(LA Dem) Elections official rips into Shelley

[Wilms]

Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 4, 2005

Elections official rips into Shelley
By Dan Smith -- Bee Deputy Capitol Bureau Chief

California's chief county elections official says Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's administration has created a "full-blown crisis" that threatens the state's compliance with federal law and its ability to conduct the 2006 elections.

In testimony prepared for a legislative committee, Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Conny McCormack blasted Shelley's process for approving voting machine systems the counties must purchase, and suggested he had manipulated the system "to favor or punish some equipment vendors." She called on the Legislature to step in and take over the process.

"County election officials have concluded that the voting system certification process in California is completely broken," McCormack, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, wrote to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee scrutinizing Shelley's alleged misuse of millions in federal Help America Vote Act funds.

Shelley spokeswoman Caren Daniels-Meade defended Shelley's certification process, calling any suggestion of political manipulation "absolutely bunk." McCormack, Daniels-Meade said, simply disagrees with Shelley's support of a requirement that electronic voting machines have a verified paper trail.

Need to reg:

<http://www.sacbee.com/user_registration/login/?goto=http%3A//www.sacbee.com/content/politics/shelley/story/12235220p-13099223c.html>

Thanks to Dzika

[Andy_Stephenson]

1. Conny better be careful

She has a few skeletons of her own.

[genius]

9. Shelley wouldn't let L.A. use easily riggablem machines - good for him.

[Andy_Stephenson]

14. LA County uses

Inkavote with the GEMS central Tabulator. It is highly riggable.

[Wilms]

16. The GEMS central Tabulator is riggable.

But is the InkaVote part of the system bad, as well?

[genius]

17. Most Dems think Connie McCormack is a big crook.

There was a big demo to try to convince her to count all the votes on the propositions, something she tried her best not to do.

She is one of the biggest opponents of a paper trail in CA.

[nodictators]

26. Skeletons? Well she had more than 200,000 uncounted ballots...

...in the gubernatorial recall election of 2003. That's more than the number of uncounted ballots in all of Florida in the 2000 presidential election.

There were 11% uncounted in LA 2003. Amazingly, Schwarzenegger carried the normally solid Dem county. Arnold's margin was less than the number of uncounted ballots.

Maybe, Ms. McCormack could tell un WHOSE ballots were uncounted.

Connie, I can't hear you!

[Helga Scow Stern]

30. Heck, I was just reading this hunky dorey report from

KCET on the night of the recall.

Conny McCormack>> Washington, D.C., from Warsaw, Poland, we
have two gentlemen that run the elections for the OSCE, the
Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, with us here
today, we have the Presidential Appointee. He was just
appointed Friday by the president to the new Federal Election
Assistance Commission.

Toni Guinyard>> At the center of it all is Conny McCormack, the
Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles County.

Guess who that Presidential Appointee is?
Yep, our favorite, Paul DeGregorio.

From the transcript:

Conny McCormack>> Recall election. Here we are.

Paul DeGregorio>> Bustamante winning?

Conny McCormack>> Oh, no.

Paul DeGregorio>> In Los Angeles County?

Conny McCormack>> Not even close. Not in absentee.




http://www.kcet.org/lifeandtimes/archives/200310/20031008.php

[shance]

27. Care to share?

We could use some help down here.

[ClintonTyree]

2. Yes, it's always "absolutely bunk"..................

or "wacky conspiracy nuts" who speak up about the countries transformation into a fascist dictatorship. All of these "anomalies" that always happen to benefit the Reslugs are "bunk" etc. And they're only trivial little matters, all around the country, what difference does it make?
The sum of all of those little anomalies add up to one big fascist coup by the criminals in the White House.
Yes, it's "absolute bunk" that the people of this country should have some way to verify the election totals. What do these "conspiracy nuts" think, that the Reslugs would CHEAT! Noooooo.......the Slugs are as pure as the driven snow. :puke:

[NVMojo]

3. I knew it was about Sequoia!! I knew it, I knew it!!! NV SOS Dean Heller

gets his way again!!!

snip...

Counties face a 2006 federal deadline to have state-certified voting systems ready for the elections, but Shelley's office has approved just one Sequoia model, and that is not certified for the June 2006 primary. If the counties are unable to use voting systems that comply with federal law, the results could be vulnerable to legal challenge.

McCormack suggested Shelley's office appears to have favored Oakland-based Sequoia Voting Systems in a series of voting machine certification decisions while a competitor, Ohio-based Diebold Inc., was not treated fairly.

McCormack would not elaborate on what she believed motivated the secretary of state's actions.

