More dirt from Jersey

Posted: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:02 PM by Alan Boyle

From NBC's Ron Allen
Mark Sheridan of the New Jersey GOP says there's a "developing and disturbing trend" of voters going into an electronic voting booth and finding that the machine already has registered a vote for Democratic Senate incumbent Bob Menendez.. They're saying complaints keep coming into their office. "It's too widespread for it to be a coincidence," Sheridan said.

He said the state attorney general's office has been alerted. "If it continues, we're going to court," Sheridan said. GOP officials say they've not heard of a case where a machine was locked or preset for Tom Kean Jr., Menendez's Republican challenger.

How widespread is this? They're being a bit cagey about that. The GOP says it has obtained signed affidavits from four voters and they're gathering more, from "multiple voters at multiple locations." They also claim that several voters who complained have been "tossed out of polling places."

The GOP says some of the polling places that have been cited are in "Democratic areas."

This is the second GOP dirty-tricks complaint of the day.

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Comments

THAT'S REDICULOUS. THE REPUBLICANS PROBABLY RIGGED THE MACHINE TO MAKE HIM LOOK BAD. OR MORE LIKELY NO ONE RIGGED THE MACHINE, AND IT'S JUST A GLITCH, AND A SIGN THAT ELECTRONIC VOTING IS NOT A GOOD THING. PEOPLE DO STILL KNOW HOW TO MAKE A DASH YOU KNOW.

RUTH, JOPLIN, MO (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:22 PM)

The GOP is just laying the groundwork to counter the complaints of the real voter fraud that they're planning to unleash in Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Montana, Virginia, Arizona, Indiana, Missouri and Rhode Island...

John R., Barre, Vermont (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:22 PM)

Rotten liars. The Republikans will do anything to steal yet another election. It's already enough they are going to Diebold the American population into believing this is actually a "democratic" election--no paper trail, self-deleting of votes, etc. It's ironic the GOP is setting up a "democracy" in Iraq and trying to lie, cheat and steal votes in their own beloved America.

Diane Yoder (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:29 PM)

Just another Republican-driven 'pre-emptive strike'...I bet the evidence is manufactured and cherry-picked just like the 'proof' of WMDs, Functional Nuke Program, Al-Quieda ties... But seriously, this is a big problem! I would not put it past some people to lie in order to get their guy in office.

Sean, Torrington CT (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:32 PM)

This is a GOP "false flag" operation. They have people making complaints as a pretext for a protracted election investigation. Their polls must be showing that they are going to lose a close one and they want to begin to cast doubt early so they can justify investigations later.

Mike O (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:32 PM)

I find it pathetic that some people only believe that Republicans are the only party capable of voter fraud. So many conspiracy theorists out there. Get a clue. This kind of stuff happens on both sides of the political lines. The candidates never even have a clue about it. Essentially, it evens out. I am from NJ and the ethics of this whole campaign sucks. However, the ethics of the news networks is just as bad. The bias I have seen from the mainstream television networks is beyond belief.

Jason, Paramus, NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:38 PM)

My guess is that voters leaving the machine forgot to push the button or lever that "registers" the vote. The NJ GOP is desperate, it's clear, but there's a non-conspiracy explanation for this. Where I vote, we have to push a 2 inch by 1 inch green button at the lower right of the panel, and today, the person in the booth next to me forgot to do this, but the judge of elections noticed somehow and suggested that he "finalize" his vote, which he went back and did.

Phil Scranton (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:38 PM)

Although I wouldn't put a scheme like this past the Republicans, I think this is another simple case of computers malfunctioning. Please explain to me how we can create some of the most advanced computers in the world, yet can't make a program that has people push one button or another and tally up the scores on each side? A competent programmer could make this, in DOS, in about 5 minutes, if that. Really, it's not that hard to make a voting machine that works!

Alex M., Philadelphia, PA (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:39 PM)

I live in NY but as our neighbor NJ polictics are well known. However, this " second" complaint is such a red flag The republican party is laying the groundwork to contest an election the polls say they will lose. Its embarrassing.......

Lynette , NY (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:42 PM)

Maybe the machines did it on purpose. Are they trying to tell us something? Hmmm...

Shawdoe (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:49 PM)

I get it...so when the Dems complain about voting irregularities, it's the GOP trying to steal the election. But when the GOP complains, they are just trying to set things up so they can contest the election. Well, you can't have it both ways. Either both sides are trying to set up an election lawsuit if they lose (the more likely scenario) or both parties are doing what they can to "steal" the election. But, both sides are complaining, so stop with the double-standard.

El Perro Loco in Boca Raton, FL (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:53 PM)

I just voted in NJ, and the voting machine I had puts a green X in a neutral spot before you vote for each candidate. It's possible people saw that the green X was on the same level as Menendez and misinterpreted that to mean that the vote was pre-cast for him, when in reality the X just happened to be level with his name.

John, Princeton NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:55 PM)

I just dont see it. If it was happening it would be In a area that leans to the (R). Why would You do it in a area were the Dems will win anyway. Just a Bunch of bull. Could it just be that the Voting Machines don't work. Thanks for the no bid contract ...

