Forum Navigation
Topics
Log In
Log Out
:
Forum Search
New Today
New This Week
Advanced Search
Tree View
Forum Account
Edit Profile
Register
Forgot Password
Forum Tools
Help/Instructions
Policies
CLICK STATE TO SEE:
"WATCH LIST"
Marked with: 
"OPEN & HONEST"
Marked with: 
...
|
| 6-5-06: Citizens -- Here's how to wat... |
|
| Author |
Message |
    
Bev Harris
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 4961
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? 
Votes: 5 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Monday, June 5, 2006 - 10:50 am: | 
|
The California primary is Tuesday June 6. As they say, "Democracy is not a spectator sport." Dive in and do your part to oversee and document this important election.
This coming November, control of the U.S. Congress will be determined in a nationwide general election. Primary elections are your chance to practice citizen oversight activities. With its massive population, California elections will play a particularly large role in control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
When there is a lot at stake, it is especially important to exercise your civil right to oversee and validate your own elections.
Here are some things that ordinary citizens can do:
First, a shift in thinking is needed this year. It is no longer enough to observe and tell stories about what you saw -- even if you sign an affadavit. The sad fact is, anecdotes don't produce change, even when they are very well organized. It's time to shift your thinking from watching elections to collecting evidence.
Evidence = audio recordings*, video recordings, photographs and public records
Also: Pick your observation point. While it's important to observe the polls, it may be even more important to observe the chain of custody and the vote tallying that goes on after the polls close.
Here is a general laundry list of valuable things you can can document.
Fair elections are all about your right to oversee and validate. You should not have to "trust" in anyone else's word. You should be able to observe and document for yourself.
In some California counties, like Los Angeles County, you'll get a lovely tour and lots of speeches, but little opportunity to actually exercise meaningful oversight. If that happens to you, collect evidence to prove it.
Document any of the following obstructive behaviors:
 You are not allowed to watch poll closing activities
You are not allowed to watch votes being counted
You are not allowed to follow the ballot box, memory card, or cartridge chain of custody
You are not allowed to watch the "depots" (regional transfer sites)
You are not allowed to watch the processing of the absentee ballots
You are not allowed to see the computer screens
You cannot see who is in the counting room
Some of the processing and tabulation takes place in rooms you cannot see
They won't tell you where any other networked machines are or, they won't let you observe the area where other networked machines are
You cannot see who is handling memory cards (or cartridges, or disks)
They won't tell you the names (and/or who employs) the people who are tabulating and processing votes
You are not allowed to watch pre-election voting machine preparation
You are not allowed to watch pre-election voting machine testing
You are not allowed to see all of the rooms where ballot box (memory card, cartridge) processing is taking place
You are not allowed to watch check-in of cartridges, memory cards etc.
You cannot see all of the computers processing your vote
They turn off the machine or blank the screen so you can't see what's on it (for example, hiding error messages)
You are not allowed to have the all of the results reports
You are not allowed to see the polling place results tapes at the precinct (end of day precinct results)
They won't let you access public records, such as voting machine logs, reports, pollbooks
They won't tell you the names of the people working there
It's too dark to see handling of memory cards, cartridges, envelopes and election materials.
They won't tell you the chain of custody
Chain of custody problems
Gaps in the accounting for (or your ability to see) handling of voting machines, memory cards, or ballots
Handing memory cards by political party operatives or vendors
Technicians working on voting machines during the election
Technicians working on voting system during the count
Machine does not print precinct results
Voting machines, ballot boxes or memory/cartridges sent home with poll workers
Counting problems
Modems can't connect
Cards/cartridges won't upload
Results don't match each other
Results for a candidate go down when more votes come in
Negative votes or machines count backwards
Auditing problems
Things don't add up
More votes than voters
Votes show up in precincts with no registered votes
Precincts results don't match central tabulator data
Absentee votes co-mingled with polling place votes so you can't see which are which
Precincts are missing
* California does not permit secret tape recording. It is a "two party consent state," meaning it requires the consent of both parties to take an audio recording. This is not necessarily true in a public space, such as the public area in an elections office. In these places it is generally assumed that anyone can hear what's going on and there is not necessarily any enforceable right to privacy in such settings.
There is no such prohibition against taking video without the audio. You can videotape to your heart's content in public places, except that you cannot videotape people's vote in a way that attaches it to the person who voted.
There is no prohibition against taking photographs. Many cameras that take digital photos also take Web quality video with audio. For options on equipment, click here:
Citizen's Guide to Video and Audio Recorders |
Russell Novkov
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Rnovkov
Post Number: 69
Registered: 02-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Monday, June 5, 2006 - 2:17 pm: |
|
there needs to be safeguards in place. |
Scott S. Cooper
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Sscoop
Post Number: 4
Registered: 05-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 1:30 am: |
|
I like to say Democracy is a full contact sport. Lets put on our game face and kick some fascist ass. I've tried to bring as much focus on the election by getting live on Air America's The Nation with Laura Flanders.
There is a lot more focus on the broken and mis-used Election Machinery and who should control it.
