HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: RUTH WEISS, ELECTION INTEGRITY PROJECT

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East County News Service

September 18, 2016 (San Diego’s East County)—Recently we interviewed Ruth Weiss, San Diego coordinator for the Election Integrity Project. The all-volunteer, nonpartisan California organization’s mission is to restore fair and honest elections in our state. It’s motto is “Every lawfully cast ballot accurately counted.”

The Election Integrity Project seeks volunteers willing to be trained to help monitor elections and vote-counting.  “Whether a person can give 10 minutes or 10 hours on election day, they can make a difference. Our training is also available online at our website,” says Weiss.

Listen to our interview with Weiss by clicking the audio link, and scroll down for more information about the organizations.

There are four prongs to the Election Integrity Project’s work:

  1. Voter roll research—assisting cooperative Registrars of Voters to find duplicates, deceased and other unlawfully registered people so that more effective list maintenance can occur.
  2. Voter education—maintaining a website (www.electionintegrityproject.com) to educate the public on California’s electoral process and how to use it to cast a more secure vote.  The group also sends articles to its email list and posts on Facebook and Twitter. In addition,  Election Integrity Project provides guest speakers for organizations and radio.
  3. Legislative oversight—monitoring proposed legislation, writing official letters of support or opposition to committee members and bill authors, and encouraging voters to contact their state representatives when appropriate.
  4. Election observation—the organization claims it has trained thousands of volunteers to be effective observers at the polls including how to lawfully intervene to get violations rectified immediately so that votes are protected. Observers also document their observations under penalty of perjury so reports can assist in educating Registrars of Voters to help improve poll worker training.  The organization also trains volunteers to observe the vote processing and signature verification procedures.

Audio: 

Interview: Ruth Weiss, Election Integrity Project

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Right you are Miriam on Michael Vu

Jan. 24, 2007, 5:09PM By M.R. KROPKO Associated Press Writer The Associated Press CLEVELAND — Two election workers were convicted Wednesday of rigging a recount of the 2004 presidential election to avoid a more thorough review in Ohio's most populous county. Jacqueline Maiden, elections coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee. They also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty. Prosecutors accused Maiden and Dreamer of secretly reviewing preselected ballots before a public recount on Dec. 16, 2004. They worked behind closed doors for three days to pick ballots they knew would not cause discrepancies when checked by hand, prosecutors said. Defense attorney Roger Synenberg has said the workers were following procedures as they understood them. Ohio gave President Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the close election and hold on to the White House in 2004. Special prosecutor Kevin Baxter did not claim the workers' actions affected the outcome of the election — Kerry gained 17 votes and Bush lost six in the county's recount. Maiden and Dreamer, who still work for the elections board, face a possible sentence of six to 18 months for the felony conviction. Sentencing is on Feb. 26. A message left for Elections Board Director Michael Vu was not immediately returned Wednesday. The board released a statement that said its goal is to restore confidence in the county's election progress and pursue reforms in addition to those made since 2004.