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Isn't it neat how he's going on and on about all this cool stuff he's

going to do once he gets into the White House?



Kinda makes you wonder just what he's been doing all this time he's

been in government, doesn't it?

In yesterday's DID post, one of the articles I linked to was called "10 Choke Points for Election Day" and it was written by Alan Boyle. Now, color me a bit biased, but I feel like he's MUCH too trusting of technology--especially for being the "Science editor" of MSNBC.com. So trusting that I decided to take his article apart, piece by piece, and point out how he and others in the media downplay the dangers of election irregularities in subtle, but effective ways. As always, the original article is italicized and my comments are smart-assy.

Here we go:

10 choke points for Election Day
What could go wrong? E-voting glitches, legal challenges and more
By Alan Boyle
Science editor
updated 10:32 a.m. ET, Fri., Oct. 31, 2008

So far, so good...

In the year 2000, we suffered through Florida's hanging chads and lingering lawsuits.

Ain't democracy a bitch?

So, we "suffered" through "hanging chads and lingering lawsuits," did we Mr. Boyle? What we quite literally suffered through was a misapplication of the Constitution that ended with the American people not having definite numbers from the 2000 election. Not having definite numbers means not being sure that the guy in the White House is even supposed to be there.

Just think about all the things Bush has screwed the pooch on and now think about the odds of someone else screwing up as badly. Yeah, Boyle, you MIGHT have left a few things out there in your lovely attempt at alliteration there.

In 2004, we agonized over the long lines at polling places, plus Ohio's provisional ballots.

Once again, was that all we agonized over? It wasn't the mysterious terrorism-related evacuation order claiming to be from the DHS that eventually denied having been given? It wasn't the exit polls that literally inverted the results of the election?

What about when a handful of people in Congress tried to get the election investigated but everyone else shrugged them off?

That was agonizing to me--and not just because I voted for Kerry but because I want to know for sure who ever gets into the Oval Office deserves to be there! Isn't that the whole point of democracy?

On Election Day this year, what problems will emerge as the choke points for the voting process?

Oh, Election Day! How many ways can you screw up? Let me count the ways! 1, 2, 3...

Damn, Boyle only came up with 10?

The bad news is that glitches have been popping up for weeks, during an early-voting period that has almost overwhelmed some election officials. The good news? Election officials have now had weeks to see exactly what kinds of problems are popping up, and to take care of them before the big day on Tuesday.

The badder news? Election officials have had YEARS to research, test, implement and FIX these election systems and they're such morons they STILL haven't pulled it off.

I'm just SURE in the remaining THREE DAYS before the election they'll be able to suss out all the problems and make sure every American's vote is counted!

O_O

"If there are problems on Election Day, it will be because of something unexpected, not because of a lack of preparation," said Doug Chapin, director of Electionline.org at the Pew Center on the States.

Well, let's hope the Pew-man is right. Though, logic would dictate that he's not. Scores of experts and regular joes like me have been pointing out the problems with these machines for years--if any of them pop up on Election Day we will not consider them "unexpected."

One problem that's totally expected will be long lines at polling places. "We knew that by midsummer," said Douglas Jones, a computer science professor at the University of Iowa who serves as a researcher and consultant on voting technologies.

Voter registration levels have risen to what appear to be historic proportions. If it weren't for the expanded use of early voting and vote-by-mail schemes, polling places might well have experienced the logistical meltdown that some observers feared.

Give them a chance! Why do you assume that early voting has completely averted the meltdown, sir?

I fully expect that the meltdown has been lessened by the early voting, but not every state has done early voting as far as I know.

"Things would be insurmountable if we didn't have this outlet," said Rick Hasen, an election-law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

That's not to say that the election process will be trouble-free: But after two hard-fought presidential elections and an extended buildup to this one, the experts and the lawyers, the politicians and the voters have a better idea what kinds of trouble they'll be up against.

That much is true, but I think you're still painting a much too pretty picture, Mr. Boyle.

Here are 10 potential choke points to watch for on Election Day, in roughly chronological order:

Chronological order? OK...?

1. Funny business
During the countdown to Election Day, the GOP has been complaining about illegitimate voters, following up on presidential candidate John McCain's warning that "one of the greatest frauds in voter history" was about to be perpetrated.

This is funny business? If the Republicans have legit concerns, this is anything but "funny business." The fact is, that they don't have legitimate concerns--voter fraud effectively never happens.

Regardless, I don't think anyone's concerns about securing a fair election should be dumbed-down or belittled with a phrase like that. But hang on--here's what else, Mr. Boyle thinks is "funny business":

The Democrats, meanwhile, complain about voter suppression: For example, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign officials in Nevada have said Obama supporters were being told falsely that they could vote by phone.

Yeah, what "funny business" is this?? Really, the Democrats have no right to expect their supporters to get accurate voting information! What losers those Democrats are!!

The thing is, "voter suppression" is an umbrella phrase that is used to describe any kind of activity that ends with a voter not voting. So, there's a lot more to it than just misinforming the voters. Way to oversimplify, Mr. B.

Lawyers from both sides will be maneuvering to capture the spotlight during Election Day, but Chapin doesn't think concerted efforts at fraud or suppression will get very far. "My sense is that a lot of this is just background noise to a lot of people," he said.

