Tennessee authorities have explained that this is due to the voters attempting to touch the boxes next to names and "missing" outside of the box. If people are fat fingering the touch screen, this is likely to happen repeatedly as reported. If the "misvote" happens more to one party because of the order of candidates presented, Tennessee has a bigger problem. Double checking your ballot and "revoting" as necessary is already part of the procedure.
Occam's Razor applies. SNAFU/user fumbling is the simpler explanation, but Parton triple checked before calling for help. Device design should have included a statistically significant group of random people to look for systematic design issues. That adds expense but it also builds reliability and lowers user error. Pulitzer Prize winning journalism would have delved into the history of this issue over time.
I like the advice above - always double check before finalizing.
Parton SAYS she doublechecked. We don' t know this. We don't know WHAT she checked or thinks she checked. Voter error is almost always to blame, although that also indicates poor design. Nothing indicates non-existent voter hacking. This rarity isn't a Pulitzer-worthy story.
If that is correct, it's another reason to make sure all states use paper ballots that can be scanned by machine or be counted by hand. Software can have bugs or be hacked, especially if connected to the Internet.
These incidents have been reported in every election since 2004, and are usually found to be due to voter error. But they always get a "hair on fire' response especially hen someone like Dolly Parton's sister is involved. One thing definitely NOT involved is hacking by anyone, let alone "Russians."
If we, the people, are able to come together to block this fascist Trump machine then WE ALL are the heroes. From those elected officials who fought, the candidates who ran in opposition, the many judges who ruled, the lawyers who sued, the reporters who spoke up, the government workers who stood up, the many who took to the airwaves and broadcasts, the many who took to the streets, those who did not cave in, and the many who eventually cast their vote for democracy are the heroes and guardians of our democracy and constitution. God bless us all and all our efforts!!
"[And] it behooves us to remember that social and political progress of consequence in American history, from emancipation to civil rights to labor rights, always comes from the bottom up, not the top down."
If enough of us VOTE, our message will have an effect on our politicians.
Let's not count our chickens before they hatch. If the Dems take one house or Congress (or both) on Nov 3, it will be OK to celebrate briefly, but the work won't be done. It will be OK to celebrate when the new Congress is seated on Jan 3, but even then, the work won't be done. There must be a consistent effort by the new Congress to root out the corruption of the Dump regime and his enablers and establish safeguards to make it difficult for this to ever happen again.
It’s surprising to actually see all the number of federal and local official positions that will be affected by the Midterms. This election is extremely consequential! Vote and then, support your family, friends, and neighbors to vote!!
When the repudiation happens, I will sit back with great joy and revel in the small part I played in it. I know my fellow Contrarians will share in that joy. But the party can last only so long. The next step will be to make sure our leaders don’t lose sight of the fact that certain guardrails, which had previously been no more than gentlemen’s agreements between presidents who weren’t heathens, have to be codified. And then there’s SCOTUS…
You are absolutely right. It's clear that we need codification and enforceable control over what used to be 'gentlemen agreements' and conventional behavior. The holes have been exploited and identified. Time to fill the holes.
Jen, thanks for reminding us that the movement to push back against the horrors and abuses of the T2.0 MAGAt regime/junta began at the grassroots level. Like millions of others, I remember the early months of 2025 being filled with dejection, dread and a sense of helplessness. Fortunately, organizations such as Indivisible, 50501 Movement, MoveOn, ACLU, American Opposition and labor unions among others came together to turn our outrage into action by birthing the No Kings movement.
Let's hope that the hard work of the NK coalition and others will bear fruit 11/03/2026 by delivering a humiliating shellacking to those who do not believe in government of, by and for the people. The very survival of our nation, yea, the entire planet depends on it.
As President Obama says at rallies: Don't boo. Vote!!
It’s so refreshing to see the undaunted audacity of No Kings stand up to a corrupt and out-of-control government and president that wants to stealthily foist fascism upon the American people. The Republican party is predominantly responsible for this degeneracy in our politics today. They must be shown the door. Quite frankly, I have always thought the Senate was in play early on and I expect to see a wildcard or two play out in this 2026 midterm election.
