Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Bank Slate
Betsy Devine
birch, finch, beech
Blue News Tribune (MA)
Democracy for NH
Live Free or Die
Mike Caulfield
Miscellany Blue
Granite State Progress
Seacoast for Change
Susan the Bruce
Tomorrow's Progressives
Politicos & Punditry
The Burt Cohen Show
John Gregg
Krauss
Landrigan
Lawson
Pindell
Primary Monitor
Primary Wire
Scala
Schoenberg
Spiliotes
Welch
Campaigns, Et Alia.
Paul Hodes
Carol Shea-Porter
Ann McLane Kuster
John Lynch
Jennifer Daler
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
The Next Hurrah
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
(This is deeply disturbing. How can a political party or partisan group have influence over a town's voting rolls? - promoted by Jennifer Daler)
One might have cause to question the intent of the Seacoast Republican Women's event scheduled for this morning, which advertises showing you how to "clean up voter lists for 2010":
Ed Naile, Chairman of The Coalition of NH Taxpayers will speak to the Seacoast Republican Women on the subject of 'Cleaning up NH's Elections - Voting Process Fraud: What You Can Do Now for 2010' on Wednesday, January 13th 2010 from 9:00 - 11:00 AM. Learn about a process that you can use in your own town to help clean up voter lists for 2010 in order to prevent some types of fraud before they occur. This will be the launch of an initiative for SRW members to use in their own towns.
Ah, the old Republican tagline about rampant voter fraud. That must be what's behind the election of progressives like Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in New Hampshire. Now, if we could only clean up the voter lists and kick off all of those folks voting for working family issues ... This "initiative" should be closely investigated by the members of our media.
This poll question and answer is spreading like wildfire in blogworld. As it should!
It's being called an "enthusiasm gap." But I'm going with a causal, rather than a consequential term.
Under the best of circumstances, capturing drop-off voters for mid-term elections is a great challenge.
(I mean, look how W. campaigned his heart out for congressional Republicans, and timed a vote for an uneccessary war right before the '02 mids. What's a few hundred thousand premature deaths in the face of gaining some seats?)
But what I'm seeing here is a citizenry mired in a jobless recovery, who, because of 50-state mini-Hooverism and other factors, has not seen the effects of the stimulus in their lives. A people who doesn't follow politics closely, but closely enough to notice the snail-like, tepid progress on health care reform on the one hand, and on the other a 503c-worked up pile of vapors the media loves to put their cameras in front of instead of covering policy.
Please don't take this as another "Obama hasn't solved my personal problem yet, and therefore I'm going Nader!" scribble. It's not. In general I am most proud of how the President has managed to slow the freight train that W. sent speeding toward a cliff.
But, in my view, if those numbers up top point to anything, it's to a leadership gap within the entire party, from the man in the White House all the way down to you and me. The weakest deficiency is in the US Senate, but bad report cards go out to all, imo.
Just because we are a big tent doesn't mean we can't have effective talking points, effective framing, effective message discipline, and effective legislative discipline.
Even with their party leaderless and in disarray, the GOP still does a better job of crafting a consistent, easily understood message that shows strength and purpose.
Please use this thread to point us to local elections of interest to you, and provide any anecdotal info about voting in your area.
(Personally, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more focused on Maine today than anything else both in-state and out. ADDING: here's a results page you can use to give your refresh command a workout)
And... Go Garth!
UPDATE (7:36pm): Great news about Manch aldermen from Ray in the comments:
1 - Joyce Craig
2 - Ron Ludwig
3 - Pat Long
5 - Ed Osborne
6 - Garth Corriveau
7 - John Shea
8 - Betsi DeVries
9 - Barbara Shea
10 - Republican Phil Greazzo beat Geo Smith
11 - Russ Ouellette
12 - Patrick Arnold
Mike Lopez and Dan O'Neil at large
LARGEST DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY IN MANCHESTER HISTORY
UPDATE (7:40): Not so great, but completely unsurprising news, via a Pindell email alert:
MANCHESTER -- Leading heavily in 11 of 12 wards NHPoliticalReport.com projects that Alderman and State Sen. Ted Gatsas the winner of the Manchester Mayoral contest.
UPDATE (8:00pm): Per Ray, 2 to 1 DEFEAT of tax cap in Claremont! (but passes in Manchester)
We are now about two weeks away from the November election in Washington State, and one item on the ballot that has national attention is Referendum 71, the so-called "everything but marriage" proposal that would give same-sex couples more rights and protections than they have today.
There has been a lot of conversation about whether it will or won't pass--and a lot of conversation about whether it should pass.
I hope it does, and if you live here I encourage you to vote "yes" November 3rd.
But that said, you may not be aware that Washington has an electoral system in transition, and that as a result of the transition Washington has some idiosyncrasies that will make forecasting the results a bit tougher, and determining the results a bit slower.
We'll talk about that today, and by the time we're done you should have an appreciation of the odd way in which things can work out--and that, absent a landslide, we aren't likely to know the results on Election Day.
