Dauphin County to Defy State Order For New Voting Systems

A 2016 lawsuit filed by former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein called Pennsylvania's election system a "national disgrace" and the voting machines "vulnerable, hackable, antiquated technology." Tom Wolf, the Neville Chamberlain of governors, settled the case by ordering all counties, in February 2018 and through the Department of State, to replace existing systems with "new modern machines" that include a voter verifiable paper trail. They must be in place before the 2020 Presidential election. According to Acting Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, 46 of Pennsylvania;s 67 counties were ready to use these new systems in November's just-held election. Another six counties are taking steps to have them in place next year. But what about the rest? If you're in Dauphin County, the answer to the state in NUTS.

Dauphin County's Republican Board of Commissioners are defying the Department of State.

"There’s an old saying: ‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,’” Commissioner Mike Pries told the Carlisle Sentinel. “Our machines work, they’re fundamentally sound, we trust our machines, you cannot hack our machines.”

Since the state plans to decertify all the older systems on December 31, Dauphin is playing a dangerous game.

State Rejects Challenge to ExpressVote XL From Paper Ballot Purists

The ExpressVote XL with male model 

Under Pennsylvania's Election Code, ten or more citizens have the right to challenge the Department of State's certification of a voting system. That's exactly what happened to the ExpressVote XL voting system, a hybrid that combines a voter-verified paper trail with the simplicity of a touch screen. This system was certified by both the federal and state governments in November 2018. Eight months later, a consortium of paper ballot purists filed a challenge, which triggered an automatic re-examination. This was conducted,off-site, in August. On September 3, the Department of State rejected the challenge (read report here) and has maintained its certification.

This petition for re-examination was signed by 200 citizens in "Free Speech for People," "National Election Defense Coalition," and  "Citizens For Better Elections." With a full quiver, they launched 10 separate attacks on the ExpressVote XL in the vain hope that at least one of them might hit its intended target. They missed.

Seven of these arrows were batted away because "they amount to purely legal arguments which do not apply to the reexamination or certification of an electronic voting system."

The first argument considered is that it's possible to tamper with the machine. I suppose it's possible to tamper with any voting system, but independent examiners were unable to do so after two days of testing.

Second, paper ballot purists complained that the paper ballots cast into a secured black box are in chronological order, making it possible to determine how someone voted. This was rejected because the votes go into a sealed black box that is never seen by poll workers. Also, when the ballot boxes are returned, the paper ballots are commingled by the county elections office before the canvas (official count).

Third, if a voter decides he is unhappy with his paper ballot, he can "quit" and ask for a new ballot. Because an elections worker must retrieve the spoiled ballot, these "better elections" people complain a poll worker might see the spoiled ballot. Well, they might see a spoiled paper ballot, too. Moreover, the ballot is located on the far right side of the machine and is very difficult to review unless a concerted effort is made. Moreover, it's a spoiled ballot that goes right into a spoiled ballot envelope, not the actual vote  So there's no privacy violation.

These "better election" groups are naturally still complaining, but the company that makes the ExpressVote XL feels vindicated.

""We appreciate that the DOS conducted its due diligence and we respect the right of anyone who wants to ask questions and learn more about our voting machines," said Election Systems and Software VP Steve Pearson. "Many counties throughout the Commonwealth have already been experiencing positive results with demonstrations and trainings. We look forward to working with all counties utilizing our systems and ensuring that they have the tools necessary for proper education and outreach."

This system worked flawlessly in Warren County in November and in Delaware in May.

"Accessible and secure elections are our goal in Northampton County, and we have a system that’s passed the test twice!" said NorCo Exec Lamont McClure.

Express Vote XL Demonstrations

If you'd like to curse me out in person, today's your lucky day. I'll be demonstrating the ExpressVote XL voting system at Easton Area Community Center, 901 Washington St. Easton, PA. 18042, between 11:15am and 2:45pm. I promised. Unless I oversleep. If I do, Administrator Charles Dertinger and Voting Registrar Amy Hess will have me lined up before a firing squad composed of Deputy Sheriffs, Corrections Officers, Gracedale nurses and 911 dispatchers. So I have 18 alarms set.

If you'd like to try the XL, I can show you how it works. If I can show you, you must know this is a very user friendly system.

