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November 07, 2006 06:04 PM UTC

Voting Problems Open Thread

  • 97 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Please reserve this thread for any problems or issues related to voting today. Lines too long? Machines don’t work? Let us know…

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97 thoughts on “Voting Problems Open Thread”

          2. If the Democratic Party is involved, this will be an orbital lawyer strike this year.  See, it seems the Democratic Party felt it necessary to have a large team of lawyers available to counter the illegal vote-suppression tactics from certain other parties.

            My understanding is that the person turning away voters at Colorado College is none other than Kyle Fisk, in person.  A diary over at SquareState indicates he’s “instructing” poll judges that they HAVE TO discard disputed ballots.  That would be both incorrect and against polling place procedures.

  3. It took me 40 minutes to vote – 30 of that in line.  Part of the problem was the morning rush for voting; people were waiting in line 20 minutes before the polls opened.

    It’s the longest I’ve ever had to wait in rural Gilpin County.  My guess is, they could have set up more of those voting screens and put many more people through.  Don’t know why they didn’t have a dozen set up – only 9 or so.

  4. How does this make any sense?

    20 voting machines

    4 laptops for voter identification

    It took me an hour and a half to vote this morning and at any given time there might have been half a dozen voting machines (out of 20 at my location) in use.  When I got to the verification table my information pulled up right away and there were no issues but the process still took me approximately 2 minutes.  Now, 2 minutes might not sound like a long time but figure a conservative average of 90 seconds per person at the verification station and that makes for a long wait.

    Before I realized the pinch point was due to an insufficient number of verication stations I asked one of the volunteers why only 4 or 5 of the machines were being used at a given time.  She replied, “they are all full you just can’t tell because of the curtains on the voting machines”.  I nearly had a stroke when she said this and upon regaining my vision I asked her if the people voting had suddenly developed the ability to levitate.  Needless to say she didn’t understand what I was saying.

    1. There should be no issues with having only 4 voter ID stations; they really shouldn’t take that long.  If the voter ID stations were the hold-up, then your vote center server was probably the real culprit – that or insufficient bandwidth to the location.

      It should take less than a minute to register someone at one of those stations, and it probably takes the average voter more than 4 minutes to vote on the huge ballot we have this year.

  6. The stories have already started: the Allen campaign and NRSC are threatening black voters in Virginia if they vote; voters in Ohio and Indiana can?t vote because poll workers can?t make the new machines work timely; and of course the robo-calls and push-poll calls over the weekend angered voters into thinking the Democrats were harassing them.

    If we have passed laws that protect citizens from fraudulent telephone marketing and allow for ?do not call? protections, why can?t we do the same for elections?

    If the 2002 ?Help America Vote Act? has actually now made it harder for American citizens to vote, then why shouldn?t it be repealed and replaced with a 2007 Voting Rights Act? And if a GOP Senate and Mr. Bush prevent such a law from taking effect, why shouldn?t Democrats make voting rights their wedge issue for state ballots in 2008?

    The fact is that solid Democratic candidates will lose today across the country in close races due to voter intimidation, egregious voter ID requirements that are aimed at suppressing Democratic voters, robo-calls and push-polling, inadequate machinery and poll worker training, and failing that, outright fraud by election machinery vendors who are GOP campaign contributors working hand-in-hand with GOP registrars and secretaries of state.

    h/t left coaster

      1. According to nbc news the South Carolina repub governor was not allower to vote at his local precinct because he did not have the proper id.  Is seems to be hitting Dems harder in CO, but nationwide I believe it is non-partican. 

        Maybe actual reforms will be in place after this.

        1. Apparently “Mean Jean” Schmidt had some issues with her precinct’s scanner this morning, and GOP Congressman Steve Chabot was turned away in Ohio.

          On the Dem side, Missouri Secretary of State Carnahan (daughter of Ashcroft’s dead opponent in ’00) had to perform her job directly by adjudicating the law to a poll worker who insisted that she provide a photo ID (MO’s supreme court ruled the law unconstitutional earlier this year…)

        2. Yes the GOP Gov was not allowed to vote.  Oh shucks, I forgot my papers.  Better not leave home with out my ‘National ID’ card next time!

          This election will be used to push the national ID card.  Do not let the main stream media hood-wink you into this one!

      2. No one should have any difficulty casting their vote or getting their vote counting in the USA in the year 2006. This is ridiculous. Each election it seems to get worse instead of better.

