WVA Machines Switch Obama Votes to McCain!

[Phx_Dem]

OMG. Isn't it odd how the machine problems ALWAYS favor Republicans. I hope the O-camp knows about this; does anyone have their e-mail address?


Some early W.Va. voters angry over switched votes
Jackson County touch-screens switched votes, 3 residents say
At least three early voters in Jackson County had a hard time voting for candidates they want to win.

By Paul J. Nyden
Staff writer

At least three early voters in Jackson County had a hard time voting for candidates they want to win.

Virginia Matheney and Calvin Thomas said touch-screen machines in the county clerk's office in Ripley kept switching their votes from Democratic to Republican candidates.

"When I touched the screen for Barack Obama, the check mark moved from his box to the box indicating a vote for John McCain," said Matheney, who lives in Kenna.

When she reported the problem, she said, the poll worker in charge "responded that everything was all right. It was just that the screen was sensitive and I was touching the screen too hard. She instructed me to use only my fingernail."

Even after she began using her fingernail, Matheney said, the problem persisted.

When she tried to vote for candidates running for two open seats on the Supreme Court, the electronic machine canceled her second vote twice.

On her third try, Matheney managed to cast votes for both Menis Ketchum and Margaret Workman, Democratic candidates for the two open seats.

Calvin Thomas, 81, who retired from Kaiser Aluminum in Ravenswood in 1983 and now lives in Ripley, experienced the same problem.

"When I pushed Obama, it jumped to McCain. When I went down to governor's office and punched Manchin, it went to the other dude. When I went to Karen Facemyer , I pushed the Democrat, but it jumped again.

<SNIP>

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200810170676

[darius15]

1. Un-fucking-believable.

[BlooInBloo]

2. (facepalm)

[Jennicut]

3. If I had a voting machine I would rip it out of the wall and throw it out a window

I don't care if I was arrested for it. Those things are the worst thing to happen to voting since hanging chads and dimples.

[AzNick]

13. I would decompile the code and analyze it

I would love to put my hands on the source code, or even just the compiled code.

I'd put my entire private time on the matter, rip it apart and find the "glitches".

I suppose there is a randomizer which decides to switch a portion of the votes to McCain.

[FatDave]

15. Nah, probably not entirely random

Probably as needed. Just enough to keep it at 51%.

No idea why they would change the user display though. Easier and safer to just change the internal count and let the display show whatever the voter picked.

[AzNick]

16. The randomizer is set on a certain probability

You can set it to skew the number of votes by 1 or 2%, no more.

[Fly by night]

4. Throw these fucking machines in the nearest WV out-house.

C'mon, you West Virginia mountain men and women, put these machines where they really should be.

[quantass]

5. The entire U.S. needs a a SERIOUS REBOOT

Ah yes, Diebold being a very republican run corporate outfit just sweetens the smell even more.

[AzDar]

6. K n R

:kick:

[LibertyorDeath]

7. "I hope the O-camp knows about this; does anyone have their e-mail address?"

Here ya go

http://answercenter.barackobama.com/cgi-bin/barackobama.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

[Phx_Dem]

10. Thank you!!

:toast:

[babylonsister]

8. I just sent this to Obama's watchdog e-mail address. I'm sure

they're aware of it, so now I'm doubly sure. ;)

[KittyWampus]

9. ACORN ACORN ACORN

FUCK

[goclark]

11. And what is being done about these incidents?

[JBoy]

12. One of those machines needs to be impounded and examined by impartial experts.

[KathieG]

14. Jesus...how is this allowed to happen?!?!?!

:grr::grr::grr:

We need people in there to investigate this STAT!

[Triana]

17. My mom said she had this problem in 2006 in Nevada

Wasn't the presidential election - but she said her votes switched right before her eyes. She said she got a person to reset her voting session and she started over. She still isn't sure how her vote was recorded.

I know nothing of these machines (ie: can they reset a session?) but that's what she told me - both 2 years ago when this happened - and again on the phone this afternoon.