WASHINGTON, DC--The mass breakdown of voting machines in Florida has led to poll workers stuffing ballots into duffle bags and piling them on the floor in voting precincts, according to Jon Greenbaum, legal director with the watch group Election Protection. Greenbaum says his group has received reports of mechanical voting problems in 35 precincts across 15 Florida counties. The affected areas include Sarasota, Miami-Dade, Orange County, Polk County and Palm Beach.
This year Florida went back to using optical scan machines. Many of the machines weren't working when voters inserted their optical ballots, so poll workers tried to preserve the ballots by putting them into lockboxes. There were so many ballots that the lockboxes started to overflow. Hence the duffle bags.
Apparently, stuffing ballots into sacks is inconsistent with election law. Even in Florida.
--Dave Jamieson