The lawsuit brought last week in San Diego to force Registrar Mikel Haas to obey an order from the Secretary of State’s office that paper ballots should be counted as “normal ballots” was denied in San Diego Superior Court today.
The writ, originally filed in Appeals Court last week, was denied on jurisdictional grounds and refiled in the Superior Court. Due to time constraints at that point, the section of the complaint seeking to stop voting machine “sleepovers” (which have now been ongoing for a full three weeks in the county) was dropped when the case was re-filed.
The denial today, which had also sought to force Haas to inform San Diego voters at the polls of their right to vote on a paper ballot, will be appealed, according to Carlsbad, CA, attorney Ken Simpkins. Election Integrity organization VelvetRevolution.us’ Strike Force continues to raise money to fund such court actions, as it did with the original filing and several others — including the contested Francine Busby/Brian Bilbray special U.S. House election last Summer.
I spoke with Simpkins earlier today about the court ruling and the judge who didn’t seem to understand the differences between provisional, absentee and “normal ballots.” Paper ballots, requested by any California voter, are supposed to be counted as “normal ballots” on election night, according to a memo from the CA SoS.
As time is way short for me right now, here’s a quick transcript of my notes of the conversation I had with Simpkins, describing the judge, who reportedly made his feelings known early on during the questioning when he referred to E-Voting as “the appropriate wave of the future”…
Someone got the judge on the phone, and a staffer reported that he said originally ‘I’m not gonna hear the writ today and I’m not gonna recuse myself.’
I go to the residing judge’s office and told the story. A few minutes later I’m told “we just heard from Vargas’s dept. and he decided to hear the writ at 10:30 am”
At the hearing: Judge entertained about 20 mins of oral argument.
Would not concede that counting paper ballots on the Thursday after the election (while “counting” the machine votes on Election night) was an equal protection issue.
His questions made clear that, in his mind, “as long as the ballots are being counted at all, there’s no equal protection issue.” To him, “a provisional ballot was the same as an absentee ballot which was the same as paper ballots” at the polls as ordered by the SoS to be counted as “a normal ballot” (as opposed to an absentee or provisional which is checked for validity first before being counted or not).
Judge just seemed to not understand that by counting the paper ballots on Thursday, instead of on Election Night as “normal ballots” [San Diego County Registrar Mikel] Haas has created a new class of ballots. And that you can’t discriminate against those ballots.
You could tell by the judge’s questions from the beginning where he was going. He was talking about these electronic voting machines as “the appropriate wave of the future.”
The whole thing was just somewhat surreal.
An emailer from San Diego, who was in the gallery sends this tonight…
It appears that the judge did not happen to see the HBO special, “Hacking Democracy,” and is not aware that Diebold doesn’t always tell the truth, and that elections officials don’t always comply with the law.
In this case, Haas has said that that he cannot comply with the Secretary of State’s directives to make paper ballots available to any voter who wants one, and to treat them as normal ballots, because Haas believes it would be “inconvenient” for him to do that.
I’ve already chipped in $100 and I’m hoping for a miracle–that this decision can be appealed and possibly even reversed.
It will be appealed. And you can chip in as well. It’d be appreciated.
DISCLOSURE: The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder of VelvetRevolution.us
E-voting,..”the appropriate wave of the future”,..
the tsunami that tore apart,.. dismantled,.. destroyed,.. disrupted,.. degraded,.. defiled,.. defrauded,.. demeaned,.. disrespected,..
*
*
*
*
DEMOCRACY,….. but why make a big deal about that ?
Brad: how about an open thread for election day information?
Who is this judge that made this ruling? If he’s an appeals court judge, perhaps his name is on this ballot, which has a lot of “approval” votes for appeals justices on it. If he’s up for election, perhaps we can do a heavy last minute campaign to NO him out of office as fit punishment for his lack of understanding and/or bias in his ruling of this case. Though I already turned my absentee ballot earlier, it might not hurt to get others voting today to get their votes in appropriately. If we can get him voted out, that might serve good notice that the voters are NOT to be messed with!
