The judge handed down a postponement in my Public Disclosure Act lawsuit against King County yesterday. He's not willing to hold a "Show Cause" hearing before the Nov. 8 election and suggested we all reconvene in 30 days.
I'll be reappearing before this judge so I respect his ruling that there needs to be adequate time for both parties to present all of the issues to the court and for the court to consider the issues. I will also say that in the big picture of the Public Disclosure Act, Ron Sims and Dean Logan have succeeded at stonewalling, delays, obfuscation and incomplete document productions for countless months. They have managed to run down the clock and cover-up evidence of their severe mistakes (if not outright fraud) long enough to prevent the public from having this information in order to vote on their performance next week. Way to go, guys. Of course, Sims has a lot of practice at evading public disclosure requests.
The county was represented by Janine Joly of Norman Maleng's office. Maleng told me in an interview in August that the Public Disclosure law "is working fairly adequately at the present time". I'm sure Ron Sims agrees.
Here are some of the questions that I've been asking for months, but that won't be answered for next week's voters. You really have to wonder what Sims and Logan are hiding --
1) Why did King County officials claim in a press release and in sworn testimony in the court case [Huennekens Deposition, p. 186] that 251 federal write-in ballots were counted from unregistered voters when only 113 of the envelopes can be produced? Why were these ballots counted in the first place, even though there is no record of advance requests from these voters, as required by state and federal law; And why were federal ballots precincted and counted from people who reported no local address? What are Sims and Logan hiding? Perhaps they just make up the numbers they report and routinely disregard state and federal laws for the hell of it.
2) Why did King County count provisional ballots from 91 voters who were shown in the database as having returned an absentee ballot? Why can't those absentee ballot envelopes be found? Did they never exist? Were they lost? Moved? Destroyed? If the ballots were never returned, why did the data records report that ballots were returned? Why did the Elections Office tell me they could only find 28 of the provisional envelopes, when in fact 60 more were sitting together in another box? Why were the corresponding absentee ballot data records modified after the election, as late as May 24, 2005, during the first week of the trial? Why has the Elections Office been unwilling to give me straight answers on this mess since I started asking about it in March? What are Sims and Logan hiding?
3) Why do the provisional ballot records indicate that there are hundreds of provisional ballot envelopes more than the ones that have been produced? Many of these are flagged rejected for "Needs further research". Why are these not found in the boxes of rejected envelopes? A number of other "Needs further Research" provisionals were actually counted as "fatal pends". Could it be that there's another box of unlawfully counted provisionally ballots that they just don't want me to look at? What are Sims and Logan hiding?
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 03, 2005 12:21 PM | Email This
Where are the local media? Have you gotten any TV or newspaper coverage of this?
It may well be that there could be logical explanations for some of the problems. And it also might be that there were indeed more problems than the trial, numerous blue ribbon panels, etc. uncovered or were willing to disclose.
What a terrible disservice to the people of Washington, for it's media to be too afraid or contemptuous of uncovering something to make any effort to be investigative.
If you are a mainstream media reporter, and you are reading this, you are a disgrace to journalism, but more importantly, to yourself. Any journalist who had the integrity to check up on these questions and to stand up and be counted, might win national acclaim if they exposed real problems. It appears most journalists live in a culture of fear which keeps them from exposing any story not in keeping with the views of their editorial board. So, unless the evidence is so overwhelming, that it cannot be denied, thereby protecting the journalist from retribution for going against the established views, he or she will take a pass on any further investigation.
MSM Journalists:
Did you get into journalism to repeat what everyone else around you is writing, or do you think and act for yourself?
Get real, they are an integral part of the machine. The only group that I can think of more contemptible than the politicians they shill for. But that’s not news any more, every poll done in recent years has them at the bottom when the question “who do you trust?” is ask. Absolute human debris would describe them
Their own numbers (crooked as they are) indicate that King County counted the votes on more provisional ballots than they had available to them.
Perhaps you need to give them some more time to provide some of those envelopes. They need to figure out how to present the same envelopes to you twice--once as rejected ballots and then next as valid ballots.
I know that seems farfetched, but then I never expected that you would find so many ballot envelopes proving that they included rejected ballots in the vote tabulation.
