On today’s BradCast: Rudy Giuliani works his magic as he settles in as the newest attorney on Donald Trump’s personal legal defense team — and it appears to have exploded spectacularly. And Ohio’s Sec. of State and two largest counties are slapped with an election transparency lawsuit just days before next Tuesday’s primary in the Buckeye State. [Audio link to show is posted below.]
First up: On Wednesday night, the former NYC Mayor stunned Sean Hannity of Fox “News” when he told him on air that Trump reimbursed his embattled “fixer” and personal lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 in hush money paid to Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 Presidential election. The payment, which Trump had long denied making himself, was meant to cover up an alleged affair Trump had with the porn star. Then, on Thursday morning, Giuliani dug the hole deeper by making clear, once again on Fox “News”, that the payment was meant to protect Trump’s candidacy.
All of which means that Trump is likely in even more — and perhaps even criminal — trouble, regarding serious campaign finance violations which Giuliani seems to have thought he was helping Trump avoid. We discuss and try to clarify the President’s newly revealed legal peril on that front today, even as Trump (or his attorneys) took to Twitter to reverse his own previous denials by admitting that he did, in fact, reimburse Cohen for the payments to Daniels.
As Politico’s Jack Shafer wryly tweeted today: “Having Giuliani in the mix is almost like having a second Trump.”
Then, as we try to stay focused amidst all the noise, we’re joined by election transparency expert JOHN BRAKEY and longtime election attorney CHRIS SAUTTER, both of Americans United for Democracy, Integrity and Transparency in Elections (AUDIT USA) about their lawsuit just filed in Ohio in advance of the state’s 2018 mid-term primary next Tuesday.
The suit echoes a similar one filed last December in Alabama before that state’s much-watched U.S. Senate Special Election between Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore. (That suit was successful in a lower court, before the state’s woeful Sec. of State John Merrill convinced their Supreme Court to stay the ruling at the last minute.) The new complaint seeks to force Ohio’s Secretary of State Jon Husted and its two most-populous counties, Cuyahoga (Cleveland) and Franklin (Columbus), to retain digital ballot images created by the counties’ computer scanners as hand-marked paper ballots are initially scanned during tabulation.
Those images, as Brakey explains, allow the public to safely examine the accuracy of election results without disturbing the original paper ballots and, according to Sautter (and several court rulings in other states), complies with federal election law requiring the retention of all election materials for 22 months after federal elections.
The pair detail why preventing the destruction of the images in question is at the center of the multi-partisan suit filed in Ohio, and why they plan to continue pressing election officials in Ohio and in many other states and counties around the country to ensure that digital ballot scanners are set to retain all such images for public oversight after Election Day.
Finally, Desi Doyen joins us for the latest Green News Report with still more bad news for corrupt EPA chief Scott Pruitt and for the planet itself, but also with a bit of good news for NYC, Hawaii, and even one of China’s major cities…
CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!…
[audio:http://bradblog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_GiulianiTrumpStormy_JohnBrakeyChrisSautter_OHBallotImageLawsuit_050318.mp3]
(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)
|
Cuyahoga and Franklin Counties, SoS Husted Sued to Prevent Planned Destruction of Election Records in May 8 Primary.
Voter lawsuit with expert testimony from election advocacy group AUDIT-USA seeks to preserve digital images necessary for verifying election results. A quick ruling is expected before the May 8 primary election.
Columbus, OH, May 1, 2018 – Secretary of State Jon Husted and the Boards of Election of Franklin and Cuyahoga Counties are facing an Ohio Supreme Court case challenging election practices voters and experts say violate the law. Plaintiffs filed suit to halt the County BoEs’ plan to destroy key election materials known as “digital ballot images†immediately after next week’s primary election.
Cuyahoga and Franklin are among the 15 counties in Ohio with newer voting equipment that uses digital imaging to count votes cast on paper ballots. “When a ballot is fed into the scanner, the scanner snaps an image of that ballot, just like your smart phone takes a picture,†says John Brakey, expert witness and Director of Americans United for Democracy, Integrity and Transparency in Elections (AUDIT USA). “The scanner counts the votes it reads on the digital image, not on the paper ballot.â€
Digital ballot images are essential for verifying the accuracy of the election results, according to the suit. Brakey says, “Scanners can miss votes, like when a voter marks the ballot lightly. The ballot images feature was created to provide a way to double-check the scanners’ vote counts. We need to be able to look at the digital images to make sure all the votes get counted. So they must not be destroyed.â€
The case asks the judge to order all Ohio counties to follow the voting system manufacturer’s instructions to preserve all ballot images as required by law. This can easily be done in time for next month’s election, according to the plaintiffs.
The suit focuses on Cuyahoga and Franklin because conversations with election officials made it clear they planned to destroy the ballot images, according to Brakey. “If you use the machines the way they’re designed to be used, the ballot images are saved,†he said. “You’d have to go in there on purpose to destroy them. Why would an election official want to destroy election records?â€
“We’ve had indications that most of the counties using this technology are following the law,†said attorney Robert J. Fitrakis of Columbus, who filed the suit. “As a precaution, we’re seeking a court order that these crucial records be protected in every county where they exist.â€
According to the brief filed in the case yesterday, a “public record is created the moment the paper ballot is scanned. Ballot images are therefore in the chain of custody,†and mandated to be retained by law. All documents related to the case are online at http://sc.ohio.gov/Clerk/ecms/#/caseinfo/2018/0563
“This case is simple. There’s no reason for it to be controversial,†says Fitrakis. “The law is clear. We’re simply asking the judge to order Secretary of State Jon Husted and the Boards of Election to follow the law.â€
Yet in their responses to the lawsuit filed in court last Friday, the Secretary of State and the Cuyahoga and Franklin County Boards of Elections all sidestepped the issue of preserving ballot images. “The respondents have raised a number of general procedural arguments in their answer,†said plaintiffs’ attorney Chris Sautter. “but it is telling that they do not deny that they are allowing digital ballot images to be destroyed.â€
Sautter continued, “We are optimistic that the Court will order respondents to follow federal and state law that requires officials to preserve all election materials including ballot images for 22 months.â€
The original plaintiff in the suit, Constance Gadwell-Newton, is a candidate for the Green Party’s nomination for Governor. Voters from the Republican and Democratic parties yesterday filed affidavits in support.
In addition to Cuyahoga and Franklin, the counties that use digital scanners are Auglaize, Belmont, Carroll, Clermont, Fayette, Guernsey, Harrison, Huron, Knox, Mahoning, Monroe, Portage and Summit.
Courts in New York, Alabama, and Arizona have recognized that digital ballot images must be preserved.
Expert witness Dr. Thomas W. Ryan who holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and has over 30-years’ experience in digital image creation, processing and interpretation said in his affidavit: “In Summary, deleting ballot images significantly undermines the integrity of the election system that derives all its tabulation data from those images.â€
AUDIT USA is a national non-partisan group working to restore public ownership and oversight of elections, to ensure the fundamental right of every American citizen to vote, and to have each vote counted as intended in a secure, transparent, impartial, and independently audited election process. AUDIT USA provides resources to voters and candidates secure, access, and use digital ballot images to protect elections.
Learn more at AUDITelectionsUSA.org.