Will Error in Vote Tally Doom Democrat NY Congressional Election?
- Posted on November 6, 2010 at 5:38pm by
Scott Baker
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NEW YORK (AP) — A congressional election on eastern Long Island that had appeared to end in victory for a four-term Democrat, U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop, is now up for grabs after authorities discovered they had misreported the result of the vote.
Officials with the Suffolk County Board of Elections said they discovered Friday that the unofficial tally released in the hours after the polls closed was off by thousands.
A routine check of voting machine memory cards showed that instead of leading by about 3,500 votes, Bishop was trailing Republican challenger Randy Altschuler by a little less than 400.
Board of Elections commissioner Wayne Rogers said the original numbers were reported by telephone and relayed through intermediaries before being entered into the county’s computer system.
“Somewhere within that process, some of these numbers must have been transcribed incorrectly,” he told The Associated Press on Saturday.
About 9,000 absentee ballots cast in the 1st Congressional District race have yet to be counted. By law, they could be dropped in the mail until the day before the election, and counting is not expected to begin for days.
Bishop spokesman Jon Schneider called for all ballots to be recounted by hand to confirm the accuracy of the tally.
“At this point the only way to be sure of the accuracy of the count is to do a full hand recount of all the ballots,” he said in a statement. “Regardless of the outcome, Suffolk County residents need to have confidence in the integrity of the count.”
The Associated Press had called the election for Bishop after the Suffolk County Board of Elections reported results showing Bishop with a thin, but seemingly insurmountable lead.
Those unofficial returns had Bishop leading with 92,252 votes to Altschuler’s 88,791. The total did not include absentee ballots, which won’t be counted for several days. The Board of Elections has yet to release the new, accurate tallies.
It was unclear whether the error in the election night tally had anything to do with New York’s new electronic voting machines.
Formerly, voters pulled mechanical levers in the booth to cast their ballots. Now, they use a pencil to fill out a paper ballot, which is then read by a scanner.
At the end of the night, poll workers then read a printout of results from each machine, enter the results in a worksheet, and then call in the results by telephone to the elections board. Someone then takes the numbers down and enters them into the computer.
The second count is more reliable, Rogers said, with the numbers coming straight from the memory cards on the scanners.
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Comments (88)
NickDeringer
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:29pmYou would think that after 200 years of voting we could get it right. There’s far too many problems for this to be just incompetence.
Report Post »neverending
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:04pmMy words exactly – not incompetence and not mistakes. My guess is the dem will win that is usually how it works out. They go through these shenanigans to make it look like them look like they are really vigilant and honest – yeah right!!!
Report Post »mrclean
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:48pmLet’s see…… you cast your ballot, a scanner reads it, a poll worker writes down the results, then phones those numbers in to someone else, that person writes it down and tells someone else ………
Report Post »Geeze. No wonder there’s so much error with so many hands in the pot. If poll workers don‘t excell at focusing and paying attention to details we’re screwed.
alienguns
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:23pmthe numbers were transcribed wrong in the process??? ya on purpose I am sure—crooked bastages
Report Post »Fear The Voices
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:04pmA few numbers here and a few there, sooner or later you end up with real votes!
Report Post »common everyday citizen
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:21pmWas ACORN around?
Report Post »Fear The Voices
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:03pmACORN’s involvement is suspected near Albany in a previous election, so why not in this one!
Report Post »mjbeejr
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:17pmVoter fraud: What community organizers excel at!
Report Post »trukmek
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:16pmCan someone clue me in on something? Why is the technology is used, the more
Report Post »the counts get screwed up? I worked on cars for 30yearsn never hab problem with points.
FSUDAVE
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:10pmGet ready to mysteriously find out that someone forgot to turn in 10,000 ballots that remarkably voted 9,000 for Dems and 1,000 for the Repub
Report Post »Legal Immigrant
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:06pmIf you’re gonna count by hand anyway? Why not just use pencil and paper ballots anyway? Throw in a purple indelible inkpad too.
Report Post »Boojer56
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:03pmAs a floridian This is hold hat for me. I would suggest that non biased people oversee the recount but Mr Soros will just buy em off.
Report Post »justice
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:27pmdid spooky dude have anything to do with this?
Report Post »drattastic
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:26pmDon’t get your hopes up folks ,democrats aren’t good at much of anything but when it comes to stealing elections they excel …big time.
Report Post »troyvar
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:18pmThe tea party has done really a great job so far, now it’s time for all of us to get active on the state and local levels. Voter/election reforms are needed almost everywhere, I should know, I live in Minnesota.
Report Post »American_Woman
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:11pmWe have voter fraud here in Minnesota bigtime!
Franken (D) won over Coleman (R) by 312 votes. 341 were found to be cast illegally by convicted felons. State and Federal authorities did little. Most county attorneys refused to take action. Convictions took too long. And this is only stuff that us little folks could prove.
Dayton (D) won over Emmer (R) and now deja vu with the re-count. Seems odd in a state that voted Republican everywhere else and voted out incumbants left and right. VERY ODD!
