Reader Tom sends Joe Dunning's column [gif] about poll worker performance in the recent primary for Steuben County Sheriff. It was awful.
Some highlights: Five of 85 precincts reported incorrectly. One set of poll workers went home without reporting results. The "fact" that one of the candidates received zero votes in his home town was reported without question by poll workers.
New York has been using the same voting technology for generations, and poll workers still screw up. Just imagine the mess if we were trying to implement electronic voting this year.
![Joe Dunning's column [gif]](http://www.fighting29th.com/files/Corning_Leader_Dunning_2008_09_14.gif){kind=link}
Comments
Strange that you only mention this one article on a blog about the Fighting 29th when in the very same paper (the very same section) is an article about Kuhl calling on Massa to return Tax-Evader Charlie Rangel's campaign contributions. And on the next page there's an AP article about the tax-evading Chairman of the Tax-Writing Ways and Means Committee. Massa's campaign manager says that Randy should be ashamed at calling out Rangel and suggesting that he step aside from the Committee Chair because he's a Korean War Veteran... so, I'm a veteran, should I be able to evade paying taxes on income earned from vacation properties? What other crimes can I get away with?
It's not strange -- I don't live in Corning. A couple of hard-working readers occasionally send me articles from that paper, for which I'm grateful, and I post everything I get. Nobody sent me any Massa Leader articles today.
Speaking of the same page, on the same page of this blog where you read this article, you could find a link to some coverage of the Rangel issue:
http://www.fighting29th.com/2008/09/afternoon-opinion-leader-gannett.html
You can also use the search box at your left to search for Rangel if you want to see more Rangel coverage.
I was going to send this in, but I had thought it would be redundant. I have sent the story to Rotten.
It's posted now, and I appreciate you sending it.
It appears the NYC press corps is doing what they do best - diggin up as much dirt as possible.
We're on scandal number four with Charlie Rangel and one can only wonder what else they'll find. I doubt we've heard the last of this...
Just remember: This chaos didn't happen in Yates County (ha ha ha). But there is a bit of buzz down this way (Lake Keuka, whose residents largely vote in Steuben). David Cole, the Undersherriff, won the little-noticed primary for the Conservative endorsement (or maybe it was the Independent endorsement). Anyway, regardless of the outcome of the canvass, Mr. Cole will have a spot on the Novemberballot. Given that there were three candidates in the primary--each of whom rec'd a minimum of 2200 votes, and throwing in thousands of eligible-to-vote Democrats and Independents and a couple Greens, even...and you have a real chance at a competitive race in the general. That could mean, with respect to Kuhl-Massa I suppose, that in Steuben County at least voters would be taking their time, even more, to slowly move thru the ballot race-by-race, and NOT just walking into the booth and pulling the lever for either "straight party" option. Funny how these things work out. It could shake up, I'm not saying dramatically in either Randy's or Mr. Massa's directions, the vote for Congress but...it could. David Cole is HIGHLY regarded and, when it appeared he had won on Primary Night, to his great credit was quoted in the press, in response to a question, as saying that he definitely wanted Joel Ordway (who he had been told he had defeated) to continue in his job with the Sheriff's Office, so as not to compromise Joel's retirement, etc. I thought that showed real class and integrity! Elmer down there in Campbell, have you heard anything on-the-street about this? And thank you, Elmer, for always sending along such interesting articles.
Oh---it is important to note that the Democrats had not fielded a candidate for Sheriff so therefore those several thousand votes would be up-for-grabs between the only two candidates listed on the county-wide ballot: Cole and Ordway.
Everything I have heard is that Ordway is not well respected in the department and by neighboring counties' sheriff's departments. I have heard this from enough different people that there may be a grain of truth to it.
Funny thing is that the Bath area, where the Sheriff and his deputies work and the people know them the best, went for someone who has never been a member of the department.
I spotted on the blog for either the Hornell newspaper or maybe the Corning newspaper--as you know, there are links to each on this site--reference from someone that Jim Waight "shouldn't be counted out yet." I don't know what that means but it likely refers to a wish that this fellow, who pulled so very heavily in Bath where he resides, but came in third to Cole and Ordway, might make up his deficit during the absentee count this week.
Excuse me for butting in on the Southern Tier discussion, but was Ordway the guy who had the long-running sexual harassment suit with a female deputy, or was that the Bath PD?
No. That was Dick Twedell who is the current Sheriff who opted (wonder why? not to run again.
BTW, my Father was the victim of a misread by poll workers when he was running for a County Legislature seat down here in the Southern Tier. He went to bed thinking he had won only to be called by the BOEs the next day to be told that the poll workers had misread the results and that he had lost. That was over 20 years ago and the same mistakes are still being made.
Ok, got it. Thanks.
Some things never change in next-door Steuben, lol.