New Mexico's Invisible 10% Primary Undervote

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS - THE INVISIBLE UNDERVOTE

New Mexico has a serious problem, has anyone diagnosed the cause? They are set to derail the Nov 2008 General Election if this isn't corrected ASAP.

Provisional Ballots to Decide NM Winner. AP; Thursday February 7 2008 ... Provisional ballots accounted for 10 percent to 12 percent of all votes cast, ...
www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7289201

Has anyone in New Mexico figured out what caused this GIGANTIC rate of provisional balloting?

The problems with the voter registration database or whatever else is causing this - must be solved ASAP or tends of thousands more voters will be disenfranchised in Nov.

[SoFlaJet]

1. so we still don't know

who won WillYourVoteBCounted?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. counting NM's provisionals began today.....

17,000 provisional ballots is an awful lot to count.

The examination of the provisional ballots, expected to begin Thursday, will be closed to the news media but will be attended by representatives from both the Obama and Clinton campaigns, party officials said.

...Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico who planned to observe the provisional ballot verification process, predicted a drawn-out wait.

``Our state is so competitive at a federal level that we have to count the votes and we have to count them by hand and we have to verify voters and that's time consuming, especially on the provisionals,'' she said.

Officials have to determine whether the voter was actually eligible to vote, among other things.
Lawyers will be on hand to fight for each vote.

[SoFlaJet]

5. Thanks

so it's gonna be pretty much a split down the middle with delegates whoever ends up winning right? With the winner getting what, one more than the loser? How many delegates at stake in NM?

[global1]

3. Didn't Greg Palast Mention Problems With New Mexico In His Book.......

Armed Madhouse?

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Yes, he did. It appears to be a grand plan to disenfranchise Native American voters. No wonder

some tribes want to declare themselves independent.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. NM has paper ballots now, this is Voter Registration Database Issue

the problem is that many states have recently set up statewide voter registration databases or hired private companies to do so.

Additionally, HAVA requires the states to try to match the voters drivers license number and social security numbers (last four digits) to the corresponding govt databases. This causes some people to incorrectly be prevented from registering. They don't realize the problem until they try to vote.

more on New Mexico problem:

NM Provisional Ballots uncounted
Thursday, February 07, 2008 - FreeMarketNews.com

The good news: New Mexico now votes on paper ballots, since their touch-screen debacle in the 2004 Presidential Election left Gov. Bill Richardson with little legal choice but to move to paper. The bad news: The huge turnout in yesterday's Democratic Primary led to long lines, voters who found they were no longer on the registration rolls for some still-unexplained reason, 17,000 votes had to be cast on provisional ballots which remain uncounted today, and now it's being reported --- incredibly --- that at least three ballot boxes were kept overnight last night, uncounted, at the home of a Democratic County Party Chairwoman.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=54626

[SoFlaJet]

7. One would think

Bill Richardson would have made it a priority to fix that, no?

[rumpel]

8. the VIMS & DIMS database software -ugh

Who is contracted to supply & maintain in NM, do you know?

McCormack in her doc to have the county supervisors approve the DIMS in LA mentions over half of the counties in California use DIMS. I believe the SOS is not, but these things (software) I presume have to communicate and therefore be compatible?

and I remember the problem with the Ohio voter database...

This software also should not be proprietary - in my humble laypersons' opinion.

x(

[Melissa G]

9. More on New Mexico woes from Voter's Unite News today

NM: Provisional Ballots to Decide NM
Winnerhttp://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCc92PUVIygkNFF0LiBuVuSFmLXAD8UL97I00

NM: Uncounted Rio Arriba County ballots raise eyebrowshttp://haussamen.blogspot.com/2008/02/uncounted-rio-arriba-county-ballots.html

NM: Editorial - If party can't count votes, voters can't count on NM
http://media.www.dailylobo.com/media/storage/paper344/news/2008/02/06/Opinion/Editorial.If.Party.Cant.Count.Votes.Voters.Cant.Count.On.Nm-3194796.shtml

NM: Say What? - Party Official Kept Uncounted Ballox Boxes at Home Overnight as 200 Vote Margin Currently Seen in New Mexico's Democratic Caucushttp://www.bradblog.com/?p=5664

NM: Provisional ballots still out in San Juan Countyhttp://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_8190939

NM: Provisional ballots designed to be counted latehttp://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8187806

NM: New Mexico to Recount All Democratic Voteshttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18785663