(And don't forget to hang out at Susan's place now and then. Great stuff there. - promoted by Dean Barker)
this was published as an op-ed in the 10/23 edition of the Conway Daily Sun
Ah, New Hampshire. This year we had a long, cold, wet spring; a cold, wet summer, and a glorious fall with spectacular foliage. It was a rancorous year in the NH legislature, with the budget being a particular thorny issue. Mel Thomson and William Loeb still dictate our tax policy from the grave, and Judd Gregg voted in favor of rape. It was a year blissfully free of electoral politics for most of us, but the end of the year is drawing near. Next year we'll be voting for 2 Congresscritters, one US Senator, the entire NH legislature, the Executive Council, and the Governor.
The NH GOP is unhappy about losing their divine right to run our state. Despite steady losses in the last 4 years, they have not been able to come up with a new message. They're still saying "no taxes and cut spending." It was a great message in 1910. In 2010 the reality is somewhat different. Things cost more, an elementary concept that the NH GOP is unable to embrace. Sure, there are ways to spend less money. At a time when many states are eliminating the costly death penalty as a way to save millions, NH is the only state looking to begin executions. The budget for lead paint testing has been cut recently, but we'll be building a death row and an execution chamber.
Foster's ran an un-bylined story (apparently a press release from the Republican Party) to the effect that John H. Sununu is coming to Dover to recruit Republican candidates, this coming Monday evening (September 28). The very glamorous location will be a closed furniture store, Hoyt's on 2nd Street. This may be because Dover is now bereft of restaurants and coffee shops, thanks to the fact that the rooms and meals tax went up to 9%. (Oops: it turns out that Dover has just as many watering holes as it did before the tax went a little. In fact, a few new places have opened up.)
Pindell reports that turnout is so far on par with previous primary elections in ManchVegas.
Manchester Hamsters should feel free to add to the picture of today's voting with personal observations, etc., in the comment section.
More: From Ray Buckely's comment below:
Peter Sullivan lost in the primary in ward 3.
Garth Corriveau made it through and almost came in #1 in ward 6
Patrick Arnold did very well in ward 12 as well.
Also via a Ray comment, here's a Google Doc sheet of the results. And peeking at the Mayoral numbers, it really does look like Mark Roy, if consolidates the Stephen and other Dem votes, can beat Gatsas and become the next post-Guinta mayor of Manchester.
But then again, James Pindell makes a good point:
Gatsas enters the general election the heavy favorite. Not only did he have a solid first place finish tonight it is logical he would receive the majority of Stephen voters given that it was Republicans Stephen targeted. Even if Gatsas were only to receive 40 percent of Stephen voters he would win comfortably.
No, I'm not talking about that primary - the big one where Wolf Blitzer moves into Manchester for a couple of months every four years.
But are you ready for a shocker? A pending provision regarding absentee ballot deadlines in an uncontroversial and likely-to-pass federal defense bill will almost certainly make it impossible for New Hampshire to hold its primary in September.
Eric Black, a political journalist in Minnesota, a state with the same primary deadline we have, has the details (but you should read the whole thing):
A pending change in federal law will set a new deadline for mailing absentee ballots to soldiers, sailors and others residing overseas. It would be practically impossible for Minnesota to meet this deadline if it continues to hold its primaries on the second Tuesday (after the first Monday) of September, as scheduled under current Minnesota law.
...The Schumer provision has not been controversial in Washington and the Defense Authorization bill is sure to pass.
The 45-day deadline for mailing the ballots would technically fall after Minesota's traditional primary date, but Ritchie said there would not be enough time to certify the results of a primary election and get ballots printed to meet the deadline. Certainly any primary election that generated a recount would be a disaster under such a schedule.
I'm with DavidNYC, from whom I learned about this, when he calls late primaries, such as ours, a kind of "incumbent protection racket."
I'd love to move our primary date earlier. But if this law forces us to do so, we should consider doing it intelligently, by designing the best date possible (June?), not simply the latest date by which we can meet the deadline. If we did the latter, it'd be in August, not exactly a time of year preferable to encouraging voter turnout.
The implications of this on the immediate 2010 races are interesting to ponder. I think an earlier primary would give less of an inevitability theme to Ayotte, and thus gives Lamontagne an edge he doesn't now have, even if it gives him less time to compete. There's a certain "we have to be on board with the eventual nominee" fatalism about a September primary, but less so with an earlier one. And moreover, having in August, if it lowered turnout, would by implication emphasize activist base voters. Thus a Lamontagne could get more purchase out of the right-of-the-right.
For NH-02, it would also have the effect of not feeling as if we have to coalesce around a pre-nominee nominee before September.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Any Hamsters more knowledgeable in the election calendar know about this? And for some fun primary shopping, here's a sortable list from SSP of '08 primary (and filing) dates among the 50 states.
(Morning After Thought): Minnesota's population is roughly 5.2 million, ours roughly 1.3. Perhaps that would give us more flexibility and efficiency in handling absentee ballots than them?
