Forward from Susan Marie Weber, 10/10/04:
Riverside County, California, Logic and Accuracy Test as reported by observer, Art Cassel
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Riverside County Logic and Accuracy Test of 9/29/04
During the week of August 9, 2004, Jeremiah Akin and I, along with two other concerned citizens, held a meeting with Barbara Dunmore, Riverside County’s Registrar of voters. The meeting was held at our request in an attempt to make the election process more transparent and accessible than it had been under the former Registrar, Mischelle Townsend. The dialogue covered many topics of great concern. Some of the ones we considered important were:
1) Notice of Logic and Accuracy Tests. The notification for L & A tests in the March 2, 2004 California Primary had provided less than 48 hours notice to party central committees and the public. We suggested that a weeks notice would allow central committee members and the public time to arrange participation.
2) Photography in the Registrars Office. Mischelle Townsend had prohibited photography during election events without providing any sound basis for the prohibition. We suggested that Ms. Dunmore could deny use of flash or video lights and still permit recording of the event.
3) Visibility and vulnerability of the tally server. Riversides tally server is linked to a network and completely hidden from public view. We recommended that it be isolated from the network and brought into the count room where it would be visible to election observers.
4) Transparency in handling of ballot (PCMCIA) cartridges during elections. Under the current system, cartridges being delivered by precinct officials are taken to a back door of the Registrars office out of public view. While hidden, the following processes apparently occur. Seals are broken on the pouches containing the ballot cartridges. Cartridges are removed and placed in trays. Cartridge trays are brought to the count room where they are then visible to observers.
Ms. Dunmore said she would take these suggestions under consideration. The results of her “consideration” were clear at the 9/29/04 L & A test.
1.) Notice of the L & A test to central committee members were dated 9/23/04. They were postmarked 9/24/04 implying that they were delivered to the post office too late to go out on the 23rd. As the 24th was a Friday, most would not be delivered until the following Monday, 9/27. Most recipients would not be aware of the test until the afternoon or evening of 9/27, leaving one day to make arrangements to attend the test. Considering the late date of the notice, Mr. Akin questioned why his political party had not been notified by phone. Ms. Dunmore responded that she didn’t have the phone number. The following link to the ROV website makes that response less than truthful:
http://www.election.co.riverside.ca.us/cntrlcomm.htm
Public notice was far less timely. Jeremiah Akin turned up the following public notice of the test:
http://www.co.riverside.ca.us:8080/news/pr...sRelease&id=621
Please take note of the release date and time. Should a member of the public interested in attending the test have been monitoring the County press site, they would have had less than 19 ˝ hours notice of it. In response to a California Public Records Act request by Mr. Akin, Ms. Dunmore states that she was informed by her technical staff that they were ready to test on 9/21/04. Had Ms. Dunmore sent out the notices at that time, those who wished to attend would have had 6 days to make arrangements. The result of the late notice was attendance at the L & A test of a mere 6 people. The following Dan Bernstein humor (?) column appeared in the local newspaper, The Press Enterprise, on the day after the test.
http://www.pe.com/columns/danbernstein/sto...dan30.f179.html
It should be noted that Mr. Bernstein spent far less than one hour at the 7 ˝ hour test, and that, other than introducing himself to Mr. Akin, did not discuss anything, or speak to any of those attending the test. In a conversation he had with Brian Foss, ROV technical manager, Mr. Foss incorrectly stated that the small turnout at the test was because most people loved the machines and never mentioned the late notification to Bernstein. Bernstein’s opinions of the attendees’ beliefs are entirely fabricated.
2) As I removed the lens cap from my video camera, both Ms. Dunmore and Carole Stringer, Deputy Registrar of Voters, shouted that photography was not allowed. When asked why not, Dunmore stated “It’s a test. I’ve even told the press no pictures.” Are Sequoia AVC Edge DRE’s so vulnerable that a picture of them would compromise their security?
3) In response to a question I asked, Ms. Dunmore stated that no effort had been made to secure or increase the visibility of the tally server. It will still be hidden in a back room for the November 2 election.
4) When asked about the system of receiving election cartridges, Ms. Dunmore acted as if she had never heard of this before. Both she and Brian Foss, ROV technical manager dismissed every suggestion for improving the process by citing everything from terrorism to logistics.
In light of the above problems, it is clear that the only thing that has changed at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office in the last seven months is the name on the business card of the Registrar. The process remains as transparent as a block wall.
Contact information: Art Cassel (xxx) xxx-xxxx