Re: Citizens Committee on Election Reform Proposal

[Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Paul and all:

I've been pondering whether to apply for the advisory committee.  I have
decided against it.

A common tactic of those in power to destroy political opposition is to
appoint a committee and wear the committee down.  As Paul reprises, below,
this is what happened with the HAVA advisory committee.  This is, of course,
no surprise.

I might suggest that all who have applied remove themselves until such time
as the powers-that-be give this committee real authority.  I would possibly
request that this committee have subpoena powers.  Let this committee have
real teeth and not generate a report that will be completely ignored by
everyone.

If you detect a bit of cynicism, you detect it correctly.

Ralph Shnelvar


On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:09:27 -0700, you wrote:

>Joe (et al),
>
>In my letter to the commissioners and the clerk asking for a position on the
>'review' committee I noted that the HAVA advisory committee was really not
>allowed to finish its work. Within a few weeks of completing our task the
>county and the clerk appeared to lose interest and seemed to be coming to
>their own conclusions.
>
>That impression gelled on the very day that we attempted to deliver our
>findings. The 12th of December 03. The day prior Joe and members of CVV gave
>a 10 minute presentation to the BOCC on what HAVA really meant and why
>buying DRE was such a bad plan.
>
>Few people who were members of the HAVA advisory committee bothered to show
>up on the morning of the 12th, since they'd either read the papers about the
>BOCC hearing the day before, or were called by the elections staff and told
>that they were no longer needed. But some citizen members did show up
>despite being 'blown off' by the county.
>At the start of that meeting, Tom Halicki explained that the BOCC had made a
>decision not to purchase DRE at this time, but may do so in the future. We
>were thanked for our service and for all intents and purposes were released
>from our duties on the committee.
>Members of CVV who were present at that meeting will recall that I demanded
>that the clerk and county hear our advisement, despite what the BOCC had
>decided the day before. We were heard, and our advisement was if and when
>DRE were purchased that the Hart/Intercivic E-Slate had received committee
>accolades, with the Avante system as a close second. The Avante was the only
>system presented that produced a paper ballot; and the E-Slate the easiest
>to use for the disabled. Our goal had been to suggest a system that was
>ADA-HAVA compliant.
>
>My point in this relation of history is that the county had empanelled an
>advisory committee; spent a good deal of money on it; pulled in lots of
>resources and vendors; and had many people working very hard on this
>project.
>And then with little fanfare told us on the very day that we were to deliver
>our findings - that we had no job and our work was being disrespected.
>
>This is not the first time that the BOCC has done such a thing. I've watched
>it occur in other areas such as land use.
>
>So my fear would be that the BOCC and the Clerk are once again putting
>together a 'feel -good' campaign and that the work of this new committee
>will be entirely ignored. I have doubts that the findings of the county
>committee will have much impact, given past experience. The BOCC and the
>Clerk may use the work of the committee to foist their own plans on the
>electoral population.
>
>This is reminiscent of the DOE being allowed to investigate itself by the
>DOJ during the cold war. Anyone with background in our region can recall how
>the FBI ended up discovering huge cover-ups at Rocky Flats by the Dept of
>Energy.
>This is the norm in Boulder and beyond. Right now the Boulder PD is
>investigating itself concerning the hill riots.
>
>If any of you manage to find a position on the about-to-be-formed county-run
>committee, do not let the county decide on what music you will dance to.
>
>Some Guy who doesn't dance to other people's music
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Joe Pezzillo [mailto:jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx]
>Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 2:47 PM
>To: Cvv-Discuss@Coloradovoter. Net
>Subject: Citizens Committee on Election Reform Proposal
>
>
>CVV:
>
>Based on several discussions I've had over the last two days, it seems
>clear that there is a great deal of dubiousness about the potential
>effectiveness of the County's proposed "Elections Review" committee as
>it is being chartered.
>
>Thus, with others, I propose that we establish an independent and
>parallel "Citizens Election Review Committee" that will both attempt to
>provide the public with factual information about what went wrong and
>specific recommendations that will prevent such a debacle from
>recurring.
>
>In addition to providing the leadership that Boulder County citizens
>have come to expect from CVV on this issue -- including what Boulder
>County should do next to achieve the Trustworthy Elections that we have
>been denied -- I personally feel that the other purpose of this
>Citizen's Committee will be to prevent additional misinformation being
>disseminated by the Elections Office and County Information Officer,
>hold our officials accountable, and clean up the mess that is our
>current Elections Office.
>
>Again, this is a proposal to have a parallel committee that is outside
>the control or influence of the Elections Office that will also provide
>a public report on what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening
>again.
>
>Is there agreement among CVV on the need for this citizen's committee
>or do folks feel confident that the Commissioner's review panel will be
>sufficient? I would also like to try and include others local citizens
>that have not previously participated in CVV, in particular, poll
>watchers and elections judges who may also have information and
>opinions about the internal workings of our Elections Office.
>
>If there is no serious objection, I also propose to alert the press to
>the formation of this committee ASAP so that we can get the maximum
>coverage and awareness in advance of our first public meeting.
>
>Joe
>
>Joe Pezzillo, Citizen Activist
>Boulder, Colorado USA
>jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx
>