Arkansas Blog

Ours are working fine. Perhaps we are more intelligent over here in these old Ouachita Mountains. But that's a secret state wide.....

Sorry, Cato, but Garland County is IN the Ouachita Mountains.

I went to vote this morning in that hotbed of progressive politics Faulkner County. I failed to notice until I was finished that the printer on the machine wasn't recording anything on the paper spool. When I asked an election official about it, she said, "Oh, that's alright-- I'm sure it recorded your vote in the electronic record." I said, "Well, maybe-- who's to know? Isn't that the whole point of the paper record?" She just smiled as if to say, "Please stop asking questions and just go away." I don't know what to do except file a complaint with the election commissioner.

These electronic machines are deplorable. If they aren't rife with corrupt vote-doctoring, they're at least prone to malfunction. I tried to tell Charlie Daniels that many months ago, but he and/or his staff/kin didn't seem to care.

I voted electronically this morning. The paper tape was working fine on my machine, for what it's worth. It could still be writing one thing on the paper and recording a different thing in it's electronic record. As Neuroglider said, who's to know?

Mr. Bahls, I know, but on the outer fringes. Thay hain't got no mountains compared to us'ns over hare. In fact, they have decent highways, which mountain folks don't have, unless you live in the Republican mountains of NW Arkansas. We still have bridges on Highway 71 (this area's main highway) that were built in 1935. Gets exciting when you meet a log truck, or Tyson's/Wal-Mart/chicken/feed trucks on 'em at the same time. And our highway commissioner is Mrs. Prissy Hickerson, the sorriest commissioner our district has ever had. Sure glad she was in the Huckster's SS class so she could get the appointment.

In my area it's all paper ballots. The election officials sent the machines back in disgust.

Cartoon....click on Cato

Whats to say the previous machines weren't counting votes one way visually and another way when downloaded?

There was nothing to the voter to prove the Tip Switch Machines really recorded the switch you pulled?

There was nothing to the voter to prove the ARROW filing ballot really cast the vote for Sheffield didn't actually record for Bill.

There were no issues on the machine I used yesterday. The selection I made checked correctly, the paper recorded the selection which appeared on the screen.

Only ballots not counted will be the ones that aren't cast.

Vote or Don't Vote. You Decide.

With the optical scanned paper ballots, there is a paper ballot to be recounted manually if necessary, and they don't have hanging chads.

I remember Diebold CEO vow to get Bush elected with any means possible and that the CEO of ES&S is his brother-in-law. CCRRR say paranoid, I say anyone who trusts a Republican associated with the Bush Administration is a dupe.

What's the deal? I voted by machine 20 years ago in Missouri, and trusted that my votes would be counted right.
Now it seems too risky, so I am voting early by paper ballot.
And I am leery about that as well, because the paper ballots are counted by a machine.
Exit polls should be watched carefully.