While neither company is a big campaign contributor in California, Sequoia did give $100,000 to back the Shelley-sponsored Voting Modernization Bond Act, Proposition 41, in 2002 and $1,000 to Shelley's campaign the same year.

snip...

[Helga Scow Stern]

5. What do you mean? How do you think Shelley was involved?

Please explain.

[Helga Scow Stern]

6. Look--this is from Dan Tokaji, the Ohio former ACLU attorney against paper

He's the one who joined with Mark Blumenthal to try to shoot down the critique of Edison-Mitofsky's explanation of exit poll discrepancies.

RE: Nevada

11/29/2004

Nevada's DRE+CPR Experiment
For several months, some critics of current electronic voting technology have called for laws mandating a contemporaneous paper record (or "CPR") of the electronic ballot, also known as the "voter verified paper audit trail." The idea is that a printer would be attached to every direct record electronic ("DRE") unit. In the most commonly suggested model, a printed replica of the electronic ballot would print out behind a glass or screen, so that the voter could see but not touch it.

Although some have misleadingly referred to the printed replica as a "receipt," the voter actually wouldn't take any printed record of the vote with him or her. This is important with the CPR/VVPAT model, in order to protect the anonymity of the ballot and to prevent vote buying schemes.

In this year's election, Nevada became the first state to experiment with an electronic voting system capable of generating a CPR on a statewide basis. See here for my previous discussion of Nevada's experiment. Previously, the County of Sacramento and a handful of jurisdictions in Connecticut have experimented with a CPR. Many advocates are election officials are watching Nevada carefully, to assess whether the CPR presents a workable and effective solution.

So far, there's been relatively little analysis of Nevada's experience with the CPR in this election. One of the big questions has been whether voters will actually check the paper record. And even if they do, there's concern that it may slow down the voting process -- a problem that became particularly acute in this election with the long lines in some places. Another isssue is what to do in the event of printer jams. Finally, there are questions about whether the CPR will actually do much to increase the integrity of electronic voting, given that a full-scale manual recount of paper ballots is very rare. I discussed these issues in a letter that I sent to the Election Assistance Commission in May, posted here. I've also discussed this debate at great length in my working paper "The Paperless Chase: Electronic Voting and Democratic Values," which is on SSRN and can be found by clicking on the link in the right margin of this blog.

While I think it would be imprudent to mandate a CPR at this point, Nevada's experience in this election warrants careful examination. The first piece of data that I've seen is a survey by Lombardo Consulting Group, a brief description of which can be found here. This survey reportedly shows that 81% of voters would prefer an actual receipt that they could take with them, to the CPR that's retained by election officials. The survey also reportedly found that only 31% of voters actually checked over the whole paper replica of the electronic ballot. This is part of my reason for hesitancy in using the term "voter verified paper audit trail," since it's not at all clear that voters will actually verify their choices -- and if they don't, it's utility as an audit trail is limited at best.

The problem with having an actual receipt that the voter would keep, as noted above, is preserving the secrecy of voter choices. If the receipt actually listed the voters' choices, it would be a recipe for vote selling and other forms of fraud. A company called VoteHere is marketing a technology (the VHTi) that can be incorporated into existing DREs. The basic idea is provide voters with a receipt while maintaining privacy. It's an interesting idea, worthy of further examination. But it's premature to leap to the conclusion that the VHTi, the CPR, or any other particular device is the magic bullet for the legitimate security concerns that have been raised about electronic voting. This is one area in which the Election Assistance Commission will have some very important work to do in coming months.
- posted by Dan Tokaji @ 10:45 PM
http://equalvote.blogspot.com/

[JunkYardDogg]

4. Let us bombard McCormack with Data

Another Good Post
Wilms

[Wilms]

10. That was Dzika find. Thank all the Gods for him. I just reposted. n/t

[Helga Scow Stern]

7. Here Tokaji says Shelley "should step down":

This seems quite biased, somehow:

Tuesday, January 25

Should Kevin Shelley Step Down?
Much attention has been directed to allegations of partisan conduct on the part of election officials in the past few years. The most conspicuous targets are two elected Republicans: Katherine Harris of Florida in 2000, and Ken Blackwell of Ohio in 2004. But the recent improprieties of California's Democratic Secretary of State Kevin Shelley make clear that the Republicans have no monopoly on partisanship, or bad behavior, when it comes to election administration

(AS IF THERE WAS ANY COMPARISION BETWEEN SHELLEY AND BLACKWELL AND HARRIS!)

