Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Barack Osama?

After the many mishaps and revotes during the 2000 election, one can only wonder what will happen this time around. Will the infamous swing state Florida extend the election past Nov. 4?

According to MTV News, there are many presidential voting time bombs a ticking.

Photo credit: Albany Times Union Newspaper



1. 'BARACK OSAMA' printed on 300 absentee ballots

Problem: This Freudian slip has been blurted out one too many times, but this error in upstate New York was actually printed on ballots sent to voters in Rensselar County stating that Barack Obama's last name was
'Osama.' As if many aren't already second guessing Obama's alleged connections to terrorism...

Potential Nightmare: New ballots will be issued as they were to the affected voters in New York. However, the original ballot went through three proofreaders and still had the mistake.



2. Computer Errors

Problem: The systematic flaws in the electronic voting machines from the 2004 presidential election interferred with results. A study by Common Cause says the machines may still be faulty in many states.


Potential Nightmare
: The voting machines are in 24 states, but eight don't have a requirement to stock emergency paper ballots if the machine fails. In 10 states, there is no guarantee that every vote will be counted.



3. Voters ineligible to vote, failed to check box

Problem: More than 6,400
Colorado voters didn't check a box on their registration forms when they registered without a state ID or driver's license, which renders them ineligible to vote. Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman is enforcing that the box be checked to be a complete form. However, many voters are saying that they received information stating the box didn't need to be checked.

Potential Nightmare: Registration forms need to be resubmitted before Nov. 4 with the box checked this time. Also, the confusion between checked or not checked may erase votes altogether.




Read the full article at MTV News.

2 comments:

Jackie said...

Meriah,

I compiled information from various publications, including MTV News, to construct some of the voting day mishaps.

Photo linking to local website.

katherine said...

No one said the democratic process was perfect, but Barack Osama and sketchy voting machine bode poorly for the election.