Roster Book Clerk – explains the sign-in process to voters; has them read the Voter Pledge; makes sure the voter prints his or her name and address and signs on the correct line in the Roster Book.
Observer – makes sure the voter correctly deposits the completed ballot; handles the Reports of Irregularities, protects the envelope containing those reports. This person may later swear by affidavit as to the receipt of such reports from voters.
Videographer – Video the vote! We seek several volunteers for the November 2006 election to submit video footage to the Columbus Free Press for use in a documentary.
Two of the above workers must be from different political parties, and those two retain custody of ballots during the parallel election, during transport to a public facility where the count will be held, and at the public facility while the count is held.
CLOSING THE POLLS
After the polls are closed, the PE Supervisor obtains the official results, which should be posted at the precinct. Be sure to ask for the results of absentee and provisional votes, as these may not be on the newly printed precinct results.
HAND COUNT PAPER BALLOTS
Interested observers are invited to follow the parallel ballot box to an indoor public location where the ballot box will be opened, and the ballots removed and counted. At least two people from different political parties must observe the ballots at all times (being able to swear to the chain of custody). It is suggested that the ballots are counted twice, rotating the PE workers.
One calls out the intended vote One observes the ballots as called One (or two) records the vote tallies One videographs the entire process.
Ohio has been fortunate to have PhDs assist in counting the vote, lending scientific credibility. An audit is conducted after the count to ensure PE vote totals match the number of voters as recorded in the PE Roster Book.
FOLLOW-UP CANVASSING
You may want to obtain the votes of those who did not participate in the PE that day, or you may want to obtain the vote of absentee voters, or you may want to discuss election day problems that voters reported at the PE booth. This is when the Voter File (or "walking list") that you obtained in advance from your County Board of Elections will come in handy. All registered voters, their address and political affiliation will be noted on the BOE-prepared Voter File.
FINAL REPORT (We're being the media here, and submitting condensed reports nationally.)
Prepare a final report showing an exact breakdown of all votes, by party, by precinct for each race polled. Include your methodology (how the PE was conducted) with as much detail as possible. Share your report with PE organizers, and post to the web. In Ohio, send reports to Rady Ananda at rady.j30@gmail.com and to Marj Creech at risenregan@earthlink.net.
All voting problems reported will be submitted to ReportOhio@WeCount2006.org
TALKING POINTS (Also see page 3: "PEs provide..." and "PEs are run...")
In 2004, Rady Ananda began contributing to the Web, as part of the growing community of citizen journalists. Focusing mainly on elections, her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a legal investigator for lawfirms, and about 5 years as an editor. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews.
All material offered here is the property of Rady Ananda, copyright 2006, 2007, 2008. Permission is granted to repost, with proper attribution including the original link.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. Tell the truth anyway. Sign this petition: http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/ny_levers_petition
Parallel elections do the job we've been paying elections officials to do, that they haven't been doing.
Like the old saying goes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This is a well-planned, tested, effective, and workable tool for implementing democracy in every precinct where people care.
Let's roll!
by
Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 29 quicklinks, 76 diaries, 972 comments)
on Friday, September 15, 2006 at 2:01:26 PM
