Audit resolves voting irregularity questions

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said Wednesday that he has "reconciled" five discrepancies in early voting alleged by Republicans this week.

But Lomax, appearing at a news conference called by Secretary of State Ross Miller to calm fears of voting irregularities, would not say how he has cleared up the discrepancies.

"I've been able to resolve it. I know what happened," Lomax said. "But I'm not going to claim that at the end of the election I can account for every ballot. There will be unexplained votes on voting machines."

Lomax said his audit of the balloting will be made public when he reports to the Clark County Commission after the election.

Unsubstantiated accusations spread by both Republicans and Democrats are creating a "fraud is in the air" atmosphere as the election draws to a close, Lomax said.

A large portion of the allegations are being generated as a result of the hard-fought, nationally watched race between Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle.

"This kind of feeding frenzy we're experiencing right now I think is unjustified," Lomax said. "I can see where the flames are getting fanned by certain people."

David O'Mara, legal counsel for the Nevada Republican Party, raised questions about early voting in a Monday letter to Miller.

O'Mara said daily polling logs kept by election officials in Clark and Washoe counties showed the number of ballots cast was larger than the number of voters who signed the election registers at seven early voting sites, five in Southern Nevada and two in Northern Nevada. The count was off by two ballots at one site, and by one each at six others.

"These troubling discrepancies suggest that these voting machines may have recorded extra votes erroneously, or that people were allowed to cast votes without signing up (thereby potentially allowing them to cast multiple ballots)," O'Mara wrote.

Miller said the discrepancies O'Mara pointed out were likely explainable, but his securities administrator, Carolyn Ellsworth, was pressing ahead with her investigation. Ellsworth said she hopes to complete her inquiry and report her findings prior to the election, but wasn't sure whether she could make that deadline.

"I'm making good progress," Ellsworth said. "Preliminarily, I'm very satisfied with the answers that I getting. I'm trying to do this as quickly as I can, but also as thoroughly as I can."

Ellsworth said she has spoken with Lomax and intends to meet with Washoe County Registrar of Voters Dan Burke in Reno today .

Miller said he's determined to root out any voter fraud or election violations. But he said the Nevada Election Task Force he set up in 2008 has not yet received any formal complaints this year, despite numerous media accounts that have repeated "rumor and speculation."

"Sherlock Holmes and Colombo had something," Miller said. "They're giving us nothing, other than these rumors that just keep circulating."

Afterward, Miller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that his news conferences in Las Vegas and Reno were intended to assure the public that the election is running smoothly.

He said his office has been flooded with calls and e-mails from people saying they've heard the unsubstantiated reports of widespread voter fraud, including allegations that voting machines in Southern Nevada were "pre-calibrated" to cast votes for Reid.

"That is technologically impossible," Miller said. "We have an absolute obligation to set the record straight to assure the public that we have a 100 percent confidence in the system that their votes will be counted fairly and accurately, and to dispel these kind of unfounded rumors."

Both Republicans and Democrats linked to the bitter U.S. Senate race have circulated an array of unsubstantiated allegations. Republicans, for example, have alleged that teacher's union representatives were trying to buy votes for Reid with Starbucks gift cards.

Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association, said Wednesday that the cards were not given to would-be voters, but rather to volunteers working "as part of a larger get-out-the-vote campaign."

Democrats have alleged that the Angle forces have mounted an "all-out" campaign to "suppress and intimidate voters."

On Wednesday, Reid spokesman Jon Summers, said the Angle campaign was distributing literature in Hispanic neighborhoods to discourage voters from going to the polls, but he offered no specific examples.

Miller said his office has received no formal complaints of campaign workers either trying to buy the election or trying to intimidate voters.

Miller, a Democrat, said after the news conference that he was aware of concerns circulating among Republicans that his office would have trouble fairly overseeing a recount in the tight Senate race.

"I understand how closely they're monitoring this particular election here," Miller said. "I know that there are concerns out there. If we get to that point in any of the contests that are on the ballot, the laws of Nevada are very clear as to the process.

