Computer glitch plots some Wis. voters in Africa

By Sevil Omer, msnbc.com

Clerks statewide worked hard to fix a computer glitch on Thursday that incorrectly placed some voters far away from their?homes and into Africa.

"It's been a little amusing," Sheboygan County Clerk Julie Glancey told msnbc.com on Thursday. "We had a number of voters who showed up on the computer map on the coast of Africa and we had to drag them back to the state of Wisconsin."

It was not clear how many voters were affected by the glitch that caused the computer system to default to an address from across the Atlantic Ocean, Glancey said. She said her county had at least 50?cases.

According to the Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee, the mix up could cause even more frustration to some voters already affected by the redistricting law approved by legislators last summer.

The Journal Sentinel was first to report the story.

For example, voters on election day could show up at the wrong polling location or not be able to find their name at?all at the polling place, according to the newspaper.

State election officials told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that?they're working with county officers to fix the problem well in advance of the Feb. 21 primary election.

Said Glancey: "We learned that it's just as much work bringing them back from the coast of Africa as it is?bringing them back from across the street."

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Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/12/10142927-computer-glitch-plots-some-wis-voters-in-africa

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