      3. Try to follow this bizzare logic – It seems the latest report from the Air America team is – in places where Dems win big the Dems will say that the GOP hacked the machines so that they – (the GOP) could say the Dems hacked the machines and force the vote to be invalidated. So even if the Dems win they will say the GOP hacked the machines. You can’t make this shit up folks!!!!
        Paranoia at it’s highest.

        1. Or maybe just robocalls telling Hispanics their immigration status will be effected if they vote, or telling voters to show up at the wrong precinct, or “skip the vote” today.  Telling voters they will be arrested for voting, or outright harrasment as shown at Colorado College today, or refusing a request to extend voting another 2 hours in Denver.

          Yeah, paranoia. Go piss on someone else’s leg and tell them it’s raining.

    2. Pueblo County Clerk (D)did not get the absentee ballots mailed out in time, so she decided to “relax” the rules for turning them in.  “D” volunteers had lists of absentee voters who had not turned in their ballots and were going door to door over the weekend, saying they were from the Clerk’s office and there to pick up the ballots.  There was a story in the local paper telling people not to mail them, that they needed to be hand delivered, so people bought the story and handed thier ballots to complete strangers.  No individual is supposed to deliver more than 5 absentee ballots, and the C&R employees were accepting them stacks of them from Dem hacks.  Guess when the Dems “help” they are protecting voting rights, and when the R’s try and follow the rules they are disenfranchising voters….  Clear violation of election laws and nobody cares…

      2. I didn’t know that anyone but you could turn in an absentee ballot at the Clerk’s office – except for the USPS.

        If I were in Pueblo and this story turned out to be true, I’d be calling for a recall on the clerk – or some serious head-breaking of the volunteer co-ordinator who did this.

        I’d like a link, too, BTW.

          1. You just decided to ad-lib a litttle with the story?  Fill in some details that make you happy and call a bunch of people crooks?  Or is there actually a story here that’s not being reported?

            There’s nothing in any of those articles to suggest that kind of thing is going on.

            1. Local campaigns have been doing chase for weeks and have been fighting the C&R for data & labels and have been reporting that they were BIG time behind in getting them mailed out.  Story from Friday clearly states in the last paragraph that the Clerk is being flexible with the rules.  Dems going door to door has not been picked up yet in the paper, but they are out doing it.  Several local campaigns have had numerous calls asking if they should give thier absentee ballots to the “volunteers”.  Now the commisioners are volunteering to go out and pick up ballots… again clearly in violation of the law.  Or is it only valid to you if you read it in the paper????

              1. That both parties are going door to door (as they do everywhere in the nation) and makes no mention of misrepresentation.  I fail to see the crime.

                1. Guess I wasn’t clear enough… the problem is that people are going door to door and collecting absentee ballots.  Colorado election law limits the number of absentee ballots to five per individual.  The news paper articles quote the clerk as stating that she is going to be flexible with this rule and also that the county commisshes are volunteering to go out and picking them up.  All these fine folks are Ds.  By the time people can verify their absentee vote was turned in / counted it will be too late.  But I’m sure the people out picking up ballots are just doing their civic duty… no need to let pesky little things like LAWS get in the way of helping their fellow dems.. I mean man… helping their fellow man.. yeah that’s it.

    1. It was improper.  I’m not familiar with the process in that area – How will the people at the polling places verify that the Monday voters already voted and keep them from voting again?  Nothing in the article said that the Monday voters voted provisionally.  What’s the motto there, vote early, vote often?

      It’s flat wrong.  Doesn’t matter D or R… everyone has to play by the rules.

  9. Voted provisional ballot. A judge was complaining to a visiting elction officer that the batteries were going dead on the machines! and the screens occasionally went black! Turnout was steady. One gut walked in stating, “This is the third place I’ve gone today.”

            1. a clerk at the YMCA (different voting station) whether provisional ballots are counted the same as all other ballots, in every respect….and she replied yes.

    2. I voted two weeks ago and handed it to a clerk at the Motor Vehicle Dept. on Chambers Rd. Didn’t get lost in the mail, leaves a paper trail, and NO waiting in line. Going to the polls is like driving to the mall for Christmas shopping when the internet (Amazon, Yahoo Shopping etc) is available.

      Now I can’t wait for the purge at the Denver Election Commission, and it should start with the fair-haired Hickenlooper, who should have had this under control. Someone said, “where is the outrage”. I’ll meet you outside Hick’s house (and I’m a loyal Dem), just tell me when and where and let’s bring lots of posterboard.

      1. #1 Most if not all absentee ballots are NOT couted because the election is called before the ‘need’ to count absentee ballots is given.  Learned that while voting absentee in the military.

