We will be blogging live from the 601vote Call Center today. We have seven operators in place taking calls.  NOTE:  Reports posted here have been called in by individuals who have given their names and numbers. It is the intent of 601vote to post credible reports. Please continue to check back through the day for the latest updates:

7:13 p.m.  Attached is a report from various precincts around the state.

6-oclock-precinct-report

6:55 p.m.  Forrest County.  Rowan Precinct.  Caller reports the doors to the precinct were locked at 6:30 and she hand to bang on the door to get them opened.

6:34 p.m.  Hinds County.  New Jerusalem precinct.  Caller reports the precinct is closed, lights are out and doors locked.

 6:12 p.m. Hinds County.  Medgar Evers Library.  Caller reports that machines are broken and the precinct is out of paper ballots. 

6:06 p.m. Statewide.  601vote reports 387 logged calls with 114 from HInds, 24 from Madison and 20 from Rankin.

5:45 p.m.  Hinds County.  Willie Morris Library.  Caller reports that one candidate’s name is larger than the other for Election Commissioner. THIS ISSUE WAS FOUND TO BE DUE TO THE “ZOOM” FACTOR IN THE SOFTWARE FOR INDIVIDUAL MACHINES.  In one instance one candidate, a Republican was highlighted; in another instance, a Democratic candidate was highlighted.

Panola County.  Toccawa Precinct.  Caller reports that armed Sheriff’s deputies are inside the precinct.  A 601vote attorney has been dispatched to the precinct.

5:10 p.m.  Attala County.  A second caller has reported problems with the Sallis and Kosciusko voting machines wherein votes cast for Obama record as for McCain unless the voter presses the button “twice.”

4:42 p.m.  Statewide.  601vote has learned that party leaders have met in conference call with the Secretary of State today in an effort to share information about problems occuring at precincts around the state and to effect actions that will eliminate the problems. 

4:24 p.m.  Statistics from 601vote.  At this writing 258 reports have been inputted into our databank.  Of those, complaints/issues were 18 Forrest County, 23 Harrison County, 81 Hinds County, 8 Lauderdale, 6 Jones, 20 Madison and 15 Rankin.  Other counties’ issues were fewer than 6.  Calls were logged to 23 Election Commissioners, 31 Circuit Clerks.  50 individuals called wanting to know where their voting precincts were located.  62 percent of callers were female.  91 percent of the calls have been resolved.

4:06 p.m.  Hinds County.  Baker Elementary School.  Caller reports the voting machines are “flipping votes” fronm Obama to McCain.  Further, the caller reported that the pollworkers did not seem helpful.

3:44 p.m.  Coahoma County.  Civic Auditorium Precinct.  Caller reports that at 8:30 this morning she cast a ballot, marking an X for Obama.  The machine continued to lose the X as she moved down the ballot until the third retry at which time it finally remained in place.

3:42 p.m.  Rankin County.  Flowood Library precinct.  Caller reports that four Flowood police cars are stationed at the entrance to the precint.  601vote attorneys have been dispatched to the precinct.

3:41 p.m.  Covington County.  Collins precinct.  Caller reports that at 2:30 the box was within 50 votes of the entire 2007 vote. 

3:12 p.m. Hinds County.  JSU precinct.  A voter walked in to the center to report that she cast her vote on Machine No 2 and when she tallied the vote it showed that she had voted for Wicker instead of Musgrove.   The student reported that her correct vote was eventually recorded.

2:50 p.m.  Lawrence County.  Oma Precinct.  Voters have been told that if they did not vote in the primary, they cannot vote in the general.  601vote attorneys have been dispatched to this precinct.

2:49 p.m.  Hinds County.  Lester precinct.  Caller reports that poll watchers are agressive and giving instructions to voters.

2:40 p.m Harrison County.  Lymon Community Center.  Caller reports that a gentleman was allowed to vote in his wife’s name.  The caller eyewitnessed the event.

2:38 p.m.  Lincoln County.  Alexander Precinct.  Caller reports that law enforcement officials are stationed outside the polls and that some elected law enforcement has been canvassing the community related to voting.

2:35 p.m. — Attala County.  Sallis precinct.  Caller reports that the voting machine is “flipping votes” from Obama to McCain.  This has been reported to the Attorney General’s Office. 

