Mult Co election being hacked to Smith?

notice the 150k difference between received and counted ballots. Why?

I have a second-hand report that Blue Oregon was told no ballots have been damaged. Why the report of water damage, then?

...................
Unofficial Election Results - Report #12- Released at 2:00 PM, 11/5/2008.
Next update at approximately 3:00 PM, 11/5/2008.

Link to Voter Turnout (number of ballots received)
Registered voters: 436,489
Voter Turnout: 360,551

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY REPORT Multnomah County, Oregon
Run Date:11/05/08 General Election
RUN TIME:01:54 PM November 4, 2008

VOTES PERCENT



BALLOTS Counted - TOTAL. . . . . . 213,992


United States President
Vote for 1
Ralph Nader (PCE). . . . . . . . 2,268 1.07
Cynthia McKinney (PAC) . . . . . . 630 .30
John McCain (REP). . . . . . . . 48,726 22.89
Bob Barr (LIB). . . . . . . . . 661 .31
Chuck Baldwin (CON) . . . . . . . 550 .26
Barack Obama (DEM) . . . . . . . 158,651 74.52
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 1,417 .67

United States Senator
Vote for 1
Gordon H Smith (REP). . . . . . . 60,114 29.20
Jeff Merkley (DEM) . . . . . . . 137,248 66.66
Dave Brownlow (CON) . . . . . . . 7,756 3.77
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 770 .37
.........................

Incremental progress. Why so slow?

Unofficial Election Results - Report #13- Released at 3:05 PM, 11/5/2008.
Next update at approximately 4:00 PM, 11/5/2008.

Link to Voter Turnout (number of ballots received)
Registered voters: 436,489
Voter Turnout: 360,551

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY REPORT Multnomah County, Oregon
Run Date:11/05/08 General Election
RUN TIME:02:59 PM November 4, 2008

VOTES PERCENT



BALLOTS Counted - TOTAL. . . . . . 221,640


United States President
Vote for 1
Ralph Nader (PCE). . . . . . . . 2,366 1.07
Cynthia McKinney (PAC) . . . . . . 667 .30
John McCain (REP). . . . . . . . 50,173 22.75
Bob Barr (LIB). . . . . . . . . 690 .31
Chuck Baldwin (CON) . . . . . . . 565 .26
Barack Obama (DEM) . . . . . . . 164,597 74.64
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 1,456 .66

United States Senator
Vote for 1
Gordon H Smith (REP). . . . . . . 62,015 29.09
Jeff Merkley (DEM) . . . . . . . 142,390 66.79
Dave Brownlow (CON) . . . . . . . 7,989 3.75
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 795 .37

I called the Multnomah county elections office and inquired about the delay and the woman there told me there was no delay.
I then asked why they told our community radio volunteer that there was water in the basement and she said there was no water in the basement and didn't know what I was talking about.

I asked how long it should take to count those ballots and she said she didn't know.
It is as if you get a different answer depending on who answers the phone.
Seems strange.

Everyone should call and inquire about this.
503-988-3720

Lane and Benton alone can overcome Smith lead, if and when they are counted. Multonomah is icing on the cake...an extra 50,000 Smith votes. If Smith and friends at election division can cook this the way Bush did in 2000 and 2004, he deserves to steal it.

I suspected that something weird was going to happen with this race. Personally I thought it would be through ChoicePoint's VitalChek, but I duess I was wrong on that one... maybe

I called and got the same result as Steve the Green, but the woman said that the count was not hindered because of damaged ballots...it just takes this long.

Let's put Smith behind bars...gather evidence and let's post someone there to monitor the count!

The delay may be due to turnout. Though the turnout is lower than 2004 but I don't recall how long those ballots took to count. It may be that no race was close enough for people to notice in 2004 how long the counting took. On the other hand, it does seem pretty slow. Undoubtedly the partisan election observers are challenging anything they think they can get away with. Of course, if the victory is narrow then a recount and court challenges may not be far behind. I have no idea if people can become election observers this late in the game but it might be worth trying. If nothing else se if you can go down there and check it out first hand.

I'm about to leave KBOO and go down to the Multnomah County Elections Division Office at SE 12th and Morrison. Stephen Conser will join me, with audio equipment.

