Barely One Hour of Voting, Machines Malfunction in McKinney Election

[stephinrome]

FOR IMMEDITATE RELEASE Contact: Jocco Baccus
July 18, 2006
678-520-2088


DIEBOLD ELECTRONIC MACHINES MALFUNCTION, VOTE FOR OTHER CANDIDATE

(Decatur) After one hour of voting, the McKinney campaign has
received numerous calls that the voting machines are malfunctioning.
Voters casting votes for McKinney are reportedly having their votes
switched by the machines for Hank Johnson. This is not a new problem with
Diebold machines. Lawyers for the campaign have been alerted and said
that If this situation is not corrected, Cynthia McKinney for Congress
will be forced to take additional measures.

[Stevepol]

1. Ain't gonna stoop Cynthia. Take additional measures!!!

[IndyOp]

2. Thank you for posting this! Please keep us updated!

Is there anyway a non-Georgia citizen can help?

:grr:

[katinmn]

3. K&N Will the Dems stand up for McKinney?

[yodermon]

8. No, duh, she's a LIHOPer

so she will be Diebolded, QED.

[fasttense]

4. The repuke political machine hard at work destroying Democracy. n/t

[Tesla]

5. This is how they get the kinks out for the Nov elections.

next you won't be able to check who you voted for, they will say thats un-American.

[mom cat]

6. She is someone who won't back down!

[mod mom]

7. Just had a thought...

If problems w machines occur why can't the Dem pollworker, or someone stationed outside make a list of voter's info for further use at a trial. I think it would be wise for Demss to do this regardless to check back with precinct totals until the time we can trust the outcome of elections.

[Cookie wookie]

26. Pollworkers are not supposed to be partisan,

so "Dem pollworker" probably won't be acting like a Dem hopefully but like a pollworker. That pollworker is not going to be allowed to keep a list of voter information for use in a trial or for any other use. That would be considered a partisan acitivity.

Pollwatchers, in contrast, at least in my state, can only be representatives of polticial parties. Perhaps that what you mean. They can observe pollworkers and what is happening at the polling place and keep written records. In GA they are not allowed by law to talk to voters.

Don't how what your post means about "checking back with precinct totals." Do you mean the totals of voters who voted or votes for candidates or? States have election procedures for keeping track of voter numbers. Pollwatchers can learn what those procedures are and observe whether or not they are being followed. If DREs are used, pollwatchers probably are not going to be able to do much other than keep a distance from the machines and watch to see if pollworkers rectify the number of voters with the machine's accumulated results. In GA they are supposed to do this hourly.

[4morewars]

9. I just called John Conyers' office...

They are on it, Thanks for posting this stephinrome.

[Land Shark]

10. Interview EVERY voter AFTER emerging from the polls to check

for problems and get statements from teh willing ones. Hopefully everyone in the Atlanta area can help with this and the campaign is poised to mobilize inthis fashion.

[Old and In the Way]

11. Land Shark, got a question.

First, thanks for your work on election fraud...you are doing a great service for our democracy.

Second...we know that the Republicans are going try to steal the election again in November. Why don't we pre-empt this by doing systematic canvasing of voter results. Legal ones, an affidavit that attests to the actual vote. Now I don't expect the Rabid Right to go along with this, but I would think every Democrat and Independent that demands their vote counts would be happy to attest to who they voted for. Is this something we can organize in advance of the November election? Since exit polls don't seem to count, maybe legal affidavits will?

[Land Shark]

31. this can work in some states

a few states will try to bar anyone near the polls except exit pollers. I think it's a good idea, (in fact we're doing it in a southern state right now other than GA) but you have to check out your own state. You also will get a certain amount of noncompliance and you have to be able to deal with that statistically or otherwise.

[zbdent]

12. That would really fu*k up the Repigs' argument that the machines are

right ... because they'll be more than happy to lie about who they voted for.

The "exit polls" would show massive numbers of votes for McKinney, and then the numbers would be way off ... and then the Repukes would be saying "Oh, get over it!"

[RamblingRose]

13. McKinney did not receive the endorsement of the AJC, but received a

scathing report. She also was not endorsed by another liberal publication. Any claims of "malfunctions" by her campaign will be spewed as being a sore loser, whether the machines worked or not.

I just got back from voting... or at least I think I voted. I got nothing to show I voted except an "I am a Georgia voter" sticker.

[Kurovski]

14. The machines are "malfunctioning"?

I'd say that they're humming along in just the manner as they were designed to hum.

K&R.

[Janice325]

15. I just got back from voting.

I didn't have any trouble, as far as I know! :-) However, my roommate's 89 year old father (a Republican) told me shortly after we voted that he tried voting for one candidate several times, but the other one kept registering. I told him he should have reported it, but he basically blew me off. I certainly didn't press the issue, as it was for a Republican candidate, and the man voting is 89, and finished voting ahead of me, so I don't know if it was him or "the machine."

[AntiFascist]

23. This is where the Choicepoint data could play a role.....

targeting just the right voters.

[CottonBear]

16. Blog for Democracy has a Daily Kos link about these malfunctions

but Daily Kos is down for maintenance right now.
http://www.blogfordemocracy.org/

I live in Georgia and I am appalled that a Democrat saddled us with Diebold machines. :(
I'll never forgive Cathy Cox for Dieboldiong us. :(

I experienced no problems when I voted this morning, however, I have no idea how my votes were actually registered. :( I told the poll workers that I was completely opposed to electronic voting and that we should have paper ballots like in the UK and Canada. They had nothing to say.

