Elections board to create database of those who sign recall petitions

[hue]

http://www.jsonline.com/newswatch/137181828.html

Jan. 12, 2012 10:11 a.m. | Madison -- State elections officials plan to enter the names of all those who sign recall petitions into a new database -- a policy that will add to taxpayer costs and could delay when any recall elections would be held.

The decision, announced Thursday, comes after a ruling last week by Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis that said the state Government Accountability Board must take steps to search for duplicate names and fictitious names.

“It is a time-consuming and very costly process,” the board’s elections director, Nat Robinson, told the board.

He said the board is purchasing software that can electronically read the petitions and load the names into a database. Staffers will have to go over the database after the information is loaded because the software will misread some handwriting.

[hue]

1. the ruling by Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis with intentions to delay!!! n/t

[dragonlady]

2. And he wouldn't let the recall supporters intervene

Because it might delay the process.

[sybylla]

3. No shit the software will misread some handwriting.

And what do you bet that database will be come public once it's fully loaded and checked. Who will pay at work or at school for having put their signature on the line? Will teachers be targeted now that Walker's "tools" are in place?

[mzteris]

4. there's already a database

of all registered voters at GAB. (I know, I was one the temps who was helping to verify every single name, address, phone number, age, ssn, etc.... You know how suspicious people get when you call asking them for the SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER???

Seems to be they scan the names and manually check the ones thrown out - or review for accuracy - and compare to the existing database of registered voters.

[sybylla]

5. I think they are falling for an expensive scam

I haven't found a program yet that can convert a text image to a text document without a lot of errors.

Unless this company has some how managed some phenomenal leap in technology, I doubt this will speed up the process over doing it by hand.

I know they are trying to save time over doing it manually. I just don't see it happening.

If I were the GAB, I'd make a cursory effort - enough to satisfy the judge in this case - and then certify the damn petitions. Let the GOPpies take them to court and prove they improperly certified the petitions.

[mojowork_n]

6. OCR is now done in The Cloud.

You upload your images and the Darleks, or someone in The Mother Ship, turns
the scribbles into recognized characters and sends them back to you.

Acrobat does a decent job with typed, printed text, but not handwriting.

3-D scanning to convert images into engineering models now works that way, too.
Up on top of Olympus, somewhere, or wherever The Cloud is.

......But as far as the database goes, and verification -- the Bad News is
that two Tea Party groups have marshalled many thousands of their own
'volunteers' to create their own database. It's completely separate from the
official state verification process, but they're going to be entering names in
manually:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2832472/posts

[sybylla]

7. Of course. When it comes to bullying people, no Tea Party expense must be spared.

I'm not surprised they are starting their own database. No doubt for the intent to bully and harass people who wanted to participate in a fully-legal democratic process.

I suppose they've convinced themselves that the only people who signed these petitions are public employees and they're going to make them pay. Wait until they see how many small business owners, privately employed, unemployed, retired and disabled people signed these petitions.

I hope they shit their pants when they realize how entirely out-numbered they are.