Can it be done? Of course, Lehigh County has been doing it that way for years. But my chief concern is that a sudden change like this, with no dry runs and no experience, means there will be mistakes Some machines might end up at the wrong polling places. The seals on some machines might be broken. While election judges call for replacements, voters will walk away from the polls disgusted. The possibility of election fraud, though remote, still exists.
I spoke to one of the six workers who has been told he''ll be pulled away from his regular job to make deliveries. Some bosses have told him its voluntary, while others have said he has no choice. "I have no idea where I'm going," he told me. "I just hope they give us a GPS."
They'll have three rental trucks.
I have another concern. John Brown is the County Executive and as such, wields incredible power. But he's not King. The administration of elections is under the jurisdiction of the Elections Commission, not him. His decision to make this change without their approval is in my view an abuse of his authority. When he speaks of the need for a "culture" change, perhaps it is he who needs to change his bean counter attitude and start following the law.
Hopefully, this matter will be addressed by Council when they meet next week.
20 comments:
Brown is down right entertaining now. Wants to save $40,000? Can't he save $76,000 if he didn't hire his friend to do consulting work and write the sophomoric county newsletters? Wouldn't the county also save money for not paying unqualified people over $87,000? The person prior to Allen had a college degree and Master degree and years of administration experience, yet a high school grad with life insurance background he hires and pays more than the predecessor. Maybe he needs to cut back in his own office or get the salaries right there.
Good move by Brown. Haters gonna hate. Ignored bloggers gonna hate a lot. If the potential pitfalls you cite can't be addressed, it doesn't say much for government - regardless of who's attempting to run it. The employees who think they need GPS are incompetent and should be fired. They should know their county. If not, they should not work for it. A third grader could do the job.
And no, I'm not Mezzakooky or the pathetic blog mentor.
Just another Bo hate article
This annoys me. I am running for election this year. I am self-funding my campaign at least through the primary and spending a significant amount of my savings to do so. It will all be for naught if there is no way to vote on May 19.
Is the $40,000 just for the primary plus another $40,000 for the general or $40,000 for both?
7:38 real bright observations. Yes, a third grader could certainly drive a u-haul truck, navigate without assistance throughout the entire county and lug around 100 pound voting machines. Maybe third graders in your third grade mind! Let's give every county employee a test on the 172 polling locations and see if they pass. If not, fire them as you suggest. Then we will give YOU the test and ban you from this blog if you don't pass. Sounds fair.
Bernie, thank you for staying on top of this story. This is an extremely important story, even if others don't realize it now.
Consider how problematic this can be if you are a current candidate, are in a tight race, and a couple of the machines come up with inexplicable numbers -- like zero voters, even though 900 people have signed in to vote -- or 10,000 votes, when written records and signatures reflect only 250 voters came in on Election Day.
Would you accept the results of that race? Would you be willing to throw away all the time, money and effort you poured into getting elected?
I would hate to be a candidate in Northampton County this election, with this level of ignorant and stubborn leadership. And that's the nicest interpretation.
What if someone did have plans to intentionally alter the outcome of the races in certain precincts? How would we know? How could someone rectify the situation? How could they prove it?
Leaving this much to chance, at the hands of people who are clearly not equipped to deal with these issues, is beyond incompetent -- it is willfully disrespectful of the citizens' right to vote, and to have that vote cast -- for either party or for any candidate -- fairly and accurately.
And for the record, this is not a negative reflection on the county workers who are being forced to deal with and deliver these machines to the various precincts. I am not inferring that they would act in any kind of a dishonorable way. But Brown's approach with this process certainly sets the stage for tampering on the part of someone who WOULD have nefarious intent, and it certainly undermines faith in our election process.
This is something that affects everyone, regardless of your political beliefs.
For those Brown supporters, or die-hard Republicans out there -- how would you feel if a Democratic administration came up with this fly-by-night plan? Would YOU have confidence in this election?
And for the Democrats out there, you should be screaming bloody murder about this, and DEMANDING a fair, secure and transparent election process.
Bernie, I again thank you for staying on top of this story. I just wish other local reporters would do the same.
9?05, It is $40,0000 for both,
"Good move by Brown. Haters gonna hate. Ignored bloggers gonna hate a lot. If the potential pitfalls you cite can't be addressed, it doesn't say much for government - regardless of who's attempting to run it. The employees who think they need GPS are incompetent and should be fired. They should know their county. If not, they should not work for it. A third grader could do the job.
And no, I'm not Mezzakooky or the pathetic blog mentor."
You should be if you think a county employee, by virtue of the fact that he works for the county, should know where everything is located. How idiotic and arrogant!
How stupid are employees who claim they can't navigate or read a frickin map? Have they always been this dumb or are the using the idiocy defense to protest yet another executive they don't like? You just can't make this stuff up.
And if the exec doesn't attempt to end this kind of waste, who will? I'm not thrilled with Brown. But he's correct on this one.
9:19, Hopefully, it will get addressed by Council. To me, this is an example of Brown's administration, and its own flaws.It is primarily arrogance. Instead of engaging the elections office, which I believe has only one person to look after the machines , this is a top down, we know better approach. It is imposed by a high school grad who, up until last year, had no experience beyond a two-person office. This belief that they know best betrays a contempt for the workforce they claim is so valuable. The idea might really be a good idea, but not the way it is being executed. There needs to be more engagement with the workforce. In addition, Brown is overstepping his authority. Decisions like these should be made by the elections commission, not a partisan elected official who has every reason to want to suppress the vote.
"How stupid are employees who claim they can't navigate or read a frickin map? Have they always been this dumb or are the using the idiocy defense to protest yet another executive they don't like? You just can't make this stuff up. "
Your disdain for the workforce is noted. It fits right in with Brown.
9:39,
no he's just honest
Brownstain is NOT smart enough to come up with this new scheme, But his "former" mentor Vic Scomillio is running for Judge this year in Browns county. AHA so what a perfect time to "collect" the data, oops the machines.
More abuse of power....more of the same. Absolute nightmare. Shameful.
As pointed out in your previous story... it costs about $66 per machine. How much will the diesel fuel, Penske rental trucks and overtime cost?
That I cannot answer yet.
I jumped on Penske's website. A business rate for a 16' economy van is $114 per day plus taxes and.35/mile. Assuming the county is split into quadrants, that's 376 on just the trucks before taxes and mileage.
The fuel economy of these gasoline powered vans is "up to 12mpg" I'll be generous and give them 10 MPG. The NW quadrant is furthest from Easton, and more than likely 175 miles until all stops are complete. without getting too winded, Fuel and trucks alone for the northern half of the county is over $2000. One could easily argue the trucks county wide alone could come in at a conservative estimate of 10% of the $40,000.
Again, I'm assuming just 4 penske trucks, and zero personnel, insurance and other employee related costs in this noble endeavor for 2 elections.
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