October Surprise for Jim Webb - Name Cut Off E-Ballot

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Oops, right? Just an innocent mistake?

NC Voter's Diary:

October Surprise for James Webb - Name Cut Off Ballot
by NC Voter
Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 09:09:57 AM PDT
The October Surprise has been sprung - on James Webb.

James Webb's last name has been cut off of the ballot in Alexandria,
Falls Church and Charlottesville Virginia - thanks to a voting machine
company tainted by partisan ties to the opposing political party.

This WILL be very damaging to James Webb.

What else is wrong with the machines that we can't even see?

Neat trick, eh?

The Washington Times reports a serious threat to Jim Webb

Washington Post:
Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names
Computer Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions; Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov. 7

Tuesday, October 24, 2006; Page B04

"U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.

Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote...
"...
'Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.'

More here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102301178.html

Who is to blame?

Well, you can thank Hart Intercivic, the voting machine company whose key
investors also have significant ties to a certain political party.

Read the rest of the diary,and learn more about how you can help Virginia in
its fight for verified voting:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/24/12957/259

[OnTheOtherHand]

1. you mean WaPo, not WaTimes, right?

It's almost funny to read that James Webb is affected by a "glitch that also affects other candidates with long names."

If it's only on the summary screen, well, I don't know how that will play out. I guess we will find out soon. Gulp.

[MH1]

2. "other candidates with long names"?!?

:wtf:

"James Webb" is a LONG name???

[drm604]

21. That's not a long name.

This is a long name.

[DUyellow]

3. Read the full article... amazing

"This is not the kind of problem that has either shaken our confidence in the system overall or that of the vote," said Alexandria Registrar Tom Parkins. "There have been far worse problems around the country."

So as long as we don't mess up as bad as others, its okay. What a joke.

[Oreo]

5. Yes... read the whole article

Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.


This is ridiculous but it's not on the actual screen where you choose him... only the summary after.

[DUyellow]

7. I understand that, and i read that.

But what standard do we have, our elections are a joke.

[Renew Deal]

11. His name is shorter than Allen's, so how is it possible?

George Allen
James Webb

[tblue]

13. Webb's name also includes his nickname. Who made that call?

And it is BS that this can't be fixed before election day. We have an entire 2 weeks! How many of us who work at software firms think there's not enough time? If there's a will, there's a way.

[Virginia Dare]

14. It reads "James H. 'Jim' Web"...n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

28. George "Felix" Allen....n/t

[Virginia Dare]

29. ......

:rofl:

[PinkyisBlue]

30. It should read George "macaca" Allen

[babylonsister]

4. How flippin' blatant. Can he post signs in the booths? At this late

date, how can this be fixed?

[diva77]

6. I don't think they should be able to get away with merely posting a scrap

of paper that explains the "glitch" aka DEFECT in the Voting machine. There should be a requirement for a Conflict-of Interest post that explains the political affiliations, lobbyist disclosure, and the political donations of the voting machine company posted in LARGE BOLD TYPE at every precinct and at election headquarters, etc etc.:argh:

[nicknameless]

32. The bigger issue is that they cut off party affiliation. No (D) or (R)

People who don't keep up much with politics, but want to vote a straight Democratic ticket, won't see a (D) or (R) after the names.

[greeneyedboy]

8. definitely grounds for a lawsuit or FEC complaint

[The Count]

9. Butterfly ballot 2006. "Glitch", right?. Yeah, that's the ticket!

I thought "Allen" was a longer name than "Webb" but what do I know?
:shrug:

[Lasher]

10. Funny how this type of thing always works against Democrats

I can't think of a single election irregularity that has worked against Republicans. Not one.

[In Truth We Trust]

12. Hand Counted Paper Ballots NOW! ...or Fascism Forever.

[sofa king]

15. What about George Felix 'Macaca' Allen?

Doesn't that fit on the machine?

[DUyellow]

16. HAHAHAHAHA.... HAHAHAHHAHA

[dchill]

19. !

[Recursion]

17. A programmer's perspective of why this is a bad sign

Character strings, like "James H. 'Jim' Webb (D)" or "George 'Macaca' Allen (R)" are the bogeymen of programmers. roughly 3/4ths of security exploits in the wild are based on the mishandling of character strings.

If the FRIGGING FRONT-FACING DISPLAY (which should be the most-audited part of the software) shows signs that programmers didn't *think* about the lengths and boundaries of character strings, that's a horrible sign from a security standpoint.

[DUyellow]

23. As a programmer, that is a very good point

This is a sign of lack of testing which would then probably = lack of planning = lack of documentation = code first, document later = a program with lots and lots of errors.

[Bill Bored]

18. self-delete nt

[Bill Bored]

20. OK, I've got something to say now....

...if you think this is bad, wait until you see the name on the RESULTS REPORTS! If Webb wins, it will be the other guy's!

[cui bono]

22. maybe you should've thought about your response for a couple more hours...

:sarcasm:

:hi:

[autorank]

24. Well, they can just throw the damn machines out and use paper.

This is an ourrage. I can't even comment its so pathetic.

[nicknameless]

25. MORE IMPORTANT -- The (D) and the (R) are CUT OFF !

More rethug attempts to hide their party affiliation?
Many people plan to vote a straight Democratic ticket, but Webb's "D" doesn't show up on the ballot.

Excerpt:

Even if candidates' full names appear, as is the case with Webb's Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. George F. Allen,
their party affiliations have been cut off.

Oh yeah, and somehow Allen's name isn't chopped.

[sandrakae]

26. How the fuck can JIm Webb be considered a long name?

This is infuckingexusable.

[tblue37]

27. Notice this, too:

Every candidate on Alexandria's summary page has been affected in some way by the glitch. Even if candidates' full names appear, as is the case with Webb's Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. George F. Allen, their party affiliations have been cut off.

SInce many people, including Republicans, want to "throw the bums out," not having that "R" next to his name is probab;y going to work in Allen's favor, too.

[aggiesal]

31. Jim Webb only takes up 8 character spaces ...

This is an extremely short name by most standards.
Even James Webb only takes up 10 characters.
My last name alone takes up 10 characters.

His opponent George Allen takes up 12 characters,
yet his name is not cut off?

This is Horse Sh_t!!!

[Generic Brad]

33. How stupid are they that they can't change the font size?

A frigging kindergartner could do that!