Hero Election Board Dismissed By Judge In Middle of Ongoing Investigation

[demodonkey]

December 2, 2011 -- Despite an ongoing forensic investigation into serious voting machine problems reported in Venango County's primary election earlier this year, Judge Oliver J. Lobaugh yesterday dismissed Venango County Election Board members Craig Adams, Martha Breene, and Eleanora Miller from service.

Appointed in early Spring to run elections during the year when County Comissioners were candidates for reelection, the Venango County Election Board was the first in Pennsylvania to take their statutory duty to investigate election irregularities seriously enough to take a hard look into problems reported with electronic voting machines. In early June they ordered a forensic exam of Venango County's ES&S iVotronic electronic voting system, the first of its kind ever in any of the fifty Pennsylvania counties still using paperless, unverifiable Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines. The forensic audit was being done for free by two concerned Carnegie-Mellon Computer Science professors.

The Election Board fought heroically all Summer and Fall for their forensic exam despite fierce opposition from local politicians, tea partiers, and a biased local newspaper; as well as lawsuit threats recently coming from the voting machine manufacturer ES&S.

Judge Lobaugh's order dismissing the Election Board comes at a time when results of the forensic exam and the board's investingation into the voting machine problems were close to being ready for a public release.

The timing of this Judge's dismissal of the Election Board leaves us no choice but to wonder what the heck is going on in Venango County? What is it that someone, somewhere apparently does not want us to know about our voting machines and our elections in Pennsylvania?

MORE TO FOLLOW as this breaking news develops.



http://www.VotePA.us (reposted by author)

[demodonkey]

1. This is the election board whose chair called in to Brad Friedman on Mike Malloy Show

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x518117

[Scuba]

2. Fighting against a forensic exam of the machines almost makes it sound like they're afraid...

... of what the tests will reveal. Those folks must hate democracy.

[Yellow Horse]

3. What the HELL are they hiding??

ES&S is probably behind this. They know their voting machines are garbage. Or worse.

These paperless voting machine threats should have been cleaned up long ago. Shame on us for not getting it done.

[librechik]

4. why would so many "good Americans" prefer corrupt voting systems to having Dems in power

ALL voting anomalies via black box voting favor Republicans. They are blatantly displaying their preference for a one party system with Conservatives charge.

[oldhippydude]

8. as it was explained to me

yes the condition is deplorable, unfair, and a million other things.. but the reason these things ar not persued with more vigor, are based on the right wing smear machine, and their efective use of the propoganda machine..

also the consideration of some Democrats "if they think the elections tilted, its one more excuse not vote".. after the 10 mid terms i can understand that sentiment.. another case of one more victory for right wing intimidation

(dyslexic contributor, slow spell checker sorry)

[Blue Owl]

5. We all know how "just" out justice system is

:mad:

[demodonkey]

6. UPDATE: Election Board is challenging the ruling; hope to continue investigating...

http://www.votepa.us/newsarchive/2011/VenangoCounty/BoardPetitionsCourt12-2-11.html

DISMISSED VENANGO COUNTY ELECTION BOARD FILES APPEAL
Requests Opportunity To Complete Ongoing Investigation of Election Irregularities

December 2, 2011 4PM -- Attorney Charles A. Pascal, Jr., has filed a Motion For Reconsideration on behalf of members of the specially appointed Venango County Election Board.

The filing was made this afternoon in response to President Judge Oliver J. Lobaugh's order dismissing the Board yesterday. Citing ongoing investigations into serious voting machine problems reported during the May 17 primary election, the specially appointed Election Board requested that they be allowed to continue their work until 11:59 PM on December 31, 2011.

"The members of the specially appointed Board of Elections believes that it is necessary to continue their work in order to assure the voters of the County of Venango of the integrity of the election process in the county," the Motion states, "and to assure that any possible violations of policy, protocol, best practices, or the law, or any directive of the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, are not repeated in future elections."

Appointed by Judge Lobaugh in early Spring to run elections during the year when County Commissioners were candidates for reelection, the Election Board heard sworn testimony from Venango County voters who observed votes flipping from one candidate to another on the touchscreen voting machines, and candidates missing from the ballot. Additionally, several races were subject to high rates of undervotes.

In response to the reported problems, the specially appointed Election Board ordered a forensic examination of Venango County's ES&S iVotronic electronic voting system, the first of its kind ever conducted in any of the fifty Pennsylvania counties still using paperless, unverifiable Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines. The forensic audit was being done for free by two concerned Carnegie-Mellon Computer Science professors.

The experts' examination and board's investigations were nearing completion when Judge Lobaugh issued an order of court yesterday, dismissing the specially appointed Election Board.

The documents, which are public filings, are available at link above.

------------------

MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

EXHIBIT A

[oldhippydude]

7. this should be front page news

sure its some backwater.. but in an earlier day, investigative journalists would jump all over something like this, alas the corporate media is deaf..

just another facet of repression.. add this too to the list of what ows is about!!

[zacherystaylor]

9. This is quickly becoming stadard opporating procedure.

Over the pas twelve years this has been happening so often that I can't keep track of all the books that have been written about the subject. It can't go on much longer unless we either have reform or we have an even more draconian clamp down on democracy that could escalate if unchecked.