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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Wednesday, November 06, 2019

NorCo: Express Vote XL Printouts Showing False Results

In Hanover Tp, a long-time Republican incumbent in a Republican district failed to garner a single vote on not one, but two, different voting machines. The same thing has happened to a judicial candidate. According to county sources, these are false readings. They are the result of some malfunction in the way the ExpressVote XL is running its reports on races that include three candidates. Thus, whatever you are seeing on WFMZor elsewhere concerning any three-way races in Northampton County,  is inaccurate. I would expect the accurate results to be reflected in the flash drives provided to county offices. Northampton County has thus far (9:53 pm) failed to post any results.

Welcome to Northampton County, Florida!

In addition to the flash drive, there is a paper back-up.

At this point, the damage is done. The discrepancy between reports showing zero votes and a flash drive are enough to undermine public confidence in our voting.

Looks like that will have to be used a lot sooner than anyone guessed.

Updated 11:00 pm: - The ExpressVote XL is a hybrid voting system combining the convenience of a touch screen with a voter-verifiable paper trail. It is the choice of elections judges, the Elections Commission, the Lamont McClure administration and Northampton County Council. When objections were made by paper ballot purists, County Council delayed its vote to see how the system fared in Delaware. It worked very well, and Council made the right choice. I make this statement despite some malfunction in the printouts that certainly give the county a black eye..

York County, unlike Northampton, opted to use a paper ballot system. It was plagued by problems all day. "“We just didn’t realize it would be as challenging and time consuming to scan the ballots,” President Commissioner Susan Byrnes told York Daily News on Tuesday night.

Still no results in Northampton County, three hours after polls have closed.

Updated 11/6/19, 12:00 am. - Looks like we'll be waiting awhile to learn who won this election.

52 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jesus Fuckin Christ...

Anonymous said...

The greatest country on earth and and an example of democracy for others can’t get it right these days. How about the “old” way because the lever machines seemed to work well. This is embarrassing.

Anonymous said...

One can only speculate that our votes are being manipulated. It's 10:16 and should know by now!

Anonymous said...

The comments by the executive on mcall.com are unprofessional. Every race with 3 candidates has erroneous information. It is imperative that the election office targets those results immediately. The county needs to issue a statement immediately.

Anonymous said...

How does this happen? Election results require flawless execution. Who owns this from the county perspective? What a cluster f**k -

Anonymous said...

Starts at the top.

Karenemt said...

Looks like Bangor School Board has the same issue, based on what some good friends of mine just posted.

Anonymous said...

@10:48 Agreed - Lamont McClure needs to answer for this. If his a true leader, he will own it. Bet you he deflects...........

Anonymous said...

The Morganelli tally encompasses both Morganelli and Kassis votes. The Kassis tally encompasses votes cast solely for Kassis by people who casted votes in no other races. The Scomilio tally is correct.

Scomilio has won (will win) and the contest is between Morganelli and Kassis.

This was a poor rollout and the county should have identified this error in advance.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I agree this error should have been picked up. No excuse.

I disagree that Scomilio has won. The results show that Morganelli is getting the votes he always gets, and without Bethlehem. Once you add Bethlehem to the equation, Abe wins.

Anonymous said...

Great reporting Bernie - any sense on when a final tally will avail?

Anonymous said...

Lehigh County had paper ballots. Tedious to read and fill out. Thought I was voting in the 1800's! But in the end, their system wasn't as troublesome as Northampton's.

Anonymous said...

Salveson (hanover township supervisor race) was also affected. All three machines in Hanover 2 has a 0 vote count in the printouts.

Appears races with a cross filing candidate or option to vote for 2 caused an error in the printouts. Hopefully the paper ballots will be used for a recount tonight.

Anonymous said...

Come'on Bernie - admit it - you farted and it threw everything out of whack.

Punjabi MC said...

Sam Murray not Irish! Resign fraud!

Anonymous said...

This will offend you Bernie, sorry but your guy McClure sounds like an arrogant ass. He told the reporter in a very condescending lawyer tone that it was no big deal and only affected a couple machines. Also sheriff threw a reporter out of the courthouse??

Seriously Bernie, know you will defend the guy to the death but his attitude sucks. People know he has a short fuse an da control; freak but his behavior is unacceptable. A couple machines? I guess they are in Hanover, Bangor, Easton, Bethlehem and etc. County Council should look at this but they are under his spell and do what he wants.

This must be investigated by a neutral party as we cannot trust McClure and the words he forces the Voter Registar to say.

Pauly Wallnutz said...

The Ridge St Stunner controlled proceedings at the West Easton polling station with an iron fist, Deesgraceful and the Dandelion cowered in her glory like the beta males they are.

Anonymous said...

Judge Koury must court order a manual recount and an investigation into the entire election.

Anonymous said...

Tell us again how great these machines are and what good job Cozzi and McClure did on this scan job. Congrats Lavish Lamont you earned your ticket out of a job next election. The TV interview was a sad error with arrogance.

Anonymous said...

