Last of Holdouts in NC Goes for Optical Scan

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

We had two counties holding out on buying voting machines in NC,
because they were hoping to weaken or repeal our law.
There is a history of the officials in this county trying to do that.

Anyway, we had a victory late last night!

Buncombe County Commissioners Vote Down DRE 4-1
Election Board rejects purchase of touch-screen voting machines
Asheville Citizen


The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday rejected a staff recommendation to buy touch-screen voting machines, with four of the five members saying they don't believe voters would have confidence in the machines.

Commissioners had the option of accepting or rejecting the recommendation of the county Board of Elections, so they couldn't vote to buy the optical scan machines that they said they prefer.
The county BoE was bound and determined to ignore reality and select the system that would mean more expense and less reliability. In exchanges of documents between anti-BBV activists and the BoE, the board showed itself reliant on bogus assumptions and completely impervious to logic.

The BoE was determined to do what they saw as in their best interest, not in the best interest of the voters. So, local activists went to the folks with the checkbook who decided that they would listen to the voters.

About three-fourths of North Carolina's 100 counties have chosen optical scan voting machines, which allow voters to use paper ballots and then scan them.
Now there's a statistic you can be proud of.

During the public comment period several people echoed Bates' concerns.

"We have to do anything we can ... to be sure the public is comfortable with the method of voting," said Commissioner Carol Peterson.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Ramsey cast the sole vote for the touch-screen machines because he said he had to trust the people who worked so hard to reach the recommendation.

Blind faith is always a BAD idea, especially when the people you have faith in have no expertise in the area they are expounding upon (and by this, I mean computers, not elections).

The decision must be made quickly to have the machines delivered and ready to use by Election Day in November. Touch-screen machines need to be ordered by May 31 and optical scan machines by June 15. Board of Elections member Lucy Smith said the board will go back and come up with a new option.
At this point their options are OpScan or paper ballots counted by hand.

Outstanding work by Buncombe county e-voting activists.

http://blackboxvoting.com/s9/index.php?/archives/126-Buncombe-County-Commissioners-Vote-Down-DRE-4-1.html

*NC Verified thanks David Allen for spending a couple of days in Buncombe County to
present at a rally early this year, to get the activists focused.

*Thanks also go to the Buncombe County Verified Voting, a local group
who spent hours and days of their one time making this happen.
Their website is here,
http://campaignwindow.com/BCVerifiableVoting/index.cfm

[Amaryllis]

1. WAy to to! Nice to have some good news!

[ladjf]

2. Good news. How did this happen in NC and not everywhere else?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. We used "strategerie" and we had some luck

But good heavens, we had to fight to get the law passed,
then we had to defend it after it passed from:
Diebold
the NC Association of County Commissioners
Some Election officials

We set up our state into about 5 regions, and recruited
regional "leaders" to mobilize local activists.

Some of our counties set up their own coalitions.

We have lobbied everyone in this state, it seems like,
from county commissioners to BOE to SBOE to lawmakers
and we seemed to have an internet flame war going on with
the lobbyist for the NC Assoc of County Commissioners.

This was so much like a war, with several regiments
fighting in each county.

We wrote the messages, gave out the info, and they followed up.
They also re wrote the messages or made new ones.


And here is just a string of the battles we waged:
(go to this link to read the full articles
http://www.triadblogs.com/NCVoter/ )

Recent Posts
• NC Elections Dodge Another "Poison Pill" - Experiment

• Buncombe Commissioners Vote 4-1 against touchscreen voting machines.

• Update - NC Election Law Safe for This Year at Least...

• Note to Buncombe officials - Voting Machine Companies Must Meet High Standards

• NC's May 2nd Primary - Uh, Regarding Those Random Audits...

• April 18: No Touchscreens in NC's Election Chief Home County & Other News

• NC's Upcoming Elections To Be More Secure, More Accessible

• Touchscreen Paper Trails & Why We Still Worry

• NC Voting Machine Politics - Was Selection Fair?

• The Problem With The Touchscreen Paper Trail

• Retirement of Forsyth Election Director -Brings Applause From Some

• SHAME: Buncombe Co Voting Machine Politics -Backroom Deals

• Voting Machines - NC SBOE Throws $3Million Bone, NCACC Appeased?

• Wake Voting Machines_InfoSENTRY_Glenn Newkirk

• Scoop on Buncombe Co. Mtng on Voting Machines

• Larry Leake's County Declares war on Public Confidence in Elections Act

• NC's 8 Simple Rules for Voting Machine Companies

• Call to Action for Guilford Voting Activists - Commissioners Mtg Jan 19

• Buncombe Commissioners Mis-Step Over Voting Machine Law

[ladjf]

4. Now, that's the way to get something accomplished. The

DNC should carefully study your processes and try to duplicate them nationally. Is anyone from your organization in touch with the DNC or any other Nationwide group about this?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

8. hadn't thought about it

will have to see about DNC, maybe some of our folks have ties.

