I have just one question: If elections administrators -- the ultimate insiders for control of vote-counting computers and local voting lists -- are in a position to create advantage for candidates or a political party, why make their jobs into patronage positions?
Chew on that for a minute. Tennessee's going nuts plugging in the partisans:
(TN) COUNTY ELECTION OFFICIALS BEING DUMPED DUE TO PARTY AFFILIATION -
Local election boards in Tennessee are claiming they can fire election administrators based on political party. The state attorney general disagrees. Nevertheless, ousted they are: Loudon County's election official, fired. Roane County election official told "You're out." At issue in Tennessee is whether the position of election administrator is a hire or a patronage appointment.
Six counties have already announced they are pushing out their election officials; Monroe County's election administrator is sweating his job, and officials in Anderson, Union, Sevier, Greene, Knox, Jefferson and Cocke County are in the hot seat. Cumberland, McMinn, Hamblen, and Morgan election officials have already bit the dust.
News link:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=85535&catid=2
Many crying foul as election administrators see unprecedented turnover
Woops here's another… (TN) WEAKLEY: ELECTION DIRECTOR DUMPED IN POLITICAL ACTION; PARTISAN INSTALLED - News link:
Northwest Tennessee Today - May 1, 2009, by Sabrina Bates
http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=26064
Hopping over to Washington State, let's have a look at something all-too-familiar to Black Box Voting: Refusal to fork over election-related public records. At least Washington State has a remedy of sorts (fines for noncompliance). In most states you're just out of luck.
(WA) KING - COUNTY TO PAY $225,000 FOR WITHHOLDING ROSSI RECORDS
A King County election records lawsuit ended up with the county agreeing to pay a whopping penalty fine. Get this, and this is why public right to know is CRUCIAL: The records reveal that King County officials unlawfully counted hundreds of ineligible ballots in the Rossi/Gregoire gubernatorial race (a race that went to hand recount, separated by just a few votes) and the records finally released show that King County concealed this information well after the election and gubernatorial contest trial.
And here's why the combination of ACORN-style mistakes (Voter lists filled with crud) combined with massive mail-in voting procedures is toxic to election transparency: It obstructs our ability to get at the truth for years, if we can get the truth at all.
Then-King County elections official Dean Logan, now elections chief in massive 6-million-voter Los Angeles County (another mail-in voting powerhouse) was a named defendant in this lawsuit. Logan was the elections chief for nearly the entire time that the records were withheld. Sharkansky's Web site, http://www.soundpolitics.com, provides conservative political commentary and has also delivered several solid election integrity.
MOST AMERICANS JUST WANT FAIR TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS: The public interest (as contrasted with the partisan interest for either side) is that we want people eligible to vote voting, ineligibles off the list, all votes counted accurately, and the right to know. Without this, we deviate from the form of government originally envisioned by the founders of this nation.
Newslink: Seattle Times - April 25, 2009, by Gene Johnson
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009119716_blogger25.html (NH)
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