Our public servants did their job of representing all of the public yesterday by eliminating separate but equal status for some of New Hampshire's citizens.
Now it's our turn to keep our public servants in mind as when the next election rolls around.
My sense is that full marriage quality will be as much of a non-issue in November 2010 as civil unions were in November 2008. Nevertheless, I think it's part of our obligation to look at those who had the most to lose, based on district and circumstances, by their steadfast support on this issue, and to support them as best we can going forward.
If you haven't been following Dante Scala's new series on New Hampshire's voting patterns and changes from 1960 to now, part four of which came out tonight, you really should. A must read and proof of why he is the premiere political scientist in this state.
(I will rue the day when he tells us that the stars don't look aligned for the Dems, because I know that from him it won't be spin.)
Here's a list of questions that both new and experienced voters may have about the voting process. I'm a poll worker, so these are educated - though not official - answers. Where I can, I point to official stuff, though. (I've also tried to mark my partisan commentary in italics to separate it from statements of accepted law.)
Clicking on a hot-linked question will bring you to a comment that addresses it. (The comments are collected in an older diary; I've been adding new comments / answers to it today.) Then click the browser 'Back' button to return here.
Securing the votes in Congress to pass real immigration solutions into law isn't going to be easy. The next President - no matter who wins - will need to lead his own party first to get it done.
Atrios, in his inimitable way, has coined a brilliant phrase to refer to those myths which, though patently, demonstrably false, just refuse to die - the Zombie Narrative.
The state, which has seen a steady migration of residents from Massachusetts in recent years, also voted for former President Bill Clinton twice in the 1990s.
While we expect it from the Washington Times, the zombie narrative that Boston-area migrants are turning New Hampshire blue is everywhere. Oh, Economist, how could you?
There are tight races in some old-line swing states. In New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat and former three-term governor, is challenging John Sununu, the sitting Republican, to a rematch of their race in 2002. But the state is changing quickly as dormitory communities sprout along the border with Massachusetts. It plumped for John Kerry in 2004 and elected Democrats to the House in the 2006 midterm elections.
Indeed, even journalists like Drew Cline and Thomas Oliphant have tried to drive a stake into the heart of this zombie, but alas, to no avail.
I was at a local candidates event yesterday that I hope to write up as soon as I can. But I heard something from one of them that caught my attention.
As you know, we no longer have straight ticket voting in New Hampshire. It was one of the first things accomplished by the new Democratic majority swept into office in 2006. Despite the challenges it might offer us in holding onto our state house seats, and getting new Obama voters to pay attention to the other critically important federal races, it was the right thing to do.
Back to the local candidate. In addressing this situation, he urged that in the voting booth to "start at the bottom and work your way up the list."
I thought that was really catchy, a "Bottom's Up" campaign, if you will. If only I were wealthy enough to hire an entertainer to get that point across outside every polling place across the state on election day!
So, in lieu of that, I'm asking for your help on this, on two fronts really. The first is to get people talking on the absence of straight ticket voting this time around, and what that will mean for their trip to the voting booth. If we each made a committment to include that simple point in every political conversation we had, and made it viral, we could make a difference. And the time to start up on that is now.
The second is to open the comment thread to ideas like "Bottom's Up". What have you been hearing on this issue? Me, I'm amazed at how few people know about it. What memes or branding or slogans can we come up with?
Four years ago finding anyone willing to publicly admit to being a Democrat was a rather formidable exercise here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Republicans controlled state government, with Gov. Craig Benson flitting about the state in his uniquely plated Hummer, a suitable symbol of his disdain for the people of New Hampshire and their fundamental ideals.
Senator Rob (I can't hear you, and even if I could I wouldn't listen so just shut up and go away!) Boyce of Alton, whose most memorable legislative initiative was an attempt to make it legal for high school students to bring firearms to school, was cruising to an easy November victory over a far more qualified and energetic Democratic candidate, Beth Arsenault of Laconia.
And here in Laconia, all five of its seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives were easily captured by a covey of stalwart Republicans more known for their longevity of service than for advocating for their constituents.
Petition of Appeal, noted violations and weaknesses in NH recount cited below
Petition of Appeal to the Ballot Law Commission
c/o Office of the Secretary of State, William Gardner
State House
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
by Albert Howard, Republican candidate for President of the United States
New Hampshire Primary Election of January 8th, 2008
Date: February 15, 2008
Petitioner: Albert Howard, Pro Se 710 Apple St. Ann Arbor, MI 48105-1750
Subject of Petition: Appeal of results of the Presidential Primary recount completed February 11, 2008; examination of contested ballots in that recount.
Relief Requested: That the Ballot Law Commission and the Secretary of State's office disclaim any opinion on the accuracy of the Presidential primary election AND the statewide Republican recount because checks and balances to maintain the integrity of the ballots and the total counts were either not followed, or not in place.
