N.J. Wants Voting Machines Opened

[kster]

Posted on Fri, Nov. 9, 2007

Poll workers did not retrieve votes from eight Camden County machines.
By Jan Hefler

Inquirer Staff Writer

New Jersey's attorney general yesterday asked a judge to open eight Camden County voting machines whose votes were not retrieved by poll workers after the election Tuesday.

Camden County election officials had said they would ignore any votes cast on the machines, which poll workers mishandled on election night, for now.

But after The Inquirer raised questions about that decision, Attorney General Anne Milgram's office yesterday petitioned Superior Court to open the machines and keep any votes from being disregarded.

"All votes should be counted," David Wald, spokesman for the attorney general, said.

Phyllis Pearl, Camden County superintendent of elections, said poll workers failed to properly retrieve computer cartridges that record the vote tallies from the eight computerized machines. None of the votes cast on those machines would be counted at this time, she said, because there weren't enough of those votes to affect the outcome of any race.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20071109_N_J__wants_voting_machines_opened.html

[Pab Sungenis]

1. Camden County is solidly Democratic.

I can't imagine what's up with these machines?

Unless someone suspected they were hacked, and is hoping to prove it, perhaps.

[LiberalFighter]

2. The votes should had been counted regardless

If the votes would not effect the outcome of the election then why not count them?

If the votes would effect the outcome of the election they should be counted and then let the court decide.



Since the computer cartridges were not retrieved and they are blaming the problem on senior citizens they need to revise the protocol to prevent it in the future. Such as making it impossible to lock the machines down after an election has taken place without removing the cartridge. A safety release would allow locking the machines without removing the cartridge when in test mode or activating the machine.

[JerseygirlCT]

3. Yes. The very idea that making every vote count is somehow

a partisan idea is completely absurd.

And your idea about the technology makes a ton of sense.