David (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:57 PM)

I just returned from voting in this type of booth. As you enter there are green "X's" already lit in the margin on the top. Menendez's name is the first one listed directly below the first lit "X" or above his name. In order to vote, you have to press the box BELOW the candidates name which then lights the proper X to register the vote.

Marge, New Jersey (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:58 PM)

Maybe Sarah & John Connor are responsible for breaking these voting machines

Jacob, Green Bay WI (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:02 PM)

Let me get this straight. Republicans are going in and voting for Menendez and then coming out and claiming the (GOP-made) machines did it and are cooked in the Demos favor? Sounds like one more half-baked lemon from some wrong headed Repubs. Is there such a thing as Republican Guilt? Of course!

Steve Turner Cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:02 PM)

This is hillarious. There is an issue of voter fraud in NJ from Republicans. All we see are "Anti-Republicans" accusing Republicans of cheating. If Democrats had the issue of voter fraud you same people would be saying Conservative conspiracy. It is a shame that all the comments on this thread or Anti-Republican. Where is the voice of reason asking to look into the balloting issue? Such hypocrisy. If this was the other way around, I don't think you people would be saying Democrats are making this up.

Jason, Paramus, NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:03 PM)

This is a GOP "false flag"... nothing more. They KNOW there is cheating going on in PA, OH, and MD (and others) in THEIR favor... and this is just put out there to muddy the waters a bit and make it seem that it is "both ways". And on the small chance that it IS true? Good... then maybe the GOP will call for paper voting too! Put Diebold out of the vote-counting business... no private corporation should have such power in our democracy.

Nemo Trax, Pittsburgh area (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:07 PM)

Pardon me while I roll my eyes.

Pete K., Norwood, MA (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:14 PM)

Will republicans ever quit their lying, deceiving, scheeming, amoral, mean-spirited ways?????

Isa (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:16 PM)

I wonder if MSNBC gave this same attention to the widespread problems with voting machines in 2004 that always seemed to favor Repubs? I doubt it. There were also numerous reports of votes for Democrats being flipped to Repubs in early voting _this_ year, but somehow those reports didn't seem to get any coverage by the news media. Is MSNBC trying to be as "fair and balanced" as Fox News? As for the irregularities the Repubs are claiming, I'll believe Democrat Menendez stole the election if the exit polls show Kean actually won. I'd have to do that to be consistent, since I believe the expert statisticians who concluded from the discrepancies between exit polls and the official vote tallies in the 2004 election that Kerry was the actual winner and the office of the presidency was stolen by Bush (again). Of course, the news media doesn't believe in exit polls or statistics, so they have no objective basis by which to evaluate the GOP accusations of fraud. They'll probably take the GOP accusations seriously no matter what, even if objective analysis shows they're nothing but crackpot rightwing conspiracy theories. Kowtowing to their GOP overlords is what passes for "objective" journalism these days.

Len, Houston (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:20 PM)

"I find it pathetic that some people only believe that Republicans are the only party capable of voter fraud. " Do you find it "pathetic" that the CEO of Diebold swore to help Bush win? Probably not - right wingers are usually too partisan to understand that voter fraud is bad for everyone (it put a monkey in the WH, for crying out loud!)

Lee Steele (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:20 PM)

What can I say, Jason, six years of constant lies from the GOP... I can't help but be suspicious of everything that they do. It must be nice to live in an alternate reality where you can bumble through your day believing that your government is pure as the driven snow and that Democrats are a bunch of paranoid terrorist lovers. It's going to take a long time and a lot of HONEST work by the GOP before I'll be able to trust them again... It's sad, but it's true. By the way, I wasn't always like this - I'm a product of Bush & Co.

John R., Barre, Vermont (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:22 PM)

Well, I guess we all know why the Icon for Democracts is a Donkey.....You are what you are.

Bo, Long Beach Island (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:23 PM)

Ayuh, up heah in Maine I just had the pleasure of voting with a pencil and paper; I then placed it with my own hands in a box that was overseen by two moderators. Do you think I should have sprayed it with shellac first?

Sheila Evans Chelsea Maine (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:44 PM)

I find it strange how stupid some people are thinking that only one political party is capable of fraud. They're all a bunch of lying theifs, Pelosi, Bush, Kerry, McCain, the lot of them. And we keep voting for them, maybe we deserve the fraud.

Carl Dallas (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:44 PM)

You're a special person, Bo - don't ever let anyone tell you different.

kisses (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:45 PM)

Carl Dallas (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 3:46 PM)

I find it strange how stupid some people are posting the same message repeatedly.

John R., Barre, Vermont (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:02 PM)

Must be nice to be able to comment on something that you have not seen in person. I voted in NJ this morning at 7:10am and saw no problems. I think it is jast a few folks who did not read their pre-ballots instructions or who didn't understand how the machine works and were either too worried or too embarrased to ask for help. Let's see what happens tonight. Roll your eyes?..Please....tell me that you weren't doing this in the last major election......and from MA too!

