Ecological Wisdom * Social Justice * Grassroots Democracy * Non-Violence
>> Green Party of Michigan <<
http://www.migreens.org
>>> ---------------- <<<
>>> News Release <<<
>>> ---------------- <<<
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
---------------------
June 22, 2003
For More Information Contact:
----------------------------
Marc Reichardt -- Party Chair, GPMI
phone: 734-668-9628
e-mail: chair@migreens.org
Ray Ziarno -- 2002 Candidate for Secretary of State, GPMI
e-mail: razar@voyager.net
John Anthony La Pietra -- Elections Coördinator, GPMI
e-mail: jalp@internet1.net
>>> Greens Speak Out Again, Push for Advanced Voting Methods <<<
>>> ======================================================== <<<
>> Members of State Election Plan Committee, Public <<
>> Commenters Also Support Changes in Draft Plan -- Call for <<
>> Flexible, Capable, Accessible Equipment and Voting Processes <<
> <
> Vendor Rep Admits "Much, Much Less Expensive" to Enable IRV <
> on New Voting Machines; Elections Bureau Head Thomas <
> Tacitly Concedes Legality of Preferential Balloting <
On Friday, Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) 2002 Secretary of State
candidate Ray Ziarno repeated his call for a state government committee
to require that voting equipment purchased using new Federal funds be
capable of handling advanced voting methods such as instant-runoff
voting (IRV).
Ziarno also got a representative of one of the major voting-
equipment manufacturers to admit that adding this capability on new
equipment would be "much, much less expensive" than upgrading all old
machines.
Joining Ziarno in commenting at the meeting, GPMI Elections
Coördinator John Anthony La Pietra compared inflexible voting machines
to cars without air conditioning -- neither being suitable for "the
heat of Florida" -- and presented citations from Michigan law
demonstrating that IRV is already legal in the state.
After the meeting, Ziarno and La Pietra talked with committee
member Simone Lightfoot of the NAACP about supplementing the
Department's minimal efforts to publicize the release of the
preliminary plan, and making sure people know they have until July 17
to send in their comments and ask for changes in the plan before it
is sent to Washington.
For the second time in as many weeks, Ziarno stood up as Elections
Bureau chief Christopher Thomas appeared ready to adjourn a meeting of
Michigan's "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA) State Plan Advisory Committee
without the announced public-comment period. This time, several
committee members raised questions and alternatives to the views
expressed by Thomas, and that helped fill the two hours scheduled
for the meeting. After Ziarno forced open a comment period, other
commenters kept the meeting going for another half-hour supporting
flexibility and capability.
The first topic on the agenda was coming up with a recommendation
for a uniform voting system, as provided in a state law passed last
year when HAVA was being debated in Congress. Thomas admitted his
own preference for adopting optical-scan voting with precinct-based
counting statewide, and gave the committee a cost estimate for making
that type of equipment the statewide standard. However, the estimate
omitted some expenses, such as replacing equipment for places not using
optical-scan technology, and did not attempt to calculate a multi-year
life-cycle cost including operating expenses.
Committee member and Oakland County Clerk G. William Caddell told
of seeing the main alternative technology, digital-recording electronic
(DRE) machines, in use in Florida and Texas. He was impressed by the
fact that both seniors and precinct workers clearly found it easier to
use. If it was necessary to stick to only one type of equipment rather
than a mix of technologies, he concluded, DRE was the best at meeting
specific needs. Besides, he added, not needing ballots printed could
save his county half a million dollars a year. But ultimately, he
concluded, "dollars aren't important -- systems are. We must get a
system that makes it as easy as possible to vote -- and to have votes
tabulated."
Detroit City Clerk Jackie Currie took up one of Caddell's themes --
early voting -- and suggested bringing equipment to public places such
as malls and senior homes. Caddell agreed that such "curbside voting"
might help hold down the need for more new machines, by expanding the
capacity of each machine to serve more voters over more time.
Farmington Hills City Clerk Kathryn Dornan said her city's current
optical-scan equipment, pioneering in its day, is "clunky -- but it
works . . . [and] seniors embrace it . . . I think they like the piece
of paper." Still, Dornan agreed with Caddell that "we need to focus
on the future -- and we need a well-rounded vision of that future."
