Votes Lost Because of Computer Programing Errors - PA.

[JPZenger]

http://www.readingeagle.com/re/lead/1391861.asp

Reading PA.

"Voters in two city precincts will have to recast their ballots because employees for the company that supplied computer software for voting machines incorrectly programmed them, officials said Wednesday.
...Commissioner Chairwoman Judith L. Schwank said those 199 voters, but no others, will get a chance to vote again in a special primary.

...Lilly said the entire database including all 900 candidates had to be rebuilt from scratch in four days. In the rush, he said, Danaher employees erroneously programmed 40 of the more than 380 data cartridges in the voting machines as training cartridges.

Training cartridges are meant to be re-used, and when the back of a voting machine is opened, the cartridges reset the voting totals, including paper backups, to zero. Lilly said election workers would have no way to tell the cartridges were programmed wrong."

[havocmom]

1. But, but, the machines are so reliable! Says so in the brochure.

Must be that damned liberal media lying about them again.</sarcasm>

[johnaries]

2. can you also post this in the Election Issues Forum?

You can just post a link to this one, if you like.
Wow,
This is telling:
"The computer glitches began in early May, shortly after the commissioners fired V. Kurt Bellman, elections director, for poor management..."

..."Danaher Vice President Matthew Lilly said Wednesday that the company determined the method Bellman used would have prevented votes from being recorded."

..."Bellman had complained after the firing that he was targeted for dismissal by Schwank and Gajewski, both Democrats, because he's a Republican."

[Wapsie B]

3. It's been so long

since I've had a programming class in COBOL or BASIC but god almighty how hard could it be to slam down some code that would tabulate votes and do it correctly?

[roseBudd]

4. Danaher had the contract for Franklin County OH, the machine is called...

a Shooptronic. Franklin is where one precinct had almost 4000 more votes than voters.