Votes Missing in Hall County Primary

"It's a fact, Jack!"

Georgia operates legacy technology as voting machines. The machines fail in various ways during Election Day and election night. Sometimes, they just lock up in a terrible parody of the 2002 Windows machines. Just without the blue screen of death graphic.

So how do you know, Mike Parker. How do you know.

Each election, each poll manager must post on the door of each polling place, copies of the downloaded memory tapes from each machine.

On May 22nd, in the Georgia primary, machine #3 at Candler precinct #10 failed to show vote total in 4 races. Nothing for the races. Nothing.

Machine #3 recorded no votes for me in the Democratic primary, County Commission District 1. No votes for either Republican in County Commission District 1. No votes for Alana Watkins or Pat Andersen in HD-30 ... At least 2 contested races and 1 uncontested race had an under-count of cast ballots.

The Hall County Election Board either does not know or chooses to ignore the issue.

Locally, Alana Watkins holds digital images of the tapes. She shared those freely starting on May 23rd. Kim Copeland, Hall County Democratic Party Chair, took photos and videos of the tapes. He's shared those with the public.

It's documented and it's a fact.

Clunky old machines designed and built before the year 2002, work like shit.

MHO

CBS46 Atlanta

Response to Republican repression

Recently, walking through the Oakwood Walmart, I ran into former State Representative, Carl Rogers. Like always, we talked politics. We shared a concern common to candidates and elected officials, voter participation.

Carl spent a lot of money in his campaigns for office. Lots of money. He regretted that spending, so I understood. He would have used it to pay people to go vote. He didn't care if they voted for him. He's not about buying votes or buying an election. No, he was clear on his point. He wanted people to be a part of government and every election.

Former Representative Rogers is a Republican but I'll stand by him being a good man.

His opinion matters and needed to be shared as Hall County, through its Board of Elections, declared ballot access and voter participation a requirement of democratic elections. Who would not stand with Carl on having people polled, not only on the selection of candidates, but on the issues also covered in referendums? Only Craig Lutz, the recent Republican appointee to the Elections Board and the Hall County Republican Party.

Unlike Rogers, Lutz finds democratic inclusion too expensive or 'fiscally irresponsible," his words. I won't rehash his opinion, as the Times covered his remarks. I will stand with Carl Rogers on the issue of government polling the populace through public elections and a free ballot.

The ballot belongs to the people, not to the taxpayer or a temporary government clerk, appointed by the back room leaders of one party, a party which fights only for freedom when freedom is cheap or the ultimate burden of liberty is borne on the backs of the poor.