NAACP representative Simone Lightfoot expressed concern about
Thomas's sometimes dismissive attitude toward comments -- from the
public and from committee members, "the people on the front lines" in
elections. Lightfoot was especially interested in ID requirements
(misinterpreted by Thomas last week), and disappointed that Michigan's
preliminary plan was "like other states' bare-bones plans . . . I was
hoping we could expand on the minimums." When Thomas told her there
was really no action to be taken on the plan at that time, and offered
to meet with her after the meeting to point out where the plan had
accommodated her concerns, Lightfoot responded that "some things need
to be public and on the record." During public comments, one of the
many advocates for people with disabilities agreed with Lightfoot that
the intent of the law was inclusiveness.
Thomas tried to steer the discussion back towards the prepared
position. He invited representatives of three major voting-machine
companies present at the meeting to discuss problems with mixing two
technologies in one jurisdiction.
Ziarno stood up to ask the vendor representatives about the cost
of implementing advanced-voting capability on new voting machines.
Thomas tried to shift the focus to the relatively costly case of San
Francisco, which is implementing IRV at very short notice on older
equipment. But the Election Systems & Software representative, Dick
Fox, admitted that new equipment would be "much, much less expensive".
All three vendors agreed that more DREs were being sold these days
than optical-scan machines -- which suggests they might have longer
useful lives, might not become obsolete as soon.
When La Pietra rose to speak, he offered a parable: "Which of us,
if we're going to buy a car and drive down to Florida, would pick a car
without air conditioning?" He reminded the committee that Michigan law
gives home-rule cities and villages the right to use preferential voting
methods such as instant-runoff voting if they want. Limiting localities
to equipment which hindered them in exercising that legal right, he
cautioned, could mean "facing the heat of a Florida."
(In IRV, voters can indicate not only their first choice for an
office, but also their second choice -- and as many more choices as
there are candidates they support. If no candidate gets over 50% of
first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is out and votes for that
candidate are distributed to those voters' next choices . . . and so on
until someone has a majority. In this way, IRV guarantees a consensus
choice. It also lets more people express more of their preferences,
and get more of what they want out of an election -- and it avoids
spending tax money on a second round of elections.)
The right to use IRV in elections was confirmed by a 1975 state
Circuit Court decision upholding the election of Al Wheeler as Ann
Arbor's first African American mayor. Thomas had claimed at last week's
meeting that the Legislature would have to approve IRV before machines
that could handle it could be bought; however, he did not dispute La
Pietra's statement, as he had used the privilege of the chair to oppose
the positions declared by some of the committee members.
In the end, the committee reached no decision about a recommendation
for a uniform voting system -- either a specific technology or a set of
performance standards and capability specifications. No plans have yet
been announced for another meeting before the 30-day public-comment
period ends on July 17, and the plan is forwarded to Washington.
La Pietra, who lives in Marshall, has kicked off an effort to give
the public more information about the preliminary plan. "The Secretary
of State's Office has the plan on its Web site, and sent copies to the
county clerks -- but it hasn't reached the media as far as we can tell.
I've given copies of the plan to Marshall's deputy clerk for elections
and the district library. We're going to get the word out. We're going
to keep making sure *all* the people have a fair chance to be heard."
# # #
Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street *
* Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Green Party of Michigan was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics. There are Greens organized in all 50 states
and the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals
and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy
Social Justice * Nonviolence
Community Economics * Decentralization
Feminism * Respect for Diversity
Personal and Global * Future Focus/
Responsibility Sustainability
created/distributed using donated labor
====================================================================
Supplementary Supporting/Reference Material for 6/22/03 GPMI Release
====================================================================
THE HOME RULE VILLAGE ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 278 of 1909
78.23 Village charter; mandatory provisions.
Sec. 23.
Each village charter shall provide for all of the following:
(a) The election of and compensation for a president who shall be
the executive head, a clerk, and a legislative body. An election
may be by a partisan, nonpartisan, or preferential ballot or by
any other legal method of voting.
. . .
(g) One or more election districts; the time, place, and means of
holding elections; and the registration of electors.
THE HOME RULE CITY ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 279 of 1909
117.3 Mandatory charter provisions.
Sec. 3.
