Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
Today was as busy as expected but most of the reports of problems are minor. Turnout in Ohio was high even though the weather did not support people going to the polls. Power outages were reported in different areas but no mention was made of any occasion where voting changed to paper ballots during the outages. Flooding in some counties forced the moving of some poll sites and added an hour on to the polling time in ten counties. There were problems with Diebold TSx memory card programming that left races off of the ballot in two counties. There was also a complaint from the GOP in Cuyahoga Co that only Democratic poll workers were involved in the SOS mandated mid-day pickup of ballots from polling sites. In Texas, turnout was high and there were some concerns about whether some counties had enough ballots for voters. Rhode Island also reported high turnout. If everything works out as normal tomorrow will be another big news day and it will probably feature more reports of system failures. I hope I am wrong and that all of the counting goes well but history tells us there will be problems. Time will tell.
Today’s stories are all linked below…
- NAtional: Do You Want the Military Industrial Complex Counting Your Votes?
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_ze_080304_do_you_want_the_mili.htm - NAtional: State Use of Remaining HAVA Funds For New Voting Systems: A Reasonable Option
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 - CA: Los Angeles County – Election officials make it count
`Double-bubble’ figures won’t alter results of primary
http://www2.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_8443963 - CA: Los Angeles County – L.A. County Registrar Chooses to Disenfranchise 12,000 Voters in Final ‘Double Bubble’ Ballot Tally
https://bradblog.com/?p=5763 - CA: Los Angeles County – Most double-bubble votes now counted
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vote5mar05,1,5078401.story?ctrack=1&cset=true - CO: Lawmakers postpone vote on bill requiring paper ballots
http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7960183 - CO: Clerks against plan to use paper ballots
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=87467 - CO: Lack of funding for paper-ballot elections snags bill
http://www.gazette.com/articles/county_33818___article.html/bill_machines.html - CO: Lawmakers postpone vote on bill requiring paper ballots
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20080303/NEWS/877851080 - CO: Paper vote foes speak up
Proposal could cost $15 million, counties say
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/04/paper-vote-foes-speak-up/ - CO: Punching holes in paper ballots
Foes claim a state bill isn’t needed since most machines have been recertified.
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_8442934 - CO: Coffman recertifies more counting machines
http://kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7964153 - CO: Pueblo County – Requiring Paper Ballot Election Will Cost Counties
http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7960986 - CT: Susan Bysiewicz: LHS Invented Our Voting Machines
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=166 - HI: State sticks with voting machine contract
http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=14083 - IA: New plan: State would pay for voting machines
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080304/NEWS/80304027/-1/BUSINESS04 - IL: Du Page County — The Empire Strikes Back!
Sun-Times Group falls for GOP disinformation
http://www.ballot-integrity.net/docs/DuPage_Release_3-3-2008.pdf - IN: Vanderburgh County – Planning local primary
If turnout massive, officials will be ready
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/mar/04/planning-local-primary/ - MS: Voter reform bill headed to House
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/local_story_063223753.html - NJ: Mercer clerk calls for voting probe
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1204608966194610.xml&coll=1 - OH: Voters get jump-start on primary election
Thousands of voters have taken advantage of a change in the law to cast absentee ballots ahead of time
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/03/03/ddn030408elections.html - OH: Waiting game
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19355372&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21849&rfi=6 - OH: Record Turnout Expected in Ohio Primary
http://www.alternet.org/democracy/78558/ - OH: Ohio’s Primary: What Will Go Wrong?
