Alex Cabrero Reporting
Even with those voters who understand how to use the new machines, mistakes are still being made. Mostly, it's from voters who think they're voting one way when they're actually voting another way.
It is confusing to some and all because of a smiley face and the words personal choice. Some voters think when they select the personal choice option, they're going to vote for their personal choices, when in fact, they've just voted straight party for the personal choice party.
With all of us getting used to new voting machines today, in some counties there's also a new party to get used, a party with a cute, friendly logo.
Sherrie Swensen, Salt Lake Co. Clerk: "You want to reach for that smiley face and touch it. Absolutely."
Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen is fully aware of the two-year old Personal Choice party. She's just worried a lot of voters aren't.
Sherrie Swensen, Salt Lake Co. Clerk: "It has been very confusing to people, and it is actually a political party."
On the touch screen where you're allowed to vote straight party like democrat or republican, the very last party is personal choice. Some voters are mistaking Personal Choice to actually mean personal choice -- that no, they don't want to vote straight party, they want to make their personal choices.
Wendy Ormsby "Yeah, I want to make my personal choice."
Wendy Ormsby is her districts Democratic delegate to the state convention and even she selected personal choice. She caught her mistake and fixed it.
Wendy Ormsby, Voter: "That's deceiving in a lot of ways because yeah, just that smiley face and the words personal choice afterwards made it look like that's the one I wanted to pick because I wanted to make my personal choices."
You can't blame it on the new machines. In 2004's general election, with punch cards, the personal choice party received more than 10-percent of the straight party vote, way more than the other non-major parties and a great number for a brand new party.
Swensen just hopes voters catch their mistakes before casting their ballot.
Sherrie Swensen: "They can go back at any time. They can make changes all through the process, and it's very user friendly."
Swensen said she wanted to post signs at polling stations to educate voters about personal choice being a political party, but says she wasn't allowed to because it might influence a vote.
Still, other voters we spoke with say they were aware of it being a party and knew to bypass that particular screen.
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