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Monday, November 13, 2006
What is happening on the election front?
Submitted by Terry Riley
You can read the normal slew from the media on what part of the count is or is not ready and such. They spent time this weekend giving time to petty arguments between party officials. The coverage is extremely normal. There is a story that is boiling under the surface and I am having a terrible time getting it out into the open.
I participated in the absentee ballot counting in the warehouse on Wednesday morning. I witnessed serious counting irregularities and serious procedural problems, which are described elsewhere on this web site. I am now trying to get somebody to react to the questions/challenges that I have presented.
I have been interviewed on KUNM and the interview is available on their web site. If you go to: https://www.kunm.org/news/current/index.php?id=EEyFkZEFZAYjthITZc I was also interviewed by KRQE and KOAT but I did not see the interview on the 10 PM news that night. I also was interviewed by the Journal and Tribune but have seen nothing in the papers.
I have given a summary of what I witnessed to representatives of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In addition I contacted the District Attorney’s office. They sent a person to investigate. He may have spent a whole hour at the warehouse. He feels that the system wide over marking of tally sheets was just a small error and that there was no indication of intentional election fraud! I keep trying to explain to people that when you find a problem of inaccuracy that is evident on nearly all precinct tally sheets that you have a systemic problem and a thorough investigation should be performed to find out how it happened and to make ABSOLUTELY sure that the count is accurate. I know that it is not!
I am still looking for an avenue that will net results. I have made this information available to Patricia Madrid and I have spoken with a Republican State Representative who is as upset as I am about the problem.
If anyone has examples of things that they saw while counting, observing, judging, or challenging I would like to ask you to please add it to the response of this story. We will get this taken care of. It will require more people getting involved.
Terry Riley
November 13, 2006 at 06:06 PM in Election Reform & Voting | Permalink
Comments
Have you talked with the Alibi? Just my letters to the editor gained me some kind of notoriety through them... so it may be a good place to start, and they do seem to like this kind of story.
Posted by: | Nov 13, 2006 7:23:49 PM
Isn't the absentee warehouse the "absentee precinct?" Can we call for a recount of the precinct?
Posted by: bg | Nov 13, 2006 9:34:15 PM
Maybe people figure the canvassing process will find and fix these errors.
Posted by: Michelle Meaders | Nov 13, 2006 9:57:07 PM
Randall
I will contact the Alibi this afternoor. Thank you.
BG
All absentee ballots are grouped with the voter's precinct and added to the early and election day votes.
Michelle
I can assure you that the canvass process is failing terribly at accurately counting the paper ballots. The procedure seems sound but with sloppy implementation the results cannot be reliable.
To ALL
I just spoke with Ernie Marquez at the Secretary of State's office. The Democratic Party has filed for a recount. When this canvass is closed the recount can begin.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Nov 14, 2006 11:15:53 AM
Thanks to Terry and all on our side giving time and attention to this. I've volunteered at the canvassing several times. It is tedious, frequently baffling but fascinating experience. The cast of characters and hum of activity offsets the effects of the overhead headache inducing lighting. The election clerks do their counting, tabulating and envelop shuffling...all the while scrutinized by observers sitting opposite who aren't allowed to speak or touch anything. Everyone is fighting fatigue and boredom. I haven't been there enough to develop the joking, gallows-type humor that the Democratic and Repuglican staffers seem to be sharing.
Posted by: | Nov 14, 2006 11:55:14 AM
Good luck, Terry... and thank you for keeping an eye on this.
Posted by: | Nov 14, 2006 1:48:19 PM
This is a continuing horror story. Isn't it time America had a well paid, well trained and adequately staffed bunch of election workers? This isn't rocket science but it is so poorly organized everywhere I've ever lived that it is a joke. Remember when we were the can do nation?
ps. Hope Barb is getting well. We miss her but thanks to all helping to fill in while she's sick.
Posted by: I Vote | Nov 14, 2006 2:18:38 PM
Terry, are the provisional ballots being counted by hand or on a tabulator? With all of the human errors that you have witnessed I would feel much more comfortable with a tabulator count and the process would go much faster. Is there an end in sight?
Posted by: westside voter | Nov 14, 2006 2:35:01 PM
How will the word get out that observers are needed for the recount? How many will you need, for what shifts, and for how long?
Posted by: Michelle Meaders | Nov 14, 2006 8:15:08 PM
To Westside Voter:
The problems that I witnessed were not due to people being unable to function. The problems are due to a very good procedure being administered so slopily that the opportunity for accuracy is seriously restricted.
To Michelle:
The political parties and the campaign staffs have been rounding up people willing to work at the count. I believe that we should call on all Albuquerque media to announce the need and give contact information plus a description of what is expected. This should be done as a Public Service Announcement - and not at 2 AM.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Nov 15, 2006 4:02:04 PM
If the Governments of Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico, or the United States in America cannot prove the accuracy and integrity of our elections, I fail to see why we should continue to obey their laws or pay them a lot of taxes!
For years I've been saying we should be protesting the corporate media. If the U.S. Media/Associated Press actually reported what was going on in Iraq daily, the troops would be home tomorrow.
If the atrocities and death weren't sanitized with "smart" bombs and flag waving graphics our leaders would be following each other into the gallows. Our Government lied to start a costly war of conquest, and lost by not sending enough troops.
I don't quite understand how Americans who are supposed to be brave and noble just shrug off something like that?
The Corporate Media remains complacent 4 years into the FUBAR Occupation of Iraq, and 5 years after the 9/11 attacks. 6 years after George Bush was appointed President. 1 Month after he was declared Dictator and King with law S. 3930.
5 years after the Military grade anthrax attacks on the Media and Democrats, that explains a lot.
Have you forgotten, about Nine Eleven? If not, then whatever happened to the hunt for the infamous Usama Bin Laden? Have you forgotten?
I recently called the Editor of the Albuquerque Tribune, Kate Nelson and asked her the same question. Nelson just laughed and said they would get right on it. I called the Editor of the Albuquerque Journal, Ken Walz. Walz said he didn't know. No good answers from KOAT (Coverage you can count on), KOB (Working for you), and KRQE (Who watches Channel 13)? I called Rep. Wilson's D.C. office asking about the hunt for Usama Bin Laden, I'm still waiting for a form letter from Wilson. I called Sen. Bingaman's D.C. office, and they said that there was absolutly nothing they could do about Usama Bin Laden. I talked to a nice old lady on the White House Comment Line, and she agreed with me that the train has gone off the track.
Posted by: | Nov 20, 2006 9:14:21 AM