NOON REPORT FROM 52 PRECINCTS

The attached Excel Spreadsheet state-wide survey of 52 precincts sponsored by 601vote is attached.  It shows a tremendous voting upsurge from the 2004 election.

52-precinct-report

1:57 p.m. Harrison County.  A report was filed of an “over agressive” poll watcher who was telling individuals that they could only vote in one of two Senate races.  The Circuit Clerk sent a bailiff to investigate this situation at North Bel Air Precinct in Gulfport. 

1:55 p.m.  Hinds County.  Reports continue to come in that some precincts have only one poll book and it is impeding progress for voters who are standing in line.  The 601vote attorney pool has contacted some poll managers who have agreed to split the books in order to ease the length of the wait.

1:52 p.m. — Forrest County.  Camp School Hattiesburg.  A report was called in earlier this morning that all voters were being required to show ID.  A 601vote attorney was dispatched to the precinct.  A report is pending.

1:51 p.m. — Simpson County.  Pinegrove Church Mendenhall.  A 601vote lawyer resolved a problem by contacting the Circuit Clerk when it was reported where a disabled voter was refused curbside voting and was told to walk inside the polling place to get an affidavit ballot.

1:29 p.m.  Kemper County — Reported problems with voting machines.  Voters mentioned being unable to vote for a presidential candidate.

1:25 p.m.  Kemper County –  Reported that voting machines are not registering votes in two separate locations in the county.  At the Preston location, voters are encouraged to push the button twice to register your vote.  At the Kellis Store location, there have been problems with not pressing the buttons hard enough.

1:20 p.m.  Pike County — Voter has attempted to vote since 9:30 a.m.  Voter resides in McComb, is registered, and has been to three different precincts.

1:16 p.m.  Forrest County — Machine malfunctions occurred.  Only one presidential candidate’s name appeared on the ballot.  After a short delay, the rest of the names appeared.

1:11 p.m.  Hinds County — Green Street — Voter had to vote by affidavit after being told her name was not on the list.  She has voted in that location for 35 years.  Her precinct changed to Blackburn Middle School.  Poll workers would not allow her to vote there or disregard affidavit vote, but she was assured her vote would count.

1:07 p.m.  Rankin County — Castlewoods East precinct has moved to a location near the Castlewoods Fire Department.

1:03 p.m.  Lauderdale County — Reports that a poll manager called the police over an issue at the polls.

12:39 p.m.  Lafayette County  — Reports of problems previously reported in the Oxford precincts have been resolved according to the 601vote attorney dispatched to the polling places.

12:30 p.m.  Rankin County — A 601vote attorney reports a problem solved where a candidate for Election Commissioner was campaigning within the restricted area and also had signage within the area.

12:26 p.m.  Kemper County — District 4 Preston Station.  Caller reports the machines are not working and voters cannot cast a vote for president.

12:00 p.m.  Statewide — Numerous calls have come in from voters who have been inexpicably removed from their voting rolls despite sometimes long histories of voting at the same place. 

11:50 a.m. Hinds County.  Medgar Evers Tri-Station precinct.  Caller reported many affadavit ballots.  Pollwatchers were unable to account for the increase in affadavit ballots as to reason.  They will be continuing to monitor the excessive number to see what the reason may be.

11:39 a.m. Hinds County.  Wildwood Baptist Church in Clinton precinct.  Pollworkers are continuing to ask voters for their addresses despite information provided on site by 601vote.  According to the Secretary of State’s publication, pollworkers are only to ask for the name of the voter and, in case the name cannot be located, only then are the pollworkers to ask for addresses.  A lawyer on the expert panel here at 601vote reports that this tactic has been employed during the past in this district of Hinds County.

11:36 a.m. Hinds County.  JSU precinct.  Caller reported that she was on the list provided by the Circuit Clerk to poll watchers, but she was not on the list being used inside the precinct.  She voted affadavit.

11:33 Rankin County.  Flowood Library precinct.  A caller reported that she had voted in previous elections and was told she was not registered for this election.  She was told she was registered in Jackson and was told to go back to Jackson.  Eventually, she was given an affidavit ballot in Flowood.

11:32 — Lowndes County.  A caller reported that voters requesting assistance were being denied help at Rural Hill Community Center precinct.

