did poll worker training today. i see a big problem.

[mopinko]

i am tired, but i wanted to post a little about this, cuz i will be busy tomorrow.
so, i will be a judge on nov 7. (and promoted already- i will be the key judge, cell phone judge, and transfer judge- an extra $75. this is nice, but as a first timer, hmmm. i guess i looked clean and sober, more than qualified here in the big city.)
ok, in cook county, we have opscan, with one sequioa for disabled. at the end of the day, the counts from the 2 systems are compiled, then transmitted. (grrrr wifi transmission.) tapes are run, etc. IF THE COMPILE FAILS- everything is chucked into the transfer case, taken to the collection station, and that polling place is counted at the board of elections. in other words, all they have to do is gum up the compile in the desired precincts, and, paper ballots or no, they can count with no witnesses. in the march primary, this compilation failed all over the place. why the f you cannot just report out each cart separately, i have no idea. yes, it will be a long ballot, with the judicial retention and all. and you could post them both separately, without taxing any brains with that messy arithmetic shit.
i wonder if this could be challenged. any precinct that does not get reported in front of judges and poll watchers should be audited. period.
also, although there are numbered seals on machines, there is no recording or checking of the numbers on those seals. i asked about this and was told, just put them in the transfer case. they are checked at the board. sure.

[mopinko]

1. also, the hidden cost of e-voting here-

each precinct is supposed to have a ppa- a polling place administrator. they only take care of problems with the machines. they are not judges, do not perform any other judging duties, just an extra worker, getting $500 to babysit these machines. per precinct. oy.

[Fredda Weinberg]

3. Wouldn't you have a PPA no matter what system was in place? n/t

[mopinko]

4. no the ppa's are new

and only tend machine problems.

[Fredda Weinberg]

2. Is the wifi connection VPN?

If so, I wouldn't be concerned.

And why do you assume there'll be no witnesses at the central board? If you have time, why not ask to attend?

Kudos to you for participating in the system, whatever the flaws.

[mopinko]

5. don't know about vpn

i suppose it would be, but it still makes me nervous. outside hackers are not likely to be the problem.
perhaps there will be witnesses at the central board, but the scene there in the march primary was one where board personel were basically kicked out while sequioa's venezuelan employees did whatever they did. it is my polling place, i want to witness the totals. the poll watchers should be there as well. if it was a handful of precincts, ok, but the primary was a fiasco, with some precincts still not counted a month later.
i just don't think this kind of chaos is an accident. the tribune reported the other day that power failures, or turning the mahine of before the end of day could wipe the totals. now, my microsoft word has had autosave for about 10 years. this is just crazy.

[Ellipsis]

6. Not reporting vote totals at the precinct level is disingenuous.

That being said your involvement is appreciated and applauded.

K&R

[mopinko]

10. this raised a red flag for me

more intentional chaos. more OOOOOPPS, we made a terrible mistake! NOT

[jillan]

7. I'm sure that Dean has teams set up looking for things like

this. There has got to be watchdog groups that you could forward this to.

[mopinko]

12. i am ready to wait and see, but

i did sign up with pollwatchers for democracy. i will make sure that the votes are counted in my precinct, and accurately reported.
i love the doctor, but the democratic party does not give a rats ass about vote counting, as far as i can see.

[emlev]

8. Have you signed up with PollworkersForDemocracy yet?

If not, please do. I'll forward your post to them. Check out their website.

[mopinko]

9. done and thank you

i had seen this, but thought it was just a portal to get hired. i wanted to do this at my ward office, so i didn't even check it out.

[BornagainDUer]

17. I'm going to check that out.

[mopinko]

11. so, suppose the poll workers counted the votes by hand.

i am just wondering if i will be able to foment a little revolution, and get my fellow judges to count the opscan ballots by hand, anyway. especially if the tabulator has a "glitch" and i am told to turn them in uncounted. at least count the top of the ticket. who's gonna stop us?

[In Truth We Trust]

13. Hand Counted Paper Ballots NOW! ...or Fascism Forever.

[BornagainDUer]

18. In Oregon its all mail in ballots. Seems to be working OK too.

[AtLiberty]

14. mopinko -- get plenty of rest before Nov. 7th

It's going to be a long day.

[mopinko]

15. part of my plan, for sure.

i was planning to take an ambien and hit the hay at about 6pm the night before. i hope i make it. it will be a very long day for me.

[jody]

16. Do you have a link to the procedures "IF THE COMPILE FAILS"? Thanks n/t

[mopinko]

19. i'm sorry, but post #16

poster is on my ignore. if someone will post who it is, i will take them off so i can reply.

[AtLiberty]

20. What poll watchers and election judges should do Nov. 7th

* If at all possible, do NOT give out a provisional ballot. DO NOT. It will NOT be counted unless there is a dispute. Try to send that person to the correct precinct. Have maps available and encourage voters not to give up.

* Keep a very close eye on technicians who come and go. If you're an election judge, be a pest and look over his/her shoulder. Write down the technician's name and what he/she did. (Usually a he.)

* Make sure to write down ALL problems...machine failures, memory card replacements, ink running dry, paper running out, etc. If in doubt, write it down.