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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sedohr Nod who wrote (752349)	10/24/2006 2:22:01 PM
From: pompsander	Respond to of 769670

Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names Computer Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions; Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov. 7 By Leef Smith Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, October 24, 2006; B04 U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday. Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote. Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot. Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin. "We're not happy about it," Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. "I don't think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that's a concern." Every candidate on Alexandria's summary page has been affected in some way by the glitch. Even if candidates' full names appear, as is the case with Webb's Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. George F. Allen, their party affiliations have been cut off. Jean Jensen, secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, who said yesterday she only recently became aware of the problem, pledged to have it fixed by the 2007 statewide elections. "You better believe it," Jensen said. "If I have to personally get on a plane and bring Hart InterCivic people here myself, it'll be corrected." Absentee voters casting ballots in advance of the Nov. 7 election first noticed the problem. Election officials have been forced to post signs in voting booths and instruct poll workers to explain why some longer names appear cut-off. Election officials in Alexandria said they have been vexed by the problem since they purchased the voting machines in 2003. Although the problem has raised eyebrows among confused voters, elections officials said they are confident that the trouble has not led voters to cast ballots incorrectly. "This is not the kind of problem that has either shaken our confidence in the system overall or that of the vote," said Alexandria Registrar Tom Parkins. "There have been far worse problems around the country." James T. "Jim" Hurysz, an independent candidate who's running to unseat incumbent Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), sees it somewhat differently. His name has been shortened on the summary page to "James T. 'Jim.' " Moran is the one lucky James in Alexandria whose last name made the summary page, although without the "Jr." "That situation is not acceptable," Hurysz said. "There's enough voter confusion as it is." Jensen said Hart InterCivic has created an upgrade for their firmware and recently applied for state certification to apply the fix. That process, she said, can be time-consuming because of security measures in place . Hart InterCivic officials yesterday said they hoped to correct the problem by next fall. "The newer voting systems will not be certified and installed before the Nov. 7 election," said company Vice President Phillip Braithwaite. Hart InterCivic "does intend to install the newer system version before the next major election in 2007, assuming certification from the commonwealth." In the meantime, Jensen said, the three affected jurisdictions have begun educating voters to prevent confusion on Election Day and will place notices in each of the polling booths that explain the summary page problem. "We have a very conspicuous posting in the booths and if [voters] say, 'Hey I don't like what I'm seeing on the summary page,' we can refer them to the chart," Parkins said. Three years ago, Alexandria purchased about 225 Hart InterCivic machines for $750,000. "We're not comfortable with [this problem] in the long term . . . but we have every reason to expect it will be rectified before the next election," Parkins said. Sheri Iachetta, general registrar for Charlottesville, said the city purchased 72 machines in 2002. Election officials have had trouble displaying long names ever since. "We do have people complain and say they don't get it," Iachetta said. "I completely understand what they're saying, but it's not something I can control. We do a pretty good proactive job getting the word out. . . . We've tried to let the voters know that their vote will count even if they can't see the entire name on the summary page."

To: Sedohr Nod who wrote (752349)	10/25/2006 9:36:31 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

"You libertarians are a hoot." That's a GOOD thing, right? And, it's also a good thing their seem to be more and more of us... Libertarians... 'Western-style conservatives', etc: Message 22937455 Message 22937463 Message 22937766 Libertarians: The Swing Vote in 2006 and 2008? How many libertarian voters are in America? And are their numbers significant enough to affect the upcoming elections? A new study by the libertarian Cato Institute concludes that roughly 13 percent of U.S. voters are libertarian or strongly libertarian-leaning in their beliefs. This is more than enough to swing the upcoming elections. And there are indications that this libertarian vote may do exactly that. Writes Cato Vice President David Boaz: "Not all Americans can be classified as liberal or conservative. In particular, polls find that some 10 to 20 percent of voting-age Americans are libertarian, tending to agree with conservatives on economic issues and with liberals on personal freedom. The Gallup Governance Survey consistently finds about 20 percent of respondents giving libertarian answers to a two-question screen." However, Boaz notes, most political commentators are still trapped in the old left vs. right model of politics, or, in more recent jargon, red state versus blue state. Yet this model is demonstrably flawed. It ignores the many millions of Americans whose political views do not fit comfortably within this model -- including millions of libertarians or libertarian-leaning voters. Further, these libertarian and libertarian-leaning voters are a particularly powerful demographic. They are, on average, younger, more affluent, and better- educated than other groups. A higher percentage of them vote, too. And this year, libertarian voters are particularly dissatisfied. Cato notes that most libertarian-leaning voters, like most other Americans, vote for candidates in the two older, larger parties. A few elections ago, Republicans received the majority of that vote. But libertarian support for Republicans began changing sharply in 2004, according to Cato's analysis: "Libertarians preferred George W. Bush over Al Gore by 72 to 20 percent, but Bush's margin dropped in 2004 to 59-38 over John Kerry. Congressional voting showed a similar swing from 2002 to 2004. Libertarians apparently became disillusioned with Republican overspending, social intolerance, civil liberties infringements, and the floundering war in Iraq. If that trend continues into 2006 and 2008, Republicans will lose elections they would otherwise win. "The libertarian vote is in play. At some 13 percent of the electorate, it is sizable enough to swing elections. Pollsters, political strategists, candidates, and the media should take note of it." Cato's study supports the Advocates' own years of experience with our World's Smallest Political Quiz, which offers a political "map" that includes libertarians and others. Indeed, the Cato study cites, among other studies, Rasmussen Research's use of the World's Smallest Political Quiz in August 2000. In that survey, Rasmussen Research gave our Quiz to just under 1,000 representative likely American voters. Sixteen percent scored in the libertarian sector -- a figure virtually identical to the Cato estimate. The libertarian vote is large, influential, and growing. As Advocates President Sharon Harris noted a few issues back, this should give all lovers of liberty a sense of optimism and excitement about the future. Cato Institute Policy Analysis, "The Libertarian Vote": Executive Summary: cato.org Full study: cato.org Learn more about Lights of Liberty here: theadvocates.org