Voting irregularities...B'more, Durham, Gwinnet & NY

Perhaps I’m just more attuned now than in previous cycles, maybe it is the 24 hour news cycle and the internet, or it just may be that things are getting worse. Regardless,  I’m thoroughly disgusted with our electoral process.

Two states are conducting investigations into voting irregularities: Maryland and North Carolina.  In Baltimore they have actually decertified the results pending further analysis. In NC, there is indication of actual voter fraud. Yes, not irregularities—FRAUD.  In Georgia one of two Democratic Party candidates is being investigated. Lastly, New Yorkers are being called to act to both ensure their affidavit votes count and their experiences during the primary heard. 

Baltimore's election results decertified, state begins precinct-level review of irregularities

According to the Baltimore Sun:

State election administrator Linda H. Lamone said she became concerned when city officials — who on Monday certified their primary election results — later reported they had found 80 provisional ballots that had never been analyzed.

Moreover:

For more than a week, a group of activists has been raising concerns about the integrity of the April 26 primary in Baltimore. Among the issues: Eight data files went missing for about a day after the election, and some polling precincts opened late. And 34 released felons — eligible to vote under a new law —received a Board of Elections letter before the primary erroneously telling them they might not be able to vote.

Unfortunately, Baltimore has a long history of voting problems, with over 100 years of state level intervention.

State board of elections investigates fraud in Durham According to the Daily Tar Heel: On Thursday, electoral fraud was discovered in at least one location, and it is election officials, rather than voters, who have allegedly skewed the results of Durham’s primary elections by misreporting and fabricating final vote counts.

Hence, the Durham Board of Elections offered that:

“The State Board of Elections has been conducting an investigation, with which the Durham County Board of Elections has been cooperating fully... The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections, Ms. Kim Strach’s likely recommendation will be that the Durham County Board of Elections re-canvass the election results, without including the provisional ballots. This then will allow the State Board of Elections to certify the election results. When the investigation is complete, its results will be announced to the public.” State investigates voting complaint against Gwinnett candidate

Meanwhile, in local Dem on Dem action in Gwinnett County GA

Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp, confirmed the office has received a complaint about Brenda Lopez, one of two Democrats running in the Norcross-area House District 99.

A copy of the complaint obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Lopez was until recently registered to vote in Lilburn and voted from that address for years, even though she did not live there. Lopez said state investigators have not contacted her about the complaint and could not comment on it.

[snip]

Lopez, an attorney, is seeking to replace state Rep. Hugh Floyd, D-Norcross, who is retiring. She faces Jaime Trevari in the Democratic primary. No Republicans are running in the district.

NYC Rejected Affidavit Voters need to act

Earlier this week, the NY election results were certified. For those who were purged from the rolls their votes were likely not counted. As reported by amNY:

Of the approximately 121,000 votes cast by affidavit in a scandal and snafu plagued April 19 primary, nearly three quarters – more than 90,000 – were declared invalid, according to an attorney who is suing the Board of Elections on behalf of Election Justice USA, a group that is devoted to alleviating voter suppression.

The certification, coming shortly after

The commissioners signed off on the results after county election office administrators took turns proclaiming that, except for a sole instance of poll worker error in the Bronx, there were no "discrepancies" in the voting process.

Nevertheless, the auditors found that more than a third of those reviewed were actually registered. Gothamist reports:

Of 176 voters with issues singled out by attorney general investigators, Ryan said that 71 were not registered with the proper party, 35 were rightly made inactive when mailed address confirmations bounced, 5 were rightly purged when they changed addresses with the postal service, and another 65 "will be the subject of further conversation," because they were listed as active Democrats or Republicans, and it's unclear at the moment what their problem was.

The review of all recent registration updates has been akin to "peeling back the onion," he said, and has revealed problems beyond Brooklyn's, including four people in the Bronx removed from the rolls due to inaccurate death data from the Social Security Death Index.

EJUSA is encouraging NY voters “to contact their county Board of Elections immediately to confirm whether their ballot was accepted or rejected. Ryan assured the attorneys that the Board of Elections would be able to provide a response within a day of requesting the information.” What this means is that voters must:

a) Find their local BOE (www.elections.ny.gov)

b) Ask if the BOE counted their vote, which they must answer.

c) If not, immediately start the process of New York Election Law 16-106.

d) The state is completely obligated to go through their entire voting history and give accurate appraisal and reasons for not counting or counting the vote.

e) Immediately request to see a judge in this process, and get a ruling, as per the law.

f) Report any irregularities in this process to EJUSA (ElectionJusticeUSA@gmail.com) with a clear subject description in the title of your email.

g) Share your experience with the public, and initiate discussion of this and all issues.

Whether you are able to get your affividavit vote included or if you experienced difficulties on the 19th, the New York City Voter Assistance Advisory Committee wants to hear from you! They are holding a meeting on Tuesday, May 17th

to solicit testimony from all city voters about their experience at the polls and concerns for this critical election year.

Please come testify at our hearing if you wish to speak about any of the following topics:

The problems New York City voters experienced during the April 19th presidential primary;

Your experience advocating for election reform as part of theVoteBetterNY.org coalition;

Other improvements to elections in New York City;

Comments on the 2015-2016 Voter Assistance Annual Report.

The hearing will be available via livestream and email of written testimony is encouraged (an eventbrite with details of location and time is available here). 

Regardless of who you support in the primary, we should agree that the issues described above are problematic and disgraceful. Indeed, while the issues in each locale is different, when viewed in the context of problems in Arizona and other places, as well as concerted efforts to erect barriers for voters, there is little doubt that more needs to be done to ensure the integrity of our voting processes.