Know-How and Can-Do

I miss the America I grew up in. Tonight I'm thinking about how sad it is that I am a member of the last generation of Americans who grew up in an America which had unmatched technical abilities and the spirit that put a man on the moon.

U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday. ...

Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.

Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.

"We're not happy about it," Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. "I don't think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that's a concern."

Every candidate on Alexandria's summary page has been affected in some way by the glitch. Even if candidates' full names appear, as is the case with Webb's Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. George F. Allen, their party affiliations have been cut off.

Jean Jensen, secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, who said yesterday she only recently became aware of the problem, pledged to have it fixed by the 2007 statewide elections.

"You better believe it," Jensen said. "If I have to personally get on a plane and bring Hart InterCivic people here myself, it'll be corrected."

Personally, I'll feel better if she were getting on a plane to drag them there in time for the 2006 elections.

How did these machines ever get produced? Didn't anyone back at the shop ever try displaying the names in various sizes? I mean, Webb doesn't have a very long name. It's a good thing Robert S. "Foggy" McNamara isn't on the ballot, much less Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

The officials claim that, on the page where the voter will actually choose between Allen and Webb, both candidates full information will be visible. Still, it's another example of local election officials seeming incompetent to administer the computerized voting machines that have been sold them, and unwilling to aspire to a level of professionalism that citizens have a right to expect. In this case, the problem is small and cosmetic, and may not affect the voting, but who knows? Other cases raise serious questions.

Election officials in Alexandria said they have been vexed by the problem since they purchased the voting machines in 2003. Although the problem has raised eyebrows among confused voters, elections officials said they are confident that the trouble has not led voters to cast ballots incorrectly.

"This is not the kind of problem that has either shaken our confidence in the system overall or that of the vote," said Alexandria Registrar Tom Parkins. "There have been far worse problems around the country."

Like that makes it better?

Why doesn't it bother them?

In the meantime, Jensen said, the three affected jurisdictions have begun educating voters to prevent confusion on Election Day and will place notices in each of the polling booths that explain the summary page problem.

"We have a very conspicuous posting in the booths and if [voters] say, 'Hey I don't like what I'm seeing on the summary page,' we can refer them to the chart," Parkins said.

Truly inspiring. "It's OK, see, look at the chart." Right. When did America become the nation that aspired to "just make do?"

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the country:

CHICAGO - The city is investigating a security glitch in its elections Web site that hackers could have used to swipe
Social Security numbers and the personal information of about 1.3 million voters, officials said.

It wasn't immediately clear if anyone actually stole or misused any of the information, Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Tom Leach said.