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New Yorkers Throwing Their Vote Away With New Machines

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - As many as 100,000 New Yorkers could lose their vote in the 2012 Presidential election.

WCBS 880's Alex Silverman On The Story

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It was never an issue with those good old manual machines.

"When he had lever machines, it was impossible to over-vote," said Larry Norden with New York University's Brennan Center for Justice.

But in the 2010 election, Norden says 60,000 votes didn't count in New York because people voted for too many candidates.

"Our ballet design is very confusing," Norden told WCBS 880 reporter Alex Silverman.

That's part of the problem.

Norden also says the message that warns you your vote won't count really doesn't get the message across.

"The green button with the check mark is a signal for something good and a way to have your vote counted and in fact for voters who pressed that button they actually lost their votes," said Norden.

It's the red button that lets you go back and fix your ballot.

That state has agreed to try to fix those issues in time for the 2012 election.

Brennan says if that doesn't happen, up 100,000 New Yorkers could lose their votes at the ballot box.

Do you have a complaint about New York's voting machines? Sound off in the comments section below!

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