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Population count Fayette County, PA
In Fayette County, there are 89,067 registered voters, including 61,353 Democrats and 21,594 Republicans.
Time for the county commissioners to do their sworn duty and purge the voter registration rolls of deadwood, deceased
names from the voter rolls, or voters who have moved and haven't changed address to Florida, New York, Chicago. You
get the idea.
Election official: No problems with new machines
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
11/24/2006
Although there are a few kinks to work out that didn't involve vote totals, the director of the Fayette
County Election Bureau said there were no problems with the county's new electronic voting system during the machines' first
general election earlier this month.
The eSlate voting machines from Hart Intercivic of Texas were purchased prior to the May primary under a
federal mandate requiring the switch to electronic machines. Prior to the purchase Fayette County had used lever machines
for decades.
According to the unofficial report of the Nov. 7 general election from the Fayette County Election Bureau,
there were 39,353 people out of the county's 89,167 registered voters who either took to the polls or completed absentee ballots,
which translates into an approximate 44 percent turnout.
Director Laurie Lint said the turnout was higher than expected.
Lint said she thinks the new system, which still has a few kinks to work out, is better than the former lever system. She
said there are minor problems with the voting system that need to be addressed prior to the spring 2007 primary. One of those
issues involves how straight ticket votes that are not entirely straight ticket votes are reported.
Lint said she expected
to have two of the three necessary signatures Wednesday afternoon from the county commissioners necessary to finalize the
vote total.
After a five-day waiting period when challenges can be heard, the vote total will be finalized and sent
to the state, Lint said.
Lint said there were 1,326 absentee ballots for the election.
None of the results of
the elections changed as a result of the final vote totals. The top vote-getter in the county was incumbent Democratic State
Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, who received 914 absentee votes. Kasunic received 26,381 votes at the polls, for a total of
27,295 votes in the election. His challenger, Republican Ronald Gallo received 371 absentee votes, along with 10,142 votes
on Election Day, for an unofficial total of 10,513 votes.
Democrat Bob Casey Jr., who defeated incumbent Republican
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, received the second-highest vote total in the county with 24,495. Casey received 827 absentee votes
along with the 23,668 votes he received at the polls on Election Day. Santorum received 484 absentee ballots, along with 13,000
votes on Election Day, bringing his total vote count up to 13,484.
Incumbent Democrats Gov. Ed Rendell and Lt. Gov.
Catherine Baker Knoll received 775 absentee votes along with 21,828 votes on Election Day, for a total of 22,603 votes. Republican
governor candidate Lynn Swann and lieutenant governor candidate Jim Matthews received 525 absentee votes along with the 14,967
votes at the polls, for a total of 15,492 votes, according to the unofficial results.
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha,
D-Johnstown, who defeated Republican challenger Diana Irey, received 687 absentee votes, along with the 18,101 votes Election
Day, for a total of 18,788 votes. Irey, a Washington County commissioner, received 352 absentee votes along with the 10,338
votes on Election Day, for a total of 10,690 votes in Fayette County. Murtha's district includes numerous counties.
Republican
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, who won his bid for re-election in his district, picked up 131 absentee votes along with 3,615 votes
on Election Day, for a total of 3,746 votes. Democratic challenger Tony Barr received 135 absentee votes along with 4,215
votes at the polls, for a total of 4,350 votes. Shuster's district includes several counties in addition to the portion of
Fayette County he represents.
In the races for state representative, of which Fayette County includes six, incumbent
Peter J. Daley, D-California, picked up an additional 68 absentee votes to add to the 2,138 votes he received at the polls,
for a total of 2,206 votes. Challenger Edward S. Angell received 31 absentee votes to add to the 791 votes he received at
the polls, for a total vote count of 822. Daley won handily in the remainder of his district, which includes a portion of
Washington County.
Democratic 30-year incumbent H. William DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, whose district includes a portion
of Fayette and Washington counties and all of Greene County, picked up an additional 98 absentee ballots in addition to the
2,403 votes at the polls, for a total of 2,501 votes. Republican challenger Greg Hopkins received 72 absentee ballots, added
to the 1,431 votes at the polls, for a total of 1,503 votes. DeWeese won re-election despite losing the vote total in Greene
County.
2006 general election results
Fayette County Commissioners' Meeting Minutes
Motion by Commissioner Joe Hardy for Commissioners to join in defense of litigation filed against state
Department to implement voter verified paper audit trail...
Note: citizen and 51st District state Representative candidate John Mikita spoke in favor of the requirement for
a voter verified paper audit trail.
also see comments on reported break-ins at Planning and Zoning Office and the charge that confidential material was leaked
to the media...
Zimmerlink to remove ineligible voters from rolls
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
10/15/2006
Until the Fayette County commissioners devise and implement a plan to make the county's voter rolls as
accurate as possible, Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said she's taking steps to make sure at least some of the
ineligible voters are removed.
Zimmerlink said from the time she took office in 2004, she heard comments from candidates, committee people
and Election Day workers regarding inaccuracies of the voter registration list and the need to make corrections.