        Election officals call these non counted votes a form of ‘spoilage’. A hanging chad is ‘true spoilage’.

        #2 If by chance your absentee ballot does get ‘into the system’, it simply gets ‘fed’ into the same currupt e-voting system that is completely hackable. Your so-called ‘paper’ trail ends and starts at the e-voting system.

        Is it any wonder why current politicians won’t get rid of their current e-voting systems and encourge unsuspecting voters to vote absentee?
         

  10. I’m tempted to leave work and head down to one of the locations that has a long wait to see if I can help out, even if its just to provide coffee, lemonade and donuts. I’m downtown right now, any idea how the Webb building is looking?

    1. I just tried to vote – first at Washington Park Rec Center, 1.5 hour wait.  So, I was told there were shorter lines at the University and I25 police station – lines were out the door.  I was told the lines at the church at University and Warren had 20 minute wait.  No dice, voting was in a stuffy basement, jammed with people, lines wrapped around everywhere – I was told at least an hour wait.

      I usually vote at South High – never had to wait more than a couple of minutes.  What happened?  Why the change to the Voting Centers?  I imagine many people left without voting.  It ain’t right!

      1. Vote Centers should not be slow.  They’re not doing much work, and any reasonable client-server architecture should be able to technically keep up with it.

        The DEC and the vote center equipment manufacturer will have a lot to answer for after today…

  11. Just up on their blog: NH all over again?

    Don’t try to call the ProgressNow offices right now. You can’t.

    We are on the phone with our network provider who is indicating the lines are down due to a “large call volume.” We are in the midst of a large distributed GOTV effort right now, but we don’t believe line capacity is the problem here.

    I’m not ready to call shenanigans at this point, but this is mighty suspicious. Looking for a really good explanation, really soon.

    Please call my boss Bobby Clark at (303)905-8375 directly to get help with the phone banking tool or for other questions.

  12. We got in just before the 10:30 rush and waited 5 min. It took me only a few minutes to vote, but dw read everything on the machine and took another 10 minutes or so. She used the new voting machine that supposedly will be used in future elections. Had to page through the ballots, which was slow and aggravating. Nobody was walking out.

  13. This election is far too important to see it all go to waste with pathetic election day blunders. The head of the Denver Election Commission should be fired ASAP. How could they not expect these kinds of problems to arise?

    2. But the key is to not let this fade away after today. There is MUCH more at stake in the 2008 elections. We need to make absolutely sure that things are up to par by then.

  14. My wife and I walked right up to our precint officials (3 other precints in the room).  Used paper ballots (The line to use the one electronic machine was about 10 or 15 minutes long) – had to wait a minute or two to stand at the portable voting booth.  We were in and out in about 12 minutes.

  15. Why did they make the change to Voting Centers?  Voting in Denver used to be so easy.  They need to explain – Dem candidates will lose many votes due to these issues.

  16. it’s just down the street from me; i dropped off my absentee ballot about half an hour ago — quick & easy — but i walked past maybe 100 people in a slow-looking line; folks looked in good spirits though

    talked to my next door neighbor, whose partner had to leave the poll to go to work and will try again this evening; also saw at least one neighbor couple walk up to the line and then leave

    this is also street sweeping day on the east side of north-south streets here, so i hope the city is smart enough _not_ to ticket people parked at the polls

    must remind people: if you are in line by 7pm, you should be allowed to vote!

  17. Before the election grass roots GOP, DEMS, Indepentant all wanted to hold independant exit polling. Specially were these horrific e-voting machines are in place. 

    The establishment via the corporate media came out on all sides warning of these exit polls.  Trying to once again pacify the public.

    The establishment is not allowing any early exit polling info to be relesed.  Word is they are affraid the info will hit the blogs before they can manipulate the actual election trend.  Exit polls have always been accurate in the past. 

    Pre precinct reoporting has always been an AMERICAN voting sytem.  Now the establishment is calling this AMERICAN practice illegal. 

    Why is this?

    If you want to pull off voter fraud you can’t show vote (A.) winning by a landslide if you want to make the illusion that there was a ‘CLOSE’ race or better yet flip the vote.  Which BTW is happening now across the country

    WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!!

    At the end of it all, don’t turn this new fraud voting system ushered in by establishment darlings (D) Chucky Schumer and his partner in crime (R) W. Bush.

    The establishment GOP will cry it’s the DEM’s voter fraud if Bush loses the house (literally).  If all of the kings horses and men in the GOP stay in power the cry will be it’s a GOP voter fraud.  DO NOT FALL FOR THIS!!!!