Secretary Shelley faces multiple allegations from investigative authorities for a variety of complaints, with some Democrats now urging him to resign. According to this report in the San Francisco Chronicle:

A key factor in the mood in Sacramento, associates and lawmakers say, appears to be Shelley's upcoming testimony before a legislative committee that is investigating whether he used federal voting act funds to boost his public image. The testimony will come in a public forum, and the possibility of Shelley having to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights could take a political toll.

At issue is the allegation that Shelley misused funds provided to the state under the Help America Vote Act -- specifically, that "some contractors hired by Shelley's office attended Democratic fund-raisers and were helping boost Shelley's image instead of engaging in nonpartisan efforts to increase voter turnout." Shelley is to testify before a Joint Legislative Audit Committee on February 3.

But wait . . . . It gets worse. A report issued yesterday by the State Personnel Board finds that an "abusive working environment" exists within the Secretary of State's office. The
San Jose Mercury News and Sacramento Bee have details. Among the allegations are that Shelley is prone to angry outbursts at his staff. Also in question are the suspicious "disappearance" of complaints filed by a former scheduler that Shelley "made crude and sexually suggestive remarks to her in front of other employees." Finally, Shelley's office is accused of improperly hiring the son of a prominent campaign donor -- specifically by scratching out his failing score on the civil service exam and replacing it with a passing score.

The executive officer of the State Personnel Board, Floyd Shimomura, says that he plans to ask the Caliornia Attorney General's office to conduct an investigation.

My take: Shelley has got to go. Some of the allegations against him may turn out to be exaggerated, but it's hard to believe that all of them are false. The State Personnel Board's report states that various employees of the Secretary of State's office confirm his ranting, raving, and directing obscenities at staff members -- predominantly if not exclusively women employees, it would appear. Even more serious, if that's possible, are the allegations that he's used HAVA funds for partisan purposes. Chief election officials' misuse of their authority, and the money that comes with it, is something that should outrage Democrats as well as Republicans.

Do the right thing Kevin.
- posted by Dan Tokaji @ 11:38 PM

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/



Is it just me, or do these things Shelley is accused of seem extremely minor as opposed to what these other SOS's have done?

It is evident from this all that we must get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Look at the Dem SOS and Gov. of NM, for instance, in their insistence on derailing the recount there.

[BeFree]

8. Good lesson here...

See what happens when ya mess with diebold? You get shit-canned. Harris sucked on diebold and she gets promoted; no telling how far up Blackwell will go.

See kids, don't mess with the big-boys, they will eat you for lunch.

"And, NO, it is not a conspiracy, uhn-uh. Only whackos are conspiracists."

Just run alomg and play now, but be careful you don't ever step on the big-boys' toes.

[Helga Scow Stern]

11. The Yolo County Elections Supervisor supports Shelley

Many of the election commissioners from around the state were really pissed at him, however, for not allowing them business as usual, or making them meet requirements, and, worst of all, they said he used the F-word.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/648278371.html?MAC=5bfd8a3ec730c2cebf1896498b895dff&did=648278371&FMT=FT&FMTS=FT&date=Jun+8%2C+2004&author=Stuart+Pfeifer&printformat=&desc=E-Vote+Fight+Has+Plenty+of+Human+Drama+Too

[Helga Scow Stern]

12. More praise for Shelley:

Shelley has acknowledged using colorful language, but he denied cursing the registrars. And he has earned praise from reformers for pushing county registrars in a direction they were reluctant to go.

"On voting technology issues, he is a leader to the whole nation," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. "He is turning the ship of elections around."

The controversy enveloping his office has been a remarkable transformation for Shelley, the son of a San Francisco mayor and labor activist in the 1930s. Until this year, Shelley was a fast-rising star in the Democratic Party, having ascended from a San Francisco County supervisor to Assembly majority leader to statewide office-holder within just a dozen years.

"It's just hard to believe," said Angela Alioto, a longtime San Francisco politician who has known Shelley for two decades. "You're not talking about a dilettante. He has worked the vineyards for years. It sounds very much like a full-on attack, and the reasons for that I don't know."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shelley30oct30,1,5767226.story?coll=la-headlines-california

[Peace Patriot]

13. Look for my ACTION post today: LETTER OF THE WEEK #4: The...

...Dieboldisation of California.

