JanMichael
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Sat Oct-23-04 10:58 AM
Original message |
I noticed something ODD while voting yesterday. I think I'll report it. |
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Edited on Sat Oct-23-04 11:00 AM by JanMichael
This is my first time voting in my new state so maybe I'm just being paranaoid but I still think what happened was odd.
After waiting in line for about 10 minutes I get to the first desk where the voting procedure starts. I start to hand the young lady behind the desk my DL and registration and she stops me immediately by saying, "No! We're not allowed to see ID or registrations here. Just give me your name.". I figured this is so she (and other elections workers) couldn't read my Party registration and pull some nefarious act. This by the way was NOT how it was done in Florida, not that they ever count votes right there anyway, that's not the point. So I give her my name and address and she has me sign a sheet to confirm that I am who I claim to be. Fine. Good. All is well.
She then hands me a white sheet of paper that I'm supposed to give to another elections worker who will use that to program my district into the stylus touch screen voting booth. You know so I have the correct ballot.
I'm finally called up to vote. I hand the worker the sheet that the other worker had given me. At that moment I noticed that in the middle of the sheet, in bold easy to read letters, was printed DEM.
Uh, ok, so now the worker takes me to a ballot box and starts entering in multiple codes to pull up my district ballot.
I vote.
I leave.
Then I wonder what the f*ck just happened. If the first elections worker was prohibited from seeing my registration card so as to keep her non-partisan in her duties why the hell wasn't the guy who programmed my ballot under the same prohibition?!
Plus the first worker obviously saw the registration on her screen and when she handed me the sheet with DEM (Highlighted IIRC).
Why on earth would my party registration need to be seen by the person programming my ballot into a damned touch screen (Older looking, not like a newer touchscreen)???
Not that he did but what was to stop him from f'ing with my ballot because he could guess my probable vote?
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Trajan
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:01 AM
Response to Original message |
1. Party Ballots arent secret .... |
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In CA we had blue and red ballots for Dem and GOP ...
I am more concerned with the invisible hand of DIEBOLD providence reaching INTO the machine, and tossing your DEM vote into the recycle bin ....
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JanMichael
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:07 AM
Response to Reply #1 |
4. Or the very real hand of someone who's typing in a code. |
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It seems to me that the elections people shouldn't know anymore about you other than you are who you claim to be.
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Dzimbowicz
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:02 AM
Response to Original message |
2. Which state is your new state? |
JanMichael
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:05 AM
Response to Reply #2 |
Dzimbowicz
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:25 AM
Response to Reply #3 |
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Edited on Sat Oct-23-04 11:26 AM by Dzimbowicz
and never has my party affiliation been identified at the poll and I have been voting here since 1976. I do not know how things are done in NC, but what you described does sound odd. I think I would at least inquire about it.
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Boredtodeath
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:08 AM
Response to Original message |
5. What ELSE did the paper say? |
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That piece of paper SHOULD have been used to determine what ballot you saw on the touchscreen - most especially, local races. It should have indicated what precinct, district, etc. your ballot presented to you on that touchscreen.
In a general election, the ballot is not determined by PARTY. But the ballot MAY be determined by district/precinct for local and state races.
What else was on the paper?
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JanMichael
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:11 AM
Response to Reply #5 |
6. It was the ballot info so the 2nd elections worker could program the... |
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...machine.
It was just weird to me that DEM was isolated, smack in the middle of that sheet. And I swear, although I may be mistaken, that it was marked with yellow highliter.
It may have been another word but I can't recall now.
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Boredtodeath
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:25 AM
Response to Reply #6 |
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Do you know someone who hasn't voted yet? Can you get a friend to look more closely at the piece of paper?
If nothing else, it may ease your mind to know what is actually on the paper.
Have to run....off to GOTV.
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Ready4Change
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:21 AM
Response to Original message |
7. Did ANYONE check your ID? |
JanMichael
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:29 AM
Response to Reply #7 |
13. Nope. Just name and address. |
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Both verbally supplied by me.
Then they print up a confirmation sheet and that's that.
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Ready4Change
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #13 |
15. So, if during push-polling |
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That's REALLY bad practice. What if during push-polling, right wingers were to find someone to be strongly saying they don't vote, or won't be voting this time around?
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Bandit
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:23 AM
Response to Original message |
8. Was there a paper trail of your vote and was there any Exit Polling? |
nodehopper
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:26 AM
Response to Original message |
11. you can and should report it to Black Box Voting Cleanup Crew |
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they are coordinating centralized national initiatives to keep track of all of this.
www.blackboxvoting.org
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elehhhhna
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:27 AM
Response to Original message |
12. Same happened to me in TX but it said "Basura" on top... |
BlackVelvetElvis
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Sat Oct-23-04 11:36 AM
Response to Original message |
14. I read your post and thought, "That's familiar". |
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I always wondered that myself. During the 2002 state-wide primary elections, they gave my elderly mother (who had a DEM paper) a republican ballot! Something smelled bad...I called my local BOE and complained and they blew it off as human error. I will be keeping my eyes open and I'm taking mom with me to vote.
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