After
hearing the complaints, Zimmerlink said she determined the commissioners, as the county election board, are responsible to
ensure the voter records are accurate and maintained under the state and federal election code.
Laurie Lint, director
of the Fayette County Election Bureau, said her staff has been doing more to update the voter rolls in recent years. Lint
said she has a staff member reviewing obituaries on a daily basis as one avenue to remove ineligible voters.
Additionally,
Lint said they are receiving notifications from the state that has led to removal of some of the ineligible voters as well
as receiving notifications from family members of deceased voters. The election bureau must send a letter to get verification
of a death before removal can occur.
"It's an ongoing thing," Lint said.
The current voter registration figures
will not be available until next week, Lint said. For the primary, there were 89,067 registered voters, including 61,353 Democrats
and 21,594 Republicans. Turnout was at 30 percent for the primary.
While Zimmerlink said the election bureau staff
could not provide a number of inaccuracies for registered voters, when she initially discussed the issue with them in 2004,
she said they did confirm the existence of problems. Zimmerlink said some of the problems occurred because of change of street
address due to 911, voters moving and failing to notify the election bureau of new addresses and deaths of voters. Removing
a voter from the rolls requires specific steps that begin either at the request of the voter, upon the death of a voter or
after confirmation that a voter has moved to another county or under a voter removal program.
Zimmerlink said the state
statute, contingent on federal law, stipulates that counties can identify voters by establishing one of two programs. She
said the commissioners, along with the election bureau, should review the issue and chose the best program, if any, and determine
how to proceed.
Until that is done, Zimmerlink said the election bureau checks local newspapers for death notices
to make changes; takes information from family members about deceased individuals and takes recommendations from judges of
elections after primary and election days for deaths or relocations.
Zimmerlink said since the primary in 2004, SURE
(Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors) has been implemented. She explained SURE is a state mandate designed to make it easier
to cross check and update voter registration which is shared between the counties. The state notifies the county with changes,
Zimmerlink said. Additionally, the state Department of Health periodically notifies the county and the election bureau then
removes the name.
Earlier this year, prior to the May 16, Zimmerlink said the election bureau mailed more than 21,000
letters to registered voters informing them of the new voting system. "We took advantage of this in that we utilized the 'confirmation
mailing' by sending a direct non-forward able first-class return if undeliverable - address correction requested mailing to
those 21,142 registered voters. What this did was informed the election bureau of the new address then the election bureau
made the change in the system and sent the proper notification to the voter," Zimmerlink said. "This corrected approximately
10 percent, which is a start."
The current procedures will continue until the process can be reviewed by the commissioners,
Zimmerlink said. "Fayette County commissioners with the election bureau should review the allowable programs and statutes
and chose the best program, if any, and determine to what extent it should be conducted," Zimmerlink said. "After this general
election, I will work with the election bureau to start this process..."
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
05/26/2006
While the premiere election with Fayette County's electronic voting machines went well, at least one member
of the Fayette County Election Board is vowing to continue to improve the process.
Speaking at the conclusion of Thursday's Fayette County commissioners meeting, Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink
said the new voting systems used in the May 16 primary met all expectations, but policies and procedures have to be implemented
to further improve the process. She pointed out that in the past couple years the county has had to comply with the Help America
Vote Act requirements for electronic machines and handicapped accessibility and the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors
system.
SURE is a software program that shares information between the counties to make it easier for counties to cross
check and update their voter registration if voters move to different counties in the state. Zimmerlink said a New York-based
company was hired to implement the system for the primary of 2004.
"We need to make sure all polling places are up
to grade. There will be continued training between now and the November election," Zimmerlink said.
Zimmerlink, who
is on the election board along with Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III and Thomas Frankhouser, said she would also like to do
a voter purge, which is more complicated than simply looking at a list and marking off the names of people who are deceased
or who have moved away.
While the three county commissioners are traditionally on the election board, Vincent A. Vicites
was temporarily replaced earlier this year because his name appeared on the primary ballot.
Between now and the Nov.
7 general election, Zimmerlink said there will be continued education and training, including a plan to train poll workers.
She added that there will be a search for new judges of elections and poll workers for some of the county's 105 voting precincts,
as a result of some people opting to step down from their posts. She said training for constables for security at the polling
places will also be held...
...Voters who took to the polls for the May 16 primary voted on eSlate voting machines the county purchased
from Hart Intercivic of Texas, as per a federal mandate.
It was the first time in decades the county did not use the
lever machines, and county election office undertook a public outreach campaign to demonstrate the machines in the weeks prior
to the election.
Only about 30 percent of the county's 89,947 registered voters turned out to vote. According to the
Fayette County Election Bureau, 25,585 people voted in the primary, including 20,315 Democrats and 5,277 Republicans.
Zimmerlink
urged anyone interested in becoming a judge of election or official poll worker to contact the county election bureau...