11:31 a.m. __ Statewide — A number of calls are coming in that candidate signs are located within the 150 foot boundary.  This is a reminder that the law prohibits display of any campaign literature within 150 feet of the polling place. 

11:30 a.m. — Rankin County.  A poll observer has called in that at the rate of voting at Paul Truitt and Pearl Chamber of Commerce there should be an 80 percent voter turnout by end of day.

11:13 a.m. — Hinds County.  A caller has reported that in the Election Commission race, the vote cast for Levine was showing as Avery on the machine. 

11:07 a.m. — An early report from Tunica County was that people had been purged from the rolls because of inactivity at the precinct and not responding to numerous jury summonses.  Attorneys from 601vote contacted the election commissioners and the voters so affected will be allowed to vote affidavit ballots and their votes will be counted.

10:59 a.m.  Rankin County — At the Fannin Methodist Church precinct, the school board election is not on the ballot. 

Rankin County – Precinct #322 has been moved and there is no signage to indicate the move.l  

Statewide — We are receiving consistent reports of very large turnout  statewide.   

10:52 A.M.  Lafayette County — A voter called to report problems in Oxford.  The caller alleged that in Oxford 1 the poll managers are giving assistance to elderly white voters, but denying assistance to elderly black voters. In Oxford 2, the bailiff is alleged to be walking up and down the line of voters targeting young and or/black voters and telling them if they are not on the rolls they can’t vote and if they vote affidavit their votes won’t count. In Oxford 4, there are long lines and officials are allegedly requiring two forms of identification.  601vote has dispatched attorneys to verify these allegations.  We will post resolutions as they occur. THESE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN RESOLVED.  12:39 P.M.

10:42 a.m. — Hinds County, Precinct 1.  A voter called to report she eyewitnessed a disabled individual being denied curbside voting.  The person’s daughter stood in line until she got close to the front and then went to get her mother so she could vote.  This caller also said voting was going extremely slowly and that the poll manager rejected a suggestion to split up the poll book and allow someone else to help look up voters instead of the one individual. 

Wilkinson County — Precinct One, Recreation Center.  A report was received that the voting machine was broken.

9:29 — Simpson County — The attorney handling the Braxton problem reported that the machine access card has been fixed and that everything is going smoothly now.

Hinds County — JSU precinct — a student voter reported that the pollworkers are asking each voter for a “proper ID” and insisting that would be a JSU student ID card.  If the voter cannot produce a student ID, the worker is asking numerous other identifying questions before allowing the individual to cast an affidavit ballot.  At least one voter was observed walking away by the student.  This student also reported that the Hinds County Circuit Clerk’s office provided his group with a voter roll on Friday that had the name of a woman who was told at the polling place her name was not on the roll.  The student reported that his group fears a new voter roll has replaced the one provided on Friday. A number of attorneys have been dispatched to this polling place. 

Lauderdale County — Meridian.  A caller reports that police are arresting people at the polls for outstanding warrants for traffic violations and other offenses. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED 10:32 A.M.  An attorney at the calling center contacted the Police Chief about this issue to remind him that there is a statute specifically prohibiting this type of action.

7:50 a.m. Forrest County — the precinct formerly at 2803 Hillside Avenue has been moved.  There is no signage in place to direct voters.

7:54 a.m. Scott County — The precinct previously at Cornerstone Baptist Church in  cott County has been moved.  There is no signage to direct voters.

7:58 a.m.Hinds County — An attorney has been dispatched to the McWillie Elementary precinct in Jackson following reports of a commotion and confusion.

8:10 a.m Hinds County — A report has been received that Precinct 83 (New Hope Church) pollworkers are not allowing individuals to vote by affidavit ballot if they do not appear on the rolls.

8:14 a.m. Madison County — The Sunchase Apartment precinct has been moved to The Activities Center by Cock of the Walk.  Signs alerting voters to the change placed last night were removed by this morning.

Statewide — Reports of long lines are coming in from all sectors of the state.  At the Callaway precinct here in Jackson, a voter reported that he was number 40 at 7:05 a.m. Additionally, he spoke to a young woman, a new voter, who arrived at the polling place at 5:30 a.m. to make sure she would be able to vote.

Simpson County – A caller reports that the Braxton precinct’s voting machine is down and there is a fear that affadavit ballots will run out as voters are having to use them.  They have already run out of envelopes. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED.  9:29 a.m.

