Lampson Poll Watcher (me) illegally ejected from Polling place on Tuesday: [View All]

[elehhhhna]

Andy would have loved this story.

Voters Turned Away In Democratic Precinct
by Bob Dunn, Nov 07, 2006, 09 51 am


Less than two hours after the polls opened, campaign workers for Democratic congressional candidate Nick Lampson complained that voters have been turned away from the polls in a strongly Democratic precinct in east Fort Bend County.

Voters on their way to work in Precinct 4126 stopped early this morning at Oak Lake Baptist Church, at 15555 W. Airport Blvd. near Sugar Land, but found they couldn’t cast ballots, said Lampson campaign manager Mike Malaise.

Election officials “just said the voting machines aren’t working. They just told them there’s no way to vote right now,” Malaise said.

A Lampson poll watcher said eSlate voting machine control units from three precincts were inadvertently delivered to the wrong locations, and thus voters would be presented with ballots that were incorrect for their locations. While the control units were switched, the eSlate machines couldn’t be used.



14 elena - Nov 8, 09:40 am

The voters of precinct 4126 patiently waited up to 2 1/2 hours to vote last night. Polling place doors were closed at 7— they were still voting after 9:15 p.m.

At 7:02 p.m, the Elections Judge rudely denied entry to three people—at least one of whom had been present but unable to vote that morning while the units were being “switched out”.

The Lampson campaigns’ poll watcher, under advice of legal counsel, suggested to the Judge that, due to the 55 minute delay in voting earlier in the morning, the three voters— one of whom required assistance to walk, and all of whom had encountered difficulties reaching the polling place doors by 7 p.m. due to a severe lack of available parking—be allowed to cast provisional ballots. The request was loudly denied. Several people witnessed the Judge tell these voters “The polls are closed, you’re not voting.
GO AWAY!”

At 8:15 p.m., after a private conversation with a Sekula-Gibbs-appointed poll watcher, the Election Judge, in violation of TX election code, ejected Nick Lampson’s poll watcher from Oak Lake Church in front of approximately 40 witnesses. The poll watcher elected to leave quietly, as the misinformed Elections Judge was behaving in an undignified manner in the presence of said voters. The elections judge admitted she had no cause for this action, but that it had been approved by Mr. Perez.

Lampson’s poll watcher was quoted as saying “The patience and dignity that the voters of precinct 4126 displayed on Tuesday was awesome—and it was an honor to serve their interests. Of course, I’m also ecstatically happy that Nick Lampson deservedly and decisively won DeLay’s Congressional seat.”

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/2182/lampson-campaign-says-voters-turned-away-in-heavy-democrat-district