Reply #2: Here's an example from North Carolina- thousands lost in this county [View All]

and lots more in other counties; similar in Texas, Indiana, Wisconsin, South Carolina, several other states. Straight Dem voter votes typically did not count for Kerry because of the way the machines were programmed.

Elections chief plans to keep voting machines

Jan. 23, 2005
HANNAH MITCHELL AND MARK JOHNSON
Staff Writers

Many Burke County voters could have been confused by the electronic ballots
used in November, and the county's election director said Burke may change
the ballot format but he has no plans to change the voting machines.

More than 10 percent of voters who cast ballots in Burke did not vote in
the presidential race -- a rate that was four to five times higher than
nearly all other N.C. counties.

N.C. Board of Elections officials have concluded that voters could have
been confused by the electronic ballots, which listed the straight-party
ticket on the same screen as the presidential election.

A straight-party vote, which selects all candidates from the selected
party, applies to all races except for president, a distinction in North
Carolina that dates back to the 1960s and continues to confuse voters.

Burke voters easily could have thought a straight party vote included the
presidency unless they carefully read the wording, Don Wright, general
counsel for the state board who visited Burke, has said.

But the undervote in Burke also was high for other offices that were
included in the straight-party selection.

Greer Suttlemyre Jr., Burke elections board director, said he will likely
propose that the straight-party and presidential selections be put on
different screens on the county's electronic voting machines in the future.

"That will be a matter our board will have to discuss in four years when it
comes up," Suttlemyre said. "As far as our election equipment, we don't
have money to replace it. At this point, we have no reason to think our
equipment has not done an accurate count."

Suttlemyre said he has no idea what may have caused high undervotes for
other offices included in the straight-party selection.

"I'm open to suggestions" on how to avoid high undervotes for those
offices, Suttlemyre said.

State officials are investigating the voting problems. "I suspect there
will be suggestions coming from there on what we as a state, as well as we
as a county, will do," he said.

But he said the county does not plan to change the Unilect electronic
voting machines, the same type used in Carteret County, where 4,438 votes
were lost in November's election. The county paid $546,650 for the Unilect
models, which were first used in 2000.

Suttlemyre speculated that part of the problem may have been lack of
familiarity with the machines by voters who did not cast ballots in 2000.

"It was a record turnout (this year)," he said. "That means people voted
who may never have voted on the touch screen."

Burke County officials want to avoid future high undervotes, Suttlemyre
said. "We're certainly willing to do what is thought appropriate by the
state board and our board here to make it better for the voters."

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