Machine vendor miscalibrated vote scanners, county officials say

[FreakinDJ]

Source: Sacramento Bee

Improper maintenance of some of Sacramento County's voting machines – and the tint of the Feb. 5 ballots – were to blame for malfunctions that sidelined vote-counting scanners and delayed results of last month's presidential primary, according to the county's top election official.

The problems have been corrected and the scanners are expected to be used in the June election, Registrar of Voters Jill LaVine said in a report to the county Board of Supervisors.

During a routine pre-election test in January, some ballots were being rejected or misread, including some valid votes that were not recognized at all by one particular scanner model used at precincts across the county.

Because of the malfunction, all ballots had to be counted in the election department's central command in south Sacramento – instead of some being processed as usual at the precincts.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/806732.html

[DCKit]

1. Yet another in an endless list of "innocent mistakes"

Good thing nothing important is at stake. God help us if the winner of Amurikan Idol were found to be illegitimate under such a scenario: No excuse would suffice to calm the bloodthirsty mob.

[mac2]

16. Ooops

The planes hit the big tall buildings something we'd never suspect. The flood waters came in when the big storm came. The bankers and financial CEOs help themselves to our money. The military needs another "surge to win" and keep the "peace". The private contractors stole from us. The money moved around the world is a common thing and we can't keep track of it. Etc., etc. Who would ever think such things could happen?

Not little ole me a citizen of the Empire.

[acmavm]

2. Okay, even IF true, why use such crappy equipment in the first place?

[Kutjara]

5. The two eternal rules of government procurement:

(1) Always buy from the lowest bidder.
(2) Always blame mistakes on the fact you bought from the lowest bidder.

It serves them very well, because just about any corruption can be blamed on incompetence.

[acmavm]

6. Makes sense.

[Stevepol]

9. The two eternal rules for electronic voting machine vendors:

(1) Always charge far more than the market will bear and lie as much as you like and claim there is good reason for the higher price, that your machines never make a mistake, that nobody wants to use paper anymore, that there are fewer problems when paper is not used. In other words say anything you want, claim it's true, and lie even when it's not necessary. If it looks like you won't win the contract, pay under the table or give to the secretary of state's campaign fund.

(2) Blame all mistakes on the voter or the election personnel or officials. If it's an obvious machine error, call it a "glitch," or a rare occurrence like a meteorite plowing into your back yard. In other words, lie. Meanwhile, continue to put your machine up for rigging to the highest bidder and program them to tilt about 5% in favor of Republicans, unless you're paid off by the Democrat in the race.

[rucky]

11. The lowest bidder would be hand-counted paper ballots.

All of this shit is overpriced and unnecessary.

[kath]

12. Exactly - machines are a HUGE waste of money and make our elections so easy to steal.

Paper ballots, hand-counted *at the precinct*, with plently of observers is the ONLY way to go!

[sutz12]

18. It's all leftover '80's equipment that they salvaged.

:shrug:

[flashl]

3. K&R

[newburgh]

4. What's to say that this won't happen again? McCain is a shoe-in

unless the Democrats do something SUBSTANTIAL about the way our votes are counted.

But then again, Clinton would have been out of the race long ago :evilgrin:

[Skink]

10. Clinton's having some fun with the machines eh?

Of course everybody know's Kerry slim marchine of victory in NH was gotten in the southern NH region where the ciies are located and they used the vending machines.

[juajen]

13. It's" "shoo-in" not "shoe-in".

I'm sorry, don't mean to be picky, but this grates on my nerves terribly.



You have been visited by the DU Spelling Police.

My name is juajen and I approve this massage.

[old guy]

7. Will they ever have enough evidence so they will scrap these things?

It goes on and on, yet they are still forcing people to use them. Damn!

[grahamhgreen]

8. But the scanners at WALMART WORK FLAWLESSLY...

[mac2]

17. It's a simple process like counting.

1 + 1= 2

Scanners at Walmart work because it involves profit. Others don't because it involves fraud.

[Javaman]

14. "ahh, here's your problem, the switch was set to evil!" nt

[mac2]

15. Good way to steal votes at a central command in S. Sacramento

Will the chads be counted on TV?