| Citizens for Verifiable Voting | March 25th, 2005 Minutes |
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MINUTES OF MEETING OF MARCH 25, 2005 BOULDER COUNTY ELECTION REVIEW COMMITTEE
1. Call to Order, Roll Call
The meeting of the Boulder County Election Review Committee was held on March 25, 2005, at 1:00 p.m. in Houston Conference Room, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder’s Building. The meeting was called to order by Richard Lyons, Chairman, at 1:05 p.m.
The meeting was attended, at roll call, by the following Committee Members: Richard Lyons, Richard Harris, Hillary Hall, Michael Taylor, Jay Harbor and Tom Davidson. Also present were members of the public.
Paul Tiger arrived at 2:10. There was no representative of the Secretary of State Office Linda Flack and David Leeds were excused from the meeting.
2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting
Corrections to the minutes of the March 18 meeting were recorded and approved by unanimous vote on a motion made by Mr. Harris and seconded by Mr. Harbour.
3. Public Comment
Joe Pezzillo thanked the Committee for their thorough examination if election issues. He remarked about the “good news” that a hand count has been done in Boulder County, with the results reported within one day. He handed out a sample of Swiss Ballots, which are color coded for different contests. The ballots are 4” by 6”. Another sample ballot, 4” by 8”, printed with a Boulder ballot issue, was also entered into record. (EXHIBIT 37)
Mr. Lyons remarked that Boulder County would have to abandon the Hart System if they were to change to hand count. He also said that there is nothing better than hand count for democracy.
4. Other business, including issues before the Committee, including but not limited to:
a.Recently submitted correspondence and documents.
b.Discussion of format for final report and mechanics of preparation/drafting.
Mr. Lyons reviewed the issues outlined in an e-mail message from Valeria Skitt, Longmont City Clerk. (EXHIBIT 35)
A letter was presented, referencing an informal claim for Eagle Direct, regarding Weyerhaeuser paper that was used in the November general election in Boulder. Howard Harris, of Eagle Direct spoke briefly about the issue and answered questions. This document was entered into record. (EXHIBIT 36)
In response to a question raised last week, Ms. Stahl submitted 3 ballots from the same precinct, having all the same races, with duplicate numbers. They are duplicate ballots, but not machine error. The error is in the printing by Eagle. Ms. Stahl described the problem and the method of handling it so that the votes were counted and there was no fraud. (EXHIBIT 38)
Mr. Lyons pointed out that there were only 55 ballots duplicated, it was not a large number and they did not delay the count.
5. Board listing and prioritization of “root” causes for delays.
Chairman Lyons asked whether other members felt that the Committee has exhausted the inquiry regarding presentations.
Mr. Harris remarked that the work would have been more useful to the Commissioners if the Committee had been able to know why there were so many damaged ballots. He does not want to close the meetings to any other important information. Other members agreed with that statement.
Members expressed their readiness to move ahead with creating a final report, and all agreed that decision making should be conducted in public sessions. Presence of the public should not inhibit open participation. Members may agree to disagree.
Ms. Hall expressed her belief that the goal should be consensus, with dissenting opinion possible.
Mr. Lyons stated that he believes the Committee has met its charge with respect to information gathering and if there is consensus on that it will be closed, with the understanding that it may be reopened if the need arises.
Mr. Tiger handed out a 4 page document titled “Tiger’s Short List” with his suggestion for grouping of issues for the report.
Mr. Lyons suggested that they start with a format similar to the Republican Party Report, with headings for different sections. Using a flip chart, he listed items to be included in Section I Introduction. This section would include a description of the problem and the charge to the Committee, statistics regarding the election, glossary of terms, process used by the Committee etc.
Section II would be a short Executive Summary of the Report.
Section III would be the body of the report.
Consideration of possible organization of the report was carried out, with one proposal being:
Ms. Hall moved and Mr.Davidson seconded a motion to go with the A,B,C, structure for the body of the report. The motion passed with a unanimous vote of members present.
Mr. Taylor suggested that a Brainstorm exercise be used to solicit input from everyone, with ideas as to reasons for DELAY. Each member, in turn, stated reasons. Items were not to be discussed, only listed initially, and to be discussed later. The listing is as follows:
DELAYS:
Brainstorming was then used to list Other Factors that affected the election:
OTHER FACTORS:
Chairman Lyons asked each member to review their notes to determine whether other issues should be added to these lists. At the next meeting, stickie notes will be used to change or combine issues, and then sub-statements will be added to amplify issues that are decided upon.
6. Additional Public Comments
Lynn Segal described a paper ballot voting system that is being used successfully. She quoted from a news article in a local paper describing a public meeting soliciting input regarding a new voting system., and outside influence relating to the decision. She expressed her concern for an open and honest vote. Ms. Segal submitted an essay titled “The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy” by Thom Hartmann, and asked that it be copied for members of the Committee.
8. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m. on unanimous approval of a motion made by Mr. Harbour and seconded by Ms. Hall.
______________________________ Recording Secretary
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