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/2008/03/ohios-primary-what-will-go-wrong.html - OH: Bomb scare, power outage stalls vote temporarily in Lake County
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/03/bomb_scare_power_outage_stalls.html - OH: Little interest in paper ballots in some precincts, voting goes smoothly
http://blog.dispatch.com/primary/2008/03/little_interest_in_paper_ballo.shtml - OH: Flooding prompts Ohio to extend primary voting in one county
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/04/court-order-calls-for-provisional-ballots-in-one-ohio-county/ - OH: Flooding prompts Brunner to get court orders
http://blog.dispatch.com/primary/2008/03/flooding_prompts_brunner_to_ge.shtml - OH: Ohio voting: steady with a few minor problems
http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080304/UPDATES01/80304016/1002/ - OH: Voting continues in Lexington despite power outage
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080304/UPDATES01/80304015 - OH: Few Voting Problems Emerge, Even in Ohio
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Mar04/0,4670,PrimariesVotingProblems,00.html - OH: Ohio voting system debuts amid pressure
State, especially Cleveland, under close scrutiny for past election problems
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23471705/ - OH: Belmont County – Ballots Creating Some Confusion
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/506638.html?nav=515 - OH: Cuyahoga County – Ohio, especially Cleveland, under scrutiny for voting problems
http://www.ohio.com/news/ap?articleID=420961&c=y - OH: Cuyahoga County – Absentee voter turnout indicates lines will be long today
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1204623095137820.xml&coll=2 - OH: Cuyahoga County – Questions mounting about ballot stubs
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/03/questions_mounting_about_ballo.html - OH: Cuyahoga County – Ohio GOP Complains About Democrat-Controlled Ballot Pick-Up
http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/15489566/detail.html - OH: Cuyahoga County – GOP questions Cuyahoga County ballot pickups
http://blog.dispatch.com/primary/2008/03/gop_questions_cuyahoga_county.shtml - OH: Darke County – Voters Turn Out In Near-Record Numbers To Cast Ballot
http://www.whiotv.com/news/15490217/detail.html - OH: Lucas County – Officials see few glitches across Ohio
http://blog.dispatch.com/primary/2008/03/officials_see_few_glitches_acr.shtml - OH: Montgomery County – Reports Emerge of Diebold Failures in Montgomery County, Ohio
’40-50 People in Line…4 of 8 Machines Not Working…Poll Workers Didn’t Offer Paper Ballots…Get Rid of These Diebold Machines and Get Something That Works!,’ Declares one Buckeye Voter
https://bradblog.com/?p=5764 - OH: Putnam County – Voting underway
http://putnamsentinel.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=2591&TM=29241.68 - OH: Sandusky County – Sandusky County Runs Out of Ballots
http://www.myfoxtoledo.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=5938354&version=7&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1 - OH: Stark County – Power outages didn’t compromise electronic voting machines
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=9&ID=402065&subCategoryID=31 - OH: Tuscarawas County – Voters line up to exercise their right
http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=80725&r=0 - OH: Union County – Paper-ballot flap doesn’t impede voting in Union County
http://blog.dispatch.com/primary/2008/03/paperballot_flap_doesnt_impede.shtml - PA: It’s Paper Ballots for Lackawanna County Voters
http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=7964626 - RI: Primary: Voter turnout strong, some problems reported
http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo-20080204-primary.2006b2d7.html - RI: Nation’s Eyes on R.I. during Primary
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=2cff0669-030a-40e2-9942-b9922f69dc1f - TX: Voter turnout ‘steady’ in El Paso
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_8449508 - TX: Williamson County – Williamson Democratic ballots running low
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/election/entries/2008/03/04/williamson_democratic_ballots_running_low.html
**”Daily Voting News” is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in “Daily Voting News” may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or BradBlog.Com**
I voted twice in this election 😉 and will vote once more in November.
The primary was yesterday, and so was the caucus, later on after the primary polls closed.
The primary vote was on paper ballots, using a HART machine to record the votes.
The caucus vote was on paper and in public, where one confirms the caucus vote.
The caucus makes no sense to people who have faith in the electronic voting machines, but to those of us who are not of that faith there is at least one thread of sense in it.
It can be seen as a double check on the machines. And I noticed this morning, that in Texas where I voted, there is a significant discrepancy between the primary vote results and the caucus vote results.
Sorry, but after going thru the caucus, I think it is more likely to be the accurate one, at least in the county where I voted.
Food for thought.
Ohio just did for HRC what it did for Bush in 2004.
Bush’s vote share exceeded his “pristine” exit poll share by 5% (from 46% to 51%).
And Hillary’s vote share also exceeded the exit poll by 5% (from 51% to 56%).
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/
Tommy Heinrich was a NY Yankee baseball player. His nickname was “old reliable”.
Know this: Ohio will surely become “old reliable” for John McCain.
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Calculate the probability of a 5% Hillary-shift using the Excel normal distribution function:
Assuming a 2% margin of error, it’s 1 in 2 million (.000048%).
0.000048% = normdist (0.51, 0.56, .02/1.96, true)
Assuming a 3% margin of error, it’s 1 in 1800.
Take your pick.
MoE Probability 1 in
2.0% 4.8E-07 2,083,900
2.2% 4.2E-06 237,687
2.4% 2.2E-05 45,027
2.6% 8.2E-05 12,210
2.8% 2.3E-04 4,298
3.0% 5.4E-04 1,838
OHIO EXIT POLL -9PM
Gender
Clinton Obama
Male………41% 47% 52%
Female…….59% 54% 45%
51.1% 47.9%