UPDATE ON EARLY VOTING PROBLEMS IN SAN DIEGO--AN ASSEMBLYWOMAN RESPONDS!

[Liberty Belle]

Source: East County Magazine editor

Yesterday I reported here on problems with early voting in San Diego. Thanks to all who kicked that posting up on to the homepage. Lines for early voting in San Diego were even longer today -- 5 hours by late afternoon.

I met Assemblywoman Lori Saldana today and informed her of the problem, then asked why San Diego only has 1 early voting polling place for the entire county with over 4,100 square miles. Moments later, at a press conference to announce that our county has just turned "blue" in registration balance, Saldana told the media that she intends to look into problems of early voting when the Legislature returns to session and will fight to obtain more early voting locations.

"With a city of a few million people, it doesn't make sense for people to have to drive hours to vote," she said. "We need to make sure Californians have the same access to voting early that voters in other states have."

Assemblywoman Mary Salas agreed, noting that her own daughter has been waiting several hours in line and still hasn't been able to vote.

Thanks to all of you at DU who responded to my post yesterday and informed me that other cities and states have multiple early voting locations. I am going to suggest to the Assemblywomen that voting in city halls be considered, since our County has 18 different cities, as a DU member pointed out.

Meanwhile, voters here are determined to vote regardless of long lines. I saw only 2 people leave, out of thousands amassed yesterday at the ROV.

It should be noted that San Diego's ROV is a former Diebold sales rep, and our assistant ROV oversaw the crooked elections in Cuyahoga County Ohio, where lines ran 8 hours or more and two employees were convicted of felony vote rigging.

I wrote an article for East County Magazine on this, which will be posted as soon as our webmaster has a few minutes to catch up on new postings, most likely tomorrow (www.eastcountymagazine.org) Sadly, we have another article up on people who are having to regularly stand in even longer lines -- hungry folks here in East County, where food bank lines are running 6 hours or more and demand for food has doubled in the past 3 months. No wonder this formerly red area just turned blue!

Read more: None - firsthand reports by reporter

[Why Syzygy]

1. Do you have

any links or additional information re: the employees convicted of vote rigging? Thanks!
I don't think Americans like having their votes stolen. We had a vivid example of what happens when that is allowed.

[Liberty Belle]

3. Here ya go...

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/former_diebold_.html

another piece written by an attorney who posts here at DU:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0704/S00247.htm

[Why Syzygy]

21. Unfortunately,

I think those cases were against Democrats. At least, that's the information I found with other searches.

This is complicated by the Repukes efforts to further obliterate Democracy with their Right to Vote Act and prosecutions of the Justice Department. When people yelled, "foul", they threw a few Democrats and people who MISTAKENLY registered wrong or were not eligible under the prison bus. The depths of their depravity knows no bounds.

[4lbs]

2. Good job, from a fellow San Diegan.

n/t

[Kind of Blue]

5. I second that, fellow San Diegan!

[fasttense]

4. Excessive waiting in lines to carry out your duty as a citizen

is a poll tax brought to you by Republicons. The poor can't afford to spend all day in line. The elderly, ill and handicapped can't take the strain on their bodies. Yet every 4 years we hear about this. Thanks Republicons, you are a total waste of our tax dollars.

In the wealthiest country in the world, we can't run an election without four to eight hour waits in most major cities? This is what you get from people who want to drown your government. Competent governance is ignored in order to prevent people from exercising their rights.

[clixtox]

10. Absolutely correct, except for the part about...

"the wealthiest country in the world" mention.

We are the most profligate for sure! Individually and collectively we have certainly spent like we were fabulously wealthy, or we would surely be making money, sorta like King Midas did, real soon! Toys galore...

We individually and especially our (s)elected "leaders" waste resources worse than drunken cocaine addicts with their expensive war-crimes and "defense" boondoggles, propping up failed "masters of the universe" bankers and brokers, losing the racist "war on drugs", growing the prison gulag, spying on the whole world and numerous other fascist inspired bamboozlements.

Presently we owe so much to others around the world that we are beyond broke and we have no choice but to somehow continue to coerce more foreign capital in trade for our U$ Dollar denominated Treasury bonds, etc. How long will they need us more than we need them?

Our only asset remaining is our "shop until you drop" consumers. With the latest "new economy", that learned ability to find happiness in material possessions and "keeping up with the Joneses" paradigm is changing lately to focus on keeping fed, sheltered and clothed.

Uh oh...

[Career Prole]

6. Well done, from a former San Diegan.

A kick, a rec, and a hat tip to you for a job well done.
:applause:

[Proud-D]

7. Awesome

What I want to know is when is the person who hired these ROV's up for reelection? We simply MUST vote that person out of office ASAP!

[Liberty Belle]

13. Walt Eckhardt is an appointee, not elected.

He's the County Administrative Officer.

What we need is new Supervisors on the County board. They are all conservative Republicans who don't give a damn about election integrity. I sat through a hearing where all the damning evidence was presented and they ignored it all.

