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PRESS RELEASE December 30, 2004 EFF requests election-related public
records from Secretary of State OLYMPIA—The Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed a public records request with the Secretary of State today to obtain key election procedure documents to evaluate the integrity of Washington state elections. Congress recognized voting problems in the 2000 Presidential race and passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002. State lawmakers responded similarly in 2003 and 2004 and changed the state election laws effective July 1, 2004. Had these changes been properly implemented, many of the most serious problems we confronted during this past election would have been moot. (i.e. Different standards used in different counties, the proper handling of provisional ballots, canvassing and recanvassing, ballot security, lack of uniform standards for recounts, etc.) Our Foundation is seeking to determine why the federal and state laws were not fully implemented by the Secretary of State and what corrective action is needed by the 2005 Legislature. EFF President Bob Williams said the problems in the 2004 election transcend the governor’s race. “The impact of this election on the integrity of the elections system and the governor-elect cannot be overstated. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of a legitimate representative government,” said Williams. “Party politics should never trump the right of a qualified citizen to cast a ballot and know it will be counted.” EFF is also seeking to determine the results of past reviews by the Secretary of State of election procedures in King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston Counties, and whether the deficiencies previously identified have been corrected. We are also trying to identify how many military ballots were not counted and why. Click here to view EFF’s
public records request. Contact: Bob Williams | President | 360.956.3482
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
