MSNBC: No Major Voting Irregularities (Update On Earlier Report About Broken Machines)

[malik flavors]

No Major Voting Irregularities

Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:50 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: 2008, Primaries
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger

According to Leslie Amoros, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania State Department, there have been no major voter irregularities in the state.

"It's just been minor, normal kinds of stuff," she said. "Nothing major, nothing widespread."

She said polling places do not report turnout numbers throughout the day, but that anecdotally she has learned it is high, aided by the nice weather.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/22/931498.aspx

Update on earlier Report:

MSNBC reports Obama campaign claiming that some voting machines were breaking down or not working, particularly in Philadelphia’s African-American precincts.

Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Fred Voight tells the network there were the typical problems citywide when the polls first opened, but most have been corrected.

Says it’s “flat out not true” that only African-American precincts were having problems.

http://thepage.time.com/2008/04/22/potential-of-problems-at-the-pa-polls/

[featherman]

1. Good... let's hope for a clean, uneventful election

[NorthCarolina]

37. Too bad the results will be virtually unverifiable though n/t

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Quite the opposite.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/politics/18002279.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20080422_Few_problems_in_Pa__primary_elections.html

[Justitia]

10. Yup, I've been reading the Phiily.com blogs too. Interesting: the ballots w/only Hillary on them.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. Any actual news reports about there alleged Hillary-only ballots?

:shrug:

[Justitia]

14. Saw a pic of one posted here, but have not heard the resolution - IOW

were the voters ultimately allowed to vote on a ballot w/both names or only provisional?

It was my understanding that they were handed to voters after machines broke down to use as provisional ballots. A poll watcher said that the Hillary only ballots were meant to be "samples", but were handed out as provisionals.

I have heard no resolution of either the provisionals or whether the machines were ultimately able to be used.

I hope like hell no one used those as an actual ballot (in place of a provisional, maybe crossing out the name) - those would all be thrown out.

I keep scanning for more info on this.....

[Freddie Stubbs]

15. Do you have link for this 'ballot' which you saw?

:shrug:

[Justitia]

16. give me a minute to find it again, I'm scanning like a hundred different sites today....BRB

[Justitia]

18. Here is one of the active references to the ward, I'm still looking for the pic I saw...BRB

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/politics/18005149.html

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. It looks like Hillary supporters are pushing for Hillary in supposed Obama areas

Nothing wrong with that.

[TheDoorbellRang]

24. Here's the link to that picture from an earlier thread today

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=5616747#5616794

[Justitia]

27. Ahhh, yes, that's it! Thank you! I thought my IE would crash from all the open windows.

Thanks again.

[TheDoorbellRang]

34. I think it was a false alarm

I just went back and was reading more on that particular thread. It seems that that particular ballot was a sample only.

[Freddie Stubbs]

29. That is a sample ballot handed out local grassroots Democrats

Can you see the "Paid for by Democratic Executive Committee of Philadelphia, Frank L. Oliver, Treasurer?" Ballots that you cast aren't paid for by the local party.

[TheDoorbellRang]

32. Yes, thanks. I just read some more on that earlier thread

and they explained that it was just a sample ballot.

I think we're all so hypersensitized about election fraud that we can jump the gun sometimes.

[Freddie Stubbs]

38. Some people WANT to believe the election is stolen

[Justitia]

21. ward 49, division 7 report - provisional ballots w/only HRC's name on them

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/politics/More_voting_machine_malfunctions.html

Still looking for the pic I saw early, I should have bookmarked the tons of sites I'm sifting today...

[Freddie Stubbs]

26. The person claims to have voted for Obama

Which would have been impossible if they voted on a paper ballot without Obama's name on it. I am calling BS on this until I see one of these "ballots."

[Justitia]

28. see above pic. What is not clear is whether voters have been given sample ballots as provisionals.

Keep reading the live blogging from the polls, maybe we'll know more as the day progresses.

[Freddie Stubbs]

30. You can't use party-paid sample ballots to vote any more than you can a baseball card

[Justitia]

31. I agree, that's why I want to know more about reports of "provisionals" w/out all candidates on them

Is someone trying to use sample ballots in place of actual provisional ballots?
If you read the live blogging, there have been multiple reports of such.

Not every voter understands how these processes work.

In my own primary, I witnessed serious errors made by sheer ignorance of procedure.

[Freddie Stubbs]

33. And I would like to see one of these provisionals w/o Obama's name on it

More importantly, I wonder why Obama's campaign isn't screaming bloody murder about his name not appearing on the ballot.

[Justitia]

35. A REAL provisional would have both. The question is whether voters are being told to vote on

the sample. Complaints about being given "provisional" ballots w/only one name lead me to that question.

[Freddie Stubbs]

36. If this were true, do you beleive that the Obama camapign would remain silent?

:shrug:

[Justitia]

39. Of course not, but it's good to catch these things as they happen, before people LEAVE the polls

thinking they have cast a valid ballot, when they have not.

That's all I'm saying!

[nebula]

11. Trying to frustrate voters and get them to leave

People need to be there with video cameras to record all the problems with long lines and broken machines.

[GarbagemanLB]

3. I think supporters of BOTH candidates can agree on wanting fair and open elections.

[redqueen]

4. "Minor, normal kinds of stuff."

Yeah, cause we all know well and good those machines NEVER seem to work right in minority areas... and there are (surprise, surprise) never enough of them, either.


Are they about ready to pull back that curtain yet?

[AtomicKitten]

5. I never expected the black vote to be suppressed in a Democratic primary, but it is.

Insufficient number and broken voting machines in predominantly black districts.

Shame on us. :(

[tridim]

6. Well yes, disenfranchising black voters has now become "normal"

And that's exactly what is happening once again. The Machine has spoken.

[nebula]

7. I don't trust the officials

She may or may not be telling the truth, but I'd like to hear what the voters standing in line in Philly have to say about it.

[AllentownJake]

23. She was

Appointed by Rendell

[baldguy]

8. Diebold is the elephant in the room.

Literally.

[malik flavors]

9. I added an update for the earlier reports of broken voting machines

[Zachstar]

12. Minor? Any voting problems are NEVER minor!

This is why I am calling on Obama to start a program for a citizen designed (Through a website where revisions can be displayed) powerless, clear punch and store and hackproof voting machines.

Voting machines ought to not have electrons keeping them online.

[Skwmom]

17. It doesn't have to be WIDESPREAD in the state, just in particular

districts that would favor Obama.

[Adelante]

19. Everyone, remember to REPORT any problems you know of

Here:



http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/vpchome

[nebula]

41. And bring your video camera to the polling station!

if they try to stop you from taping then go across the street and do it from there!

[berni_mccoy]

20. "Nothing major, Nothing Widespread", yeah, only in Philly.

[MarjorieG]

25. Beyond evident problems, how do we know what's working with 90% unverifiable machines.

This is not supposed to be a video game experience with proven vulnerable and bad equipment.

[MethuenProgressive]

40. "“flat out not true” that only African-American precincts were having problems."

Glad to see the hysterical headwaving here was false.
And judging from the time stamps, known to be false.

[MethuenProgressive]

42. ::crickets::

Where's the celebration of a fair and honest election?