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| (MI) Detroit - relating to missing me... |
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BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2690
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2005 - 8:26 am: | 
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This request follows up on news reports about missing memory packs, and extra votes reportedly due to not zeroing out the machines after testing. The news reports about this incident are provided below.
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST #111305A
To: Detroit DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS - 2978 West Grand Blvd. - Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 876-0190 - Fax: (313) 224-1466 - CityClerk@ci.detroit.mi.us
From: Bev Harris, Jim March, Kathleen Wynne - Black Box Voting, Inc. 330 SW 43rd St Suite K PMB-547 Renton WA 98055 - 425-793-1030 – records@blackboxvoting.org
Date: Nov. 13, 2005
This is a request pursuant to MCL 15.231 for records pertaining to the Nov. 8, 2005 Detroit election. We request as many records as possible to be delivered in electronic form (preferably) if in that form already, or paper/other media in the alternative. We request the following:
1. Documentation pertaining to testing, clearing votes after testing, and recording votes
Item 1a: According to ES&S documentation for the Eagle Optech III, testing of 100% of the MemoryPacks to be used in the election should be performed, with a MemoryPack Testing Log to include: MemoryPack serial number; precinct number; date tested; results of test, printed name of test personnel, and signature of the tester. Please provide such testing logs for the Nov. 8, 2005 election.
Item 1b: Please provide the list of persons who observed the MemoryPack testing, along with the appropriate paperwork containing their signatures.
Item 1c: According to ES&S documentation for the Eagle Optech III, under the topic of final preparation of Eagles for precinct use, each Eagle to be used in a polling place shall be equipped with the MemoryPack for the precinct(s) where it is to be used, which shall be properly identified and sealed within the MemoryPack compartment. The rear door and hinged cover of the Eagle shall be locked. Please provide the list of observers and signatures for this process.
Item 1d: According to ES&S documentation for the Eagle Optech III, under the topic of opening the polls, when the power cord is plugged in and the unit is keyed on, the Eagle automatically prints a Zero Totals Tape to indicate that no ballots have been cast and that no candidate or measure has any votes. All vote totals for all candidates and measures must be zero. The public counter on the voting machine will also display zero ballots cast. If the Zero Tape does not automatically print when the voting device is plugged in and turned on, a different electrical outlet should be tried, and if the Zero Tape still does not print, this must be reported to the election official. The Zero Totals Tape is to be signed by two poll workers; this tape becomes a permanent record of the election.
In accordance with the above, please provide copies of the signed Zero Totals Tapes for each voting machine used in the Nov. 8 election.
Please provide any reports to election officials of zero reports that do not print or zero reports that contain vote totals other than zero. Please identify any missing reports.
Item 1e: According to ES&S documentation for the Eagle Optech III, the elections workers for the precinct must confirm zero counts, and confirm that the Eagle is counting all of the measures, offices and candidates expected - and no more. The tape shall not be torn off until the printing of election totals following the closing of the polls (precinct count) or the processing of all precinct ballots (central count). (Therefore, the signed Zero Tape will remain affixed to the signed results tape).
Please provide the results tapes, which should be affixed to the Zero Tapes. Regardless of whether they are affixed, it is the signed copy of the results tapes, plus the signed copy of the Zero Report, both dated Nov. 8, 2005, which we are requesting.
Item 1f: According to ES&S documentation for the Eagle Optech III, procedures shall record the time voted ballots and MemoryPacks and units were received from each precinct and shall indicate from whom they were received and to whom they were submitted. Please provide this log.
Item 1g: According to ES&S documentation for the Eagle Optech III, under the topic of poll closing actions, the number of ballots voted in the precinct shall be reconciled to the number of signatures in the Roster-Index, or poll book, and any discrepancy should be explained in writing on a ballot statement or similar accounting form.
Please provide the polling place reconciliations of number of voters signed in with number of ballots voted in the precinct, which should contain the signatures of the poll workers who performed the reconciliation.
