Allegheny County Recount Info:

[Mc Mike]

Last edited Sat Dec 3, 2016, 02:06 PM - Edit history (2)

Our area has not performed a recount. If they started one, they must have done it stealthily, without informing a recount petition affidavit filer like me. It's possible that they ran all the Master PEB carts through the central tabulator again, but that would not address the recount request's substance at all. And they haven't informed me they've planned, started, or completed a recanvass like that.

I talked to Allegheny County's Manager--Balloting and Returns Office yesterday, spoke to Michael there at 11:55 am. I asked him to take my e-mail and phone number so that I could get more quickly informed if a recount would occur, instead of getting informed via mail, as his boss told me he intended to do, because we're headed toward the deadline. Michael seemed to be sympathetic, and took my info. I asked what the delay was, and he told me the court case was keeping things on hold. We're a Dem area, so I would not expect they would be hostile to having an accurate recount, but they may not want to do the extra work. Who knows, though Michael got fired up (against tRump) when I talked to him about how lousy dRumf is, as a potential US "leader" and human being.

My mail was unusually late yesterday, I checked for it at 4 pm and it still hadn't arrived. At 5:40 pm I saw that I had a huge package from the gop lawyers Meyer Unkovic Scott (they've teamed up with Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell and Hippel's firm), containing a copy of every county precinct's notarized and signed affidavit page, along with the plaintiff filing from dRump lawyers to stop the recount. It told me I was "hearby notified to appear and be heard" in court, "the hearing will be held at 11:00 a.m., this Friday, December 2, 2016 before Joseph M. James".

So the gop team sent me a phone book sized notice, a full ream of paper, via priority mail on 11/30, instead of next-day mail. And I usually get mail before noon, but got this after 4 pm. I got this notice to appear 6+ hours after the listed time to appear, on the day of the hearing. I called Carl from the Greens at 5:50 pm, and he said that they had a lawyer in court for it, so I didn't void my petition to recount by not having appeared.

The Greens are in the loop about all info I have, and apparently there hasn't been a recount in Allegheny County. The gop is trying to run out the clock, and sleazily avoiding their legal obligations to inform people, while pretending that they're fulfilling those legal obligations. (Another post-er to this site, elias7, commented that since the repugs are pretending that there was voter fraud this election and millions of illegal voters voted against poor orange hitler, there's no reason for them to oppose the recounts so strongly, instead of demanding a nationwide recount. Their behavior is strange, doesn't seem to jine with their stated beliefs.)

The gop is still in court fighting the recounts in all 3 states today, I saw it on CBS's local affiliate today, during the 7:30 am news segment. If there's one thing the gop and dRumpf know how to do in government, it's hire lawyers and abuse the legal system.

Buried in the hundreds of pages of copied affidavit petitions is the notice that a voting machine recanvass for certain districts will occur Monday 12/5 at 10:00 am, room 601 County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave. And there's a copy of the temporary restraining order from Judge James ordering 1) the recount to be suspended until the 12/2 hearing, and ordering 2) that the gop petitioners shall give due notice of the hearing and a copy of the gop petition (to stop the recount) to all the electors who filed for recount, by first class mail at least 2 days before the hearing, and shall proof (sic) of such notice before any appeal is sustained.

They just had to mail it 2 days before the hearing, we didn't have to receive it 2 days before the hearing, or even get it before the hearing was over, at all.

County Elections hasn't informed me about the 12/5 non-recount recanvass, but I'll try to horn in on it, pretend I thought the notice from the gopers meant I was supposed to show up to the recanvass, feign ignorance, etc.

[cilla4progress]

1. Clusterfuck!!

Welcome to the Trump era!

[Mc Mike]

3. That's what they hope for. There's still hope for our side, though. Nt

[DeminPennswoods]

2. Recount will happen at 10AM Monday 12/5

http://www.post-gazette.com/early-returns/2016/12/02/Republican-bid-to-avert-recount-rejected/stories/201612020195

[Mc Mike]

4. Thanks for the info, Dem. I've liked Chris P.'s reporting since his "In Pittsburgh" days. Nt

[bucolic_frolic]

5. A Big Salute to Mc Mike

for being involved, fighting hard, and keeping us informed

Great work!!!

[femmocrat]

7. + 1000!!!

[Mc Mike]

12. Title + s are back? Hot @ & // // ! ... nt.

[Aimee in OKC]

6. Voting machine info of possible usefulness ...

First -- thanks for what you're doing!
* * * * * * *
Allegheny ... ES&S iVotronic = DRE-Touchscreen for 1,319 precincts

KNOWN SECURITY CONCERNS:
iVotronic_PEB = The PEB slot on the face of the iVotronic is particularly sensitive. The EVEREST study showed that a voter with a magnet and a properly programmed PDA (with an infrared port) could gain privileged access to the sensitive functions of the machine. ...