More
New Procedures and Voting Systems Put to the Test
Voting Equipment Manufacturer Hart InterCivic Serves Four Pennsylvania Counties
published May 17, 2006
AUSTIN, TX – Voters in Pennsylvania Tuesday voted on more accessible, more secure, more accurate and easier-to-use
voting systems, according to Hart InterCivic, a supplier of electronic voting machines.
http://www.eslate.com/pr_view.php?prid=53
Obviously PA counties have not completed a necessary purge of deadwood - deceased, moved, - voters listed on the voter
registration rolls. The time has come to do so before the 2008 Presidential election.
In the tri-county area, nearly 268,000 people are registered to vote.
There are 25,192 registered voters in Greene County, including 16,955 Democrats and 6,627 Republicans. In Fayette
County, there are 89,067 registered voters, including 61,353 Democrats and 21,594 Republicans. In Washington County,
there are 153,735 registered voters, including 89,891 Democrats and 49,606 Republicans.
Low turnout predicted for Tuesday's election
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
05/15/2006
7;30 pm MONDAY | MAY 8
LIVE
DISCUSSION - Allegheny County's New Voting Machines. This follow-up episode invites community organizations
who raise questions about, or oppose, the new voting machines.
Host Chris Moore welcomes guests:
Collin Lynch, VotePA
Tim Stevens, Black Political Empowerment Project
Paul W. O'Hanlon, Esq., Disabilities Law Project
http://www.wqed.org/tv/pm/index.shtml
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
04/26/2006
April 27 first public demonstration at the Public Service Building in downtown Uniontown from 4:30 to
8:30 p.m. April 28, at a candidate forum at the City Chapel Church in Uniontown, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m...
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Fayette County officials are organizing an outreach program to teach residents about the
new electronic voting machines, beginning with a demonstration Thursday night at the county's Public Service Building.
The demonstration, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., was scheduled to take advantage of the expected crowds for a candidates' night
for the state 51st and 52nd Legislative Districts that evening at the State Theatre Center for the Arts.
The Public Service Building is at 22 E. Main St., Uniontown. ..
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
04/21/2006
Fayette County voters will have an opportunity to test out the new electronic machines they will begin
using in the upcoming primary at the first scheduled public demonstration next week at the Public Service Building.
Fayette County Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said Thursday the demonstration will be held from
4 to 8:30 p.m. on April 27 to coincide with The Fayette Civic Forum's Candidate's Forum at the State Theatre Center for the
Arts on Main Street in Uniontown. That forum will feature legislative candidates from the 51st and 52nd districts and will
begin at 6 p.m.
The Public Service Building is located across Main Street from the State Theatre. Zimmerlink said the demonstration
would be held beside the elevators in the hallway of the Public Service Building.
Zimmerlink said she and Laurie Nicholson,
director of the Fayette County Election Bureau, are now in the process of scheduling additional demonstrations...
Last month the county commissioners voted to purchase 268 eSlate voting systems from Hart Intercivic of Texas.
The voting machines are not touch-screen machines; instead, voters must turn a dial and push buttons to register their choices
on the screen.
Zimmerlink said the county's Cooperative Sourcing to Achieve Reductions in Spending (CoStars) state agreement
for the Hart contract is in the amount of $1,226,602.
Zimmerlink said the county's general fund money will be used
to pay the difference, which is more than $107,000. She said there will be other election related costs such as postage, envelopes
and labels for mailing of literature. The commissioners set aside $500,000 in the 2006 budget to use toward the voting machines
costs, if necessary.
This week Hart representatives are training members of the election bureau staff to use the machines.
Next
week, Hart is training judges of elections and elections inspectors for all of the county's 105 precincts.
In the meantime,
voters interested in viewing the system can long onto the Fayette County Web site at www.co.fayette.pa.us
to access two links to see how to use the eSlate system.
Additionally, the Department of State is
offering an interactive Web site, www.votespa.com
, where voters can learn how the
new voting machines work by casting a vote in one of five weekly "cultural elections."
According to a press release,
Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes said voters could participate in the cultural elections, which will ask questions
such as the favorite movie ever made in Pennsylvania...
Fayette recently chose the HART InterCivic eSlate voting system to replace the county's lever machines, and to comply
with the federal Help America Vote Act 0f 2002.
On this site, Vote Fix presents the argument for the county commissioners to also adopt Hart InterCivic's paper-ballot
which utilizes the eScan system.
Read the Vote Fix argument here "Paper Ballot Make It A Voter Choice"
Demonstration of the eSlate only is also included at the Fayette County website
Hart InterCivic CISV Catalog includes pricing for unit and descriptions
Judges Booth Controller
A part of the eSlate Precinct Voting System (PVS), the control console that manages up to 12 eSlate voting terminals.
