Cluess, complacent or complicit. I couldn't decide.

[Pacifist Patriot]

Last night I attended a meeting at which the county Supervisor of Elections spoke and fielded questions. I do have to give the man some credit for agreeing to appear in front of what was clearly going to be a hostile crowd. In fact some of the people challenging him were a little embarrassing. Complaining that most of the poll workers are elderly and screaming for "new blood" in a combative manner is totally uncalled for. That's one area in which I do have to give this man credit. The poll workers in our county are courteous and well-trained. But on to the frustrating part....

Here is what I learned about our Diebold Accuvote Optical Scan system using visible light. Our results at poll closing are sent to headquarters via modem with a couple of precincts unable to transmit so they are driven in. The ballots are printed by Sequoia Pacific out in California.

Our supervisor purges the voter rolls in the spring after a presidential election. He sends out two mailings to voters who have not voted in the last two general elections warning them of the purge. At least that is done AFTER the election here unlike, um, say Ohio and other parts of Florida.

The SOE said he felt this election went "fairly well" despite having the second highest turnout in county history. The problems he listed were:

1) Early voting lines. The voting itself went smoothly, but the lines were long because many people felt their vote would be counted better that way rather than it being used as intended, for people who felt they might be out of town or incapacitated on election day. Only six locations in the entire county were available for early voting. We have 218 precincts and 140 polling places on election day. He also mentioned that early voting doubled the cost of the election.

2) A polling place in one of our most heavily democratic precincts ended up with half the number of voting booths resulting in unacceptable wait times, but he blamed that on the school for moving the voting from a larger room to a smaller room. He says he has sent a letter of complaint to the School Superintendent and has been lobbying for years to have the school board alter the school calendar and close schools on election day. He also says he didn't find out about it until 4:00 p.m. when it was too late to do anything.

3) They had a problem with some people voting twice because of early voting and absentee ballot information not getting to the polls on time. In the next election, early voting will be closed two days before the election to allow for better updating of the poll books. He said there were criminal charges being filed against those voters who double voted. Minor problem that would not overturn any races. (But one wonders if that would hold true across an entire state. A little here, a little there...)

To make a long story even longer, here was my greatest concern. The man is utterly confident in the accuracy of electronic voting and seemed incapable of grasping legitimate concerns. He called the negativity surrounding Diebold as "rumors and hogwash." He is unconcerned that the software is proprietary regardless of party affiliation of company owners. Although total ballot counts are compared with the poll books and poll tapes, no random hand count audits are conducted of internal contest results to verify computer tabulations.

He reported that due to HAVA we are required to have at least one touchscreen voting booth in each precinct by July. They will NOT have a paper trail. It took awhile for us to even get him to understand what we meant by paper trail. As I said, I couldn't tell whether he was clueless or cagey. He does not seem particularly computer savvy so clueless is an option. His utmost concern was with keeping the cost of elections down. He seemed genuinely perplexed and concerned when he threw up his hands and said, "Why don't we just get rid of all the machines and go back to hand counting paper ballots"?...and was cheered! He was stunned when he responded with "Well you know you'll be waiting weeks for results" and we said, "So?"

His priorities seem to be:

1. Complying with election law.
2. Keeping costs down while following number 1.
3. Providing for a smooth election process for voters.
976. Understanding why not everyone thinks the system works flawlessly.

Sorry so long, but that's my report of a Supervisor of Elections in one county in Florida. Oh, and this was someone who had received "Mythbreakers." I'm going to take a stab at it and presume he didn't actually read it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Blamed it on the schools for not having a room large enough to hold

more booths? Is that a weener of an excuse or what? It's his job to streamline these things. If the school can't produce, it's his job to find a place that will.

And yes on that absentee double voting issue. The state should have one and only one voter roll. But it doesn't. Each county has one so the potential for duplications is high. What's more, one can only imagine what ruthless Republicans would do to exploit this flaw in the system.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. Actually, that wasn't the problem he mentioned.

Apparently it was people working the timing. They'd request an absentee ballot, send it in at the last minute and then show up at the polls and say they didn't send it in. Or they'd early vote on Monday afternoon and then go to the polls Tuesday morning. There was no time to update the poll books showing that the individual had already voted early at one of the centers. Hence the need for an extra day to prep the poll books.

According to the SOE, there is a move to centralize the registration in our state. The counties do issue cancellation requests to one another when someone moves, but obviously that is dependent upon the registering party reporting their previous address and registration status.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Who is the "he" in this quote:

2) A polling place in one of our most heavily democratic precincts ended up with half the number of voting booths resulting in unacceptable wait times, but he blamed that on the school for moving the voting from a larger room to a smaller room. He says he has sent a letter of complaint to the School Superintendent and has been lobbying for years to have the school board alter the school calendar and close schools on election day. He also says he didn't find out about it until 4:00 p.m. when it was too late to do anything.

Sounds like someone was blaming the school for selecting a small election room which would not accommodate more booths.

