Palm Beach County's voting machines overheat and force recount of more than 170,000 votes

[DonViejo]

Source: The Miami Herald


BY MAYA KAUFMAN

[e-mail]

November 13, 2018 09:33 PM

Updated 22 minutes ago

Palm Beach County’s race to recount votes is heating up — literally.

The county’s decade-old ballot-counting machines overheated and gave incorrect totals, forcing the county to restart its recount of about 175,000 early votes, supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said Tuesday night. The department has flown in mechanics to repair the machines.

“We’re disappointed by the mechanical problems that are going to cause a further delay in the recount,” Bucher told reporters. “It became evident through the vigorous pace of counting that the machines used for the recount were starting to get stressed.”

The malfunctions resulted in the loss of more than a day’s work.

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article221631215.html

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

1. THIS is why the money Congress set aside for campaign integrity shouldve been used

instead of being waved off. The 800 machines in GA that were in a barn somewhere was also shameful.

[Iliyah]

2. WTF

[mwooldri]

3. Hand count.

Eliminate the machines. That will fix the problem.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. I certainly don't mind waiting a few weeks for results.

[mwooldri]

7. I don't mind waiting either but we don't have to.

If the UK can count its ballots by hand in 1-2 days for a general election, why can't Florida? Hire a bunch of people to count the votes.

[mucifer]

5. So are they going to count those votes? If so all is ok if not oh sh-t!

It's a big question for me.

[lagomorph777]

14. Yes - judge is extending the deadline, per another DU post this morning.

[mucifer]

17. Thanks!

[BumRushDaShow]

6. This is probably what happened during the original count

all across the state. Mechanical malfunctions.

[Botany]

8. and I very well might be wrong but I betya that the data that the malfunctions produced ....

... always helped the republicans.

Add this in with:

Absentee ballots that were sent out too late so that people could vote and
mail them back in and have that ballot counted.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211416264

NY Times:
People voted for Governor but skipped voting for senator.
Ballot design in Broward County is one possible cause of votes cast for one contest but apparently not another.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/upshot/florida-senate-race-broward-undercount.html

******
No wonder Rick Scott/Trump/GOP wants this counting and looking at the vote stopped.

[trusty elf]

9. Shameful and embarrassing

It really is a bad joke.

[lark]

10. Well, so glad they just got the order to continue the counting until 11/20 if needed.

Looks like it will be needed. I'm just worried about Broward now.

[keithbvadu2]

11. No printouts - recipe for fraud

No printouts - recipe for fraud

[Scruffy1]

15. If they hack it the printout is hacked too.

[keithbvadu2]

16. Should be a double copy continuous printout.

Should be a double copy continuous printout.

A tearoff copy for the voter and a continuous roll in the machine.

But not two separate rolls.

One roll of top and bottom papers.

[Historic NY]

12. Since the disaster of 2000 they have had time to upgade and buy new equipment....

its apparent Florida isn't in the market to help people to vote.

[Igel]

18. They did.

This equipment's the answer to, "We need better means to count every vote." Probably paid for in part with federal money. If the equipment is "decade-old" then it's not "two-decade old" (i.e., 1998) but closer to 2008 vintage.

[Racerdog1]

13. 21st Century

We can spend millions sending troops and supplies to the southern border, but we can't spend anything to assure that every vote is counted? Priorities?

[IncaRoads]

19. Homer Simpson was right

Florida truly is America's wang.