The JBC reads the precinct and ballot information from a Mobile Ballot Box (MBB) and stores cast vote records (CVRs). The
JBC operator selects a voter's precinct from a list, then the JBC printer prints a ticket with an Access Code that will present
the correct ballot style to a voter when the Access Code is entered at the eSlate. The JBC's printer also produces
activity reports and Provisional Access Codes. When the voter presses the CAST BALLOT button on the eSlate, the JBC
stores the voter's cast vote record in its memory and Judges Booth Controller writes the CVR to the MBB. The CVRs collected
on the MBB are read into the eSlate Tally System to tabulate the votes. http://www.hartintercivic.com/innerpage.php?pageid=55#eslate_voting
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
04/07/2006
The Fayette County Election Board has established a policy requiring notification of any
complaints or election irregularities to be reported in writing within 24 hours of their occurrence.
In a report signed last month by board members Angela M. Zimmerlink, Joseph A. Hardy III and
Thomas Frankhouser, the board gives six recommendations regarding future hearings.
...The election board also issued three findings and recommendations as a result of a hearing
held earlier this year for North Union Township Election District 3 regarding reversal of the Democratic and Republican party
labels on the now-obsolete lever machines the county recently replaced. During the hearing, testimony of which was spread
out over two dates, voters, judge of election, inspectors of elections and election bureau employees testified.
Although
the board ruled there was no conclusive testimony or evidence of "intentional action to tamper with an election machines and
the incorrect placement of the party labels may have been an unintentional oversight," the board made three recommendations.
The
three recommendations include: the development of an inspection checklist for each machine by the inspectors for each election
that must be signed, dated and returned to the director of the election bureau; a reminder notice to be sent to all judges
of election that no person can make alterations to the machine and the recommendation that the judges of election must make
a visual inspection of each machines when they are opened. Ironically, the machines for which the election board made the
recommendations no longer will be used in Fayette County. The county's lever machines have been replaced with smaller, electronic
voting machines.
The eSlate voting machines provided by Hart Intercivic will be used for the May 16 primary. To use
the machines, voters must turn a dial and push buttons to register their choices on the screen. A public education program
prior to the primary is being finalized and the dates for it will be announced, according to Laurie Nicholson, director of
the Fayette County Election Board.
more
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
04/06/2006
All 268 of Fayette County's new electronic voting machines were delivered earlier this week,
far in advance of the mid-April deadline the company providing the machines had promised.
Laurie Nicholson, director of the Fayette County Election Bureau, confirmed Wednesday that the
eSlate voting systems from Hart Intercivic of Texas arrived on Tuesday morning. She said the receipt of all the machines took
about an hour. "It worked out great," Nicholson said of the delivery.
Nicholson said the machines are being housed is a secure location at the Public Safety Building.
Last
month the county commissioners voted to purchase the machines for a contract amount of close to the $1.1 million the county
has received in grant money.
Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said Wednesday that Hart delivered the voting
machines to Fayette as well as the other counties in the state with which they have agreements. She said the final cost of
the contract has not yet been determined, but should be soon. The machines cost $2,500 each, for a total of $670,000 just
for the machines. The company will provide support and training in addition to the equipment.
The county was required
by the federal Help America Vote Act to purchase new electronic, handicapped accessible voting machines in advance of the
May 16 primary for the county's 105 voting precincts.
The eSlate voting machines are not touch-screen machines; instead,
voters must turn a dial and push buttons to register their choices on the screen. According to information provided by Hart,
the eSlate system has never had a failed election and the two largest counties in the United States to adopt electronic voting
each selected the system.
Molly Terry, a representative for Hart, previously said the machines have a life expectancy
of 25 to 27 years, and have also been purchased by Lancaster and Bedford counties in Pennsylvania. She said the dials have
been tested for one million turns.
2000 Census
Voters: Measured by the count of citizens age 18 and older at the time of the 2000 census, Fayette County has the following
numbers of potential voters:
Total: 114,650
Male: 53,516 (46.7%)
Female: 61,134
(53.3%)
In Fayette County, a 1997 scandal over absentee ballots raised questions about registration numbers. A grand jury
investigation that followed concluded with a report speculating that at least 10 percent of the registered voters were either
dead or resided elsewhere.
However, when Fayette officials conducted an investigation last year at the grand jury's
recommendation, they found only 190 names that could be purged from the rolls - 10 who had died and 180 who had moved out
of state. Another 1,300 names were placed in an inactive file after letters came back with notations that forwarding addresses
had expired.
Laurie Nicholson, director of Fayette County's Election Bureau, said those names can be purged if the
individuals fail to vote in two consecutive federal elections.
She said statistics that show 72 percent of
Fayette's voting-age population as registered voters are as accurate a representation as possible under the motor voter law...
This year, VIP launched a pilot voter registration clean-up program, focused on Fayette County, Pa., and Atlantic Beach, N.C. In Fayette County, Democrats outnumber registered Republicans
better than 3-1, according to data from the Pennsylvania department of state. In Atlantic, Democrats hold a 58-42 percent registration
advantage over Republicans, according to the state department of elections.
VIP says Fayette was chosen because it was home to an absentee ballot fraud scheme that resulted in three election
fraud convictions earlier this year, according to its Web site.