[barbtries]

8. 5 hours to vote, 6 to eat

san diego's hurting big time. is this because of the fires? well with the voting obviously it's the republicans, but the food? it sounds really dread.
CA native now living in NC.

[Liberty Belle]

14. No, La Mesa was not affected by the fires, though people are still hurting from them.

There are a lot of older people in La Mesa who just can't make it on a fixed income anymore. Also disabled people, low-income families, etc. High gas prices are killing people here, where we are so dependent on cars without mass transit.

[Peace Patriot]

9. Her name is Deborah Seiler, SD's Reg. of Voters--former chief salesperson for Diebold

in California. She is part of a cabal of CA county registrars--including Riverside, San Bernardino, Contra Costa and other counties (and former Los Angeles county registrar Connie McCormack)--who are in the pocket of these rightwing Bushite election theft corporations (Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia), and who are intent on fucking with our election system, by, a) privatized, corporatized, non-transparent vote counting, b) completely unverifiable vote counting (touchscreens), and c) secrecy and exclusion of the public from all aspects of vote counting.

San Diegans need to GET RID OF HER. Last election (06) she and this cabal SUED Sec of State Debra Bowen, to prevent Bowen's very mild reforms from being implemented (for instance, a required 10% audit in very close elections, within 0.05%). They lost--Bowen's rules won. This lawsuit, among other things, was a complete waste of taxpayers' money on a lawsuit to prevent transparency. Bowen has banned touchscreens, and required a paper ballot. The cabal is very upset about this. They want completely unverifiable elections, for the power it gives them, to please their masters--the corporate vendors--and to promote a rightwing agenda in California. When McCormack was heading this cabal, they led the campaign to run our former good Sec of State, Kevin Shelley, out of office, on entirely bogus corruption charges, after he sued Diebold and demanded to see their source code, six months prior to the 2004 election. It was the ugliest Rove-style campaign I've ever seen in California. The Democratic leadership in the state legislature dove under their desks, in fear of Diebold & brethren and their cabal of bought and paid for county registrars.

Seiler is now the lead perp of this cabal. The extremist rightwing element of the Puke party in California, and the Corpo/Fascists who put Schwarzenegger in office to protect Enron and other Texas energy corps, are likely grooming her to run against Bowen.

So-o-o-o, the long lines in San Diego are no accident. This is intentional vote suppression--because, with Bowen in charge as Sec of State, they can't just fucking steal millions of votes, the way they were doing--and the long lines are also possibly intended to hurt Bowen--to make her new rules--banning touchscreens, requiring a paper trail--seem to be the problem. There have been several statements by members of this cabal to that effect--any problems are Bowen's fault, for requiring more transparency!

Election reform activists got rid of McCormack in Los Angeles. This is what needs to happen in San Diego. Deborah Seiler must go! San Diego shouldn't have a Diebold sales rep as county registrar of voters, and one who files frivolous lawsuits on behalf of these criminal corporations, and one who promotes secrecy and unverifiable vote counting, and one with ambitions to impose these fascist policies on the whole state. Get rid of her NOW--before the Corpo/Fascist media and rightwing dragons start with the bogus corruption charges and dirty tricks, trying sully the squeaky clean Debra Bowen, like they did the squeaky clean Kevin Shelley. They managed to deprive California of one of its best Secretaries of State, at a crucial time (investigation of the 2004 election theft, and potential exposure of the Davis recall election theft that installed Schwarzenegger). They may well be intending to do that again--or something similar--to Bowen. That's what I see developing--they want to install Deborah Seiler as Sec of State.

[bertman]

11. Thanks for the insight, Peace Patriot. Is there no law against conflict of interest for positions

like these state jobs? This kind of stuff seems like it would be illegal.

Just wonderin'.

[Peace Patriot]

19. Kevin Shelley banned "revolving door" employment in his office (and I'm sure that's

the standard in Bowen's office), but this generally involves a state elections employee leaving public service and jumping into a job with the corporate election theft vendors--the opposite of what Seiler has done (jumping from corporate vendor into 'public service'). I actually don't know what the law says, with regard to the former (more often the case--public to corporate) but it must be very lax, since the Republican who preceded Kevin Shelley as Sec of State, Bill Jones, and his chief aide, Alfie Charles, jumped right into jobs with one of the big three vendors--Sequoia--after bringing the curse of privately-run electronic voting to California during their stint in office.

As for what Seiler did--jumping from Diebold into a public elections office (first in San Joaquin County, where her creds were laundered, thence to the pivotal San Diego top spot), it may be unprecedented. I don't know of any laws against it, but it is most definitely unethical. And when have Pukes and Corpo/Fascists ever been respectful of ethics? They are lawless bastards, but they have a lot of lawyers--don't we know it!--to try to keep them out of jail, while they steal elections, torture prisoners and slaughter a million people in Iraq--and rob our country blind.

