January 25, 2008 at 15:20:28

The New Hampshire "Shame of Custody"

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By Bev Harris (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Bev Harris - Writer

Decide for yourself what to make of this video of New Hampshire officials refusing to secure ballots in the ballot vault -- a deviation from their normal procedure. This video reveals the fraudulent "seals" that peel off and reaffix like high-priced Post-It notes.

While Sec. State Bill Gardner may win the prize for the most circuitous and nonresponsive answers, New Hampshire ballot guy David Scanlan will win the award for belligerence, as you'll see in upcoming videos from Black Box Voting.

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CHAIN OF CUSTODY SHAM

I was haunted by New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner's demeanor and the expression on his face on the night he chose not to put the ballots in the vault. This 6-minute video contains three related clips: Frank Mevers, who holds a key to the ballot vaults, describing that the white tape seals the boxes; Sec. State Bill Gardner along with Frank Mevers, Brian Burford and Karen Ladd, as he is questioned about the decision not to use the vault; and a demonstration of the sham seal.

The YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKQEQ7qHvgM

PARTICIPANTS

The first voice you hear, questioning Mevers about the seal, is that of Paddy Shaffer of the Ohio Election Justice Project.

The voice questioning Secretary of State Bill Gardner over the decision not to use the vault is mine. The voice telling him he did not answer the question is Sally Castleman of Election Defense Alliance.

Susan Pynchon (Florida Fair Elections Coalition) and I chased the ballot van on Jan. 17; on Jan. 22, Vickie Karp (Vote Rescue) and I chased the van, and on Jan. 23, due to speeding and evasive maneuvers by the ballot van, two teams followed the van with video cameras: Team one, Vickie Karp and Jeannie Dean (Sarasota, Florida); Team Two, me and Kathy Greenwell (Bullitt County, Kentucky.)

HOW WE CAME TO FIND BALLOT BOXES AND A SUPPLY BOX"

We returned to the archive building to wait for the two men who pick up and deliver all New Hampshire ballots, "Butch" and "Hoppy", to return the ballots they'd picked up. We were shocked to see that the building appeared to be deserted, but was unlocked, and the counting room was unlocked, and contained empty ballot boxes and a supply box with seals, tape etc.

When we left, a small car literally ran us out of the parking lot all the way to the road. It was not a security professional, but one of the workers in the archive building. About 15 minutes after we left, "Butch and Hoppy" arrived to deliver the ballots. No citizen witnesses were present, nor was the candidate notified so he could have his own witnesses.

FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE POLICE

In order to determine whether there were ballots in the boxes or not, I gently nudged the boxes with my shoe. The light weight indicated the ballot boxes were empty. At least one ballot box, for the town of Plaistow, contained the original sham seal signed by the moderator and selectmen. It was empty.

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