We the People! Voting is the first step in electing representatives but it isn’t the last step. Once representatives are elected, they must continue to be held accountable to We The People. For too long, the pressures on elected officials to honor their campaign stances shift to corporate lobbyists and we become second class citizens. The work of We The People must be to find better ways to hold elected politicians accountable to us, not corporations. Get rid of Citizens United…what a joke that title is.
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for making clear who is really powering this anti-authoritarian movement! You are standing against legacy media who refuse to see the power of the grassroots. If the midterm elections turn out as we fervently hope they will, to what will they attribute the success that will be due to our unyielding efforts?
I was among the millions who, so far, have voted early. The parking lot at our precinct's polling place was jammed and the lines were long. But instead of griping about delays, voters turned the wait into a block party, neighbors hugging neighbors, people telling jokes and laughing. The gentleman greeting us at the door loudly thanked us all for voting and declared "This is democracy!" People applauded. WE THE PEOPLE!
Thank you once again Jennifer for lifting up my spirits. Before reading your piece, I read a “gloom and doom” piece in the NYT about Trump declaring election fraud and newly elected Democrats being barred from taking their seats in Washington. The success that Norm has had in the courts
The success that Norm has had in the courts of late convinces me that nothing Trump does to declare election fraud will stick. Get out and vote everyone!!!
Dolly Parton's sister says some voting machines in Tennessee switch votes: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/dolly-parton-sister-says-machine-181531775.html?.tsrc=940&ncid=crm_47558-2122410-20261023-0--A&utm_content=mktg_di_940_47558-2122410-20261023-0--A&bt_user_id=MaGffTi83145dzn5rbQQOEoQZTR37jHO1PE1D2fqABMA4ewDlVKXxQl4eiesmjqb&bt_ts=1792746916240
It will be helpful to check the last software update for hacking by Russians.
Tennessee authorities have explained that this is due to the voters attempting to touch the boxes next to names and "missing" outside of the box. If people are fat fingering the touch screen, this is likely to happen repeatedly as reported. If the "misvote" happens more to one party because of the order of candidates presented, Tennessee has a bigger problem. Double checking your ballot and "revoting" as necessary is already part of the procedure.
Exactly. Always double check your ballots; errors are easy to make. There is no big, systemic conspiracy here.
Occam's Razor applies. SNAFU/user fumbling is the simpler explanation, but Parton triple checked before calling for help. Device design should have included a statistically significant group of random people to look for systematic design issues. That adds expense but it also builds reliability and lowers user error. Pulitzer Prize winning journalism would have delved into the history of this issue over time.
I like the advice above - always double check before finalizing.
Parton SAYS she doublechecked. We don' t know this. We don't know WHAT she checked or thinks she checked. Voter error is almost always to blame, although that also indicates poor design. Nothing indicates non-existent voter hacking. This rarity isn't a Pulitzer-worthy story.
If that is correct, it's another reason to make sure all states use paper ballots that can be scanned by machine or be counted by hand. Software can have bugs or be hacked, especially if connected to the Internet.
Most of the time these do involve paper ballots. Most voter systems use them now.
These incidents have been reported in every election since 2004, and are usually found to be due to voter error. But they always get a "hair on fire' response especially hen someone like Dolly Parton's sister is involved. One thing definitely NOT involved is hacking by anyone, let alone "Russians."
If we, the people, are able to come together to block this fascist Trump machine then WE ALL are the heroes. From those elected officials who fought, the candidates who ran in opposition, the many judges who ruled, the lawyers who sued, the reporters who spoke up, the government workers who stood up, the many who took to the airwaves and broadcasts, the many who took to the streets, those who did not cave in, and the many who eventually cast their vote for democracy are the heroes and guardians of our democracy and constitution. God bless us all and all our efforts!!
YES. We must give credit where it is due.
"[And] it behooves us to remember that social and political progress of consequence in American history, from emancipation to civil rights to labor rights, always comes from the bottom up, not the top down."
If enough of us VOTE, our message will have an effect on our politicians.
VOTING is the Power of We the People.
My mail in ballot has already been counted in Maryland.
If you are the same Rusty Carr who commented at Jennifer's column in the Post, delighted to see you here.
