Reply #8: Voting Machine Pitfalls Are Seen [View All]

[livvy]

11-4-2006

Voting machine pitfalls are seen

By Bill Lambrecht
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

WASHINGTON -- With new machines, heavy absentee voting and fresh election laws portending confusion, election officials around the nation are being told to prepare for overtime in the mid-term elections on Tuesday.

In a conference call with election administrators, Paul DeGregorio, chairman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, advised officials to "educate the media" that potential glitches could delay announcement of winners.

Any combination of unforeseen problems could send people to bed Tuesday night without knowing which political party will control Congress next year, he noted.

"If we have several of these races where the winner is undecided and control of Congress is at stake, we might just have to wait," he said.

Likewise, Doug Chapin, executive director of the nonpartisan Electionline.org, said a real possibility exists that a crush of absentee and provisional ballots combined with a new fervor to challenge results could carry the mid-term election results beyond Tuesday.

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http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/11042006/worldnation-ph-wn-votingmachines1104.html