Local: BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU VOTE! (Updated)
I don’t mind waiting 45 minutes to get into the booth. But I do mind having to use this funky system that requires use of a dial that resembles a “See and Say” toy.
This device nearly ruined my vote in the presidential race.
I cast my vote for Obama and Biden and moved on, casting my votes for other races in exactly the same way.
When I got to the end of the process, I start to cast my ballot and notice that my choice for president is … no choice. And the entire list was in small print and a barely noticed it in time. Fortunately, I was allowed to go back and cast my vote AGAIN. That time it took. At least, I think so. How can one tell with electronic voting?
Feh.
UPDATED: This little post got picked up by this site, suggesting there’s some fraud going on. Folk, I know Tom Bride, the guy who runs things at the election commission. He’s an honorable guy. I’m sure this is a glitch. And THAT is my beef with these machines is that they are capable of making mistakes no one would notice.
Tags: fraud, obama, voting
I hear that! I voted in the 12th precinct (lines weren’t too bad at all, at least not at 8:00 AM). I voted party line across the board, but when I got to the final confirmation page I noticed that my vote for State Rep had been flipped.
I think the dial system is a complete joke. I’m certain the poll workers know who 90% of the voters chose because about that percentage needed help using the system. The directions were ridiculously verbose (thanks in part to the Constitutional Congress vote) and in general very confusing.
Not sure if I hit the wrong button or what, but it felt very dirty…
Also because of the little booths you’re in to maintain privacy (which is good), it’s TOO DAMNED DARK to read what your little paper says, which is BAD. I don’t even wear glasses and I had a hell of a time making out my paper vote to be sure it was correct. Last time, I recall, I couldn’t read it at all because the light was so poor. I can’t imagine how TOTALLY ILLEGIBLE it must be for people with even minor vision problems, let alone older people who hate these damn machines anyway.
They should have magnifiers and flashlights available so you can read the paper to see if your vote is right. This is ridiculous.
I’m surprised tech savvy people like yourselves are complaining. I only voted on the machines once before moving to Tazewell County. I liked those machines and miss them. I thought it was easier to read since you only see one race at a time.
I was given a black marker and a piece of paper. Simple and easy!
[...] A vote for Obama nearly disappeared in Peoria, IL. [...]
I am very glad to have waited in line. This is how it should be and is in many countries where the vote is only recently allowed.
and Billy, your first ballot might have been divine intervention..haha
God doesn’t commit voter fraud, Paul. Shame on you.
I don’t mean to disparage your ability to use simple electronics, but my three year old helped me vote and she didn’t have any trouble using the dial correctly.
Ms. PH: Your young one obviously is more familiar with the operation of a “See and Say” toy than I am.
Never had a problem with the dial knob machines. You get to review your choices twice…. once onscreen and once on the printed paper. You have ample opportunity to correct it if the machine buggers. If it is buggered the folks running the place ought to be told.
I hate to tell you this but See and Say toys haven’t been popular for about 20 years. And, they didn’t run by turning a dial. They had pull strings (now they have pull levers). So, if you were trying to vote using the See and Say method, it is no wonder you had a problem.
“Cast Vote” button is just like “Submit Comment” button. What could be easier?
[...] some polling places  » Voting going well, officials say; minor glitches here and there  » Local: BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU VOTE!  » Mid-Election Day Links  » Obama Gets Last Word In [...]
Just voted, small line with a 5 minute wait. The machine was simple and gee, after using a computer all these years, highlighting a choice and pressing ENTER seemed simple enough. Guess some people need an 8×10 and a crayon. lol
pssst… Billy, I had a teensy bit of trouble figuring it out as well.
I forgot my reading glasses. I didn’t have trouble using the dial, but I have no idea if what I saw on the screen matched the paper ballot. The print was tiny, the ink faint.
I really liked the optical scan method. It just made sense visually and mechanically.
45 min wait at 6:00pm in north Peoria. Things said by workers, “We aren’t reading names anymore, the pollwatchers left.” “The first 4 pages are about changing the constitution, so if you don’t want to do that you can save some time.” I am sure they meant well, but it was totally inappropriate. Also no sheet with the new con con language being handed out or posted.
Looking at the City and County returns for Peoria, I see 1.68% (YMMV since not all precincts reported at this writing) of ballots cast had NO vote for POTUS.
So I don’t think you were alone with that problem.
However, considering how careful you are (or are not) with this blog (spelling is an indicator) it isn’t a surprise you had some difficulty.
What did surprise me was the number of people passing on the Schock/Callahan, Krupa/Gordon, LaHood/Lyons elections. Undervotes are running 4%-7% on those races in Peoria City/County.
18th District is being called for Schock now with a margin in excess of 21%. That means Sheldon pulled ~3%.