~ 7:51 Eastern Time ~
"Dire warnings of chaos at ballot boxes, fueled by weeks of legal battles and political skirmishing, largely evaporated yesterday as voting proceeded with relatively few problems and only limited disputes at polling places nationwide."
That is what the Washington Post initially reported four years ago on Election Day, 2004. The story changed very quickly.
This time around, the news media are again downplaying voting rights violations. Yet the truth is, whoever wins the presidency tonight (and it certainly looks like Obama will be the victor), today's election was deeply flawed. Here are some of the early reports . . .
FLORIDA: Optical Scanning Machines are Malfunctioning
Well, it's election day and that means there are problems in Florida. This year's issue: optical scanning machines. There are numerous reports going into Election Protection about optical scanning machines not working, and ballots having to be fed into secure boxes that will be counted later. See: http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/florida_optical_machines
VIRGINIA: Election monitors call for extension of VA voting hours
An election monitoring group is asking officials in Virginia to address reports of massive voting machine failures and voters being turned away from polls, and it may go to court if no action is taken. See: http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/va_call_for_extension
PHILADELPHIA: Reports Of Voting Problems At Penn State
A voting rights advocate says hundreds of Penn State students are being forced to vote by provisional ballot. James Browning of Common Cause said Tuesday that election workers are not checking supplemental registration books for the names of Penn State students who registered just before the deadline. Someone who votes by provisional ballot could be required to appear at the courthouse at a later date to vouch for their identity if they want their vote to count.
http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/provisional_ballot_pennsylvania
OHIO: Machines reported flipping votes
In 2004 Ohio became famous for long lines and problems with machines. A critical state in the 2004 eleciton, and again this year it appears that there are again problems with the machines. Ben Marrison and Jill Riepenhoff of the Columbus Dispatch have a story of vote flipping around the state.
http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/oh_flipping_votes
NEW YORK: Spanish Language Announcement Declares Election Day Nov 9
We've discussed before that flyers were widely distributed in Virginia baring false seals of the state legislature and declaring that there would be two days of voting. Well, it seems that something similar is happening in Westchester County, New York, which covers the northern suburbs of New York City. The key difference in the Westchester County instance is that these are not false documents from a government office; no, the county's Board of Elections has actually sent out election notices with bad information. See:
http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/westchester_county
PENNSYLVANIA: Lawyers Head to Court On Behalf of Pennsylvania Voters
Lawyers for the NAACP-Philadelphia Branch and its member-voters are filing an emergency lawsuit against Philadelphia County this afternoon, seeking a court ruling requiring county election officials to count emergency paper ballots cast today at the close of polls. Despite orders from the Secretary of State, election officials have stated they do not plan to count these emergency ballots until Friday. See:
http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/pa_lawyers
For the longer, regularly updated list of voting rights violations, check our News feature at http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/news/
Check out the Voting Rights Violations reports at http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/reports
Watch for further updates . . . and make plans to attend a Voter Assembly tomorrow at http://www.nomorestolenelections.org/va
Thank you for your vigilance.
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