Posted by: Micajah on November 3, 2005 01:17 PMI can't speak for print media, but having experiance in TV, I can tell you that they either aren't aware of it, or they simply have other things to worry about and fit into the finite amount of air time they have than Stefan's lawsuit. There is only so much they can fit into their 1/2 hour (which is really only about 20 minutes) and 1 hour (which is really only 45 minutes) newscasts, and given the fact that there is a lot of other stuff going on in the world besides Shark's work.
Posted by: Mike H on November 3, 2005 01:20 PMHas there been global stonewalling, or has it been targeted?
Posted by: HappyGoLucky on November 3, 2005 01:23 PMMy aching a$$. The omission of news such as this is part of the cover-up by the media that is is as systematic and deliberate (and obvious I might add) as the corruption of the process has been by the KC democratic machine.
Just like the crock about the so called "perfect election" you say you want...as if any election can be perfect.
Your case has no basis...and you must love wasting hard earned taxpayer money.
Posted by: Jimbo Thomas on November 3, 2005 01:42 PMI also understand that the TV news has a finite amount of time, but at least some coverage needs to take place as election fraud or the complete incompetence of KCE is a huge story. It should rate at least 2 minutes during the week. Some of the crap they report is worthless.
What it really is is they don't want to know so they don't look.
Posted by: Dengle on November 3, 2005 01:53 PMJimbo has performed at over a thousand children’s parties in Sydney. His speciality is making everyone at the party including the parents laugh.
In 1994, Jimbo traveled to Wisconsin, USA, to participate in Clown Camp at the University of La Crosse
Following this he was selected for the Ringling Bros & Barnum and Bailey Clown College. This College auditions over 3000 people each year in America and selects 30 for an eight week intense training course, in order to tour throughout America with the circus.
Also see:
www.clowns4all.com/jzk.html
"Jimbo the wonderful clown! Your magical, funny & full of love"
Tami Hayes - Raymond, NH
Almost 2000 Google Hits on Jimbo the CLOWN.
Your famous for your foolishness dude!
Shark is asking Sims and Cabal to follow the law and disclose election data.
What part of "shall prepare, make publicly available" do you not understand?
If you do not believe that this information belongs in the public domain then you are a Stalinist, "it's who counts the votes that matters."
Pull your head out and get a clue, when the election system is not trustworthy, the republic itself is in danger.
The law for you edification:
RCW 29A.60.235
Certification reports.
(1) The county auditor shall prepare, make publicly available at the auditor's office or on the auditor's web site, and submit at the time of certification an election reconciliation report that discloses the following information:
(a) The number of registered voters;
(b) The number of ballots counted;
(c) The number of provisional ballots issued;
(d) The number of provisional ballots counted;
(e) The number of provisional ballots rejected;
(f) The number of absentee ballots issued;
(g) The number of absentee ballots counted;
(h) The number of absentee ballots rejected;
(i) The number of federal write-in ballots counted;
(j) The number of out-of-state, overseas, and service ballots issued;
(k) The number of out-of-state, overseas, and service ballots counted; and
(l) The number of out-of-state, overseas, and service ballots rejected.
(2) The county auditor shall prepare and make publicly available at the auditor's office or on the auditor's web site within thirty days of certification a final election reconciliation report that discloses the following information:
(a) The number of registered voters;
(b) The total number of voters credited with voting;
(c) The number of poll voters credited with voting;
(d) The number of provisional voters credited with voting;
(e) The number of absentee voters credited with voting;
(f) The number of federal write-in voters credited with voting;
(g) The number of out-of-state, overseas, and service voters credited with voting;
(h) The total number of voters credited with voting even though their ballots were postmarked after election day and were not counted; and
(i) Any other information the auditor deems necessary to reconcile the number of ballots counted with the number of voters credited with voting.
(3) The county auditor may also prepare such reports for jurisdictions located, in whole or in part, in the county.
[2005 c 243 § 11.]
A story about a corrupt government systematically defrauding the voters of an entire state, year on year, with zero accountability--that is just a minor story after all.
I'm sure that every story on TV is about far more important topics than the people's right to vote.
Yeah, right.