Absentee ballots are another issue. But an equally important one. I do sincerely believe that Republicans exploited a flaw in the system in Florida. They may not have done it intentionally, but it's one of those errors that keep benefitting Bush.

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. That was the SOE blaming the school.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Supervisor of Elections...Blackwell?

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. Sorry, no. The Supervisor of Elections (SOE) for Brevard County Florida...

Blackwell is a Secretary of State (SOS) -- or "Same Old Shit" if you prefer. ;)

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Wrong title and wrong state!

Sorry about that. Thanks for all the hard work. Researching Florida is no cup of tea. I'm glad you're taking the time to look into things.

As for the absentee ballots, in Florida having just one voter registration for the entire state is the key to eliminating double voting. And I like the idea of closing early voter registration two days prior to election day to get everything up to date.

[Pacifist Patriot]

15. My county is particularly difficult because of complacency.

We are average, nondiscript, noncontentious, traditionally red so unworthy of attention. Something hinky could go on here and no one would be the wiser.

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. You're talking about Brevard?

It's not complacent. Or rather, it's complacent for all the wrong reasons. Go to the Library and see if you can find a copy of "Brevard Good Ole Boys" by Glenda Carlin Busick.

[Pacifist Patriot]

19. Democratic activism is turning around.

A year ago the DEC had maybe 30 people attend on a good night. The last two meetings I attended had upwards of 125-150.

I have vague recollections of having read that when I first moved to Brevard county, but that was a decade ago. I know for certain my husband read it. My local branch does have a copy on the shelf. (Isn't the internet a wonderful thing?) I think I'll go pick it up this afternoon. Thanks.

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. Better yet, contact the author if she's still around.

I found out about the Brevard boys, because some of them migrated to my county. They caused havoc here too, but it's an affluent Republican county and you'd be surprised how complacent people can get about getting ripped off, if you say the "right" things.

[fasttense]

3. Well, he seems to display more concern than Blackwell. n/t

[BR_Parkway]

4. Seems reasonable about his priorities actually. They reflect how people

(his employers mostly) are going to think about his job performance. I think most of the BOE folks are going to focus on "election problems" as reflections on how they do their jobs first - not only from a self preservation that any of us would get if our boss walked up to our desk and started talking about some problem within the company - but also from their own individual pride in their work, most people, even those we know to be incompetent, think they are working harder/better/faster than anyone else. There's also the issue of someone hacking into their system and them finding out later, would have to feel a little foolish if it happened to them.

For the local BOE folks to understand our concerns, we have to find ways to talk to them that reaffirms that we think they did a fantastic job (most of them, for sure there are some we'd like to send to jail) and that the holes in the system aren't their fault, but there are criminals out there who would like to take advantage of them.

[Pacifist Patriot]

7. I agree.

Today I've been sitting here figuring out how to phrase my follow up communication with him. Overall I think he's doing a good job. He just doesn't appreciate the threat.

[BR_Parkway]

10. A few thoughts

• being on top of this issue shows how well he is doing his job
  
• most gov't employees are very interested in making sure that any blame for problems is put on someone else, need to phrase it so that if anything does go wrong, he tried to let those above him know potential problems in advance (give him info on the NC machines that ate the votes in Carteret county, gonna cost the state Big $$$ for a new election - imagine the BOE person in that counties job security right now, problems in Gaston county have already led to firings/resignations)
  
• ego feeding - respect from colleagues for being informed, everyone likes to know something more than others in their field
  

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. Definitely the way to go.

Thanks!

[Eloriel]

11. IMO one of the most useful things I've ever heard about "the threat"

is this, paraphrased slightly from Dr. Rebecca Mercuri:

Any computer programmer can cause the screen to display one thing, something else to be recorded in memory, and something different to be printed.

--

We just can't put ourselves in a position where we don't know and can't prove -- or disprove -- that that's not happening, and ALL the computer scientists who have taken a look at the "testing" that goes on for these machines have said that it's inadequate. Avi Rubin said when asked that even if we looked at the code line-by-line, there would still only be something like a 1 in 100 chance of catching serious bugs or malicious code -- and believe me, that line-by-line look-see isn't done.

I could go on -- you're probasbly plenty aware of the whole thing, so I won't.

[Pacifist Patriot]

12. Great comment! I appreciate all suggestions.

[Amaryllis]

27. Lots more on this thread that would be helpful for you:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss//duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=286388&mesg_id=286388
Nice work, by the way. It is going to take all of us working at precinct and county levels to educate legislators and officials.

[IndyPriest]

17. Non-threatening way to understand the threat of hacking --

He's probably a "good citizen" and no doubt wants a fair and clean elections. He'll be "instinctively" on guard against theories that his party (whichever it is) would do something "bad." And he's probably not tech-savvy. So a useful frame of the issue about hacking is that ANYONE could do it: Dem, Repub, the Chinese or some high school kids in Kalamazoo. Once he understands THAT, the rest will play out well, I'm thinking.