1999 Fayette panel recommendations
https://www.angelfire.com/pa2/truthwatch/
Updated page Monday March 28, 2006
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
03/28/2006
Fayette County voters wanting a sneak peek of the new electronic voting system that will be implemented
for the May 16 primary can do so by logging on to the county's Web site.
Fayette County Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink has included two separate links that show how to use
the eSlate system. The site also includes a frequently asked questions link about the company and a printable version of "how
to vote" using the system
Fayette County will implement a voter education program in the upcoming weeks and in the meantime, I
linked two 'How To Vote' videos using the eSlate voting system for the voters of Fayette County. Voters can view either video
by going to our official county Web site at www.co.fayette.pa.us," Zimmerlink said. She said the county is in the process
of signing a contract for the machines.
Zimmerlink said Monday that the contract is not finalized yet, but the latest
agreement total is approximately $1.2 million. The machines will cost $2,500 each, for a price of $670,000 for the machines
alone, and the county's grant allocation is $1.1 million. The county also set aside an additional $500,000 in the 2006 budget
to use toward the purchase of the machines, if necessary. The company will provide support and training in addition to the
equipment.
Last week, the county commissioners unanimously voted to enter into a contract with Hart Intercivic to purchase
the eSlate voting system. The Texas-based company was one of only two that could guarantee delivery of the 268 electronic
machines with enough time to prepare the public, election office workers and poll workers for the primary.
The eSlate
voting machines are not touch-screen machines, instead voters must turn a dial and push buttons to register their choices
on the screen.
At the time of the commissioners' vote, Molly Terry of Hart Intercivic said the American-made machines
are available and could be shipped soon after a contract is signed.
Terry previously said the machines have a life
expectancy of 25 to 27 years and have also been purchased by Lancaster and Bedford counties in Pennsylvania.
more...
Elected Fayette County board of commissioners are about to consider entering into a contract with a vendor of voting
systems, likely in mid-March.
Five of six invited vendors presented and displayed their products during separate sessions to an audience that included
public citizens, county commissioners, judges of election, and poll workers.
My overview of the presentations can be accessed at:
Controversy has surrounded Direct Recording electronic format voting systems to this day. Many voter activists
are opposed to any system which doesn't include a voter verified "receipt." Beware. A receipt is different from
a voter verified paper audit trail. The paper audit trail does make common sense to have available.
Currently, however, Pennsylvania considers such as not able to meet the anonymity and privacy requirements of the PA
Constitution.
Fayette Past:
Updated page March 11, 2006
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Armand and Christina DeFrank live in the same home and work at the same Fayette County
voting district, but they have different opinions about the county's mandated change to electronic voting machines.
Armand DeFrank, 41, says the various machines have their good and bad points but should be accessible to older and
disabled voters.
His 70-year-old mother is skeptical. She has worked at the North Union Township District 1 poll for 21 years and expects
a chaotic transition at the May 16 primary from the lever voting machines county voters have been using since their purchase
in 1976.
"It's going to hold up a lot in the voting at the polls, and I don't think they're going to know what they're doing,"
Christina DeFrank said Friday. ..
"I don't really see anything wrong with the other machines we've used. (Our elections) always went pretty smooth. There
were no problems."
Fayette County commissioners agree with Christina DeFrank that the lever machines still have years of use left, but
the federal Help America Vote Act led to the decertification of lever systems in state or federal elections.
Faced with losing $1.1 million in grants if the county fails to buy electronic machines before the primary, county
officials have just 65 days remaining to pick a model, train poll workers and educate voters.
The commissioners will audition four machines Monday at a meeting at the Public Service Building at 22 E. Main St.,
Uniontown. County officials estimate they'll need at least 200 machines for the 105 precincts.
"I'm prepared to make a decision," Commissioner Vince Vicites said yesterday. "We have no choice but to comply with
this mandate. It's the law."
The price tag still is undetermined, Vicites said, particularly because a consortium of Southwestern Pennsylvania counties
dissolved while litigation in Westmoreland County challenged whether the electorate had the right to a referendum on the new
equipment.
Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court overturned a Commonwealth Court ruling that sided with a citizens' group
that believes Westmoreland's purchase of machines without a referendum violated voters' rights.
Fayette County Election Bureau Director Laurie Nicholson said many poll workers and election judges attended demonstrations
by five vendors in January.
"They got their hands on them, so they're not as afraid of them now," she said. ...
Updated page January 21, 2006
Review (by citizen mom) of demonstrations of voting machines and systems for Fayette County poll workers, county commissioners,
judges of election, and the public. Five of six vendors presented the setup of the voting machine, relayed how poll-workers
would run the polling place with some hands-on practice, and answered questions.
Voter coercion claim dismissed
By The Tribune-Review
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The Fayette County Board of Elections has dismissed claims of voter coercion alleged by
the presumptive winner of the Brownsville mayoral race.
Before the Nov. 8 polls closed, political newcomer Lewis W. Hosler filed challenges in the borough's 1st Ward against two
absentee voters, Elizabeth Teslovich and Ann Foster.
