Vote switching has been the topic of conversation over the past few days.
Well, after weeks of Trump publicly speaking about a rigged system aimed at favoring Democrat Hillary Clinton, he eventually came out to say he would accept the votes; “if he wins”.
This episode has raised various concerns regarding the integrity of the election, despite a lack of evidence to his statements.
Trump Vs Hillary
When speaking of Hillary Clinton he says: “She shouldn’t be allowed to run. It’s crooked – she’s guilty of a very, very serious crime. She should not be allowed to run”.
In response, Hillary had the following to say:
“That is not the way our democracy works. We’ve been around for 240 years,” she said. “We’ve had free and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election.”
The Damage
Regardless of what the candidates may feel or think, the damage has already been done. Trump has successfully created a room to doubt the final outcome of the election and it can only get worse.
It Begins!
On the 24th of October, Lisa Houlette who went on an early vote was quick to Facebook, sharing her voting experience with her friends and family at large, saying:
Now social media is flooded with the fact that the “Trump’s voters result conspiracy” regarding Hillary is already in motion.
Other Cases
In another case, a woman in Tarrant County claimed that her vote switched from Republican to Democrat and she caught and corrected the error. Subsequent investigation determined the machine was working properly, and the woman admitted she may have erroneously selected the wrong candidate.
So what’s the case here? Are these voting errors caused by the machines or the individuals themselves?
Focus On Texas
Furthermore, multiple Texas cities have been cited in otherwise identical versions of the voting error, but a number of inquiries mentioned the City of Arlington as the purportedly affected jurisdiction.
An election official in Tarrant County was contacted who affirmed the case was not new, as every election brings along with it claims of “vote switching”. She stated that in all instances where machine or voting equipment malfunctions are reported, a technician physically investigates the machine involved in an attempt to replicate the error (adding that the county has never successfully managed to reproduce a switched vote).
The representative stated that someone from the county spoke with the claimant on the 24th of October 2016 after the machine she had used was tested by a technician.
The representative asked the woman whether it was possible she inadvertently hit “enter” using a scroll wheel, and the woman said she might have in fact accidentally selected the wrong candidates herself. But the machine the woman used was found to be properly calibrated and working correctly.
Vote Switching?
San Antonio radio station KISS-FM reported that similar claims out of Potter and Randall County were investigated, and the purported “vote switching” was attributed to “human error”:
Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner released a statement on the 25th of October 2016. It said;
“There is nothing wrong with any of the machines we use for voting. They do not flip your vote. They do not flip parties. Humans do that.”
It goes on to talk about the situation in Canyon:
“There was one incident in Randall County where a voter voted straight ticket and when they hit the vote button, it flipped parties … The machine was then checked and nothing was wrong with the machine.”
According to the Randall County Elections Office, they were aware of this vote switching mistake but addressed it as user-error. They said that there are several voters each year who report that their ballots are mismarked, but they are usually caused by the voter accidentally selecting a different party.
The question now on everyone’s mind is; why are these vote switching only happening in the favor of Hillary Clinton and not the other way round?