Don H. Hamilton Twp NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:03 PM)

My definition of Politics.... Poly meaning many...Tics meaning blood sucking insects.. That is all

Kelly Hunnicutt Tampa, FL (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:15 PM)

Perhaps in the future voting machine companies should be required by law to host a free web site to demonstrate their voting machine interface. It'd be very easy to implement via Flash or Java. That way, everyone could learn how to use the machine before election day, and any confusing situations (such as a floating green X) could be addressed well before election day.

Jim D, New York (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:17 PM)

Wake up America, future generations will look back at our era as one of not what good the candidate could do but what the other candidate did wrong. The majority of the voters do not know what any of the candidates stand for.

Daniel Goscicki , Rockaway, NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:26 PM)

I am surprised at the comments that suggest one party is somehow inherently less ethical than another. Any party is made up of individual people, many of whom are unethical but most of whom are upstanding. An entire half of the country is not evil and somehow manages to keep the conspiracy hidden from the other half. One would think some of us would have met one of these shifty-eyed villains by now. And contrary to what some others claim, it is actually not simple or easy to create secure and reliable voting software. Researchers at top universities have studied the problem for years and a practical solution has yet to present itself.

Rex Morgan, Greensboro, NC (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:27 PM)

It's oh-so-fun to bash the other side, but let's gather some facts: *I* did not experience anything like this. (West Windsor NJ, Maurice Hawk School, 9am.) Anyone else see something (anything) irregular? If so, where and when? -ajs

AJS, West Windsor NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:36 PM)

I arrived at my voting destination at 6:05 AM. We could come in and stand in the hall, but we could not vote. The reason being that that poll worker hadn't shown up with the key to unlock the voting machine. The police went to his house and got him. We were able to begin to cast votes at 6:45. During the waiting period, people who had to go to work left. I saw many of them leave angry about losing their voting rights. I was told on the side, by one of the polling volunteers, that this has happened before. Wonder why they keep giving the same guy "the key"... My mother was born in a time when women could not even vote. So I get a special delight in casting a vote for her and for me. I called the 877 NJ VOTER number and reported my experiences. That gave me some satisfaction, but I'm still so sad for America to be in this jam with incompetency and dishonesty. I feel this has always been a problem, not anything new. But now the stakes are so high and alarming.

Zina C. Hillsborough, NJ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:50 PM)

Of course computers will vote for Menendez, after all, they have electronic 'brains'.........

Glen Scutt (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:53 PM)

GOP at it again. They are trying to carry the corruption theme right down to the wire. It is little more. Most commenters got it right. Voters will not take this accusation seriously because if anyone has a long record of dirty tricks, it is the GOP.

Joe G. (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 4:54 PM)

Lets see, ACORN (a lefty loonie org.) get caught trying to submit a MILLION FAKE ballots and it's the republicans who are stealing votes? I like "Open Minded, Tolerant, Patriotic Americans" who call the president of thier own country a "Monkey" or "War Criminal" blah blah blah. John Kerry is a joke, but if he were president, I would support him because we are actully an the same team!

Pat Johnson (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 5:01 PM)

Hmmmm. Seems to me that the precedent for election-stealing (in this century anyway) was set in 2000 in the Presidential election and recurred in Ohio in 2004 - by the Republicans. It is no surprise to me. In my state (NH), a Republican campaign manageer was tried and convicted for using phones to call Democrats to tell them not to vote in 2004 and the Republican Party - again this year - was barred by the court from doing prerecorded calls to people who are on the Do Not Call list with a message that starts out sounding like support for Democratic House Candidate Paul Hodes but ultimately trashes him. The idea apparently was to get the person to hang up, angry at Paul Hodes. Clever but ultimately stopped. Smells - and sounds - like desperation to me.

Tim (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 5:05 PM)

All of you leftist wackos just don't get it.....NJ is terminally corrupt, and Menendez is an example of the filth in NJ politics.

Bob (a NJ native).....Pennsylvania (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 5:09 PM)

Hey, maybe now that it's (allegedly) happening to Republicans, someone will cover it.

Michael Kimmitt, Honolulu HI (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 5:16 PM)

Electronic voting. That was the dumbest idea ever. Script kiddies everywhere are probably writing programs to melect all Libertarians. Ones and zeroes are a lot easier to manipulate - en masse - than stacks of paper. Every serious scholarly Exam (MCAT, LSAT, Licensing exams) use or used for decades line scan technology. It is proven and it WORKS. 4 Billion dollars later, some pimply faced kid with a cel-phone and a magnet are going to get Doug Stanhoupe elected in 2008. http://www.dougstanhope.com/home.html

Jon MDO, Tempe, AZ (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 7:38 PM)

I love watching the Republicans squirm.....If the Dems win like the polls say they will, tomorrow, my first words to all repubs will be "GET OVER IT"

Kent (Sent Tuesday, November 07, 2006 7:54 PM)

Guess everyone has forgotten about the Chicago votes in the Kennedy/Nixon election or perhaps how Johnson won his first election in Texas. Let’s face it - voting fraud is as old as the hills and not an exclusive of any one party.

Kalister (Sent Wednesday, November 08, 2006 6:39 PM)

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