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Catherine Ansbro
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Catherine_a
Post Number: 2166
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? 
Votes: 1 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 1:40 pm: | 
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This is my response to the recently posted article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and additional information in this post by BBV. (That thread would not allow comments to be posted there.)
Great article.
Question--why is it that CA Attorney General Bill Lockyer was never called to account for his inactions in relation to Diebold and Jones Day once informed by Heller's documents and BBV? This seems negligent on Lockyer's part--or partisan, or incompetent, or all of the above.
Is there no framework for challenging the decisions or actions/inactions made by Attorneys General?
Is there no public accountability or requirement for fiduciary trust?
Would media attention to this matter have made a difference?
Are there options that have not yet been explored? |
V. Kurt Bellman
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Formerelecdir
Post Number: 85
Registered: 04-2006
Best of Black Box?
Votes: 1 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 5:57 pm: |
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Catherine,
"Is there no framework for challenging the decisions or actions/inactions made by Attorneys General? "
Generally not. It's called prosecutorial discretion.
"Is there no public accountability or requirement for fiduciary trust?"
Usually not.
"Would media attention to this matter have made a difference? "
Probably not, unless the AG himself was in a tough re-election fight.
This is why a "republic" can be discouraging at times. The "people" do not decide policy issues. In a republic, which the federal constitution requires of all states, the "people" only decide who decides policy issues.
Direct democracy is a rare commodity indeed, much to the chagrin of many, frequently. |
Catherine Ansbro
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Catherine_a
Post Number: 2174
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 6:41 pm: |
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Presumably any of this could be changed, if there were the legislative desire to do so.
While substantive change is unlikely in the forseeable future, I imagine that in theory almost anything is possible in terms of local and state government structure, as long as it allows for the consent of the governed in some form.
The only reason we have such unaccountable systems of government is because we have all allowed it to happen. |
V. Kurt Bellman
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Formerelecdir
Post Number: 88
Registered: 04-2006
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 4:28 am: |
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Cath,
"Presumably any of this could be changed, if there were the legislative desire to do so."
Yes, there is the solution to everything. But Congress' track record is pretty poor in elections. (They all thought HAVA was brilliant.)
States, even California, seem petrified to act on elections. The changes in legal process to hold prosecutorial officers personally responsible for their decisions makes election reform look easy, by comparison. The sad truth is that all of the "reforms" sought by activists these days have not reached a critical mass of support. I keep reading here about some "majority" of people who want election reform. I can't find them. I find so much "ho hum" out there that it's discouraging.
Around here, TV stations ran exposes on the vendors and electronic voting problems all over the place. Now the same channels are reporting how much people love the DRE's even though they didn't think they would. There just is no outrage out there - not where I live.
Now after they all screw up our primaries on May 16th, maybe then they'll get it. |
Brant Lamb
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Brantl
Post Number: 521
Registered: 01-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 2:08 pm: |
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The recourse available to an Attorney General's lack of action would be to sue him, charging him with malfeasance. Easy? No. Doable? Surely. |
Catherine Ansbro
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Catherine_a
Post Number: 2183
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 4:04 pm: |
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Would you have to prove there was deliberate intent of some kind? Or just negligence in carrying out their function?
(Message edited by Catherine_a on April 25, 2006) |
Brant Lamb
Frequent Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Brantl
Post Number: 522
Registered: 01-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 5:08 am: |
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Negligence is another charge, also doable. Easy? Probably not easy, ever. In Ohio, harder than hell. But in a federal court..... |
