Humboldt Co. (CA) Registrar Proposes 10% Manual Tally

In a stunning development at Thursday's meeting of the Humboldt Citizens' Election Advisory Committee, Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich told the small group she would ask the County Supervisors on Tuesday for the funds to expand the County's manual audit to 10%, far exceeding California's minimum 1% requirement. Ten percent would be consistent with the recommendations of the Election Defense Alliance, which I have touted here at WDNC and through the Voter Confidence Committee (and below).

Supervisor Jimmy Smith was present and assured Crnich that there was sufficient time to properly announce the agenda change. Apparently Crnich was already planning to address the Supes during their election day meeting regarding expenses for the eSlate machines. It now would seem Crnich's intention for Tuesday is to present a plan outlining how much it would cost to have the additional hand counting done. This amount would not change based on the number of counters since in theory it would take the same total number of person-hours to do the work. How long this would take is the other relevant variable that is tied to the number of counters.

The Humboldt Transparency Project was also discussed Thursday night. Much to her
credit, Crnich has continued to explore ways to bring this process to life, even
after her legal counsel suggested it could not be done. Crnich told us she is
awaiting a response from the state Attorney General. Meanwhile, some testing has
occurred that identified a physical obstacle - the scanner is clipping the
timing marks off the side of the ballot. Research is ongoing to find a suitable
"fit to page" program that would allow the ballot images to be recorded fully
intact so that they can be made available on CDs to community members wishing to
perform their own verification of the vote totals.

"It doesn't look like we'll be on the ground with the Transparency Project for this election, due
partly to legal reasons and partly to technical reasons," said Crnich. It was
immediately after this comment that she revealed her intention to introduce
greater transparency anyway via the expanded hand count.

The issue of transparency presented itself in yet one other way Thursday night. In an
exclusive WDNC report last Friday, guest blogger and VCC member Kathryn Hedges
revealed that County Elections Manager Lindsey McWilliams had stated that he
does not think it is required to post poll tapes outside polling places at the
conclusion of election day. This despite the language of the election code, section 19384:

The precinct board shall, before it adjourns, post conspicuously
on the outside of the polling place a copy of the result of the votes cast at
the polling place. The copy of the result shall be signed by the members of
the precinct board.

Other VCC members went through the standard poll
worker training this week and confirmed that McWilliams is directing them to
ignore (break) the law. Crnich said that she agrees with our reading of the code
and doesn't understand "what's the big deal." She went on to say "I think
Lindsey is trying to follow the California election code the way he understands
it but I'm not sure his understanding is the same as mine."

It is huge to know that Crnich is taking our side on this though she wouldn't promise to
instruct McWilliams to order the poll tapes posted. I asked her if she would ask
McWilliams why he hates transparency. She declined. The Voter Confidence
Committee is not likely to be as forgiving. Earlier on Thursday, VCC member
Carol Brannan issued two public statements on behalf of the group. The first is
a letter to the editor that has also been sent to the District Attorney, Board
of Supervisors and Crnich; and the second is more like an opinion column meant
for general distribution in the community. Both are shown below.

This
marks a significant step forward for the VCC. While I am a founding member, my
previous calls for McWilliams's resignation have always been my own lonely cry
that the group did not publicly support. The times they are a changing. At the
EAC meeting Crnich mentioned several times that she had been hearing from people
in the community regarding this issue. She seemed to suggest that these people
were all my associates. Even I can't be sure of that. I did ask what the
appropriate channel would be for people to continue to make their concerns
known. I said that it seemed more appropriate for community members to register
their views with elections department officials rather than attempting to
influence pollworkers directly. Since it is not clear what will be the final
word on this matter, nor when that word will come, all concerned citizens are
encouraged to continue to bring pressure on McWilliams to do the right thing. If
necessary, bring this message and support for the 10% audit to the Supes meeting
Tuesday morning at 9am.

