Officials: Potential problem in voting straight party

Even before polling stations opened at 7:00 this morning, rumors about problems with voting machines began to circulate the Internet, generating confusion and fear that votes may be inadvertently nullified.

The City's Commissioner's Office confirmed that if a voter opts to vote for a straight party ticket, and then pushes a button for a candidate from that party, such as the presidential candidate, then the machine will read the second vote as a change of heart and cancel the vote for that particular candidate, Deputy City Commissioner C.P. Mirarchi said.

But if a voter first selects a candidate and then the straight party button for that candidate's party, nothing will be cancelled, he said, in reference to the misinformed report that many in Philadelphia read in e-mails this morning.

Mirarchi said that the commissioner's office has received a couple of calls seeking clarification about the problem, including one from the Obama campaign.

The Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based, non-partisan organization that promotes safe and fair elections, has also needed to verify reports that voters in Philadelphia might accidentally cancel their votes.

Committee President Zack Stalberg said that his organization has been issuing clarifications to the media, but added that this issue has not been an "overwhelming concern."

Voters can always ask poll workers for help, he said, and it is common for people unfamiliar with the system to be puzzled by the machines.