What about the Chicago Board of Elections or the Chicago City Council, Mayor Emanuel? Click read more for the letter addressed to the Chicago City Council.
Greetings City Council,
Last December, I sent you the email communication below. I have not heard from anyone, so I thought it appropriate to re-send the email.
I sent a similar letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections. I have been asked by Rupert Borgsmiller and the Illinois State Board of Elections to speak during the Board meeting today. Others will join Defend the Vote.
We invite you to join us as well, or to send someone from your office. Our study found the Ballot Box was not sealed in 139 instances in Chicago. This is against Illinois statue which requires sealed ballots. This is an IMPORTANT issue right before the elections!
Defend the Vote seeks to speak about our findings with the City Council. www.DefendTheVote.com
Regards,
Sharon Meroni
Sharon Meroni
One West Surrey Lane
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
847-382-1100
December 15, 2011
Rahm Emanuel: Mayor of Chicago
Aldermen and Alderwomen
| Proco Joe Moreno |
Roberto Maldonado |
| Bob Fioretti |
Walter Burnett, Jr. |
| Pat Dowell |
Jason C. Ervin |
| William D.Burns |
Deborah L. Graham |
| Leslie A. Hairston |
Ariel Reboyras |
| Roderick T. Sawyer |
Regner Ray Suarez |
| Sandi Jackson |
Scott Waguespack |
| Michelle A. Harris |
Richard F. Mell |
| Anthony Beale |
Carrie M. Austin. |
| John Pope |
Rey Colón |
| James Balcer |
Nicholas Sposato |
| George A. Cardenas |
Emma Mitts |
| Marty Quinn |
Timothy M. Cullerton |
| Edward M. Burke |
Margaret Laurino |
| Toni Foulkes |
Patrick J. O'Connor |
| Joann Thompson |
Mary O'Connor |
| Latasha R.Thomas |
Brendan Reilly |
| Lona Lane |
Michele Smith |
| Matthew J. O'Shea |
Thomas Tunney |
| Willie Cochran |
John Arena |
| Howard Brookins, Jr. |
James Cappleman |
| Ricardo Munoz |
Ameya Pawar |
| Michael R. Zalewski |
Harry Osterman |
| Michael D. Chandler |
Joseph A. Moore |
| Daniel Solis |
Debra L. Silverstein |
Susan Mendoza – City Clerk
City Hall
121 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago, Il 60602
Dear Mayor, and Aldermen and Alderwomen, and City Clerk:
Defend the Vote is an Illinois not-for-profit, non-partisan organization with the mission to empower citizens to protect elections. We focus on three areas: Ballot Access, The Voter, and Casting the Vote. An important aspect of our activity involves evaluation of security protocols in place to protect the integrity of the vote.
In April 2011, along with Champion News, we conducted a ‘vulnerability assessment and security audit’ of the Chicago Board of Election’s Election Day security procedures. This surprise audit was conducted after multiple irregularities in security in Chicago’s November 2010 and February 2011 Elections were observed.
Our findings document serious flaws in Chicago’s election system. In Chicago, on Election Day in April 2011, we evaluated 239 polling places on 11 security measures which were taken out of the 2011 Illinois (and Chicago) Election Judge Training Guide. 215 (91%) precincts failed in one or more measures. 139 (59%) precincts were documented with unsealed ballot boxes.
Our report summarizing this audit was peer reviewed and published in Argonne National Laboratory’s October 2011 edition of the prestigious Journal of Physical Security.. The peer-review team consisted of experts in physical security and some with election security expertise. Dr. Roger Johnston, Ph.D., CPP, is head of the Vulnerability Assessment Team (VAT) at Argonne National Laboratory and Editor of the Journal of Physical Security. Dr. Johnston found that the security protocols in place were “wholly inadequate” and essentially 100% ineffective in promoting a tamper resistant voting environment.
Both the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Chicago Board of Elections have received copies of this report. Copies can be downloaded from this link. This report includes a section on “Additional Vulnerabilities” outlining additional security issues found in Chicago’s elections practices.
Have you seen how the memory devices in your ward are stored? (page 45 ) The pictures say it all …
Shipped from Washington Street to Pershing Ave in unsecured cardboard boxes, each of these boxes contain the memory devices for an entire Ward's Election Day equipment.
These boxes were left stacked in the corner location for at least 2 weeks.
In a separate study, Defend the Vote has identified serious irregularities in staffing of early voting sites in Chicago. Along with the Chicago GOP, we uncovered the use of non-citizens operating polling sites and involved with decisions concerning whether or not US citizens can vote. Incredibly, I-9 forms for 75% of the early voting employees that staff sites in Chicago are not filled out correctly. Where is the security in early voting? This evidence proves not in the management of the staff running these sites.
In 2011, Defend the Vote proved and publicized that Illinois has never audited early voting. In addition, the software that runs the ballot equipment has never been audited by the political parties. When there are recounts, early voting is not included. 18% of Illinois voted through early voting last year. What does that mean? Simply, it means that the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail is not reconciled with the numbers reported on 18% of the vote.
In 2012, Defend the Vote will expand our work to a sampling of polling place procedures statewide. Our program is called the “VAP” –
The Voter Auditor Pollwatching program. Registered voters will be trained and then provided pollwatching credentials. After they vote, they will score their precinct for compliance with security protocols. The Election Day assessment consists of grading compliance at the polling place with security protocols, as well as assessing the ability of the security protocols to secure the vote. The results will be collected and analyzed statewide.
In 2012, in addition to Election Day polling place procedures, Defend the Vote will be looking at security procedures surrounding early and absentee voting, the military vote, and nursing home voting. Finally, part of our program includes reviewing the availability of information to the public about the security of their vote.
We seek your assistance in obtaining information concerning polling place security within Chicago and specifically your ward. Defend the Vote would like to personally present our findings to the Chicago City Council. We seek 30 minutes to present our findings and 30 minutes for discussion. Major Emanuel, we are asking you to personally become involved in election reform in Chicago. As the Major of Chicago, the security of the citizen vote is primary! We invite you to join us in our quest for secure elections in Chicago and across all of Illinois.
We look forward to hearing from all of you!
Regards, Sharon Meroni
Sharon Meroni
Executive Director of Defend the Vote
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