Doug Chapin forward to me this link of images from the Illinois primary in Chicago today. Pay particular attention to:
- Picture 2, which shows a Democratic gubernatorial candidate pulling the thumb of an election judge out of a scanning device in a precinct. How she got her thumb in there is a mystery in the first place, and why they are allowing a candidate to monkey around with a vote scanner is another question.
- Picture 4, where we see exposed wiring which the judge could easily disconnect (see it runs right behind his elbow, then behind the chair).
- Picture 5, where we see an exposed wire running through what looks like an obvious part of the foot traffic pattern in a precinct.
- Picture 6, where a ballot scanner didn’t work.
- Picture 9, where judges are looking, with a voter, at his voted ballot?
- Picture 10, jammed scanner.
I’m sure we’ll get more updates later.
UPDATE (9:25am, March 22, 2006): The Chicago Tribune interviewed Michelle Shafer of Sequoia Voting Systems about the judge’s stuck thumb:
Shafer disputed a Tribune photo published on the Internet Tuesday that was described as showing a woman with her thumb stuck inside an optical scanner at a polling place. The photo also showed Democratic gubernatorial challenger Edwin Eisendrath helping pull her finger out.
“There is not a slot to get your thumb stuck,” Shafer said. “There is a cover with a button back there.”
Whether or not it is possible for her thumb to get stuck, there still remains the question as to why a candidate running for office is in such close proximity to a balloting counting device on Election Day.
Also note (unfortunately) that the Tribune is dynamically updating their photo database linked above, so that the numbering is now not the same as it was yesterday. The judge’s thumb photo is now number 32 of 46.