http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-10-22/pols_feature18.html
County Responds to Voting Machine Problems BY LEE NICHOLS
Travis County election officials have responded to complaints that voters casting straight-party Democratic ballots are discovering, when performing a final check of their ballots, that their votes for president have been changed from Kerry/Edwards to Bush/Cheney. The officials say that, after trying and failing to replicate the problem on its eSlate voting machines, they have concluded the vote changes are due to voter error rather than mechanical failure.
Gail Fisher, manager of the county's Elections Division, theorizes that after selecting their straight party vote, some voters are going to the next page on the electronic ballot and pressing "enter," perhaps thinking they are pressing "cast ballot" or "next page." Since the Bush/Cheney ticket is the first thing on the page, it is highlighted when the page comes up - and thus, pressing "enter" at that moment causes the Kerry/Edwards vote to be changed to Bush/Cheney.
Fisher stressed very strongly that voters should not rush, but carefully and thoroughly examine their ballots on the final review page before pressing "cast ballot."
Fisher said the county has received "less than a dozen" complaints from the more than 70,000 voters that had cast ballots by Friday afternoon. She said the county has also received a complaint from the Travis County Democratic Party. TCDP Executive Director
Elizabeth Yevich said it was not a formal complaint, but that the party had expressed concern and the county had been "receptive and responsive."
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/9989961.htm?1c
Texas News
Posted on Fri, Oct. 22, 2004
Voter oversight causing problems in Travis County
Associated Press
AUSTIN - Voter oversight is causing some Democrats to mistakenly cast their ballots for Republican President George W. Bush rather than the straight ticket they think they're selecting, according to the Travis County Clerk's Office.
The confusion stems from a referendum for a $60 million commuter line, an item at the end of the ballot.
Straight party voters must scroll down to find the referendum. If they hit enter before reaching the end, the screen goes back to the beginning. Then their vote on the first item, the presidential race, changes from Democrat to Republican, said Libby Sykora, executive assistant at the clerk's office.
Sykora said voters should check the final summary sheet before casting their ballots.
Only two incidents have been reported, but Sykora said it likely has happened more.
-- Jenny Brown