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CVCC EXIT POLLS in Centre County
Without a Voter Verified Paper Ballot,
Exit Polls Are the Only Check We Have on "Official" Election Results.
Brief History of CVCC and Exit Poll
CVCC began as a small grassroots group of less than 10 people in 2005 and has grown to nearly 70 active members.
Spring 2006: As the Help America Vote Act was was being implemented, CVCC launched a public informational campaign and lobbied our county commissioners to select a voter verified voting system that provided a paper ballot for audits and recounts. Pennsylvania’s privacy laws prevent a paper roll from being used on DRE machines so we supported optical scan machines.
Despite our efforts, our Centre County commissioners purchased ES&S iVotronics, a paperless voting system.
• November, 2006: CVCC conducted poll watching in numerous precincts throughout the county.
- Our Report of Election Day Problems, 2006 documents 17 precincts that had problems printing zero tapes and opening on time.
- CVCC received numerous reports of vote-switching on the screen, especially in the Governor’s and Senator’s races. Vote Switching was reported widely across PA in 2006. It was explained to be a calibration issue or voter error.
• November, 2006: CVCC joined forced with the Pennsylvania State University Statistics Department to conduct exit polling in 3 precincts, for the first time.
- Our Exit Poll results matched the official winners in all races except for in 2 races where the official results showed the Republican candidate had won for the Governor’s race and the State Senate race, but our exit poll results showed the Democratic candidates winning those races. This was a significant difference:
Nov 2006 Exit Poll PRESS RELEASE
NOV 2006 Exit Poll Summary
• Spring 2007 - November 2007: CVCC continues public education and informational meetings in support of paper ballot voting systems.
- By November 2007 ALL candidates running against the 2 incumbent County Commissioners supported a paper record and it became a major campaign issue.
The Chair, County Commissioner who was responsible for our County's decision to purchase DREs was voted out of office and 2 of the 3 newly elected County Commissioners have committed to replacing our current paperless systems in favor of a paper ballot voting system!
- Fall 2007: CVCC was able to raise $1,020 to go towards our November 2007 exit poll expenses.
• November 2007: CVCC had poll watchers in many precincts.6 precincts had late openings and we consider it very dtrange that there were no reports of vote-switching on the screen in Centre County and we also have heard of none across the state. How were all theses calibration issues and user error problems corrected in one year?
• NOVEMBER 2007 EXIT POLL RESULTS
- Our Exit poll results match official results in all races polled, with 95% confidence. This provides a strong baseline for our exit polls in November 2008. If a race does not match-up next November it will be very hard to explain.
- This accuracy rate makes us even more suspicious that 2 races did not match in our Nov. 2006 exit poll.
Op Ed for Voices of Central PA November 2007
Thank you to the many local citizens whose donations supported our exit polls so far, and thank you also to Election Defense Alliance for their support!
As of Dec 2007, CVCC still needs to raise $1000 more to pay Penn State Statistic’s Department for their 2007 analysis and are continuing to raise money for 2008 exit polls.
Donations can be mailed to:
Concerned Voters of Centre County
137 North Spring Street
Bellefonte, PA 16823
Thank you!
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10,000 Election Simulation proves effectiveness of UBS ballot count validation system. 
