Pima County Election Integrity Trial Home

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Latest News:

Judge Michael Miller has issued his ruling granting the plaintiffs access to the final databases for the 2006 Primary and General elections, but denying without prejudice wider access to all database files for the election in the possession of Pima County until and unless they are able to demonstrate the wider access will not compromise election security. This means that the mid-year RTA election and the backups made during the multi-day process of counting ballots remain out of reach for now.

The Board of Supervisors has put the release of limited files the court has ordered released on the agenda at their Jan. 8 meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. Board members are slated to discuss whether they will give the files up, or of they will appeal the ruling. Interested parties may want to show up and have a say.

Complete trial coverage after the flip...

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Trial Coverage:

The Judge's Ruling was issued 12/19. You can download the Ruling in PDF format here.  Read my in-depth analysis of the ruling.

Closing statements were short and pointed. The rhetoric got pretty heated around the issue of attacks on the character of the parties involved. Video of Bill Risner's closing is posted below.

All witness summaries are now complete (or at least finished...) and there is a trial wrap-up by David Safier now available. My own wrap-up is posted on the Brad Blog. There will likely be additional resources and ancillary posts about the issues compiled on this post over the next few days, so please continue to check this space.

Click To Play

There is also the ongoing media project of putting the footage of the trial to the best use, so expect a post about the logistics of that project, how to participate, and how to contribute financially to spreading the word about what election integrity activists have learned through this process. Video production and post-production is not cheap, and to tell this story effective will be costly, but well worth-while.

Consider this your base camp for scaling Mt. Integrity. You may also use the comment thread here as a stable place to discuss the trial and EI issues.

First, I am blogged a condensed daily summary of the trial on the Brad Blog:

• My introduction to the case
• First day summary
• Second day summary
• Third day summary
• Fouth day summary and wrap-up
• Ruling follow-up

There are some articles giving context and background on the issues and the case (suggestions for inclusion in this list are very welcome).

• My "Pima County Election Integrity Blues"
• David Safier's "Layman's View of the Election Integrity Trial"
• Steve Rosenfield's "Arizona Case a Crystal Ball into 2008 Presidential Vote Count"
• My "Trial Intro on BlogForArizona"
• A great backgrounder on the security issues in the case by John Denker
• Tucson Citizen "Record of Votes in '06 RTA Election Missing"
• Tucson Citizen Editorial "Clear, Secure Vote Counts Critical Here, Nationwide"

A quick Google News search will keep you up to date with most local news coverage of the trial. Finally, here are the summaries of testimony by witnesses and significant statements by counsels:

• Democratic Party opening (full video)
• Pima County opening
• Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law
• Testimony of Dr. Tom Ryan (full video)
• Testimony of Mr. Michael Duniho
• Testimony of Ms. Isabel Araiza, Mr. Robert Evans Jr., Mr. Chester Crowley, Ms. Romi Romero, and Ms. Mary Martinson
• Testimony of Mr. Brad Nelson, Pima County Elections Director (full video)
• Testimony of Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and James Barry (full video)
• Testimony of Mr. Bryan Crane
• Testimony of Dr. Chris Gniady (full video)
• Testimony of Paul Eckerstrom
• Testimony of Gila County Elections Director Dixie Munday
• Testimony of Mr. Merle King, Executive Director, Kennesaw College Center for Election Systems
• Testimony of Mr. John Brakey
• Testimony of Dr. John Moffatt
• Notes on the closing arguments

A special glimpse inside the courtroom with an argument against judgment as a matter of law made on Thursday by Democrats' attorney Bill Risner:

Comments

[John Denker]

There is an analysis of the security issues at:
http://www.av8n.com/security/pima-election-security.htm

This discusses the need for _balanced security_ (as opposed to the proverbial one-picket fence). There needs to be a balanced view of insider threats, not just outsider threats.

It also discusses "security by obscurity" (as opposed to Kerckhoff's Principle).

Did you know the Australians have a Linux-based e-voting system where every detail (including the software) is open to public review?

[Jeff Latas]

Thanks for the reporting. To all who are fighting this fight, thank you for your patriotic service.

[American Chauvinist]

As a Pima County Deputy Registrar in the 1960's and 1970's I liked the "Old Way" of registering Voters and holding elections on a paper ballot!

Serving at The Polls on the boards is very rewarding and frustrating seeing what goes on!

Those of us who worked in The Democratic Party when it was The Democratic Party representing core values of my good friends Hubert Humphrey and Scoop Jackson plus Jack Kennedy have a life experience that local politicians today lack!