Poll workers forget to pull memory cards from Diebold machines in Toledo

last night. This may not mean anything, but such a mistake is just another example of an opportunity to tamper with results.
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Electronic vote not up to speed


http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030910/NEWS05/109100107

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The delay occurred because several poll workers forgot to pull the memory cards out of the new electronic voting machines after the election was finished. Election workers had to go back out to voting locations around the city to fetch the cards - which contain the results of votes cast on those electronic machines - so the votes could be included in the final results.

Finally, at 10:37 p.m., votes from the last memory card were plugged into the election office’s new central vote counting "server" computer and final results were produced.

"It’s the human factor that caused us problems," said Joe Kidd, director of the county elections board. "It’s a training issue. We’ll have to address it."

Mark Radke, spokesman for Diebold Elections Systems of North Canton, Ohio, which supplied electronic touch-screen voting machines and optical-scan devices for yesterday’s elections, was one of two dozen Diebold employees in Toledo yesterday to help smooth the transition to new voting equipment. He agreed with Mr. Kidd that poll workers need more training.
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by "poorly trained poll workers?"

One thing that bothers me about this is that in every state I've voted in the "poll workers" were older women and men who were maybe in their 50's and older.

We have a big generation gap in people's expertice with computers in that age group right now.....it will change as "computer" generation ages. But, until then even knowing what a "memory card" to some is beyond them.....

Also, since I'm pretty computer clueless I wonder if the "magnet" issue could affect these memory cards...wiping out the results......or a spilled cup of coffee or whatever else could destroy a card. And, whose going to report that?
No one would want to take responsibility for voiding a whole machines results....and the cost of bringing voters back in for a botched election due to an invalid or missing memory card would be too high.

There has to be a way to have a count of voters who show up at the polls be verified against the number of actual votes that are cast.....to know if any of these machines memory cards did not register the vote.

Maybe the "sign in" sheets could be gone over. But, I wonder if states won't eventually go to a computer where you have to put your "voter registration" card in to verify...rather than having volunteers who actually look up your name and address and ask you to sign showing that you showed up. Another computer verifying registration could mean the possiblility for more fraud.

My mother did this for years. She was allowed to continue after having significant brain damage from her cancer surgery. Hell, she couldn't remember to feed herself but she worked the polls that year.

Edit for spelling

Your ageism is showing.

Eloriel
Age 55

this story makes me worry especially about local elections, where the poll workers could be patronage workers. It seems much easier to me to switch a memory card than a box of paper ballots, and a delay like the one in this story really bothers me.

(Insert State) Bush defeats Edwards/Dean/Kerry by 1000 vote margin, while 8000 voters "mistakenly" vote for Al Gore.

nt

he has pooh-poohed my concern over these machines for months now. This article makes me sick, knowing the next time I vote, I have him watching over MY vote that disappears into the black box! :grr:

from LBN-

Glitches cloud city primary, Machines are impounded

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=106920

There is such potential for a national crisis. It's like reading seismic reports and knowing the "big one" is on the way.

Maybe not before it's too late?

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

"It’s the human factor that caused us problems," said Joe Kidd, director of the county elections board. "It’s a training issue. We’ll have to address it."

As an IT professional and one who has been designing and writing software since the 80's, let me tell you, "It’s a training issue" is something we say as a joke after a major fuck-up has occurred or bug has been found. Just retrain them to work around it...

This BBV shit scares the crap out of me...