Ditto - mine in Illinois.
Let's not count our chickens before they hatch. If the Dems take one house or Congress (or both) on Nov 3, it will be OK to celebrate briefly, but the work won't be done. It will be OK to celebrate when the new Congress is seated on Jan 3, but even then, the work won't be done. There must be a consistent effort by the new Congress to root out the corruption of the Dump regime and his enablers and establish safeguards to make it difficult for this to ever happen again.
We're in a marathon. not a sprint.
No doubt, Noah Dowd! (Sorry, could not stop myself)
I couldn’t agree more!
Thank you Jennifer. You help lift my spirits every day. You help give me the strength to fight on!
We all must continue to move forward, every day, one foot in front of the other over and over and over again!
It’s surprising to actually see all the number of federal and local official positions that will be affected by the Midterms. This election is extremely consequential! Vote and then, support your family, friends, and neighbors to vote!!
I was shocked at the number of governors in this election.
When the repudiation happens, I will sit back with great joy and revel in the small part I played in it. I know my fellow Contrarians will share in that joy. But the party can last only so long. The next step will be to make sure our leaders don’t lose sight of the fact that certain guardrails, which had previously been no more than gentlemen’s agreements between presidents who weren’t heathens, have to be codified. And then there’s SCOTUS…
You are absolutely right. It's clear that we need codification and enforceable control over what used to be 'gentlemen agreements' and conventional behavior. The holes have been exploited and identified. Time to fill the holes.
Jen, thanks for reminding us that the movement to push back against the horrors and abuses of the T2.0 MAGAt regime/junta began at the grassroots level. Like millions of others, I remember the early months of 2025 being filled with dejection, dread and a sense of helplessness. Fortunately, organizations such as Indivisible, 50501 Movement, MoveOn, ACLU, American Opposition and labor unions among others came together to turn our outrage into action by birthing the No Kings movement.
Let's hope that the hard work of the NK coalition and others will bear fruit 11/03/2026 by delivering a humiliating shellacking to those who do not believe in government of, by and for the people. The very survival of our nation, yea, the entire planet depends on it.
As President Obama says at rallies: Don't boo. Vote!!
It’s heartening to finally read something hopeful! Jennifer Rubin, your writing is brilliant. Truly praying for a big blue wave on November 3!
It’s so refreshing to see the undaunted audacity of No Kings stand up to a corrupt and out-of-control government and president that wants to stealthily foist fascism upon the American people. The Republican party is predominantly responsible for this degeneracy in our politics today. They must be shown the door. Quite frankly, I have always thought the Senate was in play early on and I expect to see a wildcard or two play out in this 2026 midterm election.
We the People! Voting is the first step in electing representatives but it isn’t the last step. Once representatives are elected, they must continue to be held accountable to We The People. For too long, the pressures on elected officials to honor their campaign stances shift to corporate lobbyists and we become second class citizens. The work of We The People must be to find better ways to hold elected politicians accountable to us, not corporations. Get rid of Citizens United…what a joke that title is.
Corporate lobbying and its bribery for favorable legislation should go as well. The laws from our congress should be for the benefit of the people.
As always, thank you Jen and the Contrarians.
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for making clear who is really powering this anti-authoritarian movement! You are standing against legacy media who refuse to see the power of the grassroots. If the midterm elections turn out as we fervently hope they will, to what will they attribute the success that will be due to our unyielding efforts?
I was among the millions who, so far, have voted early. The parking lot at our precinct's polling place was jammed and the lines were long. But instead of griping about delays, voters turned the wait into a block party, neighbors hugging neighbors, people telling jokes and laughing. The gentleman greeting us at the door loudly thanked us all for voting and declared "This is democracy!" People applauded. WE THE PEOPLE!
Thank you once again Jennifer for lifting up my spirits. Before reading your piece, I read a “gloom and doom” piece in the NYT about Trump declaring election fraud and newly elected Democrats being barred from taking their seats in Washington. The success that Norm has had in the courts
The success that Norm has had in the courts of late convinces me that nothing Trump does to declare election fraud will stick. Get out and vote everyone!!!
Love you Jennifer! Thank you for keeping it together. And yes I voted on Saturday.