Saguache Commissioners Hear Recall Committee Requests

 On August 2, the Board of County Commissioners heard the requests of the Committee to Recall Clerk Myers.

The meeting became rather contentious and spirited.  See the 25 minute meeting at http://vimeo.com/27232014 .

 The requests of the Committee included:

1. The appointment of a Designated Election Officer with certified clerk credentials.

2. The acknowledgement that mail-in ballots will  be allowed but not mandated, allowing voters who wish to vote in person to do so at their precinct polling places.

3. The acknowledgement that the M650 is not a certified system, and should not be used for the recall election. The Committee requests that the ballots be hand counted by bi-partisan election judges.

The BOCC had done their homework and sought legal advice, and acted to appoint County Treasurer Connie Trujillo as the Designated Election Officer. They assured the public that she would be given the resource of an election expert to consult with her throughout the process.

During the meeting one citizen named Martin claimed that a new law requires a mail ballot (only) election for recall elections. The claim was inaccurate, as he was referring to a proposed bill that never made it out of committee.

Other citizens felt that the reviews of the Grand Jury and SOS indicated that Clerk Myers had performed her duties in the election in an acceptable fashion, and that the recall was unnecessary. It seems that they had a misimpression of the statements in the SOS and the Grand Jury reports. Perhaps they did not understand that the Secretary of State is suing Clerk Myers to gain access to the voted ballots in order the audit the election. Some citizens were under the mistaken belief that the SOS has already reviewed the ballots and vote counts.

Recall committee members assured citizens privately  that the details of the allegations of election irregularities on Myers' watch will be clearly proven in the recall campaign.

More information is available at http://saguacheco.org.

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My letter to BOCC after the meeting: 

From: Marilyn Marks
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 2:13 PM
To: 'Linda Joseph'; 'Mike Spearman'; 'space@saguachecounty-co.gov'
Cc: 'Benjamin F. Gibbons, P.C.'; 'Connie Trujillo'
Subject: Recall Petition Process 

Commissioners:

I was impressed with the professionalism and preparedness with which you handled a difficult situation yesterday in the BOCC meeting. 

I would like to offer a perspective and suggestion. 

I think that it is natural for voters to question the fairness or objectivity of any Designated Election Official whom you might name.

No matter whom you name,  the official is  likely to be a partisan, as is natural for an elected official who runs on any party ticket.

But obviously that does not mean that their decisions are partisan in their DEO role.  I am confident that Ms. Trujillo will handle her work in the most fair, legally compliant and transparent manner. 

I was impressed with your insistence that the resources be invested to give Ms. Trujillo access to expert and experienced election officials for consulting.  Conducting this high profile election is both a science and an art, and would be a challenge for even a very experienced clerk.  Having additional expertise will be appreciated by all.  Ms. Trujillo is such a professional that I am certain that with that support, the election will be a model of proper election processing that the BOCC can take pride in overseeing. 

You might consider encouraging the major party chairs to make their appointments for the canvass board and watchers right away. Any committees which get formed,  can also  can appoint their watchers. These opportunities  for citizen oversight can begin when  petitions are turned in and signatures are verified.  The citizen oversight should be robust and constant.

Ms. Trujillo should be encouraged to take extra care in informing all parties of each process in each step of the conduct of the election---which is a duty that is not spelled out clearly in the election regulations and is easily overlooked by even the most experienced election clerks.

If the canvass board and watchers are well-trained and conscientious, and are aware of all steps in the processing of all records,  the election will be completely transparent, verifiable and legally compliant, without worry of any perceived bias.  There will be balancing “bias” on the canvass board and watchers---which creates the uniquely democratic and healthy  opportunity to have hard fighting advocates for each perspective on issues of interpretation and accuracy. 

Perhaps with encouragement to form their advocacy committees of canvass board members and watchers, all citizens will feel fully invested in the transparent  process. 

Thank you for your dedication to insuring a fair and compliant process. 

Marilyn Marks

Glass Ballot Box