Introduction:
New Hampshire has the distinct honor of having the first Presidential primary in the country and has always been viewed as a model state because of its election system and methodology of holding elections in an open, transparent fashion. I, for one, thank you for keeping the tradition of being one of the few states in the country that still has a paper ballot for every person who votes. Your standards for transparency and support of the democratic process are admirable and much appreciated.
I ask that you view the following petition as an opportunity to improve your procedures and policies. The scrutiny of election observers has brought with it a chance to correct areas of vulnerabilities and potential breakdowns and holes in the system. As a candidate I am requesting you work with me and together we can open up meaningful dialogue to bring better procedures and amend areas that need attention based on my experience and in consultation with many experienced and dedicated election integrity advocates. <!--break-->
If this Commission chooses to follow through and act on my questions, requests and recommendations, I am certain it will make New Hampshire's electoral system even stronger and an even better leader for other states to follow.
This Petition is not about me. This Petition represents the requests of the people this Ballot Law Commission represents. Every person who voted in this Primary election wants to know that their vote was accepted and counted as cast. They want to have no doubt about the integrity of New Hampshire's election process.
I am asking for the opportunity to work with you, to initiate an open, meaningful dialogue regarding how we can bring further reform to an already good system. My goal is to walk away from this process with both sides feeling that meaningful agreement was reached for all parties. and that together we have identified and addressed the few weak spots.
New Hampshire has a long and proud election tradition. Transparency is a key component of this tradition and the remedy suggestions included in this Petition are intended to enhance that tradition.
PETITION:
Petitioner contends that the results of the statewide Republican recount are potentially invalid due to violation of various state election laws, procedures of the Ballot Law Commission, and written procedures governing the handling and securing of the ballots. Furthermore, discrepancies shown between the results of those ballots counted by hand versus those counted by Diebold optical scan counters (see Appendix 1), together with violations of HAVA requirements, indicate a high risk and opportunity for manipulation of ballots and vote totals, thereby invalidating the results of both the Primary election and the recount.
Examples of violations of statutes or procedures follows. The sequence, in accordance with that outlined in the statutes of the Ballot Law Commission, will be the violation, the remedy requested, and the citation of the appropriate statutes or regulations. Exhibits illustrating most of the violations will follow.
VIOLATION #1: Machine failures were handled improperly -- and possibly altered the outcome of the election.
Fact: Election Day problems with the Diebold Optical Scan machines clearly demonstrated that many of the machines malfunctioned during the Primary election. Do we have any way of knowing that the new memory cards had been examined and approved by the Ballot Law Commission (BLC) as required? Did local election officials allow illegal substitution of election devices that had not been examined and certified? Shouldn't these machines have been declared unfit for service as dictated by state law?
Town clerks have told Dori Smith, a journalist from Connecticut, that memory cards were "switched out" in some towns by LHS employees, counter to state election laws, calling into question the chain of custody of these critical "electronic ballot boxes".
Secretary of States MANUAL P. 34-35: The seal for the memory card should be replaced for each election when the newly programmed card is re-inserted into the machine for the pre-election testing of the card. The card should remain sealed until after the recount period ends following the election. The seal for the cover of the machine should only be broken by LHS when it services the machine. The cover must be resealed by the clerk when the LHS technician has completed any service work. Each time any of the two seals are broken and the machine is resealed it should be documented in the log.
Exhibit A documents the reports by LHS of (at least some of) the day's problems. A few examples are included below from reports received by LHS and forwarded to the Secretary of State's office.
Town of Manchester, two examples:
"solution listed (What happened here? This was the 3rd machine to be replaced that day in this location.)
Problem: P/U 3rd bad machine per John S."
"Problem: Machine taking ballots but counter not incrementing
Solution: Swap to spare machine to reburn a new card."
(What happened to the votes on the first machine and first memory card?
Does "reburn a new card" mean the memory card could have been illegally reprogrammed?)
Town of Barnstead:
"Problem: Ballots rejecting a lot, even during test. They did not call (?)
Solution: Told them I would have someone bring a new machine. They said no - It was working"
(What really happened here? Improper testing or a machine failing a test should have disqualified the machine from usage in an election. State statute VI. cites as a misdemeanor violation a person knowingly violating testing procedures and/or ignoring a machine failing testing.)
REMEDIAL ACTION REQUESTED: Some states have approved their equipment conditionally, so that investigations such as this would be paid by the vendor, in this case Diebold. As well, the New Hampshire statutes could be tightened so that, just as LHS must bear the cost of an invalid recount due to an employee's failure to properly program and test LHS' machines (RSA 656:42: V), LHS could as well be obliged to reimburse all costs related to investigation of their procedures. In the case of this Violation, it would mean that they would bear responsibility for investigating the accountability for every memory card
Their records and their doors must also be open to you for all testing, all maintenance, programming, bookkeeping, etc. The State, perhaps the Office of the Secretary of State or the BLC with the addition of a few citizen election activists should be welcome at all times to review/witness their work, their procedures, their books, etc.