The board decided that Teslovich and Foster were qualified electors who were within the municipality on Election Day but
unable to appear at their precinct in person. Commissioners Angela Zimmerlink and Vincent Vicites signed the decision.
With those absentee ballots counted, Hosler leads incumbent Norma J. Ryan 464 votes to 453, according to the unofficial
count. Ryan gained one vote since the results that were announced on Nov. 8.
CONNECTED TUTOR. Fayette County tax collectors, frustrated this year by a cut in their commissions for collecting taxes,
are seeking advice from a retired union representative who has been a political ally of Commissioner Vincent Vicites.
Martin
Griglak was the guest speaker at the tax collectors' association meeting in December and they also asked him to be available
for guidance on an "as-needed basis." Griglak, a former national representative for the Communications Workers of America,
was a campaign chairman for Vicites.
In December 2004, Vicites joined fellow commissioners Angela Zimmerlink and Joe
Hardy in approving a new pay system for tax collectors. Instead of the 3.5 percent commission the collectors had received,
the commissioners decided to pay them $1.50 for every tax bill.
Vicites briefly advocated a higher flat fee before
making the vote unanimous. The pay change is effective this month.
In last year's budget, which included an approximate
60 percent millage increase, commissioners reserved $463,940 for real estate commissions. The 2006 budget, featuring a 25
percent millage decrease, allots $114,700 for commissions.
Many of the county's 39 tax collectors are upset about the
funding change because they say most of the money goes toward managing busy public offices rather than into their pockets.
Updated page November 16, 2003 noon
Will request board of commissioners and newly elected commissioners consider attending this important event:
Commerces NIST Launches Voting Standards Initiative at December
Symposium
Symposium to Bring Together Stakeholders in Building Trust, Confidence in Voting Systems
As part of its responsibilities under the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(HAVA), the Commerce Departments National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a symposium on building trust
and confidence in voting systems at the agencys Gaithersburg, Md., headquarters on Dec. 10-11, 2003. The two-day event will
bring together a host of people with an interest in election technology, including federal, state and local election officials;
university researchers; independent testing laboratories; election law experts; hardware and software vendors; and others
concerned about or involved with the latest developments in voting systems.
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/voting_symposium.htm
It has come to my attention that precinct workers told voters who showed up at the polls on election day that they could
vote for 3 candidates for the office of county commissioner, rather than two. Will check with election bureau on the
potential for over-votes on "lever" machines. I had always believed the over-votes were not possible with the
lever machines. The curtain should not be able to be opened. If over-votes were possible, how were the votes recorded
on the lever machines, and would those votes all be counted, or rejected? Again, will check and update.
It is apparent that the promised "how-to" video on election procedures was not produced before the November election.
What the Voter Integrity panel was going to do:
Minus Cavanagh's support, based in deference to Mercuri's expertise, the issue
of purchasing new voting machines appears dead at least through the end of the year, as neither Commissioner Ronald M. Nehls
nor Commission Chairman Vincent A. Vicites has made it a top priority.
In a somewhat related matter, the commissioners
unanimously agreed Tuesday to place on Thursday's agenda a vote to spend up to $1,000 to produce a "how-to" video on the voting
process.
Wharton Township Supervisor Joe Henning, a member of the voter integrity panel, said the video would start
with the voter registration process and include instructions on how to properly use the voting machines.
"We'd like
to get something going before this general election (in November)," said Henning, who added that he has talked to HSTV about
the cost of producing the video. He said the video could be distributed to high schools and senior citizen centers, as well
as other civic groups, and also could be broadcast on cable as a public service - all designed to foster a better-informed
electorate.
07/23/2003
Updated August 10, 2003
While the new voting machine purchase has been put on hold, the board of commissioners has not followed up on the presentation
made to them at the last commissioners' meeting. They were apprised of the resolution making the rounds, the David Dill
Resolution, which demands no machines be purchased or used without a voter-verified paper trail.
Why isn't the board of commissioners concerned about the kinds of touch-screen machines already certified by the state
of PA, or those that may be certified before the 2004 presidential election?
Quite a bit has happened in under two months
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Fayette County Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh, the chief
proponent of buying new electronic voting machines for the county's voting precincts, has decided to delay that initiative
on the recommendation of a Bryn Mawr College expert.
Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, an electronic voting expert and assistant professor of computer science, recently advised Cavanagh
to hold off on purchasing new machines because of evolving technology and federal standards.
"Because of new standards,
the ability to get a return receipt, her recommendation was to hold off a little longer. This issue is becoming a national
issue," said Cavanagh. "But the current lever-style machines (used by Fayette County) remain on the government's hit list
to be removed."
At Tuesday's commission agenda meeting, Cavanagh said that the new voting machine issue is "off the
table" as far as he's concerned, as he wishes to comply with Mercuri's recommendation as well as the wishes of the county's
volunteer-staffed voter integrity panel.
