"Calculated Chaos": LA's ballot policies threaten to become America's (temporary) problem

[Land Shark]

http://www.pubrecord.org/commentary/453.html?task=view

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan has ballot plans for LA with electoral consequences for America

County Registrar Dean Logan said "L.A. County has planned for a record turnout and has printed and delivered ballots accordingly.”

Problem is, he's only printed 75% of the number of registered voters (even less after allowing for spoiled ballots) and turnout is expected to exceed 80%. In those precincts that go into emergency ballots, THE ENTIRE PRECINCT will not be reported until all the ballots are counted, days later.

The emergency (read: "fake") ballots will be copied by hand onto real ballots....

See the link -- this will TEMPORARILY create the impression of a Bradley Effect by depressing initial results for Dems MORE than usual.... http://www.pubrecord.org/commentary/453.html?task=view

This is a timing issue, I'm not trying to say Dems will lose LA County, I'm trying to inform people there's a major timing issue here, and that later results have different demographics that are better for Democrats. This also means that projections don't necessarily work or apply when ballot populations differ markedly...

Don't let FOX start lying about "Bradley Effects"! This piece will give you some more ammo for what I expect will be ventured by the rightwing media

Much more at http://www.pubrecord.org/commentary/453.html?task=view

[msongs]

1. LA county votes will NOT be reported until most US polls are closed anyway! nt

[Nia Zuri]

2. Umm LA is in the US

[Land Shark]

6. Very hard to argue with you! :) nt

[2 Much Tribulation]

4. Article says Logan will count heavy precincts "Sooner or Later" (days later) nt

[GuvWurld]

3. Legal question about ballot duplication

I've raised this question before when my county in CA introduced a "blended system," which comprised Diebold optical scanners for counting all our ballots, but a required ballot duplication for any disabled voters who may have voted on Hart Intercivic's eSlate. Any such "ballot," which is actually a DRE paper trail, can't be counted on the Diebold scanner and thus had to be duplicated.

The whole point of bringing in the eSlate was HAVA compliance, enabling all voters to vote privately and independently. I don't see how it can be considered independent when the act of the voter is insufficient to have his or her ballot counted. For the disabled voter's vote to count, it necessarily involved not just one other person, but I think the duplication process mandated two- (maybe three-?) member teams. Hardly independent voting.

I grant there may need to be protocols for duplicating ballots that may become damaged under certain circumstances so no need to consider this an absolute question. I would think that beyond those rare scenarios, it should definitely be impermissible for a Registrar's plan to be built around ballot duplication. So, Paul, do you think ballot duplication can be fundamentally challenged as a process not permitted by HAVA?

[Land Shark]

5. Hmmm, hate to give republicans legal advice at this moment, or any moment, in time nt

[bleever]

7. K&R.