From Bev Harris [bev@blackboxvoting.org]
Sent: 26 May, 2009 7:08 PM
SUFFOLK (NY): OBSERVERS BOOTED OUT TO COUNT VOTES IN SECRET (you can discuss this here: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/80408.htm )
Mainstream press is picking up on accurate framing of the issues. A New York location decided to count votes in secret; a local reporter called them out on it. We need to recognize that laws which prohibit the public
from observing the vote count are in fact improper and invalid, because they
transfer the power from the public to government insiders. This goes for the
party-centric models as well, where political party observers are allowed but
not the public.
Now, as for nonpartisan elections, we already know that
some locations have taken the position that no observation by anyone --
including the parties -- will be permitted in the nonpartisan elections. Pima
County Arizona took this position just a few weeks ago, blocking both the
public and party observers from observing the count and the poll closing
(tallying and reconciliation activities).
Regardless of whether it's (arguably) legal, we need to
call secret vote-counting what it is, out loud, and advocate for roll-back of
undemocratic vote-counting laws and practices.
I am very pleased to see mainstream reporters getting
involved in the right-to-know aspects in election reform. Here's a short but
dead-on article, which shows that our efforts to insert the "rights"
frame into election coverage are working:
The Suffolk Times - May 21, 2009: Counting votes behind
closed doors is wrong
"A strange thing happened Tuesday night in
Oysterponds. District officials decided to count the votes cast in Tuesday's
election in secret . . . Even Oysterponds school board president Ted Webb was
ushered out of the room on election night. . . . The count should be a public
act. But oddly, that's not what New York state law says. According to John
Conklin, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, it's perfectly legal to
exclude the public and the press from the room when votes are being tallied.
"But Bev Harris, founder and director of the
Seattle-based nonprofit BlackBoxVoting.org, said a public counting process is
fundamental to our system of government, based on the Declaration of
Independence. 'You can't have liberty without self-government. You can't have
self-government if you count votes in secret. Liberty and self-government are
considered by the Declaration to be inalienable rights, endowed by our creator.
You can't pass a law that takes away these freedoms," she said.
"Having government insiders count votes in secret effectively transfers
power from the people to the government.'"
[LET ME CLARIFY: The reporter quotes me as saying
"you can't pass a law that takes away these freedoms" -- obviously,
you CAN pass a law, but the law is invalid. We had laws allowing slavery, but
these were ultimately deemed invalid and, even while they were in place, many
citizens realized that these laws violated this nation's founding principles
upon and, in actions like the Underground Railroad, acted outside those laws.]
Mainstream news article about New York secret
vote-counting: http://www2.timesreview.com/ST/stories/T052109_edit
