In the contentious 2012 election, many allegations of Voter Fraud were hurled around, and some of them turned out to be true . One of those potential issues showed up in the form of voting machines that kept switching the selected votes. The Marion Star reported on an interesting scenario in Ohio.
“Joan Stevens was one of several early voters at the polls on Monday. But when Stevens tried to cast her ballot for president, she noticed a problem. Upon selecting “Mitt Romney” on the electronic touch screen, Barack Obama’s name lit up. It took Stevens three tries before her selection was accurately recorded.”
According to CBS Chicago, voting machines are at it again , and this time the issue happened to the candidate running in the race that the votes were being recorded for. When James Moynihan went to vote last week, he was shocked to find, he voted for the other guy running. Reports suggest that “vote flipping” has affected at least five people in one county.
“Vote flipping” is the phrase given when a vote flips from one candidate or party selected to the other. In these cases, the Republican option flipped to the Democratic one. The cause of the issue of Republican votes turning blue is said to be a “calibration issue,” but Illinois is not the only state experiencing these early voting issues. According to WBALTV, complaints of “vote flipping” is plaguing several counties in Maryland.
Nine counties, including Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Frederick, Howard, Queen Anne’s and Baltimore counties have reported the potential fraud. Maryland election officials say they are looking into the “vote flipping” allegations. A Democratic judge is saying that the voters always have the last say. Judge Denise Issac states that voters can review what they voted for before submitting, and make any necessary changes. However, a female voter in Howard county seems to imply that is not the case.
“A female voter in Howard County did complain to a judge. She told 11 News by phone that when she cast a ballot at the library for a Republican candidate on machine No. 18, the machine beeped and then her choice flipped over to the Democratic candidate. She said this happened repeatedly. Finally an election judge gave her a pencil with an eraser head to punch in her choice and that worked.”
In Fredereick and Anne Arundel county similar issues cropped up. Election officials in Frederick, like in Illinois, believe that the issue of “vote flipping” is a “calibration” issue. Reports allege that these kind of issues arise every election cycle, and are usually “voter error.”
The issue in the 2012 elections, and the current, have not been ruled Voter fraud, but the issue is curious. In both cases, it was in the early voting period, and the same “vote flipping” issue. Some believe vote switching, and suspending of voter ID laws cause electoral fraud. The Inquisitr reported on the changes made to voter ID laws this year. It all seems to raise more questions, than answers.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe voter fraud is real, or is it a manufactured issue?
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