The interviewer is from Wisconsin, but most of this information is pertinent to all three recounts. Bev Harris is the founder of BlackBoxVoting.org and leader in election integrity.
Category: Uncategorized
Interview with Green Party Lawyer Bob Fitrakis
Just got posted at Opednews.com
My guest today is Bob Fitrakis, college professor, author, editor of the Columbus Free Press, and student of our elections, past and present.
Joan Brunwasser: Welcome to OpEdNews, Bob. The 2016 election has come and gone. What, if anything, is there to talk about now?
Bob Fitrakis: The big news is that Jill Stein’s Green Party presidential campaign is asking for a recount of the votes in three states, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. All of these states are significantly outside the margin of error from the unadjusted exit poll numbers contrasted to the reported vote count. I am acting as an of-counsel attorney, pro bono, for the Stein campaign. I believe this is a historically important effort due to the lack of transparency in our elections, that allow private, for-profit, partisan companies to program our computerized voting machines and central tabulators.
Update on Pennsylvania: Volunteers Needed ASAP, New Facebook Group.
Update: fill out the form here to download the affidavit.
New Facebook Group for Pennsylvania
This was posted by Steve Freeman on the Election Integrity Google Group:
According to Steven Rosenfeld, Green party member Aquene Freechild has worked with John Bonifaz and is now in Pennsylvania trying to coordinate the petition signatures. They are also working with longtime group member Mary Beth Kuznik
Begin forwarded message:
From: Aquene Freechild
Subject: [Hand-Recount-16] Fwd: Urgent volunteer help needed for PA Recount 16 effort
Continue reading “Update on Pennsylvania: Volunteers Needed ASAP, New Facebook Group.”
So you want to volunteer and be an observer?
This is for what to do after you put your name in to volunteer:
Any training that you will get will probably focus on your legal obligation and what is expected of you as an observer. There will not be enough time to train you on everything to watch out for. Even though the campaign has not gotten back to you yet, assume they will use you. Start your training now.
Continue reading “So you want to volunteer and be an observer?”
Wisconsin Publishes Tentative Timeline
Yesterday, the Wisconsin Election Commission published a tentative timeline for the recount. I am reprinting the communication to county clerks and election officials in it’s entirety. An estimation of the cost of the recount must be submitted by county clerks by the end of the day Monday. It seems that each county will be able to choose how to complete the recount. One option for them is to just feed the ballots back through the machines. I hope that the Stein campaign pushes for a legal block and demand at the minimum a partial (and random) hand recount. After the communication, I have a Google Calendar to tentative timeline
Massive amount of volunteers needed
There are 72 counties in Wisconsin, 83 counties in Michigan, 67 counties in Pennsylvania. During the 2004 election we had about 20-30 observers in our county. I believe that on average we will need at least 15-20 observers for each county plus ideally one coordinator, one backup coordinator/assistant, at least one lawyer. I don’t know about computer security personnel, but ideally 1-2 in each county?
Resources Main Page
Must read by Bev Harris: When is a Recount a Sham?
Communication #2 from the Wisconsin Elections Commission
Public communications from the Wisconsin Elections Commission
Each state’s laws on recounts:
Wisconsin: Specifically look at chapter 9, especially WI ST § 9.01
Pennsylvania: Look at Chapter 14 especially Article XVII
Michigan: Look at Chapter XXXIII
PA.gov voting/elections division has some interesting things on elections including rights and responsibilities of observers (some info can be applied to the recount) and post election reconciliation checklist.