Texas voters report error with electronic voting machines

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Some Texas voters say their ballots are being flipped by electronic voting machines, prompting the state to warn people to carefully review their selections.

The complaints come from voters who cast straight party tickets on Hart eSlate machines throughout Texas.

Texas elections administrator Heider Garcia said officials have tested everything and there's no indication of any technical issues.

The Texas Secretary of State's office, though, said in a statement saying it has received complaints that straight ticket ballots had one or more errors in which candidates changed to the opposite party.

"This can be caused by the voter taking keyboard actions before a page has fully appeared on the eSlate, thereby de-selecting the pre-filled selection of that party's candidate," Director of Elections Keith Ingram said. "As a reminder, voters should always carefully check their review screen before casting their ballots. If a voter has any problems, they should notify a poll worker immediately so the issue can be addressed and reported."

The potential problem is being reported by Republican and Democratic voters. Mickey Blake, a voter in Houston, said he cast a straight Democratic ticket but saw he'd been credited with voting for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

She said she voted three times and saw the same result. Others are reporting the same problem.

Election administrator John Oldham said he warned state officials about the problem years ago.

"It's not a glitch, it's a user-induced problem that comes from the type of system that we have," Oldham said. "I think both sides could be equally hurt."