Probe of Lost Statehood Green and Republican Votes in the September 12
Primary Shows Significant Number of Lost Votes Throughout D.C.
The DC Statehood Green Party
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Contact:
Scott McLarty, DC Statehood Green Party Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
mclarty@greens.org
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Probe of lost Statehood Green and Republican votes in the September 12 primary shows significant number of lost votes
throughout D.C.
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Probe expanded from initial review of Ward 5 primary election results
Throughout D.C., nearly 1/3 of all Statehood Green votes and over 1/4 of all Republican votes weren't counted
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Statehood Greens urge D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to investigate, and warn D.C. voters: use paper ballots, not
computer voting machines
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An investigation into 'lost' D.C. Statehood Green and Republican votes cast in the September 12 primary election in Ward 5 has expanded to all other wards in Washington, D.C. and revealed that significant numbers of votes disappeared throughout the District.
On October 23, the Statehood Green Party announced that former candidate Philip Blair, in routine review of votes after the September 25 primary election in Ward 5, discovered discrepancies: only 89 votes recorded for 140 Statehood Green voters, with 51 votes apparently 'lost'; 40% of Republican votes also disappeared in the same Ward 5 primary (see "Voting irregularities discovered in Ward 5 primary election results in Washington, D.C." <http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org/press/press.php?annc_id=167§ion_id=2>
or <http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org/press/>).
In an October 30 letter to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics
(DCBOEE), Mr. Blair wrote, "I have now extended my research to see if the problems of Ward 5 are unique to the ward, or characteristic of the city as a whole." The letter will be posted on line shortly (accessible at <http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org>);
for an e-mailed copy, contact Mr. Blair at 202-526-8821 or <blair-rowan@starpower.net>.
Mr. Blair reported to the DCBOEE that 32.5% of all Statehood Green votes and 26.4% of all Republican votes cast in D.C. on September 12 were not counted.
For the Statehood Green primary, in no ward was the rate of lost votes under 20%; in Ward 7 it rose to 49% and in Ward 8 to 59%. The Republicans were not much better off: in Ward 7, 43% of their votes were lost; in Ward 4, 41%; in Ward 5, 40%; and in Ward 1, 29%.
In his October 30 letter, Mr. Blair concluded from his research that:
"(1) Very serious problems undercut the accuracy of reported election results for every ward in the city and in the city as a whole, both for the Republican and also for the Statehood-Green primaries of September 12, 2006.
(2) Given the extent and depth of these problems, it would be irresponsible to use the computerized voting system for the General Election next week; only the paper ballots provide an independent, verifiable opportunity to recount votes.
(3) The certification of these primaries did not follow the ballot accounting practices which are a legal prerequisite for certification; either the cross-checking of data required by regulation and by simple prudence were not done; or they were done, and the appalling results were not reported publicly or used internally to remedy the manifest inaccuracies."
The regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the
DCBOEE, originally set for Wednesday, November 1, was abruptly cancelled Tuesday, by a notice posted on the DCBOEE website. No new date has been set for this meeting.
D.C. Statehood Green Party leaders are urging D.C. voters to vote on paper ballots in the November 7 general election, and are also calling on the DCBOEE to probe Democratic votes cast in the primary also.
Mr. Blair is also now reviewing Democratic voting patterns in the primary. His preliminary results show that Democratic votes reported in the certified election results significantly exceed the number of voting Democratic in many precincts and wards. The 'lost' Statehood Green and Republican votes could at most account for only a small number of these "found" Democratic votes.
MORE INFORMATION
The DC Statehood Green Party
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