Wait so, this "expert" says "concerted efforts at fraud or suppression" are just "background noise to a lot of people"? That doesn't really make a lot of sense. What people think about these attempts really doesn't effect how successful the attempts are. Seriously, I see no logic connecting your ideas, sir.

2. Registration mismatches
The Help America Vote Act of 2002, or HAVA, required states to draw up voter registration databases that can be matched against ID cards. Some states are more persnickety than others about a "no match, no vote" policy. You should make sure that you're registered at the right address, and that you're heading for the right polling place. ("Can I Vote?" and GoVote are good places to start.)

Huh... some states are "persnickety"? I know I am a blogger and I like to slang it up with the best of them, but I'm thinking describing states attempts to adhere to the law as "persnickety" doesn't exactly accurately portray what's going on.

The thing you're missing, Mr. Boyle, is that this practice of requiring ID cards is tantamount to totalitarianism--what's next? A demand for "papers, please?" When you go to vote you shouldn't have to have a legit ID card--just something that proves you are who you say you are. Like a utilities bill, or perhaps a voter registration card???. I am a broke person, in between jobs, currently--I need to eat before I spend money to pay for a state ID card (I just moved to NY) but thankfully, NY state doesn't require state-issued ID cards as identification. But do you talk about how this law harms poor people? Nope! Do you talk about how poor people are statistically more likely to vote Democrat? Nope!

You might be able to "cure" registration problems in advance of Election Day. Bring the proper ID for your jurisdiction (registration card, drivers license, even a utility bill or bank statement with your name and address on it). That's particularly important if you're a first-time voter, someone who has moved recently or a student voting at a college outside your hometown.

Tee-hee, OK, so you kinda nailed me there--but what if those other things aren't good enough in my particular area? What if they are but I hear from someone else that they aren't, so I don't show up because that's all I've got? Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just show up with some sort of proof of where we live and be allowed to vote?

3. Provisional ballots
If you run into an ID issue or some other snag at the polling place, you may be asked to fill out a provisional ballot — which will be set aside in a separate pile to be counted after the election. Or not. The chances of your vote being included can vary dramatically from state to state. During the primary season, Ohio rejected 20 percent of the provisional ballots cast, while Illinois rejected a whopping 70.8 percent.

Well, I give you points here, for sure. Provisional ballots (for a time) were hyped as the solution to flaky electronic voting--but then those numbers you just quoted came out and now you might as well use your phone to vote like those poor Obama supporters in Nevada. :(

Bob Brandon, president and co-founder of the Fair Elections Legal Network, suggested that you try to resolve the problems that put you in the provisional pool before filling out the form. If you feel the need for outside help, you can check with voting assistance groups such as Election Protection or the League of Women Voters. But if all else fails, a provisional ballot is better than no ballot at all.

Even if it's possible it won't get counted? And how the hell am I supposed to contact "voting assistance groups such as Election Protection or the League of Women Voters" from the polling place? Am I supposed to have their number on me? Could you please provide their number? Guess not.

I will then:

Election Protection
866-OUR-VOTE
866ourvote.org

League of Women Voters
doesn't have an 800 # but you can still call them:
202-429-1965
lwv.org

You can also call:

CNN's voter problem hotline:
877-GOCNN-08

and VoterAction.org's recommended #:
866-MYVOTE1

Those numbers took me about five minutes, combined, to look up, BTW.

But you were saying, Mr. Boyle?

4. Unfamiliar voting systems
After the punch-card ballot debacle of 2000, election officials rushed to upgrade their voting machines, spending the $3.9 billion set aside by HAVA. Some jurisdictions switched over to electronic voting machines, only to switch once more to optical-scan machines due to concerns about glitches and lost votes.

Each switch forced polling-place workers to learn a new system, Jones noted. "Each time you do that, you're starting over again, and you get embarrassed again," he said. "My advice to election officials is, 'Don't panic — instead, study the system you have.'"

And don't switch it if it doesn't work or if people can't use it? Seems an odd choice.

On a side note, if we went back to paper ballots, I bet that was solve this whole "how do I work it?" question!

5. Vote-flipping and other glitches
If you're lucky, the early-voting season has already wrung out the glitches in the voting machines.

"If you're lucky..."

Interesting way to put it--how about "if we're lucky" or perhaps "if democracy is lucky"?

It may seem minor, but the way you phrase these things really does impact the way a person forms a perception about them.

Though, like I said, if these "glitches" have been worked out in the past week, how come they weren't in the preceding four years?

Some jurisdictions, however, use different systems on Election Day, and there's always the chance that bad calibration on a touchscreen voting machine will allocate your vote to the wrong candidate (a phenomenon known as "vote-flipping").

Haha--as though it's just a mysterious force of nature--beware of the "vote-flipping phenomenon" or the VFP!

As if. That's like praying to the iPhone god that it doesn't crash on me in the middle of an important call.

No, technology is the way technology is because it was made that way. I've said it a bunch of times and I'll say it again--there is no reason that I can think of for democracy to have a shittier touchscreen than my iPhone. My iPhone doesn't need calibration at all, so I don't know why the machines that help us secure our democracy do.