ATTENTION POLITICIANS, “We the People” want manditory photo ID to vote! And we want this NOW. Personally would like to get a voter receipt too.
Report Post »metalurgy
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:25pmAmerican_Woman,
State and federal authorities = State Supreme Court Judges did very little. Now that lefty Alan Page and the other lefty judge won thier re-election in a landslide, expect the same result with Emmer/Dayton. Mark my words. With a GOP majority in the Senate and House you can bet the farm that Dayton will be certified the winner November 23rd outside the margin of error so Pawlenty won’t be a rubber stamp for the new Legislature. The DFL government won’t allow an accurate count as dead people and illegal aliens need representation too.
Report Post »Fear The Voices
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:15pmI agree, why can you walk into the polls and state your name, sign it on a line in a log book, and be handed a ballot. I could have done this at virtually every polling place and who would have known?
I think there should be mandatory ID verification, and perhaps they should have DMV photo’s along with your name registered in the election logs. No match, no other valid proof of ID, no vote!
Report Post »mrclean
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 10:01pmSoution is a person could register to vote at the DMV and if they don’t drive, the DMV will issue a government photo ID. This is such a simple solution and it ought to be done. It‘s amazing that all that’s currently done is sign your name and that’s it. Lame but what do you expect from a government bureaucracy
Report Post »metalurgy
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:04pmWhen has a GOP candidate ever won in a recount?
Anyone?
Right.
Report Post »MemphisViking
Posted on November 8, 2010 at 4:01pmW won the recount in Florida, repeatedly. Of course, ten years later they still won’t admit it.
Report Post »JD Carp
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:02pmAnything to make sure a democrat win. Get the foxes out of the hen house. Where is Jimmy Carter in all this?
Report Post »CaptainSpaulding
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:01pmThat’s okay – there were 10k votes at the ACORN office that weren’t counted either. :)
Report Post »MilkMustache
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:00pmMaybe if this were implemented it would eliminate a bulk of the voter fraud?
Report Post »http://www.ted.com/talks/david_bismark_e_voting_without_fraud.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-11-02
metalurgy
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:13pmI like the vote technology in that video. Nice.
Report Post »thegr8restoration
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 12:07amDAMN good idea!
Report Post »Bill Mower
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:57pmThis is why voting machines have to be done away with.
Bring back old school paper ballots. They are easier to be policed at the poll by both parties and produce a paper-trail.
Sure the counting will take longer on election night but that bodes well for everyone. More drama for the people and longer hours for the media hence more commercial time.
Report Post »metalurgy
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:18pmNope, Won’t work. There’s always a few boxes of ballots in reserve the the democrats are filling out in the back rooms some where that mysteriously show up in a plastic bag, like what’s going on here in MN right now with the governor recount or last election with the Frankin Felon vote.
Paper ballots are the easiest to create and shred when nobody is looking. Democrats always win the recount because the gov employees doing the handling and counting of the ballots are democrats and they know what side their bread is buttered on.
Report Post »oldasdirt
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:31pmLie,cheat,and steal is what dems are good for.Almost nothing else.
Report Post »A1955Rosie
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:31pmThey have probably attempted several in “prominent locations.” It’s difficult to prove and overturn. Most importantly is to not loose your focus. That is what they hope and plan. Keep their feet to the fire and demand simplicity in further bills so that we can follow.
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:28pmVote tally off……………..how unusual!!!!!
Report Post »Takeoutthegarbagenov2
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:28pmI’m waiting for them to investigate voter fraud in Nevada, but not holding my breath while I wait.
Report Post »Diamond Girl
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:35pmYou and me both, not just there either, try Bridgeport Connecticut etc etc…on and on it goes with the dems filthy dirty tricks they get away with for decades…and always will until this is stopped, don‘t think I’m going to see that happen in my lifetime either.
Report Post »betterthantv
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:17pmNevada is an odd case. Free food for voters, mandatory rides to the polls by the casino’s. Lots of fishy stuff goin’ on?
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:27pmThere was NO voter fraud in Nevada. Filthy Harry and SEIU STOLE IT FAIR AND SQUARE!!!!
Report Post »what4
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:35pmSame goes for stinking Ca. too, these dem’s been stealing elections for decades! We need to find a way to keep NON-CITIZANS from voting!
Report Post »neverending
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 12:30amIf you do – you will run out of breath before anything is done. Can almost guarantee that.
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:25pmWhy is it voting errors almost never favor the Republican? The Democrats must just be really lucky…
Report Post »CatB
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:00pmNO really crooked! … It is disgusting that so many of our military have been denied their constitutional right to vote .. and yet democrats will go “find” marked ballots in trunks of cars etc.
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 12:35amI was just about to say the same thing. Remember the mess with that ding-bat Al Franken?
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:24pmNew York, enough said about it.
Report Post »Fear The Voices
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 8:59pmAbsolutely! Just as in our Governors race. The leftist media wants to witch hunt the conservative candidates and their families, but praise and exalt the liberal ones, even despite their records of fraud, misconduct, and abuse of office.
