Ok...Perhaps sometimes my spelling isn't the best..(i do use a dictionary, except when it's late or my eyes are tired). My grammer may also leave little to be desired, but I continue to work on both of the above. But I am a bright guy. I have been voting since I was legal. I was never aware of voting machine problems until Bush v Gore '00. As a matter of fact, I always assumed our government (local & Federal) had their shit together in regards to voting machines and counting all the votes. Like the best of you...I can certainly pick up a pen and punch the holes of the candidates, issues, measures that are on the ballot. I live in Los Angeles County...Our county is a major Democratic strong hold in our blue state.
1 2 3 .....Jump
Yup...that's right..LA county is a huge gold mine for the Democratic Party and where a large majority of the votes come from here in California. As you all know by now....our Democratic Governor was recalled and now we have Republican Arnold. (Hey Arnie...your numbers are dropping and they are turning on you daily, the TV ads are working cause my mom called me last night and has decided she now can't stand you and to give the schools back their fucking money!)
So I ask you....WTF is now happening to our voting machines (we used to have punch card) in LA County and maybe even the machines in your county?
We now have something called INKA MACHINES.
I'll try and keep this short. When I went to vote a couple of months ago, we are voting for a new Mayor, Hahn out, Villaraigosa hopefully in. Anyway, I went into my voting booth (conveniently located at Baskin/Robbins 31 Flavors, double scoop of Rocky Road and I'll vote for Kerry please), put my ballot into the machine, held the Pen in my hand, and went through the choices and punched the pen into the holes for all my choices. I pulled the ballot out and as I was doing this I noticed the Ink on several choices had smeared when I touched the ballot. WTF? So I went up to the 80 year olds that were in charge of my Polling place and showed them my ballot. The fight ensued..."It's good"..."It's spoiled"..."Good"..."Spoiled"..after 5 minutes of them going back and forth..I finally said "Let's error on the side of Life..ooops..I mean caution..can I have another ballot, I'll do it again."..."Ok..they finally said...here's a new ballot".
I wait, and go into the booth again...remember..I am not stupid...I am smart, damnit...Smart.. I have been doing this for over 20 years..never being aware that there could be any problems what so ever after I punch my ballot. So I punch again, and again...and again..Perfect..I'm done..I take the card out...I hold the card by the edges and slip it into the gray secrecy envelope that is provided..As I am doing this........OH SHIT...WTF?...SMEARED AGAIN...when the Ink on the card touches the envelope...my ballot is smeared worse than the first time. I go once again..back to the geriatric table and ask the confused elderly poll workers what I should do now? This time...they quickly answer..."Spoiled..your ballot is spoiled. Look at that mess, you got ink everywhere...it's an INKA MESS..here is another one...BE Careful"
I GOT INK EVERYWHERE????? I GOT INK EVERYWHERE?
So here is my question...If I spoiled 2 ballots, using the new and improved INKA VOTING MACHINES, what the hell is the rest of Los Angeles county doing? What about the people that shove their unknownly wet ink ballot into their envelope and don't look back? If these machines are in your Polling place, are you aware that our officals are NOT using INK that doesn't smear?
Yesterday...I called our city clerk (Frank Martinez) and told my story...he replied..."The Ink smears?"
Yesterday...I also called our Cheif of Election divisions(John Mott-Smith in Sacramento)I told his assistant my story.."The INK smears" she says. "We just switched over from Punch Card to these new INKA Voting." "Did you do it for all of California?" I ask..."Oh no..." she says..."Only in Los Angeles County".."What about Orange County?" (Big republican strong hold) I ask "Oh, I believe they have the new touch screen machines".
Call me paranoid, tell me I have a tinfoil hat on, but with the recent recall of our Democratic Governor, replaced by Crazy Republican Arnold, who stumped for Bush in Ohio. And now with these INKA VOTING Machines (that clearly spoil ballots with Ink that smears). Is there some planning to turn California Red? Is something going on in my county, here in California, that could also be happening in other Democratic strong holds throughout America?
If nothing else, please check up on your local voting Machines..Please beware that if your machine is "INKA Voting", check your ballot and make sure the ink didn't smear before you hand it in. Based on my experience...the new and improved INKA Voting Machines Suck and might be another tool to sway elections. If you do have them..please call or write your officals and ask why they are using Ink that smears and spoils the ballots?
Why is it..that this bullshit never stops, and we must continue to police our government. If they don't change the Ink, I am tempted to have a citizens group check the spoiled ballots after our local elections here this May 17th, and see how many INKA BALLOTS were Spoiled in Los Angeles County. With mid term elections less than 2 years away..now is the time to make things right...we wait to long to fix any problems and we lose. The Republican machine(as my Grandma always used to say) is Foxy.. Anyway..Beware INKA VOTING MACHINES