WaPo: Webb's name cut off from voting machines

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Serge Egelman <egelman () cs cmu edu>
Date: October 24, 2006 12:50:36 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: WaPo: Webb's name cut off from voting machines

For IP if you wish:


From today's Washington Post:

Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/ 
AR2006102301178.html


<snip>
U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of
the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and
Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other
candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday . . . Election
officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the
ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also
unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the  
ballot.

Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and
nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria,
Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia
that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.

"We're not happy about it," Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said
last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week
ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. "I don't
think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that's a concern."
</snip>

I'm not positive about this, but I'd wager that these are probably the
strongest Democratic-leaning localities in Virginia.  This seems pretty
fishy.  What's even more outrageous is that knowing of the bug two weeks
before the election, they say it can't be fixed.


serge

--
/*
Serge Egelman

PhD Candidate
Vice President for External Affairs, Graduate Student Assembly
Carnegie Mellon University

Legislative Concerns Chair
National Association of Graduate-Professional Students
*/


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