OT
GOTTA WATCH AND SPREAD AROUND THE NET.
youtube.com
“Freedom – better quality”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm2OXQh3duI
ps. if link fails search youtube.com for ” Freedom – better quality ”
mick
Expecting justice from the courts of the U.S.A. is like expecting rational thought or honesty from the Republican Administration or checks and balances from the Republican Congress.
Would this judge be Luis Vargas? Sounds like we almost got Yuri again on this from this posting. I notice that he won an uncontested seat in June, as did the equally infamous Yuri Hoffman! [sigh…]
MMIIXX,..
Good link !
THX.
Good luck tomorrow/today America! ) Have a little “Zinn” to sleep on ok.
The Optimism of Uncertainty
An historian takes solace in the world’s zig-zag towards decency.
By Howard Zinn
“Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
http://thetyee.ca/Citizentoolki...OfUncertainty/
I don’t know how they can get away with this, but it appears they are.
OT: Those fake robo calls are now showing up in NE. Are they doing this with close races in every state or what? So far it seems to be showing up in Dist. 03 where Scott Kleeb is running against Repub. Adrian Smith & where Bush campaigned today.
Calipendence, I don’t really understand the “election” of judges. My best guess is that if they’re running unopposed, even if they don’t get a single vote other than their own, they still get “elected.” If so, there’s no way to vote them out.
I hope somebody will correct me if I’m wrong. The way I see it, if Judge X is running unopposed, the ballot asks, “Shall Judge X be elected to the office for the term provide by law?” and people have to vote yes or no, if the judge gets one yes vote (their own) and 300,000 no votes, they still get elected because they got one more vote than anyone else.
No wonder judges are so happy with the current election system!
Mikel (Half-ass) Haas is using Jim Crow techniques to steal votes from whites in California just like in Nevada and Arizona! To bad we can not invoke the Reconstruction Act in California but history shows why Dennis Haskert will lose in his efforts to DICTATE AN ELECTION outcome in the 50th district. See history link and excerpt below:
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/about/history01.asp
1966 CHAMPIONING THE MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Racial, Social and Economic Justice
CCR’s founders used their new legal techniques and strategies to help strengthen the organizing work of the civil rights movement. One important struggle was the challenge to the seats of the five Mississippi Congressmen by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). The MFDP was founded by the leadership of the Mississippi African American movement in 1964 because the regular Democratic Party there represented only the white power structure. Its goal was to represent the poor of the state, both black and white. In the mid-sixties, southern black communities took enormous risks and put tremendous energies and resources into making their right to vote a reality, and the MFDP asked the help of the CCR founders to achieve this. They initiated federal litigation challenging the discriminatory voter registration practices of Sunflower County, Mississippi, where Senator Eastland had a 5,000 acre plantation. The MFDP succeeded in forcing Sunflower County to register all voters without the discriminatory literacy test. The white politicians attempted to thwart the new voters’ rights by forcing a rapid election that would deprive them of the vote under a Mississippi state law that required a 4-month waiting period after registration. The lawyers were not successful in the lower courts in their attempt to have the election postponed, but in an unprecedented decision, the Court of Appeals set the election aside and scheduled a new one (Hamer v. Campbell, 358 F.2d 215, 5th Cir., 1966). The victory in this case established the precedent that denial of voting rights to Black citizens could result in the setting aside of an election, not just an admonition.
Bushes fascists are right under our nose.
On elections, there should be calls to the press to accurately show exit polls this time. Everyone is focussed on voting and counting, but don’t forget the MSM failed to report and investigate exit polling data. Hold them accountable too.
Well, now it is beyond a doubt, that Brad has accurately pegged this scumbag Haas as a criminal intent on stealing democracy. When will these guys be thrown in jail???
I don’t understand, how it’s totally obvious that dirty tricks and disenfranchizement are from one party – the Republicans – and nothing seems to ever happen to them!!!
