election chaos already started in Fl's early voting

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/mailbag/240

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Subject: Early Voting Started Today and It Is Just Like 2000, 2004. HELP!

I live in Palm Beach County Florida where we started early voting today. My wife and I arrived at one of 10 voting venues to vote at 11:30 am. When we arrived there were 10 people sitting alongside a wall waiting to vote. It was a narrow hallway, thus they were sitting. We were told immediately that it would take 45 minutes to 1 hour to vote. I tried to contain my temper and asked, "but there are only 10 people here how can it take that long?" To which I was answered: "The computers aren't working right." This started a yelling and screaming match from the people who were politely sitting. I said I do not want to wait that long, it defeats the purpose of early voting and how can the machines be down already? I called my local congressman here in Florida and within minutes they were on the phone to the polling station and quickly they announced that, if we wanted we, could vote on an optical scanning paper ballot that was also the absentee ballot form. My wife and I chose that method and so we were first on line.

First on line, First on Line, emphasis with first on line. The people behind the counter and I counted 16 women and 3 men did not know which end was up. One lady asked for our drivers license, one said it wasn't necessary, finally they took our drivers license and our registration card and asked us to wait. The people next to me had drivers licenses but no registration cards. They were never asked for registration cards and they got to vote. After 10 minutes the lady who took our licenses came back to us and said ok, now you have to go outside and wait on line to vote on the machine, as in ONE machine.

We said no no no, we want the paper ballot. She said, we don't have paper ballots. Another person behind the counter said, "Yes Mary, we are going to give them the absentee ballots which they can either take home or fill out here and give them to us." It then took another 15 minutes and we were given the absentee ballot.

Getting the absentee ballot was very scary because I watched as the women looked at our pct # and then went over to a huge file that had more than 200 little "cubby holes." She began to select one from many many of these cubbies that supposedly match my pct. How do I tell if it is right, and they simply said, "it is right."

We received the ballots with a combination of Spanish and English on every page. Quite annoying to find what the heck we were to do. On our ballot we saw a few people who were running unopposed with a line below that said write in. However, my congressman is running unopposed and his name is not listed at all and I immediately asked why is that? There was not a single person who could answer the question.

Once again I picked up the phone and called my congressman who told me that because he is unopposed and there are no right ins, he is not listed. Does that make sense to you? Why are there no right ins for him while there are for other unopposed people? By that time the people at the polling place had called someone on their own and they told me the same thing. I asked them why some write ins and some not?

By then they were exasperated with me and said they just don't know. We filled out our ballots sealed them and kissed them goodbye, hoping that they are counted.

This is only voting day minus 16 and already there is trouble.

Barry Sinrod

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voting is going to be a countrywide chaotic mess

So busy stealing they didn't bother to govern.

for the most part as people get discouraged and go home without voting. :shrug:

the M$M will not report even a tenth of the vote stealing er "glitches". :grr:

These bozos are not that deep.

They also missed the basic principle "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Push that pendulum too far, it swings back and knocks you off your feet. Or pedastal.

... and have stored your riches in a basement vault under your mountain home in Paraquay.

in Paraguay.

(and so does randomness)

That's just BIZARRE.

how can they have any votes counted in their favor? It doesn't compute.

Already elected. If there were a write-in candidate for that race, the candidate would appear, with a space for a write in.

To be a write-in candidate in Florida, you must file as a write-in candidate by qualifying time (in early May) to have any votes counted. I guess over the years, Mickey Mouse wrought havoc on the elections system, so they disqualified him.

That's the only reason an unopposed candidate would not appear on the ballot...

Unless the ballot was for the wrong precinct...

If I was the OP, I would raise hell with the Secretary of State, who is responsible for issuing and counting the ballots.

Any way you look at it, they gave the OP the WRONG BALLOT.
And, therefore, it will be tossed out, uncounted.

with my video camera and taped this whole episode. I wouldn't have said a word, just documented it on film, amazing. And your experience this far out from Nov 7th is just a tiny bit of the whole picture. Can you imagine the clusterf ..... oh nevermind .. sigh. Thanks for posting this. K&R.

A year or so ago I went in to record my daughter's first time voting for her scrapbook. The election folks made me put away the camera. I finally asked if I could take her photo going into the booth if no one else was pictured, and they agreed, but they weren't happy.

The only consolation is that she was used and cast aside like a dirty rag by her own party.

how do my boobs look from up there?...F#*kin' fantastic, right?...

that crazy amoral, unethical, unscrupulous witch, or is it photoshopped?

Leave it to Krazy Katie. She's stranger than fiction.


That's her, Rep Adam (Opie) Putnam, and Bighead Jeb taken a few months back in Tampa when Shit-for-Brains came to town.

Naturally she was snubbed by all of them.




Here she is shown trying to cop a
feel off the Commander-in-Thief.

will never make it to actually being counted. Thanks for playing though.