An inquiry should be undertaken immediately for accountability of each memory card used in the Primary election, as well as the whereabouts and the sequence of events surrounding all memory cards used, including all delivered cards, all cards found to be problematic on Election Day, any substitute cards, "reburned" cards, and any unused cards delivered to the jurisdictions. Results of inquiry to be delivered to Petitioner.
I, as Petitioner, pursuant to RSA 656:42, request the opportunity to inspect the offices of LHS along with at least two computer technical experts of my choosing. (RSA 656:42, Section IV: Each person described in paragraph III shall designate, in writing, an agent for service of all process, including, but not limited to summonses, writs, orders, petitions, and subpoenas, and shall agree in writing that the Attorney General, in conjunction with any election investigation, may inspect its records, machines or other devices, and premises.)
I also request a full report of every visit by an LHS-related technician to a jurisdiction on January 8th, 2008 and ask that this report be compiled and examined as part of this inquiry. In the meantime, we are requesting that the Secretary of State consider sending out an order that all voting machines used in the State be impounded and vote totals NOT BE CLEARED until this formal inquiry is completed. I further request that no ballots or other election materials be destroyed prior to the 22 month waiting period as mandated by federal law. Several of the boxes of ballots received at the State Archive Building for the recount were marked: "Destroy November 2009" and these must be corrected to "2010." See Exhibit A.
CITATIONS:
656:41 Approval by Ballot Law Commission. The Ballot Law Commission shall act as a board to examine voting machines and devices for computerized casting and counting of ballots. ... Any voting machine or device that is altered must be re-approved before it is used in any election in this state. For the purposes of this section, a machine shall be considered altered if any mechanical or electronic part, hardware, software, or programming has been altered.
RSA 656:42 III. Any company, partnership, proprietorship, or other person, wherever located, which supplies, maintains, or programs voting machines which are used in elections in New Hampshire is subject to regulation by this state. (The following amendment to RSA 659:42 will take effect January 1, 2007)
RSA 659:42 Tampering with Voting Machines. Whoever shall tamper with or injure or attempt to injure any voting machine or device for the computerized casting and counting of ballots to be used or being used in an election or whoever shall prevent or attempt to prevent the correct operation of such machine or device or whoever shall tamper with software used in the casting or counting of ballots or design such software so as to cause incorrect tabulation of the ballots or any unauthorized person who shall make or have in his or her possession a key to a voting machine to be used or being used in an election shall be guilty of a class B felony if a natural person or guilty of a felony if any other person.
Secretary of State Manual page 34 - 35: The seal for the memory card should be replaced for each election when the newly programmed card is re-inserted into the machine for the pre-election testing of the card. The card should remain sealed until after the recount period ends following the election. The seal for the cover of the machine should only be broken by LHS when it services the machine. The cover must be resealed by the clerk when the LHS technician has completed any service work. Each time any of the two seals are broken and the machine is resealed it should be documented in the appropriate log.
Bal 604.02 Zeroing and Sealing Machines. (b) When a voting machine or device has been prepared for election, it shall be locked against voting and sealed and the keys shall be retained by the designated election officials. After the voting machine has been transferred to the polling place, it shall be the duty of the designated election official to provide protection against molestation, tampering or injury to the machines or devices.
Bal 606.04 Damaged Machines. In the event that any voting machine or device used i n any voting district during the time the polls are open, become damaged or disabled so as to render it inoperative in whole or in part, the election officials shall forthwith if possible, substitute a perfect machine for the damaged one. At the close of the polls, the votes shown on the counters of each machine shall be added together in ascertaining the results of the election. In the event that no other machine can be prepared forthwith for use at such election and the damaged one cannot be repaired in time, the provisions of RSA 658:35 shall apply.
VIOLATION # 2: Machine failures render equipment non-compliant with HAVA regulations.
Fact: HAVA requires that the error rate of machines used be no greater than one error in 500,000 ballot positions. In one of the most recent tests, at the University of Connecticut, the Diebold Precinct-Based Optical Scan Accuvote 1.94W system (AV OS), demonstrated a failure rate of roughly 3.4 %. This puts New Hampshire in an unfortunate situation and the integrity of its election results in question. I urge the Ballot Law Commission and the Secretary of State's office to seriously consider restoring elections utilizing 100% hand counted paper ballots. The fundamentals are in place for a meaningful and transparent election. The Diebold Optical Scan equipment you currently use is indeed problematic due to its proven vulnerabilities and inaccuracies. Diebold itself issued a Product Advisory Note about this machine on January 25, 2008 describing a known failure. http://www.votersunite.org/inf...
See Exhibit B for articles describing the serious vulnerabilities and high error rate for the Diebold Optical Scanner.
REMEDIAL ACTION REQUESTED: The very best thing New Hampshire could do is decertify the current equipment and find alterative means of vote counting. I strongly recommend hand counting all of the ballots. New Hampshire has established such an excellent system for community vote-counting, and the hand count method - especially the sort and stack method as was used for the recounts --that has time and time again proven to be the most accurate and by far the least costly method of counting citizens' votes.
