Slow-Countin' the Paper: DU'er kpete fed up, files Lawsuit in San Diego County (Court of Appeals)

[Land Shark]

Brand new lawsuit on "emergency paper ballots" because San Diego County California Registrar of Voters Mikel Haas (and we believe others as well, but haven't confirmed) are by policy decision deliberately "slow counting" the emergency paper ballots, by not even planning to START counting any emergency paper ballots (as opposed to absentees) until the Thursday AFTER the election! Of course, provisionals are toast from the get-go in terms of slow-counting.

This slow counting combined with a disproportionate percentage of Dem voters choosing paper leads to the central harms that I've been warning about with the Hobson's choice presented by paper ballots (when rushed in at the last second): Though our "star player" called paper ballots gets into the game, it does so without necessarily having (in the mind of potential opponents) the full complement of legal, administrative and training infrastructure that is needed for full success and to withstand partisan shenanigans -- like slow counting.

Possibly, legal arguments might be made by Republicans the day after the election (and the day before counting of emergency paper ballots starts in San Diego County). These arguments would of course be resisted wherever they are made, but the point is that now that HAVA has screwed up our elections as bad as it has, there are no overnight silver bullet fixes.

In fact, paper ballots as simple as they may sometimes seem, (when properly implemented, as they often are not represent the most advanced system of checks and balances for elections ever developed by democracy or humanity.

Much much more (and better written) at this link, along with a link to some MSM coverage so far
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2526737>

[gully]

1. Which is why people need to go to the polls as opposed to paper

absentee.

[nashville_brook]

2. this is why i won't vote absentee or early... if it's not counted

on election night, it really doesn't count.

[Land Shark]

5. things are set up in such a way that there is NO GOOD answer... n/t

either way you gamble, some gambles are better than others but it varies from place to place, frankly

[Misskittycat]

3. Good for him. n/t

[eomer]

4. kpete is a she.

kpete's profile

And she's probably going to win the DU MVP award this season (or would if there were such a thing).

[lala_rawraw]

6. You go girl!!!

[Bill Bored]

7. Either that or Best Artist! nt

[Land Shark]

8. artist, teacher, activist, citizen, friend, leader, mother, plaintiff, lover of beauty

one could say all of the above apply.

[kpete]

11. you forgot

lover of sharks and falcons

[Ellipsis]

9. Eusphyra blochii kick n/t

[kster]

10. Eusphyra blochii

K N R

[Ellipsis]

12. The "winghead shark" ... correct you are kster

The hammer shape of the head was once thought to act as a wing, aiding in close-quarters maneuverability and allowing the shark to execute sharp turns without loss of stability. But it was found that the special design of its vertebra allowed it to make the turns correctly.

K&R'ing gets a little boring sometimes.

My best to you and of course Landshark and kpete.


and kick

[BeFree]

13. I knew it

The women are gonna take over this whole election reform movement, I just knew it. Its what I have been hoping for. <grin>

So, the keeper of the votes wants to keep some of the votes from being counted on election night, and this person gets to keep his job? WTF?

You go girl! Drag his ass into deep water and feed him to the shark!

[Misskittycat]

14. Is there an update on this as of Sunday? n/t

[kpete]

15. Update - wish me luck

The writ of mandate I filed on Monday was transferred from the San
Diego Court of Appeal to the Riverside Court of Appeal. That court
took two and a half days to decline to accept jurisdiction of the writ
claiming the existence of fact issues best resolved in superior court.
The order does not explain what fact issues compelled it to refuse to
act to protect voters from official malconduct. The California
Constitution grants original jurisdiction in the court of appeal for
writs like the one at issue here. All writs raise issues of fact. The
central fact on which the writ was based is that Mikel Haas intends to
discriminate against votes cast on paper by waiting two days to begin
counting them. No resolution of this factual allegation is necessary
for the court of appeal to require that ballots be treated equally. If
the court decided that the sleepover issue required the weighing of
evidence in superior court, the court could have granted partial
relief without addressing the sleepover issue.

As the result of the court of appeal's decision to deny a resolution
of the issues presented, I refiled the writ in superior court on
Thursday within hours of the court of appeal's decision. The case was
assigned to Yuri Hofmann, the same judge who dismissed the election
contest. I immediately filed a peremptory challenge demanding a
different judge be appointed. Unfortunately, the system broke down and
the re-assignment did not take place until late in the afternoon on
Friday. After many phone calls to the court, no one could tell me
where the writ was. My hope is that it got into the hands of the judge
who is spending time this weekend reviewing it. In any case, Monday
morning at 8:30 a.m., I will appear in Department 63, the Hon. Luis
Vargas presiding, to determine the status of the writ and request a
ruling as soon as possible. All those interested in joining me are
welcome to come. A strong show of public interest could convince the
judge to issue a ruling, one way or the other, and not simply say
there's no time.

Ken Simpkins

[nicknameless]

16. Thank you for all you're doing, kpete.

Best of luck tomorrow.

[blm]

17. It's a tough road you've chosen. You're a real patriot citizen, kpete.

.