Ballot problem in San Antonio believed to be hoax

KENS 5 – by Jason Whitely

AUSTIN — The Bexar County Elections Department administrator said her office is dismantling an electronic voting machine to determine whether it malfunctioned and omitted Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott’s name, or if someone altered an image to make it appear that way.

Elections administrator Jacquelyn Callanen told WFAA that the problem is either due to a corrupt flash card in the electronic voting device… or the image going viral on social media is a hoax.  

An apparently new Twitter account, @Stanford_Jade, belonging to a person named Jade Stanford, tweeted the image Tuesday afternoon which showed David Dewhurst’s name partially on the ballot in the position where Abbott’s should have appeared.

“Dewhurst’s name is not spelled correctly and there’s no party label,” Callanen said. “Plus, there’s a blue and green line on the right side which doesn’t match our unit.”

Dewhurst is the outgoing Republican lieutenant governor who was defeated in the primary by State Sen. Dan Patrick.

Abbott, the Republican frontrunner for governor, sent the image out to his 40,000 Twitter followers Tuesday afternoon.

“Ballot irregularities omit my name from ballot in Bexar Co. Call Secretary of State if you spot other problems,” he tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

Abbott’s campaign referred questions to the Secretary of State’s office, which coordinates statewide elections.

Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Texas Secretary of State, said there have been no other problems in Bexar County or any other county statewide. As of late Tuesday afternoon, no complaint had been filed, either.

Callanen said Bexar County is examining the electronics in the voting machine and should know early Tuesday evening whether there was a malfunction.

If the image was altered, it’s uncertain whether criminal charges could be pursued.

http://www.kens5.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/11/04/election-officials-looking-at-machine-after-abbotts-name-allegedly-omitted/18472111/