Who
We Are
Group
Mission:
Elections are
the property of the people. Secure Accurate Elections (SAE) of San
Diego County is a non-partisan citizen's coalition dedicated to
achieving an election system that is secure, accurate and completely
open to public oversight.
Our
Goals:
(Click
here for SAE's 2009-2010 specific goals)
FREEDOM
OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
The
public has the right to observe and monitor every aspect of public
elections. We are currently being denied this right.
-
Precinct
Returns on Election Night: Require County Registrar of Voters to
begin reporting ongoing returns on election night by precinct thus
making it easier to follow the flow of the votes as they are tabulated.
-
Standardize
costs of recounts: Costs of recounts will be affordable to
candidates and the public. At this time recount costs can very from
14 cents a vote in Orange County to a dollar a vote in San Diego
County. A recount for a close election or an election that is
questionable will be at no cost to the candidate.
-
Public
has a right to observe election process: Make sure that all
Registrars of Voters understand that the election process is open to
public observation. This means instructing poll workers that the
public has the right to observe the poll closing process, take notes
and photograph public documents as long as they do not interfere with
the poll closing process.
VOTING
ON MACHINES
The
preference of SAE is that all voting takes place on hand marked
paper ballots that are hand counted under public observation at the
polling place or that machines are used as printers that print out a
paper ballot that the voter verifies and places in a secured box.
-
Paper
Ballots: All voting will be done on voter marked paper ballots
and the paper ballots take precedence over machine records.
-
Open
Source Software: Software that is open to public inspection and
not privately owned or proprietary
-
Testing
equipment: The public must be able to observe and monitor the
testing of voting machines and reports on such testing must be made
public.Currently venders pay for testing and reports may not be made
public. This must be corrected so that there is no monetary
connection between venders and testing facilities. Logic and Accuracy
testing done at the local level should be documented to the State.
-
Audit
or mandatory hand count: Mandate random statistically
significant hand count of paper ballots to ensure reliability of the
machine count.This to be done under public observation.
-
Central
Tabulator: The Central Tabulator must be publicly owned and
operated. Tabulators presently are so complicated that local
technicians tend to rely on technicians provided by the vender, thus
empowering the vender. Software must be open source.
We
Support:
-
Public
observation, monitoring and oversight of elections.
-
Voter marked
paper ballots that are hand counted under public observation at the
polling place.
-
If voting
machines are in use they must have open source software, be publicly
tested, and require a randomly selected, publicly observed, hand
counted audit at a statistically significant level to determine
reliability of the vote.
-
Cost effective
voting methods.
We
Oppose:
What
We Do:
Educate:
Distribute to
the public, media and decision makers information on voting security
problems and solutions. Sponsor speakers and forums on election
integrity issues.
Lobby:
Fax, call,
email, interview, and petition public officials to make decisions
that will promote elections which are more accurate, secure,
transparent and open to public oversight.
Past
Accomplishments of Group Members
-
Organized a
poll watching project in both the primary and November 2004 elections.
-
Wrote a 20 page
report on the November 2004 poll watching project.
-
Lobbied in
person in Washington D.C., Sacramento, and locally in San Diego County.
-
Circulated a
petition to get Diebold voting machines out of San Diego County.
Gathered over 900 names and presented these petitions in person to
the offices of then Secretary of State McPherson, State Senator Debra
Bowen and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
-
Worked with
other groups to organize and arrange for speakers to make
presentations in San Diego County on election integrity.
-
Collected data
from posted voting machine tapes in the November 2006 election and
compared these numbers with precinct reports from the Central Tabulator.