11/2/06

Letter to the Editor:

We are both dismayed and outraged by Mr. Lindsey McWilliams's comments at the voting machines test-run demonstration on Friday, October 27th at the Elections Office. Apparently Mr. McWilliams, an appointed elections official, stated that on November 7th he
fully intends to break the California Election Code # 19384 requiring the public
posting of vote totals at each precinct. By refusing to post the precinct tape
he would effectively prevent a public comparison of the results of voting at the
precincts with the final totals from the central tabulator.

The outright
arrogance and obvious disdain for the rule of law that was expressed by Mr.
McWilliams last Friday are offensive to all Humboldt County voters and citizens.
Mr. McWilliams is fully aware of what can and cannot be done on Election Day
according to the codes. If he chooses to ignore Code #19384, and, also directs
the poll workers to disobey this law making them complicit in his crime, the
citizens of Humboldt County will then be obligated to pursue this issue publicly
and perhaps legally.

This behavior calls into question his ability to
properly conduct the duties of his office. We request that the District Attorney
conduct an investigation into this matter, and that our elected Board of
Supervisors and Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich also determine the
appropriate and decisive action warranted by such behavior, up to and including
relieving Mr. McWilliams of his duties at the Elections Department.

The Voter Confidence Committee of Humboldt County
Carol Brannan, member

*
Take A Stand For Democracy!

As a member of the Voter Confidence Committee I have been handing out voter education flyers around the Eureka/Arcata area recently, in preparation for the November election, and thought it would be important to share some of the feedback I've received from the community. Most of the
response has been positive and encouraging, but I felt compelled to include the
following observations.

Some say that election irregularities are a
national and not a local issue. -- Helloooo! Each precinct total is added to
each county total, to each district total, to each state total that is added to
the national total. Every vote from every corner of the U.S. is supposed to
count, and if there is a problem on the national level it had to start
somewhere. Our group is one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of local grass roots
organizations working on election integrity across the U.S. The sum total of all
those efforts will change the voting process...nationally! National Zogby polls showed an astounding 92% of Americans want verified election results.

Many people turn down the offer of information because they say they already know how
screwed up the process is and don't want
to be reminded. They are overwhelmed by the situation and see no hope of
improvement in the near future. -- Don't
give up! This is the best opportunity we've had to make a difference in years. If we
don't try then it is certain that nothing
will change. How frightening is that thought?

Some others seem to think
that our paper ballots confer a magical protection of our voting
rights -- Huge misconception! Without
a publicly conducted hand count of the paper ballots to compare to the machine
count there is no way to be sure the results are accurate. If the County
continues to do the required 1% hand count of all precincts we only have a 50/50
chance of catching discrepancies in the results. Statistics experts say a 10%
hand count in 100% of the precincts ensures a 99% certainty of catching
discrepancies as small as 1%. Obviously, a 100% hand count is absolutely the
best alternative.

Most people say that they have no time to help with an
important initiative such as election reform -- When will they have time? When it's too late? Our constitutional rights are being
eroded at an alarming rate and scope. We can no longer accept any measure of
doubt as to whom has won an election...anywhere in the country!

How much do you cherish the rights, freedoms and benefits we all share in this country? As self-respecting citizens, loving parents and hard-working Americans we have an
obligation to act:

Stand up for fair and transparent elections -
demonstrate at the Elections Office, 3033 H St., Eureka and polling places
throughout Humboldt County on Election Day. Call the Elections Office, 445-7481,
and tell our county officials you will not accept less than an openly conducted
10% hand count to verify the election results and a 100% hand count would be
even better!

Speak out for media accountability -- call, write or email area newspapers and
radio stations to tell them they have no business reporting election results
that they cannot verify are accurate.

Volunteer to be an Observer at the
polls @ VoterConfidenceCommittee.org
Report Election Day problems @
709-VOTE

Pass the word.

Think globally. Act locally.
Carol Brannan
Former Humboldt County Peace Ambassador to Washington D.C.
Member -- Communities for Peace & Voter Confidence Committee
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