Additional demonstration dates are below:

September 7th Saturday 11:00am – 1:00pm Easton Public Market, 325 Northampton St. Easton, PA. 18042
September 9th Monday 10:00am – 1:00pm Bethlehem City Hall, 10 East Church St. Bethlehem, PA. 18018
September 13th Friday 9:00am-11:00am Cherryville Senior Center @ Hope Lutheran Church, 4131 Lehigh Dr. Cherryville, PA. 18035
September 16th Monday 10:00am – 1:00pm Nazareth Memorial Library 295 East Center St. Nazareth, PA. 18064
September 18th Wednesday 9:00am – 11:00am Slate Belt Senior Center, 707 American Bangor Road Bangor, PA. 18013
September 19th Thursday 11:00am – 1:00pm Northampton Senior Center, 902 Lincoln Ave. Northampton, PA. 18067
September 25th Wednesday 12:00pm – 2:00pm Old York Rd Senior Center, 720 Old York Rd. Bethlehem, PA. 18018
September 28th Saturday 11:00am – 1:00pm Easton Public Market, 325 Northampton St. Easton, PA. 18042
September 30th Monday 10:00am – 1:00pm Bethlehem City Hall, 10 East Church St. Bethlehem, PA. 18018
October 3rd Thursday 12:30pm – 2:30pm Cherryville Senior Center @ Hope Lutheran Church, 4131 Lehigh Dr. Cherryville, PA. 18035
October 5th Saturday 12:00pm – 2:00 pm Hanover Township Community Center- Fall Festival, 3660 Jacksonville Rd. Bethlehem, PA. 18017

Meet NorCo's New Voting System

In the weeks leading up to November's election, Northampton Councty has scheduled several demonstrations of the new voting system. It is called the Express Vote XL, and was certified by Pennsylvania's Department of State on November 30, 2018.

If you would like to see the system demonstrated for your organization, please contact Amy Cozze at Northampton County's Department of Administration. ((610) 829-6244.

August 13th Tuesday – August 17th Saturday 12:00pm – 8:00pm Blue Valley Farm Show@ the Block Building, 707 American Bangor Rd. Bangor, PA. 18013

August 29th Thursday 11:00am – 12:30pm Northampton Community College Partner Fair, 3835 Green Pond Rd. Bethlehem, PA. 18020 @ the Quad between College Center and Kopecek Hall

September 3rd Tuesday 3:30pm – 6:30pm Bath Borough Municipal Building, 121 S. Walnut St. Bath, PA. 18014

September 4th Wednesday 11:15pm – 2:45pm Easton Area Community Center, 901 Washington St. Easton, PA. 18042

September 7th Saturday 11:00am – 1:00pm Easton Public Market, 325 Northampton St. Easton, PA. 18042

September 9th Monday 10:00am – 1:00pm Bethlehem City Hall, 10 East Church St. Bethlehem, PA. 18018

September 13th Friday 9:00am-11:00am Cherryville Senior Center @ Hope Lutheran Church, 4131 Lehigh Dr. Cherryville, PA. 18035

September 18th Wednesday 9:00am – 11:00am Slate Belt Senior Center, 707 American Bangor Road Bangor, PA. 18013

September 19th Thursday 11:00am – 1:00pm Northampton Senior Center, 902 Lincoln Ave. Northampton, PA. 18067

September 25th Wednesday 12:00pm – 2:00pm Old York Rd Senior Center, 720 Old York Rd. Bethlehem, PA. 18018

September 28th Saturday 11:00am – 1:00pm Easton Public Market, 325 Northampton St. Easton, PA. 18042

September 30th Monday 10:00am – 1:00pm Bethlehem City Hall, 10 East Church St. Bethlehem, PA. 18018

October 3rd Thursday 12:30pm – 2:30pm Cherryville Senior Center @ Hope Lutheran Church, 4131 Lehigh Dr. Cherryville, PA. 18035

October 5th Saturday 12:00pm – 2:00 pm Hanover Township Community Center- Fall Festival, 3660 Jacksonville Rd. Bethlehem, PA. 18017

Wolf Attempts End Run Over Voting Machines

Last year, Governor Tom Wolf decreed that all 67 counties must have voting systems with voter-verifiable paper trails in time for next year's Presidential election. But on July 5, he vetoed a bill that would help them pay for it because it also eliminated straight-party voting. Now he's attempting an end run. With no legislative authority, he's attempting to borrow $90 million through the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA). Good luck with that!