Earlier, Cavanagh had expressed a desire to invite voting machine
vendors to the county, to conduct a demonstration of their wares. He said the county's 220 lever-style voting machines, which
date to the 1970s and weigh 700 pounds, are archaic and won't meet federal standards set to go into effect in a few years.
Minus
Cavanagh's support, based in deference to Mercuri's expertise, the issue of purchasing new voting machines appears dead at
least through the end of the year, as neither Commissioner Ronald M. Nehls nor Commission Chairman Vincent A. Vicites has
made it a top priority.
More
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If the Fayette County commissioners want to buy new electronic
voting machines this year, voters won't have to approve the purchase via a referendum as previously believed.
Since the update is mandated by 2006 by federal law, the Pennsylvania
Department of State has determined that the referendum isn't required - a move that eliminates one procedural hurdle in the
process.
"It's my opinion that if Fayette County is acquiring new machines pursuant to the federal legislation, the
referendum will not be necessary," said Sheryl Heid, assistant county solicitor. Heid added that the Department of State has
notified the county that it doesn't need a referendum "because of the pre-emption of the federal statute requiring changes
in the type of voting machine."
Brian McDonald, spokesman for the Department of State, said that the Help America Vote
Act of 2002 requires that voting machines be accessible to people with disabilities and to those who don't use English as
a primary language.
Such requirements appear to doom lever-style voting machines, like those used in Fayette. McDonald
said that Fayette is one of 18 Pennsylvania counties that use lever machines exclusively, and that another six counties use
them in conjunction with paper ballots.
"From our understanding ... of what is going to be laid down by the act, it
is our opinion that those lever voting machines are not going to be in compliance with the law," said McDonald. "As of right
now, it's the department's opinion that any of the type of machines that are used across the state, with the exception of
lever voting machines, would be acceptable according to the preliminary plan."
Although more exact details will be
forthcoming from the yet-to-be-formed Federal Elections Administration Commission, McDonald said the state has been told the
federal government intends to provide funding of slightly less than $4,000 per precinct to replace voting machines.
At
that figure, Fayette would stand to receive approximately $420,000 to replace machines in its 105 voting precincts.
McDonald
said that the Department of State plans to hold three public hearings across Pennsylvania in the next two weeks regarding
the new federal requirement for voting machines. He also said that the state could give sound advice to counties that want
to replace them this year, although to his knowledge none have taken that route.
Heid said that the Department of State
has thus far approved two specific electronic voting systems: Advanced Voting Solutions' WINvote and Diebold's AccuVote-TS
R-6. She said that more information is available at the department's Web site, www.dos.state.pa.us.
"But many more
(systems) are expected to be approved as the process continues," said Heid, who added that another complicating factor is
that the exact federal allocation hasn't been determined.
While replacing the current machines remains a high priority
for Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh, Commission Chairman Vincent A. Vicites said the issue contains so many unknown variables
- particularly concerning cost and legal compliance - that he only favors conducting research at this time.
Said Cavanagh,
"I'm in favor of getting rid of those machines, sure I am. But I need a second commissioner to be for it."
Cavanagh
also said that the county's 105 voting precincts should be pared to 80 or so, a move that hasn't been made because more precincts
offer greater political party influence.
"There's precincts out there that only have 100 voters, and are being kept
intact just to have a (Democrat Party) committeeman and committeewoman. Overall, it's just not cost effective. You can't put
a polling place on every street corner," said Cavanagh. He added that the current number of precincts is costly to maintain,
as the county must pay for Election Day workers at each site.
"There should be 80 polls, maximum, in the county," said
Cavanagh. "There's just a lot of stonewalling. Vince Vicites has been a big stonewaller, saying, " You can't, you can't."
However,
Vicites said that he doesn't want to "shoot from the hip" on anything regarding new voting machines, particularly since so
many questions remain unanswered. With a projected cost of perhaps $1.5 million, Vicites said his interest starts with making
sure the county qualifies for the maximum federal reimbursement - something that might not happen if, for example, it buys
machines that aren't on the final approved list.
"Right now, I'm in favor of researching it only," said Vicites. "There's
a lot of things we have to decide. Mainly, how we fund them. How much money is available? And how many machines do we need
to buy? ... All the I's and the T's have to be crossed.
More...
Modernizing voting: commissioners to shop for new machines, by Paul Sunyak, Herald-Standard. Friday-Saturday,
June 6-7, 2003
During public comment, Delinda Young asked that the matter be tabled, mostly because experts have criticized certain
touch-screen voting machines for their lack of an adequate paper trail. Young urged the commissioners to consider only
those machines that permit some reliable system of voter verification.
More search archives keep on searching for the June 6 article and please let me know when you find the link!
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Fayette County Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh wants to
buy new electronic voting machines and commit another $600,000 to the Fayette County Business Park, funding both initiatives
from the $3.6 million remaining in the county's bond fund.
Cavanagh floated both proposals at Tuesday's agenda meeting, noting that the current voting machines are
archaic and that the commissioners need to fulfill their pledge to pump $2 million into the Route 40 park.