Your boy McClure offered up a bullshot story about how the overall vote totals were historically in line with previous elections. Do you need a law degree to come up with horsehair that stinky?
How historic are these messed up totals? The entire election is now in question.

Good Job, Brownie NcClure!!

Vladimir Popov said...

Bob Ryan please get drunk today and tell us about the All Star game vote Shamrock Sam Sam Murray rigged his boy Joey

Anonymous said...

They are going to rely on the paper ballots. Yeah, the paper ballots represent what were the screen picks. If you voted incorrectly because you did not understand what the screen was doing, the paper ballot is only going to represent your incorrect ions. The problem was simple you hit a candidate’s button twice, you voted and then erased your vote. The judicial retention questions did not light properly.

Chinese Buffet said...

You should be blaming Harrisburg, not McClure. A mandate from Wolf to change voting machines before 2020 didn't raise suspicion with your State Rep or senator? The idea is to create chaos throughout the state in 2020. If you think Northampton had a few problems wait till next year. Our state will never have a fair and decent election again.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. McClure and Dertinger own this debacle.

Anonymous said...

After spending millions of dollars please tell me again what was wrong with the old machines??

Ovem Lupo Commitere said...

This, during a municipal election, does not instill great confidence going into next year's General election that will include the Presidential and Congressional races.

Anonymous said...

Voted with toddlers stepping on my feet as their parents and friends discussed their choices inches away. No privacy whatsoever! Former voting machines allowed for font choices. Yesterday none. Horrible experience.

Anonymous said...

Come on Charles.........how did this happen??? Same old story, if it worked pat me on the back if it didn’t then someone else made the mistake.

Anonymous said...

What do the voters expect when McClueless puts a CLERICAL TECHNICIAN/SPECIALIST in charge of vetting a machine. I suppose he is hiring her for the Deputy Clerk to Council position too! McClueless definitely last his bid for re-election just like Brown did with the Jail issue.

Had to cancel my vote to because it pick up a vote I didn't make.

Anonymous said...

Brown was goofy, but at least his administration could run an election. What a pig f*ck. Kudos to all for a fine job. Let's give the county other important tasks because it's really good at doing stuff. Here - light my tax dollars on fire ...... incompetents.

Anonymous said...

If you voted for McClueless you are getting the same from Scumbag Scomillio, however at a scarier level. He can put your loved ones or you in jail because he doesn't know his head from his ars when it comes to law. He wasted $700,000+ of taxpayer dollars not knowing the law.

Anonymous said...

The touch screen in the machine I used in Forks township was inconsistent in recognizing the contact and I was careful to touch center of screen as directed. The three machines are woefully inadequate and I dread the next election. Maybe that is the intent of our governor. A constable gave out instructions to the arriving line and that did not in anyway account for the long wait. However, I do advise the man not to tell fibs in the church where we were voting as his repeated remarks to new arrivals that wait would only be a 10 to 15 minutes was met by groans of those already in line as the wait went as long as one hour. Please tell me why McClure continues to be so arrogant.

Anonymous said...

The arm twisting done by McClure and Charlie Dertinger to bring these machines into Northampton County must be exposed. Someone should contact the office of the state prosecutor and have them investigate if any unusual tampering in the selection process of these machines is evident. You will find it occurred. Just check the members of the election board and county council to find that to be true. What happened here isn't just malfunctioning of the multi million dollar machines, it is criminal.

Anonymous said...

Why wasn't the machines tested prior to being put in use??

Anonymous said...

I had to cast my ballet a couple of times, because who I voted for did not transfer to the paper ballet. Wonder how many people carefully checked their paper ballet to see if it was correct? The machine selection was supper sensitive, you didn't even have to the touch the screen but on the other side for judge retention it was impossible to make the selection? Will the paper ballet tell the whole truth or do we need a completely new election?

Anonymous said...

Just to make you aware. The Republican County Committee will be going on record demanding a special election. The machines were purchased because the democrats in power knew they could fix the election. We will be contacting the State Attorney General to look into how these machines were purchased, who made the initial contact for the purchase, were the laws and safeguards in place removed to allow Dertinger and McClure to purchase these machines, and why a complete novice with no experience was put in charge of the selection process. This whole process has a foul odor about it and we nee to get to the bottom of it.

Anonymous said...

Philadelphia county used the same machines. Did they have these malfunctions? They're not a swing area so we will never know. Delaware used these same machines in the last election, no issues reported.

Anonymous said...

It's the Russians!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

These machines are unreliable everyone can understand a few kinks ,but these machines voted for people they didn't vote for or completely canceled out the vote ,young and old complained how terrible they are ,but the worse part was people leaving unsure who they voted for !!!! we had elderly people who couldn't stand in line for up to 45 minutes some saw the line and left ,some had to leave because after waiting 45 minutes they would be late for work and or meetings etc...Voter confidence was lost here ,voters left discouraged ,upset and shaking there heads voicing concern about the next election! Something must be done to restore public confidence in the process that it is fair and honest ! What is the answer to that ?

