‘Calibration Issue’ Pops Up On Maryland Voting Machines
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| AP file photo via WatchDog BUSTED? Voting machines in Maryland are moving Republican votes to the Democrats’ column. |
“When I first selected my candidate on the electronic machine, it would not put the ‘x’ on the candidate I chose — a Republican — but it would put the ‘x’ on the Democrat candidate above it,” Donna Hamilton said.
“This happened multiple times with multiple selections. Every time my choice flipped from Republican to Democrat. Sometimes it required four or five tries to get the ‘x’ to stay on my real selection,” the Frederick, Md., resident said last week.
Queen Anne County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said he encountered the problem, too, personally.
“This is happening here as well. It occurred on two candidates on my machine. I am glad I checked. Many voters have reported this here as well,” Hofmann, a Republican, wrote in an email Sunday evening.
Two other Maryland voters reported the same in Anne Arundel County on Friday.
A similar vote switch turned up in Chicago earlier last week.
Illinois Republican state representative candidate Jim Moynihan went to the Schaumburg Public Library last Monday to vote for himself. “Instead, it cast the vote for my opponent,” Moynihan told Watchdog.org.
“You could imagine my surprise as the same thing happened with a number of races when I tried to vote for a Republican and the machine registered a vote for a Democrat,” Moynihan said.
He notified the election judge at his polling place and demonstrated that it continued to cast a vote for the opposing candidate’s party. Moynihan was eventually allowed to vote for Republican candidates, including his own race.
Back in Maryland, two voters in Anne Arundel County experienced the same problem: A Diebold touchscreen voting machine switched their Republican votes to Democrats. The voters had to cancel their votes and start over.
Joe Torre, election director in Anne Arundel, called it a “calibration issue” involving a single machine.
Hamilton said she notified officials of the problem she encountered at the Frederick County Center, where she voted. “I’m not sure what was done about it. If someone is not paying close attention, they could end up voting for the wrong candidate,” she said.
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Kenric Ward is a national reporter for Watchdog.org and chief of the Virginia Bureau. He is a veteran journalist who has worked on three Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers. Contact him at (571) 319-9824 or (@Kenricward). Watchdog.org, a project of the Franklin Center, is a hub for the best in investigative journalism and daily state and local news from across the country.
Tags: 2014 elections, voting machine, calibration issue, changing votes, from Republican to Democrat, Fredrick, Maryland, Chicago, Illinois, WatchDog.org To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 2:22 PM - Post Link
3 Comments:
Why is the State Election Commission allowing the use of the 8 To 13 year old, out of calibration machines that can not register correct vote to selected candidates I have a hand held calculator that never makes a mistake....
Now it begins a voter fraud again. Ever since I can remember Democrats have stolen boats manipulated exchange and more. Now they're trying to play on the Spanish or the Mexicans the Mexicans are being brought into this country for the sole purpose of becoming Democrats. And the sad part is about it the Mexicans have no idea what's going on or what's good for them and what's not. Wonder what's going to happen when the Mexicans figure out they've been bought and paid for.
Not surprising, the DemoRats will steal the election if necessary.
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