And tell me, sir, if this is just a "phenomenon," why do most votes flip from Obama to McCain? Why are we not hearing from any McCain voters complaining of VFP?

Seems like the phenomenon just might be politically motivated! :P

Must be some sort of "persnickety" gremlins making "funny business" inside these pure and divine machines.

Some states are required to have emergency paper ballots on hand in case too many of the touchscreens go on the blink, or in case the lines get too long. (The battleground states of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio are prime examples.)

Too bad PA just said it probably won't have enough paper ballots. D'OH!

6. Long ballots, long lines
Technical glitches aren't the only reasons for delays at the voting booth. "We're hearing that lengthy ballots are making polling times longer," said Kay Stimson, communications director for the National Association of Secretaries of State. Some states, such as Pennsylvania, have been basing their allocation of voting machines on the assumption that it will take three minutes to vote — when the actual times might run closer to six minutes.

"Lengthy ballots?" I've never heard of this, but it sounds like you're suggesting that sometimes states expect their voters to vote on too many things at once and this slows them down. Personally, I think the solution to this is assuming each voter will take something more like ten minutes to vote. I always bring my sample ballot in with me and vote based on that--it's not like I'm standing there sweating whether I'm going Obama or McCain inside the booth. But still, if you're right and this has been a problem, I've got no issue with how you address it. However, I've been researching this "election irregularity" stuff for years and have never heard of it. I'm wondering if you're trumping this issue up a bit. Could be wrong, of course...

In 2004, there were scattered reports of pollworkers pressuring voters who took too long, but Stimson said she wasn't aware of such problems this year. To streamline your own polling-place experience, Stimson and many other election observers say you should study a sample ballot in advance and bring it to the polling place as a guide.

Regardless, this is good advice no matter what. Don't wait until the last minute--the night before the vote, just sit down with your sample ballot (most states send them to voters well in advance of the election) and decide how you're voting. Then bring the sample ballot with you.

7. Party hot spots
If history is any guide, each political party will try to focus its legal firepower on precincts where it stands to gain the most — or where the other party stands to lose the most. Judges and election officials are usually caught in the middle. Will polling-place hours be extended, as they were for early voting in Florida? Which states, and which counties within states, will be in play for the election endgame?

"The 'fog of war' is the right way to explain Election Day, as seen by the county election office," Jones said. "It's a battlefield."

I'm not sure this has anything to do with us--I could be wrong, of course--but how can we individual voters control where the parties go for recounts? And how will this screw things up? Seems to me that you're using a normal part of the process (well, "normal" may not be the right word) as an example of something that could go wrong. Being thorough and making sure the numbers are right is a good idea, period--regardless of who is winning so far. The longer we take to count the ballots the more certain (in theory) we'll be of the winner (this assumes the recount is done fairly and with complete transparency).

8. Counting the ballots
You might think the early votes and absentee ballots would be beyond dispute, but that's not necessarily the case. Such votes could be excluded due to mismatched signatures, or irregularities in the way the ballot was marked, or failure to sign the outside envelope for a mail-in ballot.

But this is always an issue in every election. I feel like you're trumping up again...

Jones said 4 to 10 percent of optical-scan absentee ballots typically "end up having to be examined by eyeball directly to get the voter intent correctly." Because so many more of such ballots are being cast this year — not only in the traditional absentee scenarios, but also in mail-in and early-voting settings — they could offer a bigger target for legal challenges.

I know that sometimes legal challenges can be bad, but you're not providing any examples of why they are. Challenges are bad because they're often over minor typos or other inconsequential details. However since challenging a vote is essentially an accusation of voter fraud and voter fraud almost never happens, this is a form of voter suppression. This is why it's bad.

9. Post-election ordeals
More and more states are conducting post-election audits to check the accuracy of their voting systems. In some states, touchscreen machines have been modified to print out a paper record of each vote. That's aimed at addressing concerns about disappearing e-votes. But what if the audit suggests a result that's different from the electronically recorded vote? Are the computers at fault, or the printers?

Uhhh, does it mean our system works??

When mistakes occur and the machines catch those mistakes, this is a good thing, sir--but you seem to make it out to be a bad thing. I just don't get the media, sometimes...

Remember, a slower election is generally a more accurate one.

Even paper-based systems have their problems.

THE DEUCE, YOU SAY!

The classic example played out in Palm Beach County, Fla., where thousands of optical-scan ballots went lost and found after an August primary election. It took several weeks' worth of recounts before officials settled on the winner of a razor-close judicial contest. If things turn out just wrong, something similar to 2000's Bush vs. Gore ordeal could happen again this year — even though Florida's infamous butterfly ballots are long gone.

The butterfly ballots were really not the problem in 2000, sir. There was a lot wrong with that election. The thing is, you've glossed over the fact that machines are just that--machines. You can program a computer to do anything, pretty much. Consider this:

You vote on a computerize ballot machine.

The machine spits out a receipt that says who you voted for.

It then marks a vote for someone else.

Paper trails or no, computerized voting simply can't be trusted--OR audited. Consider this:

You're an election official and you're auditing your computerized voting machines.

They pass your audit with flying colors! The numbers match and everything!

Of course, the machine could have been programmed to function differently after the election is over.