Whether the PEDFA has authority to float bonds for voting machines is highly questionable. Wolf himself suggested that a legislative solution is preferable. "It's a proposal that we can move forward with, I think, and if there's something that the Legislature wants to do that they think is better, again I'm all ears," he told Pittsburgh Action News in an unrelated news conference.

He added that "it's important to show good faith and that's what I'm doing here."

If he were really interested in showing good faith, he would have signed the bill instead of attempting what may be an illegal end run around the state legislature.

In addition to eliminating the straight-party vote, the legislation Wolf vetoed also extended the time for absentee ballots to be received and still counted by local elections offices. Every year, thousands of absentee ballots are rejected because they are not received by the Friday prior to an election.

“Our counties appreciate the governor finding a way forward that recognizes both the county need for funding assistance as well as the broad funding support we had in the General Assembly,” said Kathi Cozzone, president of the County Commissioner Association of Pennsylvania. “

She should wait until the counties actually see some money before saying thank you.

Cusick Bashes Harrisburg Over Refusal to Fund Voting Machines

John Cusick

John Cusick, who represents District Three on Northampton County Council, is a Republican. He nevertheless bashed Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled state legislature at last night's meeting of County Council over their reluctance to commit any funds to help counties purchase new voting machines. "The most critical thing we do is preserve our democracy," he argued. "Voting machines are part of that."

Last year, in response to a lawsuit, Pennsylvania's Department of State directed all 67 counties to select new voting systems that include a voter verifiable paper trail, making post-election audits more accurate. They must be in place before the 2020 primary. Though the statewide cost of his change is estimated at $125 million to $150 million, the state has yet to provide any of the funding. The federal government has provided a $342,000 grant to Northampton County.

In May, Northampton County Council approved the $2.9 million purchase of a new touchscreen voting system with a voter-verified paper trail. County officials expect to have it in place for November's election.

Governor Tom Wolf has proposed giving counties $15 million a year for the next five years to help them make this purchase. Republicans in the land of midnight payraises, however, claim this is Wolf's problem, not theirs.

"This was a crisis that the governor created, and he needs to resolve it," said Senate Majority leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) in an interview with WITF. "I feel bad for the counties, because he put a huge unfunded mandate on the counties, but that's his responsibility."

In order to stick it to Wolf, Republicans in Harrisburg are perfectly willing to stick it to counties.

"We've acted in good faith, it's time for the legislature to do the same," said the Williams Township algebra teacher.

Another Paper Ballot Problem in Montgomery County

Last week, I told you that a new paper ballot system in Montgomery County has been criticized by voters who cite long lines and privacy concerns, just as Northampton County's Amy Cozze and Charles Dertinger predicted. Now there's a new and a far more important problem. The results were inaccurate.

On election night, a library tax proposal in Hatboro passed by a scant 14 votes. It was actually a landslide, and passed 724-287. When the paper ballots were being scanned, a problem with the scanner recognized these ballots as write-in votes so they were not counted on election night.

This is just another indication that election judges, the election commission and Northampton County Council made the right call in going with Express Vote XL. In Delaware, which used this system on election day, there were no issues.

Paper Ballots Under Fire in Montgomery County

Last year, Pennsylvania's Department of State mandated all 67 counties to start using voting systems that include a voter-verifiable paper trail. They must be in place for next year's Presidential contest. In Northampton County, both the Elections Commission (3-2) and County Council (8-1) have opted for a new, $2.9 million, voting system called the Express Vote XL. It's a hybrid that combines a 32" touch screen with a independent voter-verifiable paper record that is digitally scanned.  The alternative was a paper ballot system. But a large number of  elections judges were leery of that alternative, citing privacy concerns, long lines and confusion. Based on the experience of voters in Montgomery County who used paper ballots in the Spring primary, it appears that every concern raised by judges was justified.

According to a Philadelphia Inquirer story, Montgomery began using paper ballots during the May 15 primary. Voters marked ballots with a pen, shading in bubbles like a n SAT, and then scanned them.

NorCo election judges and county administration employee Amy Cozze predicted that the use of paper ballots would create privacy concerns, and that's exactly what happened in Montgomery County. Cozze and election judges predicted long lines. That's exactly what happened in Montgomery County.

Montgomery election officials downplayed the complaints because otherwise, they'd have to admit they were wrong.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

At the Upper Dublin Sports Center, Prashant Rushi, 35, of Ambler, said it took him 20 minutes to vote around 7 a.m.

