Voters reported multiple problems in casting ballots in the District on Tuesday, raising the possibility that technical issues could mar a citywide election for the second year in a row. An unknown number of D.C. voters who went to the polls discovered that their party affiliation had changed — without their authorization. Three voters interviewed by The Post said they were told their registration was no longer Democrat but “N-P,” meaning no party, preventing them from casting regular ballots counted on Election Day. The Distrtict has a closed primary; only voters registered as Democrats, Republicans and D.C. Statehood Green party members can participate.
In a statement, Terri Stroud, acting executive director of the D.C. Board of Elections, blamed the problem on a technical glitch that seemed to be rooted in the board’s new mobile app. “Some voters who updated their registration information through the mobile app may have experienced an unintentional change in their party affiliation,” he said. Stroud’s statement was emailed to reporters who inquired, but no alert was posted on the board’s website or at polling locations.
But Jeremy Koulish, a web developer and political activist, said he alerted the board last week when he went to vote early in Columbia Heights and discovered he was no longer registered as a Democrat.
Koulish said he initially got little help from the board in investigating the problem and chose to publicize it Tuesday with a post on Facebook. “Then I got like 12 response from people saying they experienced roughly the same thing,” he said.
Full Article: Glitch believed to be based in mobile app erases some D.C. voters’ party affiliation – The Washington Post.