The ballot machine that lets you vote for anyone... as long as it's NOT Obama (and now it's been removed from voting booths)
- Voting machine in Pennsylvania has been taken out of commission for trying to change all votes for President Obama to Mitt Romney
- Whistle-blower revealed the footage online recorded today
- Celebrities have been criticised for posting their election choice online for their Twitter and Facebook followers to see
- A mural of President Obama has been poorly covered-up in a polling place in Philadelphia - leading to accusations of bias from Republicans
An electronic voting machine in Pennsylvania has been removed from service after it changed votes for President Obama into those for Mitt Romney.
An 18-second clip posted onto YouTube shows a voter's finger repeatedly pressing the button for Obama, but the check mark instead comes up next to Romney's name.
This is the latest in a flurry of voting glitches across the country today from West Palm Beach in Florida where ballot counting machines broke down, to vast swathes of New Jersey where text alert systems for residents sent them to the wrong polling stations.
Scroll Down for Video
![The YouTube video clearly shows the finger touching the screen to vote for Barack Obama (left) but lighting up for Mitt Romney instead (right)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E1EFF1000005DC-836_306x508.jpg)
![The ballot machine that lets you vote for anyone...as long as its Mitt Romney](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E1EFFD000005DC-291_306x508.jpg)
The YouTube video clearly shows the voter's finger touching the screen to vote for Barack Obama (left) but lighting up for Mitt Romney instead (right)
In comments attached to the clip, the anonymous user named 'centralpavote' said that 'all the other buttons worked fine' and asked voters either side if they were experiencing similar problems - which they denied.
NBC News has reported that since the clip was posted to Reddit this morning, it spread across the Internet and the offending machine has been retired from service.
The video which was filmed on the YouTube users Android phone shows the potentially serious malfunction affect only a vote for the incumbent president.
A vote for any other of the candidates for the presidency and vice presidency resulted in a successful choice - it was only a vote for President Obama that caused the machine to change to Mitt Romney.
'I initially selected Obama but Romney was highlighted,' said 'centralpavote' on the introduction to his video on YouTube.
![Christie Tipton casts her ballot using an electronic voting machine similar to the one in Pennsylvania that refused to cast a vote for Barack Obama](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E0DD08000005DC-854_634x419.jpg)
Christie Tipton casts her ballot using an electronic voting machine similar to the one in Pennsylvania that refused to cast a vote for Barack Obama
![A school in Philadelphia has been asked to cover up a mural of Barack Obama that was on display in front of voters today](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E2600A000005DC-675_634x355.jpg)
A school in Philadelphia has been asked to cover up a mural of Barack Obama that was on display in front of voters today
![They were criticised for only using three pieces of paper to cover the mural - leading to accusations of bias from Republicans](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E26012000005DC-86_634x475.jpg)
They were criticised for only using three pieces of paper to cover the mural - leading to accusations of bias from Republicans
'I assumed it was being picky so I deselected Romney and tried Obama again, this time more carefully, and still got Romney.
But Did the Whistle-Blower Break the Law?
- Pennsylvania law strives to maintain all secrecy within the ballot box enshrined in Article VII, section 4 of the Pennsylvania Constitution
- As part of this provision it is a misdemeanor for a voter 'to allow his ballot or the face of the voting machine voted by him to be seen by any person with apparent intention of letting it be known how he is about to vote'
- However, this does not cover posting an image of one's own marked ballot on the Internet after voting - but it does cover live streaming video during the act of voting.
- One other provision of this Article does make it unlawful to photograph or film other voters in such a way that might reveal the contents of their ballots
'Being a software developer, I immediately went into troubleshoot mode.
'I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine.
'Next I deselected her and started at the top of Romney’s name and started tapping very closely together to find the ‘active areas’.
'From the top of Romney’s button down to the bottom of the black checkbox beside Obama’s name was all active for Romney.
'From the bottom of that same checkbox to the bottom of the Obama button (basically a small white sliver) is what let me choose Obama.
'Stein’s button was fine. All other buttons worked fine.'
The voter reported the problem to an electoral official who declared it a non issue.
'I then called over a volunteer to have a look at it,' said 'centralpavote'/
'She him hawed (sic) for a bit then calmly said 'It’s nothing to worry about, everything will be OK.' and went back to what she was doing.
'I then recorded this video.'
However, far from evidence of electoral fraud, experts have weighed in with the theory that this is a calibration problem specific to the machine.
'It's a concern but not because of fraud... that's an obviously miscalibrated iVotronic (ES&S) voting machine,' said Jospeh Lorenzo Hall, Senior Staff Technologist at the Center for Democracy & Technology to Gawker.
'We would recommend that poll workers would recalibrate the machine and everything would be fine.
