Some progress on the Vienna voting irregularities. From an email I received from one of the candidates, Deborah Brehony:
At the May 1, 2007 Vienna Town Elections, there were reports from voters concerning three different Election Officers who encouraged people to "vote for three," which was the maximum number of votes that could be cast. Eliminating any undervote caused at least one of every citizen's votes to be cast toward an incumbent.
Deborah has said that she doesn't believe that the election was affected by these irregularities (i.e., that different people would've been elected). Rather, she's just hoping that these problems will be resolved for more fair election in the future. And for that, we should thank her.
One Election Officer was particularly egregious - going so far as to tell a voter to "vote for three, or the new people will get in," and in another case, reaching over a voter's shoulder to physically press the "Back" button, and telling the voter that she could not yet cast her vote because she had not voted for three persons.Citizens also reported that they felt "hovered over," and that they were being "watched" as they cast their votes.
We have been in communication with the Virginia State Board of Elections, the Fairfax County Electoral Board, and the Vienna Town Council and Management. It is our opinion that all parties have shown appropriate concern, and that corrective measures are being taken by the State, the County and the Town to ensure that such actions do not occur in future elections. The Town of Vienna is currently investigating the history of the selection of their election officers, and the County has assured us that better training and more thorough oversight will take place in the future.