Voters are reporting that some voting machines in Texas are changing some straight-ticket Democratic votes for Rep. Beto O’Rourke to votes for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
KTRK in Houston, Texas reported:
Voters are reporting odd problems on both the Republican and Democratic side of straight-party voting in Texas.
Mickey Blake was one of the voters in those early voting lines in Houston earlier this week.
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“I hit straight Democratic ticket,” Blake said.
She says she expected all Democrats to come up on her screen, especially Rep. Beto O’Rourke, but when she got to the last screen to review her choices, she noticed a problem.
“It’s all Democratic except for Ted Cruz was checked,” Blake said.
Texas officials called this problem an operational error that they have known about for years, but instead of getting rid of the voting machines or warning voters about the error, election officials have shrugged their shoulders and claimed that nothing could be done. A version of the error exists on the straight Republican ticket, but instead of flipping Cruz votes to O’Rourke, no vote is cast at all in the Senate race when some voters select Cruz.
Vote flipping is much worse no vote being cast in a race because vote flipping is a clear corruption of the intent of the vote. A candidate not being chosen on the straight ticket is a serious problem, but it is not the same as a vote being awarded to candidate illegally.
Voting machines in Georgia have been reported to be counting votes cast for Democrat Stacey Abrams for her Republican opponent Brian Kemp, so this appears to be by design and not a software glitch. It is interesting that these voting machine problems happen in Republican-controlled states and benefit Republican candidates.
Texas Republicans could be trying to steal an election from Beto O’Rourke. Voters must sit on the sidelines, and let this potential theft go unchallenged.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
