Navigation
Topics
Log In
Log Out
:
Special Search
New Today
New This Week
Advanced Search
Tree View
Your Account
Edit Profile
Register
Forgot Password
Tools
Help/Instructions
Policies
CLICK STATE TO SEE:
"WATCH LIST"
Marked with: 
"OPEN & HONEST"
Marked with: 
...
|
| 7-10-06: Kentucky litigation - 'When ... |
|
| Author |
Message |
    
Kathleen Wynne
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Kathleen_wynne
Post Number: 126
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? 
Votes: 10 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 4:14 pm: | 
|
Seven candidates, from two different political parties, have joined together to fight the Kentucky machine. One ordinary citizen has galvanized this action and stopped this very important case from being dismissed.
When Glenda Young called Black Box Voting she was a woman with a mission. "I need a lawyer," she said. "Can you help?"
Her plain spoken Southern drawl was laced with urgency and determination. "I believe that a great injustice has been done. When seven candidates join together from different parties to contest an election because they believe it was not honest, something's terribly wrong."
After questioning her, Kathleen Wynne of Black Box Voting was sufficiently concerned about procedural violations in the election that she took it upon herself to contact several attorneys on Glenda's behalf. The first attorney to understand the urgency and importance of this case was Paul Lehto, a formidable advocate for clean elections from Everett, Washington.
The candidates had already filed a case with local counsel, and a motion had been filed to dismiss. Lehto wasted no time catching a plane to Kentucky. After meeting with candidates, who provided hair-raising accounts of election irregularities, Lehto stepped in to fight the dismissal with the aid of local attorney Leroy Gilbert.
According to Lehto & Gilbert's legal brief:
quote:The Court must recall at all times that the voting here in question involves invisible electronic ballots which have not been inspected at any time by any party hereto, even the County Clerk has not counted them. Rather, the electronic ballots have been purported to be counted in secret by trade secret counting software owned by the vendors.
There is no reason at all or basis for confidence in the electronic counting until verified by the plaintiffs not only because the Clerk himself is a defendant-candidate here, but also because it is the nature of the computer to do precisely as it is told without reference to any laws, morals or ethics.
Lehto explains: "Computers do what they're told -- without regard to laws, ethics or morals, and THAT's the problem. They can put computers into elections when they find a computer that fears going to jail."
A copy of the plaintiff's supplemental response to the motion to dismiss can be seen here:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/kentucky-dismissal.pdf
Here is a copy of Lehto and Gilbert's offer of proof for the motion to dismiss:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/lehto-dismissal-response.pdf
Copy of original petition:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/kentucky-original.pdf
Glenda Young is a prime example of the backbone of America. One person CAN make a difference. When she called Black Box Voting, we realized that she was as serious as a heart attack. It was clear that there was no way she was going to back down, whether we helped her or not. This is the kind of tenacity it's going to take to reclaim our elections.
"I never believed this would happen in my own back yard," Young says. "It is up to us as the people of America to take a stand."
Lehto explains:
"For all the talking points of elections officials about pre-election testing, post-LAT testing, parallel testing, ITA certification, etc., the ONLY relevant question is WHAT WAS THE MACHINE TOLD TO DO ON ELECTION DAY ITSELF?
"We don't doubt that the machines CAN count correctly...We wonder what they were told to do on election day that causes either a malfunction (because computers are so complicated and literal) or causes a fraud (because computers will do ANYTHING)."
The machines in use were Hart Intercivic DREs. The evidenciary phase of this case has not been opened yet, but when candidates from two parties join together to file a joint lawsuit, red flags go up like the Fourth of July.
Seven candidates. Two lawyers. One ordinary citizen with firm resolve.
This is an example of what you can accomplish. Now, to expand on this: We cannot overstate the importance of getting involved and gathering real evidence. Evidence = photographs, audio recordings, video, and public records.
There are no small elections. Every election represents the integrity of the machinery and the procedures for the jurisdiction itself. If there is a problem with a local race, you can't have confidence in any race above it.
# # # # #
PERMISSION TO REPRINT OR EXCERPT GRANTED, WITH LINK TO http://www.blackboxvoting.org |
Linda Franz
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Linda_franz
Post Number: 516
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 9:28 am: |
|
Yes, what is the legal basis for certifying an election?
ANY testing can only certify- and I cringe when using that word- what it tested AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
It is totally irrelevant to an election to say it was correct based on tests that have nothing to do with that specific point in time or that specific piece of equipment.