8:26 a.m. — Hinds County.  Precinct 91 (Timberlawn Elementary) reports that pollworkers are systematically asking voters for ID.  ID is only necessary under certain circumstances. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED. 10:34 A.M.

Please note that all problems reported here have been dispatched to attorneys for investigation or help.

9:09 a.m. Hinds — McWillie Precinct has smoothed out according to the attorney dispatched to the precinct.  All is orderly.  He reports there were so many voters early that the process was temporarily overwhelmed.

Hinds — Precinct 22.  A voter has called to say that she was at first told she was not on the voter roll.  The voter insisted that she was and stayed while the poll worker checked a second time where she was found to be on the roll.  That precinct had voted 217 voters at 8:10 a.m.

Washington County — The Circuit Clerk reports 2,000 absentee ballots were filed for this election — the most ever in that county.

Madison County — Parkway United Pentecostal (note change) Church precinct.  The caller stated that 7 of 10 machines were operational.  Additionally, he said the poll workers were asking for street addresses to verify the voters (an unnecessary step) and as the poll worker was looking for his name, the worker refused to let the voter see the rolls.  The voter reported that once voters were verified and they signed the poll books, there was no direction to voters as to where to go next.  He said people were confused.  This occurred at 9:00 a.m.

9:14 a.m. — Madison County — A voter at the Ridgeland Community Center in Madison reported that machine #269930 #12 ws flipping her vote from Obama to McCain.  After two attempts, the poll worker informed her that a third try that was wrong would cancel her vote.  She was allowed to go to another machine which worked.

A voter called to report that a machine was malfunctioning at the West Petal Precinct.  It would jump to the bottom of the ballot.

7:41 a.m.

The pollworkers at the Medical Mall precinct in Jackson have been reported as giving out numbers to voters standing in line.

A report was received that there were 60 people in line at a Terry box prior to 7:00 a.m.

50 people were in line at the Pearl Chamber of Commerce precinct at 7:10 this morning.

At the East Tupelo precinct at the Tupelo Life Church/Children’s Mansion, a report was filed that the machine used to process the paper ballots are not working.  The caller was told that it would be handled later.

7:27 a.m.

The Jackson State precinct opened 15 minutes late with one machine down.

Harrison County — Precinct 10 has been moved to 1200 42nd Street.  It is no longer located at 4410 West Beach Blvd. The Clerk’s office is handling this.

7:30 a.m.

Madison County — A report has been received that there may not be paper trails printed in some precincts.

7:18 a.m.
Reports have come in that the William Carey College precinct is not open.  Also, The Robinsonville 1A precinct in Tunica did not open at 7:00.  There were no workers on site there, according to the caller.

WE ARE BLOGGING AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE NOW.

Attorney General Jim Hood issued a memorandum (above) to Mississippi Circuit Clerks and County Election Commissioners on October 24, 2008, concerning potential issues related to 1) challenged ballot procedures, 2) voter assistance and 3) paper and emergency ballots.

Among other instructions, Hood noted “Challenges are sometimes made arbitrarily as part of an effort to disrupt and delay the voting process.  Be sure your pollworkers know that when they believe a challenge is frivolous or not made in good faith, they may disregard the challenge and allow the voter to vote normally on the voting device.”

He states that if a first-time voter who registered by mail cannot meet the ID requirement, the HAVA laws provide that “he must be permitted to vote by provisional (affidavit) ballot.”

Hood advises that only blind, physically disabled or illiterate voters may have a person accompany them into the voting booth for help — “only after the voter himself has declared his disability and requested assistance, and the managers of the election are satisfied that the claimed disability exists.”

In anticipation of a record voter turnout, Hood advises that each precinct be supplied with sufficient paper ballots for affidavit ballot situations as well as any voting device breakdowns or malfunctions.

Topic: Protect the Vote Legal Volunteer Training
Host: Irene Jones
Date: Sunday, November 2, 2008
Time: 2:00 pm, Central Standard Time (GMT -06:00, Chicago)
Registration ID: 787710
Session number: 576 448 928
Session password: 4Medgar2

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To join the training session
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1. Go to https://protectthevote.webex.com/protectthevote/k2/j.php?ED=114366177&UID=1036249492&rid=1

PLEASE MAKE NOTE:  Your assignments will be issued on Monday.  A noon webinar training session will be held for those who have not been able to attend the others.  Be on the lookout for that information on the www.601vote.wordpress.com blog.

