I'm unsure whether any Council members have been appointed to Northampton County's "Election Integrity Committee," to say nothing whether any meetings have been scheduled. In the meantime, the Presidential Primary is coming at the county like a freight train. Moreover, despite an internal investigation that resulted in the resignation of Administrator Charles Deringer, there's been no public airing from the administration about precisely what went wrong and what steps are being taken to guard against it happening again. We know the Express Vote XL was improperly coded. We know that the coding error was somehow missed during logic and accuracy (L&A) testing. We know that there was chaos on election day because the county failed to provide precincts with a sufficient number of emergency ballots. The purpose of this post is to solicit practical suggestions that can be implemented in time for an election just three months away.
Scrapping the Express Vote XL and switching to another system at this late date is totally impractical. It would be impossible to solicit bids for a new system and train people in time for a new election. Also, the county has no say in issues like Voter ID, early voting or mail-in ballots. That is a matter for the state legislature, not a county government.
Here are some practical suggestions I'd urge the following:
1) The county administration, which has been fairly transparent about what went wrong, should release a public report detailing all the errors discovered and describing the corrective measures taken.
2) Elections workers are paid the statutory maximum on election day. I believe that they should be paid for two days and should be required to visit the polling place the evening before the election to set up and ensure that they have the right machines and right epollbooks for the precinct. They should also be required to send a text message from the county-supplied phone to the elections office to ensure that messages are being received. This may not be possible in every precinct. to the extent it can be done, it should be done.
3) At the last County Council meeting, Executive Lamont McClure laid out a number of mandatory training dates for elections workers. Though it sounded impressive, the reality is that there is only one training date required for each worker. There are numerous dates to accommodate the schedules of elections workers. The County should actively solicit county employees to participate in these training sessions and assist other elections workers.
4) Although most people who work elections do so for patriotic reasons, there are some who have a history of making partisan remarks and belong to organizations that undermine public confidence in elections. If these are elected elections officials, they cannot be fired. But the county should refuse to use them. This danger needs to be reviewed in every precinct. At the last elections commission, I heard two elections workers from a Hanover precinct admit that they knowingly gave incorrect information to voters, saying there would be a special election when nothing of that sort was intimated. Those people need to go away.
5) Training concerning the use of provisional ballots must intensify. Too many elections workers are completely unfamiliar with them or their purpose. If a voter wishes to cast a ballot and insists he is registered when you have no such record, he must be afforded the option of voting provisionally.
18 comments:
Now wait a minute: you cite all these things that went wrong, and yet you were chiding that guy for not voting to certify the results? I in good conscience couldn't vote to certify them either. And if enough people did, something's rotten in Denmark!
1 day of voting. In person. Paper ballots. Can't make it to a poll? Don't vote. Want to vote? Find a way to the poll. Don't like it? Leave.
I personally am tired of dealing with the machines since just about every time you go to use them there are problems of some type. Maybe not all the times but even if its once; that's a problem. I will only vote using a paper ballot and would recommend the same to anyone that wants to make sure his or hers vote is correct.
Bernie, all 5 of these are cogent, well reasoned and rational suggestions that the county (and country) should strongly consider and in fact adopt. Sadly some bureaucrat will be offended that its not their idea and quickly look for a reason to shitcan it.
Not sure if its practical or relevant, but I would humbly suggest having a Presidential Election that doesnt have Biden or Trump on the ballot.
How about interviewing Dertinger and publishing his comments. I'd be interested in hearing what he has to offer. Many people feel he was McClure's scapegoat. Dertinger came off as the fall guy. I'd like to hear his comments.
Sadly, BO, NORCO will screw up the next election also. What is even more sad is that this is a national problem that has been created by both sides of the aisle. Election integrity is nothing but a misnomer.
How come the only voter fraud cases that come to light are by republicans? Why do republicans cry voter fraud without cause?
“The jury found that Mr. Trump inserted his fingers into her vagina and that Ms. Carroll did not make up her claim.”
Lastly, keep the rapist with 91 felony charges away from any elected office office!
I would prefer only in-person voting with the requirement to show ID. It seems so simple and basic. I had to have my PA Drivers License scanned at the Wegmans check-out just to buy a 4 pack of beer last night. It didn't offend me, I didn't mind at all.
Could we please have a primary that includes all the states on the same day? The idea that the 1st few states with earlier primaries decide who will be running for president has always irked me. Or maybe PA should move its primary date to have more of an impact as was discussed in the past.
I have asked for practical suggestions that we can implement on a county level. I am getting comments like the above or the typical partisan rant talking points instead. Let's think local.
Switch to all mail voting. All voters from any party could cast their votes privately and without fear of intimidation. Ballots are only mailed to the address on the registered voter list. Since to register you must show proof of age, citizenship or registered alien status, and legal address no further id is required. Ballots can be counted by machine, and voters can be informed via computer when their vote was counted. There are at least 8 states now that have mail only elections. Eliminate the drama. Save money and time. Save gas. And don't forget covid.
I like that idea of switching to all male voting. Great idea 11:28 AM. That could resolve a lot of our problems. All Male voting gets my vote.
1. Perform a “design of experiments” approach on the Quality Assurance testing of the machines prior to Election Day, with sufficient time allowed for correction of errors. My recollection of this blog’s accounts of last year’s problems is that some errors were due to undiscovered programming gaps. Knowledgeable people (not me or anyone in my circle) could make a determination as to whether every possible voting combination needs to be tested on every machine, or if just some critical vote combinations might result in errors, with testing on a single machine. Wherever in that spectrum the best test lies, the county should be assured that the machines are ready to go with the actual ballot loaded. Then the county should assure the public that the votes will be properly counted.
2. Corresponding to your item 2, a rehearsal setup would be a good thing. Something to consider is that if the machines were left set up overnight, how can they be secured? Armed guards? Vibration alarms? How much time and effort would be involved in resealing the machines after a rehearsal, and reopening them on Election Day? If you do a preliminary setup, especially if all poll workers are present, can they go through a role play exercise? Local curmudgeons might - might - volunteer to “challenge” poll workers at the precincts, presenting such scenarios as those requiring provisional ballots, or complaining about simulated improprieties by poll workers.
3. If a role play exercise the day before the election is impractical, could such a training session be distributed in time and place? Think online or having the scenarios run through at other training sessions, but not en masse? I don’t know if the county’s current training incorporates this sort of stress test, or is just “overhead slide” [no trademark referenced :) ] based.
3. Last, do enough members of the public care to the point of being poll watchers? Perhaps annoying to poll workers who want their shoulders unwarmed by condensation, but perhaps beneficial in today’s environment.
@12:38
All ‘male’ voting? You said it twice. I think people who don’t understand basic reading and arithmetic shouldn’t be voting at all. Unfortunately it’s people like you who help decide who our next president is going to be.
Im have rejected a number of suggestions that would require changes to state and federal law. Thuis is intended for suggestions on the county level.
Drop boxes in Portland and Walnutport.
No drop boxes
3:35, Thank you for an actual practical suggestion that the county can consider. There are drop boxes in each of the 4 county districts (Bethlehem, Easton, Bethlehem Tp and U Nazareth). Before the last election, the elections comm'n recommended an additional drop box in region 4. The admin declined to implement that recommendation. portland and walnutport are the northwestern and northeastern tips of the county and region 4. I think it would be absurd to have drop boxes there, but it might make sense to have a more centrally located drop box in region 4, in Pen Argyl or Wind Gap. That is geographically spread out so this recommendation for an additional drop box should be considered more seriously than it has been.
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