"A recount is really administered by the local election officials, with our office ensuring that the election laws are followed," he continued. "I can assure the public that it will be a transparent process, and the public will have a full opportunity to observe and ensure that we're following the statutes."

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal. com or 702-380-8135. Read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.

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Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. 4gsltw Nov. 3, 2010 | 12:05 p.m. Report Abuse

   The difference is that we know democRATS are crooks, and conservatives are not. Of course, the 'rats will "claim" voter fraud by others, but their claims will all prove to be completely unfounded. Ford every single "claim" that is proven fraudulent, the person(s) making the claim must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and be made to pay for all persons and resources expended to investigate them.

2. Nate.Zhube Nov. 1, 2010 | 5:01 p.m. Report Abuse

   Voting machines can be penetrated by rogue software. Watch, read and understand. No voting machine is safe. Especially against governments that have agencies with megabucks to spend:
   
   http://www.alternet.org/news/98320/uc_scientists_release_voting_machine_hacking_video/
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hCyVsUir8k
   
   http://www.pcworld.com/article/170120/voting_machine_hack_costs_less_than_100000.html
   
   http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a8d_1194275446
   
   Just Google 'voting machine hack'

3. Nate.Zhube Oct. 30, 2010 | 4:30 p.m. Report Abuse

   Voting machines can be hacked. Read/watch t he following and Google "voting machine hack'. It is a big threat to our democracy.
   
   http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a8d_1194275446
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hCyVsUir8k
   
   http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-hack-michigans-voting-machines-for-the-next-election
   
   Don't let the election supervisors sweet talk you into believing all is well. It is not.

4. Kenny.West Oct. 30, 2010 | 8:27 a.m. Report Abuse

   Harry Reid and the Democrats have been cheating on elections for a long time. They fixed the 1998 Reid-Ensign election by claiming the computers "crashed" and when they came back up, Harry had miraculously taken the lead. I would be more surprised if they did not cheat. The only way to stop Democrat fraud is to turn out in such overwhelming numbers that they can't create or destroy enough votes to win - be absolutely sure to vote on November 2.

5. farfel Oct. 29, 2010 | 8:38 p.m. Report Abuse

   Actually, the Leftist Liberals are Moonbats.

6. farfel Oct. 29, 2010 | 8:36 p.m. Report Abuse

   "I can assure the public that it will be a transparent process"----just like Harry had a transparent process in Healthcare, Cap and Tax, and Financial Reform----behind closed doors.

7. farfel Oct. 29, 2010 | 8:33 p.m. Report Abuse

   Isn't it ironic that all the alleged machines favor Democrat candidates? What a coincidence? or is it coincidence? The Democrat SOS says everythings Ok----so did the SOS in Minnesota who helped Franken steal his election and Senate Seat!

8. seascape Oct. 29, 2010 | 3:00 p.m. Report Abuse

   I wrote an email to Mr. Miller and all the county voter registrars re: accuracy of the voting machines when it was first reported. Mr. Miller's office response was they had no "FORMAL" complaints... just as he's saying here ...he's STILL using the word "formal", so if early voters don't fill out his stupid form, there's "NO PROBLEM" as far as he's concerned, regardless of whether every machine casts the opposite selection. Mr. Dan Burk of the Washoe Co registrar's office responded, "GO TO HELL". Mr. Lomax of Clark (the largest county where most complaints are) said, "I'm not going to claim that at the end of the election I can account for every ballot. There will be unexplained votes on voting machines." Perhaps Mr. Lomax isn't AWARE that his job "is" to "account for every ballot". Not one voter should be disenfranchised with sloppy procedures or inaccurate voting machines. With the audit already identifying numerical problems with sign-in vs. ballots, just imagine the discrepancies on Nov 2. THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THE audit being performed is "NOT" ADDRESSING the machine accuracy/calibration/certification.

9. Independent Oct. 29, 2010 | 1:43 p.m. Report Abuse

   And is it so hard to understand that a group of people who have been called stupid, crazy, extreme, and dangerous would be so quick to accuse the opposition of fraud? Try rationally and respectfully explaining why you disagree with a certain policy position or philosophy next time, and your opponent may be more apt to treat you with the same courtesy.

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