The Problem with Voting Machines

Today, thousands of voters went to the polls to cast their ballots for the special election in New York's 20th Congressional District, which has come down to a choice between the Democratic venture capitalist Scott Murphy and the career Republican politician Jim Tedisco after Libertarian Eric Sundwall was thrown off the ballot. In nearby Schenectady, people have been showing up to their polling precincts all day long to support their candidate. The only problem is, Schenectady is not in the 21st CD, but rather the 20th. The Albany Times Union reports on the confusion:

Jim Tedisco, the man Schenectady residents have sent to the state Assembly for the last 27 years, is the Republican vying for a Congressional seat against Democrat Scott Murphy. While Tedisco's Assembly district includes parts of Schenectady County, the 20th Congressional District doesn't. Schenectady residents live in the 21st Congressional District. . . . An older couple in a red station wagon began to get out of their car. Asked if they were headed to vote, a stranger apprised them of the situation and apologized for their having wasted their time. They chuckled, shook their heads and turned back to their car. The man, in a thin plaid coat, paused to ask who, then, was their congressman. "Paul Tonko," the stranger said, referring to the Democrat elected in November to succeed U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty. "Tonko?" the man retorted. "Never heard of him."