Texas voting emergency....Dallas area.

[madfloridian]

Posted in GDP

I received an email this morning from a voter in the Dallas area. I am alarmed at this lack of response this person is getting. I don't have precinct details yet.

Here is part of the email. Note the lack of responses and the inability to get through to anyone. This person signed up and got directions from the Obama campaign earlier.

Arrived to vote at 7:10 am this morning. New precinct - four precincts combined. There were 100-200 people in line. No sign in tables were set up and only 2 staffers (one an election judge) were still setting things up. There were only 8 booths and one scanner (that I could see) and they looked like they were having trouble getting it running. Several of us went to ask how we could help and they just glared at us. One man who had been handing out flyers for a sheriff candidate had come in and started telling people that if you were voting Republican they could go down the street and vote at another school. Only 1 person left (another story there ). Another volunteer nearly had people rioting because he kept saying that they were open 7-7 and we could come back. Its 8 am moron! Staffers claimed that the Precinct Chair just didn't show up the night before to set up. I'm certain 300 people passed through those doors in an hour unable to vote.

I've been trying to call Bruce Sherbert's office (Dallas Elections Official) 214-637-7937 and Secretary of State's office, Elections Division 1-800-252-8683 all morning but the line is busy or it rings for a while and then disconnects you. How do you report an irregularity if no one answers the freaking phone!

So, I e-mailed Channel 5 an e-mail saying all this and when I sent the e-mail I got a bounceback with a phone number. So I called Channel 5. The "girl" who answered the phone, said it was probably just because of the snow this morning. I tried to tell her it wasn't snowing and the roads were dry and that wasn't the problem. All she could do was apologize and say none of this was her fault. I said I was just trying to give her a story and suggested, perhaps, she should give the information to someone who knew a little something about elections. HELLO!

Then I e-mailed Fox 4. I'm desperate I suppose.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Does anyone in the area have more info? I will get the precinct number soon.

[Luftmensch067]

1. Does anyone know if the local Obama campaign is aware of this?

When we were calling people in MA to GOTV on Election Day, we were told to give them an 800 number to report problems or irregularities. I don't know if this was a government number or a campaign number...

Hope this is resolved soon and definitely widely publicized!!! Thanks for reporting this here and I hope anyone with more info will keep us updated.

[madfloridian]

2. Phones are busy.

At the campaign and everywhere. Follow the post in GDP for more details. Dallas Dem party has someone there now.

[Luftmensch067]

3. OK, have now read GDP thread and kicked and recced it!

I see that calls have been made. Thank you for your action on this!

Makes me SICK to think of voters being turned away.

I cried buckets over the video of those people waiting in the rain in Ohio for hours and hours, determined to vote, in 2004...

[Lisa0825]

4. The number the campaign gave us for problems is 877-48-OBAMA

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