    Our American system is under attack.  No matter who wins or how things turn out this fraud system that has been put in place has to be removed.

    Just trust us is what works in a COMMUNIST country not in a Republic.

    1. These machines ARE the devil. Voting needs to be simple, fast,  secret, and verifiable – that means paper, rolls of voter names to check-off, paper ballots, and local, precinct voting.

  18. currently there are robocalls going out to newly registered latino voters that are saying that there was problems with their paper work and if they go to vote they will be deported.

      2. Not sure who is involved yet, but it is now confirmed by the Paccione Campaign people that it is all over CD4.  The Justice Dept is on the way into the area to determine exactly who is involved and how.

          1. The information came in through the Victory 2006 people.  They’ve gotten their reports through people who have called.  Gotta love it, instead of issues, they’re just trying to disenfranchise voters.

            1. This would be a huge story on every news show if true. This smells of urban legend to me.
              Of course it could be some one with a strong dislike of New York Liberals trying to run rual Colorado – nah

  20. An elderly friend has attempted to vote three times. First, she tried the Wellington Webb Bldg. for early voting. Well, if you wanted to vote at the WW Bldg. and you weren’t afoot, you had to park. Parking near the WW Bldg. is $9. Okay, so then she tried Botanic Gardens where the line was out the door and around the block (not to mention that the parking lot was full). She then returned to Botanic Gardens later and same story. Result: She went home and didn’t vote.

    Exercising one’s franchise in this brave new democracy we’ve got going here has become a struggle of immense proportions for many, especially the elderly. And, yes, DEC, I’m sure my elderly friend is going to drive all over the city to find a site that will accommodate her needs.

    I suppose the Hickzzoner will treat this much like he treated the exit of Steven Hull from the Denver Justice Design team. Stuff happens and we’ll just get along with what we’ve got. Actually, he’ll probably just say, “Not my job, man,” and declare, “Heck of a job, Vaden.” 

    1. I can’t be too sympathetic with your elderly friend’s decision because it sounds like she chose two of the craziest places to try to vote at. Although I’m pretty sure parking is an issue at every location, she could have tried Tattered Cover (if she’s going from Webb bldg to Botanic Gardens then TC is not out of the way at all) and probably one or two other places that would’ve been a short side trip.

      I voted at the Sunrise Center (Sheridan and Quincy, SW Denver) and it was an hour-long wait. Still, people were cheerful and patient. The nice weather helps. Can you imagine if it were snowing like it did two weeks ago?

      2. There are two places my elderly friend is comfortable driving to: the WW Bldg. (because she used to work there) and Botanic Gardens, which isn’t that far from her house. Now, I’m not elderly and I could probably drive around town looking for another place to vote, but, please… This is a nightmare for some folks. Maybe when you get a little older you’ll understand.

        1. I feel that voting is too important just to give up because of long lines. Of course I do have my health and if standing’s an issue then I’m sorry. But I still have to wonder why she didn’t try to get an absentee ballot or vote early or whatever. In this day and age it’s not like you’re without options.

            1. I’ve voted absentee for the last several elections. I couldn’t take going to my polling place in Jeffco and trying to deal with the election judges who were always hard of hearing and painfully confused. Even with nobody else in line, it took ’em waaaaay too long to find my name on their lists and handle the paperwork. I ended up worrying whether they’d mess something up with my vote.

          2. They should have it that you show up, wait maybe 5 minutes, have a reasonable way to prove who you are, and then you vote in a way that it is accurately recorded and counted.

            My kids in 3rd grade could do a better job than this. I’m starting to think my dog could do better. This is disenfranchizing people and that is obscene in the world’s oldest democracy.

            Just disgusting.

            1. but let’s face it – anyone who’s been through a systems conversion at their job should have anticipated problems and in my opinion what’s going on in Colorado is merely that kind of thing. I don’t think mass disenfranchisement a la Ohio 2004 or Florida 2000 is happening, and I know that this will be a much smoother process next time around. My suggestion is to open more EV centers and open them sooner, and we ought to pass a law extenting polling place hours. In WA state the polls are open until 8:00 pm.

  21. We voted at about 11:45 am with only one person in line ahead of us. The only problem was the political signs posted in the school yard. The school district has a strict policy against partisan stuff in the schools or on the grounds. We went in to the school’s office to tell them about it, and the secretary tried to say it was the election judges’ responsibility. We tried to explain that it was against the school’s policy, and was therefore their responsibility. (The signs may or may not have been within the 100 foot limit.) Anyway, it was a tempest in a teapot. The district official in charge told the school they had to get rid of the signs.