Sure some audits will catch errors, but wouldn't it just be easier to use paper and pencil to vote? You've got two issues then:

1) the voter's ability to draw a check mark or an "X"
2) preventing ballot stuffing

Seems so much more simple to me.

10. Letting go
If the presidential election isn't all that close, none of these potential choke points will matter.

Because if it's a landslide it won't matter if tens of thousands of votes don't get counted?

Nice attitude, sir. How about we get an accurate view of how many votes each person got, say, for the sake of history???

Why are you treating this like a game of dodge ball in gym class?

The concept of democracy is so incredibly simple yet everyone seems to want to take the lazy way out.

What about independent voters like me who want to see how far the 3rd partiers got? What about those of us who just want every vote cast to count?

Yeah, screw those guys!!

But if the margin is as narrow as it was in 2000 or 2004, it might be up to the candidates themselves to decide how far they want to keep the uncertainty going.

Gee, I've been uncertain Bush is the rightful President of the United States since November 2000.

Too bad Gore gave up long before I did. We might have definite numbers today.

Democratic candidate Al Gore took his dispute all the way up to the Supreme Court in 2000.

Wow. ALL THE WAY?

Al Gore was the VP at the time. He just took the case sideways. Are you familiar with our branches of government? ;)

Of course, the irony is that it should have gone sideways in another direction--to Congress who, according to the US Constitution is supposed to settle ties in elections.

In contrast, Gore's successor as the Democrats' standard bearer, John Kerry, decided against appealing the Election Night verdict in 2004.

Because he was a pussy.

Pardon my French, but it's true. Democracy is worth fighting for, sir. Not caving on just because of how things look.

This year, if the vote is close, the final act of one of America's most gripping campaign dramas may be determined not by the winner, but by the loser.

So, the one who fights is definitely the loser? That's like saying only the people who are wrong dissent.

No, sir, it's our duty as citizens of a democracy to fight until all the votes are counted.

It's amazing to me that so many people view democracy as something that should be "convenient" or speedy. George W. Bush rallied us to war because he said our democracy was under attack. Our government decided on its own to spend a trillion dollars on bailing out big businesses.

These are all complete and utter falsehoods and that's all there is to it.

The real threat to democracy is our general lack of interest in making sure every vote is counted.

This is the single most important thing in a democracy. Al Qaeda can't take our vote away--but our government can. Don't let them--pay attention and do your part to stand up for your vote an everyone else's.

Alan Boyle's article above is © 2008 msnbc.com everything else is © 2008 ThePete.Com.

Check out the original MSNBC article here: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27464554

Thanks for reading this far.

As always, this is just my 2¥. ^_^

Compliments of ThePete and johnmccainisyournewlogo.com



The Keating Five, kids. Look it up.

Here's a better shot of TheWife and I on Halloween night. Isn't my mask spooky? The eyes will actually follow you around! :P



I did get quite a few more reactions from my mask than I expected. No one I didn't already know recognized it, but people thought it was unique and therefore cool :)

TheMe and my old college buddy Stew as some dude from "Venture Bros." I'm sorry--I never watch that show :\



He is pretty intimidating, though, isn't he? His flames actually lit up, btw. :)

Compliments of ThePete and johnmccainisyournewlogo.com



Sorry, starting to feel a little tired--good thing the election is the

day after tomorrow!



Still, deep down, anti-women's-choice people really do feel they have

the right to force women to stay pregnant no matter what. It's as

though these people think if women stop having babies humanity will

die off or something. Full grown people die every day--some in

unjustified wars based on lies, but these people will be damned before

they let a woman decide what she lets live inside of her.



Women are but holy vessels for God's life-giving power!



OR they are living, breathing, thinking people with the same rights as

men.



I'm anti-abortion myself, but you'll note that I am pro-choice.

Patrick Henry said "Give me liberty or give me death."



That was Henry saying "I will kill and/or die for my freedom."



But I think it is safe to say that Henry wasn't flippant about killing

a person.



If it's OK to go over to Iraq to kill for Iraqi freedom, I'd say it's

just as right to allow a woman to have an abortion if she wants to be

free of health issues, complications and sometimes even death. In

fact, I'd say an abortion is easier to tie to freedom-fighting than an

invasion of Iraq.

It's right around now when I get butterflies--tomorrow will be either the best Christmas ever--or the worst! Regardless, there is still plenty of coverage of voting irregularities out there, though it was a slow weekend (hence the lack of a Sunday "daily" DID post). Here is the latest news from around the web:

Even early risers see long lines for weekend voting
Hundreds stood in line Saturday in Plantation, Florida, before polling center opened
More than 23 million early ballots had been collected in 25 states by Friday
WRAL: Early-voting line four hours long Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina
www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/early.voting/index.html

Excitement, frustration as early voters brave long lines
Six-hour wait at early-voting center in Columbus, Ohio, caller tells CNN Voter Hotline
Some callers express surprise at waits around country; others frustrated
More than 4 million early ballots have been cast in Florida
CNN Voter Hotline,1-877-462-6608, will track voter problems through Election Day
www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/02/early.voting/index.html

If I can just jump in here--I don't get why there are all these long lines--how do our leaders get off not supplying enough machines for early voting? The American people are finally working out how important this election is and this is how we are treated when we show up early? Sheesh. I am glad CNN is covering this, though. Kudos to them for, you know, doing their job.

