Election Official Confidential: a scoop from Ohio

[kpete]

Election Official Confidential: a scoop from Ohio
by histopresto
Mon Oct 16, 2006

After mobilizing in 2004 as an official (frustrated) observer for the Democratic Party, I decided that this time around, I would become a Precinct Election Official. That way, I could help ensure that voters got to cast a regular ballot, instead of being virtually disenfranchised into the hell of provisional ballots. This weekend, I attended the mandatory training session and ooohhh doggies, did I get an earful from the trainers. How did I miss hearing about how badly the May primary election went off the rails? Oh yeah, because it was never publicized.

In case you haven't noticed, the average age of a Precinct Election Official is 75, which means that a whole lot of our local septuagenarians are getting their very first exposure to computers this year. Of the 40 people who showed up for training with me, only a handful were under 60. One official was on an oxygen tank and kept asking the same question all day, one drove a cute lil Rascal Scooter over people's feet, and one guy in a wheelchair with only one leg kept freaking me out by standing up to reach stuff. More people in the group had buckeye shirts on for Ohio State gameday than had their own cellphones (I asked around). Several people said very loudly that the only reason they were coming back to work this election was because of its political importance, that because of the voting machines they would never work another election again.

The May primary was the first major election in Franklin County in which voters used the new ES&S Ivotronic I touchscreen machines. In public and on their website, the Franklin County Board of Elections sounds a lot like the old guy from "Are You Being Served?", telling all the local election workers and the voters that "You've all done very well!!" You can take a look at the official training video online https://www.franklincountyohio.gov/boe/content/election/precoff.html>, if you're in the mood for an alternate version of reality.

In May, it was categorically proven that the Precinct Election Officials could not follow the directions shown on the screens of the voting machines, which help them open and close the polls. The acronyms used to identify memory cartridges, cords, and data ports were so counterintuitive that people were unable to figure out what steps they were to follow. The big message from the BOE trainer to prevent problems in November was "Follow the checklist and wait. Just wait, wait, wait until the machine tells you what to do."

Because of all the problems that were experienced with the first use of these machines, the manual used for the May and August elections has been thrown out and new manuals are being used to train officials for the November general election. The manual is 139 pages long and comes with a companion DVD (and how many 75 year olds have DVD players, do you think?)

Here's some of the highlights lowlights from the May primary:
read the rest at:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/16/121554/28

[AndyA]

1. Good God! It really is that bad, isn't it? n/m

[liberal N proud]

4. Maybe worse!

We are talking names removed from registration lists, Errors on Absentee ballots, no paper trails and much more,

They are screwing this one up so much worse than anyone can imagine. All we can do at this point is pray they screw themselves with their dirty tricks.

[bleever]

2. Oy. This sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

God help us.

[rumpel]

3. geez- 2 hours to learn an entire electronic voting system? n/t

[slampoet]

5. If you are 75 years old....

...and you are just getting your first exposure to computers....

What the Hell have you been doing for the last 22 years?

You were 53 years old when the Macintosh was introduced!!! The first IBM business computer was introduced when you were in high school!!
I am sick to death of an entire selfish generation that never taught their grandchildren anything and thus have never learned anything from the generations younger than them.

[mongo]

6. K & R

I don't see how we are even going to have an election in Ohio.

I'm saving my energy for 11/8 --- I hope I'm not the only one in the streets.

[hvn_nbr_2]

7. Three Stooges Voting Systems, Inc. ... nt

[Kurovski]

8. Yep. Sometimes It pays to be a clown.

[BeFree]

9. I'm running into a bunch of 70 year old activists, too

Luckily, we have paper ballots. True, paper counted by a scanner, but paper readable by anyone who can see. Even a 70 year old. Especially a 70 year.

What you just posted about is the end of an era. A short but monumental era, an era that will be known as an error. An error of monumental disregard for democracy. A disregard that will go down in the annals of history. And one we just might shove up the anals of the deNeys and Delays of this world.

We've got the machines by the short-wires, and by gawd, we are gonna yank hard come Nov. 8th.

[jazzjunkysue]

10. Take it to a judge, post haste. Please take it to a judge...

[AtLiberty]

11. My stomach is in knots --

I'm certain I couldn't qualify under those restrictions and I've been voting for decades!

Who among us carries proof of citizenship in our wallets?