Voting machine: Speak!

Voting machine: Speak!

An electronic voting machine in Austintown’s 33rd precinct was apparently interested in advanced technology.

Poll workers had to shut it off a few hours after voting began. Not only wouldn’t it let anyone push its buttons, the screen read: “voice vote,” presumedly requiring people to speak to the machine.

Of course, Mahoning County’s voting machines aren’t built with any voice-activation equipment — and who is going to talk to a machine?

Issues-only ignored

There aren’t too many people who vote for issues only in primaries, so perhaps the Mahoning County Board of Elections could be forgiven for an oversight.

Poll workers ask voters their political party before having them sign the voter book and then put a little check mark in a box to mark party affiliation.

There were check marks for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens and Constitution parties. But there was no little box for issues only. Some resourceful poll workers wrote “I” for issues only and then a check mark.

No worries

Austintown schools Superintendent Vince Colaluca said he wasn’t worried even when the absentee ballots came back with the district’s 2.9-mill bond issue, which was approved by 56 percent of voters, trailing by 23 votes. He said in the November 2009 election, the difference in absentee votes was about 400 against the issue.

From Vindicator staff reports