Prepare for chaos: U.S. electoral system warned it 'can't cope' as historic number of voters cast their ballot for McCain/Obama
The American presidential election could descend into electoral chaos on Tuesday as unprecedented numbers of voters turn out to cast their ballot in a system that is largely untested.

The United States has an electoral system that is not organised, designed or funded to cope with 'anywhere near a 100 per cent turnout', a director of a leading independent electoral reform group has said.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1082591/Prepare-chaos-U-S-electoral-warned-cope-historic-number-voters-cast-ballot-McCain-Obama.html

High Turnout May Add to Problems at Polling Places
Millions of voters will encounter an unfamiliar low-tech landscape at the polls on Tuesday. About half of all voters will vote in a way that is different from what they did in the last presidential election, and most will use paper ballots rather than the touch-screen machines that have caused concern among voting experts.
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/us/politics/03voting.html
Not sure what the heck the NYT is talking about here since from everything I've read it's more likely to be the opposite--with more people using computerized balloting. Regardless, the NYT article begins with a picture of an 81 year-old man who says the machine on which he voted for Obama almost registered a vote for someone else. Vote Flipping--yaaaay! WAIT--I mean--BOOOOO!!

E-voting worries linger as Election Day nears
After a presidential election eight years ago that seemed like it would never end, politicians pledged to prevent a second round of hanging chads, manual recounts, and U.S. Supreme Court arguments. The idea was to spend up to $3.9 billion to replace punch card voting machines of the sort that Florida accidentally made famous.

By including strict requirements that newly purchased machines "be accessible" to blind and disabled voters, Congress all but mandated electronic voting machines with touch screens. But Washington politicians--not known for their tech-savvy in the best of times--neglected to include even rudimentary security and verifiability requirements.
news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10080863-38.html
Nice to see CNET covering this story, though I think that headline is pretty funny seeing as the article is dated today. REALLY, Mr. CNET Headline-Writer?? Is Election Day near? (It's tomorrow!)

Obama: Do Not Concede!
Mark Crispin Miller said it: There are two types of people in the world; those who address election integrity issues, and the happy people.
www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-jay/obama-do-not-concede_b_140478.html
TELL me about it. I've been following this stuff just a bit longer than Michael Jay, the writer of the above-linked blog post at HuffPo, and yeah, it's downright scary to realize that we have no hard numbers that prove Bush has been rightfully in the White House all of this time. Regardless of who wins on TV, tomorrow, I hope things are MUCH clearer than they were in 2000 and 2004, and if they aren't I really hope the loser does not concede until we know for sure (even if it's McCain).

Wow--what's really scary is that I haven't even gotten to the coverage over at BradBlog.com! Just do a Google News search for the phrase "vote flipping" and you'll see just how many news sources (mainstream and not) are talking about this problem. But I digress:

Democrats Continue to Defend Their Indefensible Election Protection Efforts
Still in Denial, Obama's Attorney Describes Serious Concerns About Voting Machines and More as 'Hyperbole'
Argues 'More Votes Lost From Incompetence Than Fraud or Oppression'...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6607
See, this is JUST like the Democrats to assume the best (that incompetence is more likely than straight-up fraud). Regardless, facts are facts, and computers can be programmed to do anything--including vote-flipping. I don't know why the damn Dems are so trusting!! They trusted the system to work the last two presidential elections and look who "won"!! They trusted Bush to use the power to go to war wisely and look what happened! They trusted him when he said Saddam was a threat and look what happened. 911, Katrina, the economy?

W. T. F.

Judge Orders CO to 'Cease And Desist' Voter Purges, Demands Ballots Be Counted
Important Ruling Places Onus On Elections Officials to Prove Voter Ineligibility...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6602
Imagine that, the concept of being "innocent until proven guilty" still exists in America! I thought it had gone extinct! How nice of the Colorado state gov to assume you are telling the truth when you open your mouth.

How cynical a world do we live in??

What's the Matter with Voting in Philadelphia? Answer: Marge Tartaglione (D)
Jesus. This is what/who voters in Philadelphia are being forced to deal with,
www.bradblog.com/?p=6606
The "this" Friedman refers to in that excerpt is Marge Tartaglione, the Dem who is, in part, in charge of elections in Philadelphia. This woman is a train wreck. Usually I just link to the stories at the BradBlog, but Brad includes a great video that features Tartaglione comparing voters waiting in line to vote to gadget freaks standing in line for iPods. That has got to be the modern equivalent to the phrase "let them eat cake."

Anyway, so here's the video so you can see for yourself just how frivolously this Pennsylvania election official takes the responsibility of voting:



That woman is the Wicked Witch of Philly!

