New Voting Systems in CA a Total Shambles

KFI 640am | March 2, 2004

[Cinnamon Girl]

KFI's reporter Eric Leonard was reporting various problems at polling places around CA, this morning. San Diego county, which invested millions in the Diebold touch screen computer system, is having problems with screens freezing up or computers being completely inoperable.

In Westminister and other parts of Orange County, voters are typing in the voting pin numbers and ONLY Democrat ballots are popping up.

Los Angeles County, which could not afford computer touch screen systems at this time (fortunately) is using the Inka system, which marks ballots with an ink mark in a circle. Someone who voted today told me his ink spots were outside the circles and, when shown to poll workers, was told it didn't matter. Does anyone know if these votes will still register?

It really seems that the punch card chad system was fine and good and there was no reason to revamp the system. With a punch card, there is physical evidence of the vote, and the voter can check to see that only the holes are punched out that they want. What was wrong with that?

I'm about to go vote. Please check in with your voting reports.

[John H K]

Eh, Diebold is becoming the new Halliburton to the Democrats, though.

[Xenalyte]

In Westminister and other parts of Orange County, voters are typing in the voting pin numbers and ONLY Democrat ballots are popping up.

Quelle coincidence.

[Henrietta]

"In Westminister and other parts of Orange County, voters are typing in the voting pin numbers and ONLY Democrat ballots are popping up."

Oh, dear...and here all along I thought it was we evil Republicans that stole elections.

I mean unless you count Detroit...and Chicago...and New York...and Portland...and Florida...and San Diego.

[goldstategop]

The Inka-Voting system in my precinct is pretty familiar. Its a high tech version of the familiar punch card system used for decades. Instead of punching out a chad with the stylus, you ink your choice in. By the way, turnout where I live was light compared to last October. People are bored and it looks like turnout will set a new low for a California primary election. People think nothing much is going to change and they're right, it won't.

[steve50]

Eh, Diebold is becoming the new Halliburton to the Democrats, though.

These machines should be an outrage to any American who values his right to have a say in his rulers. The internal memos Harris got her hands on are damning by themselves.

[Kozak]

Good to know the ACLU hasn't stopped this primary election in its tracks.

I have no confidence the clowns in Cali and other states can get this straightened out by Nov. Lets hope it's not a close election...

[Carry_Okie]

just voted in North San Diego county with the touchscreen. All went well.

Don't you get it? It doesn't matter how the voting goes. They can change it later. The system is totally open to fraud. There is and can be no audit trail.

[NathanR]

I heard that too and some people seemed to be having problems at my precinct.

That said I breezed through quickly.

[Conservative4Ever]

Before Riverside Co., Ca got their electronic voting machines, we had ink dabbers to mark the paper ballots. Worked just fine then...the electronic machines really are wonderfully easy though. You would think they [San Diego]could have gotten for the price of some pizza and pepsi's, some high school geeks in there to fix the problem. Probably would have ferreted out said problems and had them solved in one day.

Red

[daviddennis]

I voted at approximately 7:50am and the polling place had one other Republican and no Democrats.

The number of booths was about equal for each. I guess my precinct is more Republican than my previous one, even though they're only blocks apart.

I just bought a home in the hills of Woodland Hills; I lived in a rented house in the flats before. Are hill-dwellers more Republican?

D

[martin_fierro]

Welp, I just voted touchscreen.

The process went painlessly enough (although why is it poll workers invariably feel compelled to make SOME dumba$$ statement as you're signing in).

So now I'm sporting an "I VOTED TOUCHSCREEN" sticker. Yet it feels like a sign reading "KICK ME".

[Poohbah]

KFI's reporter Eric Leonard was reporting various problems at polling places around CA, this morning. San Diego county, which invested millions in the Diebold touch screen computer system, is having problems with screens freezing up or computers being completely inoperable.

From what I saw when I tried to vote this morning, the voting software was not even installed.

[calcowgirl]

California rushed this project, with little concern for its accuracy or security. I posted this at FR several weeks ago.

