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BradBlog

(2,938 posts)
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 12:44 PM Feb 2013

Forget About Fresno: How One CA County Clerk Stopped Prop 37's Oversight 'Recount'

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NancyBlueINOklahoma (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: BRAD BLOG



Forget About Fresno: How One CA County Clerk Stopped Prop 37's Oversight 'Recount'
And why secretly tallied paper ballots undermine U.S. democracy

A Special Report by The BRAD BLOG...

What happened last November in California's Prop 37? Is it really possible that progressive California doesn't want Genetically Engineered Foods to be labeled as such? According to the reported results of that election, that would seem to be the case. But did Californians really vote against such labeling?

Unfortunately, thanks to a lack of overseeable public hand-counts on Election Night, and a gaping weakness in the state's otherwise liberal "recount" law, we're unlikely to ever know for certain.

A weeks-long investigation by The BRAD BLOG into the months-long attempted effort to confirm the results of the Prop 37 ballot initiative last November, serves to highlight not just the weakness in California "recount" law, but also the notion that paper ballots, secretly tallied by optical-scan computers, are just fine, since, as the knee-jerk saying goes, "we can always count the paper ballots by hand afterwards if there are any questions about the results."

The fact is: no we can't. As our investigation reveals, election officials have the ability to stop an attempted "recount" dead in its tracks, by simply charging contestants anything they like for the effort. They are able to price such oversight beyond the means of most citizens, and are even doing so in apparent violation of state election code and regulations, as we found in Fresno County, CA last month during an attempted citizen oversight campaign of Prop 37 results.

But that election was not the only one where an attempt to examine paper ballots to assure accuracy of the secret computer tallies has been stymied by officials in the Golden State. The matter is rife for abuse and continues to frustrate Election Integrity advocates, even as both the CA legislature and the CA Secretary of State have done little to correct the situation...

FULL SPECIAL REPORT: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9848


Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9848

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Forget About Fresno: How One CA County Clerk Stopped Prop 37's Oversight 'Recount' (Original Post) BradBlog Feb 2013 OP
K&R! Thank you! Fire Walk With Me Feb 2013 #1
I'm a life-long liberal, and I voted AGAINST Prop 37. stopbush Feb 2013 #2
Well, that was silly. Nonetheless... BradBlog Feb 2013 #3
Thanks for making it so we can't know what is in our food abelenkpe Feb 2013 #5
paper ballots hand counted in public view. no hurry to get results really nt msongs Feb 2013 #4
Precinct-based hand-counting in NH often done before Diebold-counted towns! BradBlog Feb 2013 #7
k & r thanks for posting..... nt Stuart G Feb 2013 #6
For clarification, Fresno is in the Central Valley -- home to California's largest farming JDPriestly Feb 2013 #8
Locking OKNancy Feb 2013 #9
 

Fire Walk With Me

(38,893 posts)
1. K&R! Thank you!
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 01:29 PM
Feb 2013

stopbush

(24,366 posts)
2. I'm a life-long liberal, and I voted AGAINST Prop 37.
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 01:53 PM
Feb 2013

I canvassed my fellow-liberal friends pre-election and found them to be equally divided on the issue.

When the Sacramento Bee and the LA Times both write in-depth editorials against the proposition, it influences people.

BradBlog

(2,938 posts)
3. Well, that was silly. Nonetheless...
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:35 PM
Feb 2013

...Whatever reasons you have to *believe* Prop 37 lost, doesn't really matter. The citizens have the right to KNOW that it lost. And, as our Special Report makes clear, it's nearly impossible for the average citizen to know that, thanks to the computer tabulation of election results.

abelenkpe

(9,933 posts)
5. Thanks for making it so we can't know what is in our food
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 03:08 PM
Feb 2013



msongs

(67,129 posts)
4. paper ballots hand counted in public view. no hurry to get results really nt
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:50 PM
Feb 2013

BradBlog

(2,938 posts)
7. Precinct-based hand-counting in NH often done before Diebold-counted towns!
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 05:05 PM
Feb 2013

It's a bit of fallacy that counting by hand will necessarily take longer! Either way, even if so, I think we'd all rather KNOW that the winners actually won and the losers actually lost, versus this crazy system of "faith-based" election results that we have now!

Stuart G

(38,328 posts)
6. k & r thanks for posting..... nt
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 04:11 PM
Feb 2013

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
8. For clarification, Fresno is in the Central Valley -- home to California's largest farming
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 05:31 PM
Feb 2013

communities. So, that is why they might not want to recount the votes on Prop. 37.

OKNancy

(41,832 posts)
9. Locking
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 06:19 PM
Feb 2013

This is not breaking news. This is an analysis/commentary. Please repost in another forum.

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