“This process isn’t going to fare well,” he said. “Imagine what it’s going to happen during the peak times.”

Rushi, a Democrat who works in health-care licensing, said he worries that in future elections people will ditch long lines and not vote because of the new system.

“Instead of going backward to paper ballots,” he said, "they should’ve gone forward to digital.”

Afternoon voter Thomas Wagner, a 67-year-old welder living in Plymouth Township, was also not a fan.

“Cardboard boxes. I’m impressed,” he said sarcastically. “We’re going back to basics. This is crazy.”

He said he was “forewarned” by neighbors who had voted earlier in the day.

“They said, `Bring a lunch. It might be a while.' ”

David Hartman, a 59-year-old Plymouth Township resident, volunteered at three local polling places to stump for school board candidates and said he heard mixed reactions to the machines.

The voting machine said he had “under voted,” because he didn’t vote for a district attorney candidate. But Hartman is a Republican and there was no Republican candidate on the ballot for DA.

  Misunderstandings like that “could slow things down” during the next election, he said.

“I’m worried for the general election more than this,” he said. “If it’s a big election where a lot of people turn out, there’s going to be a lot of people waiting. I don’t know how they’re going to handle that.”

Though the Express Vote XL underwent rigorous testing before certification, it was derided by Elections Commissioner Deb Hunter. NorCo Dem party boss Mat Munsey rallied a group against these machines with no true understanding. Hunter was more concerned about her own powers than the system itself. She also demonstrated a personal animus towards County Administrator Charles Dertinger. At one meeting, she spun around to ask him to be silent even though he was sitting there quietly.

The person who was speaking, perhaps a bit too loudly, was me. I was muttering because, instead of using her time before Council to address the competing systems, she was complaining about the lack of respect she was being accorded as an elections commissioner. That's irrelevant to which system should be chosen.

Executive Lamont McClure, who advocated Express Vote XL, said he respects Montgomery County's process. But he added, "All the fears that the Northampton County judges of elections told Council about  are real."  He noted the privacy concerns raised by Montgomery County voters and added ,"We vote in some tight spaces."

McClure has signed the contract to purchase the new system, and Acting Voter Registrar Amy Hess awaits their arrival. In addition to training election workers, she plans on several public displays.

Why Tuesday's Delaware Election Matters to NorCo

On Tuesday, voters in Delaware will elect school board candidates in two counties. Why does this matter to NorCo? Because the voting will be on the ExpressVote XL system, which has been proposed here. Northampton County is waiting to see how that election goes before voting to purchase the choice of Executive Lamont McClure, a vast majority of 40 election judges who viewed several systems, and a 3-2 recommendation of the county's Election Commission. The purchase is opposed by political activists, most of them Democrats, who want a return to paper ballots instead of a touchscreen.

Though both federal and state governments are pretty good at telling counties what to do, there is no single voting system in use nationwide. Instead, it's a potpourri of different choices. All have their flaws.

The dispute in Northampton County is whether to go with ExpressVote XL or a paper ballot that is subsequently scanned.

ExpressVote XL is considered a hybrid. It is still a Direct-Recording Electronic voting machine, but it includes a Voter Verifiable Paper Trail. As explained in Harvard Political Review, " the machine prints out a receipt with the voter’s choices on it. The voter can therefore easily verify that the machine counted the vote as they intended. This paper is kept at the polling station and can be used to conduct post-election audits." It concludes that either this hybrid or a paper ballot is satisfactory, and that Express Vote XL is an improvement over current touchscreens.

Long term, there really should be a single system put in place by the federal government, which is better equipped to deal with this fundamental problem of democracy of making a machine that is built entirely for elections and only elections.

That's a long way away. For now, I feel far more comfortable with the touchscreen than having some election official decide what Imeant when I marked a paper ballot.

NorCo Council Puts Brakes on New Voting System

Following a lengthy meeting that included a parade of 10 speakers opposed to the Express Vote XL voting machine system, Northampton County Council voted 5-4 last night to put the brakes on the $2.9 million purchase. Council member John Cusick, who said he actually supports XL, suggested waiting until after the May election to see how the system performs in Delaware. Joining him in a motion to delay the purchase were Council members Bob Werner, Peg Ferraro, Matt Dietz and Tara Zrinski. Opposing a delay were Council President Ron Heckman and members Bill McGee, Lori Vargo Heffner and Kevin Lott.