Just called again and spoke to the front desk receptionist (again), and asked where the count was taking place. She said, "in the red room, on the first floor." I then asked about the tabulation of the manual count and what machines were being used. She didn't know, and offered to put me through to a guy who could help.

Tim was a decent guy who asked where I had heard about ballot damage, and I mentioned Indymedia. He said that there had been a sewage problem but that no ballots were damaged. He confirmed that the machines were ES&S, and I mentioned that wasn't very reassuring. He sort of mocked the idea, saying, "well, if you believe what you read in Indymedia...!?" I said I have been learning about election fraud for the past 4 years, and not from Indymedia. He said that count just is taking long, because they got 80,000 ballots yesterday.

He reassured me that all ballots will be counted.

Well, Conser is now trying to rush audio for the KBOO newscast.

I got much the same information from Tim (quite pleasantly). I wanted to know what had delayed the count of the ballots for several hours this morning. Hours is plenty of time to alter ballots or jimmy registration to read ballots falsely.

He says that their 6 ES&S tabulators each run something more than a thousand ballots each per hour. (Speaking as a former printing trainer, that sounds VERY slow.) He says that the first shift of workers for the tabulation got in at 9AM, and then proceeded to remove boxes of ballots from the first floor to another area, along with the tabulators, in order to avoid a sewer spill. (Other information has been that there is no water on the floor there). He says that the ES&S machines normally work faster, but the folds in the ballots were different and thus slowing things down.

He asked how I came up with the original number of 150,000 ballots uncounted, and I said that I had deduced that number from the final in-ballot count (360K+) minus the listed processed ballots (at 9AM I think there were around 210K). He asked that twice.

Here are their latest figures:
SUMMARY REPORT Multnomah County, Oregon
Run Date:11/05/08 General Election
RUN TIME:05:00 PM November 4, 2008

VOTES PERCENT


BALLOTS Counted - TOTAL. . . . . . . 235,352


United States President
Vote for 1
Ralph Nader (PCE). . . . . . . . 2,555 1.09
Cynthia McKinney (PAC) . . . . . . 729 .31
John McCain (REP). . . . . . . . 53,429 22.82
Bob Barr (LIB). . . . . . . . . 732 .31
Chuck Baldwin (CON) . . . . . . . 619 .26
Barack Obama (DEM) . . . . . . . 174,533 74.54
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 1,549 .66

United States Senator
Vote for 1
Gordon H Smith (REP). . . . . . . 65,848 29.11
Jeff Merkley (DEM) . . . . . . . 151,036 66.76
Dave Brownlow (CON) . . . . . . . 8,522 3.77
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 834 .37



Given the desperate need of the GOP to hold this Senate seat for Smith, I am inclined to look askance at any delay. Certainly it is reasonable to avoid getting ballots wet, but as I have written here, there is some question as to whether they needed to be moved. I asked about the chain of custody and was assured it was all kept in-house; but ballots can migrate, historically have in fact, and machines can be re-calibrated in such opportunities. Jenka of KBOO Radio told me at one point that she had been told by Mult. Co. elections that the counting could take 30 days! Did our sudden pointed interest change something?

So if the ballot count comes out as it should (thousands for Merkly as reflecting the rabidly liberal base at that particular site), I'll have no qualms, and congratulate myself for exerting proper civic vigilance. It those votes don't drown Smith's chances, I will consider myself to have been duped.

Ever thus

Theresa

Just before 6PM the "Oregon Live" site which updates state totals called the race a victory for Merkley. He is only a few hundred votes ahead, but the more media outlets which recognize him the winner the better safeguard against Republican dirty tricks.

Click on the link to listen.

Thank you for researching and publishing a story about something that has bothered me all day. It was obvious that something slowed down the process. Community media is the place to get the real story. Maybe the snore-a-gorian will copy your reporting tomorrow. Either way, well done!

I went to the elections office the night before between 8:30 and 9pm to drop off my ballot. I saw 2 plumbing trucks outside of the elections office on Morrison with their backdoors open. It was pouring down rain. The power also went out in that area earlier. I think it is very odd that they were lying about the place being flooded or anything like that happening when there was 2 plumbing trucks parked right outside of the building with their back doors open. Why being so secretive??? Or did the people answering the phone just not know? That's odd too!

Nixon's dirty-tricks election-stealing people were called "the Plumbers."