All cases of Robo-calls, discrepancies on electronic vote machinies, voter registration purges, deceiving letters such as telling people they can’t vote or the place has changed locations, etc…ALL FROM ONE PARTY – THE GOP!!!
How can the entire nation not be flipping out on the Republicans??? It has got to end, it’s obvious it’s one party doing this – THE REPUBLICANS!!!
There has to be millions of people across the country fed up with the Republicans, ready to have a revolution!!! It has got to stop…this cannot go on!!! It just can’t!!!
Think of it this way. starting in 2001 when Karl Rove and Mr. Bush met with Wally O’dell at the ranch to plot the Help America Vote Act,, the entire system of computerized voting – the billions allocated to it, the mandate that forced states to use this and no other system – it had one purpose. The entire system was created to steal elections.; to create Rove’s “permanent Republican majority”, billions of tax dollars spent to create a permanent one- party system and end democracy, to create a dictatorship. This is not a case of a few hacked computers.; this is a case of a plot to overthrow the government of the United States
Lila York
lila101@earthlink.net
I suspect that you could not be more on the mark Lila.
Greg Palast for The Guardian (UK), Comment is Free
Monday November 6, 2006
Here’s how the 2006 mid-term election was stolen.
Note the past tense. And I’m not kidding.
And shoot me for saying this, but it won’t be stolen by jerking with the touch-screen machines (though they’ll do their nasty part). While progressives panic over the viral spread of suspect computer black boxes, the Karl Rove-bots have been tunneling into the vote vaults through entirely different means.
Theft #1: Registrations gone with the wind
Theft #2: Turned Away – the ID game
Theft #3: Votes Spoiled Rotten
LOOK IT UP AND READ MORE….
OT – HEY BRAD!
Can we please have a thread specifically for voting problems we face today? Might want to put that 1-866-our-vote number up on the top too (just a suggestion)
Our polls open 2 hours later than surrounding Tennessee counties (to meet the minimum – 10 hours – required by law to be open)
What a pain.
Marie at #17–I posted Palast here at BradBlog a week or so ago and several (not all) reacted badly. The folks who think voting machines are the critical issue in vote fraud continue to think to the exclusion of ordinary vote fraud. But I agree with those here and elsewhere that the Republicans have a multi-pronged strategy and their success will depend on sticking it to us with all prongs. Palast is right IMHO and much of the inflicted damage on Dems has already been signaled by the Republicans. This election is not going to be over for weeks after the results are posted around the country. Mehlman says that the Dems cannot win an election without a judge intervening. Apparently he hasn’t read Brad’s latest article, but the theme the RNC is sounding is going to become an anthem if they have their way about it.
Rove and NeoCons hate judicial activism. They want to hang the idea around the Dems necks. They want to do it before the 2008 elections. If you poison the perception of the judiciary as fair, you poison all the issues of controversial legislation. The argument will become: Congress passes the laws. The laws are what people want from their legislators. Quit interfering with what people want. (Stupid, yet appealing!)
And so it begins, the trains are wrecking already
Okay, seriously. Why aren’t Haas and several others in jail for their MULTIPLE violations of state and federal election laws? This is ridiculous.
Man, BB2 – the Great Train Wreck is right on the track that runs off the cliff. What are they gonna suggest? “OK, this election was fucked up, but what can we do but accept the results and commit ourselves to do better next time”? I’m so nervous… and thanks again!
Democracy NOW! Headlines for November 7, 2006
– Mid-Term Elections To Decide Control of Congress
– Democrats Call For Investigation Into GOP Robo-Calls
– 57 in Iraq’s Interior Ministry Charged With Human Rights Crimes
– Iraq Announced Hussein Sentencing Before Verdict Was Complete
– Iraqi Gov’t Shuts Down Two Sunni TV Stations
Try to find “robo” on CNN’s website home page!!!
