Editorial: Botched Lancaster ballots undermine voter confidence
(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2022/05/19/parties-must-work-together-to-enhance-voter-confidence-in-elections/stories/202205190132
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette May 20, 2022
“Election integrity” may have become a Republican talking point, but it’s responding to two genuine realities: Regular snafus in the collecting and counting of votes, such as the Lancaster mess, and understandable unease among voters about the competent administration of elections. Yes, some people prattle about “election integrity” in a cynical bid to undermine results they don’t like, and disappointed candidates try to console themselves by claiming the other side stole the election.
But there are also many, many voters who are innocently concerned for America’s democratic institutions. They look at major mistakes like Lancaster’s and worry: “Can we trust this process? Does it matter if I vote?” Not because they’re conspiracy theorists or wannabe insurrectionists, but because these are reasonable questions to ask.
Some try to dismiss these citizens as anti-democratic cranks, but this is counterproductive. It denies the observable reality of election mistakes, and only increases suspicion as people wonder why their honest concern is treated with derision. Screaming “nothing to see here!” always attracts more attention than it distracts.
In Lancaster, a coding error made by the county’s mail-in ballot vendor (NPC Inc., of Blair County) rendered 16,000 ballots unreadable by scanners. Now county officials have to painstakingly fill in new ballots based on the originals, then scan them. This is, incredibly, the second time in two years — with different vendors! — the county has had to do this.
The process is moving forward with professionalism. Three people are involved with each ballot: One who reads the original, one who marks the replacement and one who watches to make sure they got it right. Representatives for GOP Senate frontrunners Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick, who are currently separated by fewer than 1,500 votes statewide, are circulating. We have every reason to believe the count will be accurate.
- more at link -
Can the Lancaster County Board of Elections at least hire a proofreader? How about a trained volunteer? SOMEBODY has to check these ballots before they get printed and mailed.
= new reply since forum marked as read
But perhaps the Republican voters (AKA Repukes) are less likely to request mail-in ballots than the Democratic voters. The County Board of Elections only prints enough ballots to fill requests, so it's not going to be a large number.
The coding error happened on the Republican primary ballots, and it wasn't on all of them, just a certain number. Each precinct and each district has different candidates. (So yes the ballots were printed in small batches.) Somehow the coding error happened because nobody checked the ballots before they were mailed out. (My guess anyway)
If the printer was given incorrect info, it's not their fault that the ballots were incorrect. If the County Elections Board signed the proofs and they are incorrect, well how can the printer be blamed? If NOBODY checked or signed the proofs, then SOMEBODY is in deep shit.
coding on medical documents..huge implications when it comes to billing a med. ins. member.(Our PCP had a copy of the member card, but couldn't explain why they put on incorrect Group ID on all the orders..I discovered that was where the error happened, but I had to contact the spec dr. ofc..two of them, to find out where they got the info.)
I hear you, if the information was incorrect to the printer, - this is why an investigation needs to be in order..and perhaps they are peeling back the onion, as we speak..
Thank you for the information with regards to county ballot requests..
They'll never go with "verbal" counts because no verification would ever be possible.
As long as every ballot is checked and verified, it should be the most foolproof. It's also the slowest way to do it.