Credentialed Poll Watchers Manual

Here are the points the group makes:

1.  Most voters are not required to show ID at the polls.

2.  Be creative when checking the poll book for a voter’s name.

3.  Voters have a right to assistance.

4.  Voters who have recently moved must be instructed on where and how to vote.

5.  Affidavit ballots are a last resort.

6.  Inform voters that affidavit ballots cast in the wrong precinct will not be counted.

7.  If the voting machines break down, voters may vote with regular paper ballots.

8.  Keep track of your supplies.

9.  Do not allow voters to be intimidated and take all complaints of voter intimidation seriously.

10.  Voters in line at the poling place at closing time must be allowed to vote.

Here is the full document in pdf format:

Advancement Project Poll Watchers Advice

    The goal of the lawyers’ group is to be a resource for protecting voters’ rights all the way from the registration process to the ballot box, according to Yumeka Rushing, Project Coordinator.

   The first training session is scheduled for Sunday, October 26, at 2:00 p.m. at the Butler Snow courtroom on the tenth floor of the Regions Bank Building in downtown Jackson.  The Amite Street entrance will be open for participants to gain access to the building.  Directions to the building:  From I-55, take the High Street exit, turn left on State Street and proceed to Amite Street  Turn right onto Amite.  Proceed past Smith Park and the Governor’s Mansion, cross over West Street.  The entrance to the ground floor of the Regions Bank Building is just under the skywalk to your left.

  Persons who cannot attend may call in using the following conference call information:

The call-in number is: 1-218-339-7800

Participant Code is: 87652

The conference call service is free; however, long-distance charges may apply.

A Webinar is scheduled for Wednesday evening, October 29,  at 5:30 p.m. (dial in information TBA). 

The final training session is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, November 2, at 2:00 p.m. at the Butler Snow facility.

All sessions will present the same information.  This is a non-partisan effort and no campaign or political party is responsible for this training.

The Lawyers’ Voter Protection Guide is available here for uploading in two parts.

VOTER PROTECTION MANUAL PART 1

VOTER PROTECTION MANUAL PART 2

Leslie Scott, former Assistant Secretary of State for Elections, Carlton Reeves, past-president of the Magnolia Bar Association, Louisa Dixon, former Commissioner of Public Safety, and Sam Begley, Mississippi Association for Justice member, and others will be presenters.

The Protect the Vote 2008 coalition consists of a number of non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving the right to vote.

1. DO treat all voters with politeness and respect.

2. DO make sure that the election is conducted fairly and agreeably to law, and be
the judge of the qualifications of voters. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-233)

3. DO provide ample protection against molestation of and injury to the DRE units. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-531.6(3)

4. DO allow all qualified voters who have not voted, and who desire to vote, to have unobstructed access to the poll for the purpose of voting when others are not waiting. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-241)

5. DO NOT allow any campaigning or handing out campaign literature within 150 feet of the polling place. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-895)

6. DO provide written instructions to the Voters who cast an affidavit provisional ballot on how to determine if their vote was counted and if not, why it was not counted. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-573)

7. DO keep the peace and protect the voting place by preventing improper intrusion upon the voting place or interference with the election. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-541).

*8. DO allow any voter who says he is blind, physically disabled or is unable to read or write to be given assistance by anyone other than the Voter’s employer, or agent of the employer, or officer of agent of the Voter’s union. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-549)

9. DO NOT attempt to guide, aid, direct or influence any voter in the exercise of his right to vote, except as expressly allowed by law. (Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-237)

10. DO keep a space thirty (30) feet in every direction from the polls or the room in which the election is being held, open and clear of all persons except election officers, two (2) challengers of good conduct and behavior selected by each party, and candidates or a candidate representative. (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 23-15-245; 23-15-577)

*Although this list doesn’t specify it, the voter must be allowed to choose his or her assistant.  No voter should be forced into being “helped” by another individual.  It is against the law. — 601vote

The change is noted in bold in the newspaper advertisements published in the county newspapers announcing the polling places.  The Supervisors’ resolution is on page 3B of the October 23 edition of The Rankin Record.