CITATIONS:
HAVA 301(a)(5) references the rate in the VSS - FEC Voting System Standards: Error rates: The error rate of the voting system in counting ballots (determined by taking into account only those errors which are attributable to the voting system and not attributable to an act of the voter) shall comply with the error rate standards established under section 3.2.1 of the voting systems standards issued by the Federal Election Commission which are in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. (HAVA is referencing the 2002 VVS.)
Section 3.2.1 of the 2002 VVS: Accuracy Requirements: Voting system accuracy addresses the accuracy of data for each of the individual ballot positions that could be selected by a voter, including the positions that are not selected. For a voting system, accuracy is defined as the ability of the system to capture, record, store, consolidate and report the specific selections and absence of selections, made by the voter for each ballot position without error. Required accuracy is defined in terms of an error rate that for testing purposes represents the maximum number of errors allowed while processing a specified volume of data. This rate is set at a sufficiently stringent level such that the likelihood of voting system errors affecting the outcome of an election is exceptionally remote even in the closest of elections. The error rate is defined using a convention that recognizes differences in how vote data is processed by different types of voting systems. Paper-based and DRE systems have different processing steps. Some differences also exist between precinct count and central count systems. Therefore, the acceptable error rate applies separately and distinctly to each of the following functions: a. For all paper-based systems: 1) Scanning ballot positions on paper ballots to detect selections for individual candidates and contests; (partial omission here) For each processing function indicated above, the system shall achieve a target error rate of no more than one in 10,000,000 ballot positions, with a maximum acceptable error rate in the test process of one in 500,000 ballot positions.
VIOLATION #3: The location of the memory cards post-election were reported "unknown".
Fact: According to election observers who spoke with Secretary Gardner during the recount, the location of memory cards used in the Primary Election on January 8th, 2008 was unknown. In conversations with observers he referenced the likelihood that town clerks/moderators had secured the cards but he was unaware of their exact location. Each memory card equates to an entire electronic ballot box. Ballots (which should include paper or electronic ballots) according to federal law must be preserved for 22 months following an election.
REMEDIAL ACTION: Since the memory cards are key to transparency, I request the State amend current procedures/statutes by creating a rigorous set of statutes regarding chain of custody for the memory cards, ballots and equipment as well as the memory card holders and workers, and further define how citizens can, in a timely manner, monitor the chain of custody and the content of said cards. I ask you to consider appropriate disciplinary actions, including felony or other charges to be filed against all persons whose responsibility it is to follow the laws pertaining to ballot retention but who failed to do so. One central location, through the Secretary of State, should be made responsible to account for all memory cards before, during, and after an election, and make those records available to the public in a timely manner if requested. CITATIONS: I believe this is an implicit responsibility. The security of the ballots is tantamount and it is understood that they should be safeguarded at all times. The memory cards, as has been stated elsewhere, are equivalent to a ballot box filled with ballots.
VIOLATION #4: The boxes of ballots were not picked up for the recounts by State Police.
Fact. A van driven by two state employees, followed by a state trooper, drove around to pick up boxes of ballots at the various jurisdictions throughout the state. Their transport in a van driven by two state employees is not the same as the ballots being in the custody of the State Police. Election observers following the vans observed them speeding at 85 and 90 mph in 55 mph zones; speeding through school zones with school zone lights flashing; going 45 and 50 mph in 25 and 35mph residential areas, and making obvious and successful attempts to "lose" the citizen observers. The observers were left to wonder what was being done with the unsecured ballots inside the van and during the times after the van successfully "lost" their vehicles.
See Exhibit C.
REMEDIAL ACTION: I request that in the future that state police do transport the boxes. If one additional state employee rides with the trooper to carry the boxes, the statute should direct him to be in sight of said trooper at all times, including when the vehicle is in motion. When the vehicle is traveling all troopers and/or trooper and other state employees must be in passenger seats, separated from the boxes of ballots. This will prevent any appearance of possible ballot tampering while the ballots are being transported. CITATIONS: 660:5 - Conduct of Recount. If directed by the secretary of state, the state police shall collect all ballots requested from the town or city clerks having custody of them and shall deliver them to the public facility designated by the secretary of state.
VIOLATION #5: Ballots were not stored and transported in boxes provided by the Secretary of State's office.
Fact: Boxes arrived at the State Archive Building for the recount in non-uniform boxes, with various methods of taping, many not properly sealed. One jurisdiction sent their ballots in bundles wrapped in newspaper. Others came wrapped in brown paper. Some boxes came with no tape. Many ballots were returned in the same boxes in which they were received from the printer/Secretary of State's office, but this led to some ambiguity about when and by whom openings in the boxes had been made.
See Exhibit D.