Pencil to paper, Precinct by Precinct, both Optical Scanner and hand counted in each and tabulated at the BOE. Redundant count audit trail and all must be identical and all must be signed by 2 bi-partisan BOE officials so someboby's Keester is on the line and accountable at each step.
That's my simple solution...people powered and working in concert with technology...but no Black Box...thank you all |
Mary Riley
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Ditzi
Post Number: 1
Registered: 05-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 1:49 am: |
|
I'm the inspector in El Dorado County, California, precinct 508. Bill Schultz, our county recorder, has done everything he possibly could to insure the integrity of the county. None of our machines are networked together, Diebold people were/are not allowed on property unescorted, and then they have to wear a jacket with a *TARGET* on it, that says "I'm from Diebold."
I'll do everything I possibly can to insure the integrity of my precinct. It's all I can do.
This will be the last election I work. It's way too overwhelming. |
Julio Edwards
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Juliox
Post Number: 14
Registered: 11-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 1:58 am: |
|
Bev, your list looks exactly like the list of things that happened in the 2004 Ohio election. |
Catherine Ansbro
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Catherine_a
Post Number: 2781
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 2:00 am: |
|
Hi Mary,
Great to hear about your work, and that of the county recorder. I bet there are lots of inspectors, recorders and other election officials who are doing everything they can.
I think if I were in such a position I'd be pretty angry to learn that voting machines have been designed with so many vulnerabilities that they are essentially impossible to police, despite the integrity of the local election staff. (E.g., Diebold TSx machines could have been "adjusted"at any point during their manufacturing, shipping or storage before being delivered to the county, and no inspector would have any way of testing to find out whether tampering had or had not occured, and could do nothing to know for sure that a known vulnerability had been fixed.)
It's damaging to voters, and to all those individuals who play such an important role in making our elections work--election staff, poll workers, and observers. It really bothers me that those with great integrity could end up with compromised machines--against their will and against their knowledge, even though they're doing everything in their power to run a tight ship.
Mary, if things were to move forward to a well-supervised hand-counted paper ballot (using procedures such as those described on other threads here), would the security and accuracy of an election be more "inspectable" from your perspective?
(Message edited by catherine_a on June 06, 2006) |
Mary Riley
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Ditzi
Post Number: 2
Registered: 05-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 2:10 am: |
|
Oh Catherine,
ABSOLUTELY!
This is the first time we've had these creatures in this county.
Another thing I might mention, Bill didn't let Diebold prepare the ballots. He figured if they didn't see them, they couldn't program anything... um, shall I say, *accordingly.*
None of the poll workers I spoke with during training are happy about this. WE LIKE PAPER BALLOTS. In fact, we like punch cards.
The scanners sound like they're shreading the ballots, although we are assured they are not. The touch screen is only effective for partially impaired people. I can't see a single bit of allowance for the fully disabled.
I am just so upset about this.
My grandmother worked elections in the San Francisco Bay Area, when they counted the votes at the precinct level... by hand, and it took however long it took. There was never any doubt about the integrity of the vote. |
Catherine Ansbro
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Catherine_a
Post Number: 2785
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 3:27 am: |
|
Because of your personal and family experience in helping with elections I hope you'll find a way to continue being involved. Your experience and observations will play an important role in helping to create election procedures we can all be proud of, and in whose oversight we can all participate. |
Bev Harris
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 4981
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 7:44 am: |
|
Mary Riley,
Welcome to Black Box Voting! We will look forward to hearing how your election went. As Ion Sancho has shown, even with Diebold, it can help greatly to have administration of the election that is as independent from the vendor and stubbornly honest as possible.
Please let us know how it goes in El Dorado County when you have had a chance to recuperate. |
Bev Harris
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 4982
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 7:48 am: |
|
Julio - We have been traveling for two years, observing elections, canvassing, and preparation for elections in action. I think I've personally witnessed almost everything on that list!
The fact is, there are vast difference in procedures from one location to the next even when the rules are identical. It's a quality control problem -- and a citizen oversight problem -- that needs our attention.
These things happened in Ohio, Florida, California, Washington, and so many more places I don't have time to list them all. They got a lot of attention in Ohio, but the kinds of problems on the list are systemic and nationwide -- though they don't occur everywhere.
Obstructiveness is one of the first symptoms that something may be more wrong than you think. The best elections officials are very open and they welcome citizen oversight. |
Doug Fields
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Def94528
Post Number: 8
Registered: 03-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 8:39 am: |
|
Thanks Bev,
Excellent help. I'll take my camera and video phone to the polling place and do what I can. |
Jacques Strapp
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Jacques_strapp
Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 11:14 am: |
|
Man, I think people are forgetting the time of the Jim Crow laws or back when women weren't allowed to vote. Let's take it easy...mmmkay? |
Bev Harris
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 4992
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - 12:37 pm: |
|
Not forgetting Jim Crow laws or the fight for woman's suffrage. We are honoring our heritage, and remembering it all too well. Having been there before, we are not easily hoodwinked about what's been going on with elections recently. |
|
|