[Cookie wookie]

27. Cotton Bear. You may already be a member

of a VVPB group or want to join one to help get those paper ballots.

A couple of good ones:

Defenders of Democracy (http://www.defendersofdemocracy.com/drupal/node/100)
Georgians for Verified Voting (http://www.gaforverifiedvoting.org)

Defenders has meetings, lots of actions and activities.
GAVV is a good place to keep updated on information on the subject and to join in with lobbying or other action for vvpb.

[CottonBear]

35. Thanks for the links! I'll check them out! n/t

[God Almighty]

17. Here two opponents are right-wingers put there by the Repubs

We've been watching their attempt to give the Democratic nomination to a Republican. Hank Johnson is backed by a conservative religious group that felt he was their best shot at taking the seat from the Democrats.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rinsd]

25. Again you post this with no attribution

[bvar22]

18. Cynthia McKinney....

...does not have a seat at the rich white men's table who run the Democratic Party.
She is too outspoken, and is a disrupting influence on business as usual.
She will receive no help from the backroom power brokers of the Democratic Party.

[DSperoRN]

19. McKinney campaign says no further problems as of 3:30 EDT

I spoke to someone at McKinney headquarters who said there have been no new reports since this morning, and they are keeping as close an eye on it as they can. They are not asking people to do anything about it right now.

This is an important test for November. If McKinney gets 60% in exit polls, will they still steal it?
My guess is they will.

[Joanne98]

22. How do they know?

[fredrickdouglas]

24. They Don't Know...No One Does

But if you've supported Cathy Cox, you really can't complain about electronic voting irregularities.

[autorank]

30. They'll just get the exit pollsters to say the poll was invalid.old tactic

That's what they did in 2004. I'm not aware if they've got exit polls running there. If so, I'm pleased. I'm being a bit cynical (can you blame me) but in 2004 the exit polls showed a clear Kerry victory...until they adjusted the post election day poll by incorporating the final vote count(which means it wasn't a poll). All the evidence we have on 2004, like this, shows that the election day polls were right.

I dearly hope they don't mess with McKinney again.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

21. AJC has a form you can submit to report any voting problems

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/election06/atpoll.html

[mhr]

28. In The 2004 General I Reported The Same To The Dem. Party

No Action.

[w4rma]

29. Just take the additional measures. The situation isn't going to be

corrected.

[stephinrome]

32. another message from Cynthia

Two Hours Into Voting, More Problems Recorded With Diebold Electronic Machines, Pollbooks

Just after the polls opened, numerous problems with Diebold
electronic voting machines were noted. At one Rockdale precinct,
reportedly a single Diebold machine malfunction affected the
performance of the entire sequence of machines assigned to that
precinct. Additionally, one machine didn't have a plug and sat
idle. In addition, workers were not adequately trained on the use of the
electronic pollbooks, resulting in unneccessary voter frustration.

When one McKinney voter realized too late that her intended vote had been
switched by the voting machine to a McKinney opponent, the polling place
official's response was "she needs to let us know next time before she
casts her ballot." McKinney campaign officials want to know, what about
this time?


A snake in the bush is easy to fight. But one already in the house
becomes a problem!

[stephinrome]

33. and another

Diebold Electronic Pollbooks, Machines; Inadequately Trained Election Officials Sour Voting Experience

One couple went to vote together, as they always do. When they
arrived at the polling place, the Diebold electronic pollbook was in use
by officials. The wife's name was in the electronic pollbook's database
and she was allowed to vote. The polling officials told the husband that
he had already voted. The husband, irate at hearing this news, and being
told that he could not vote, contacted McKinney headquarters and Team
McKinney lawyers have been dispatched to the precinct.

A snake in the bush is easy to fight. But one already in the house
becomes a problem!

[stephinrome]

34. one more...

3:30 in the afternoon and machines still recording votes for wrong candidate

One persistent problem with the Diebold electronic voting machines is
their tendency to cast votes against the intentions of the voter. The
voting day in Cynthia McKinney's primary began with voters complaining
that their votes for McKinney weren't being cast for her, but instead for
her opponent. Interesting, no complaints have been lodged that this is
happening in reverse--that is, that the computers are registering
McKinney votes intended for any one of her opponents. Team McKinney
lawyers have affadavits from voters with complaints that they intended to
vote for McKinney but that the machine switched their vote to one of her
opponents. Other complaints involve staff insufficiently trained on the
Diebold electronic pollbooks, thereby delaying voting, thus causing some
people to have to leave for work. Voting times have been extended in
some precincts due to official election staff admitting that they did not
know how to work the machines.

Many voters were left not knowing where to go vote because the voting
precinct had been changed and the voters were not aware of the change.
In all, Team McKinney lawyers detailed numerous electronic voting machine
malfunctions including machines breaking down in the middle of the voting
process. One McKinney pollwatcher noted that at one precinct, the
machine did not tally zero at the beginning of the voting day.
Unexpectedly closed polling sites, combined with Tom Delay-inspired
Congressional redistricting imposed on Georgia voters, electronic voting
machine malfunctions--some even in the middle of the voting process--all
led to a frustrating voting experience for some voters in the 2006
Primary Election held in Georgia's new Fourth Congressional District.
The phrase blind faith voting comes to mind. An after-election report of
all the voting irregularities reported to Cynthia McKinney for Congress
will be available to various electronic voting groups and others in
Georgia and around the country upon request.


A snake in the bush is easy to fight. But one already in the house
becomes a problem!

[petgoat]

36. Kkkkkkkkkkkick, nt