Finally, on Friday, it seems that the mighty Oprah, herself, had trouble voting:

VIDEO: OPRAH SEES OWN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE DROPPED BY TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING MACHINE
'I went back to check it, it had not recorded my presidential vote!' Says Terrified, Potentially Disenfranchised Queen of Television...
NOW UPDATED With Much More Useful Info for Oprah and Others Who Do Not Understand These Voting Systems, or What to do If the Same Thing Happens To You...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6603
Yep, the Queen of all Media had trouble voting. Luckily, she was doing her job as a citizen and was paying attention when the machine didn't show that she had voted for You-Know-Whobama. Eventually things were worked out and she was satisfied that she had her proper vote registered. Too bad she voted on a computerized ballot machine. This means there's ultimately no way to know for sure her vote will be counted.

OK, that's all for now! Please stay tuned for more election-related posts, including a post on what you should do if you have trouble voting.

Compliments of ThePete and johnmccainisyournewlogo.com



That's the last one I came up with!

OK, in a nutshell, with the election a day away, here's what you should do if anything goes wrong with your vote or if you see something weird when you vote:

1) Shoot video of as much as you feel comfortable with, check out VideoTheVote.org to find links on how legal it is to shoot in your polling place.
2) Call one of the following:

877-GOCNN-08

866-OUR-VOTE

866-MYVOTE1

The above numbers are also listed at the top of my right sidebar on every page of the blog at ThePete.Com.

3) Go to all or one or all of the below sites and describe your experience voting:

bbvforums.org
866ourvote.org
Bradblog.com

4) If you did shoot video and witnessed anything but a smooth process (voting problems, long lines, machine breakdowns, etc), please visit VideoTheVote.org and upload your video! If you didn't shoot video, check out the site anyway and see if it jogs your memory of anything that you may not have realized was wrong (this happened to me during the primary vote).

5) Do you MicroBlog? Do you use Twitter.com, Jaiku.com, Kwippy.com, Rejaw.com, etc, to express yourself? Be sure to post about your voting experience but make sure to include correct hashtags for your issue:

* #votereport
* #EP{two-letter state code} - e.g. EPNY for New York, EPOH for Ohio (for serious legal issues only)
* #machine - use this tag to signal a problem with a voting machine
* #registration - use this tag to signal problems with the registration process, people being turned away for paperwok reasons
* #wait:time - use this tag to signal a long wait. Add a colon and the wait time in minutes - e.g. #wait:30 for half an hour, #wait:120 for two hours

(source NotMyGal.com is.gd/4oiS )

A hashtag is a word preceded by a "#" that search engines use to spot microblog posts about specific topics. You can also check out TwitterVoteReport.com to read Tweets about the vote from around the country.

6) BLOG ABOUT IT. Don't have a blog? Why not start one? Don't want to start one? Please comment here, at ThePete.Com, or at some other blog that talks about voting problems--preferably BradBlog.com

For news about voting irregularities, don't trust the mainstream news! They were wrong about the 2004 election so it's possible they'll be wrong again. Just go to BradBlog.com for news on election irregularities or just come here. I'll be liveblogging election irregularity news all day (as I'm sure Brad Friedman will be at the BradBlog).

Hopefully, it won't be too crowded tomorrow. Then again, most folks

around here don't have the same color skin as me so odds are there

will be a line.

Sheesh--it's not even midnight...ok, it's just now midnight and I'm

looking to see if CNN is covering the same irregularities BradBlog.com

is and ALL I get is what you see in tgis screencap. Now, I know this

is important, but surely we can wait until, say, MORNING to start

ignoring everything but who's winning.



Just my 2￥ as always.

Good morning to any East-coasters who are up for the middle-of-the-night-shift!

It is now officially election day and votes are already coming in! I'm not kidding--CNN has an article up about Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, which started voting about 15 minutes ago (as I type this). I've been told by BNONews.com that they've already finished voting there. Hopefully, I'll hear something before the end of this post.

In the meantime, we have DID news for you, sadly enough. That's Democracy In Danger, for anyone just joining us. BradBlog.com is the only place I've found any new news on voting irregularities, so I'll just go ahead and give you the low-downs headlines and links:

EXCLUSIVE: Obama/DNC Incident Report Database Reveals Startling, Wide-Spread Voting Machine Problems Across Nevada During Early Voting
Presidential Race Missing on Ballots; Machines Go Down; Votes Not Recorded; Printers Jam
Attorneys Decline to Take Action to Remove Machines From Service, Ensure Paper Ballots for Voters...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6616
This is the big story since early voting in Nevada has been going on for a week, I think. Why the Dem lawyers aren't doing anything is beyond me.

ES&S Op-Scans 'Yielding Different Results Each Time Same Ballots Run Through Machines' in MI County
Failure Discovered During Pre-Election Testing on Systems Used Widely Throughout U.S.; Company Failed to Perform Maintenance
Letter Sent from County to Federal Officials Last Week; Has EAC Notified Other Jurisdictions as Per Their Federal Mandate?...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6613
Yee-haw, folks! Yee-haw! The machines are being flaky, blah-blah, messing up, blah-blah, scanning differently, big effing surprise!

NEXT:

Impossibly Long Lines for Elderly, Other Voters in FL, GA, Elsewhere
Amounts to 'Elderly Abuse', Says Emailer; 'A Poll Tax' Says MSNBC's Rachel Maddow...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6611
Maddow is right, I just wish she didn't remind me so much of Keith Olbermann, sans penis, of course. I'm all for being pissed off, but this righteous indignation crap has gotten really old.

