Washington state officials temporarily suspended electronic voting for its state quarter design contest after over- exuberant online voters used computer programs to stuff the online ballot boxes.
Voting was shut down April 10 after technicians noticed more than 100 votes a minute poring in during the weekend. Votes swelled to more than a million during that time.
The State Quarter Advisory Commission was allowing an unlimited number of votes from a single Internet address so family members sharing a computer could each register their favorite.
The reconfigured poll was back online by April 12.
Washington has three quarter design finalists for its addition to the 50 States Quarter Program. The Washington quarter is scheduled to be released in March 2007.
The poll will not absolutely determine the winning design, but the advisory commission will consider its results when it makes its recommendation to the governor, who will make the final decision.