The pressure will have to be on ethical and "conflict of interest grounds"--unless somebody can find a law that has been violated. (Is she getting a pension from Diebold? That would be an egregious 'conflict of interest'--tying her income directly to Diebold profits--rather like Cheney's pension/golden parachute from Halliburton). I believe the position is appointed by the County Supes--who, of course, are all 'elected' by these election theft machines--a nice, neat circle of corruption. Got to find some wedge into this blockade against reform. I don't think she was elected. I'm pretty sure the Riverside County Reg of Voters is appointed, as is Reg of Voters in L.A. County. But I think some County Reg's of Voters are elected. They should all be elected, in my opinion. With every vote on a paper ballot, hand-counted at the precinct level.

But she--and a number of other County Reg's of Voters--have got to go! They are a menace to democracy!

[Liberty Belle]

20. Seiler is a County Employee and in SD County, revolving doors are commonplace.

I reported on a Blackwater lawyer hired by the County to oversee Blackwater's environmental report! At least they had the decency to remove her when that little scam got exposed.

[Liberty Belle]

15. Seiler as SOS would be the death knoll of democracy in CA.

[crispini]

12. Here is our list of Early Voting locations for our county

One is RIDICULOUS! :mad:

http://www.dalcoelections.org/nov42008/EVLocations.htm

For about 1 million registered voters:

EARLY VOTING (Temprano Votando)
Dates, Times and Locations for the (Fechas, épocas y localizaciones para)
General Election (Elección General)
November 4, 2008 (4 de noviembre, 2008)

October 20, 2008 (Monday through Friday) October 24, 2008 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
20 de octubre, 2008 (de lunes a viernes) 24 de octubre, 2008 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

October 25, 2008 (Saturday) 7:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.
25 de octubre, 2008 (sábado) 7:00 A.M. –7:00 P.M.

October 26, 2008 (Sunday) 1:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.
26 de octubre, 2008 (domingo) 1:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.

October 27, 2008 (Monday through Friday) October 31, 2008 7:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.
27 de octubre, 2008 (de lunes a viernes) 31 de octubre, 2008 7:00 A.M. – 7:00 P.M.

Ctrl-click for Google Map of all Early Voting Locations or
Ctrl-click on a location name to see a map to the polling location.

Addison Fire Station #1
4798 Airport Pkwy
Addison
75001

Audelia Road Library
10045 Audelia Rd
Dallas
75238

DeSoto East Middle School
601 E Belt Line Rd
DeSoto
75115

Duncanville Library
201 James Collins Blvd.
Duncanville
75116

Dunford Recreation Center
1015 Green Canyon Dr.
Mesquite
75150

Fretz Park Recreation Center
6950 Belt Line Road
Dallas
75254

Garland City Hall
200 N. Fifth Street
Garland
75040

Boze Secondary Learning Center
( Replaces Grand Prairie Development Center)
202 College Avenue
Grand Prairie
75050

Grauwyler Park Rec Center
7780 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas
75235

Harry Stone Recreation Center
2403 Millmar Dr.
Dallas
75228

Irving City Hall
825 W. Irving Blvd
Irving
75060

Josey Ranch Library
1700 Keller Springs Rd.
Carrollton
75006

Lancaster Library
1600 Veterans Memorial Pkwy
Lancaster
75134

Martin Luther King Jr Core Bldg.
2922 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Dallas
75215

Martin Weiss Recreation Center
1111 Martindell Ave
Dallas
75211

Northway Baptist Church
3877 Walnut Hill Lane
Dallas
75229

Oak Cliff Sub-Courthouse
410 S. Beckley Ave.
Dallas
75203

Our Redeemer Lutheran
7611 Park Lane
Dallas
75225

Pleasant Oaks Recreation Center
8701 Greenmound Ave.
Dallas
75227

Records Building
509 Main Street
Dallas
75202

Richardson Civic Center
411 W. Arapaho Rd.
Richardson
75080

Rowlett Library
3900 Main Street
Rowlett
75088

St Luke Community Life Center
(Replaces Samuell Grand Rec Ctr)
6211 E Grand Ave
Dallas
75223

Valley Ranch Library
401 Cimarron Trail
Irving
75063

Veterans Medical Center (Main Lobby)
4500 S Lancaster
Dallas
75216

West Dallas Multipurpose Center
2828 Fish Trap Rd
Dallas
75212

[Liberty Belle]

16. Thanks for the Texas update. What security measures are in place to protect machines and ballots?

that is the argument made here againt more locations.

[crispini]

18. Early voting locations are in secure buildings

churches, civic centers, schools.

The elections department has a presence at each EV location, although the polling place is largely staffed by volunteers.

I've never actually worked early voting myself, so I can't give much more detail than that, but I'm sure that after the election our county elections deparment woud be glad to chat. They're wonderful helpful people down there.

[GetTheRightVote]

17. Great work and dedication to the worries of your community !!!

:kick::kick::kick: