Reply #32: Opti-scan here, but I'm still worried mine won't count

[Norquist Nemesis]

Once it's down to the State Reps we have no challenger here in my district. So, where it reads "no candidate (Democrat)", there is no bubble to fill in. There IS a bubble for write-ins, but the only write-ins that get counted are for names that are already on an approved write-in candidate list. That list is not posted or shown anywhere, but kept in the hands of the election officials.

Here's the thing...In 2004, any write-in candidate went down into a separate compartment in the machine and I had to point it out to the election officials that no write-ins were recording on the tape. It took them quite a while before they found the ballots that were write-ins. Had I not brought it to their attention, they'ld probably still be in the machine.

We're still using the same machines as in 2004, and I didn't recognize any of the election officials that have been there in the past. So, while the counter upped one number to 361 that a ballot had been inserted, it didn't tell me if my ballot went into never-never land because of an undervote. :shrug: