Voter machine erratically switches selection

By Chelsea Schilling

A new video showing a W. Va. voting machine erratically switching votes is getting international attention – with nearly 400,000 hits on YouTube.

A Berkeley, Calif., organization, Video The Vote, recently recorded Jackson County Clerk Jeff Waybright attempting to illustrate the reliability of voting machines, saying he was unable to reproduce a reported vote-switching problem.

"We are totally transparent around here," he said. "We welcome anyone who would like to see how the machines operate and how the machines function."

The organization was attempting to prove Democratic Party votes automatically switch to Republican candidates, but the video showed something entirely different.

Waybright began with an uncalibrated machine to prove his point. When he selected Barack Obama, the machine jumped to Chuck Baldwin. He tried again, and it took him to a screen for voters to write in a candidate. The same selection took him to Chuck Baldwin again.

When he selected a straight Democratic Party ticket, the machine chose John McCain. He selected a straight Republican ticket, and it voted for John McCain.

Such problems were to be expected on uncalibrated equipment. ....