Disturbing, Developing: North Carolina and Ohio Machines Turning Romney Votes Into Obama Votes
Now that we’ve had the same problem in both North Carolina and Ohio, clearly there is a national problem with these machines, and it looks like if voters themselves don’t catch it, it’s not gonna get caught. Also, why is the calibration such that the votes are going to Obama? We’ve had reports in two different states of this happening a few times, and with each report, the machine gave the vote to Obama. Disturbing that the mistake only happens in favor of the incumbent. Who owns and calibrates these machines?
Excerpted from The Marion Star: Joan Stevens was one of several early voters at the polls on Monday. But when Stevens tried to cast her ballot for president, she noticed a problem.
Upon selecting “Mitt Romney” on the electronic touch screen, Barack Obama’s name lit up.
It took Stevens three tries before her selection was accurately recorded.
“You want to vote for who you want to vote for, and when you can’t it’s irritating,” Stevens said.
Stevens said she alerted Jackie Smith, a board of elections member who was present. Smith declined to comment, but Stevens says she mentioned that the machine had been having problems all day.
Stevens also reported the issue to Sophia Rogers, the director of the board of elections for Marion County.
Rogers said the machine worked fine when she and others tried voting on it. No one else had reported problems with the voting machines malfunctioning.
Rogers suggested the issue may have been caused by not hitting the button directly or tapping with more than one finger. Stevens was aware the machine had to be operated a certain way.
“I know how to do the voting,” Stevens said.
Despite no problems with that particular machine, Rogers decided to take all precautions. She contacted the vendor and had them inspect the device.
Links to Electronic Voting Machine Fraud here
GREENSBORO, N.C. –The presidential election is just around the corner and voting issues have already become a problem in Guilford County.
On Monday, several voters complained that their electronic ballot machine cast the wrong vote. All the complaints were made by people who voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location.
One of the voters, Sher Coromalis, says she cast her ballot for Governor Mitt Romney, but every time she entered her vote the machine defaulted to President Obama.
“I was so upset that this could happen,” said Coromalis.
Guilford County Board of Elections Director George Gilbert says the problem arises every election. It can be resolved after the machine is re-calibrated by poll workers.
“It’s not a conspiracy it’s just a machine that needs to be corrected,” Gilbert said.
After the third try, Coromalis says she was able to get her vote counted for Gov. Romney but was still annoyed.
“I should have just mailed it in,” Coromalis said.
Marie Haydock, who also voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location, had the same problem.
“The frustration is… every vote counts,” said Haydock.
Elections officials say the machines have been fixed as of Tuesday, and no problems have been reported since.
Early voting ends November 3.
More voting problems reported in Jamestown, Pleasant Garden
Posted on: 7:54 pm, October 24, 2012, by Scott Gustin, Brandon Jones and Charlie Glancy, updated on: 10:14pm, October 24, 2012
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Once again, several voters in Guilford County are claiming the electronic voting machines are getting their votes wrong.
Now, some voters are concerned about polling locations in Jamestown and Pleasant Garden.
On Tuesday, voters who cast their ballots at the Bur-Mil Park polling location said when they attempted to vote for Mitt Romney the machine chose Barack Obama.
Similar problems have been reported in Jamestown and Pleasant Garden.
Faurest Stum says she voted at the Pleasant Garden Town Hall location. Her vote was for Mitt Romney, but the machine cast the vote for Barack Obama.
“I thought this might be a one-time glitch in the machine. I had no idea this might be happening somewhere else. This is when I called (FOX8) and said this needs to stop,” said Stum.
Guilford County Board of Elections Director George Gilbert says the problem is the machines needed to be re-calibrated.
Election officials say once the machines are rebooted, a new screen appears along with a new ballot.
“If you have calibration issues, it’s not systematically one way or another. It can go either way – and it has,” said Gilbert.
Gilbert says the machines are checked every morning and this problem isn’t unusual. The same issues were reported during the 2008 Presidential Election as well.
A sign that reads “ATTENTION! Review selections at the end of your ballot!” is posted inside the polling locations.
All of the voters who complained were able to get their vote corrected.
As of now, there are no plans to change the way voters will cast their ballots.
“To all those people that haven’t voted yet, encourage them to review their ballot before they cast their vote,” said Gilbert.
Guilford County switched to touchscreen in 1994. The electronic machines were purchased in 2006 from Electronic Systems Software.
No additional problems were reported on Wednesday.
So far, more than 930,000 people have cast their ballot in North Carolina, 12 percent of the states registered voters.
Early voting ends on November 3.