REMEDIAL ACTIONS REQUESTED: In the future, the boxes for transport of the ballots from the municipalities following an election, will in fact be different from the ones in which the ballots were delivered to the jurisdictions, to prevent any ambiguity about former openings in the boxes. The boxes should have no 'clutter' on them; and the boxes should be new, never used prior and be devoid of any writing other than instructions found in State Statutes (The New Hampshire government may take as many measures as possible to be frugal and mindful of expenditure of taxpayer money, but the additional boxes in this case would be a very small expenditure in the broad scheme of things and would go a long way to allay/prevent any suspicions, as well as to ensure security.) I am also requesting that the seals used on the boxes be of a more permanent nature where any unauthorized entry can be easily detected. In all future elections, I am requesting that the Office of the Secretary of State f ollow the statutes and procedures more closely regarding the conduct of elections. I also ask that greater scrutiny be paid by the Attorney General to all election and election recount operations. I would request that disciplinary consequences be mandated and enforced by the Secretary of State's office for any future violations of any current regulations, of any remedial measures requested in this Petition of Appeal, or other future regulations.
CITATIONS:
659:95 Sealing and Certifying Ballots. I. Immediately after the ballots cast at a state election have been tabulated and the result has been announced and the return has been made, the moderator or the moderator's designee, in the presence of the selectmen or their designee, shall place the cast, cancelled and uncase ballots, including such ballots from any additional polling places, and further including the successfully challenged absentee ballots still contained in their envelopes, in the containers provided by the secretary of state as required by RSA 659:97 and shall seal such container with the sealer provided by the secretary of state as required by RSA 659:97. The moderator or the moderator's designee shall then enter in the appropriate blanks on such sealer on each container the number of cast, cancelled and uncast ballots in such container and shall endorse in the appropriate place on such sealer a certificate in substance as follows: Enclosed are the ballots from the state election in the town of (or in ward____ in the city of ) held on ______, 200__ required by law to be preserved. The moderator and the selectmen or their designees shall sign their names in the appropriate blanks on the sealer.
659:97 Secretary of State to Prepare Containers, Sealers. The secretary of state shall, before any state election, prepare and distribute to each town and ward clerk containers to be used for preserving ballots and sealers to seal each such container. He shall prepare special containers and sealers to be used for preserving any special and separate ballots for questions to voters and shall prescribe the form of any endorsement blank printed upon the sealers provided that the blank is in substance consistent with the provisions of RSA 659:95.
VIOLATION #6: Many ballot boxes were not properly sealed, and what were referred to as "seals" would not safeguard the ballots from tampering.
Fact. "Seals" meant to secure the boxes were in fact "labels"; they did not stick securely to the boxes, could be easily removed and re-attached, and left no evidence of having been removed and reattached from the box on which they'd been placed. As such they were not "seals" to the boxes; in order for the ballots to be secure, real tape was needed to bind the boxes. Many ballot boxes were delivered to the State Archive Building for recounting with tops not secured and with slits in them large enough for a hand to fit through.
See Exhibit E.
REMEDIAL ACTION REQUESTED:. In all future elections, the Office of the Secretary of State would clearly regulate for the cities and towns the appropriate means of securing all boxes of ballots. The seals ordered in the future must indeed be seals that seal the boxes in an unequivocally secure manner; if such seals are removed from any box prior to the time of any recount, it must be easily apparent to all observers. In any future recounts where boxes are found not to comply, the entire election would be deemed invalid.
CITATIONS: 659:95 Sealing and Certifying Ballots, cited above 659:97 Secretary of State to Prepare Containers, Sealers. The secretary of state shall, before any state election, prepare and distribute to each town and ward clerk containers to be used for preserving ballots and sealers to seal each such container. He shall prepare special containers and sealers to be used for preserving any special and separate ballots for questions to voters. The secretary of state shall prescribe the size and form of such containers and sealers and shall prescribe the form of any endorsement blank printed upon the sealers provided that the blank is in substance consistent with the provisions of RSA 659:95.
VIOLATION #7: The uncounted ballots were not always kept overnight in the security of the "ballot vault."
Fact. At least on the night of the recount January 17 (and possibly other nights as well) boxes of uncounted ballots were not stored in the "vault" in the State Archive Building, but rather in the "counting room", which is not a secure room. Election observers heard Secretary Gardner claiming that the room was secure because he put one of the easily-removable and easily-restick-able "seals" (see #6 above) across each of the double door entries to the room. See Exhibit F.