Cusick argued that a brief delay would give him "peace of mind" in this choice.

Executive Lamont McClure said that he would honor Council's wishes and wait, though he could make the purchase now. Earlier that night, Council voted unanimously to set aside the money for this system, which was endorsed by the Elections Commission in March.  There is some authority that it is the Elections Commission, and not County Council, who decides on voting systems. That issue is currently being litigated in Allegheny County, which like Northampton is a home rule county.

This delay means that the new system, if purchased, will cost an additional $20,000. Administrator Charles Dertinger added, however, that it will still be in place in time for November's election.

Pennsylvania's Department of State has directed all 67 counties to have new systems in place, with a paper trail, in time for next year's Presidential race.

The ten speakers who oppose the XL included two Elections Commission members, Councilman Bob Werner's wife, a self-proclaimed "data geek" and Janice Hobbs Pellechio, an "election integrity" activist from Doylestown. They want to return to paper ballots, which are later scanned  and have in some states presented questions of voter intent.

Pellechio lectured Council that they were quick "to pick something that most of you do not really understand." She said they need "to step back and do your homework."

Bob Werner accused the McClure administration of having already decided on XL in August.

This was disputed by Administration employee Amy Cozze, who spent "five months of my life" weighing the pros and cons of different systems. She insisted that neither Dertinger nor anyone else had directed her to favor any one system. 

The XL system has been under consideration since August. Council members John Cusick, Ron Heckman and Bill McGee all said they had already spent a great deal of time looking at all the systems.

Despite a Cozze presentation showing that the legacy costs of XL are cheaper over 10 years than a paper ballot, Deb Hunter insisted it was more expensive. She dismissed concerns about a state law requiring that over 100% of the ballots be pre-printed for polling places that use paper ballots,though she failed to explain how state law could be ignored. Those bags of paper would weigh over 80 pounds in some precincts.

In response to concerns about judges of elections being tasked with transporting this load back to Easton, Hunter said the same pubic works employees who transport the machines to the polling place can simply pick up the bags when they return after the polls close.

Though this was not addressed, Hunter's suggestion would mean that you'd never see elections results on election night. Public works employees would need several hours to pick up these bags and would have to be paid overtime. To preserve the chain of custody, judges of elections would have to remain at the polling place, alone, until the bags are picked up. It is also unclear whether judges of elections can surrender results to anyone other than the Register of Elections

Ironically, many of the speakers accused County Council of not only being in a rush, but acting undemocratically. Tara Stevenson called the decision "boneheaded," and said they were all being "hustled."  They were presented with a state map showing the number of counties that had decided to use paper ballots. Dertinger and Cozze responded this map, which was waved by several speakers, was pure misinformation. They had spoken to each of the counties.

Though each of the speakers who opposed XL claimed to be interested in democracy, they were asking Council to ignore the wishes of a clear majority of election judges who preferred XL over three other systems. "Elections judges do not understand the system," condescended Elections Commissioner Kathy Fox, who was on the losing side of the 3-2 March recommendation in support of XL.

Tara Zrinski, rumored to be running against State Rep. Marcia Hahn next year, presented the spectre of hacked machines. This was quickly rebutted by both Dertinger and Cozze. Cozze pointed out that each machine is stand alone, and the only way it could be hacked is by giving someone access to each of them in 125 precincts  She pointed out that they are secured in a camera-monitored warehouse. Dertinger added that no other computers are allowed inside that building. Cozze said the more troubling concern is when arguments arise over a marked ballot where the voter's intent is unclear.

Zrinski also attacked XL vendors because they were absent last night. They had already made three presentations, including a presentation on Wednesday to which  Zrinski arrived about an hour late. She stressed the importance of this decision, but was absent for most of the discussion on Wednesday.

Hunter and Werner complained that the Elections Commission should have considered a third paper system, the one chosen by Lehigh County. As Dertinger explained several times, the systems considered were the top two preferences of elections judges.

Last time I checked, Lehigh County does not select voting systems in Northampton County. 

One of the bugaboos raised about the XL system is a barcode that appears on each ballot. This makes them insecure, according to Deb Hunter husband Gene. This is a nonsense argument. Barcodes are common in hospitals, pharmacies, banks and even at frickin' PennDOT

Sitting in the back of the room,but saying nothing, was puppetmaster Matt Munsey. He chairs NorCo Dems and has apparently decided that he, and not the elected members of NorCo Council, calls the shots.

