Democratic Underground - TRAIN WRECK: And then his predictions started coming through – just in the primaries.

Reply #4: TRAIN WRECK: And then his predictions started coming through – just in the primaries. [View All]

autorank

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Oct-30-06 12:25 PM
Response to Reply #3

4. TRAIN WRECK: And then his predictions started coming through – just in the primaries.

So you can imagine how election day might turn out. Hopefully, it will be fair and efficient. That’s what I want because I know the Democrats will have a field day. I’m holding my hopes in the background. When you sleep on the floor, you can’t fall out of bed. John who will win the Belmont this season?

John Gideon: Train Wreck In Maryland Primary
Wednesday, 13 September 2006, 1:40 pm
Opinion: John Gideon

Train Wreck In Maryland Primary
Polls across the state opened late due to missing equipment or missing poll workers. The state hired voting machine technical 'rovers' from Monster.Com ad
Blogged by John Gideon 09.13.06
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/print.html?path=HL0609/S00169.htm

BREAKING: Train Wreck In Maryland Primary Polls across the state opened late due to missing equipment or missing poll workers The state hired voting machine technical 'rovers' from Monster.Com

This morning voters in much of Maryland awoke with plans to go to the polls early and then head off to a normal day. Unfortunately when they got to their polling places they only found locked doors.
As reported by the Baltimore Sun many poll workers did not show up for work this morning and when they did they many had no idea how to operate new voting technology called "e-poll books" which are a necessary part of the voting process in Maryland and many other Diebold states. The workers were not trained to use that technology because Diebold did not provide the technology to the state until it was too late to properly train the poll workers.
According to the Sun:

Tardy election judges in Baltimore caused delays at dozens of polling places this morning, prompting some candidates to call for extended hours at affected polls in the city and Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties.

Armstead B.C. Jones Sr., president of the Baltimore Board of Elections, said that in addition to late arrivals, poll workers are unfamiliar with several pieces of new voting equipment debuting today, which is causing additional delays.

"Poll workers go through a class that's three hours long, but some of the technology wasn't available to us in time for everyone to be trained on it," Jones said, referring to the new electronic check-in system, called e-poll books. "This is not unusual for an election morning when you're dealing with brand new equipment."

Not unusual? What an unbelievable statement to make when talking about elections. It's his job as the president of the Board of Elections to ensure that every poll worker is trained and that no equipment is new to them. What should be unusual is that Mr. Jones keep his job.
And this is not the whole story. Added to a lack of trained poll workers to open the polls and operate the equipment we also learn that when the supplies were sent out to the polls in Montgomery County someone forgot to include the smart cards. These are the cards that have the

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Reply #4: TRAIN WRECK: And then his predictions started coming through – just in the primaries. [View All]