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Russian hackers haunt San Diego Electronic Poll Book

From my experience as a poll worker in eight elections, the electronic ballot system will not work out well. Presently, each poll sets up one electronic voting booth, usually designated for disabled individuals. (They may be from the leftover Diebolds). They are a pain to set up, they can easily be dropped and damaged. They take forever to boot-up and get ready for voters. There is one card that is used by the poll and if that card gets lost, damaged or stolen, you can’t use that machine until you get a replacement card. You have to also give the voter their own card to insert to begin the electronic voting process. If they lose or take that card, then again the machine can’t be used. Then you have user issues with the interface. Some people are just not up to speed with ATM’s, Kiosks, or any type of touch screen technology. We would sometimes have to stand there and help them through the screen, which then tends to violate their voting privacy. Then you have the people that want to recast their vote. We could not figure out how to undo the electronic vote for them, with more training we learned the tricks. It’s a lot to expect from people who are just trying to do some civic good working the polls and after a 14 hour day, you can get tired and forgetful. With paper ballots we just ripped it in half and put it in the spoiled ballot box for counting and reconciliation when the poll closed. During those eight elections, which spanned about 12 years, I noticed that more and more voters on the roster were mail-in ballot voters. The last time in 2018, a full 60% of voters in my precinct were mail-ballot voters. Also many precincts were being consolidated or eliminated as less physical locations were necessary because of the mail-in ballot trend. Sure the ballots are getting longer, two pages sometimes. I just can’t imagine the problems and time that be consumed if it all goes to electronics. Some people love coming to the polls, almost a social event for many that I would see at each election. Many people need help and many others will not enjoy the machines as much as the paper ballots they have used (and trusted) all their voting years. I think machines will have a chilling effect on the turnout of senior citizens. I realize new technology will eliminate some of the problems I experienced, but the more technology you throw at the problem, the less transparent the process becomes. All counties across the state and country may end up using wildly different systems or procedures if they go to electronic voting. At least with paper ballots, at the poll or mailed in, we can have a paper trail. Elections are held every two years, unless there is a special election (which are usually localized) and I feel this is one government service that should not be cutting corners or trying to fix something that works on paper.
— July 2, 2019 10:34 a.m.

What Vons, Albertsons, Ralph's customers will do

I don’t care if they strike. I don’t care if they close stores. I don’t care if they lose their jobs. After Albertson’s merged with Vons their prices have gone up and many favorite items have been discontinued. I used to buy wine that would be $3.00 to $8.00 discounts, now they discount the same variety $1.00. You have to buy six bottles to save another 10%. Then there are the lines and the employees. The check-out lines suck. They used to have signs that said “3’s A Crowd.” Well those signs are gone and they may have two check stands open with several people with full baskets checking out. It takes me 5 minutes to pick up what I want and 15 minutes to get out. The workers are deliberately slow (at least I assume they are, if not brain dead). None of them could ever keep a job at Trader Joe’s or Costco. They are too slooow and talk to each other usually ignoring the customer. Then there are the prices. Albertson’s and Von’s are a rip-off. Just the other day I was buying some wine and planning to make lasagna for dinner. I saw a 32 oz. container of Galbani Ricotta Cheese while I shopped at Albertson’s, it was “on sale” marked down $2.50, from $8.49 to $5.99. I thought well $2.50 is a decent savings. My next stop was at the Walmart Neighborhood market and out of curiosity I checked the price of the same 32 oz. container of Galbani Ricotta Cheese and its regular Walmart price was $3.98. So just one item, Albertson’s screwed me out of $2.01 I don’t shop there for much of anything because I cannot stand the selection, the high prices and the lazy, unhelpful employees. Those high prices are paying for all this union B.S. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2019/j…
— June 26, 2019 5:54 p.m.

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