He'll be disabused of that notion in May,when the XL is used in Delaware with no issues.

Your Elected Officials in Action

It was tough to sit through yesterday's Committee meetings of Northampton County Council. In fact, after over two hours of nonsense, I got up and left. There were numerous questions about the Express Vote XL Voting machines recommended by a vast majority of election judges, the Elections Commission and the Lamont McClure administration. Most came from a point of absolute ignorance.

Council member Tara Zrinski, who walked in about an hour after the meeting had started, had baseless concerns that she said she read in some article she never identified.

But the most idiotic questions came from outgoing (thankfully) Council member Bob Werner. His wife is running to take his seat, though I've never seen her at a Council meeting.

What Werner did is mention another unidentified article about a voting machine that was purchased by some retiret member of Homeland Security or the KGB or something. According to Werner, this tecchie reverse engineered the machine and was able yo retrieve voting data.

His illogical argument is that if one voting machine is bad, it necessarily follows that they all are.

This is what we call a fallacy in logic class.

It was only toward the end of his questioning that Werner revealed that the machine in question is not the machine being considered by Council.

Council member Kevin Lott nearly fell out of his seat when Werner made that revelation.

In addition to faulty logic, Werner demanded that Administrator Charles Dertinger tell him whether the state could come along in the future and demand a different machine. He wanted a guarantee this would never happen.

How the hell can a county employee guarantee what the state will or won't do?

They were stupid questions about a good system that has been certified by the federal and state government. Werner at one point said the certification process was halted, but as it turns out, that was with a different system, too.

These are your elected representatives folks.

NorCo Receives Pittance For New Voting Machines

Fyodor Dostoevsky displays new voting machine. 

Pennsylvania's Department of State has mandated all 67 counties to have new voting machines in place - with paper trails - in time for the next Presidential election. But it only has $14.1 million in grants available for voting systems expected to cost $147 million. The counties will have to pick up the slack. Also, only one system with a paper trail has been certified, and NorCo officials like another system.

That system is the ExpressVote XL — a full-face Universal Voting System that includes a 32" HD screen and an independent voter-verifiable paper record that is digitally scanned for tabulation.

County Council on Thursday night voted 8-0 to accept a $341,969.77 grant earmarked for the purchase of new voting machines with a voter-verifiable paper record.

That's a drop in the bucket. Delaware recently voted to spend $13 million for 1,500 ExpressVote XLs. That's $8,666 per machine.  There must be two and sometimes three machines at NorCo's approximately 160 precincts. That means a price of at least $4.1 million.

NorCo Looks at New Voting Machine - With Paper Trail

ExpressVote XL voting system 

Pennsylvania's Department of State has mandated all 67 counties to have new voting machines in place - with paper trails - in time for the next Presidential election. But it only has $14.1 million in grants available for voting systems expected to cost $147 million. The counties will have to pick up the slack. Also, only one system with a paper trail has been certified, and NorCo officials like another system.

That system is the ExpressVote XL — a full-face Universal Voting System that includes a 32" HD screen and an independent voter-verifiable paper record that is digitally scanned for tabulation.

At Council's August 2 meeting, Executive Lamont McClure said that the state would like to see the new systems in place during the 2019 election so that voters are comfortable in time for the 2020 Presidential election.

Pennsylvania is one of 21 states that Russian hackers attempted unsuccessfully to penetrate during the 2016 election.

John Stoffa Press Conference: "Superman Visited Me Once"

There I was, sitting in a crowded county executive's office, at 4 PM today. Everyone was elegantly dressed, excepting me. I wore an old tattered "Life is Good" T-shirt, dirty jeans and smelly sneakers. Portraits of five former county execs, which decorate the walls, glared down at me.

How did I, with my coffee-stained T-shirt, end up in such an austere setting? Let me explain.

A few minutes earlier, I had gone to catch a few minutes of Ron Angle's finance committee hearing. I had no intention of staying very long, and was only there to show off my new toy - a digital camera. A reader suggested I should get pictures of council members, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Who knows? Maybe I could nail one of 'em picking his nose!

As we waited for the meeting to start, I took about thirty pictures of door knobs and empty chairs. I'm pretty sure I impressed the hell out of everyone because they were all smiling and complimenting me.

"Bernie, you need help, you know that?"

That was County Exec. Stoffa's way of letting me know I'm probably a genius.

