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Please keep in mind this is not a transcript but a paraphrased and condensed summary. Rely at your own risk. Special thanks to Dave Safier for preparing this summary.
Summary of testimony by Paul Eckerstrom
Direct Examination by Bill Risner, attorney for the Pima County Democratic Party.
Paul Eckerstrom was the chair of the Pima County Democratic Party from 2003-2006.
He created the Election Integrity Committee in 2003. The goal was to assure that we can have confidence in how votes are counted. The committee saw how insecure Diebold voting systems were, so they began to propose ways to increase security.
The Democratic Party endorsed the RTA election, urging citizens to vote Yes.
The party is in court to make sure that, in our role as a political party charged to have oversight over vote counting, there is transparency in the system so we can perform genuine oversight.
Cross Examination by Deputy County Attorney Christopher Straub.
In deposition, Eckerstrom said he wants the legislature to know about the problems with election software. If the Democratic party shows there are problems, is can give weight to be used in the legislature. That’s the reason the party is going to court.
Asked if that means the true reason for the lawsuit is to change the software, Eckerstrom replied, in a number of other places in the deposition, he said that to follow our role of oversight, we need transparency. If the legislature is made aware of the problems with the software as a byproduct of our efforts and addresses the problems, so much the better.
The county has put in security measures suggested by the Democratic Party, which is a good thing.
FOUL!
Posted by: Sam Hughes | April 15, 2008 at 01:17 PM