Don't vote straight ticket
It's a trap. Just one more way to steal your vote.
To be fair, the poll workers at my voting place were explaining that to people, but I live in a small town and it wasn't busy. I doubt they always have time to do so, especially on election day itself. Who knows if they ever have time to instruct in the big cities. I hear the lines have been long already for early voting.
Protect the vote. Please pass this link along, especially to people who live in these states. [via Avedon]
[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]
THE PROBLEM: "Straight party voting" on voting machines is revealing a bad pattern of miscounting and omitting your vote, especially if you are a Democrat. Most recently (Oct. 2008), a firm called Automated Election Services was found to have miscoded the system in heavily Democratic Santa Fe County, New Mexico such that straight party voters would not have their presidential votes counted.Here in North Carolina, they designed the ballot with a straight ticket option and the trick is, if you use it, it covers all the partisan races except it doesn't include the vote for president. You still have to fill out that oval or it will be counted as non-vote in that category. The instructions for this on the ballot are written in tiny little type that I could barely read and the disclaimer is at the very bottom of the box. I doubt most people would read that far, even if they have better eyesight than me.
States with the straight ticket option are Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
To be fair, the poll workers at my voting place were explaining that to people, but I live in a small town and it wasn't busy. I doubt they always have time to do so, especially on election day itself. Who knows if they ever have time to instruct in the big cities. I hear the lines have been long already for early voting.
Protect the vote. Please pass this link along, especially to people who live in these states. [via Avedon]
[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]
Labels: Election 08, voting
posted by Libby Spencer at 1:50 PM
3 Comments:
I just e-mailed this article to the Detroit Free Press political reporters and to the Michigan Secretary of State. I don't think we use this company's machines in Michigan but it is definitely good to spread the word. Hopefully, someone in NM has contacted their local press and a newspaper article about this is published soon!
Make sure to get this out everywhere, and I will try too, thanks!
tyrannogenius
Bill, that was a great idea. Anyway we can get the word out is good. I also encourage you to tell people so the word gets out on the street to people who are going to vote. The best protection is not to use the option.
Tyran, thanks. I'm passing it on everywhere I can.
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