Thread: Talk & Report About Your Voting Machines

I had a great experience voting today. I was dreading it, expecting to wait on long lines that went outside and into the rain. I brought a portable radio, got some coffee and a breakfast sandwich from McD's, had a raincoat, but when I got to the poll, I went right in, no line, voted and left. Our town had opened several extra polling stations preparing for the large turn out.

The voting machine seemed straight forward and easy to operate. Thumbs up!

Voting machine incorrectly counts votes, Oakland Co. clerk says

BY EMILIA ASKARI • GANNETT NEWS SERVICE • November 4, 2008


A brand of voting machine being used in Michigan and throughout the country today has problems counting votes correctly, according to Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson. She alerted federal and state elections officials of the problem in a letter dated Oct. 24, which was released on Monday by the federal Elections Assistance Commission.

In the two-page letter, Johnson, a Republican running for re-election today, said that four communities in Oakland County recently reported problems with M-100 voting tabulators made by a company called Election Systems & Software.

The communities “reported inconsistent vote totals during their logic and accuracy testing with the ES&S machines,” Johnson wrote. “The same ballots, run through the same machines, yielded different results each time.”

Johnson went on to request “a federal directive or law that would allow county clerks, under the supervision of their bipartisan canvass board, to conduct random audits to test machine accuracy using voting tabulators that have had preventive maintenance within the last year.”

In a statement issued to the media today, Johnson said that she has yet to receive a response to her request and stands ready to do hand recounts in close races today.

In her Oct. 24 letter, Johnson wrote that members of her staff met with local clerks and representatives of manufacturer. “ES&S determined that the primary issue was dust and debris buildup on the sensors inside the M-10….This begs the question – on Election Day, will the record number of ballots going through the remaining tabulators leave even more buildup on the sensors, affecting machines that tested just fine initially? Could this additional buildup on voting tabulators that have not had any preventative maintenance skew vote totals?

“My understanding is that the problem could occur and election workers would have no inkling that ballots are being misread.”

Johnson goes on to note that “conflicting vote totals reportedly surfaced in other areas of Michigan.” She added that local clerks across the state are prohibited from cleaning or maintaining their election machines as this would void the machines’ warranties. “ES&S has not performed any preventative maintenance under the state contract, since the machines were delivered three years ago,” Johnson wrote. “I would urge you to investigate whether vote totals could be affected by the failure to provide regular cleaning and preventative maintenance with the ES&S M-100 tabulators.”

She warned that if election officials find a problem with the way the machines are working in the county, local officials would have to spot check or canvass the results. “An extension of canvassing time could be critical,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson’s staff said she would not be answering any questions about the situation or making any comment beyond her three-sentence statement acknowledging that she sent the letter and that she had received no response.

Officials with the Elections Assistance Commission and with the machine manufacturer could not be reached immediately today.

ES&S, based in Omaha, Neb., is “the world’s largest and most experienced” provider of election equipment, according to the company’s Web site. Its machines are used by about 45% of the precincts and registered voters in the nation – or nearly 1,700 jurisdictions in 43 states, the Web site states. The company has more than 170,000 systems installed worldwide.

Source: http://www.livingstondaily.com/artic...EWS01/81104027

Wow, I just came back from voting – took about 2 minutes. I was surprised.

We still have the old mechanical lever machines.

I read a story whereby when a poll worker went to collect the tallies from a machine, no votes were registered for anyone that had used that machine. The gears are so old they fail sometimes and there’s no company in the US that makes parts anymore for the lever machines.

One has no way of knowing if your vote gets counted with any of the voting machines in use today. Of course, there’s always an exception like that town in Mass. with the population of about 50.

For President we had a choice of 10 different parties and 7 candidates within those parties.

Long gone are the days of pushing the lever and having a curtain slide
closed behind you. With that said, we experienced a similar machine with
a similar curtain. But when you looked at the push button face of the
actual machine, it couldn't have been easier. One push to select, push
it again and it unselected. The Red Button stood out and said "Cast Your
Votes". No lines, No backup, No delay. A two document signature assisted
in the security of each vote and we only presented our Registration Card
and Pictured Drivers Liscence. It took less then a minute process in.

With that said, upon leaving the area, I couldn't tell you if someone walked
away with my vote or whether it even registered. Maybe a sign should
have dropped down which said; "your vote counted" after pushing the
Red Button. But the machine simply reset itself and it was over.

I had a great experience! Met my wife at the polls, got to see my Aunt, Uncle, a cousin, some friend I had not seen in a long while. In and out in no time. Good ol country live'n, sit'n at a table with my wife, filling out the paper ballot.

What a great Country that we live in and have the opportunity to vote without treat of violence or reprisal.

Originally Posted by Buster

Better hope Obama wins then, cuz if he don't, you''ll be singing another tune Wedsnday night...

Pure OG plain and simple. I had the opportunity to shower at least 2 of
them at work. "Stop crying for toilet paper, Yo" "Use that fake a*s love
letter your write'n to that Hoe, Yo".

By the way, inmates can't vote in Prison,,,AND don't vote outside.
Sorry for the rant, I didn't even play the video, I didn't have to.