legitimacy of an election they're worried they'll lose

Of course, the legitimate and unanswerable concern, that many people have about electronic voting, isn't miscalibrated screens: it's software hanky-panky. I'd be happy to get rid of the touchscreens, because I don't trust them; and so I'd be happy to see the GOP stand against the touchscreens too, in the next legislative session -- but, frankly, I don't think they will

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. No its not. Awareness has grown and NC has a history of vote flip from GOP to DEM

because our Gov is a DEM, DEM candidates are listed first in ballot contests.

The vote flips up because of calibration problems.

Some voters tried 3 times to cast vote and only on 4th try got it.

I spoke with the Craven Co GOP Chair, and he was sincere.
He said he didn't blame election officials but the machines weren't reliable.
He said that before they got touchscreens, their elections ran smoothly and results
were prompt.

Now with touchscreens all sorts of problems and unreliable. This IS true.

Go to www.votersunite.org and see their database of voting problems, listed on right hand
side of home page.

[struggle4progress]

6. If they're sincere, we should push hard in the long session before the crossover date to scrap

the machines pronto and get something more transparent as replacement

[CLANG]

7. Informational alert for voters:

"Democrats are (again) trying to steal an election! THE BASTARDS!"

[Igel]

8. Houston's eSlates routinely contain the first precaution.

For a lot of reasons, not just because of electronic goof-ups. (Then again, touch-screens need a different kind of calibration. I've had fun with supermarket check-out and bank ATM touchscreens, trying to sort out where the numbers and various other areas are.)

Most polling sites should have a log of voter complaints.

The middle one's the clincher. That might actually be difficult, depending on how they keep their information stored. Somebody'll have to rummage and locate all the copies of backups and calibration data just in case they're in a location to be overwritten either by routine backup or because of recycling of the media.

[HughMoran]

9. Why are the Republicans filing and winning important law suits lately?

Log Cabin on DADT and now NCGOP on touch-screen voting machines? :shrug: