Politics

Some early NC voters complain their ballot cast for Romney resulted in a vote for Obama

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Several early voters in Guilford County, NC hoping to cast a ballot for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had an unwelcome surprise Monday when their votes showed up as a vote for President Barack Obama.

The complaints came from voters who cast their ballot at the Bur-Mil Park polling site in Guilford, MyFox8 reported Tuesday night.

While election officials say the problem is a mere glitch, a couple voters were rattled.

Sher Coromalis, who had to try three times to have her vote for Romney count, told the local Fox affiliate that the experience was upsetting.

“I don’t feel good about it, it’s scary,” said Coromalis who added, “Whatever they’re doing is not working.”

Early voter Marie Haydock experienced the same problem at Bur-Mil Park, noting to Fox8 that “The frustration is, every vote counts.”

Guilford County Board of Elections Director George Gilbert told The Daily Caller that the incidents are just touchscreen mechanical problems that are fixable if poll workers re-calibrate the machine. He added that there is not a “conspiracy” and that some Obama voters have had their votes recorded as a vote for Romney.

“Calibration is something you have to do with touchscreen voting machines, we’ve had them since 1994 and we’ve had calibration training for our precinct officials ever since then, so it’s a normal part of the election process here and this time it got blown up,” Gilbert added that election officials are using it as an opportunity to remind voters to proofread their ballots.

Johnnie McLean, deputy director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, told TheDC that while there have been a few issues reported where machines recorded an improper vote, they are not automatically defaulting to the opposing party’s candidate.

“When the machine cannot register completely the voter’s choice because of the improper way the voter may have touched the touch screen, it goes to the next available location which in the instance of the Republican nominee for president, the Democratic nominee is listed directly above that,” she explained.

A Romney spokesman told TheDC that the campaign is aware of the situation and monitoring it closely.

Gilbert added that the machines have been fixed and there have been no further issues.

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