A good, responsible, reliable friend of mine just called with a

horror story about voting this morning here in Austin, TX.

He voted at Fiesta Mart on 38th and IH-35.

He voted a straight Democratic ticket.

When he was reading the 'voted for' listing at the end of his

ballot, all of those listed were Democratic candidates EXCEPT FOR

PRESIDENT. The list showed that he had voted for John McCain!!!

And he voted the straight Democratic ticket.

He reported it to the election official and that person was as

shocked by it as my friend. They corrected the vote BEFORE he hit

the CAST BALLOT button.

My friend said the experience made him sick to his stomach. He said

he was the youngest person in the voting area and all he could

think is that the older people around him may not proofread their

ballot before pressing the CAST VOTE button. They may believe that

they voted for Obama but the voting machine may have registered a

vote for McCain.

He called the Travis County voting office and they said they would

look into this. When he called me I gave him the telephone number

for the Democratic Party and he then called them to report what had

happened and they said they would look into it, also.

I am shocked and disgusted by what he experienced this morning and

I am telling you because of it.

Please PROOFREAD your ballot choices BEFORE hitting the CAST BALLOT

button. This is vitally important. (For EVERYONE who votes,

whichever way you vote.)

Suzanne

So I went down to the Democratic headquarters this afternoon and they

confirmed what Veryan's e-mail said, that even though a voter had chosen the

Democratic ticket, the presidential candidate on his pre-casted ballot was

listed as John McCain rather than Barack Obama.

The person I talked with concurred that it is more likely to happen where

poor or elderly vote and that it has happened at more than one location.

Here's a suggestion to all of you who are thinking of early voting: Consider

voting in an area that has more elderly or a disproportionate number of poor

people.  See if your ballot is in error before you cast it.  If it does,

raise heck before you cast it--get the number on the side of the

machine--and then make sure to let the Democratic headquarters know.  Send a

letter to the American Statesman.

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/county_clerk/election/20081104/early_polls.pdf

lists places to vote.

Also, when you are driving around town, if you notice that a polling place

or an area does not have many signs that support the Democratic ticket, let

me know.  The headquarters is looking for people to do the activity called

'visibility,' which includes letting them know if there is a need for more

signs because the area is under represented or signs have been stolen.

And yes, they can use people who want to get involved and here are some of

the activities:  drive others for early voting, phone calling, block walking

leafleting, visibility, help at polls, and vote by mail canvassing.

You can show up at the headquarters (I-H-35 and 12th Street, east side of

highway) and get more information.