The only way to even begin to have real evidence that is germane to the election- is rigorous hand auditing of paper ballots or in the case of DRE's, paper records THAT HAVE BEEN VERIFIED BY THE VOTER. VVPARs and the like that don't even let the voter see the paper ought to be considered an affront to voting- not to mention illegal as the law usually specifies that the voter must be able to verify the ballot. |
Brant Lamb
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Brantl
Post Number: 678
Registered: 01-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 5:16 am: |
|
And what do you do when they change the 'paper', as they seem to have done in Valusia county in Florida (poll tapes)? |
Jo Anne Karasek
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Jo_anne_karasek
Post Number: 138
Registered: 08-2005
Best of Black Box?
Votes: 2 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 7:48 am: |
|
The Whitley County, KY 2006 election contest handled by Paul Lehto (referred by Black Box Voting) and a local co-counsel was first filed by local candidates (now 7 in number) of BOTH the Republican and Democratic Parties, who allegedly lost. The Whitley County Clerk has announced that a group (sometimes referred to as "the clique") won the primary election. http://www.corbinnewsjournal.com/index.php?fn=stories&front=Array&detail=1148493 112 ,
Whitley County, Kentucky is in Appalachia and about 15 miles from the Tennessee border. Whitley County is 20 million dollars in debt.
The people I met and worked with on the allegedly losing candidates' side were warm, smart and lively people. The community has serious employment problems, and the plaintiffs need donations to help with the costs of the election contest.
Some of the most telling reported evidence is that in a three person race, the votes, on Hart InterCivic DREs, were switched from two of the candidates to the same third person. There are numerous reports of vote switching in various races.
Reportedly, the vote count of one or more candidates in a precinct did not match up with reports from voters in a precinct.
The County Clerk runs the elections in Kentucky. The Whitley County Clerk's name (as treasurer of the campaign committee) was reportedly on the campaign paraphernalia of one of his staff members who was running for County Clerk. That candidate for the County Clerk reportedly had her campaign paraphernalia on display in the office of the County Clerk during early voting and the primary election day.
Reportedly another incumbent candidate was campaigning at the Courthouse within the 500 feet line, and his campaign pens with his name printed on them were laid out by election staff for voters to sign in.
Many polling places were changed for the election (which may be because it has been reported that new disability requirements apply including a claw handle on doors). But reportedly one or more voters were not sent notice. And reportedly one was sent a notice to go to the wrong polling place, and their vote did not county.
There were radio announcements of Paul Lehto speaking last Saturday night about the election. (There had been previous newspaper and radio announcements about the election problem.) Many people came, including the opposition. Statements were privately taken from many of the people who came.
Unlike the preparation for the election contest in Ohio cities, where assemblies of people included those who spoke out about the problems they experienced, in Whitley County statements were made privately, which probably works better in a smaller community.
At the end, there was a Karaoke event in the hall, and there were some excellent singers in the community. That was very enjoyable and relaxing.
In addition, I did some spreadsheet work. The candidates who reportedly won were claiming that none of the opposition got 50% of the winning candidate's vote. That is generally extraordinary and extraordinary for Whitley County, also. We substantiated that at least one of the election contest people got 50% of the winning candidate's vote. That is one of the grounds for winning the election lawsuit .
I also wrote reports from witnesses of election problems into a draft of an amended complaint.
On Monday, we went down to the County Clerk's office and Paul gave a public records request to them. But the staff person refused to accept it until the County Clerk approved it for filing!
See also http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/32958.html?1152706592
and a copy of the plaintiff's supplemental response to the motion to dismiss:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/kentucky-dismissal.pdf
Here is a copy of Lehto and Gilbert's offer of proof for the motion to dismiss:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/lehto-dismissal-response.pdf
Copy of original petition: http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/kentucky-original.pdf |
Jenny L. Hurley
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Bolivar
Post Number: 34
Registered: 12-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 8:11 am: |
|
In 2004 Fort Bend County, TX had paper ballots and we had a total of 92 UNDERVOTES in the Presidential election
In 2006 - in the Primaries - with the Hart eSlate there were thousands of UNDERVOTES. Tom DeLay even had 781 UNDERVOTES; Court of Appeals Justices had Republican Undervotes in the 8000 Plus range and in the Democraict Primary - Supreme Court of Texas had 1510 UNDERVOTES.
ONE GIANT LEAP BACKWARDS FOR DEMOCRACY!!!
Thanks,
Jenny |
Jenny L. Hurley
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Bolivar
Post Number: 35
Registered: 12-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 8:37 am: |
|
Please disregard my previous post regarding the UNDERVOTES for the 2004 Presidential Election. I may have picked up the wrong file. I will get back with the correct numbers. Sorry for the inconvenience. Jenny |
|
|
