Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Election A Bipartisan Post About Election Day Panic
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 10:53 AM
Democrats: Are you super-scared about voter fraud yet? Here, via Wonkette, is a bit of terrifying voter fraud porn that's circulating the internet this morning showing a voting machine that refuses to let you vote for President Obama:
It's probably just a busted touch screen, but I bet some of you are still hyperventilating!
Republicans: Are you super-scared about black people yet? Here, also via Wonkette, is a bit of scary Fox News video showing a black guy standing in front of a polling place, opening doors for people and wishing them a good morning. Terrifying footage below:
Black people holding doors open for white people? What's next—race war?
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"This doesn't happen in America. Maybe Ohio, but not America."
–Homer Simpson, after being thwarted by an electronic voting machine in his attempt to vote for Barack Obama
–Homer Simpson, after being thwarted by an electronic voting machine in his attempt to vote for Barack Obama
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Meanwhile in NC, you've got idiots like this guy driving around town with a flatbed truck with lynched likenesses of President Obama and other prominent Democrats. He also parked it across the street from an early polling site this past weekend.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?sectio…
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?sectio…
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Silly. Just keep playing with the interface until your selection activates (which is what he/she did). Are we worried about the humans who are interacting with a ballot now? That they'll just assume their choice isn't an option all of a sudden and vote for someone else? Give people some credit. And if they can't figure it out or get it resolved by someone it's their own fault.
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@3:
Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Senior Staff Technologist at the Center for Democracy & Technology, says:
Joseph Lorenzo Hall, Senior Staff Technologist at the Center for Democracy & Technology, says:
"It's a concern but not because of fraud... that's an obviously miscalibrated iVotronic (ES&S) voting machine... we would recommend that poll workers would recalibrate the machine and everything would be fine. Also, with some models of voting system if you place a thumb on accident while resting on the machine it can "bias" the calibration of the touchscreen up towards the errant thumb. That could be happening to, if it's only for this one voter."
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"This is a great, great day in America."
Oh, so you voted for Obama, then? Because I bet your empty-headed host and his equally inflatable companions won't be saying the same tomorrow morning.
Oh, so you voted for Obama, then? Because I bet your empty-headed host and his equally inflatable companions won't be saying the same tomorrow morning.
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@5,
At what point in the video did his choice get selected? Oh right, it didn't. And, in fact, the polling place was forced to take that machine offline.
P.S. Fuck off.
At what point in the video did his choice get selected? Oh right, it didn't. And, in fact, the polling place was forced to take that machine offline.
P.S. Fuck off.
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@7, it's not a calibration error, as the video explains. He tried touching different places to see if the Obama line would light up. It didn't; when he touched Jill Stein's name, the same distance below Obama's name that Obama's was below Romney's, Stein's name lit up. The ONLY name that wouldn't respond correctly was Obama's.
As for the other video, I'm confused. Black people, allowed in a polling place? Since when? Sorry, I've been asleep for fifty years, did I miss anything? How's Strom Thurmond doing in the polls?
As for the other video, I'm confused. Black people, allowed in a polling place? Since when? Sorry, I've been asleep for fifty years, did I miss anything? How's Strom Thurmond doing in the polls?
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@10 Did he ever press below Obama to see if that would make Obama light up in the same fashion that pressing below Romney did? Oh right, he didn't. So we don't know if it was a miscalibrated screen or not. Chill the fuck out.
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@12: "I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine."
I know it's tough being expected to watch a thing, AND THEN read another thing, but please do try to keep up.
I know it's tough being expected to watch a thing, AND THEN read another thing, but please do try to keep up.
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@9 is right. Plenty of real, actual 'fraud' happening. This is a distraction of giant hypothetical conspiracy theory.
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"It looks like he's standing at parade rest... he's in some kind of semi-military pose..."
or if he were white: Standing!
But these guys aren't racist.... NOOOOO......
or if he were white: Standing!
But these guys aren't racist.... NOOOOO......
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If it was intentional, i wouldn't make sense to introduce a visual cue (highlighting the name) that the voter made the wrong choice.
The obvious strategy for a dishonest hacker would be just to count some percentage of votes to Obama to some other candidate in the back end, leaving the voter none the wiser.
So yeah, bad programming. Not malice.
The obvious strategy for a dishonest hacker would be just to count some percentage of votes to Obama to some other candidate in the back end, leaving the voter none the wiser.
So yeah, bad programming. Not malice.
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