Judge nullifies voter registration deadline

In the last election in Burlington, a woman came to vote who had registered after the deadline. She was not allowed to vote. She was informed of her right to appeal to a judge. The judge allowed her to vote. Does this mean voter registration deadlines are not enforceable? People who register close to the deadline should bring their registration papers to the polls because their names will not be on the checklist.

EARLY VOTERS BEWARE

Greg Roy,Ward 4:

During the [City Council Mtg 10-15-12] Cslr. Bryan Aubin left the table to inquire of me as to whether I had heard anything in the way of a response to the letter I sent concerning my friends experience when utilizing the Early Voting option at City Hall. I told him [the letter was] forwarded it to a member of the Board of Registration of Voters (Linda Chagnon, by name), and that [Lea Terhune] had previously submitted virtually identical concerns during earlier voting cycles and that the same weaknesses were still being observed.

 I sent the letter to [Lea], to my [Ward 4] City Councilors, a Ward 7 Councilor(R) Paul Decelles, an (I), Karen Paul of Ward 6, and the Mayor. I received a written response from [Lea]... That's it, just [Lea]. Tonight's inquiry by Bryan is the only proof I have that anyone else received it.

 [Lea] knows more about the history of this problem! ... in the coming days, could [Lea] bring Bryan up-to-speed on the problems that [she has] encountered or have heard about? I've brought this up with the Secretary of State already, and although he would definitely contact them and refresh their memories as to the proper handling of ballots, he also informed me that in the end he had very little power to enforce anything. If we don't enforce transparency, we don't get transparency... 

Ed. Note: Transparency? HOW ABOUT ENFORCING ELECTION LAWS? Do officials charged with implementing the law even know the law? Burlington's Board of Registration of Voters does not follow the law, Burlington's City Clerk doesn't, and the Sec of State's Office doesn't. The courts are no recourse -- the judge says "mistakes happen" and orders no remedial action (see Annette Smith story below).

City Hall Careless with Ballots

October 3, 2012

 Some friends of mine and myself had reason to travel to Albany, NY yesterday. They had gone to City Hall the day before to vote early, and while driving down I-87 it came up in conversation. This was the account that they imparted to me of their experience... 

 When they arrived at the city clerks office there was a gentleman talking, from the public side, to one of the desk clerks, so they went to the other of the two windows, which was also open and available. They got checked off, received their ballots, and took them over to the counter to fill out. As they were marking the ballots, one of them noticed that the gentleman that had been talking to the desk clerk had made his way over to them and was trying to see who they were voting for. My friend noticed him peering at her ballot and curled it over to deny him the ability to intrude further. He realized that he had been discovered, and quickly diverted his eyes to the voting information and blank ballots posted on the wall, in a vain attempt to make her think that the invasion of her right to a secret ballot was not his actual intent. He then went back to the same desk clerk that he had been talking to previously and continued with that discussion. When my friends had finished filling out their ballots they noticed that he had been watching them from the clerks counter, and told them (somewhat insistently) that they should submit them with the clerk that he had been talking with, even though the window of the clerk that they had received them from was free. When they complied with his suggestion (demand?), the clerk at that window took their ballots, and handed them off to someone that was just around the corner but not visible from their position; all they could see was a hand taking them. That was the last they saw of their ballots. 

 Their concern was that this intrusive gentleman was attempting to filter ballots submitted, and possibly had some influence over the particular clerk that he had insisted that they submit their ballots to. They never saw their ballots put into a locked ballot box. Were their ballots submitted to a proper voting receptacle?, or a paper shredder and then a trash receptacle based upon his personal bias!

 I asked them if they could describe him to me, and although I don't know every person working at City Hall, I felt that if I could identify the person I may be able to explain his position in the administration and calm their concerns as to whether he belonged there or not. They described him as 5'8" to 5'10", 35 to 40ish,average build, with dark wavy curls, and wearing glasses. This didn't strike a chord with me; does it bring anyone to your mind? Would there be an Inspector of Elections posted at the City Clerks office during the entirety of the available early voting period?

 It seems to me that Absentee and Early Votes should immediately be placed in a LOCKED voting box which is not accessible, but is always observable by the public, and to which the only key should be held by the person who will ultimately be responsible for verifying the outcome of the elections!

Greg Roy  (Ward 4)

Smith was a valid write-in vote - State statute clear

Letter to Editor, Burlington Free Press, Sept. 23, 2012 

It is strange, very strange, that an empty oval would suddenly gain the status of a hanging chad.

A hanging chad, we all remember from the election debacle of 2000, became a culprit in the disenfranchisement of hundreds of Florida voters. Chads were left hanging, and voters’ votes were left hanging. Uncounted. The course of American history hung along with them.

Some Vermont town clerks appear to have been flummoxed by the specter of the empty oval. There the empty oval remained, on Aug. 28, next to an unknown number of write-in votes for Annette Smith.

