May 27, 2010
WV Secretary of State Responds That Formal Complaint Necessary Over Perceived Election Video Deficiencies
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant received a link to the Cabell County primary election canvas video posted on U-Tube by Terri Ann Smith. Tennant did not render an opinion, but said a “specific complaint” would need to be filed before her office could become involved.
As an example of specifics, Tennant asked, “What specifically do you find disturbing and what election laws do you think have been violated?”
Having viewed both the UNEDITED (i.e. no subtitles) version, as well as the edited for YouTube and Black Box version, HNN ran a link to the video and a description of what events occurred based on the tape and a conversation with Ms. Smith.
HNN previously sent a set of questions to the Secretary of State’s office prior to Ms. Smith placing the tape on YouTube. We determined that none of us qualified as “experts,” but readers and members of the electorate should have an opportunity to watch , then, judge themselves.
Smith took the video at a Friday, May 14 meeting of the Cabell County Commission sitting as a board of canvassers.
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?) apparently is not used in Cabell County.
The purpose of the Friday afternoon meeting was to select four random precincts to verify the accuracy of the electronic voting machines. The chosen four precincts are then hand-counted to ensure the electronic 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.
Ms. Cartmill pulled the numbers from the bag, but did NOT look at the selections after they are pulled, she handed them to the employee who brought in the bag.
Click here for full story: http://archives.huntingtonnews.net/local/100524-rutherford-localcanvassprocedure.html
The unedited video without commentary is on the internet, but requires registration to view it. You can view the My Tube version --- which contains commentary and subtitles ----- by clicking below.
Ms. Smith does not deem herself to be an expert. Just a concerned citizen who showed up to watch the random selection process.
MY TUBE
STILL UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:
The following questions were e-mailed late Thursday, May 20, to Jack Glance, the press representative for the West Virginia Secretary of State, with a subject of “canvas procedures.”
Hi,
I have a couple of questions relating to election canvas.
How Many members of the Commission must be present when the numbers are drawn from a bag for hand counting?
When are the numbers supposed to be drawn? After once drawn are there any circumstances that the precincts canvassed can be altered i.e. different numbers than what was drawn?
How are the precinct numbers to be put in a bag to ensure randomness and that all precincts have an equal chance of being drawn?
On Friday, May 21, Glance responded, “We are working on your questions.”
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WV Secretary of State Responds That Formal Complaint Necessary Over Perceived Election Video Deficiencies
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant received a link to the Cabell County primary election canvas video posted on U-Tube by Terri Ann Smith. Tennant did not render an opinion, but said a “specific complaint” would need to be filed before her office could become involved.
As an example of specifics, Tennant asked, “What specifically do you find disturbing and what election laws do you think have been violated?”
Having viewed both the UNEDITED (i.e. no subtitles) version, as well as the edited for YouTube and Black Box version, HNN ran a link to the video and a description of what events occurred based on the tape and a conversation with Ms. Smith.
HNN previously sent a set of questions to the Secretary of State’s office prior to Ms. Smith placing the tape on YouTube. We determined that none of us qualified as “experts,” but readers and members of the electorate should have an opportunity to watch , then, judge themselves.
Smith took the video at a Friday, May 14 meeting of the Cabell County Commission sitting as a board of canvassers.
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?) apparently is not used in Cabell County.
The purpose of the Friday afternoon meeting was to select four random precincts to verify the accuracy of the electronic voting machines. The chosen four precincts are then hand-counted to ensure the electronic 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.
Ms. Cartmill pulled the numbers from the bag, but did NOT look at the selections after they are pulled, she handed them to the employee who brought in the bag.
Click here for full story: http://archives.huntingtonnews.net/local/100524-rutherford-localcanvassprocedure.html
The unedited video without commentary is on the internet, but requires registration to view it. You can view the My Tube version --- which contains commentary and subtitles ----- by clicking below.
Ms. Smith does not deem herself to be an expert. Just a concerned citizen who showed up to watch the random selection process.
MY TUBE
STILL UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:
The following questions were e-mailed late Thursday, May 20, to Jack Glance, the press representative for the West Virginia Secretary of State, with a subject of “canvas procedures.”
Hi,
I have a couple of questions relating to election canvas.
How Many members of the Commission must be present when the numbers are drawn from a bag for hand counting?
When are the numbers supposed to be drawn? After once drawn are there any circumstances that the precincts canvassed can be altered i.e. different numbers than what was drawn?
How are the precinct numbers to be put in a bag to ensure randomness and that all precincts have an equal chance of being drawn?
On Friday, May 21, Glance responded, “We are working on your questions.”
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
