| Austin Voter Finds Vote Switched from Democratic to Republican | |||
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| Netlore Archive: Email flier reports the experience of an Austin, Texas woman who did a final check of her ballot after voting a straight Democratic ticket and found her choice for president changed from Kerry to Bush | |||
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Email example contributed by T. Green, 24 October 2004:
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Subject: check your ballot This came from an acquaintance: Yesterday a friend voted early at a polling location in Austin. She voted straight Democratic. When she did the final check, lo and behold every vote was for the Democratic candidates except that it showed that she had voted for Bush/Cheney for president/vice pres. She immediately got a poll official. On her vote, it was corrected. She called the Travis County Democratic headquarters. They took all her information. They told her that she wasn't the first to report a similar incident and that they are looking into it. So, check before you leave the polling booth, and if anything is wrong, get it corrected immediately. Report any irregularities to your local Democratic headquarters. |
Comments: It's true that some early voters in Travis County, Texas have reported finding their Democratic votes inexplicably changed to Republican upon double-checking their completed electronic ballots, but the implication that this is the result of some sort of partisan chicanery is false.
According to the Travis County Clerk's office, the glitch is the result of voters not scrolling down to catch the final referendum at the bottom of the ballot before hitting "Enter," which causes a switch — a "flip-flop," if you will — from their original presidential selection to its opposite, an error which is easy to correct so long as voters make sure to examine their ballot summary page carefully before making their final submission.
Sources and further reading:
Voter Oversight Causing Problems in Travis County
Associated Press, 22 October 2004ALERT: Explanation of Straight Demo Voting in Travis County
Travis County Democratic PartyTravis County Assures Voters Machines Work
KXAN-TV News, 22 October 2004County Responds to Voting Machine Problems
Austin Chronicle, 22 October 2004States Report Early E-Voting Glitches
Computerworld, 27 October 2004
Last updated: 11/01/04
