CHAOS: Problems worsen, Dems seek voting extension

[razors edge]

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4616285?source=email

On a day already rife with computer glitches, long lines, and legal appeals to extend voting in Denver, provisional ballots are now running out at some Denver voting centers.

Westerly Creek, 8800 E. 28th Ave., ran out of provision ballots shortly after noon. Voters who were seeking shorter lines arrived, and quickly the line here grew to more than a hundred people long.

Democratic party leaders are in court this afternoon, seeking a two-hour extension for voting in Denver, due to massive computer problems which have kept many from casting their vote.

Party spokesman Brian Mason said the motion was in response to "the huge problems in Denver this morning."

[El Supremo]

1. Read this from August 9!

Denver Voting Irregularities Scare Ritter Camp
by: Colorado Pols
Wed Aug 09, 2006 at 09:44:13 AM MDT

One of the biggest stories of the primary that got lost once the election results started coming in was the voting problems in Denver. The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post documented problems throughout the day, and then in the evening Denver was the last area in the state to get their results figured out - even though there were only two major contested races in the entire county.

Democrat Bill Ritter's campaign for governor is very concerned about all of this, because voting irregularities in Denver could very well sink his campaign for governor. It's no secret that many people believe a huge turnout in Denver was the reason Ken Salazar was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, and that turnout will not be as high in November if people are forced to wait in line for a long period of time because of troubles with voting machines.

If voter turnout is severely depressed in Denver, Ritter probably cannot be elected governor. This story is only starting to unravel, but it will be a big one as the next couple of weeks unfold because of how much is at stake.

http://www.coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1567

[Nikki Stone1]

3. Interesting. Didn't know that problem was known that far back

Hope we get that extension.

[BelgianMadCow]

2. Provisional ballots suck already - and then they run out??

at least they're not in vietnamese as reported in orange county.

Please consider a repost in Skinner's stickied thread :

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2600685

[Peace Patriot]

4. Machine "breakdowns" and very tossable "provisional" ballots. That appears

to be the mode this time (or one of them). Betcha the machine "breakdowns" around the country only hurt Democratic candidates.

Do they permit Absentee Ballot voting in Colorado? I think they do, but I'm not sure. Absentee Ballot voting would be the only way around this mode of election theft. And AB voting this time in other places has been huge. If you've already voted with an AB, or you have yours in hand, delivering it to the polling place, they can't palm off a "provisional" ballot on you, and you won't be stuck in a long line. Nor can they use voter ID shenanigans against you. (Any probs would have been settled beforehand, when you applied for and got your AB.)

I had to laugh at the WSJ propaganda on AB voting, that's it's disruptive and annoying to election officials who want speedy counts. Look at this mess in Denver! Is that not disruptive? As for annoying election officials, I'm for wholesale removal of every damned one of them throughout the land, with few exceptions. Their corruption on the billions of dollars in e-voting contracts is killing our democracy.

The NYT, AP and Sacto Bee all put our the corporate spin about 10 days ago, that the huge increase in AB voting is voters choosing "convenience." Not a single mention of voters NOT TRUSTING THE VOTING MACHINES, not even as a possibility.

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

Voters are BOYCOTTING the machines. It is a PROTEST against these highly riggable, NON-TRANSPARENT voting machines--whether rigged to "break down" or rigged to switch votes.

A reason for hope. People are onto it. They know. And, with this huge base of discontented voters who don't give a damn if their vote is "disruptive" of election theft "efficiency," we can get something done.

Next: Mobilize the AB voters, and demand of LOCAL election officials that they, a) HAND COUNT Absentee Ballot votes, and b) POST the results BEFORE any electronics are involved. Thus, we begin to create a paper ballot system by default!