As we all sat and cracked jokes, it soon became apparent that Angle was a no show. The bastard blew us off! Either that, or he's still stuck in Jellystone Park.

After waiting fifteen minutes (the college professor rule), Stoffa said, "Let's get out of here." And we all marched out. That's when John Conklin, Stoffa's amiable Director of Administration, told me he had some emails he'd like me to see about the touchscreen and lever voting machines. I went upstairs with him. But to get those emails, I'd have to sit through a Stoffa press conference.

Cool!

So I walked into John Stoffa's office, and all these photographers were already waiting. Their cameras were a lot bigger than mine. They also dress like they're going on a frickin' safari. I have to remember that.

"Are you waiting for Channel 69," a reporter asked Stoffa.

"Nah. I'm waiting for Walt. (that's Walt Garvin, the chair of Northampton County's election commission.) I promised I'd wait for him." Stoffa's a classy guy.

Within a minute, nattily attired Walt was there, looking suitably serious. He was just a little surprised to see a blogger at an official press conference, but didn't spit on me or anything.

"Good day," he gravely nodded as he somberly walked by.

Who the hell says, "Good day?"

Following Walt was a very pretty Channel 69 reporter. She conveniently sat on the couch right next to me. It was very apparent that she wanted me, especially when she saw my camera. But I denied her. I'm a blogger.

Walt and Stoffa sat next to each other, nimbly handling questions from both The Express Times and Morning Call. That vapid Channel 69 reporter asked nothing. She just eyed me hungrily. I ignored her and decided to get a good picture of Stoffa and Garvin together, looking real serious. There was a little superman statue between them, and I thought I'd get that in the shot, too. I whipped out my little camera, lined up my shot, and ... my goddamn batteries died on me! Too many doorknob shots.

Print reporters had a myriad of intelligent questions about Advanced Voting Solutions (no, they don't seem very advanced), Elections Commissioner Harry VanSickle (not VanWinkle), and lever machines (they each weigh 880 pounds, according to Stoffa).

But if I do say so myself, and I do, I had the question of the day.

"What's the deal with that superman statue?"

"Whaaat?"

"I said, what's up with that superman statue sitting on top of that TV right behind you?"

"He visited me once," Stoffa replied.

Today's papers will tell you all about the return of the lever machines, Old Faithful. But in my mind, the big story from yesterday's press conference is Stoffa's admitted association with Superman.

Did you ever notice that Superman and council prez Wayne Grube are never in the same room together??

I'm pretty sure this is the last press conference I'll ever be permitted to attend.

Update: The Morning Call's Joe Nixon has a quite detailed account of yesterday's press conference, and what it really means. The Express Times' Sarah Cassi has also filed a report. Neither mention Superman.

Norco Exec Stoffa: Lever Voting Machines are Back!

In a press conference held late this afternoon, Northampton County Exec. John Stoffa announced that this November's election will be conducted with the county's 267 lever machines.

Pennsylvania Elections Commissioner Harry VanSickle previously had advised the county that "while lever machines are not HAVA compliant, there would be no prohibition on using them in this 2007 municipal election."

Stoffa's decision comes fast on the tracks of a Department of State decision, made earlier today, to suspend the use of Advanced Voting Solutions equipment in Pennsylvania. Secretary of State Pedro Cortes made this statement. "Given the fact that there is no way for the Department to predict when the federal examination and approval process will be completed, I have no choice but to suspend the use of Advanced's electronic voting system in the Commonwealth for the upcoming November 6 election. Doing so now will provide the affected counties - Lackawanna, Northampton and Wayne - the necessary time to consider and implement and alternative voting system solution."

Old Faithful is back.

Old Faithful - Those Lever Machines

As state elections officials try to come up with a solution to the latest problems caused by Advanced Voting Solutions (AVS), it's worth remembering that we still have perfectly functioning lever machines, collecting dust at Gracedale.

Unlike the touchscreen voting machines supplied by AVS, there's no need to have a new software version tested by the feds and certified by the state before every election. They hold up under power failures. They can't be hacked. No parts are made in China. There's even a privacy curtain, ensuring that your vote is a secret ballot.
A friend of mine took pictures of these machines before they were last used. The picture on your left is especially enlightening as it shows the internal counters that must be transcribed to paper by the poll workers when voting precincts close. Few people have any idea what these things look like on the inside, so I thought I'd share his pictures.
Update: The Express Times tells us Northampton County exec John Stoffa will decide today whether the lever machines can be used in November's election. Unlike Lackawanna, Northampton County retained its lever machines for exactly this possibility. I don't know, but believe, the county won't make this decision withour consulting the Department of State.

