Election Day Anomolies - Report Them Here

Election Day - Please forward as appropriate.

Click here for Nov. 8 election trouble reports:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/114.html

Did you vote today? Are you going to observe the tallying tonight?
How did the voting machines work?

Click here to discuss the election and/or file reports:
http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/discus.cgi
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forums,
just click "register" at left, follow instructions, and you're in!

Observations: After the polls close, there are several things we'd you
to
observe, if you can.

1) Poll closing activities - simply write down the process (and any
deviations
from it)

2) CENTRAL TABULATOR - each jurisdiction has one location where they
add up
all the votes from various polling places. They start tallying up just
as the polls
close. Under the law, observers are allowed in almost all
jurisdictions.

Become a "human audit log" -- write down the names, times, machine
numbers,
precinct locations etc for each anomaly.

3) Depot locations: Large jurisdictions often bring materials from
polling places
to intermediary locations for transmittal to headquarters. Again,
observation is
permitted in these depots in almost all jurisdictions, but very little
observation has
been done.

4) Any and all handling of memory cards (credit-card sized electronic
ballot boxes).
Observe and ask questions about chain of custody.

5) Behavior of political party observers: Are they alert? Are they
watching for the
right things? Do they understand points of vulnerability?

Try to avoid the very strong temptation to become chatty with other
observers or
public officials. Watch for and record small anomalies. Almost all of
the events will
be humdrum and boring, but tiny observations can be significant, so
avoid the
temptation to leave early after a general glance at things. You will
find elections
activities to be well organized, and the people working there will
usually be quite
nice. Record the procedures and the explanations, but do not take them
at face
value. Many elections workers are surprisingly unsophisticated about
attack trees
or failure points.

MATERIALS TO BRING WITH YOU ON OBSERVATIONS;

1. Notebook and writing implement
2. Binoculars (so you can read computer screens)
3. Video camera
4. Cell phone

Note on trouble reports: Most problems are not apparent during the
election, but appear
on election night during tallying and during the week following the
election, when
canvassing (auditing) is performed.

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