Manager aware of flawed ballot report

The Seattle Times ^ | Saturday, May 21, 2005 | Keith Ervin

[rockrr]

King County Elections Director Dean Logan yesterday said his staff had used "flawed methodology" but hadn't attempted to falsify a report on absentee ballots cast in the contested November election.

Yet even as Logan sought to control damage from revelations about the ballot report, a manager testified that Elections Superintendent Bill Huennekens knew in November that the report was inaccurate. Huennekens didn't inform his boss or the county canvassing board, which certifies election results.

Garth Fell, assistant superintendent of ballot processing and delivery, said in a newly released legal deposition that Huennekens was aware of the flaws before the canvassing board certified the results.

[rockrr]

More spin from Dean Logan.....

[Incorrigible]

[rockrr]

Hat tip to "Mr. Cynical" from SoundPolitics.com who caught this article.

I had to dig to find it online - I guess the "slimes" doesn't want to spoil the happy delusion that Seattleites appear to be in.

[hattend]

BTTT

[schu]

Yea, sure. Anyone who believes that this does not go right to Ron Sims is not dealing in reality. We can only hope that there is a paper trail to Sims/Logan and that someone is willing to start spilling the beans.

No mid level bureaucrat is going to commit fraud by certifying incorrect data without getting approval from above. She was placed on "admin leave" (with pay) because they knew this was going to come out at the trial.

Where is the DA? McCay is a wimp, this is institutionalized fraud, if it is not dealt with, it will just happen again.

[Route101]

Dean Logan take a hike!

[schu]

Bay,

I get more angry every day when nothing seems to happen on the legal front. Sam Reed - idiot and incompetent, Rob McKenna - lets talk about Meth, McKay - get the Mayor of Spokane (which is not all bad). But no one is talking about nailing these frauds in King County! I just do not get it.

[COBOL2Java]

Sombody ought to post this on DU, only change "Washington State" to "Ohio" and watch the fun erupt.

[james500]

"State Elections Director Nick Handy said it appears King County violated state regulations for accounting for absentee ballots. But his agency, the Office of the Secretary of State, has no enforcement powers in the matter.

Handy said a county prosecutor could file criminal charges if criminal behavior were suspected, but he said he saw no indication of criminal conduct"

"violated" = "broke"
"state regulations" = "the law"

[jokar]

Logan, who became elections director in September 2003, said he has concluded that employees have consistently misreported the number of returned ballots since at least 2000.

Two former election officials disputed that. "No, sorry. Don't agree," said former Elections Director Bob Bruce, who retired in 2001. He said his reports of ballots returned were based on actual counts of ballots as they came in.

Former Elections Superintendent Julie Anne Kempf also disagreed, saying her reports were based on ballot returns and rarely showed a significant discrepancy. Kempf was fired for allegedly lying about the delayed mailing of absentee ballots in 2002, a charge she denies.

State Elections Director Nick Handy said it appears King County violated state regulations for accounting for absentee ballots. But his agency, the Office of the Secretary of State, has no enforcement powers in the matter.

Nick Handy said. . . ."it appears King County violated state regulations for accounting for absentee ballots."
Naw !! really do you think that's possible ?
Now we go back to the King County Prosecutor and we will be hearing about the indictments when hell freezes over.

[rockrr]

"You honor, While it is true that my client violated state regulations when he removed that television from the store, he wishes to state that his mom has no control over him."

No harm, no foul!

(Sheesh! What are these guys smoking?!!!)

[Hank Rearden]

Fell said the ballot report was prepared by absentee-ballot supervisor Nicole Way "in conjunction with myself and additional workings with the superintendent of elections, Bill Huennekens."

Now doesn't that sound exactly like a government dumbass? Just like those "at this particular point in time" pinheads on the taxpayer payroll.

[rockrr]

Hank - Do you suppose that there's a class you have to take to learn to prevaricate that way?!

[lilylangtree]

Down with Fraudoire as governor! Down with the mismanaged fraudulent King County government!

[Vicki]

King County officials are a bunch of liars, conspirators and downright criminals. Seattle is the head of the serpent whose venom has poisoned the entire state.

[4woodenboats]

"flawed methodology"

"inaccurate."

"misleading"

"failure to keep close track"

"incorrectly indicated"

"misreported"

"discrepancy"

All these words were used in this article to described willful, premeditated fraud by a government agency on multiple levels of management, which should make them subject to federal and state organized crime statutes. Instead, we get this dumbing down of the crimes, and elections directors, state and fed attorneys general who are disinterested at best, and a secretary of state whose only activity is inactivity.

Within a week we'll begin hearing these words replaced with ones like "controversial", "unclear" "improper", "hurried", "not thoroughly documented", etc., and we will be hearing lots more about how the Rats have carefully removed all "enforcement powers" through the years.

[james500]

Welcome to the Third World.

[Hank Rearden]

She sounds too dumb to even know what "prevaricate" means. She's just stringing words together, trying to sound important, like have the government types you see interviewed or quoted. They think more syllables = more credibility.

I call it the "at this particular point in time" syndrome. A phrase used by self-important drones when "now" would do perfectly well.