2. Procedures and tracking forms
Item 2a: Any documents which describe the procedure for printing “zero tapes” prior to voting on election day. This includes the procedures for Detroit, along with the training materials for your poll workers pertaining to printing zero tapes, and any pages from the ES&S Eagle Optech III user manual pertaining to zero reports.
Item 2b: Any documents, including training materials, which describe procedures for handling and tracking MemoryPacks, including copies of any tracking forms used during the election. This should also include identification of any tracking reports that are missing or unavailable.
3. Assignment sheets and locations
Item 3a: The list of polling places and precincts for the Nov. 8, 2005 election
Item 3b: The poll worker assignment sheet for the Nov. 8, 2005 election
Item 3c: The voting machine assignment log (identifying which voting machines were assigned to which locations) for the Nov. 8, 2005 election
Item 3d: Authorized observer assignments for each polling place. Name of any political party observers and/or general public or civic group observers assigned to each location.
Item 3e: MemoryPack External Serial Number assigned to each polling place and precinct. According to user procedure manuals for the Eagle Optech III, this is a discrete number engraved into or affixed by non-removable label to each MemoryPack to specifically identify a MemoryPack.
4. Documentation of anomalies and problems:
Item 4a: All “trouble slips” or problem reports for the Nov. 8, 2005 election, beginning Nov. 7 and through the date upon which you process this request.
Other notes
We recognize that you are completing the canvass of your election, and also that you are in the midst of an investigation pertaining to certain discrepancies in your election procedures and results. It is not our intention to place an undue burden on you. According to MCL 15.235 you have five days to respond to this request, which will be deemed received on Nov. 14, 2005. This puts the due date at Nov. 19, but we are hereby granting you an extension until Nov. 30, an additional 10 days, to give you an opportunity to wrap up some of your election activities and break for Thanksgiving.
In reciprocation of this courtesy, we ask that, if possible, you provide your reply by e-mail so we can receive it immediately after you send it. Please e-mail your response, along with projected reasonable fee and/or any deposit, to whom we should make out the check, and address to send it, to records@blackboxvoting.org. Additionally, we request that you estimate costs item by item, rather than as a whole.
Thank you for your kind attention to this matter,
Bev Harris, Jim March, Kathleen Wynne
Black Box Voting, Inc.
Contact info: 425-793-1030, 206-335-7747 |
BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2691
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2005 - 8:31 am: |
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What triggered this records request -- this, and a followup article by the AP, which blames the extra votes on test votes not cleared from the machines, caused us to send the request. Note that, with regard to test votes left in the machines, they should be caught at two stages by poll workers: 1) the Zero tape would not be Zero, and 2) the end of day reconciliation with the poll book would show more votes than voters
Detroit Free Press - Nov 12 2005
Detroit elections officials lost track of ballots in nine precincts -- or almost 3,000 votes -- in Tuesday's election, and did not count them until two days after polls closed.
What went wrong:
Nearly 3,000 Detroit votes were lost for two days as some were taken home by poll workers, others misplaced. Further, vote totals failed to add up correctly when the votes were restored.
What elections it affects:
Adding the newly found votes doesn't appear to affect the mayoral race. The effect is unclear, though, on City Council and school board races.
What comes next:
State Elections chief Chris Thomas launched a probe Friday, ordering the city not to touch voting records till he meets with them today.
State Elections Director Chris Thomas ordered city officials late Friday to keep their hands off voting records until he meets with them today.
Thomas' order came after he learned of the problem Friday afternoon from the Free Press, and as city elections officials were preparing to hold an emergency meeting with software engineers to try to resolve ongoing discrepancies in the vote totals.
The addition of the missing votes did not appear to alter the result of the most hotly contested mayoral race in recent memory. However, it's not entirely clear what impact the missing votes had on other races on the city ballot, including the City Council and the school board.
Thomas said he was "absolutely dismayed" to learn of the missing votes.
"We cannot believe that in this climate that Detroit election officials wouldn't publicly disclose that all of the precincts were not counted," Thomas said.
The missing votes raise fresh concerns about how votes have been secured and counted under outgoing City Clerk Jackie Currie, whose absentee ballot program is under federal investigation.
