In Detroit, power outages have knocked out 14 polling locations and they are turning voters away

[kpete]

Call our office at 313-694-3606 if you have any problems voting today!

Link to tweet

The power was out at at least 14 Wayne County polling sites this morning following a round of overnight storms, DTE reports.

Voters are casting ballots in a statewide primary election today. As of noon, five of the affected sites were still without power, but were due to be back online by 2 p.m, DTE said.

Poll workers at Zion Chapel near Detroit's North Corktown were sharing a single flashlight and relying on a small generator to keep things moving along this morning, Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat running for Michigan's 13th Congressional District said. The power was also out at Gompers Elementary in the city's Rosedale Park neighborhood, where five precincts vote, Tlaib said.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Voting can still continue throughout the outage even if the tabulator’s battery runs down, SOS spokesman Fred Woodhams says. The precincts have paper voter lists and secure voter ballots they can tally once power is restored, or hand count if need be.


https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/08/07/at-least-14-detroit-area-polling-sites-affected-by-power-outages

[gratuitous]

1. So do I need to guess the demographics of the affected areas?

Or can I save some time by making unwarranted assumptions?

[Fullduplexxx]

2. Nevermind.... nt

[NewJeffCT]

3. Were the power outages really caused by storms?

or, was Michigan one of the power grids infiltrated by Russia?

[Snotcicles]

7. We had some boomers last night. I'm just south of Detroit. nt

[demmiblue]

8. It was storms (some strong cells came through yesterday in lower MI).

I saw a tweet this morning about a power outage at one of the polling places at a high-end zip code that borders Detroit.

There were also numerous trees down at Belle Isle in Detroit (quite a loss):

Link to tweet

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. It doesn't sound like a major issue, since they use paper ballots.

Vote now, count later. Nobody expects numbers until after 8pm anyway.

Overcome this difficulty. Vote.

[padah513]

36. You sir or madam are the voice of reason

[safeinOhio]

5. I would guess Detroit is equally spit on the Democratic vote.

Would hurt the Republicans most.

[safeinOhio]

6. I'm sure the State Attorney General is on the case.

[muntrv]

10. Schuette is on duty.

[workinclasszero]

9. Gee that's soooooooooo convenent for the GOP

By far the largest dem stronghold in the state loses power on Election Day!!!

[MichMan]

18. It's a primary in a city that votes 95 % Democratic

How does that help the GOP. ?

[Blue_true]

33. Yeah, that point lost me. Looks like the least nutty republican would want votes from their.

Given that more sane reoublicans live there. My guess, if vote are affected, it helps Whitmer big, because I don't see El Sayed staying close to her across the state.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

11. Voting places don't need money...As per congress...Like for generators.

This is the same place that had difficulties in 2016 and the votes ended up just getting 'lost'. This area was the prime area for the vote recount...that never happened.

[MichMan]

13. Not close to being accurate

Many Detroit precincts actually had more votes recorded than there were actual voters that signed in. By all accounts it was caused by sloppy poll workers who didn't balance the two before submitting the results

That is what made it ineligible for a recount. In such an instance the original vote totals were used.

There were no votes "lost" & if anything, it most likely benefited Hillary not Trump.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

15. Maybe. Maybe not.

I recall a lawsuit stopping a recount. Hows come? in your grand wisdom?
voting irregularities in WAYNE COUNTY primarily is what fostered the desire for a recount. If votes arent counted...theyre effectively 'lost.'

[MichMan]

17. It was halted because Stein was ruled to have no standing

"Stein failed to show she was an aggrieved candidate as defined by state law and entitled to a recount, the judge said. He concluded Stein’s request to test the election system’s vulnerability to fraud lacked evidence.

“The vulnerability of our system of voting poses the threat of a potentially devastating attack on the integrity of our election system,” Goldsmith wrote.

“But invoking a court’s aid to remedy that problem in the manner plaintiffs have chosen — seeking a recount as an audit of the election to test whether the vulnerability led to actual compromise of the voting system — has never been endorsed by any court, and would require, at a minimum, evidence of significant fraud or mistake — and not speculative fear of them. Such evidence has not been presented here.”


https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/07/judge-michigan-recount/95081650/


You still haven't explained how votes were lost. Just because they couldn't be recounted doesn't mean they weren't counted as originally recorded

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/12/06/precincts-recount-oakland-county/95032158/

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

19. regardless of what the judge said....michigan wasnt recounted. Wayne county (Detroit?)

had dem votes that were never counted...bc they were never officially recounted. voting irregularites in a state the elected trum by 1% or something?