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Just to make you aware. The Republican County Committee will be going on record demanding a special election. The machines were purchased because the democrats in power knew they could fix the election. We will be contacting the State Attorney General to look into how these machines were purchased, who made the initial contact for the purchase, were the laws and safeguards in place removed to allow Dertinger and McClure to purchase these machines, and why a complete novice with no experience was put in charge of the selection process. This whole process has a foul odor about it and we nee to get to the bottom of it."

If anyone has a foul odor, it is you. This system as the choice of the two Rs on the Elections Commission and the three Rs on Council. It was publicly endorsed by GOP Char Lee Snover. You can claim it should have been more thoroughly tested, and it does have sensitivity issues, but the system itself is very good.

Anonymous said...

Turnout of less than 30% should NOT result in long lines. People were having trouble getting their votes to register correctly. The problems with those machines is not just the screwed up tallies at the end of the day! Machines across the county were having problems with their touchscreens.

Anonymous said...

Tara Zrinski never met a camera she didn't like. WFMZ coverage of the Kassis HQ had bobble head sitting in Abe's back pocket. What a hack.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Turnout of less than 30% should NOT result in long lines. People were having trouble getting their votes to register correctly. The problems with those machines is not just the screwed up tallies at the end of the day! Machines across the county were having problems with their touchscreens."

This was a HUGE turnout for a municipal race, and totally unexpected. I can say that turnout, and not the machines, accounted for he long lines. It took people about 30 seconds longer to cast a vote. Yes, there were sensitivity issues but they were minor and are akin to the sensitivity issues on any touchscreen.

Anonymous said...

we had 40% turnout which was great but wait times were at least 35 minutes we timed it also voters took at least 4 to 5 minutes once they could vote .

Anonymous said...

Where were all these protesters when experts from near and far who've studied the best voting machine options, as well as local concerned citizens, implored County Council to vote no? Where were they when Prof. Lopresti from Lehigh University warned council to NEVER buy voting machines that use bar codes, as these do? Only one councilman, Bob Werner, paid heed and voted no to these machines that now cause us to question the veracity of this and future elections. And please, don't blame the "complete novice" who was nearly shaking in her shoes, worried that she'd lose her job if council didn't authorize the $2.8 million purchase. This debacle came from the dynamic duo at the top, McClueless and Charles!.

I dread the next election, knowing that many spent 30 minutes casting their votes in a muni election. Won't this be exciting in a presidential year? I plan to use absentee ballots from this day forward.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"I dread the next election, knowing that many spent 30 minutes casting their votes in a muni election. Won't this be exciting in a presidential year? I plan to use absentee ballots from this day forward."

The long waits were the result of unexpectedly high turnout, not the machines. I can say this as an election judge in a precinct with nearly a 40% turnout. There was a period of about an hour in which the polling place was so crowded I had to ask people to wait in the adjoining hall. The time spent on the new machines was about 30 seconds longer. One fellow voted in about 30 seconds. There were few issues. Though most people thought a new system unnecessary, they liked the idea of a paper ballot back-up.

I don't care what system you use. Once turnout exceeds about 30%, there are going to be lines.

As far as voting absentee is concerned, your vote will be challenged if someone spots you in the district. Thanks for tipping us.

LVCI said...

Bernie said, I can say that turnout, and not the machines, accounted for he long lines
I can understand this with that type of machine. It seems to me Lehigh County might have the right idea. 10, 20 or many more could be circling heir paper ballots at the same time. The only delay would be feeding them to ballot counter machine. But this takes only a few seconds. Seems to me this will be quicker in the case of large turnouts. No?

Before we had three (sometimes 4) machines which accommodated only 3 or 4 voters at a time. Seems less a burden for county labor since only one machine is required for each location. However I wish the counting machine would spit out a receipt to make certain it counted correctly.

LVCI said...

York County, unlike Northampton, opted to use a paper ballot system. It was plagued by problems all day.
Yeah I looked into that. A couple of videos said people would use "sharpies" to fill in their ballots. WHOA NO!! They bleed through to the other side. No wonder.

Ink pens only according to the manufactures of these machines.

Anonymous said...

Bernie, please don't get all defensive and be so quick to cover your pal McClure's ass. There were numerous problems beyond a few "touch sensitive " issues",I have already spoken to a few county council people and they told me they had and saw issues as well. This was poor. There were no doubt many under votes because people gave up. One woman said she had to hit the judges button repeatedly because it would not register, so she gave up.
Wrong name slit up, so the paper backkup ballots are in question. YOU like these machines and defended them but please don't play the McClure Dertigner game of glossing this over as a more limited problem. This was a disaster, Period!!

Sandra Weiss said...

I was at the polls and saw the chaos that these machines caused What a cluster F..k

Anonymous said...

Northampton County voters can expect to wait 4-6 hours next year. Bet on it. What an unmitigated disaster. Next year should be awesome.

Anonymous said...

McClureGate - what a sham. The voting process in the county is a joke. I witnessed people saying their selection went to another candidate. Avoid long lines and submit an absentee ballot.