California seeks to improve electronic-voting security
Mercury News ^ | Feb. 05, 2004 | Elise Ackerman
Posted on 02/07/2004 12:57:48 AM PST by calcowgirl

(snip)
California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley on Thursday announced measures to improve election security in the wake of a report describing how votes can be easily manipulated by hacking into an electronic voting system used across California. One in four California voters, including those in Alameda County, are expected to cast ballots in next month's presidential primary on electronic voting systems made by Diebold Election Systems. Last week, computer scientists hired by the state of Maryland to hack its Diebold voting system announced they had successfully changed vote tallies on touch-screen voting machines, altered ballots and seized control of a central vote-counting computer.

Read more at blackboxvoting.com

[Doohickey]

Punchcards and hand-written ballots only serve to disenfranchise dead Democratic voters you cad!

[ARA]

just happened to me in Westwood... Two Repub booths and 8 Dem booths... Funny in a way but I felt like a winner...

[CounterCounterCulture]

Welp, I just voted touchscreen.

The process went painlessly enough (although why is it poll workers invariably feel compelled to make SOME dumba$$ statement as you're signing in).

So now I'm sporting an "I VOTED TOUCHSCREEN" sticker. Yet it feels like a sign reading "KICK ME".

Nobody commented on my registration. I did have poll worker that looked like Carole Migden (D-Lesbonia) here in San Jose, for what it's worth.

I don't even get any kind of receipt like we did with the punch-ballots, other than that worthless sticker.

BTW, I believe Pat Buchanan is winning with like 80% of the vote, but I could be wrong ;-)

[GOPrincess]

Here in No. Orange Co. we had computer screens where you spun a dial to highlight in red who you wanted to vote for, then pressed "enter." It made me quite nervous not to have some sort of backup paper copy. There was also not the usual privacy. In the past we had the cardboard booths with plastic garbage bag curtain (casual, but worked great!) - today I could look over fairly easily and watch my husband voting. Weird.

We have previously always voted punch card here in O.C., and the rectangles punch out with such force I don't think a hanging chad would be possible! (Grin) I really think they jumped in to this new voting system without looking at the ramifications. Reminds me of when the local schools changed to a really stupid and uninformative numeric grading system (virtually all children qualified for a passing "3," whether they were at C or A grade level), and when my husband and others complained to the school board, the "powers that be" patted the "people" on the head and ignored their concerns, which were very obvious to any "man (or woman) on the street." Three years later, they changed the grading system because of the very concerns expressed by my husband. Long story short, I think the same thing will happen with this electronic voting -- all of us are saying "But what about hacking? security? fraud?" and I'm expecting by the 2008 Presidential election we're going to finally hear "Uh, yeah, this new system has some problems..." But meanwhile what damage will be done?

[GOPrincess]

Here in No. Orange Co. we had computer screens where you spun a dial to highlight in red who you wanted to vote for, then pressed "enter." It made me quite nervous not to have some sort of backup paper copy. There was also not the usual privacy. In the past we had the cardboard booths with plastic garbage bag curtain (casual, but worked great!) - today I could look over fairly easily and watch my husband voting. Weird.

We have previously always voted punch card here in O.C., and the rectangles punch out with such force I don't think a hanging chad would be possible! (Grin) I really think they jumped in to this new voting system without looking at the ramifications. Reminds me of when the local schools changed to a really stupid and uninformative numeric grading system (virtually all children qualified for a passing "3," whether they were at C or A grade level), and when my husband and others complained to the school board, the "powers that be" patted the "people" on the head and ignored their concerns, which were very obvious to any "man (or woman) on the street." Three years later, they changed the grading system because of the very concerns expressed by my husband. Long story short, I think the same thing will happen with this electronic voting -- all of us are saying "But what about hacking? security? fraud?" and I'm expecting by the 2008 Presidential election we're going to finally hear "Uh, yeah, this new system has some problems..." But meanwhile what damage will be done?

[Hanging Chad]

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I hate electronic voting.
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[oceanview]

what would you like to see the system do?