[MichMan]

22. I attached links explaining the situation

Show me why they are wrong and that thousands of votes were 'lost"


Michigan law from the 50's states that recounts can't be performed when the vote totals don't match the poll books. The poll workers are supposed to reconcile and explain any variances before they send the results to the county for tabulation. There were many many precincts in Detroit that didn't do that, thus making the recount ineligible. In that case, the original recorded vote totals stand as recorded


Imagine a scenario where there were more ballots than people recorded in the books as showing up. Do you think in a case like that , they should be counted anyway in a recount?

[Pobeka]

12. What was the name of that country that has been detected inside our power grid control systems?

Started with an "R" I think. I guess there is more than one way to disrupt and election.

-- just sayin' ...

[MichMan]

14. Do people really think power getting knocked out by storms is some kind of conspiracy? smh

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

20. No I dont, but, when congress deinies money to secure voting...its wrong.

The money couldve been spent on emergency power supplies for instance. Not too difficult a point.

[demmiblue]

41. Some of the responses are...

Shite, two polling locations affected in Wayne County were in Grosse Pointe.

[Submariner]

16. This Tuesday voting crap has to end

It's f'ing ridiculous.

Change voting to a full weekend so people can get there without jumping through these unnecessary hoops.

[llmart]

23. Vote by mail for everyone.

That's a better solution.

[Honeycombe8]

21. They SHOULD halt the voting, and then resume when power restored. nt

[0rganism]

24. this shortly after a DHS announce on Russian power-grid hacks...

proof-of-concept or shot-across-the-bow? i'm thinking proof-of-concept on this one, small scale and low political impact keep it off the radar, gets written off as a fluke, still provides excellent probitive value for November.

[ehrnst]

25. Well, if there was a way to guarantee "low voter turnout"

this is it.

[tblue37]

26. We should be using paper ballots. nt

[csziggy]

27. Apparently they ARE using paper ballots

Quoted in the OP:

Voting can still continue throughout the outage even if the tabulator’s battery runs down, SOS spokesman Fred Woodhams says. The precincts have paper voter lists and secure voter ballots they can tally once power is restored, or hand count if need be.

[tblue37]

29. I mean generally, in all elections. nt

[csziggy]

34. I agree with that

Our Florida county has used paper ballots with optical scanners for decades. While I may not trust the scanners, I do trust our election officials locally and they are the ones who supervise the use of the scanners. Each voter puts their ballot into the scanner - if there is a problem (over votes or other mistakes) the scanner immediately kicks it back allowing the voter to fix their mistakes.

If needed the ballots can always be hand counted so we have that as a backup. After the 2000 election,the supervisor of elections released a PDF file of the uncounted ballots, those that were too messed up to be considered legitimate votes. There were only about 170 and they were ones that the voters refused to correct even when given the opportunity. I loved the transparency!

[catbyte]

28. I imagine if this hurts anybody, it'll be El-Sayed in the Governor's primary

Most of his support appears to be coming from the Detroit area. I'm farther west than Detroit, and all I've seen are Witmer signs. I know that means nothing, but he's just better known in SE Michigan than in other parts of the state. I also did not see one ad for him on teevee, as opposed to a ton for Thanadar & Witmer.

And yes, there were wicked thunderstorms last night, We missed them by being about 10 miles north of them.

[oberliner]

30. What is your evidence for this claim?

Just the lawn signs - or has there been polling data?

[Blue_true]

35. I agree with the poster. Whitmer should run far stronger than her two opponents outside urban areas

The one place out of that context where she may face a challenge is Ann Arbor and Lansing. But among democrats in red Michigan, she will likely run far stronger than her opponents.

[catbyte]

38. No polling data, it's anecdotal evidence, which, if you read my post, probably means

nothing. El-Sayed's campaign in the Lansing area is way below both Witmer's & Thanadar's. It's not just teevee ads, I'm talking about door-to-door, radio, mail, etc. I got tons of stuff from Witmer & Thanadar, and one mailer from El-Sayed. Phone calls were way down, too. He just doesn't seem to be breaking through in my area.

[Hoyt]

31. Sounds like they are doing what they can to handle. Glad observers are on-site to monitor.

[Blue_true]

32. This is exactly why when people have early or mail in voting available.

They should vote as fucking soon as possible. Early voting starts on Aug 18 in Florida, you better believe that by Aug 20, my vote will have been recorded.

[uponit7771]

37. Yep, the Russians ... the grid is what we were told was vulnerable. Bastards are resourceful

[ecstatic]

39. +1000. Of all the threats they pose, the power thing scares

me the most.

[uponit7771]

40. +1, If Red Don wasn't a traitor he'd be sending out money for generators this second but ...

... he's a traitor

[Hekate]

42. Paper ballots, paper trail