Express Times Weighs In on Northampton County Elections Mess

Managerial and technical problems are both identified as elections office problems in a powerful Express Times editorial published today. Unfortunately, the citizens' panel that has diligently worked on these problems is being resisted on three fronts: an overly defensive local registrar; a Department of State bureaucracy that ignores voters like PennDot ignores stranded motorists; and a voting machine vendor that has yet to answer serious questions about substituting cheap parts for those approved by the state. "This task force needs some backing from people with political clout -- the same officials who will scream the loudest if their election totals are delayed or botched." On the left sidebar, you can review committee minutes yourself.

Stoffa's Citizen Committee Deals With NorCo Election Mess

"Our elections have been like giving birth to an elephant."

That's how Northampton County Executive John Stoffa described our last two elections. And he's right. In the primary, Democrats and Republicans were reversed and there was no write-in tally for six weeks. In the general election, voters were confused by a ballot designed to encourage straight party voting. And it took hours to tabulate results that turned out to be off by over 3,000 votes.

A few weeks ago, Stoffa named a five person "blue ribbon citizens advisory committee" to untangle the Gordian knot in the elections office. Its members? Russ Shade (Stoffa's reform-minded former campaign manager); Richard Benner (former registrar who oversaw 45 elections); Peg Ferraro (former county councilperson); Jack Bradt (former CEO at SI Handling); and Greta Browne (former congressional candidate). Today, this unusual nonpartisan committee met for the first time. It chose Peg Ferraro to serve as chair and Russ Shade as co-chair. It will be meeting weekly, with its next two meetings scheduled for Wednesday evenings at 7 PM, when working voters can attend.

Not a single member of county council attended today's meeting. Although the five member elections commission was expressly invited to participate, only Joan Rosenthal was able to attend today's 3 PM meeting.

Problems in the Elections Office

Stoffa originally told this committee it had just four months to come up with solutions. But today, his charge was a little more open-ended. He stressed they were not on a "witch hunt," but he wanted to know "how we can do better." He wants the public's input, improvements in our voting tabulation, and wondered whether an ethics code might be necessary. From all the accounts I've received, I believe it's pretty apparent why there are problems. Some of these problems, like the lack of paper trails and possible hacking, can only be solved at the state or federal level. But the county must deal with the following:

a) A registrar who refers to herself like this: "You seem to have failed to notice and appreciate that the person in charge of the Election Office is intelligent, dedicated, fair and non-bias and holds her office to the same standards. With every positive effort to hold a good and fair election I seem to be fighting a very negative, nasty wave from a group that seem to wish bad upon the office or the election." She rambled on for at least a half hour during today's meeting, assuring everyone things are wonderful. They aren't.

b) Elections workers are improperly trained and don't even know enough to offer provisional ballots, something that Pennsylvania law requires.

c) Voting machines are not evenly distributed so that precincts that have heavy votes get more machines.

d) There is insufficient manpower on hand in the elections office during an actual election.

e) Advanced Voting Machines must solve the problem of vote tallies following the election.

f) One party chair is too close to the elections office.

g) The Home Rule Charter needs to be strengthened to remove politics from the elections commission.

h) The ballot must be altered so that it is at least neutral on the subject of straight party ballots.

i) The district boundaries are screwed up (just call Voter Reg and ask for updated district maps and listen to the runaround you get)

j) There are mis-registered voters - assigned to vote outside the precincts where they reside.

A Good Start

Dick Benner very quickly got to the heart of the problem, He told Voter Registrar Deborah DePaul that "people must be made to understand you're there to help them." He suggested asking local high schools to provide 17 year olds to help monitor elections. "That exposes them to civic life and also eases the burden on elections workers." DePaul mentioned several colleges she's contacted, and claimed they only want to help when they're something in it for them. She completely missed Benner's point about contacting high schools, not colleges.

This committee is advisory only, a paper tiger. But they mean business. Their next meeting will be in council chambers on January 31 at 7 PM. Their email address is voterinfo@northamptoncounty.org.

Correction: The correct email addy for the citizen advisory committee is voter.info@northamptoncounty.org.