"These (current)
machines are pretty old. I'd like to go out and see what some prices are," said Cavanagh, who added that neighboring Greene
County has already made the switch to faster and less cumbersome electronic voting devices.
Cavanagh said that Fayette
currently uses 220 bulky and hard-to-move machines purchased in the 1970s. He said that some of them are kept on-site in their
respective voting precincts, in garages and residences, in a warehousing setup "that has to go."
Cavanagh said he envisions
the county inviting vendors to set up displays and give demonstrations of their machines, in a process that would include
public and media participation. He said that he'd like to make the new machines a legacy of the current administration.
"That's
something I'd like to accomplish ... by the end of this administration (in December)," said Cavanagh, who added that he'd
also like to pare the county's 105 voting precincts.
Chairman Vincent A. Vicites said there was "no harm in exploring"
the idea of new machines, but noted that cost is the bottom line. Vicites added that should the commissioners decide to purchase
new machines, a key element would be drawing up the specifications.
"You have to spec it out and know what you're asking
for," said Vicites, who suggested that the county get hold of the Greene County bid specifications as part of the decision-making
process.
Vicites said that the county could qualify for federal funds to offset the purchase, noting that the county
might get a minimum reimbursement of $250 per old machine.
Nehls said he had a meeting scheduled with a California
vendor on Feb. 18 but not all commissioners could attend. He said he'd like to reschedule that meeting. Nehls said the California
company charges $5,000 per electronic voting machine, which would bring the total replacement bill to just over $1 million,
not deducting any proceeds from selling the old machines.
Vicites said that it's important to consider whether and
when any additional state money might become available before deciding to pull the trigger on a mass purchase of new machines.
The
commissioners agreed to start the process of putting together the necessary bid specifications. Cavanagh said that going through
the process doesn't obligate the commissioners to making a purchase.
More...
Keep on checking out Vote Fix, the only site to bring together
all of the truth of the situation of voting fraud, no matter what that truth reveals.
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Updated July 11, 2003
Made a follow-up call to PA Department of State Elections Informaton and learned the state according to a spokeswoman
doesn't have a definition for voter verified paper trail and they don't know what a voter verified paper trail will be.
The spokeswoman said the state does not know whether the electronic machines listed as certified by the state of PA under
state law would meet that condition. The currently listed state certified machines were approved under the state's 17
criteria, she stated.
More forthcoming...
What prompted the call to the state:
Herald-Standard article by Paul Sunyak, "Fayette may not need referendum for new voting machine," July 10, 2003.
Excerpt
If the Fayette
County commissioners want to buy new electronic voting machines this year, voters won't have to approve the purchase via a
referendum as previously believed.
Since the update is mandated by 2006 by federal law, the Pennsylvania Department of State
has determined that the referendum isn't required - a move that eliminates one procedural hurdle in the process.
"It's
my opinion that if Fayette County is acquiring new machines pursuant to the federal legislation, the referendum will not be
necessary," said Sheryl Heid, assistant county solicitor. Heid added that the Department of State has notified the county
that it doesn't need a referendum "because of the pre-emption of the federal statute requiring changes in the type of voting
machine."
Brian McDonald, spokesman for the Department of State, said that the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires
that voting machines be accessible to people with disabilities and to those who don't use English as a primary language.
Such
requirements appear to doom lever-style voting machines, like those used in Fayette. McDonald said that Fayette is one of
18 Pennsylvania counties that use lever machines exclusively, and that another six counties use them in conjunction with paper
ballots.
"From our understanding ... of what is going to be laid down by the act, it is our opinion that those lever
voting machines are not going to be in compliance with the law," said McDonald. "As of right now, it's the department's opinion
that any of the type of machines that are used across the state, with the exception of lever voting machines, would be acceptable
according to the preliminary plan."
Although more exact details will be forthcoming from the yet-to-be-formed Federal
Elections Administration Commission, McDonald said the state has been told the federal government intends to provide funding
of slightly less than $4,000 per precinct to replace voting machines.
At that figure, Fayette would stand to receive
approximately $420,000 to replace machines in its 105 voting precincts.
McDonald said that the Department of State
plans to hold three public hearings across Pennsylvania in the next two weeks regarding the new federal requirement for voting
machines. He also said that the state could give sound advice to counties that want to replace them this year, although to
his knowledge none have taken that route.
Heid said that the Department of State has thus far approved two specific
electronic voting systems: Advanced Voting Solutions' WINvote and Diebold's AccuVote-TS R-6. She said that more information
is available at the department's Web site, www.dos.state.pa.us.
"But many more (systems) are expected to be approved
as the process continues," said Heid, who added that another complicating factor is that the exact federal allocation hasn't
been determined.
While replacing the current machines remains a high priority for Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh, Commission
Chairman Vincent A. Vicites said the issue contains so many unknown variables - particularly concerning cost and legal compliance
- that he only favors conducting research at this time.
Said Cavanagh, "I'm in favor of getting rid of those machines,
sure I am. But I need a second commissioner to be for it."
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