5-4-06: Your chance to get evidence: ...

Author Message   Bev Harris Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 4460 Registered: 12-2004 Best of Black Box? N/A Votes: 0 (A keeper?) Posted on Thursday, May 4, 2006 - 9:13 am:        West Virginia, Nebraska: Next Tuesday, May 9 Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania: Tuesday May 16 (Oregon is mail-in, only some of this applies) Telling stories about problems you saw is no longer good enough. It doesn't produce much change. Real election reform requires real citizen oversight, and oversight means taking easy steps so you can capture real evidence if an election problem occurs. Real evidence = audio or video recording, public records, photos WHAT TO WATCH FOR - Voter disenfranchisement (obstruction of voting) - Voting machine problems (malfunctioning machines and security problems) Much more detail on the kinds of problems you might see is below. This article concerns the VOTING -- a later article will describe how to oversee the COUNTING. Feel free to distribute this information to your circle of influence. What to bring with you when you vote: 1. Small audio recorder. Available for about $40 at Radio Shack. Smaller than a cell phone. - As soon as you get out of your car to go vote, hit "record." - Make sure it is recording. - Then just ignore it, go to the polls, vote. - At all times, you should be discreet -- you don't need to hide the recorder, but waving it around is asking someone to object. - The objective is to get OTHER people on the recording, not your own voice. Ask simple questions -- it's the answers that count. Don't make speeches and don't be confrontational. Make sure that what is recorded depicts you as a reasonable and polite person. - See state rules on freedom to tape without consent, at bottom *Oregon is all mail-in and votes are counted at a central location by optical scan machines. Follow tips in the small section for absentee votes below and for observing the end of day vote counting, which will be in a later article. Most likely everything will go smoothly, but see this article: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/27580.html for a list of things that happened this week in Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana -- we think you'll agree that audio recording is of great value when something goes wrong. 2. Take your cell phone or a small camera. Use it to take pictures if something goes wrong, and to call the media. 3. Small pocket notebook so you can record location, names, machine serial numbers if needed. See this article: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/73/27587.html for an easy guide to gadgets like audio recorders and videocams. Now let's get into more detail: Voter eligibility problems 1. Suppose you try to vote but they say you're not registered? Start with prevention -- Rules have been changing. Check on the status of your voter registration well before the election. If it's election day and you are told you're not registered: Request a provisional ballot. They must give you a provisional ballot, but it won't count if the records show you are not registered. Voting by provisional ballot is significantly inferior to same-day or absentee voting, since these ballots may not be counted if it "won't make a difference" and sometimes are not accounted for very well. 2. Suppose you try to vote but they ask for ID? Best thing to do: Bring a valid photo ID just in case. Some states have changed the law and do now require it. Access to the polls 1. What if your polling place is closed when you get there? First, prevention - many polling places have changed due to new disability requirements; some have been eliminated due to the cost of buying new voting machines. Check with the elections office (don't depend on friends or news publications). Make sure you go to the right place in the first place, and allow extra time. 2. What if you know it is the right location, but can't find where to vote? Sometimes the voting location is in another part of the building. Look for signs and ask, and use your audio recorder to capture any obstructiveness by any public officials. 3. What if you can see the polling place, but it isn't open for business? Document this with your audio recorder and ask lots of questions. Take photos of the lines. Record conversation if people have to leave and are unable to vote. Get their name if possible. Note the poll locaton and the time. If poll opening is significantly delayed, call the media. If it is delayed more than an hour, report it to someone who has access to lawyers (such as a candidate or legislative representative). Briefing papers may need to reach a judge by 11 a.m. or noon in order to extend the hours for that polling place. If poll opening is delayed due to voting machine problems, when you get inside ask questions of the poll workers and record their answers to document the problem. 