Dear Al,
We arrived back here about two hours ago, and I just opened my
email to find your kind note. It is appreciated, but also I have
to pass your thank yous and ours on to Marilyn Marks, without
whose many efforts the Saguache review would never had happened.
Marilyn has been analytical and quick thinking from the beginning
of the Saguache debacle, and all who are interested in increasing
voting integrity must be grateful to her.
Everyone should know that Marilyn is responsible for the hours of
video, except for that done automatically on four fixed cameras
belonging to the secretary of state. She also formulated most of
the wording attributed to me by the Pueblo Chieftain
writer Matt Hildner. What I did mainly was function as a watcher,
checking the callers as much as possible. The SoS did not see fit
to revamp his planned three-member counting teams into teams of
four members, and that was only the first of the problems
encountered. We need to get four-member teams specified in law for
hand counting, and we need to get the faster "sort and stack"
method blessed for Colorado elections. But I digress. We can all
be very proud of Marilyn--she was everywhere: scanning, phoning,
being interviewed by the press, talking with the SoS folks and
explaining some of the intricacies of this particular situation as
we went along, smoothing feathers of Saguache County residents who
were understandably dejected because the SoS did not authorize a
forensic investigation, and being an articulate spokesperson for
election integrity during the various Q & A sessions run by
SoS personnel. I'm sure I've missed some important roles she
fulfilled, many behind the scenes. Thank you, Marilyn, for getting
the Saguache County citizens educated and fired up and pursuing
the legal remedies that allowed some big steps to take place this
week, not the least of which is citizen access to anonymously cast
voted ballots.
There is still work to be done, and she is going to be scanning
the ballots Friday and probably Tuesday. She is after other
election documents as well. Stay tuned.
I also have to thank the Saguache County citizens who gave their
time and knowledge to serve as election judges and in other
capacities. Without them, this review and the other steps along
the way would never have happened.
Thank you again, Al. You helped too by communicating with the SoS
and being present via electronic link during the crazy wrap-up
session. Knowing that you and others in Colorado Voter Group were
cheering us on was great moral support.
Best,
Mary
Mary C. Eberle
1520 Cress Court
Boulder, CO 80304
(303) 442-2164
On 9/1/2011 9:03 PM, AlKolwicz wrote:
|