Apparently the fun with new voting machines was not limited to Montgomery County, Maryland (for those of you who saw my last post).
I've now spoken with friends who voted in D.C. They have new machines there. In D.C., one now completes the broken arrow for the candidate of choice. The DC Board of Elections and Ethics has pictures here:
The Washington Post also has a video demo of the system here:
The Post article about it can be found at:
After one completes the arrow, one then places the enormous ballot in the envelope. The polling worker then immediately takes the ballot out of the envelope to run it through the scanner to make sure you didn't overvote. The problem is that I am told that she (and anyone nearby) can see your vote perfectly clearly. When asked about this, she stated "I'm not looking." (Question to voting rights attorneys: Did this answer work in Mississippi on you in the 1970s?)
On top of all this, I imagine many of you have heard about our mayoral follies. Incumbent Mayor Tony Williams, known best for his mangerial skills, proved he was telling the truth when he said he knew nothing about politics. The workers he hired to collect campaign signatures decided just to sign the names themselves. (The Washington Post also reports that Williams, a hopeless nerd after my own heart, would far prefer to discuss city hotel occupancy rates than shake the hand of a guy calling out his support on the street.) As a result, the mayor was tossed off the ballot and had to wage a write-in campaign. Williams had one major opponent, Rev. Willie Wilson, supported by former Mayor Marion Barry. Fortunately, not too many people decided to write-in "Will" for mayor. They counted the write-ins quickly and Williams was renominated.
I'm just grateful our neighbors across the river in Virginia votes in odd-numbered years.
David Lublin
American University