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“Proof of fraud”

"Election officials wouldn't let me see the ballots. Then they destroyed them, in violation of the law." "Are you saying there was fraud?" "Election officials refused to report the number of votes by the legal deadline. When more votes showed up a day later, we could not find out where they came from." "Are you saying there was fraud?" You…
Bev Harris
November 13, 2018
ADVOCACYELECTIONS INDUSTRYROLE MODELSUncategorized

The Case of Dr. Laura Pressley – A Study in Texas Election Law

By Bev Harris and Jim Keller Human beings rely on one another for reality testing. Consensus is sometimes used to imply truth, but consensus is a dubious approach if a result is false. Election results can become false through error, outside “hacking,” or inside manipulation. The Texas legislature addressed election fraud as a concern when it passed laws to require…
Bev Harris
June 14, 2017
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About Recounts

International election standards include, as part of free and fair elections, access to peaceful dispute mechanisms. Recounts check the accuracy of reported results. They do not require any specific anomalies, though questionable statistical results sometimes prompt candidates to request recounts. A different dispute resolution method, called a contest or an appeal, addresses anomalies with litigation. Lawsuits may address irregularities like…
Bev Harris
November 25, 2016
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About Audits

Election audits are a subset of the larger area of public interest auditing. Audits can improve public integrity by introducing a third party evaluation as to whether conditions exist that would facilitate material misstatement by any government employee or governmental agent. Because government is owned by the public and paid for with taxpayer money, there is exists  a public "right…
Bev Harris
November 21, 2016
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About Chain of Custody

Elections chain of custody refers to physical and electronic evidence controls for: - who can vote - who did vote - actual ballots as marked by each voter, and - evidence transfer and storage Dispute resolution (recounts or litigation) and law enforcement measures need authentic evidentiary records. Proper accounting requires chain of custody measures, which auditors use to assess information…
Bev Harris
February 14, 2016
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2016-01-07 – Voter data breaches

Your voter information is sometimes stolen by burglars. Sometimes it gets hacked, sometimes leaked. Occasionally employees take it home. Sometimes it gets lost, and sometimes it gets found by someone else. For these reasons, we should be judicious about what information we require for a voter registration, how voter lists can be used, and how they are protected. Nowadays that old,…
Bev Harris
January 7, 2016
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Election Protection Tools: Voter Lists – Mobile app

WHEN: Several months before the election;  HOW: To improve the list of who can vote, create and publicize a mobile phone app to let everyone easily check the accuracy of voter registration information. This election protection tool was used successfully in Pakistan, by activating an SMS mobile phone text-messaging system available to everyone with access to a mobile phone. It helped correct voter list…
Bev Harris
June 29, 2015
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City of Cumming, Georgia joins municipality-based attack on Freedom of Information rights

In April, 2012 the city of Cumming, Georgia blocked a citizen journalist from videotaping open meetings; in Dec. 2013, nearly two years later, the matter was still under mediation. Open meetings around the USA are frequently not only videotaped, but aired on public access TV. Videotaping is a crucial part of freedom of information because it captures an objective, durable…
Bev Harris
March 2, 2014
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Pakistan: Simple innovations improve voter list accuracy, turnout, and reduce fraud

An award-winning voting rights innovation improved voter lists in Pakistan, where an SMS mobile phone text-messaging system got voters to interact with voter lists to correct errors and see where to vote. Out of 85 million registered voters, the SMS system got 55 million hits; voter turnout increased, and marginalized groups like persons with disabilities measurably increased election engagement. In…
Bev Harris
January 20, 2014