How do I file FOIA-type requests for a county-level organization?

[crispini]

I've been googling and I found that FOIA is really only for federal organizations. I wanna get some info out of various county elections offices (not federal). Thoughts?

[SteppingRazor]

1. Depends what state you're in

Sunshine laws vary from state to state.

[crispini]

5. Texas.

So I should just ask an attorney? I know several. The advantages of volunteering for people's campaigns. Heh heh heh.

[Eloriel]

2. Is that a change? FOIA has a long history of individuals requesting

information of all sorts.

[crispini]

4. I dunno, I looked at an article on the ACLU website

and that's what it said.

[Blue in the face]

3. Here is FOIA info from BBV

I don't know if this helps, but this is what Bev has posted on www.blackboxvoting.org . I've thought about doing this myself, but not knowing what to look for and living in Virginia, I don't think it would matter. But for the record, I'd be willing to send these out to my county and know someone in Charlotte NC who could do the same if anyone thought it was a good idea.

"We realize you are very, very busy with the elections canvass. To the extent possible, we do ask that you expedite this request, since we are conducting consumer audits and time is of the essence.


We request the following records.
Item 1. All notes, emails, memos, and other communications pertaining to any and all problems experienced with the voting system, ballots, voter registration, or any component of your elections process, beginning October 12, through November 3, 2004.

Item 2. Copies of the results slips from all polling places for the Nov. 2, 2004 election. If you have more than one copy, we would like the copy that is signed by your poll workers and/or election judges.

Item 3: The internal audit log for each of your Unity, GEMS, WinEds, Hart Intercivic or other central tabulating machine. Because different manufacturers call this program by different names, for purposes of clarification we mean the programs that tally the composite of votes from all locations.

Item 4: If you are in the special category of having Diebold equipment, or the VTS or GEMS tabulator, we request the following additional audit logs:

a. The transmission logs for all votes, whether sent by modem or uploaded directly. You will find these logs in the GEMS menu under “Accuvote OS Server” and/or “Accuvote TS Server”

b. The “audit log” referred to in Item 3 for Diebold is found in the GEMS menu and is called “Audit Log”

c. All “Poster logs”. These can be found in the GEMS menu under “poster” and also in the GEMS directory under Program Files, GEMS, Data, as a text file. Simply print this out and provide it.

d. Also in the Data file directory under Program Files, GEMS, Data, please provide any and all logs titled “CCLog,” “PosterLog”, and Pserver Log, and any logs found within the “Download,” “Log,” “Poster” or “Results” directories.

e. We are also requesting the Election Night Statement of Votes Cast, as of the time you stopped uploading polling place memory cards for Nov. 2, 2004 election.

Item 5: We are requesting every iteration of every interim results report, from the time the polls close until 5 p.m. November 3.

Item 6: If you are in the special category of counties who have modems attached, whether or not they were used and whether or not they were turned on, we are requesting the following:

a. internal logs showing transmission times from each voting machine used in a polling place

b. The Windows Event Viewer log. You will find this in administrative tools, Event Viewer, and within that, print a copy of each log beginning October 12, 2004 through Nov. 3, 2004.

Item 7: All e-mails, letters, notes, and other correspondence between any employee of your elections division and any other person, pertaining to your voting system, any anomalies or problems with any component of the voting system, any written communications with vendors for any component of your voting system, and any records pertaining to upgrades, improvements, performance enhancement or any other changes to your voting system, between Oct. 12, 2004 and Nov. 3, 2004.

Item 8: So that we may efficiently clarify any questions pertaining to your specific county, please provide letterhead for the most recent non-confidential correspondence between your office and your county counsel, or, in lieu of this, just e-mail us the contact information for your county counsel.

Because time is of the essence, if you cannot provide all items, please provide them in increments as soon as you have them, and please notify us by telephone [phone]) or email ([e-mail]) as soon as you have any portion of the above public records request available for review.

Thank you very much, and here’s hoping for a smooth and simple canvass which works out perfectly for you. We very, very much appreciate your help with this, and we do realize how stressful this election has been.

If you need a local address, please let me know, and we will provide a local member for this public records request. In the interest of keeping your life simple, we thought it best to coordinate all records through one entity so that you don’t get multiple local requests. "

[tanyev]

6. This website looks helpful.

http://www.foift.org/pialetter.html

You should be able to do it yourself, but if you can get an attorney to help, so much the better.

Sorry, just reread your original post. I worked in a county records office for several years, and we had a copy of the TX FOIA on our front counter. If a FOIA request had come in, we would have been bound by it, just as a state or federal office would be. At least that's how we always interpreted it.

[indigo11153]

7. What are you looking for Crispini?

You can PM me if you don't want all to know. First you may not need a FOIA. Have you just asked for the information? Because they may give you what you want without a fight. You can file a FOIA to get any public record in Texas. You write these people tell them what you want and why you have a right to see it (FOIA.) They have ten days to get back to you with the information or to give you a darn good reason why they can't.
I think I have a form around here that I have used. I'll check.