Posted on 11/04/2008 9:17:03 AM PST by ricks_place
Virginia voters faced rainy weather early Tuesday morning while waiting to vote.
(CNN) - Some voting machines are not working properly in Chesapeake, Virginia because of wet weather, according to voters and the State Board of Elections. Spokesman Ryan Enright confirmed the rain is throwing a wrench in the works in a few places that use optical-scan paper ballots.
He said ballots were getting soaked as water drips off wet voters walking into polling stations. That makes the scanner unable to read a ballot.
The Virginia State Board of Elections is encouraging all voters to dry off before filing out ballots to avoid problems.
And to solve the problem of wet ballots, the polling station is collecting them in a secure container next to the polling machine.
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
McCain needs a strong showing in Chesapeake.
I know of 3 votes he got in Chesapeake.
Good. That should do it then!
IR calls VA for McCain at 12:28 EST. :-)
Seriously? DOH!
I don’t know about Chesapeake but where I voted in NoVA we had a choice between optical and electronic. I chose optical b/c there was no line. Oddly all the lefties where I live wanted to vote via the so-called dreaded Diebold machines and there was a short wait for them.
Funny thing about the optical though. You fill it out like a standardized test then put it in the scanner. Your voting choices are fairly clear to the election official who stands over you when you put the ballot in the scanner. Mine, of course was marked for McCain and I got an evil eye when she gave me my “I voted” sticker. I (jokingly) wondered if I put my ballot in a scanner or a shredder.
We use optical scanners here, but we have privacy sleeves to put over our ballots, so the official can’t see how we voted as we slide our ballots into the scanner.
Maybe you could petition your local elections office for privacy sleeves for next time?
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