Posted on 11/04/2004 11:55:00 PM PST by ambrose
Posted on Fri, Nov. 05, 2004
Computer error at voting machine gives Bush 3,893 extra votes
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A computer error with a voting machine cartridge gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in a Gahanna precinct.
Franklin County's unofficial results gave Bush 4,258 votes to Democratic challenger John Kerry's 260 votes in Precinct 1B. Records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct.
Matthew Damschroder, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, said Bush received 365 votes there. The other 13 voters who cast ballots either voted for other candidates or did not vote for president.
Damschroder said he received some calls Thursday from people who saw the error when reading the list of poll results on the election board's Web site.
He said the error would have been discovered when the official canvass for the election is performed later this month.
Damschroder said after Precinct 1B closed, a cartridge from one of three voting machines at the polling place generated a faulty number at a computerized reading station.
The reader also recorded zero votes in a county commissioner race.
Damschroder said the cartridge was retested Thursday and there were no problems. He couldn't explain why the computer reader malfunctioned.
Workers checked the cartridge against memory banks in the voting machine Thursday and each showed that 115 people voted for Bush on that machine. With the other machines, the total for Bush in the precinct added up to 365 votes.
Someone at DU posted this error yesterday.
Optically scanned ballots are paper, but they can be counted by machine very quickly. If needed, they can be be easily counted manually. Also it has been shown to be reliable technology. In the 2000 elections counties using optically scanned ballots had very low rates of undervoting and overvoting.
My county in Texas has one scanner per precinct so we can count the votes quickly after the polls close. Actually the scanners used in the precincts on election day actually tabualte the ballots as they are fed into the ballot box. When the precinct closes, all that is necessary is to run the report on the ballots cast. The capital cost per precinct is negligible compared the old mechanical voting machines or the new computerized voting machines. Low capital costs mean you don't have long lines to use a limited resource. The voting booths are nothing but ordinary tables with cheap cardboard dividers on top to allow privacy. This means voters can be handed ballots as quickly as election workers can process and verify voter registrations and get the required voter signatures. Precincts therefore don't have long lines of voters when poll closing time comes. The precincts can close down on time, certify their results, and report back to the courthouse quickly on election night.
Because it was in their favor. Wake me up when they post one that isn't.
Everybody "do some lamaze" (Matalin). These errors always cancel each other out --- and as another poster has said, the military and absentees are still being counted.
Interesting to note that 3893 is only divisible by 17 and 229.
Maybe we'll save a couple bucks with E-voting, but it won't be worth the cost in the long run. Sooner or later, someone will find a way to cheat.
We already saw very likely cheating in Venezuela.
We are SkyNet and we approved this election.
An error that will stock the loony tinfoil left. Here they come...
stock = stoke
Franklin County has a 110% registration rate.
Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?
Fraud.
Attempts by the Dems to steal an election.
The first call Kerry made regarding Ohio was to the Cleveland BOE - when told they only had 24,000 provisional ballots, that is when he knew he couldn't win. He was told they were spread out all over the state.
For some bizarre reason, he thought he would get enough provisional ballots from Cleveland to win. Now why do you think that is? (that was rhetorical)
Thanks for much for posting that. Keep it handy and post in other threads you see - I couldn't locate it again.
> ...why is that?
I was being facetious!
Hey, you never know. Some folks weren't getting it last Monday.
What's cheaper about it? No paper ballots to print? Each precinct needs several computerized voting machines. These are special purpose computers that have no other use. How often do counties run elections 2, 3 times a year? The rest of the time these computers must be carefully stored in climate controlled storage. How much does the equipment cost to acquire and maintain? How difficult are they to use? Will elderly and hanidcapped people have problems using them? How often will they have to be replaced by a new generation of machines. How long will a particular vintage of hardware be serviceable? How secure are the machines from cyber attacks?
I was talking to a Republican party official in my county. He says the electronic voting booths are considerably more expensive and have all the shortcomings you previously enumerated. The optical ballots are much easier to use than punched cards, and they can be easily counted by hand if necessary.
"So what are the ramifications of this, if anything?"
I would say NONE.
Democratic challenger John Kerry's 260 votes in Precinct 1B.
With the other machines, the total for Bush in the precinct added up to 365 votes.
So President Bush STILL WON!!
The problem was found and corrected. Where's the BEEF?
It sure is. It has the efficiency of machine counting while not requiring voters to know anything about how to use a computer.
I have personally used three technologies for voting. I have used the old mechanical voting machines. They are old, bulky, and unreliable. I once voted on punched cards. The were a pain to mark, but I knew enough to inspect it to make sure the holes were cleanly punched. Finally I have used optical ballots starting about 1994.
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