Voters in most cities and towns across Connecticut go to the polls today. Don’t forget to vote!!!
…But then again, I barely have to tell you that.
Have stories from the polls? Reports about turnout, or about problems with voting machines? Put ‘em here.
28 responses so far ↓
I’m trying to wake myself up enough to hop in the car and make my way down from Boston. I’ll be enthusiastically exercising my democratic right to spend my whole day driving to vote. Have a good one, everybody!
Scanning is physically unfulfilling. The levers had such a permanent feeling: A “chunk” sound. And it is silly to have those legal sized folders that the monitors have to traipse back and forth with for privacy. The older folks who are volunteering as monitors look stunned and afraid.
When the Republican candidates voted, I told them that we had switched the scanner for a shredder. I am a card and ought to be dealt with.
Oh yeah: for the first time in many many years we got I Voted Today stickers in Milford.
[quote post="1154"]Scanning is physically unfulfilling. The levers had such a permanent feeling: A “chunk” sound.[/quote]
I think I’m going to have the feeling of “did I really vote? for a while to come.
I’ll be heading to the polls after work today.
They need a little bell or something to signify that your vote was tabulated. For all I know, they have a paper shredder inside that box!
Trouble already! An old lady ahead of me this morning claimed to have accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan.
Bob, how about a voice that says, “thank you for voting” I would like that.
[quote comment="21940"]Bob, how about a voice that says, “thank you for voting” I would like that.[/quote]
Thank you for coming out to vote today. Your vote is important to us. Please stay in the line. A voting machine will be available shortly. Your vote may be recorded for training purposes.
Presidential candidates rarely stop in Rhode Island for anything but a quick fundraiser.
In a veto message, Carcieri said changing the March 4 primary date so late in the year could create havoc for local voting officials, who did not have a chance to testify about the bill before it passed. His office also released letters from voting officials in more than half of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns who said they opposed a February primary.
Carcieri said he would have supported the legislation if lawmakers acted earlier.
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=30567306-3bfb-4cc6-a332-9a51b016b574
This morning in Waterbury the new machines got off to a shaky start. There were unconfirmed reports of people leaving the polling places without voting because our moderators were very confused. By the time I left my station at 7:40 AM, however, things seemed to be moving faster. At least the people leaving the polls weren’t complaining anymore.
I thought Nelson might have a shot against incumbent Ken Flatto until I just read that Healy plans to stop in Fairfield to give him support. Shit, that’s bad news fro fairfield.
http://ctgop.blogspot.com/2007/11/god-save-republic.html
Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said yesterday that the crime-fighting successes of the disgraced former police commissioner, Bernard B. Kerik, outweighed his legal problems, and added that “if I have the same degree of success and failure as president of the United States, this country will be in great shape.”
Rudy placed the emergency command center in the WTC; Kerik said nothing and people died as a result of that decison. Rudy was a failure and so is Kerik.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06giuliani.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
The polls seemed busy this morning as I voted in Hartford. I ended up choosing I. Charles Mathews. My primary concern is the loss of all the major employers in the last year: ING, Mass Mutual, WFSB, and MetLife. Thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue we are losing. That will affect schools, roads, and services. There are so many vacant lots downtown that are perfect sites for those companies to build new headquarters yet they left. We need to stop the bleeding.
Yes I absolutely agree.
Voting was very unfulfilling – no clink of the lever.
I also did not like that they gave us felt tip pens to use as it specifically says on the back of the ballot to use a pen or pencil to fill in the circle. I hope felt tip markers get picked up by the scanner.
I came away not really feeling sure that my vote would be counted.
How do they know if the scanner scans properly – Do they have people from each party counting the ballots in the scanner box and comparing the numbers on the final receipt tickets from the scanner? (NO.. I am sure they don’t unless there is a recount)
So how can they be sure the scanner scanned properly?
I’m not liking this new process – although I am glad we have paper ballots as proof.
On a bright note – Ron Paul set a fundraising record yesterday Nov 5. Over $4 million via online contributions in one day!
Interesting, mj. I would think that a higher turnout would benefit Mathews, since I assume an energized electorate in Hartford would be looking for change. I could be wrong, though.
Republitarian–there are going to be many random audits of voting machines to make sure they are counting. But again, it’s hard to know for sure unless they audit your particular machine. Before, I had faith in the mechanics of the voting machine, because I could hear something happening when I pulled the lever. This is different.
And I saw that about Ron Paul. Impressive. That, if you’re wondering, is about how much Chris Dodd raised in one of his better quarters.
I had no objection to the lever machines. Was there ever any allegation that the lever machines did anything wrong or that someone had tampered with them? I guess the problem with the lever machines was spare parts.
