Question #3: Sen. Walker's Response

No, that is not acceptable. As I indicate on my Web site (http://www.vickiwalker.com) and in my Counting for Oregon plan, I will advocate for a sample of ballots method that examines the votes in every precinct as opposed to auditing a sample of precincts as required under HB 3270. In addition to the problem of not being able to test voting machinery in every precinct under HB 3270, the audit of precincts method is extremely burdensome on Oregon’s rural counties who have fewer precincts with large numbers of voters. The sample of ballots method would require they sample ballots in all their precincts, which is far fewer ballots with much better results.

As illustrated by the vote flipping fiasco in the Ashland City Council race of 2006, and the continued vote-flipping incidents across the nation in states such as Ohio and Colorado who use ES&S software, we should be very concerned. Kathy Beckett, the Jackson County Clerk, was exasperated by the machines not performing the way they had in early test runs, saying “we test this stuff until we are blue in the face.” New reports indicate that the ES&S equipment used by Jackson County officials in the 2004 election added votes to candidates in other races, and took some from others.

Multnomah County for the 2004 General Election also shows a discrepancy in the number of ballot envelopes received by precinct and the number of ballots actually counted and reported to the state. New Hampshire’s, a state that uses optical scanning equipment, had its vote counting machinery called into question after its January 2008 Presidential Primary. A recount was undertaken at the request of then-presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, among others, only to be suspended a few weeks later due to lack of funds.

None of this is acceptable to me as an Oregonian, as a State Senator, or as Oregon’s next Secretary of State. What is important to remember here is to heed the advice from the Brennan Center report: “If audits are to have a real deterrent effect, jurisdictions must adopt clear procedures for addressing audit discrepancies when they are found.” We can audit until the cows come home, but if we do not follow though on correcting our problems, the integrity of Oregon’s election system will always be in question.