Earlier yesterday (Monday), DemocracyNow.org reported on this issue:

On Eve of Election Day, Is the Nation’s Voting System Ready? Reports of Irregularities Pour in from Across US in Record Early Voting
Election Day is one day away. Tomorrow, tens of millions of Americans will head to the polls. Is the nation’s voting system ready for the unprecedented turnout? In record early voting, more votes have been cast before Election Day than ever before. Already, reports of voting irregularities, long lines, malfunctioning machines and badly managed polling stations are pouring in from across the country. We speak to NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller, author of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy.
www.democracynow.org/2008/11/3/on_eve_of_election_day_is
Mark Crispin Miller seems to really have his shit together. He'll be on Democracy Now tomorrow when they do their special 5 hour live broadcast starting at 7pm ET--check out DemocracyNow.org to watch.

Also, if you prefer audio coverage, check out NovaMRadio.com where Brad Friedman (the "Brad" in "BradBlog.com") will be hosting live coverage of the election starting 6pm and going until 3am ET.

Or just keep it here on ThePete.Com where I will be doing my best to bring you all the latest voting irregularity news, with posts and hopefully video (if my iPhone doesn't crap out on me!). Wish me luck--but wish us all luck! I really hope we have a clear winner later today--all partisan crap aside, I'd really just like to be able to know for sure that the guy who ends up in the White House deserves to be there. If we all vote it'll be really obvious. SO GO VOTE if you haven't already or if your polls are even open. Mine don't open for another five-and-a-half hours.

Oh, and Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, GOES FOR OBAMA. Thanks Michael over at BNONews.com for the info! I'll be posting over there, too, btw. Check out their cover it live page: bnonews.com/elections/liveblog.html

OK, I'm outta here!

Yep, here it is, over nine hours later and CNN.com's mobile page

hasn't changed AT ALL. Thanks guys, really glad I hit up CNN.com on

my cell phone for breaking news.



It's not the Mobile Web that's dead, it's that the guys behind it who

are brain dead. Sheesh...

It's approaching late morning here in the east and CNN has yet to change their mobile news page to reflect any updates in the polls. COME ON, CNN--we already know Dixville Notch went to Obama--why not reflect that in your electorals count???? ;) Still, seems stupid of CNN to just leave it at "0%" for 10 hours.

OK, so here's what's up--I was up. That is, I was up until 3am last night trying to work out and implement a way for me to deliver streaming video to my site without wasting space with a giant Flash player that does nothing when I'm not streaming live. And guess what! I pulled it off! The baby logo on my site is now a Flash player in itself that will just display a short movie of the baby face over and over but will be replaced once I start streaming live video--pretty sweet, huh?

So, I wicked overslept, and I apologize. Here's what I've missed:

Things actually do seem a little calm right now. The Black Box Voting forums field-report section is fairly quiet (here: www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/73/73.html?1225811945 ) and BradBlog.com hasn't updated since last night. TheMSM isn't saying much (though that proves nothing) beyond talking about long lines in some areas. But aside from that, not much going on. I'm going to go to jump in the shower real quick and then go vote, myself. I'll be streaming LIVE from inside the booth. So watch for it!!

All day I'll be watching broadcast TV and CNN's stream online while hitting as many news sources I can find watching for voting irregularity stories. Around 6pm, I'll be breaking from coverage and heading down to Times Square--I'll be on a short quest for free coffee from Starbucks, a free donut from Dunkin Donuts, and free ice cream from Ben & Jerry's--though if the lines are long I'll just stick to Starbucks where I'll use their wifi to liveblog from. At 7pm I'll be watching DemocracyNow.org until 10pm when a special hour-long Daily Show will be broadcast on one of the giant screens in Times Square. I'll be live streaming during that, too.

OK, better get the day underway now that I've overslept!! :P

In the meantime, check out the video TheWife shot this morning as she voted:



I can't believe the day is finally here! More soon!

Well, I knew it couldn't last.

Upon returning from my own adventure voting, I came across a post from fellow New Yorker Steve Isaacs in the FriendFeed US Politics room where he said that "Everyone here in New York is saying the voting is a nightmare. Hours of waiting." Of course, I'm not--my voting experience was a breeze. No line, ten minutes in line and voila.

Of course, not everyone is as lucky as us NorMas (North Manhattanites) and leave it to good old BradBlog.com to come through with the stories. Check 'em out:

Machine Problem Reports Increasing in VA, PA, FL...
'Extensive Reports' Coming in to Problem Hotline of Machines in Philly 'Simply Not Working'...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6619
Wow--seems CNN and 866-myvote1 are reporting that a number of malfunctioning machines are being reported in...

key states, like Pennsylvania, Virgian and Florida," And yes, as predicted, problems in Philadelphia where "there are extensive reports of machines simply not working.

Lovely.

108 Hart InterCivic Voting Machines Removed from Service by Judge in KY
Order Follows Straight-Party Ballot Failures Reported to be Affecting 'Tightly Contested State Senate Race'...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6620
This is interesting because it reminds us this isn't just about the White House. It could be your senator or congressperson who might lose thanks to election irregularities.