[Pacifist Patriot]

20. Yes I agree. The position is a partisan one and he's a Republican.

Hence the "hostile" crowd last night. Like I said, I have to give him credit for grace under pressure.

[marions ghost]

18. thanks for posting your story, pacifist patriot

this is exactly the kind of work that local citizens groups need to be doing--to figure out what is really going on in different states
and compiling information.

Your account clearly shows the level of ignorance of e-voting systems among state officials and the degree to which many states have bought into it without question.

[Pacifist Patriot]

22. REQUESTING EDITING HELP WITH FOLLOW UP LETTER.....

Thank you for attending the January 13, 2005 meeting of the DEC. I appreciate you taking the time to speak about our election system and field questions. I was extremely embarrassed by the rude young man who spoke early in the meeting. Please be assured his perspective is not remotely shared by the majority of his generation. I have voted in four different precincts since moving to Brevard County in late 1994. Previously I have been a registered and active voter in Georgia and Massachusetts. I can say without hesitation that Brevard County has an excellent precinct system and extremely courteous and well trained poll workers. I commend you on their work and yours.

You seem to be intent on complying with election law, ensuring a smooth election process and doing so within budget. It is clear that your priorities with respect to elections are entirely appropriate. Ironically, the forces in our society that value technological progress and speed of information at the expense of voter confidence pose a threat to accomplishing your objectives.

I am sure you can sympathize with the concerns expressed last night regarding electronic voting. As Dr. Rebecca Mercuri indicates, any computer programmer can make the screen display one thing, the memory to record something else, and the tape to print something entirely different.

http://www.notablesoftware.com/RMstatement.html

Unfortunately for North Carolinians, the problems they experienced with electronic voting machines in Carteret and Gaston counties are resulting in a special election at great cost to the tax payer. Glitches here and there may not seem to indicate a widespread issue, but as the problems add up the issue appears to be quite troubling. As you can see from the list contained at the following site, some glitches have indeed affected specific contests.

http://www.votersunite.org/info/previousmessups.asp

There are three simple things the Board of Elections can do to help assure voter confidence in Brevard County’s elections.

· Require the touchscreen machines mandated by HAVA provide a printout that can be verified by the voter and maintained by the Board of Elections in the event of a necessary hand count.

· Insist the software used to program all voting machines be held in public trust for inspection rather than kept proprietary.

· Conduct and publicize random hand counts that verify not only ballot totals in a precinct, but internal tabulation results.

I am sympathetic with respect to the cost of the third item. Is this something a group of private citizens could do on behalf of the county at their own expense?

Again I want to thank you for the work you have done for Brevard County elections over the last decade. Please convey my appreciation to your staff.

[harmonyguy]

23. Good Letter - Great report - one misperception though

Regardless of what has been repeated over and over by many, HAVA does NOT mandate an electronic system nor a touchscreen. Repeat -
HAVA does NOT mandate an electronic system nor a touchscreen.

Under HAVA, voting systems can "...satisfy the requirements through the use of at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place."

While there are many forms of disability, as I understand it the predominant concern appears to be for those persons who are visually impaired. Ballot templates are used VERY successfully with visually impaired voters (and a lot of motor-skill impaired persons) in Canada, without the cost and problems associated with a DRE solution.

Although DRE's are the only option specifically mentioned in this part of the legislation, it does NOT exclude other suitably equipped options.

The Specific citation for the HAVA quote is
Title III, Subtitle A, Sec 301.a.3.A-B

A county can buy a lifetime supply of reusable ballot templates, for the same cost of purchasing, constantly programming, and maintaining and transporting ONE DRE system, and they'd still have a few thousand dollars left over which they can likely use in other parts of the election process.

I fear that many Secretaries of State, State Election Officials and County Election Officials have NOT read the HAVA legislation, and are instead relying on what they're being told, by vendors or others.

Once again,
HAVA does NOT mandate an electronic system nor a touchscreen.

Perhaps an addition to the letter may be something like.....

"Since the HAVA legislation does not actually require the use of DRE/touchscreen systems (contrary to popular belief), the Board may be able to fully satisfy the requirements of HAVA without having the expense of acquiring, programming, maintaining and transporting such equipment. If they haven't already done so, it may be beneficial for the Board to explore and publicise their deliberation regarding the other options available to them, prior to committing tax-payer's dollars.


HG ;-)

[Pacifist Patriot]

24. Excellent thank you!

My heart sank when he said that last night. It didn't sit well with anyone in the room.

[marions ghost]

25. good letter

this is the kind of thing we need to be doing.

Suggest to insert the sentences re. "I was extremely embarrassed by the young man" at the end...
when it's up front like that it interferes with the positive message you are trying to convey and brings to mind the unpleasant experience you don't want to emphasize.
Otherwise, and with the correction re HAVA--really good letter. He should give you a personal response.

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. Excellent point. Thank you.