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Swing States Will Face Voting Glitches: Report

Feds failed to notify officials of ballot machine failures

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 19, 2008 8:46 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Little has been done to fix voting problems in some key states over the last few years, and voters in those states could have problems at the polls in November, CNN reports. Ten swing states—including Florida and Ohio—are likely to face voting day snarls, including shortages of voting machines, glitches with electronic registration poll books, and not enough provisional ballots on hand for voters who hit snafus.

There is a "very good chance, with all of the new voters that we are going to see this year, that there will be a big demand for the use of provisional ballots," says one voting advocate. "And yet I see nothing, except in one of the 10 states, that the states are doing to ensure that there will be enough provisional ballots on hand so that they don't run out of them."

Kathi Payne, left, electronic analyst and Kari Verjil, elections director for Riverside County, Calif. pose with thousands of mothballed touch-screen voting machines.
Kathi Payne, left, electronic analyst and Kari Verjil, elections director for Riverside County, Calif. pose with thousands of mothballed touch-screen voting machines.   (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A voting machine that wouldn't function sits near a line of people waiting to vote in the presidential primary on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008 in Nashville, Tenn.
A voting machine that wouldn't function sits near a line of people waiting to vote in the presidential primary on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008 in Nashville, Tenn.   (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Florida voters go to the polls.
Florida voters go to the polls.   (Getty Images)
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Officials brace for election day mess
Washington Post

Report: Colorado likely to face problems
Rocky Mountain News

The report on potential swing state voting problems
Century Foundation

State-by-state breakdown of poll readiness
Common Cause

 
voting • ballots • touch-screen voting • voting irregularities • election • electronic voting • voting machines • swing states

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