And, it appears, our Secretary of State’s Office, which is responsible for training our hard-working town clerks, did not provide the following, which I offer here for future and potential write-in candidates:

Vermont Statute §2586: Rules for Counting Ballots (e) In the case of “write-in” votes, the act of writing in the name of a candidate, or pasting a label containing a candidate’s name upon the ballot, without other indications of the voter’s intent, shall constitute a vote for that candidate, even though no cross is placed after such name. The election officials counting ballots and tallying results must list every person who receives a “write-in” vote and the number of votes received. On each tally sheet, the counters shall add together the names of candidates that are clearly the same person, even though a nickname or last name is used. Names of fictitious persons shall not be listed.

PEGGY SAPPHIRE

Craftsbury

North End Voters Challenge "Spoiled" Smith Ballot

Re-count Committee: Lea Terhune (Ward 4), Mary Jay Mulowney (Ward 4), Richard "Terry" Jeroloman, and Carol Burke.

Pre-recount instructions (given by election official) included the directive that we could not count Smith, A. Smith, or Ann Smith as a valid write-in vote, because Smith is a common name in VT. People questioned that, and we were told that it was a decision made by Sec of State Condos based on Election Law.

When our committee encountered this example, we felt the voter's intent was clear. We called the election official to our table, and questioned the decision that "Smith" was not an acceptable write-in vote. The official told us it could not be counted as a write-in vote for Annette Smith, and she  instructed us to count it on our tally sheet as a SPOILED ballot. (That did not make sense to us either, because there was a category "combined other "[names].)  We made our objection known to the press -- told them our concerns, and our objections to the ruling. Bottom line: isn't it our job to determine the voter's intent?

Later on we learned that a reporter had checked with Jim Condos, and Condos said he did not exactly say we couldn't count a write-in for "Smith." We went to the election official, and asked to amend our tally sheet. The official admitted that she had talked with Jim Condos and that he affirmed that the will of the voter was our determination to make. She offered to let us amend our tally. I pointed out that every other group recounting got the same misinformation, and could have failed to fairly consider a Smith write in because we were told "Smith" could not be counted based on election law.

All four of the people who signed our tally sheet were present and in agreement that the voter's intent was to vote for (Annette) Smith. We voided the original tally, and filled out two new tally sheets, marked AMENDED, and all signed the new amended tally sheets.

Later when speaking with the press, the election official said she told us it was our decision to make, but she DID NOT tell us that. She told the person who was filling out our tally sheet (MJ Mulowney) to record the "Smith" write-in ballot as spoiled.

Most important, the election official never told others conducting the recount that "Smith" or a variation was acceptable IF they determined it was the intent of the voter to write-in a vote for Annette Smith. So everyone recounting today in Burlington got mis-information regarding the eligibility of Smith variation write-ins. Even when the election official knew she had given out misinformation, she did not correct it. Presumably, the same misinformation was given statewide.

Statewide election that hinged on 1 vote, interpretation could make the difference. It turned out 2 B wrong. http://t.co/Jv2ulpMU #BTV 

Dead People and Clones Offered Ballots in Vermont

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLSjL--qvsw

10:09

Caught on Tape: Dead People and Clones Offered Ballots in Vermont Primary

On Super Tuesday in Vermont, Poll workers caught on tape handing out Ballots in names of dead people and giving out ballots in living people's ...

Last minute voting rule clarifications

Phonecall to Clerk's Office. Kathy, who has been there for 25 years, answered our questions.

•  Provisional ballots are no longer used. People who are not registered can not vote. People should call the city clerk's office to check registration status if they have any doubts.

• If people have not voted for many years, their checklist status may be Inactive/Challenged. They can vote if they sign an Affirmation of Domicile/Residence (under pain of penalty for perjury) and [Board for Registration of Voters member] the WARD CLERK confirms that you are not registered elsewhere in the state. Polls have a direct link to the state registration, and/or a copy of the statewide checklist.

• If you are registered in another ward and have moved, but did not change your address, you can not vote in the new ward. Can you vote in ward where you are registered even though you no longer live there? Not clear about this. Call the clerk's office to be sure where you can vote. Polls no longer offer provisional ballots.

• If you registered at DMV, bring your registration paper as instructed when you registered.

CHALLENGE TO NORTH END VOTERS

 Here are the March Town Meeting election results on the city web site. Number of people voting in any one election goes up and down for many reasons but we can all see the general results. Wards 4 and 7 are in first and second place regularly, but as you can see, we switch positions. Who will have the honor of FIRST PLACE this year?


                2010       2011

Ward 1      648         426

Ward 2      506         315

Ward 3      691         592

Ward 4      1809       1194

Ward 5      1301       857

Ward 6      860         561

Ward 7      1430       1279


Ward 7 City Council

Paul Decelles