The trick was getting info to the people,
rebutting all of the lobbyists and opponents constantly, sometimes daily or weekly,
uniform message,
easy to use action alerts
constant work

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. We did it without asking for $$$$$

On how it was accomplished in NC:

- We found sympathetic ears in the legislature and they introduced a
bill for a study committee
- We recruited people for the committee.
- We recruited experts and made lists of vendor claims and rebutted them.
- We worked WITH the legislature.
- We showed the pros and cons of the paperless verses VVPB machines
- We rebutted every single claim made by our proponents
- We did cost studies which our opponents couldn't beat
- We looked at the accessibility issue.
- We left politics out of the discussion,
sticking to provable fact (machines have poor security, poorly written
software, focused on Carteret disaster), and avoided anything that we couldn't prove.
- We didn't say the election was stolen, we showed how it could be done.
- We acted in a professional manner and were courteous almost all of the time.
- We presented a clear unanimous message
- Work the phones, work the emails, work the FAX machines, work the
press.
- Our panelists and ambassadors would drive around the state and talk to anyone who would listen.
- We established creditability with the press over time, always tried to sound reasonable, praise election officials when praise was due.
- We did do a little "good cop" verses "bad cops" now and then, to trot out for
difficult cases.
- Write op/eds, letters to the editor, call in on radio shows, be ready to talk to any member of the press at any time.
- Keep your eyes and ears open every step of the way.
- Fought to protect the law after it was passed (court, action alerts, lobbying)
- Maintain up to date website with info of past election failures in our state, action alerts etc
- Several of us did alot of writing - the pen is mightier than the sword.

This is how we fought the battle, in the state and county government.
We stuck with what we could prove - electronic voting had failed us many times in
NC, and we advised that voting machines should at least meet business level accuracy and
accountability, but don't.
- We kept in mind at all times that we had to win over both democrats and republicans,
and based our presentations and speech appropriately.

$$$$$$$$ NO MONEY NEEDED - During this time we never asked for
or accepted a single contribution from anyone.

$$$$$$$$ All of this was accomplished with VOLUNTEERS who paid their own way and
donated their own time to fight vendors, lobbyists and election
officials with large bankrolls.

This effort has created teams of successful activists across the state,
who can continue to work together on other issues.

Many of our activists truly amazed me with their talent and/or brains -
they just needed the information on what the problem was,
what the solution should be, and who to lobby and how.
Also, we adjusted our strategy as needed.

WE all did it. The Tar Heels all own this law.
They all helped to defend it when it passed.

[Stevepol]

5. Wonderful news and congrats to David Allen and Verified Voting

and all those who made this possible. Thanks for the post WillYourVote.

[Benhurst]

6. Unfortunately Polk County now has touch screen voting machines.

Our Republican and mostly illiterate County Commissioners overrode the recommendation of the Board of Elections to go with optical scan.

Poked once again in Polk County.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

7. Polk Activists did all they could

We tried to help Polk, they have EXCELLENT activists, but
were totally screwed by the County Commissioners, and one weak BOE member.

It seems to me that the less people know about computers,
the more they trust them, and I think that is what happened in
Polk.

The good news, Polk is very small, I think under 10,000 voters,
and I think the grant for that county was pretty big,
so they should have more than enough machines.

(when you consider the problems and breakdowns).

Plus, thanks to most recent developments, the election officials
will NOT be able to get out of the hand to eye audits,
and if there are recounts, they better get their
bi-focals on, cause they are gonna need them.

And Ben, you can be there to tell them
"I told you so".

[hunter]

9. Paper ballots, good news.

Much easier to keep an eye on than invisible electronic bits!

[BeFree]

10. Citizens spoke, and commissioners listened

http://www.triadblogs.com/NCVoter/2390/Buncombe+Commissioners+Vote+4-1+against+touchscreen+voting+machines..html

The citizens spoke and the Commissioners listened -

"Touch-screen machines can be programmed to record other than what people actually entered," said Betty Bates of Black Mountain. "It seems as though every day there are new stories about security problems with electronic voting."



During the public comment period several people echoed Bates' concerns.

"We have to do anything we can ... to be sure the public is comfortable with the method of voting," said Commissioner Carol Peterson.



That's how democracy works. But the people have to speak, only then can the commisioners listen. Speak out. Protect your vote!