![Bob Warhola casts his vote at a polling place inside a residential garage, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Forest City, Pennsylvania](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E1E5A2000005DC-431_634x424.jpg)
Bob Warhola casts his vote at a polling place inside a residential garage, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Forest City, Pennsylvania
'Also, with some models of voting system if you place a thumb on accident while resting on the machine it can 'bias' the calibration of the touchscreen up towards the errant thumb.
'That could be happening to, if it's only for this one voter.'
Further controversy over voting continued at a polling place in a Philadelphia school where workers ignored a judge's order to cover a mural of President Obama 'in its entirety'.
The art work which is positioned behind voting machines contains the words 'change!' and 'hope' together with a quote from the president and a painting of him.
However, electoral poll workers only covered up the mural with three pieces of paper - leaving the Obama logo and quote from the serving president in full view of all prospective voters.
Seeing an attempt to influence the votes of those attending the polling place in Ward 35, Republicans were outraged.
![A poll worker assists a voter with the voting booth curtain before voting during the U.S. presidential election at the Penrose recreation center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E1E44F000005DC-501_634x499.jpg)
A poll worker assists a voter with the voting booth curtain before voting during the U.S. presidential election at the Penrose recreation center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today
'It is an absolute disgrace,' said Shannon Royer, deputy secretary for external affairs and elections in Pennsylvania to Fox News.
'Election materials and electioneering inside the polling place are prohibited by state law. This can be interpreted as trying to influence voters inside the polling place.
'I am told discussions are going on now about covering the mural.'
However, even though the voting machine whistle-blower has kept their anonymity, other better known individuals are unwittingly breaking the law by posting pictures from the ballot box online.
Talk show host Sean Hannity didn't surprise anyone with the contents of his ballot when he tweeted a photo of it. What may be a surprise is that very act appeared to break the law.
The ballot that the Fox News Channel host tweeted showed him voting for Mitt Romney on the Conservative Party line, and continuing to vote for Conservatives across the undercard.
Yet New York State law says that it's illegal for someone to reveal the contents of a prepared ballot, perhaps a pre-social media era statute designed to guard against voter intimidation.
It's a misdemeanor that would be up to a district attorney to prosecute, said John Conklin, spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections.
![Fox News host Sean Hannity apparently tweeted pictures of his ballot today. This may be a misdemeanor under New York State elections law which prohibits voters from showing a ballot after it is prepared for voting](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E23A84000005DC-579_634x612.jpg)
Fox News host Sean Hannity apparently tweeted pictures of his ballot today. This may be a misdemeanor under New York State elections law which prohibits voters from showing a ballot after it is prepared for voting
![Voters cast their votes using electronic voting machines during the U.S. presidential election at a voting location in Valley City, Ohio today](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E0FB1A000005DC-134_634x502.jpg)
Voters cast their votes using electronic voting machines during the U.S. presidential election at a voting location in Valley City, Ohio today
The idea of showing off a completed ballot on Twitter, Instagram or some other social media site wasn't considered by the Founding Fathers.
But it was a hot topic for discussion online early Tuesday, and the website gizmodo.com published a guide of how individual state laws might affect such an act.
In fact according to new data from Pew Research 22 percent of registered voters in the United States have indicated on Facebook or Twitter who they voted for today.
However, the question of whether using your smartphone to photograph your ballot is illegal depends entirely on the state in which you are voting.
Some states such as Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada and Texas, 'expressly prohibit the use of photographic and recording equipment inside polling places.'
The state of Wisconsin is cracking down hard on those who post completed ballot pics to Facebook or Twitter - explaining that it constitutes election fraud under that state's law and is a Class I felony.
![A supporter of President Barack Obama, Ronald Armour delivers a message during the U.S. presidential election with a bullhorn near the Penrose recreation center polling place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/06/article-2228858-15E1E8A3000005DC-273_634x813.jpg)
A supporter of President Barack Obama, Ronald Armour delivers a message during the U.S. presidential election with a bullhorn near the Penrose recreation center polling place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WATCH VIDEO: Voting Machine Refuses to Allow a Vote For Anyone But Obama
Most watched News videos
- Prisoner on early release from Wandsworth is sprayed with champagne
- Germany implements temporary border controls to combat migration
- Ukrainian sniper fires at two Russian soldiers with grenade launchers
- Moment 'drunk' Brit and his wife are hauled off Ryanair flight
- Moscow woman reports live: 'Where are we supposed to run to?'
- Trump upset by Putin's endorsement of Kamala Harris
- 'I'm on a bench tonight': Former convict prefers prison over freedom
- Moment diners tip vintage £3,200 Petrus to make £100,000 Sangria!
- Hairbrush and women's clothes found in tunnel where hostages died
- Moment of 'Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack' on Moscow building
- Princess Kate mirrors the late Queen driving in candid recovery video
- Knife-wielding break-in suspect chases local after being confronted