Tucson Elections Department - Contested Records are “Missing”
For some while the Pima County Democratic Party has been suing the Pima Elections Department for access to certain records relating to the disputed RTA election in late 2006. Now it seems that the records are “missing” and Pima County Brad Nelson Election Director is clueless. But we think the Judge has little choice now but to rule in our favor and then we think there will be plenty of clues!
Record of votes in ‘06 RTA election missing
Tape may confirm whether results were altered
Potentially important evidence is missing in the Pima County Democrats’ lawsuit against the county Elections Division regarding how votes were handled in a 2006 election.
No one seems to know what happened to a computer tape record of the May 16, 2006 Regional Transportation Authority election. The tape was sent to the the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office after the election last year and reportedly was returned to the county.
The county elections director made the revelation in his testimony Wednesday in a Pima County Superior Court trial over the Democrats’ lawsuit.
The case goes to the heart of the democratic process - the security of voting and vote counting - and is one of several that have played out across the country since the 2000 presidential election results were disputed in Florida over the counting of “hanging chad” ballots.
Use of computerized voting machines and vote tabulating systems has heightened worries that ballot boxes and vote counting can be tampered with in ways not available with old paper ballot and hand-counting methods.
In Wednesday’s trial testimony, County Elections Director Brad Nelson said the Secretary of State’s Office sent the county a box of computer tape records of elections dating back to 2001.
The box was mistakenly delivered to the county Recorder’s Office, then sent to the Elections Division, Nelson said.
Nelson said the box was delivered to “the counter” at elections offices and that he never saw the records tape.
“The tape should have been in there,” he said in response to questions from Bill Risner, the lawyer representing Democrats in the lawsuit.
They filed their suit after county elections officials refused to give party computer consultants a copy of the database, which Democrats say could show if the election ballot or eventual results were altered.
It was unclear Wednesday whether the missing computer tape would have provided the Democrats with any of the information they’re seeking.
Wednesday’s session was the second of a planned three-day trial, and Risner finished calling witnesses to support the Democrats’ effort to get Superior Court Judge Michael Miller to order the Elections Division to give Democrats the database.
Both Democrats and the county last summer asked for an investigation into whether the 2006 election may have been tainted.
The county hired a computer consultant, who recommended numerous changes in security in the Elections Division but found no evidence of vote tampering.
In court Wednesday, Risner also questioned Bryan Crane, the Elections Division’s chief computer programmer, who has been under fire for allegedly removing elections data on tapes and taking compact discs to his home over several recent election cycles for safekeeping against fire.
Crane was criticized for printing election summaries before polls close on election day. That was done to check to see if the voting system was correctly tabulating votes, witnesses said in testimony Wednesday.