July 06, 2006

Greene County 2004 Recount Irregularities Detailed Under Oath by Recount Worker

In a 4-page declaration under penalty of perjury, Ohio 2004 recount observer Evelyn Roberson -- a retired election official from California -- has detailed irregularities in the conduct of the recount in Greene County, Ohio, including
-operation of, and "clearance" of, the tabulators prior to the recount observers's arrival, by Brett Rapp, president of Triad, the manufacturer of the tabulators;
-non-random selection of the precincts to be recounted;
-leaving the ballots in stacks on a table rather than in sealed containers, as required by Ohio law;
-seating of the observers so that they could not see the ballot punches;
-the failure of the 'readers' and the 'markers' to be looking at the same ballot at the same time;
-the absence of any display of the sample ballot;
-the failure to show the observers the sheets in which entries were being made;
-the failure to place the punched cards against a colored background to enable the observers to have a clear view of the holes;
-the failure to conduct a full hand recount after a discrepancy did materialize;
-handing the ballots to Mr. Rapp for a machine count;
-the officials directing the observers to leave the building during a lunch break, and then during that 'lunch break' starting a machine recount without the observers present, when a hand recount was mandated by law in any event;
-storage of the ballots in bags, rather than boxes; and
-exclusive control over the machines by an unauthorized person, the Triad representative.

A copy of Ms. Roberson's declaration has been posted at http://ohioelection2004.com/PDFHost/041231roberson.pdf

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