Kakki wrote:
But I'm curious - I heard the other day that people in Oregon all vote by
mail (and that's the reason given as to why it took longer than most other
states to tally the results). If you vote by mail, do you still punch out
holes in the ballot? I assumed you marked off the choices another way.>>
Kakki, I don't live in Oregon myself, but directly across the Columbia
river, the state border between OR and WA, in Vancouver WA. (I voted, by
machine, in a booth, at the polling place in Vanc WA where I'm
registered.) But since we're in the Portland / Vanc. metro area our news,
radio and television is predominantly from Portland. It was a Portland
station and mostly Oregon residents, I was listening yesterday, and
relaying that conversation. Cathy, down in Seaside OR might be able to
answer your specific questions though. But to answer one of your
questions, I do believe, Oregon officials, knowing that state's count was
going to be very close, didn't want to jump the gun and retract anything
later so held off on announcing anything until they were certain. Good
for them! Oregon officials did give Oregon to Gore late-ish yesterday
though. Haven't seen CNN report that yet.
<<All I've heard is that they are disqualified because two holes (two
presidential choices) were punched out. There's no information as to
whether they took out a pen and circled their intended choice. People who
had done this who have given news interviews only have said they
double-punched, not that they tried to correct their mistake....Kakki>>
Kakki, I haven't heard anyone from West Palm interviewed say that they
tried to correct their double punches by circling or underlining or
whatever either. My point was in relaying from her experinces, the woman
who used to count ballots thrown out of the computers from machine ballot
process in the state of Oregon said they always found on a
portion of "over vote" ballots, some attempt on the part of some voters to
make their choice known when the ballots were actually hand counted. From
her experience she expected some of the same attempts to show voters
desire to be found on the "over vote" ballots in hand counts in Florida.
I think the ballots they're going through now with the hand count in
Florida are the "under vote" ballots - the ballots where no vote
registered via machine count. Anyone know for sure? From what I've
gathered, they haven't touched the "over votes" - ones kicked from the
system for being punched twice. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
But did you catch the interview today on CNN of the woman (btw Marcel,
with graduate degrees) in West Palm, that complained to several personel
at the polling place she was voting because her voting machine did not
line up her ballot properly? She was properly allowed to discard her
inital ballot after she realized she had voted for Buchanan rather than
her real choice of Gore in that first voting booth. On her second try to
vote, she used a different machine and the ballot lined up properly,
arrows to the correct punch hole - no problem. The first machine lined up
directly between the second and third hole...and initially this well
educated woman had *guessed* wrong too. She tried to get them to
discontinue use of that machine, but wasn't given an ear by any in charge
at that voting location. After leaving she said she tried, and continued
to try throughout the day, to contact her district's voting office but
could never get through, because of constant busy signals, to get that
booth taken out of opperation. Is it true in Florida you only have five
minutes to vote? If so, there's possibly 150 of the bad ballots through
that machine alone.
Geez, what a shame all this has become. The college football games I've
been watching today haven't included as many hits on their opponent as
I've been witnessing on CNN.
Penny
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