Our state government, and media for that matter, thinks they need to be afraid of candidates who threaten to bring a baseball bat with them to office; they better be watching out for us citizens who are ready to show up with pitchforks!
Report Post »sissykatz
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 10:37pmSnowlelopard I think I read that you were from Arizona, are they going to do a recount of Ruth Mcclung and her crooked opponent? I have heard very little about this race, but I think they finally declared her as losing.But it was so close and since that was where so much cheating had been going on I wondered if they would do a recount. Do you know? Thanks
Report Post »bry
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 8:00amSnowleopard…please don’t lump all of us New Yorkers together. Many of us worked so hard to get good conservatives on the ballot. The NY Republican officials let us down. They did nothing to help the Republican candidates. My district happens to be Republican, Pete King is my rep. We feel alone in the wilderness. I believe one other conservative was elected to congress…from Staten Island which is part of NYC, so there is still a glimmer of hope for us. We have just begun to fight!
Report Post »clockwatcher
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:23pmDemocrat will find 10,000 dead voters and they will invalidate thousands of military ballots. Do you want to make a bet???
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:25pmNo, for most likely they already have.
Report Post »Awakened One
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:57pmWhile they are holding hearings, the incoming republican house needs to hold hearings on voter fraud. This is all too common and getting worse.
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:26pmNo bet…a progressive state that accidentally let the truth loose….but only temporarily.
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:50pmDemoncrats have to reward their constituents. My Grandfather was a Demoncrat Ward Healer in the 1930’s and I still remember him saying “why should a good party man be denied his franchise simply because he passed away?” http://commonsense21c.com/
Report Post »Paul G
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:52pmI know there’s 2 pages of comments already, but most are ‘jokes’ about “well, thats what democrats do” I DON‘T think it’s funny AT ALL! THEY HAVE stolen elections this year. All over the place. From Alaska to Conneticut, to Colorado to Nevada…and probably 1000′s of other places I think even before the Republicans do ANYTHING about the budget, immigration etc. They Have to do SOMETHING about this voting charade! Not just for them, but for US! If we don’t/can’t have the vote…we got NOTHING!
Report Post »Mahakala
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:21pmDo not let the democrats steal another election. Be vigilant for fraud. It’s the democrats bread and butter.
MAULEMALL
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 6:30pmAnother long term succubus bites the dust.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:03pmHopefully the Republican is the winner after all is said and done, and then, on to Alaska. Pray for Miller’s victory.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 7:43pm@Grandmaof5
Agreed.
Report Post »IVillageIdiot
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 9:46pmATM Voting, it the ONLY hope for the democratic method of implementing a Constitutional Republic that is this infiltrated by union influence and party bigotry.
I think we’d better hurry too, there aren’t going to be endless chances to recover if 1/6th of the economy is plumbed to GVT spending.
Report Post »StMichelob
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:15pmI agree, BUT Bishop DID call for an accurate count by hand to insure the intgrity of the vote count no matter the outcome. In my book, he is a democrat who hasn’t been swallowed by the machine, and I salute him for his unselfish and highly honorable act. If all democrats were like him, our Founding Fathers could rest easier in their graves, and our system would work, with both sides, although differing in opinion, working together to make our country great again.
Report Post »StMichelob
Posted on November 6, 2010 at 11:17pmI just don‘t see this as Bishop’s fault or doing, that the poll workers are at fault for mis-reporting….and I only say this from hearing Bishop’s response.
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 1:13amBishop wants a recount because he’s losing in the corrected tally. It has nothing to do with integrity. He wasn‘t calling for a recount when he thought he’d won a razor thin victory.
I agree I doubt Bishop himself was directly involved with this. But don’t be fooled, this was not done in error. Notice the description of the process. It’s no mistake that there are ten different steps of BS that have to take place for a vote to get counted. The more steps and more people involved in the process is more chances to get dishonest sympathizers in position to “make mistakes”.
Report Post »Strictlybusiness
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 2:36amthis is just the beggining of the avalanch of cheating the DEMONOCRATS were a part of this year… They are a pathetic excuse for americans…… I think deporting the Demonocrats at the very least is the minimum we as patriots should do….They don’t want anyone to question their patriotic spirit…OMG , what patriotic spirit??? Patriotic spirit for WHAT COUNTRY????? Not AMERICA, that’s for D@M sure.
Report Post »spikebu
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 2:43amThen there’s Pelosi. She has an 11% approval rating nation wide, yet she wins her district with 80 some odd %? Do the 20% of Americans who consider themselves “far left” of center all live in San Fran? Nope. Can’t be. Gotta be enough in Boxer’s district to elect her. And what about Harry? How far does 20% go?
Report Post »StMichelob
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 6:33am@ROWGUE….Oh, don’t get me wrong…”fool me once, shame on me…fool me twice…..um….won’t get fooled again”
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on November 7, 2010 at 8:16amThis kind of stuff happened all over the country. Between the adjustable voting machines, ballots being found floating in ponds and in trunks of cares, who knows how well the GOP REALLY did???
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