Not crowded at Ridgefield this morning at 7:30. Not much to vote on either. First selectman will be won by the incumbent Democrat who’s been there for four or five terms now. All the other boards will remain in Republican control (there wasn’t even Democrat opposition to many of them). Double sided ballot with those silly markers and ovals… And instead of all blue haired ladies, there was a nice looking younger blonde woman showing people how to use the new machines.
Hmmmm. To go to the polls, or not?
Once again another meaningless vote in a one-party town.
Will there ever be another election where my vote actually means something?
Probably not.
Sigh…
If it makes everyone feel a little bit better, there is a counter on the scanner that tallies how many people have voted (I was #91 this morning), I proudly watched it go up as my ballot slid in effortlessly. While I do miss the bells and whistles of the old machine, I feel more like my vote was counted watching that number go up. While Ghengis you may have felt more secure with a thud and a bell going off, that was no more proof that your vote was counted than anything else. The machine could have been broken, it likely would have made the same sound you would be none the wiser, at least this way you have a paper trail.
For those that haven’t voted yet and want to hear some sort recognition of there vote, I would suggest kindly asking the election worker to regale you with a series of beeps, it would certainly make for a more entertaining election experience.
[quote post="1154"]While Ghengis you may have felt more secure with a thud and a bell going off, that was no more proof that your vote was counted than anything else.[/quote]
True enough. It’s just what we were all used to, I suppose.
As someone preparing for the LSAT right now, I did not enjoy voting. I filled in the bubbles for the Democratic slate + Republican Ed Pocock for Town Council. Then I slipped my ballot into the mystery box.
I saw a number on the display on the shredder, it said 163. Then when I fed my ballot into the machine, it still said 163. That’s not a counter, is it?
[quote comment="21944"]This morning in Waterbury the new machines got off to a shaky start. There were unconfirmed reports of people leaving the polling places without voting because our moderators were very confused. By the time I left my station at 7:40 AM, however, things seemed to be moving faster. At least the people leaving the polls weren’t complaining anymore.[/quote]
No troubles for me when I voted in Waterbury this morning at Blessed Sacrament. I didn’t pay attention to the counter on the scanner though, but since I voted early (6:15), there was an obvious “thunk” as my ballot fell to the bottom of the shred barrell…er, storage bin.
I agree with all of the other posters who felt a little dissatisfied with the fill-in-the-circle style of voting vs. the lever machines. I liked the levers better as well.
>>Ron Paul set a fundraising record yesterday Nov 5. Over $4 million via online contributions in one day!
Until all the parents realize what their kids have been up to with their “emergency use only” credit cards.
So I read The Journal Inquirer story:
[quote]
After filling out the ballot, voters then line up to have their ballot read by an optical scan machine. The machine can read the ballot whether it is placed face up or face down, though Bysiewicz said election officials recommend the latter to ensure privacy.
[/quote]
and think I’m all ready and go to the polls and…
the ballot is two-sided. How am I supposed to put it face down, Madam Secretary?
One thing about the new machines is they don’t allow over-votes. If you screw up, the machine spits it back out, and you get a do-over!
So no wasted ballots, and a big thumbs up to Susie Bysiewicz for getting things right.
She tried her best to get things wrong, insisting on a touch screen system over the vociferous objections of registrars of voters and democracy advocates, writing her RFP for voting machines to specifically exclude optical scan machines, refusing to listen to or meet with critics, harrassing her opponents (sending a letter to the boss of a professor critical of the new machines), and finally reversing course when the opposition became overwhelming and when it became clear that her chosen vendor couldn’t meet the requirements of the contract. It’s a pattern with her. Take the wrong stance until it becomes totally politically unviable, then take credit for your smart decisions when you’re forced to reverse yourself.
[quote comment="21968"]One thing about the new machines is they don’t allow over-votes. If you screw up, the machine spits it back out, and you get a do-over!
So no wasted ballots, and a big thumbs up to Susie Bysiewicz for getting things right.[/quote]
But apparently, you cannot refer to your old ballot when completing your new one.
When one voter was leaving the polls, she was thanked by a friendly campaign volunteer who said, “Thank you for voting,” she replied, “I DIDN’T VOTE” and told the story of having her ballot rejected and then not being allowed to refer to it to fill out the new one. So she just threw in the towel and left. I understand why, I guess, but it seems like there ought to be a reasonable way to prevent fraud while enabling someone to refer to the old ballot.
Consider Observing the Public Post-Election Audits (0.00 / 0)
Four Groups Organizing Citizens To Observe Post-Election Audits:
Today the Connecticut Citizen Audit Coalition announced a program to organize citizens to observe the post-election audits following the November election. The coalition members are the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, Common Cause Connecticut, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and CTVotersCount.
Info our Sign-up at: http://www.CTElectionAudit.org
More on Diebold’s recent bull here: http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=91
and here http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=87
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