[Al-CIAda]

15. ACTION post today: LETTER OF THE WEEK #4 - where?

kick -

[berniew1]

18. Shelley is right and critics are wrong or security of touchscreens: doc :

Those who support touchscreens without paper trails either aren't knowledgable or have reason to think dishonest elections are advantageous to them. The lack of reliability of touchscreens has been well documented by organizations following such equipment like:
http://www.votersunite.org messups and states

Touchscreen vote machine fraud was widespread in 2004 and documented in over 15 states and many counties
http://www.flcv.com/ussumall.html

[berniew1]

19. Does anyone know contact info for Shelley?

[Wilms]

24. Contact Info

Shelley:

<http://www.ss.ca.gov/contacts.htm>


McCormack:

<http://regrec.co.la.ca.us/main.htm>

[EFerrari]

20. Oh my. Kevin didn't bend over for Diebold. THANK YOU KEVIN. n/t

[EFerrari]

21. Wait -- contact info for Conny? Calls need to be made :)

[troubleinwinter]

22. PLEASE POST HERE:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss//duboard.p...

We are trying to get the Shelley info. all in one place!

[troubleinwinter]

23. This link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss//duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x318241

[Helga Scow Stern]

25. I am looking into Conny McCormack:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=141&topic_id=6818#6827

I wonder if she could have gotten in with Diebold during her Texas tenure?

Here is here biographical sketch:
CONNY B. McCORMACK
REGISTRAR-RECORDER/COUNTY CLERK
LOS ANGELES COUNTY

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

12/95 -
Present

REGISTRAR-RECORDER/COUNTY CLERK (RR/CC), Los Angeles Co. CA - Head of Present Department with three major functions. As Registrar of Voters, responsible for conducting elections for the largest electoral jurisdiction in the U.S. with over 4 million registered voters and 5,000 voting precincts. Conducts federal, state and county elections and, via contract, conducts or supports local elections for 88 cities, 100 school districts and 149 special districts. As Recorder/County Clerk, responsible for recording up to 3 million property documents each year; maintaining birth, death and marriage records and issuing up to 700,000 copies of same upon request; issuing 60,000 marriage licenses; and filing 100,000 business names and other statutory oaths and filings annually. Only the Social Security Administration and the Pentagon maintain more records than the 200 million that are on file at the RR/CC. Manages $99 million annual budget; full time staff of 900 with up to 500 temporary employees at peak periods.

11/94 -12/95
ELECTION CONSULTANT, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Moscow, Russia - Consultant to the Russian Central Electoral Commission (CEC). Advised CEC in the following areas: 1) election technology, modernizing ballot tabulation procedures; 2) formulation of election laws, recommending provisions to ensure the electoral process met minimum standards for democratic elections; 3) development of training materials for poll workers.

6/87 - 11/94
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS, San Diego County, CA - Responsible for voter registration and election management for l.3 million registered voters. Responsible for conducting federal, state, county and other local elections for 18 cities, 47 school districts and 74 special districts.


7/81 - 5/87
ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR, Dallas County, TX - Responsible for voter registration and election management for 750,000 registered voters.



8/78 - 7/81
DIRECTOR, JURY SERVICES DEPARTMENT, Dallas County, TX - Responsible for jury management for Dallas County’s 67 state and county courts.

6/77 - 7/78
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO VICE-MAYOR, Atlanta, GA- Researched city policy issues; speechwriting; drafting city ordinances and resolutions.



EDUCATION

Penn State University (Journalism); Virginia Polytechnic University (Political Science), B.A.; University of Miami (Politics and Public Affairs), M.A.; Emory University (Political Science) Ph.D. studies (ABD)


PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/CONSULTING

Short-term international assignments as elections consultant or member of election observation team in Nigeria (2004), Indonesia (2001), Yemen (1997), Russia (1995), Mexico (2002/1994), and Armenia (1991).


Member, Election Center Task Force on Election Reform (2001)

President, California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, 2004 - 2006

Member, California Secretary of State’s Voting Systems Advisory Panel, 2001- 2003

Commissioner, The Speaker’s Commission on the California Initiative Process, 2000 - 2001

[Peace Patriot]

28. Moscow and San Diego have real good records on election integrity.

Not.

[Peace Patriot]

29. LETTER OF THE WEEK #4: Kevin Shelley, Diebold & Election Fraud LETTER OF T

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x319613

GO HERE for a sample draft letter on this matter, that, 1) defends Shelley, recommends preserving his reforms, and recommends appointment of someone up to his high standard of vigilance; 2) warns California of what this could mean--the Dieboldisation and Bushification of California; 3) educates (with summaries of studies, and urls to others) on 2004 Election Fraud.

It's aimed at CA legislators--and the post provides link to CA legislator contact info. It's a DRAFT LETTER, a bit too long, but a start...