Amazingly, here comes CNN.com with a couple stories:

Scattered problems reported in historic U.S. vote
Virginia, North Carolina scanners can't read damp ballots
Scrambled registrars' books quickly reprinted in Kansas City, Missouri
Some incomplete ballots rejected in Palm Beach County, Florida
Ohio secretary of state's office anticipates 80 percent turnout rate
www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/voting.problems/index.html
The headline's use of the word "scattered" makes the instances seem not that big a deal. However, when you read just the story highlights, it's obvious things have been pretty messy in a few different places.

Did I say CNN had a "couple" stories? I meant ONE story. Ugh. Thank goodness they've spent time reporting on "The inventor behind CNN's election 'Magic Wall'," though. PULITZER FOR CNN PLEASE (or not).

Luckily, we have MSNBC that actually did supply a couple stories on folks having trouble voting today:

‘I have never seen anything like this’
Historically high turnout expected as some wait hours to cast their ballot
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27531033
Amazingly enough LOTS of people are voting today! Some polling places are unprepared. Silly polling places!! Elections are for voters!! Someone must really invent an emoticon for rolling eyes.

Polling officials deal with early glitches
Electronic voting machines faulty in N.J.; wet ballots in Virginia
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27534128
Haven't you heard? NEVER get your ballots wet and NEVER FEED THEM AFTER MIDNIGHT! They'll only spawn recounts!! Sorry, just trying to stay light ^_^ Seems MSNBC is covering the same story as CNN, but using different words. ;) That's a good thing since more people are hearing about the same instances.

There are a few new posts over at bbvforums.org but not as much as I was expecting.

MSNBC.com does have some nice pics on their main page of various polling places (including one set up in a laundromat). You might also check out videothevote.org/video to watch videos of people voting (or trying to vote).

Wow, things have kind of gotten busy. I'll just get straight to the headlines and links in the order in which I find them in my browser tabs:

Votes being tallied in Williamson County
Williamson County election report error
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - Williamson County Elections is reporting an error that could affect the outcome of the election. An error in electronic poll books for Election Day means some voters got the wrong ballots. There are reportedly 16 precincts impacted so far.
www.kxan.com/dpp/home/Williamson_County_election_report_error

City Voters Face Long Lines, Great Stakes
The city expects a record voting turnout today, as voters elect a new president and will determine which political party will dominate the State Senate.

Balmy weather and clear skies have made waiting in line less difficult. Polls opened at 6 a.m., and many voters experienced long lines filled with people who had wanted to avoid such lines. After an early morning rush, the lines decreased with the start of the 9 a.m. workday.

Many city residents told NY1 that they waited for as long as an hour to vote. Some lines were made up of hundreds of people and stretching blocks.

However, one voter in Bushwick, Brooklyn e-mailed NY1 to say that there was no line at the neighborhood poll and wish that more neighbors had turned out.

Another voter, who identified herself as Michelle from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, e-mailed NY1 to say that she arrived at the poll at 6:15 a.m., waited 45 minutes and then encountered faulty voting booths.
www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/88343/city-voters-face-long-lines--great-stakes/Default.aspx

Over 1,000 calls from Georgia
As of 12 p.m., Georgia Election Protection has received 1,034 phone calls from voters. The most common problems are issues with the registration rolls - such as voters being told they are not on the rolls - and polling place problems.
blog.ourvotelive.org/?p=274

50,000 calls to Election Protection
We just passed a milestone: today alone, 50,000 voters have called the Election Protection hotlineWe are receiving many reports from frustrated Ohio voters who have been inexplicably dropped from the lists of registered voters.

Voters in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) and Franklin County (Columbus) are reporting that:

after voting from same address for years, they suddenly have disappeared from the list at polls
they received a voter registration card/notice of registration and precinct, as recently as this fall — yet are not on the poll registry
they are on the statewide database (DB) but not on the poll registry
www.866ourvote.org/newsroom/news?id=0154
That sounds seriously shady...

Breaking news from Georgia: Federal observers sent to monitor controversy over college student registrations
Election Protection is working in Bleckley County, Georgia to ensure that students at Middle Georgia College are able to vote today after voting officials apparently extended, then suddenly withdrew, a deadline that would have ensured students were registered in time to use a regular ballot.

Federal observers have been sent to monitor the situation.

The controversy stems from a registration drive by the Obama campaign at the college, where 90% of the students are African-American.
www.866ourvote.org/newsroom/news?id=0149

And here are a couple more stories from BradBlog:

VA: 'Massive' Machine Malfunctions, Illegal Provisionals, Last Minute Pollsite Moves 'Plague' Voters
Groups Calls For Extended Voting Hours Due to Voters Turned Away from Polls
Virginia Tech Students Sent Miles to Remote Location to Vote...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6622
Wow--this one is a big post. Seems like Virginia is a mess--scores of folks are being turned away from polling places due dead ballot machines and students at Virginia Tech are apparently getting maps that direct them away from their polling place.

AR: Pre-Election Tests Not Performed Correctly on Touch-Screens, Not Enough Paper Ballots, Voting Delayed
Voting Machines were not zeroed out after testing leaving votes on them
www.bradblog.com/?p=6623
YAY, MORE INCOMPETENT ELECTION OFFICIALS!

OK, that's all for now. Sheesh...

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