The "chaos" will be, as is their modus operandi, quite intentional. Chaos is a time honored and effective cover for criminal activity. Any pickpocket artist knows this. The only thing to stop these bastards is people gettin' down and dirty and in the way. Too bad it's come to this but playing nice does not work with barracudas.

Voter chaos predicted at US polls
By Holly Yeager in Washington
Published: October 24 2006 05:01 | Last updated: October 24 2006 05:01

A combination of new voting technologies, changed rules for voters and a tight battle for control of Congress threatens to result in widespread troubles during the US midterm elections, according to a report to be released on Tuesday.

The study, by electionline.org, a non-partisan election clearinghouse, examines an array of changes to US voting practices and their potential impact on polling day, November 7.

“This was supposed to be the year – and the election – when the voting process nationwide was more secure, more technologically advanced and more trusted by the citizens and candidates participating,” the report says. “Yet as the midterm elections approach, machine failures, database delays and foul-ups, inconsistent procedures, new rules and new equipment have some predicting chaos at the polls at worst – and widespread polling place snafus at best.”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/a98a912c-62e7-11db-8faa-0000779e2340.html

As donsu has done?
" I asked for...I received...I asked why...I was answered..."

Will this help when the vote is contested? It's better than nothing...isn't it? :tinfoilhat:

...because it gets around the whole "he said, she said" problem: our word against theirs.

If it's the only option you have for adding to the mountain of evidence, though, sure.

I like the idea of calling in complaints to the local Democratic org. However, I don't think we can necessarily count on them doing the dirty work. In fact, I'm fairly certain we can't. That wouldn't be nice, you know.

What would happen if we all started bringing video cameras to our polling places? Youtube is our friend...

Would you even need to hide it? Is there anything illegal about holding right out in front of you? "This call is being monitored for accuracy."

If the only questions asked are about voting, and these people are acting on behalf of your city, on your dime, why can't you audit them for accuracy?

It's starting.

I am a Texas election judge. There is a big difference, as absentees are generally counted and provisionals generally NOT counted.

I doubt that the people at this polling place are handing out absentee ballots. These are generally issued person-by-person directly by the county or other election authority, subject to advance application by the voter, and the name of the recipient of an absentee ballot is marked on the voter rolls as having already voted (whether the voter submits the voted absentee ballot or not).

The only paper ballots we have at the polling place (at least in Harris County, Texas) are provisional ballots.

For others in this situation-- if you are voting during the early voting period, there is TIME to straighten out your problem before you cast your precious vote. That is one of the cheif virtues of early voting!

Look before you leap. Go to a different early voting polling place to vote, where you might encounter better trained poll workers. Call your county or local voting authority and find out what you need to know and report problems.

They way Harris County handles Provisional Ballots is so BIZARRE to me.

If a person asks for a PV, you have to give them one AND tell them their
vote does NOT count 80% of the time. The only time it counts is if they
went to DPS or the courthouse and tried to register but something
happened and they didn't get their card.

I like the accommodations for the disabled and those wishing to vote
curbside, though.

As for eSlate, I -think- it's OK but who knows...

I voted Monday, early. I was in and out in five minutes, no problems.

Sue

Make sure you have the right ballot is a good place to start. Going back the next day and demanding that they let you vote again is probably going to end up being very embarrasing.

And I would make damn sure that pictures and cameras are allowed in your state. Afterall if you were in Chicago, they wouldn't like it if you took pictures of people voting multiple times.}(

They will try to steal this election again!

Electronic voting machines need to be banned, ASAP!

Paper votes is the way the go.

And here in Ohio, you are on the ballot unoppossed or not...

That's the only reason the unopposed candidates name wouldn't be listed... (or you were given a ballot for the wrong precinct)

Get your video camera and a few friends and go back, demand that you are given a correct, general election ballot and vote.

Before you go, visit the Florida Secretary of States web page and print out a list of your voting rights.

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/publications/pdf/2006VoterGuide.pdf - (see item # 9 under Voters Bill of Rights)

DO NOT TAKE NO (or I don't know) FOR AN ANSWER!

so they were using primary ballots for a general election? :wtf:

promises to rival the last vote in Iraq in terms of absolute chaos.

they have attorneys ready to GO. Let them take care of it. Cameras are NOT prohibited in polling places by law. DO IT NOW.

this needs to be documented and reported.

K&R

Oh my God, we're doomed.

Newsprism

and voted on the first day also. The computers were down so the poll workers had to check each person in by phone verification (using our photo ID. The voter card was for our own info). We also filled out a short form. Some people chose not wait. The workers said an absentee ballot could only be obtained by application or in person at the at the Elections Office. As for the voting machines, they were functional at the time.

attack, as a direct result of obstructionism masquerading as incompetence, and the officials will be sued to kingdom come. I'm amazed, knowing what a fiery lot you Americans are, that it hasn't happened already.

It's easy to understand, isn't it, that, while most African-Americans are descended from a people who have the lowest incidence of high blood-pressure in the world, they should to this day, as citizens of the US, have the highest rate of blood-pressure in the the world.

