Monday, April 23, 2018

Are Electronic Ballot Images Public Property?


Ever since New York adopted Paper Ballots and Scanning Machines for Elections in 2010, the Daily News has contended that the Images of the Ballots captured by the Machines are Public Records that should be freely available to all.

Some say that simple and logical standard must now become the Statewide Rule by the State’s Highest Court reaffirming an Appellate Panel Decision granting Access to the Computer Files.

Following the 2015 Local Elections in Essex County in the Adirondacks, Democratic Leader Bethany Kosmider sought the Ballot Images.

She was Denied by Essex Republicans and Sued. Last year, she Won the Case. The GOP Appealed, and now they’ve lost again in Appellate Court.

Some think the Court of Appeals must now make it the Law of the State. In Super-Close Contests, the Ballot Images can show who really Won while the Paper Ballots stay Locked Up, Safe from Tampering.

Last fall, a Saratoga City Charter Referendum Failed by 10 Votes out of 8,906; the Local Board of Elections Refused to Release the Images.

The Board of Elections already counted the Ballots before Certifying the Election.

I do not think the Ballot Images are Public Property. But under a Court Supervised Review, Lawyers should be able to perform the recount.

In the United States, most States had moved to Secret Ballots soon after the Presidential Election of 1884. Kentucky was the last State to do so in 1891, when it quit using an Oral Ballot. But Seven States did not have Government-Printed Ballots until the 20th Century; South Carolina created them in 1950 and Georgia in 1922.

Elections in the United States are mostly held by Secret Ballot, although some States use Mail Ballots instead, which violate Requirements 3 and 4 of the "Australian Ballot", as it is distributed to the Home, and potentially Marked in the Presence of other People.

In 2018, the States of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington will conduct all Elections by Mailed Ballots.

The Constitution for the State of West Virginia still allows Voters to cast "Open Ballots".










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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