BBV: Problem County #2...What towns/cities are in La Paz Co. Arizona?

[Andy_Stephenson]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Donna Hale" <[e-mail]>
Copies to: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Public Records Request for Specific Election Security Information
Date sent: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 17:00:03 -0700


In answer to your inquiry:

In La Paz County, Arizona, I do not have a "list" of the persons
accessing the central tabulator. However, please be aware that I,
as Elections Director, am the only one with the password to access
the Elections Server, along with authorized Diebold representatives
when they have been on site in support of the elections.

I also do not have a "key log" indicating access to the locked server
room; however, there is only limited access by specific County
personnel allowed into the room.

Your request of the "audit log" has been sent to the County Attorney
for direction. Once I obtain approval to do so, I will forward this
information on to you.

Sincerely,

Donna J. Hale
Clerk of the Board/Elections Director
La Paz County
928/669-6115
[e-mail]

Sent in Reply to this letter

Subject: Public Records Request for Specific Election Security Information
Reply to: [e-mail] AND (place your own email here if you would like a copy)

Pursuant to Ariz. Public Records Law ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. §§39-121 to 1-24, I am requesting the following records. Because an election is coming soon, I ask that this records request be acted upon as swiftly as possible.

- Please provide the lists you have kept of the names, positions, and employer of every person who has accessed your central tabulator, or your main tabulator computer for votes, from January 1, 2004 until your receipt of this public records request. If you do not keep a list, please indicate that you do not have such a list.

- Please provide a printout of the document called the "audit log" or "event log" or its equivalent, from your central tabulator program or your main tabulator for votes, for your most recent two elections. If your computer system does not make such a log available, please indicate that, and provide documentation on what manufacturer and version number you use for your voting system tabulation.

- Please provide a copy of the "key log" indicating access to your locked central tabulator room, from January 1, 2004 until the present. If you do not maintain a log of who enters the central tabulator room, please indicate that you have no such documentation.

The above records will not be used for commercial purposes.
Please advise as soon as possible by e-mail of any costs.
Please send any records available in electronic form by e-mail.
Mail records to:
Black Box Voting - Attn Cleanup Crew
PO Box 25552
Seattle WA 98165

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

[Andy_Stephenson]

1. Link to records

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=7&forum=DCForumID154

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. It's tiny. No clue where it is....

But only 19,000-odd residents?

http://www.co.la-paz.az.us/

[Andy_Stephenson]

3. They are running Diebold.

19,000 votes enough to make a difference somewhere.

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. It sure is.....

But still not sure where the county is. Sounds like it is in the desert. Can't imagine a county in Illinois with only 19,000 people.

[demobabe]

6. It is in the desert, yes...

Just a few towns with mostly BLM land around. You drive for hundreds of miles and just see brown mountains, saguaro, ocotillo, prickly pear cactuses, palo verde trees, road runners, and rocks... beautiful at sunset with glowing red and purple hills...

much different than the east coast where you have a town every few miles, yes.

[demobabe]

5. Lived in Arizona for 8 years...

Basically La Paz County is a) where you fill your gas tank when driving between Phoenix and California, b) where 50 gazillion campers go to live on BLM land essentially for free for 6 months of the year and c) one of the best places to go to buy minerals, gems, meteor pieces, trinkets, and other flea market kinds of items.

Quartzsite is basically on the California/Arizona border - Interstate 10 runs through it. That's pretty much the main town. We're talking small and informal.

She sounds like she's forthcoming with info - she may respond well to having BBV problems explained to her and why having Diebold folks with access to the machines is a security problem and possibly illegal (don't know where AZ election law stands on this - in CA it's illegal). I'd call her up and talk to her nicely.

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. Wow, you have been on DU for 2 years....

and not posted much. I feel honored.

Thanks for your info.

[Andy_Stephenson]

8. "I feel honored. "

as do I.

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. It's always impressive when someone who must mostly lurk...

...responds to a thread.

Thanks, demobabe.

[BevHarris]

10. I agree. We will be dividing respondent counties into 3 groups:

1. Uncooperative
2. Cooperative but in need of education
3. Cooperative and enlightened.

La Paz County is in group 2. In addition, once we have blanketed the key states and counties with records requests in order to get baseline behavior, in a legally binding form, we will be doing triage --

1. Too small, no time
2. Influential, but probably ok
3. Influential county, needs heavy scrutiny

La Paz county will end up in Group 1.

One function of our records request program is to ID counties with voter-friendly elections officials and also ID the most problematic officials. Another function of the records request program is behavior modification -- for those in category #1 at top, we will arrange for a large amount of additional scrutiny, and shine sunlight on their behavior publicly.

Bev

[friesianrider]

11. At least she was professional, unlike Berks Co, PA's elections official.nm

nom

[BevHarris]

12. Yup. Most are responsive, in fact, and we appreciate that.

Some who are responsive aren't too honest, though. At VerifiedVoting.org they have some really cool maps. One has maps of election officials who have filled out their report cards. However, the answers to the "report card survey" are not legally binding; answers to public records requests are legally binding.

Some of the report card items don't always match the public records answers.

Bev

[69KV]

13. What Demobabe said above

La Paz County is along the Colorado River along the California state line.

The only permanent town of any consequence is Parker. There is also the Colorado River Indian Tribe reservation (CRIT). And a lot of snowbirds who live out of their campers on BLM land on both the Arizona and California sides of the Colorado River. And "towns" like Quartzsite, whose population multiplies by a factor of 10 in the winter.

Interesting place. It's pretty isolated from the rest of Arizona and has a kind of outlaw feel to it - not wild west, but bikers, people living in campers without permanent addresses, and ex-Californians living just across the state line because of Cali's 3-strikes law. CRIT's tribal casino is really nice, and it's a fun place to hang out in the winter. You'd have to be a total desert rat to want to be there in the summer, though. 130 degrees - yuk!

Population is way too small to swing an election, if that's your concern. I think out of Arizona's counties only Greenlee County is more sparsely populated.

[Andy_Stephenson]

14. What percentage of the population

is Indian?

Do you know?

[69KV]

15. Might be 20-25% Native

This website has the census for each of the Arizona tribes:
http://ag.arizona.edu/edrp/tribes.html

The Colorado River Indian Tribe has 7466 people living on the reservation, but only 3389 actual members of the tribe. Also, 20% of the reservation is on the California side of the state line and I'm not sure how many tribal members live on which side. I do know that a lot of non-natives live on the reservation, since there are several small towns on reservation land that have mostly white residents, and mostly cater to the seasonal boating crowd that comes over from California.

Parker is not part of the reservation but that town is completely surrounded by reservation land.

[BevHarris]

16. Actually, I spent last week on the Arizona Indian reservations

looking at vote suppression. As happens so often when you actually go visit folks face to face, instead of doing all the research on the Internet, I found supporting information but it was not at all what I expected to find.

Oh, and I'm sure Alamo rental car appreciates the return of a car that has dust blown into every exterior and interior crack, mud on the tire guards (from driving through streams, and those were the "good" roads!). I started this trip with my husband, but last couple days were alone, and I decided that if you are going to go talk to folks on some of the Arizona reservations, it's best to bring someone to change a tire if needed; better yet, rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle, or drive a truck.

Will be publishing a report on vote suppression tactics with the substantial Native American populations within the next week.

Bev Harris

[RedEagle]

17. Thanks for this work Andy

Kick!