May 24, 2010
Cabell County Canvass Procedure Video Raises Questions
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A video of a Friday, May 14 meeting of the Cabell County Commission sitting as a board of election canvassers appears to raise to questions--- how many commissioners must be present and the procedure for random precinct drawing.
Terri Ann Smith, a Huntington resident, originally posted the video on Facebook, then, placed an edited version on My Space. (HNN viewed the unedited copy that contained no narration or subtitles, only statements made by those in the meeting room.)
Occurring after the meeting has been called to order, Commissioner Nancy Cartmill stands by a window on the Third Floor of the Cabell County Courthouse. A speaker phone at varying instances has either Commissioner Robert Bailey and/or Scott Bias on the other end.
Ms. Smith refers to picking the random precincts using “jury balls,” which would be similar to the balls pulled in a bingo establishment. She is told that this method (used elsewhere) is not used in Cabell County.
The purpose of the Friday afternoon meeting is to select four random precincts to verify the accuracy of the electronic voting machines. They chosen four precincts are then hand-counted to ensure the machines have an accurate count. If during a manual count, the difference between tabulated results and the manual recount are greater than one percent, §153-18-8.5 mandates that all precincts be hand counted.
Accusations of voting machine problems surfaced in the 2008 election. WV predominately used ES & S machines or paper ballots. Voters in various states complained that their votes were not properly recorded. On Tuesday, May 11, 2010, an HNN representative, twice complained to workers in his precinct that voting machines had malfunctioned --- they would not record the vote of a Republican candidate. At the third machine, he was able to vote for the candidate.
DRAWING RANDOM PRECINCTS
Prior to the Friday, May 14 drawing of the four precincts, Ms. Smith requested from the floor an opportunity to examine the paper bag containing the precinct numbers. She is allowed to verify that all precincts are in the bag.
During the drawing, Ms. Cartmill hands each still folded piece of paper to Assistant County Manager, Chris Tatum, who then reads each precinct number aloud.
The Herald-Dispatch reported on May 18 that: “Assistant County Manager Chris Tatum said the board randomly selected four voting precincts to hand count on Monday.[May 17].”
In 2008, on October 28, You Tube posting under “Video the Vote” purportedly showed a demonstration from Jackson County, WV in which voting results could be “flipped.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q9NSVUu8nk
Following the 2010 primary, controversy has swirled around Lincoln County, WV, where allegedly 800 dead people reportedly resurrected on election day, according to the Charleston Daily Mail’s “Daily Score” column by Don Surber. http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/14342
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Cabell County Canvass Procedure Video Raises Questions
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A video of a Friday, May 14 meeting of the Cabell County Commission sitting as a board of election canvassers appears to raise to questions--- how many commissioners must be present and the procedure for random precinct drawing.
Terri Ann Smith, a Huntington resident, originally posted the video on Facebook, then, placed an edited version on My Space. (HNN viewed the unedited copy that contained no narration or subtitles, only statements made by those in the meeting room.)
Occurring after the meeting has been called to order, Commissioner Nancy Cartmill stands by a window on the Third Floor of the Cabell County Courthouse. A speaker phone at varying instances has either Commissioner Robert Bailey and/or Scott Bias on the other end.
Ms. Smith refers to picking the random precincts using “jury balls,” which would be similar to the balls pulled in a bingo establishment. She is told that this method (used elsewhere) is not used in Cabell County.
The purpose of the Friday afternoon meeting is to select four random precincts to verify the accuracy of the electronic voting machines. They chosen four precincts are then hand-counted to ensure the machines have an accurate count. If during a manual count, the difference between tabulated results and the manual recount are greater than one percent, §153-18-8.5 mandates that all precincts be hand counted.
Accusations of voting machine problems surfaced in the 2008 election. WV predominately used ES & S machines or paper ballots. Voters in various states complained that their votes were not properly recorded. On Tuesday, May 11, 2010, an HNN representative, twice complained to workers in his precinct that voting machines had malfunctioned --- they would not record the vote of a Republican candidate. At the third machine, he was able to vote for the candidate.
DRAWING RANDOM PRECINCTS
Prior to the Friday, May 14 drawing of the four precincts, Ms. Smith requested from the floor an opportunity to examine the paper bag containing the precinct numbers. She is allowed to verify that all precincts are in the bag.
During the drawing, Ms. Cartmill hands each still folded piece of paper to Assistant County Manager, Chris Tatum, who then reads each precinct number aloud.
The Herald-Dispatch reported on May 18 that: “Assistant County Manager Chris Tatum said the board randomly selected four voting precincts to hand count on Monday.[May 17].”
In 2008, on October 28, You Tube posting under “Video the Vote” purportedly showed a demonstration from Jackson County, WV in which voting results could be “flipped.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q9NSVUu8nk
Following the 2010 primary, controversy has swirled around Lincoln County, WV, where allegedly 800 dead people reportedly resurrected on election day, according to the Charleston Daily Mail’s “Daily Score” column by Don Surber. http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/14342
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