City elections officials acknowledged that a wayward poll worker took home the results from two precincts late Tuesday; and nonchalantly delivered them to election headquarters about noon Wednesday. Elections staffers discovered the results from seven other precincts inside locked ballot boxes after a fevered search.
Detroit Elections Department Director Gloria Williams insisted Friday it was completely normal for poll workers to temporarily lose track of a few precinct results -- stored in computerized memory packs -- in a busy election, an assessment shared by Sean T. Smith, a computer consultant who oversaw the tabulation of the votes on hundreds of packs. Williams and Smith said there was no way anyone could tamper with the missing packs.
"The results as of election night are completely unofficial," Williams said, insisting her office would be ready for the final vote certification before the Wayne County Board of Canvassers on Tuesday. "It's like balancing your checkbook."
The campaign staffs of both Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and unsuccessful challenger Freman Hendrix expressed deep concern Friday about the votes.
"Voting is a precious thing and Detroiters need to feel fully confident that their vote will be counted and processed appropriately," said Kilpatrick spokesman Howard Hughey. "We really hope that the Secretary of State and county will get to the bottom of whatever the issue is and guide this process for future elections."
Hendrix campaign spokesman Greg Bowens said supporters were encouraging Hendrix -- who as of Wednesday morning was down by some 14,000 votes -- to demand a recount.
"Right now there are many people who are concerned about the integrity of the vote," Bowens said. "We are, too."
Among the discrepancies to be resolved, city officials concede, are the final tallies in the mayoral race.
The Thursday count added 2,959 votes to the total ballots cast. But when the city updated the totals, Kilpatrick somehow gained another 4,462 votes, while Hendrix gained 4,064 votes.
"I've gone over this and I'm not figuring it out," Smith, the computer consultant, said Friday evening after the Free Press pointed out the discrepancy.
In the mayor's race, the final percentages changed little once the missing votes were added. The new vote totals provided to the Free Press on Friday gave 52.76% of the vote to Kilpatrick. Earlier totals released by the clerk's office at 4:51 a.m. Wednesday gave 52.79% of the vote to Kilpatrick.
The problems began at about 10:30 on election night, Williams and Smith acknowledged. Workers at the 720 precincts were to have removed the palm-sized memory packs from the ballot tabulation machines used in each precinct and delivered them to nine check-in stations across the city.
The packs were then to be transmitted via modem to election headquarters on West Grand Boulevard.
But when a couple of the modems malfunctioned, Williams changed plans and ordered workers to drive all of the memory packs to headquarters.
"We were afraid the results would be corrupted" over the modem-data lines, she said.
Throughout the election night process, the memory packs holding all of the city votes are often in the hands of part-time or temporary workers, including some who are hired for election night alone, said Smith.
The workers are told "over and over" that the memory packs are one of the most vital parts of counting the vote, Smith said.
"The challenge is always getting competent poll workers," said Smith, a 30-year-old sophomore at Wayne State University who has helped coordinate the city's election night computer networks since 2000.
Memory packs usually go missing in city elections, Williams said.
"It was Thursday when we found them all," she said. "That's normal. Very normal."
But Currie, who lost her re-election bid to upstart city schoolteacher Janice Winfrey, said Friday she was not familiar with other examples of AWOL memory packs.
"If they went missing, I am concerned about it," Currie said. "I have to find out more about it."
The influx of additional votes from the missing memory packs didn't help Currie. She had 46.80% of the vote in the initial count and 46.77% in the revised count.
Also Friday, a federal judge sanctioned Currie's lawyer for using stall tactics in efforts to avoid a Wayne County judge's order that Currie stop mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications.
Farmington Hills attorney Steven Reifman was ordered to pay attorney fees in the federal matter. Reifman did not return a call for comment Friday.
City Council candidate Jai-Lee Dearing, a restaurateur, lost the final City Council seat by 3,340 votes, compared to 3,642 votes in the initial count.
