Once again, Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed has proven himself a man above the partisan rancor. While his party is busy tearing down the public’s faith in our electoral system, Reed is working to build it up.
While insisting that he has seen no evidence of wrongdoing, Reed unveiled today an election reform package aimed at addressing some of the problems uncovered in the Nov. 2 election. Proposed reforms include:
Can I ask something in seriousness?
1) If Dino Rossi seriously thought that the margin of error was so small that we didn’t know who the legitimate governor of Washington was, why didn’t he call for a revote when his margin was just 42, smaller than Gregoire’s now?
2) The poll workers who watched these provisional ballots supposedly go into the ballot machines unchallenged, why didn’t they come up to the plate when Rossi was ahead by 42?
Rossi wasn’t leading any statewide poll, and at best, he didn’t come close to Gregoire by more than 5% on any poll before the election. For it to come out this close, it seems that the Republicans had more reason to stuff the ballot box than we did…
Goldy – While I agree with most of Sam Reed’s proposals, I have two comments:
1) I’m not sure I agree with moving up the deadline for getting the absentee ballots in. I just dislike the possibility of disenfranchising someone because the postal service delayed their ballot. In my mind, sending it out earlier is good, but I’d still keep the “postmarked by November 2nd” deadline. Worst case, let’s move the the postmark date a week earlier (except for military ballots).
2) As a clarification I think we need more than just a voter verifiable paper trail. We need a end-to-end audit trail that can be verified by voters, election officials and independent third-parties. Just like banking (ATM receipts + bank statements, plus external audits by independent auditors).
I’m not a big fan on requiring absentee ballots to be received by November 2nd, one never knows what sort of bombshell might be revealed the day before or three before the election that could change the mind of a voter who was still making up his/her mind, i.e. a certain drunk driving conviction…
I really like ALL of his reforms. More later. I gotta celebrate – go see http://www.kiro710.com/news.jsp
My favorite is he second court filing…
Desperate.
I can understand opposition to changing the receipt date, but by adding in the either-or provision (postmarked by the Friday before, or received by election day) it makes me more comfortable. I can live with this change, if that’s what it takes to get a larger package of reforms passed. Remember this is a starting point.
As to voter verifiable paper trails, my concern is that we need to be careful if we try to legislate a particular technology. I believe a hybrid system of our existing optical scanners, but with computer generated ballots that are both human readable, mark sense readable, and include 3-D barcodes that encode the data, would go a long way towards achieving what you want. But trying to legislate something like just won’t happen.
I can agree with your “compromise” (either delivered by election day or at least postmarked by the Friday before). And I’d love to see most of these get passed without delving into the whole technology mess.
Save that for another bill where we propose a standard for the voting technology involved that reduces the opportunities for fraud, increases transparency and makes it easier to vote. I think that’s a much harder “nut to crack” than the simple proposals.
Even Slade Gorton is against changing the laws regarding the Postmark. All this comes more from a expeditions desire as opposed to any real reform. Bottom line if we move the primary dates. No reason exists to change the post mark by election day.
Dustin, to your first question…it’s never been about antyhing either party says it is about (e.g. margin of error, {not} changing the rules, counting every vote, only counting legitimate votes, etc.), it’s ALWAYS been about one thing and one thing only:
Do and say anything that will help my guy/gal get elected.
That’s why the Rs are saying what the Ds said and vice versa!
Sam Reed may want to actually encourage compliance with the existing statutes first. Like informing County Auditors that all ballots must be accounted for and voters credited with voting. Now Goldy seems to believe we can be assured this has happened without any formal reconciliation. He relies on quotes taken out of context to support this contention. I hear Greg Kimsey is a good Auditor. He was one of the Auditors who would not blindly sign a letter of support for Dean Logan. Let’s see what else he has to say IN FULL CONTEXT.
Goldy, it’s time for an instant replay on your feeble attempt to convince us that the Auditor reconciliation is more like comparing your checkbook balance with a BUDGET???? than reconiling it with a bank statement. I am hoping to hear you say that “Upon further review, the words that came out of my fingers obviously really came out of my ass”. “The play on the blog is reversed”!
If you do, you will hear the crowd screaming:
YEAH GOLDY! GOLDY! GOLDY! GOLDY! GOLDY!
Otherwise, you stand atop the heap as DUMBASS OF THE NEW MILLENIUM!
Actually, it’s a tie between you and Paul Berendt.
Comment by DustinJames— 1/6/05 @ 1:01 pm
First why would he call for a revote with a 42 vote lead, with the election process still in play. We still had a hand count to go, we still had not discovered all the problems that are arising. That is why – Honestly not a very thoughtful question on your part. The process is just that a process it has an order in which events happen. Noone with a lead is going to ask for a revote, not Rossi not Gregoire. Of course Rossi would not want a revote just as Greoire does not. But that does not mean it is not the right solution. It does not mean it is not the only way under these circumstances to identify the true winner.
I think any election reform needs to include a requirement to reconcile the number of ballots counted with the number of voters actually casting them. Polling places should be required to do this on election night. Absentee ballot voters can be entered into the database when their signatures are verified and their ballots are accepted. Same thing for provisional voters. And make a different ballot form for provisional voters, which cannot be read by the polling place counting machine. If a provisional voter still tries to violate the law by stuffing his ballot into the machine, then the stuffed ballot is not counted, and they forfeit the right to vote in that election. Require that identification be presented in order to vote, and that absentee voters also verify their ballot with their DOB and last four.
I can understand; you have the lead, you don’t how you got it and you’ll fight to hang onto it. Expected. The responsibilty falls on the one that “Trails” to continue the process to completion.
Left out “Care” – you don’t care how you got it.
I like some of Reeds suggestons except for the one requiring the absentees to be post marked on th Friday before elections as this will reduce the number of voter turnout.
What could be done to reduce the backlog is to allow the absentee ballots to be processed more even perhaps counted when received rather than having to wait until election night.
Erik–
Count the absentee votes when received rather than having to wait until election night????????????
Are you nuts???
Count the absentee votes when received rather than having to wait until election night????????????
Yeah. It would knock out much of the backlog that the counties are experiencing. One of the problems the larger counties are having is hiring tons of new relatively unexperienced workers.
Also, early voting should be available at a reduced number of locations so long lines are reduced or eliminated on election days.
Erik – that was the policy a few years ago. Courts shut it down. The reasoning was it was not compatible with election day, at which time all ballots become countable in the big world of ballots.
I support — All mail in Balloting like Oregon — good thing, paper trail – can look there for the working model.
Keep the postmark by election day…..I like to be able to do last minute if I wish…..takes time for the initiatives and judges to reasearch and do an informed ballot. When counting starts do 24 hour shifts to expedite the counting.
This is really something–you’re praising Reed now, but sure as heck YOU’RE not voting for him in four years. you’ll vote for the Democrat candidate, who is SURE to be very partisan in any tight situation.
M… you already know how I’m going to vote four years from now? Now if that isn’t evidence of election fraud, I don’t know what is.
(FYI, in my checkered past, I actually cast a vote for Ralph Munro, so don’t think my SOS choice is such a sure thing.)