November 06, 2007
Blame Bob Ferguson

More problem reports about King County Elections. R.W. voted at the Federal Way Senior Center:

I can't help but think this is either King County elections incompetence or a well-engineered ploy to promote mail only voting (or maybe another way to control the outcome of the election). When I went to my regular polling place this morning, the gentleman manning the vote counting machine informed me that it was not working because "it had not be reprogrammed from the last election". I was instructed to place my ballot in a side chute and was assured that it would be run through another machine or counted by some other means.
T.K. from Enumclaw writes:
I went to vote where I have for years this morning in Enumclaw (on Kibler) and when I got there at 7am, the normal signs weren't up. I thought that odd (since I have voted there at that time for years) and went inside anyway.
Clearly, the voter-people were there with tables. I was "pounced" by their leader and apologetically told that I could not vote because they had not yet received the ballots.
She was clearly embarrassed, upset and expecting hostility (from me and others).
I didn't have time to have a conversation about it and went to work.
Question: what does it say about our country that we can safely put men on the moon and bring them home, but King County Elections can't get this right?
And what does it say about King County Councilman Bob Ferguson, who obstructed the I-25 charter change in the interest of "stability" in the Elections Office, when he knows full well that "stabililty" means ongoing problems like these?

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 06, 2007 03:39 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Haha, sounds like a Diebold problem which is not covered under the I-25.

Posted by: Cato on November 6, 2007 03:52 PM
2. I chose to use the new fangled electronic voting option today at my polling place. The guy manning the electronic terminal was very nice but insisted upon spouting his liberal point of view the whole time I was waiting for my turn. On and on he went about those evil insurance companies and how bad Reagan was, etc.,etc. I didn't have the heart to inform him that electioneering is forbidden inside a polling place. You'd think he would know that. He appeared to be at least 60. Cripes, I knew that when I was 18 and voted for the first time. This is Seattle however where lefties assume everyone is a liberal.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on November 6, 2007 04:42 PM
3. Bill, you should report that guy to KCE. He was TOTALLY out of order!

Posted by: Michele on November 6, 2007 06:05 PM
4. My precinct in Pierce County had problems with the optical scanner. They had a guy there, a typical IT tech, loudly talking on a cell phone with the back opened up and electronics visible. This was not the newer electronic voting machine, but the older optical scanner for paper ballots. They put my ballot in the back, right near where the guy was working. They promised it would be counted later. I was less than impressed. It seemed to me to be a big scene.

And my first thought was that it was part of the show to encourage a move to all-mail-voting. That was about 3:30 pm. I'll be heading over the polling place again after dinner to see if they got it fixed. If not, I'll be interviewing the polling place official, and I will report back to Sound Politics.

It would be interesting to know if any other readers saw similar situations?

Posted by: Jeff B. on November 6, 2007 06:19 PM
5. Michele says, " Bill, you should report that guy to KCE. He was TOTALLY out of order!"

Indeed he was out of order. If I was a mean old liberal and had he been spouting conservative dogma I would doubtless have reported him to the authorities. But I'm a conservative and I take this kind of behavior by Seattle liberals with a big grain of salt. I'm used to it. It's expected and it is kind of amusing. I'm not going to freak out about it.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on November 6, 2007 07:58 PM
6. Michele says, " Bill, you should report that guy to KCE. He was TOTALLY out of order!"

Indeed he was out of order. If I was a mean old liberal and had he been spouting conservative dogma I would doubtless have reported him to the authorities. But I'm a conservative and I take this kind of behavior by Seattle liberals with a big grain of salt. I'm used to it. It's expected and it is kind of amusing. I'm not going to freak out about it.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on November 6, 2007 07:59 PM
7. Sorry for the double post.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on November 6, 2007 08:16 PM
8. I had a similar thing happen to me in Kirkland in the election before this one - the machine "wasn't working", and I was told to simply leave my ballot. I was not digging that at all, but I didn't have much choice.

Posted by: Renee on November 6, 2007 10:41 PM
9. No problems voting in Sammamish or Fall City (old and new residences) .. we have lovely older volunteers that always seem to know exactly what they are doing.

I have always put my ballot thru the scanner and watched the number tick up. I will definitely hate to lose that ability should they force me to do mail in.

Posted by: Lauri on November 7, 2007 06:54 AM
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