June 1, 2006

 

RE:      Recap of June 1, 2006 Precinct Posting Meeting

 

 

Dear Election Observer Panel (EOP) Members:

 

This correspondence provides a recap of the Precinct Posting meeting held on June 1, 2006 at 9 a.m. in the Registrar of Voters (ROV) office.  I would like to extend my gratitude to those who were able to attend on such a short notice.  The attendees are included on the attached sign-in sheet.

 

Precinct Posting

I conveyed to the EOP that Riverside County would be out of compliance with precinct posting requirements for the June 6, 2006 Primary Election.  However, in the absence of precinct posting I wanted to find out what information the EOP needed to perform a meaningful audit. 

 

Agreement was reached on the following process for providing and auditing precinct level data:

 

a)     The ROV will provide the EOP with the voting unit numbers assigned to each of the 587 precincts for the June 6 election.  A copy is attached to this letter.

 

b)     The ROV will process all vote result cartridges on Election Night following standard procedures.

 

c)      Upon completion of the vote result cartridge processing, a report will be generated from the tally server that provides a summary of the votes cast per precinct per voting unit for every contest, candidate, and measure.  An example is attached. 

 

d)     The report generated in “c” above will be:

1)                 provided to EOP members on CD(s) present at the Central Counting site on Election Night;

2)                 placed on the ROV website in look up format;

3)                 placed at the ROV front counter.

 

e)     On an agreed upon date, not less than 14 days after the date of the Election but before certification of the official results, the EOP will perform an audit of the results by presenting the ROV a list of voting units for the Registrar to print results directly from the internal memory/hard drive to a thermal printer in the EOP’s presence.  Two (2) copies of the printout will be produced—one for the EOP and one retained by the ROV. 

 

f)        The voting unit audit in “e” above will be conducted for not less than six (6) hours on the agreed upon date, unless terminated earlier by the EOP.  If technical difficulties arise (e.g., forklift breaks down, printer failure, etc.) the audit will cease and begin again when the issue(s) are resolved. 

 

g)     The EOP will further audit the precinct level results post-certification when the official statement of vote is available. 

 

The above process would be referred to as the Precinct Auditable Voting Unit Results (P.A.V.U.R.) procedure.

 

Election Observer Plan

The EOP pointed out a departure from past practice in the current Election Observer Plan.  The Plan states that cellular phones, two-way radios, cameras, audio or video recording devices, or camera phones would not be allowed during observation at the Central Counting location.  The prohibition applies to observations other than Election Day.  The Plan was revised striking the above language.  The revised Plan can be found on the ROV website. 

 

Observation Area

To enhance the EOP’s view of the activities in the ballot counting room, EOP members will be permitted limited access into the ROV work area outside the ballot counting room.  Staff processing vote result cartridges will position laptops in a comfortable work position that should enhance observers’ view of the screen. 

 

Peace and Freedom Party EOP Appointment

Mrs. Maxine Ewig was appointed as a Peace and Freedom Party EOP member by Mr. Kevin Akin, Chairman of the Peace and Freedom Party.

 

Random Selection of Precincts for the 1% Manual Audit

The date and time of the precinct selection for the manual tally will be noticed.

 

Mutual appreciation was expressed for the time and interest devoted to enhancing the transparency and confidence in the elections process.

 

If you have any questions or require further information, please contact me. 

 

                                                            Sincerely,

 

 

 

                                                            Barbara Dunmore

                                                            Registrar of Voters