I hope those corrupt election workers realise that their current protectors may be in no position themselves, to prevent their being handed significant prison sentences.

In NC, to get a no-excuse absentee ballot, the BOE requires a voter to mail or physically bring in a request for one. Then they send one out BY MAIL. Can't get one by popping in to the BOE. THEN you fill it out and mail or bring it in person. Us getting our request to them is one thing, but how long do we wait to get the ballot in hand, barring unforseen screw-ups.

We also have early voting in NC, which is what I think I'll end up doing. Can't speak for the hub, but I've been 'promoting and encouraging it', if ya know what I mean! Better not be any monkey business when I go voting. My teeth are set on edge already,and I'm on the verge of blowing a gasket.

I just had to tell. I did the DNC 'match-up donor' contribution thing last week (never donated to a campaign before), and I feel GREAT! Considering kicking some more $$ their way.

P_P :dem:

there will be no trouble for these election workers. There is a low standard for performance for these workers and volunteers. They will not be held responsible and will plead ignorance. Most likely their superiors won't be held responsible either. Legal actions for election issues are very rare.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0614-05.htm



From the referenced article .....

Why did you try to vote in a precinct in which you are not registered? Why did you then leave when you were told that you had to file a change-of-address form?

On February 15, The Palm Beach Post reported that when voting in local town council elections in Florida, Coulter "cast her ballot in a precinct 4 miles north of the precinct where she owns a home." Two days later, the Post reported that Coulter had attempted to vote in the wrong precinct, quoting the Palm Beach poll worker who confronted Coulter on her mistake:

A Palm Beach poll worker says he tried to help GOP-loving pundit Ann Coulter vote in the right precinct last week. But, Jim Whited says, Coulter dashed out of the polling place when he told her she needed to file a change of address.






(Ann shown here in her pre bottle blonde days)

I voted absentee here in Florida myself, took down to the office and handed it to them personally. But where did it go after that??

SERIOUSLY FOLKS... we CAN'T let them do it again!! They seem to have their backs against the wall and desperation may cause desperate reaction!

If we lose again we have no other recourse, organize and show them that we won't roll over! If we don't do it this time we will have become their "sheeple!"

I think they (polling officials) created a situation where they could just cancel all first day votes.

This is a terrible story. Pathetic.

I could find a group of retarded monkeys that would have handed you the correct ballot in less time than these tilt-a-whirl and peanut vendors from local state fairs took ............

only in amerika, only from the Bush administration.

I'm in Fort Collins, which is a part of Colorado's 4th District, which is mostly white, majority Republican, and relatively affluent. Most importantly, Marilyn Musgrave leads Angie Paccione in the polls by 10 points. I voted early today, and the procedure was pretty smooth for me.

The election for me was all done with Diebold voting machines, though you get a choice between using the new, frequently criticized touch-screen machines and using a paper optical scan ballot. Thankfully, the touchscreen machines also had the voter-verified paper trail. There was no line, so you could simply go right up to the poll workers, check in, get your ballot, fill it out, and put it in the machine.

Of course, I have no way of knowing if my vote's counted fairly and correctly, but it does have a paper trail.

Funny how things happen smoothly in a "safe" locale, while the hotly contested areas in Florida and elsewhere are plagued with computer crashes, long lines and clusterfuckery. It's no accident...

Will be voting in Pasco County, FL again, on machines again, lets hope that 2000 and 2004 do not happen AGAIN:argh: effing machines:argh:

:smoke:

and keep all of it in a safe place for our future and present it when the time comes >>
everyone needs to let all of us know what state and city they live in .
IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE so LETS GET READY!

and then call the local paper ! and take a camera ...NO MORE BS !!!

Do Republicans have a strangle hold on the voting process? Are there NO impartial government bodies that regulate voting procedures and protocols?

Here in Canada we have Elections Canada, a branch of the civil service, answerable to no party, but to Parliament itself.

Is there no such body in the US?

Simple answer, no. We're just supposed to believe we have impartial elections. Wishful thinking is more like it.

Each state administers and regulates its own elections, which must conform to overarching federal election laws like HAVA. (Congress controls those laws.) Then each county has its own supervisor of elections who reports to the state's secretary of state -- again, all elected positions. There is no impartial body overseeing any of this.

Yes, we're fools to accept it. :mad:

This was Thursday, the week before the election at about 4:30pm. I had been in line for about a half an hour:



This is looking forward (Image #1)




This is looking backward (Image #2)

In Image #1, see that red truck? Now see the umbrellas beyond that red truck? That's about where the 1 1/2 hour mark of the line was, after it snaked around the parameter of that parking lot. My camera position was at about the 2 1/2 hour position.

The people you see in Image #2 have about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours to go.

And let me re-stress this, this is THURSDAY or the 4th day of Early Voting and FIVE days before the election!

Talk about annoying!

For anyone who's wondering, this was at the South Cobb County Services Building in Cobb County, Georgia, October 28, 2004.