4. What if polls are open but lack the equipment or supplies to vote? For example, some of the voting machines are not working, there aren't enough ballots, or some other item (like a card encoder or check-in computer) is not working? Ask questions and make sure your audio recorder is running to capture the answers. Don't get confrontational -- this isn't about hearing your own voice on audio, it's about documenting the explanations and answers you get. You generally cannot take photos or video inside a polling place -- but some places will allow this. If you can get a photo that shows the problem, do so. Here are things to jot down in your notebook if you witness a problem: - Precinct location - Names of poll workers - Name of your county/township elections chief - Names and contact info for any other citizens who witnessed the disenfranchisement Voter intimidation or discrimination 1. What if you witness discriminatory or hostile procedures? Examples include inappropriate challenges of voters, ethnically inappropriate remarks, or police checkpoints or surveillance of polling places. Make sure your audio recorder is running before you get there, and keep it running. These things happen by surprise. Get photos of any obstruction, and note the location, names of witnesses, names of perpetrators. Voting machine problems Most states have a mixture of optical scan machines (which use paper ballots) and DRE machines (touch-screen or roll-a-dial computers). The DRE machines have significantly more issues. If you have a choice between a DRE and a paper ballot optical scan, always choose the paper ballot. Here's what to look for with DRE machines: - Your vote shows up on the wrong choice - You can't see the paper record of your vote (some states don't have one, but in states with a DRE voter verified paper trail, it may be hidden under a brown door or other obstruction) - Confusing machine: Hard to figure out how to use it - A candidate or question is missing from the screen - The screen automatically fills in votes you don't want - The screen fails to report to you that your vote has been accepted. Usually it will say something like "vote cast" -- or the message can be more confusing, like "choices printed." - Voting machines aren't running - You see an error messages on the screen - You see an administrative or technician screen instead of the ballot choices - The voting machine crashes or freezes - The voting machine screen is dim, has lines through it, colors are distorted or is otherwise hard to read. - Your card won't work - (For accessible machines) The accessibility function aren't working (headphones, large text, keypads, sip n puff) - Repairman is working on one of the voting machines What to do: Write down (or photograph with your cell phone) anything that looks "weird". Have your audio recorder on and ask questions, record the answers. Even if you are technically savvy, keep your questions simple and innocent and you'll elicit more information. For example: - "What's that?" - "Who's that guy?" - "How come he's..." - "What's he doing?" - "What did he just put in the machine?" - "Where's he taking that?" - "Where do those cables go?" - "Where are the [Diebold/ES&S] guys?" If possible, stand around and watch if someone comes to fix your machine. Ask a couple simple questions and audio-record the answers. Optical scan machines WHAT TO LOOK FOR: - Kicks out your ballot or won't take it - There is a little window or message screen on the optical scan machine. Look at it before you run your ballot through. Watch what it says before, during and after. Record or photograph any weird messages on the screen (such as "ballot not read.") - Make sure to notice and document if voted ballots are being kept on a counter, basket, or a locaton that is not sealed. Correctly designed optical scan systems make your ballot disappear into a sealed box. With the Diebold AccuVote scanners, for example, it is a large black box upon which the scanner sits. Absentee and mail-in ballots - What if you don't receive your ballot? Contact your elections division -- better yet, visit, and straighten it out. There are several reasons why you may not get your ballot. Allow enough time before the election to resolve these issues, because they crop up frequently for a variety of innocent reasons. - What if you receive the wrong ballot? Photograph your blank ballot and retain evidence, then visit your elections office to resolve the issue. Bring an audio recorder with you to the elections office to record the answers. Viewing the central tabulator will be a separate article. Guidelines for audio recording Some states allow audio recording only in public places, but all voting environments are public settings, so you can record. In most states, you can hide your audio recorder. In the 10 states at very bottom, you'll probably want to have your recorder visible, though it can be discreet. For example, clip it on your purse or your belt. Most states allow "single party consent" recording, which means that if one party knows there is recording, it's fine. You are one person, so you can record legally in the single party consent states without showing anyone your recorder. Here are the single party consent states, which generally mean that you can record with a hidden recorder: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arizona Arkansas Colorado District Of Columbia Georgia Hawaii Idaho Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Minnesota Nebraska New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolinia North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon Ohio Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming The following states are two-party consent, which means you must do your recording in a public setting and it is best to make the recorder visible, though it can be quite small and discreetly placed. California Connecticut Delaware Florida Illinois Massachusetts Maryland Michigan Montana Nevada New Hampshire Pennsylvania Washington In all cases, the recommendation is to switch it on BEFORE you get to the location and just leave it running. This way you'll capture surprise events and won't feel flustered. 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