Reply #17: Can local jurisdictions pass HCPB laws??? [View All]

[gracie76]

I don't know for sure...but I will check it out this week. The State has control of much of the operation, but the counties do appear to have bought their own equipment (Diebold or whatever). When our Sec. of State, Jack Shelley, didn't feel that the Diebold equipment would meet HAVA, and also wasn't so sure it was trustworthy, he declared that no equipment that did NOT have a paper back up that could be verified could be used. That's when the fun and games started. Shelley was accused of various and sundry misdeeds (and no, I don't know if he was guilty of anything at all), and he quit and Gov. Schwarzenneger appointed our new SoS, Bruce McPherson. Mr. McP. had a few hearings, but eventually dismantled the committee that was studying the various sorts of equipment and held meetings at which the public could make noise about using Diebold (and other) equipment. Mr. McP. did not attend the last two meetings that I know of.....but he DID, a few weeks ago APPROVE Diebold for use in all of California, despite all the evidence to the contrary, and despite not having received a final report on the Diebold TSX (don't quote me on that one, I may have the wrong model). Quite a few counties have been using Diebold, and several of the Registrars and/or Clerk/Recorders in those counties wrote to Mr. McPherson asking him to approve the Diebold equipment. I spoke to several of those people myself a few weeks ago. They all claimed that the equipment was just peachy and that they had never had any problems, etc. etc. Which, of course, may be true. But all us conspiracists out here in the hinterlands are quite concerned about the possiblity of California becoming an OHIO. Now, to be fair, I must say that during the last Special Election the electorate in this county was using ESS scanning equipment, where the marked ballot dropped into the black box, so there WAS a hard copy available. The tapes from the scanner were turned in to the central counting office; ballots were checked to make sure the numbers given out and turned in checked....but NO ONE at the precinct locations counts the actual votes. And NO ONE but the people at the office of the Registrar of Voters gets to actually count the votes. I think I will check out the procedure myself this next primary election in June. I really have no evidence or suspicion that anything wrong has happened here, but I KNOW and you KNOW that the possibility is there, and that the State of California has a nice large number of electoral votes for whichever side can claim them.