"It's amazing with everything that's going on and the scrutiny that was under the election process that individuals who were responsible for transporting data packs would take them home or some would go missing," said Eric Foster, a Dearing campaign consultant. "Going forward, we as Detroiters have to prioritize funding to make sure our elections process works as efficiently and as effectively as possible."
Smith, the city's election-night computer consultant, said he, too, was dismayed when the poll worker walked into the elections office Wednesday with two memory packs. "Needless to say, she won't be working for us again as a poll worker," Smith said.
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/count12e_20051112.htm |
BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2692
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2005 - 9:54 am: |
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Follow up article:
The Associated Press - Nov 12 2005
State works with Detroit to prepare for vote certification
DETROIT (AP) — State officials are working with the city to prepare for the final vote certification from Tuesday's election and to identify problems with the count, the Secretary of State's office said.
State Elections Director Chris Thomas met Saturday with city officials to review results ahead of certification by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, said Secretary of State spokeswoman Kelly Chesney.
A message seeking comment was left Saturday with the Detroit city clerk's office.
In 17 of the city's 720 precincts, information from ballots used to test tabulating machines wasn't cleared before actual votes were cast, leading to some changes in the vote totals, Chesney said.
And eight precincts weren't included in the initial counts released late Tuesday and early Wednesday because information from data packs wasn't properly delivered to the Detroit city clerk's office, she said.
The Detroit Free Press reported that one poll worker didn't deliver results from two precincts until midday Wednesday, while other data packs were found locked in ballot boxes.
Chesney said the problems had been remedied Friday, the votes were retabulated Saturday, and staff will continue reviewing precinct numbers against a master list on Monday.
Once the process is complete, the city will release unofficial election results, which must be certified by Nov. 22, she said.
Chesney said it didn't appear that fluctuations in vote totals would substantially change the outcome of the election, where incumbent Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick defeated challenger Freman Hendrix.
Detroit Elections Department Director Gloria Williams said Friday it was normal for poll workers to temporarily lose track of a few data packs with precinct results during a busy election.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department obtained an order for the Secretary of State to preserve absentee ballots cast in the mayor's race, the applications to get them and the envelopes in which they were sent.
The Justice Department said it was investigating allegations that votes were cast in the names of dead people and that the city clerk improperly helped incapacitated people to vote by absentee ballot.
article |
BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2694
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2005 - 10:25 am: |
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from BBV admin: Chris Thomas could be a problem. See this piece of correspondence, which we obtained in a public records request from Colorado:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/correspondence/correspondence02.pdf
(this is 100 pages long, and the relevant document is page 86)
From: Thomas, Christopher M. (christophert@michigan.gov)
Jan. 31, 2002
"our administrative rules:
"Ballots used at an election may be destroyed after 30 days following the final determination of the board of canvassers with respect to the election, unless their destruction has been stayed by an order of a court or the secretary of state. Ballots shall not be released for examination, review or research unless prior approval is obtained by the board of state canvassers.
"Our board has never granted approval..
"The feds screwed us up. The concept is that elections should be final, as government needs credibility and needs to get to work. All of the administrative and judicial remedies for challenging an election are purposely written with very short deadlines after the final determination. With the 22 month retention (or whatever it is) this leaves the ballots available for this type of nonsense. The pitch should be elections are final..."
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From BBV admin: The 22 month retention period that he is complaining about applies only to federal elections. I think it is safe to assume that:
1) Thomas will block any effort by citizens to review ballots, based on his previous behavior.
2) He will recommend destroying the ballots within 30 days, since this is not a federal election.
This leaves only the less complete record, the audit trail documents requested by Black Box Voting.
Thomas is likely to be incurious about any security defects in Detroit's voting machines and procedures.
In addition to concerns about Thomas's attitudes on the right of the public to exercise oversight over elections, there are concerns about obstructiveness with public records.
Michigan has tried to charge the most exhorbitant public records fees in the United States ($125,000 for a request that was typically a few hundred dollars in other states; $4000 just to look for a single letter from VoteHere, with no guarantee of finding it.)
Just my take. I think we should have cause for concern about elections in both the city of Detroit and at the state level in Michigan. |
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