Atlanta Radio report:Problems with TS machines, switched to Paper Ballots!

This was on the local Atlanta Public Radio News report (WABE), I haven't tried yet to find a print news report, so if anyone saw one, I'd love a link.

But here's what they said, In Fulton County, Georgia elections, they had so many machines malfunction that they decided to switch to Paper Ballots!

Just thought some here might want to know.

And then their is this from WSB-TV:

<http://www.wsbtv.com/news/5279821/detail.html>

Fulton Reports Poll Problems

Some polling places are reporting problems with the touch screen voting machines.

POSTED: 2:15 pm EST November 8, 2005
UPDATED: 8:11 pm EST November 8, 2005

Atlanta -- Fulton County election officials admit that some touch screen voting machines are giving them problems.

In at least one Sandy Springs voting precinct voters report that when they vote for one candidate the machine actually records a vote for another candidate.

Voters in that city are picking their first ever mayor and city council.

Fulton county election officials say they are aware of the problems and turned off three malfunctioning voting machines.

Copyright 2005 by WSBTV.com
<http://www.wsbtv.com/news/5279821/detail.html>

I'm found an Atlanta Journal-Constitution link, but I haven't read though it yet to see if it talks about the paper ballots.

:kick:

similar problem: <http://www.wsbtv.com/news/5278743/detail.html>

Voting Problem Plagues Sandy Springs Polling Place

Touch-screens Cause Problem In One Precinct

Voters at High Point Elementary in Sandy Springs got quite a surprise when they went to vote in the city's very first election. It seems three touch-screen voting machines were malfunctioning. Several voters say they selected one candidate, but their vote was cast for another candidate.

Fulton County election officials have shut off the three malfunctioning machines, and say they will not affect the outcome of any races.

One candidate tells Channel 2, the discrepancy may force a race into an unnecessary run-off.

Copyright 2005 by WSBTV.com.

<http://www.wsbtv.com/news/5278743/detail.html>

(See here's the problem, this is a very small election that very few voted in, and Still they had screw ups! This would have been HUGE if this was a crowded election.)

Voting problems in East Point, Fulton sites

By MIKE MORRIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/08/05

Problems with the touch-screen voting machines caused delays for some voters in East Point and several other locations around Fulton County this morning, county elections officials said. Fulton elections chief Cynthia Welch said the machines at Tri-Cities High School "were not calibrated," forcing poll workers to switch to a provisional, paper ballot.

"In the event you have problems with your machines, you do not stop voting, you move to the paper ballots and it's treated the same as the vote on the touch-screen unit," Welch said. "It's the exact same as an absentee ballot."

She said three voters left the polling place during the 20-minute delay, and all indicated they would return later in the day. "No one was turned away," Welch said. The touch-screen machines were properly calibrated and back on line by 10 a.m., Welch said.

Welch said similar problems had been reported in at least four other polling places in Fulton County by late-morning, but she didn't know which specific precincts were affected. A power interruption in one of the10 machines at the Riverwood precinct in Sandy Springs caused a brief problem, according to Ruth Sours, the poll manager at the Riverwood.

<http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/1105/08votewoes.html>
(more at link above)