    If you haven’t figured it out, they were Democratic signs. If the Democrats are so supportive of our schools, why did they put the school on the spot like that?

    Meanwhile, some candidate(s)’ campaign volunteers (or so they said) tried to collect absentee ballots at voters’ homes. It was in the Chieftain yesterday. If the rumors are true, one party trying to collect ballots from the other party’s voters, it’s doubtful that the ballots would have arrived at the Clerk’s office in time.

    As far as problems checking in, go, remember that most election judges are at an age where they haven’t had much experience with computers.

  23. Here is an interesting email regarding complaints from CC students about the polling center at first presb. downtown, which gives you a good idea about what the issues at hand were/are:

      Some students did experience problems earlier today with ?overly enthusiastic? election volunteers who challenged CC student voter qualifications. That problem has been corrected. The polls close at 7 p.m. today, and a shuttle is running to the polling place (Weber and Kiowa streets) for on-campus residents  about every 25 minutes until closing time; catch the shuttle in front of Worner Campus Center, on
    the Cascade Avenue side.

    Some information provided by the precinct election judge this afternoon:
    В·  If you are on the voter roll, you WILL be allowed to vote ? either with a standard ballot or a provisional ballot.  Provisional ballots are REAL ballots, and will be counted in the election after the identity and address have been verified, usually within 10 days of the election.

    В·  Valid form of ID must be presented at the precinct polling place for a standard ballot, which include the following:

      a. Colorado driver?s license
      b. U.S. passport
      c. Certified ORIGINAL U.S. birth certificate; copies will NOT be accepted

    d. a copy of your utility bill ? gas, electric, water, phone, cable ? or a bank statement.  These must show a Colorado address, and are acceptable even if the address is different than the address on the voter registration card.  Trash bills will not be accepted.

    e. a STATE education institution student ID (CU, CSU, UCCS, etc.) ? NOT A CC STUDENT ID. CC is a private institution and does not issue ?state IDs.?

    В·  Some forms of ID that are NOT accepted as valid forms of ID (but remember, you still will be allowed to vote with a provisional ballot, which does count):

      a. CC ID
      b. Out-of-state driver?s license
      c. Voter registration card
      d. Trash bill

  24. How about a bet that Hickenlooper slides on the election screw up.  Yes, it is separate from Mayor’s office…but what mayor stalled two city council efforts to reform the commission?  Who refused to budge on this issue?  If he is not responsible for commission…what is Archuleta doing trying to fix the “broken commission?”  If he is going to distance himself…not a good move to put her there.  But in his heart, he knows he is responsible…will the news media report that?  Probably not.  The good news, there is no shortage of blue ink in Denver.  (Iraq voters for the uninformed)
    Hick’s  Blizzard??

  25. “Help America Vote Act”
    “Clear Skies Initiative”
    “Healthy Forests Act

    See a pattern here?  In one, the trees lose, in another our health loses, and in the first, our democracy disappears.

    The Republican controlled congress passed this law to enrich their Diebold and S&S (Senator Chuck Hagel) friends, but mostly, control the vote.  Between propriatery software, complex systems, and incompetent SOS’s it’s spelled OPPORTUNITY.

    We are also the laughingstock of the world.

  27. On October 25th I mailed my ‘application’ for an absentee ballot… I never received it – today when I went to my polling station, they did show that I was sent a ballot!
    So I had to go through getting a provisional ballot.  I am not happy with this situation at all and don’t know who to register a complaint with – so I am lodging a complaint here, at least –
    Pam J.

  28. I really hope the GOP defies all odds and pulls off retaining both house and senate.  I’m affraid that if the Dems win people will just fall back asleep and NOT address the fraud system at the polls.

    This election fiasco serves a couple of purposes for the establishment.

    It will definately serve to push the National ID card on everyone.

    It will undoubtably keep the false Right / Left (divide and conquer) pardigm alive and well.  The very paradigm that engulfs this board.

    If the GOP steals the election and you think the ‘dirty-tricksters’ at the GOP are the sole culprits to blame… you better think again!  Dems Like Chucky Schumer helped them pull it off when he went to work for Bush and not only helped pass but funded the ‘HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT’.  Ever heard of it?

    Here is a great article by Greg Palast called ‘How the mid term election was stolen’ Written before the actual election.

    http://www.gregpalas…

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