Six weeks ago the Election Reform Network released a study of 2008 general election results in Montgomery County that uncovered widespread disparities between machine counts and voter records at the polls. trading Forex At that time the Election Board indicated concern and vowed to investigate and respond publicly.

Their response last Wednesday might be described as a heaping helping of outright dismissal with a sprinkling of concern and willingness to do better. The attorney speaking for the Department of Voter Services,characterized ERN results, which included disparities in three-quarters of county election districts, as "not for you (the Election Board) to do anything about." He went on to say that

About a month ago the Election Reform Network issued a report detailing disparities between the machine vote counts and voter attendance in the 2008 general election in Montgomery County.  The study found inconsistencies for an alarming three-quarters of the election districts in the county.  Discrepancies of up to 47 voters per election district were uncovered and almost 50 districts had differences of nine or more voters.  Eleven districts had disparities of 20 or more voters.  

Watchdog group spotlights lost votes in electronic machines
By Jenna Portnoy
May 15,2010
OF THE MORNING CALL

It won't matter how much time you spend comparing the records of U.S. Senate candidates Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter if your vote doesn't count Tuesday.

That's the message election watchdogs in Montgomery County hope to get across in a report released this week.

The Election Reform Network found that the number of Montgomery residents who showed up to vote in the 2008 presidential election rarely exactly matched the tally on the electronic voting machines. No one knows what happened to the missing voters.

Election officials generally blame the discrepancy on human error. But others worry the machines could be to blame.

''All you can do is print ballot images churned out by the same software that recorded the vote,'' said Steve Strahs of Melrose Park, who wrote the report. ''You have what amounts to a black box. You can't audit the system, you can't recount the votes.''

Network Reports Disparities Between Machine Counts and Voter Sign-ins for Most Election Districts in 08; Calls for a Reconciling of Voter Sign-ins with Machine Counts Before Results Are Official

The Election Reform Network is coming forward today with a report that points to dangerous deficiencies in the voting process in Montgomery County. The report uncovers disparities between machine counts and voter attendance for three-quarters of election districts (EDs) in Montgomery County during the 08 general election . 

If campaign finance reform were easy, it wouldn't make a huge difference in Pennlsylvania's politics.   And, of course, if it were that easy, we'd probably have it already.  So it's no surprise that as things start looking promising for serious reform, there are thickets of obstacles to overcome.  To make sure that this opportunity doesn't slip away, we need your help.
 

A federal law suit seeking redress against the Chester County Election Board for practices that resulted in unconscionably long lines and as much as a day-long wait to vote at a poll near Lincoln University back in the November 08 election has - thankfully - put election administration back in the spotlight for a minor media moment.  The Inquirer recently ran a piece by columnist Mark Bowden on the incident entitled "Indefensible."   Why not tell The Inquirer at inquirer.letters@phillynews.com that the issue is much bigger than one egregious precinct in Chester County?

Last week seems to have been "take-off" time for the movement for national campaign finance reform in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United  corporate "free speech" decision.  Here's a quick run-down.

And they undoubtedly glanced over Pennsylvania's recent state budget fiasco.  Last year the interests that blocked adequate revenue from reaching the state's coffers were many, but they all had one thing in common: big bucks "invested" politically.  Want to tax the natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale?  You say it's a no-brainer from a policy perspective.  Sorry.  Governor Rendell backed away and the legislature ran for cover – maybe next year.  The gas industry recently showered state senate leaders with more than $200,000 in campaign contributions and the governor was rewarded, too (all before the fact) . 

This past election day (Nov. 3, 09) voters avoided the polls in droves, yet there were the usual procedural problems and occasional confusion in an otherwise lackluster voting day.     
 
Only 25 percent of eligible voters turned out in Montgomery County, but that compared favorably with Philadelphia’s abysmal turnout of 12 percent and the statewide figure of 20 percent.  While the 2005 municipal election also generated a countywide turnout in Montco of 25 percent, that election lacked the high court races that were supposed to drive voter participation this time around.

There went the judges.  They were all over the ballot last Tuesday – Pennsylvania Supreme Court (one seat), Superior Court (four seats), Commonwealth Court (two seats), Court of Common Pleas (in Montco, seven races).  Then there are the “retentions” (one for Superior Court and one for Commonwealth Court; the ballot for local judges varies, depending on your county).   Picking judges is a pretty ho-hum affair, but not this year, when two juvenile court justices in Luzerne County put the workings of the judiciary on trial.  Yet voter turnout was still barely visible at 20 percent statewide.  Why?  The problem goes way beyond an apathetic electorate.