REMEDIAL ACTION REQUESTED: New Hampshire could indeed lead the nation as an example of chain of custody security. Much is already in place. I ask you to consider adding some statutes that cover every aspect of the "chain of custody" of the ballots, such that every stage of the "chain of custody" is explicitly spelled out by future statute. These statutes would in turn be distributed to every office employee of the Secretary of State, to every city and town clerk and selectperson, to the state police, and to every other person involved in said chain of custody. Such future regulations must be complied with to the fullest degree. We recommend that you consider adding penalties and charges for any violations to every chain of custody statute. I feel it is important and critical to any democratic election that every step of the chain of custody of ballots, software, hardware and voting equipment be open to citizen scrutiny and observation. I am hopeful that you would also consider requiring all election officials to keep a log of every time any employee or outside companies such as LHS work on and/or make any changes to any aspect of the system. Ideally, cameras should be set up to be on the ballot boxes at all times and broadcast election day events live over the internet for citizens to oversee. (This could be extended to include the counting procedures as well.) Such a system -- and New Hampshire has much of it already in place -- would exemplify a secure chain of custody of ballots and of all related election materials that must be protected. The security of the ballots is tantamount and it is understood that they should be safeguarded at all times.
VIOLATION #8: Ballots were not always delivered in an open and public manner.
Fact. On many days of the recount, ballots were delivered after the recount had ended for the day, after dark, when most of the employees were gone from the building, and their delivery was not witnessed by any member of the public or citizen monitors.
See Exhibit G.
REMEDIAL ACTION REQUESTED: Same as # 7 above.
CITATIONS. Same as # 7 above.
WEAKNESSES IDENTIFIED: In the process of analyzing the recount and election procedures, I have identified the following two items as " weaknesses" in current procedure:
1. The candidate in a recount cannot get access to all the different categories of ballots: Cast,. Spoiled, Blank, Uncast.It's critical for the integrity of the process that the candidate be ale to acct for the total number of all ballots in each category
Remedy: Either we have to adjust the recount procedure so that the uncast ballots are NOT excempt from Right to Know requests, OR have the Right to Know requests for all of these categories of ballots honored immediately upon submission of request.
2. There are inconsistencies in the execution of some election and recount protocols. We would like to be able to examine the actions and responsibilities of each Assistant and Deputy Secretary of State in order to determine which party is responsible for each step of the election and recount process. To reiterate: Petitioner is proud to be an American when witnessing the organized, orderly, open and communal vote-counting process as executed in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, I also observed some gaps in ballot security and understand the vulnerabilities of the machines used in vote tabulation. I submit this petition with the desire and the belief that with a little attention and a few statutes addressing such things as ballot security and chain of custody, we can close those gaps. New Hampshire will be first in the nation to hold its Presidential Primary and it will be first in the nation in this century to have elections with observability, accountability, checks and balances, and real transparency.
The Ballot Law Commission's rules places the burden of proof on the Petitioner for any and all complaints and allegations. Yet, it is impossible to completely fulfill the "burden of proof" obligation when the State refuses to provide me in a timely fashion with requested election data through the "Right to Know" law, and without giving me sufficient time to review the requested data prior to filing this petition within the three day period as required by law.
I am therefore requesting that the Secretary of State provide me with copies of all the data I have requested (on January 14, 2008 and February 1, 2008) from him and from LHS through the New Hampshire "Right to Know"; that I be given 14 days to review this data once received; and that I be allowed to re-file this petition if I so desire and to add additional violations and/or Exhibits if applicable.
As required by RSA 665:6, I am filing these Complaints today, February 15, 2008.
Here is the text of my recent letter to NH Newspapers. I am a volunteer for the campaign.
Jeanne Shaheen helped us to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
During this time honoring Martin Luther King, we need to be cognizant of the long fought battle to end our embarrassing standing as the last state recognizing this important holiday.
The holiday was first proposed in the New Hampshire legislature in 1979, but it took until Governor Shaheen's second term to finally put the day into law. In her second inaugural address, Jeanne Shaheen said, "we must not end this century without making Martin Luther King Day part of the heritage we leave our children". She lived up to that statement and signed the law in June, 1999.
Governor Jeanne Shaheen stood for right, stood for children, stood for us. As Senator, this good woman will continue to fight for the under represented and the civil rights Dr. King gave his life for.
Cross posted from Daily Kos with the permission of the author, masslib.
The Observer Unlimited reports Maya Angelou has recently penned a poem for Hillary Clinton. For those of you who do not know, Maya Angelou is a renowned poetess and author of National Book Award winner, autobiographical novel, I know why the caged bird sings . The poem borrows from an earlier work of Ms. Angelou, her iconic classic, Still I Rise . Hillary can take great honor in Maya's use of the imagery of that poem as it is an important work, and indicative of her great love for Hillary that she made her "family" in her heart that way. Maya's poem really struck a chord with me after my experience volunteering for Hillary in Southern NH, and I would guess it was written in that time period. I was campaigning for Hillary from hours before she lost Iowa until hours before she won NH. My story and the poem below the fold.
The larger campaigns sent out cleanup crews and folks like us in Londonderry have made the effort to cleanup the remaining signs on the side of the road.
There is a great upside for us. We on the local Democratic Committee are cheap and we want to recycle the wickets this fall in the state races. We also feel that tax dollars should not be used for highway crews to do the cleanup.
Plus I really don't want to hit that metal with my car or have to look at the litter all winter.
So Democrats, Environmentalists, get out there and show we care for our towns. We are Democrats and we put our boots where our words are.
