A Call to Action to Improve Accountability and Integrity in NH Elections
The State of NH must take serious and drastic steps to provide assurance of election integrity to its voters. Here's a start:
The Office of the Secretary of State must be held accountable, must comply with State law, and follow the statutes and procedures regarding the conduct of elections. Disciplinary consequences must be mandated and enforced for the Secretary of State's office for any future violations of any current regulations, of any remedial measures or future regulations.
The Office of the Secretary of State must represent voter rights rather than the special interests of the private corporation providing electronic voting equipment to the state. The Office, in its testimony before the Legislature, and in its conduct, appears to use its position to present testimony and implement practices that are biased in support of private special interests and against the interests of the citizens of NH, the NH Constitution, and the responsibilities of its office.
The Office of the Secretary of State must provide guidance and leadership and share its expertise and information regarding the costs and documented issues with the voting technology used in the state, as well as the costs and the proper management of hand count elections.
The Office of the Secretary of State must require and conduct background checks for all of its employees and all non-State personnel involved with NH elections, and make this information publicly available.
The Office of the Secretary of State must disclose any conflicts of interest that exist with any of its employees that may affect their ability to carry out the responsibilities of their office
The Department of State and its Ballot Law Commission must hold hearings and come to a determination as to the constitutionality of using secret vote counting technology in the state of NH.
The Ballot Law Commission of the Department of State must revisit its 2006 decision to grant unconditional approval of defective technology for use in NH elections, and make an appropriate decision based on its own rule in approving technology, which reads:
"The commission shall approve the request following a public hearing if the commission finds that adequate safeguards have been provided to ensure the integrity of election results and the machine or device complies with these rules and the election laws of the State of New Hampshire."
The Department of State and its Ballot Law Commission must implement appropriate procedures and requirements for contracting with private interests handling such sensitive national security data as NH ballots and vote counting. These procedures and requirements must include background checks for all employees, as well as secure chain of custody provisions, state and public testing and oversight and retention of memory cards, and other requirements and procedures appropriate to the level of security mandated by national security considerations.
The Attorney General must take responsibility for overseeing adherence to state and federal election laws and statutes, and penalties must be defined and meted out for violations or noncompliance. Greater scrutiny must be paid by the Attorney General to all election and election recount operations.
HUMBOLDT COUNTY IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE - selections from the article on the transparency project:
SOURCE: The Times Standard
Software glitch yields inaccurate election results
Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard
Posted: 12/05/2008 01:24:16 AM PST
The first of its kind Humboldt Election Transparency Project has uncovered a glitch in the county election's software that resulted in almost 200 ballots not being counted and the county certifying inaccurate election results.