The VVPAT printer (RTAL printer) = Is connected to the iVotronic via a cable that is connected to the top of the machine. This cable, unless the jurisdiction has purchased special cables or connectors, can be disconnected by a voter and various types of mischief could be performed (from printing extra VVPAT records to messing with the internals of the iVotronic). If you observe anyone disconnecting this cable, alert the pollworkers immediately. If a pollworker is disconnecting this cable, it should only be to swap out a printer and you should be able to observe the whole process.

AN ATTACKER who gains access to a PEB for a short or extended period of time can change votes on the PEB or attack the central Election Management System when the PEB is returned to election headquarters. PEB devices should only be handled by pollworkers and pollworkers should keep a vigilant watch over their use of the PEBs throughout the day (that is, they should not be leaving them around casually and the area in which the PEBs are kept should be secure and monitored at all times).

https://www.verifiedvoting.org/resources/voting-equipment/ess/ivotronic/

[Mc Mike]

10. Thanks for the verified voting link, Aimee.

I appreciate the run down of in-polling-place security vulnerabilities on the iVotronic.

We could have issues with county central tabulator manipulation, and with state wide tallying of the individual counties' vote totals, too.

[JudyM]

8. Thanks for being a hound on this!

[progressoid]

9. K/R!

[Maraya1969]

11. We need to start shaming them!

[Mc Mike]

13. I have the columns of numbers, from the 'recanvass' at the County Office Building today.

What they did was, either use the flash card from the machines to verify the poll tape results generated from the Master PEB cart, or use a back up chip inside the machines. So the machines verified the totals they originally generated.

I talked to one Green party person there a bit, there were about 2 dozen official party representatives in the recanvass area and non-official people like me outside of the area. Neither RecountNow.org nor the Green recount organizers got in touch before the recanvass to request any particular actions or inform me that the recanvass was going to occur. But I did get an e-mail, sent at 10:46 am, while the recanvass was occurring, that announced a 12:30 Harrisburg rally. It was sent by the Green representative who I'd been talking to about the recanvass efforts the Greens occasioned.

Obviously, there was no way to make it from Pgh to Harrisburg in time for this 12:30 rally, given the lack of prior notice, and even if I'd gotten the e-mail at quarter to 11 instead of 8pm, I was busy at the recanvass the rally organizers had asked me to help set in motion in the first place.

Any county resident who wants the officially read out numbers for District Total Voters, Clinton, tRump, Stein, and McGinty, Toomey, for any particular district where the affidavit was filed in Allegheny county, let me know the District you want, and I'll post them. But I can't post 300+ numbers, this site doesn't allow blanks between characters, which are essential for tables. And it would make a very boring read.

Ward 11, District 12 had a reported error, where one of it's machine totals was not included originally. Here's the first numbers, and the amended numbers:

Total votes: 428. C-367, dR-42, St-10, McG-362, T-56
Total votes: 445. C-383, dR-43, St-10, McG-377, T-58

So one machine that was not included in the first count in 11-12 added 17 votes. 16 were for Clinton, one was for dRumpf. 15 were for McGinty, 2 for the weasel. Not a lot to go on here, but it's odd that the machine had only 17 voters for the whole day. And the ratio on that machine is more reasonable to me than the overall vote totals. 16-1 and 15-2 in favor of the Dems and against the supremely suck y repug candidates. Interesting what isolating one voting machine did, in terms of reported results.

My issues in 19-28 weren't addressed, and couldn't be by a machine recanvass. I was allowed access to envelope K from my polling precinct, and it reported a normal machine start time (~6:30 am), on the zero tapes for all 3 machines. The final results tapes also reported a normal closing time (~8:05pm) for all 3 machines. But I waited outside the poll until 8:48pm on election night, and the poll workers didn't post the results tape before I gave up and went home. The polls I watched 3 miles away, in 30-1 and 30-4, had closed and posted by 8:12pm.

A machine recanvass can't explain what could have held my poll results up so long afterward. And it can't explain the 10 - 20 % higher turn out rate at my poll, and the 12 -17% higher preference for dRumpf than the polls I watched next door, though we had zero dRumpf signs visible in my district.

And a machine recanvass does nothing to address the hacking concerns expressed by Mr. Haldermann that formed the basis of the 62 page affidavit we had to file to try to get the recount. The recanvass is not a recount.

The vote totals will be certified next Monday at 9 am, barring any new developments.

[Aimee in OKC]

14. Was the Stein group interested in your info & numbers? (eom)

[Mc Mike]

15. D from the Greens was standing in front of me, taking the numbers down also.

I met and talked to him a bit after the recanvass. So they have the numbers from him. There also was at least one Green on the other side of the customer service counter, in with the officially designated recount people from the different parties. They got a printout packet of the official totals from the 50+ districts, and none of them said there was any discrepancy or voiced an objection as the districts recanvass results were compared with the poll tapes, one by one.

My offer to give machine results from specific districts was meant for people here, in case anyone had a particular district they wanted the numbers from.

I don't know the Greens personally, but have exchanged e-mails with Carl R. prior to this recount attempt. He's in some upper management position with our state's Greens.

I have no news on yesterday's Philly court action. I wasn't able to attend, and haven't been e-mailed any info.