Supervisors sought
       to avoid hand
       recounts of ballots

By Miriam Raftery
The Alpine Sun

     SAN DIEGO — A Superior Court Judge has issued a tentative ruling rejecting arguments made by San Diego County officials who sought to avoid complying with an order by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen to hand recount 10 percent of ballots in close elections, where less than one-half of one percent separates the winner from losing candidates. The 10 percent rule would begin in the Feb. 5 presidential primary election, if Bowen prevails in the suit. A final decision is expected this week.
     Bowen ordered the hand recounts after recent tests, funded by the State of California, proved that electronic voting machines are vulnerable to hacking and rigging. Those tests, conducted by teams of university computer experts, led Bowen to also disqualify the majority of electronic voting machines in August.
     Electronic voting machines will be provided primarily for disabled voters. However, all ballots, even those cast on paper, will be counted by electronic vote-scanners. The same type of scanning system has been shown in tests conducted elsewhere to also be vulnerable to hackers who can change votes.
     The county, in a lawsuit filed against the Secretary of State, argued that counting one percent of randomly selected precincts, as required under current law, is adequate.
     The County’s complaint maintained that hand-counting 10 percent of ballots could lead to delays that could prevent certification of an election within the 28 days required by law.
     During a recent visit to San Diego, Bowen told The Alpine Sun, “We will win.”
     Prominent election attorney Ken Karan, founder of the election integrity group Psephos, testified before the Board of Supervisors earlier this month. He called the lawsuit “bordering on frivolous” and noted that Premier Election Solutions (formerly known as Diebold), maker of the notoriously insecure voting machines, has defied an order to pay for the 10 percent recounts.
     “It’s remarkable that the county, instead of suing Premier/Diebold, is suing our Secretary of State,” Karan observed.
     Jim Hamilton, co-founder of Secure and Accurate Elections, a San Diego-based election integrity organization, presented testimony calling on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to withdraw the lawsuit.
     “Citizens of this County want more of their votes hand-counted, not less,” he said. “Why are we as taxpayers paying for a suit, when it is Diebold/Premier that is defying the Secretary of State?” He added, “Don’t we have a right to be sure they are correct, especially in a close election? We need more confidence in elections, not less.”
     Rudy Reyes, a candidate running against Supervisor Dianne Jacob, suggested the Board may have an ulterior motive for not wanting more votes to be hand-counted. “Are you afraid that someone like me might win? Is that why you’re asking for less stringent guidelines?” he asked the Board, noting that memory chips for all San Diego voting machines were recently lost in the mail. “Let those of us running be guaranteed of fair and honest elections.”
     Asked for an interview or to respond to e-mailed questions for this article, Supervisor Jacob sent this reply: “Thank you for your inquiry. On the advice of County Counsel, I cannot respond to your questions because of the County's active lawsuit.”
     San Diego County has drawn criticism for other recent election issues, including sending voting machines containing memory cards home with poll workers for up to two weeks before elections. San Diego Registrar of Voters Debra Seiler is a former sales representative for Diebold.
     Michael Vu, San Diego’s new Assistant Registrar, oversaw an Ohio election recount in which two employees were convicted of felony election rigging.
     Judge Patricia Cowett listened to oral arguments in the San Diego County lawsuit last week and issued a tentative ruling in support of Bowen. A final ruling is expected this week.

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