Posted by: Bostonian on November 3, 2005 02:14 PMWhy is the problems in Ohio's election a bigger story than a local election. Why does Abu Graib need to be at the beginning of every newscast for a month. But a local station cannot cover local election fraud and displace Ohio or the 50th story on Abu Graib?
You can't be serious?
Posted by: fred on November 3, 2005 02:47 PMThe newsies will probably give this full blown coverage. I anticipate an expose no earlier than, oh, Wednesday - right after the election.
Perhaps some of our MSM folks could go see the Murrow movie, see what it was like when reporters had enterprise and backbone and did what was right instead of what was popular.
Posted by: SnoCo Voter on November 3, 2005 03:01 PM
There was 30 minutes dedicated to live coverage of the rain falling last night, but not even one minute on KC failing to reconcile ballots...again.
Dear Earl,
How do clowns fit in their small car?
Tydeja, Age 12
Dear Tydeja,
Great question! The clown car trick is a circus classic that involves lots of clowns pouring out of a tiny car. I couldn't find a concrete answer to your question, but I'd say the clown car trick is an illusion, a trick that involves not showing the audience the whole story. Since the clowns can't all fit in the car, I'd guess there are a bunch of clowns hiding under a trapdoor in the floor beneath the car, who then climb out of the car like they've been in there all along. You can learn more about the history of the circus and different types of clowns at this fun ThinkQuest site called The Big Top. For more clown fun, check out the Yahooligans! Circuses category, or go to the Yahooligans! Magic category to learn some nifty illusions of your own.
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere here!
I like the enema reference! It sounds like a good idea, maybe it will let the collective press clean out their brains so as they may think for a change.
Posted by: Fed Up on November 3, 2005 03:20 PMThat was the point in time when a talking head decide his elite opinion was more important that facts, truth and We The People.
KING5 is owned and operated by Belo Corporation out of Dallas. The local affiliates of Belo in Dallas and Houston routinely do investigative reporting that is doled out in special segments of the local newscast over a 5 day period.
The reason the local Seattle media isn't reporting on KCE problems is because they don't want to. Period. End of discussion. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.
Ah, Seattle. Where Mary Mapes and Aaron Brown cut their teeth. The local media in Seattle gave up true investigative journalism long ago. It would take another reader of this blog to inform me when the last time any local outlet did a truly investigative piece.
Posted by: Danny on November 3, 2005 03:22 PMPerhaps the local broadcast media can be shown to not be operating in the public interest when they fail to cover issues like these.
That is what I will be wondering, in writing, to the FCC when local stations come up for renewal.
Posted by: Gary B on November 3, 2005 03:40 PMHe said he can't speak for them but he sure can SPIN for them. What Stefan is doing is about the integrity of our State government and the possibility that we are led by a Governor not truly elected by the people. Stefan is not blowing his own horn for media attention he is working his butt of doing their job. One day he and the other bloggers will put the MSN out of business (pint and TV)...and they disserve it for just sitting there ignoring a topic they see as to hot to touch. It is no longer about integrity in journalism; it is just about a paycheck.
Funny you mention Aaron Brown. I just saw on Cavuto that Aaron's "space ship" crashed. CNN sacked him. Too bad!
Posted by: Fed Up on November 3, 2005 04:02 PMEither way I agree, already voted for Irons. 3 times! (in my family that is)
Get rid of Sims, Logan is not far behind.
Want to clean up King County Elections?
Vote! And make that vote count!
Posted by: GS on November 3, 2005 04:45 PMAfter all that Stefan Sharkansky has uncovered with KING COUNTY'S OWN DOCUMENTS! Some liberal trolls still have the audacity to come here and post denials?? The liberal Democrats are a party made up of drunks and druggies from the 60's and their genetically pickled offspring! How in the Hell they hijacked a major political party is beyond me....The liberal Democrats are made up of brain-pickled and violent throwbacks of the 60's and fake elitists who hoard our land and tax dollars...What a choice bunch they are!
This isn't rocket science here...It's the most simple freakin mathemathics! Even a liberal troll - educated in Seattle Public Schools - should be able to do this math and see that the ballot numbers don't add up! Sheesh!
Ignorance isn't bliss...it's just damn annoying!
Ron Sims and Dean Logan etal; are trying to hide the fact that they defrauded our elections system for their own gain and for their so-called *Democratic* party.. Ron Sims has had 8 years to spread his cancerous and corrupt tentacles throughout King County! He makes Daly's crimes seem sweet!