– Marine Pleads Guilt in Connection to Kidnapping/Murder of Iraqi
– Army Recruiters Tell Students Iraq War is Over
– Thousands March in Oaxaca Against Federal Police
– Red Cross Calls For Abolition of Cluster Bombs
– Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques Being Used on Iraqi Prisoners
– Neo Culpa: Neoconservatives Say Iraq War Undermined by White House Incompetence
– Sandinista Leader Ortega Poised to Win Nicaragua Presidential Election
– Election Protection 2006: Coalition Sending Voting Monitors to Polls, Sets Up Toll-Free Hotline
CNN Headlines: (nothing about Robocalls or Republican dirty tricks)
– Time.com: Key issues before voters today
– Hunters evacuated, transients trapped by Seattle rain
– Children ages 3, 5, 8 and 15 die in house fire
American and British hostages released in Nigeria
– Al Qaeda bomb plotter gets life
– U.S. wary as Ortega appears headed for victory
– Iraq charges dozens of police with torture
– Record Japan tornado kills 9
– CNNMoney: Holiday price wars: Round 1 to Wal-Mart
– Mercury to cross sun in rare event
– ‘Fat Actress’ shows off bikini body | Video
– Culture Club on Boy George: He’s ‘gone too far’
The deck is stacled with bushit fascists on the bench is how it happens. NO OVERSITE in Congress either – All 3 branches of government act togehter as one big ugle greedy corporate machine designed to mismanage and line the pockets of their rich benifactors.
This bastard Mike Haas only deserves to serve time behind bars for openly obstructing with the California election process. Kenneth Blackwell isn’t in prison either is Katherine Harris. Both of these criminals are running in (their) state elections. So the beat goes on. Criminal douchbag losers.
Impeach and jail the bushit administration and all democratic enablers. Lying Warmonger murderous thieves also reversed over 200 environmental laws.
Vote.
Call others and get them to vote (link here).
Drive your friends to the polls. Do ANYTHING you can to help.
Be ready for trouble.
Charlie L
Portland, OR
CLL2001@gmail.com
P.S. If we win the house, contact your Democratic congressperson and make sure they have signed on to the bill requesting an investigation of crimes by this Republican Administration (HR635?). The excuse I got from mine was “it won’t go anywhere” but that won’t hold up if we win the house. PRESSURE THE DEMOCRATS to DO WHAT’S RIGHT.
1-888-DEM-VOTE (Democratic voter assistance from the DNC)
1-866-OUR-VOTE (Election Protection coalition)
1-866-MY-VOTE-1 (Fels Institute of Government at University of Pennsylvania)
I noticed, I put my comment in italics, and all other comments following, were in italics.
I just heard on the Thom Hartmann show that “laura ingraham” (F.W./F.C.)
was telling her listeners (Knuckle Draggers/Inbreds)
to Jam the Election Protection Phone Lines !
I hope the cancer return Quickly . . .
11:30 Roughly.
Entered, said my name, spelled it. Told them I “choose not to use electronic machines.” they said, “it’d just a scanner.” I said it’s electronic.
They gave me a paper ballot (Exactly like the regular scanner paper ballot)
I then said I am not putting it into that scanner, and the poll worker got a key opened the front of the Diebold Scanner with the yellow tape and security tab on the memory card, slid the cover down to expose a silver box, which she called, “Auxilary.”
I placed my two papers inside, and she slid the cover back up, Having ‘some trouble’ getting it to line up to re-lock the key.
In my opinion it was poorly constructed, unprofessional quality. Never-the-less that’s what happened.
That’s how I cast my vote, I hope they count it.
And NO I did not bring a video camera. But everything looked cool in my opinion. Still you have to wonder what is happening electronically inside the box. One never knows.
Alright. I didn’t see an open thread..
Phil – Open threads are few & far between here I guess it’s management’s phylosophy . . .
More on laura ingrahams interference: (I hate this CUNT)
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/1...am-voter-line/
http://sixers.nationalreview.co...NiMTMyMTNmZDY=