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Vote glitch reports pile up in US election

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PhysOrg.com:
Voting went smoothly in Tuesday's US elections, except when it didn't. Some computer problems, as well as human ones, drew complaints across the country as millions of Americans went to the polls.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-11-vote-glitch-pile-election.html#jCpVoting went smoothly in Tuesday's US elections, except when it didn't. Some computer problems, as well as human ones, drew complaints across the country as millions of Americans went to the polls.

One Pennsylvania voter highlighted a problem with voting machines on YouTube, complete with video, in which a touchscreen changed his choice from President Barack Obama to Republican Mitt Romney. "I initially selected Obama but Romney was highlighted," the man wrote. "I assumed it was being picky so I deselected Romney and tried Obama again, this time more carefully, and still got Romney."

In Ohio, some Republicans claimed machines were changing Romney votes to Obama, while Democrats accused Republican state officials of installing untested "experimental" software at the last minute. To make matters worse in the crucial swing state, some voting machines were malfunctioning in parts of the Cleveland area, said The Plain Dealer, which quoted election officials as saying ballots would be counted even if scanning machines were down. In New Jersey, a late decision to allow voters displaced by superstorm Sandy to cast ballots by email caused confusion and frustration. "Oh no! email box for Essex County Clerk's box is full. No one can email in their ballots," said a tweet from one resident. Betsy Morais, a writer for The New Yorker, found similar glitches. Her email bounced back. "I tried again, and once more the message failed. It took three tries to get through to the clerk's office by phone. 'Oh, you can just go online to our Web site to find the ballot and fax it in,' I was told. I was confused." Another source of confusion was a last-minute modification, hours before polls opened, stipulating that voters needed to mail in paper ballots as a verification of the email vote. The news website Buzzfeed reported that in two major New Jersey counties, email addresses advertised on the county clerk's website were down, and that one county clerk posted his hotmail address on Facebook for voters.

One Pennsylvania voter highlighted a problem with voting machines on YouTube, complete with video, in which a touchscreen changed his choice from President Barack Obama to Republican Mitt Romney. "I initially selected Obama but Romney was highlighted," the man wrote. "I assumed it was being picky so I deselected Romney and tried Obama again, this time more carefully, and still got Romney."

In Ohio, some Republicans claimed machines were changing Romney votes to Obama, while Democrats accused Republican state officials of installing untested "experimental" software at the last minute. To make matters worse in the crucial swing state, some voting machines were malfunctioning in parts of the Cleveland area, said The Plain Dealer, which quoted election officials as saying ballots would be counted even if scanning machines were down. In New Jersey, a late decision to allow voters displaced by superstorm Sandy to cast ballots by email caused confusion and frustration. "Oh no! email box for Essex County Clerk's box is full. No one can email in their ballots," said a tweet from one resident. Betsy Morais, a writer for The New Yorker, found similar glitches. Her email bounced back. "I tried again, and once more the message failed. It took three tries to get through to the clerk's office by phone. 'Oh, you can just go online to our Web site to find the ballot and fax it in,' I was told. I was confused."

Another source of confusion was a last-minute modification, hours before polls opened, stipulating that voters needed to mail in paper ballots as a verification of the email vote. The news website Buzzfeed reported that in two major New Jersey counties, email addresses advertised on the county clerk's website were down, and that one county clerk posted his hotmail address on Facebook for voters.




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