King County's votes control much of the state...
The people of the State of Washington have no idea who has actually won any King County or Statewide election over the past 8 years! There has been fraud committed here and we have NO reason to be confident of ANY election outcome since 1997 and possibly before!
King County Records, Elections & Licensing Services Division
King County Admin. Bldg., #553
500 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
With all of the evidence of fraud that you have uncovered, why can't you bring fraud charges agains Sims, et. al?
Screw the Feds and Meleng.
Posted by: liberty4all on November 3, 2005 05:58 PMOR, the easiest method is for David Irons to win. The main goal is to eliminate the sewer of corruption, which needs to get unplugged and flushed out to sea by the Roto-rooter (i.e. Irons or by other means discussed above).
Posted by: KS on November 3, 2005 07:44 PMIt seems to me that what King County has done, and the very real consequence of overturning an election, violated the 14th amendment rights of everyone outside of King County. King County used a standard not within the bounds of the Revised Code of Washington, which other counties were required to do, and in doing so allowed enough illegal votes to be tabulated to reverse the election outcome. This should be a cut and dry excersize in jurisprudence. It seems to me that the only thing required to make this fly is that one would have to demonstrate that the other counties tabulated ballots in accordance with the applicable RCWs and the results of King County's recount would become null and void.
Can anyone find me a good lawyer? I work overseas and can't file pro se from here. Besides, I don't know if this would require being filed as a civil or criminal federal case. If it's criminal then I am open to drafting a request to... well, everyone to request a charge be filed against King County.
Among findings by Detroit News reporters were ballots cast by people registered to vote at abandoned and long-demolished buildings; a master voter list with 380,000 incorrect names and addresses, including people who have died or moved out of the city; and a practice of hand-delivering ballots from senior citizens and disabled voters that were filled out in private meetings with (the Detroit City Clerk's) paid election workers.
Link: http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0511/01/A01-367970.htm
Posted by: V the K on November 4, 2005 10:52 AMAnother thing - Sims will once again use putrid political correctness to stifle any mention of Merry Christmas - instead Happy holidays, promoting the fascistic ACLU agenda. This is reason enough to vote out the bum ! David Irons will hopefully bring back the mention of Christmas to the upcoming holiday season and less of the PC bilge.
Nice try but George Bush won the election, so there is no justiciable issue (no one lost anything cognizable in fact). Further the only people that could ever have standing in a civil suit are George Bush or John Kerry. If the election had been a close one as it was in Florida, and the Democrats attempted to do what they did there, you can bet just such a suit would have been pursued. The underlying issues of civil fraud cannot be sustained because there is no way to prove that the National election was significantly compromised, thus it remains a state issue.
If there were criminal issues, such as mail fraud or others, they would not involve the equal protection clause, but violations of various applicable Federal criminal codes. The key pivot point here, is that criminal prosecutions are discretionary and within the political realm. The Bush administration will not pursue a criminal action that would only be a useless negative distraction where he already won--no political upside.
On the other hand, our local prosecutors both state and federal, are either reluctant because of their own political situations or they don't believe there is enough evidence. The fact that one suit already failed in Chelan County with similar fact patterns narrowly supports the latter conclusion. Nevertheless, Stefan may have found enough evidence for the prosecutors to proceed and they simply will not do so. In a state civil suit Rossi is the only one that has standing to sue and the case was decided and dismissed with prejudice meaning it is res judicata (cannot be re-tried). Whether the evidence now justifies criminal charges I don't know. I do know that it depends on a lot more (technical legalities) than most of us including myself understand so I am hesitant to jump to any conclusions about why nothing has developed along these lines.
I am left with one conclusion. Our state Attorney General has the jurisdiction to file suit in behalf of Washington State and our attorney General is Rob McKenna. I have watched Rob McKenna over the years and believe him to be as straight an arrow as there is—honest above reproach. If Rob filed charges, it is because there is the substance to prevail, if not, not. Otherwise, I will defer to anyone who has a more knowledgeable opinion in this regard.
You have the right idea, but unfortunately the legal system (and the liberal legislature) is not in favor of honest procedural democracy in Washington State.