As we do not live in the First District I had the ROV office send me their voting procedure notice that was included with every absentee ballot. At the bottom of this one age document it reads:
**TOP FIVE REASONS FOR YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT NOT TO BE COUNTED**
1. NO SIGNATURE. You must sign where indicated on the identification Envelope.
2. UNAUTHORIZED RETURN. YOU are responsible for your own ballot. Drop it in the mail or return it yourself. If you are ill or disabled, you may authorize a relative or a person residing in the same household to return it for you by signing the authorization box on the return envelope.
3. ABSENTEE BALLOT ARRIVES AFTER 8:00P.M. ELECTION DAY. Postmarks do not count.
4. BALLOT IS RETURNED TO THE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS IN A PLAIN ENVELOPE. You must sign the return envelope with the penalty of perjury statement on it for it to count.
5.WROTE NAME OR PLACED INITIALS ON BALLOT. This is never allowed; even if you make a change on your ballot.
Orange County Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Ave., Bldg. C, Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 567-7600; Telecommunications Device for the deaf (714) 567-7608; www.ocvote.com
OK. Please pay close attention to instruction number five as you think about the challenged ballots now being disputed.
I hope the court orders the count of the VVPAT’s paper ballots to verify the accuracy of the E-slates and JBC’s (the electronic votes).
This was a small election and the cost of that counting would be well worth it.
The public needs to be told about the accuracy and safety of the electronic vote system as compared to the “paper ballot system” that the absentee ballots are based upon.
It is very interesting that the elections held after the addition of the E-Slates, there was a push to have everyone vote on the machines. “ Don’t tell anyone about the paper option” and elimination of the cardboard voting booth for the paper ballots.
Then this election there was a jump back to the stone age with 75 to 80 percent of the ballots being on paper.