There has been little citizen input on Project Everest, since observers had to sign a ten-year confidentiality agreement and citizens on the Voting Rights Institute have not been included – at least not fully – in this testing project from its very beginning.
The OEJC repeatedly requested to observe the testing via Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Nance. Our multiple verbal and written requests were not answered until we received a letter two days after the last day of testing, with a letter dated for the final day of testing. In it our request to observe was denied, with no explanation given.
As indicated by our last press release, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb571204.htm the recommendations on the report were being made by the SOS in conjunction with Board of Elections officials suggested by a lobbyist. Our press release also detailed what we consider to be the troubling history of the majority of the BOE officials so selected to make recommendations.
Because this overall decision-making process is outside the normal course of decision-making in a democracy -- there are no formal or written guidelines in place as there would be, for example, with a legislative bill -- we are especially concerned that the decision-making process be open and subject to public observation/comment.
The Ohio legislature, which has been slow this year, is scheduled to go into recess at the end of next week. According to a public report on the legislature, the speaker (Husted – R) has prevented bills from coming to the floor.
According to the same report, “there may not be a need today for as many session days, noting that so much of the debate now goes on behind the scenes, instead of during committee or floor votes. Unlike in the past, he said, bills are more often packed into single legislation . . . .” http://daytonos.com/?p=582.
For example, as reported by the Toledo Blade on December 6th, 2007, “A legislative conference committee yesterday slipped an amendment into an unrelated bill to authorize the secretary of state to pay for the 5th House Congressional District special election in northwest and northern Ohio as well as future special elections caused by an unexpected vacancy in office.” http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/NEWS09/712050541/-1/NEWS
Finally, the Ohio legislature has been known to hold emergency sessions with little notice on matters that impact our elections, such as the emergency session held in late December 2004 on legislation proposing to change the campaign finance laws and voter registration. Much of this proposed legislation was enacted.
The below letter to the Ohio Secretary of State and key staff was sent on Friday, December 7, 2007
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