Each city charter shall provide for all of the following:
(a) The election of a mayor, who shall be the chief executive
officer of the city, and of a body vested with legislative power,
and for the election or appointment of a clerk, a treasurer, an
assessor or board of assessors, a board of review, and other
officers considered necessary. The city charter may provide for
the selection of the mayor by the legislative body. Elections may
be by a partisan, nonpartisan, or preferential ballot, or by any
other legal method of voting. . . .
(b) The nomination of elective officers by partisan or nonpartisan
primary, by petition, or by convention.
(c) The time, manner, and means of holding elections and the
registration of electors.
------------ * ------------ * ------------ * ------------
state HAVA committee's preliminary plan
---------------------------------------
main body (PDF, 48 pp)
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Preliminary_State_Plan_MI_67578_7.pdf
Appendix A -- action matrix (PDF, 19pp)
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Appx_A_Metrix_67579_7.pdf
Appendix B -- complaint process (PDF, 6pp)
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Appx_B_Compl_Prcs_67580_7.pdf
executive summary of recommended actions (PDF, 8pp)
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Exec_Sum_67636_7.pdf
PR "seeking" final comments
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127--70299--,00.html
_Stephenson v. Ann Arbor Board of Canvassers_ --
1975 Circuit Court case upholding IRV in Ann Arbor
----------------------------------------------------
text of decision
http://www.fairvote.org/library/statutes/legal/irv.htm
IRV charter language adopted 1974 by referendum in Ann Arbor
http://www.fairvote.org/library/statutes/annarbor.htm
guest editorials
----------------
by Tom Ness (writing for M-FORE) in the May 29 Detroit _Free Press_
http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/eness29_20030529.htm
by Ray Ziarno in the June 17 Lansing _State Journal_
http://www.lsj.com/opinions/letters/030617_ziarptv_(voting).html
====================================================================
Contact Information for Michigan HAVA Committee Members
====================================================================
HAVA Committtee Contacts
starting with the main staff person:
Jennette Sawyer, Help America Vote Act State Plan Advisory Committee
Bureau of Elections -- Michigan Department of State
208 North Capitol, 4th Floor
Lansing, MI 48933
phone: 517-241-4662
e-mail: sawyerj@mich.gov
------------ * ------------ * ------------ * ------------
These are all members of the committee -- but only among their other
tasks, so it might help alert them to the subject if you put in the
address, after their name, "Member, Michigan Help America Vote Act
State Plan Advisory Committee".
1) Lynn Alexander, Senior Citizen Coördinator/Advocate -- Oakland County
Oakland County Health Division
27725 Greenfield
Southfield, MI 48076
248-858-1000 or 888-350-0900
[was Director, Office of Services to the Aging, MI Dept. of
Community Health]
2) The Honorable Dianne Byrum, State Representative -- 67th District
P.O. Box 30014 [167 Capitol Building]
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
517-373-0587 (fax 517-373-9430) / diannebyrum@house.mi.gov
represented on the committee by: Tina Weatherwax-Grant
3) G. William Caddell, Oakland County Clerk
County Service Center
1200 North Telegraph Road, Building 12 East
Pontiac, MI 48341
248-858-0560 or 888-350-0900 (fax 248-452-9221)
crankr@co.oakland.mi.us
4) Robert Campau, Michigan Republican Party
2121 E. Grand River
Lansing, MI 48912
1-877-MIGOP-04 / webmaster@migop.org
5) Denise Cook, Political Director/Michigan State AFL-CIO
419 South Washington Square, Suite 200
Lansing, MI 48933
517-487-5966 (fax 517-487-5213) / denisecook@miaflcio.org
6) The Honorable Maura D. Corrigan
Chief Justice/Michigan Supreme Court
Post Office Box 30052 / Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-0126 (Clerk's Office: 517-373-0120)
msc-info@courts.mi.gov
represented on the committee by: Michael Gadola
7) The Honorable Mike Cox, Attorney General
G. Mennen Williams State Office Building, 7th Floor
525 W. Ottawa / Lansing, MI 48933
OR
Post Office Box 30212 / Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-1110 (fax 517-373-3042) / miag@michigan.gov
represented on the committee by: Gary Gordon
other AG offices:
Cadillac Place, 10th Fl.; 3030 W. Grand Blvd., Ste. 10-350;
Detroit, MI 48202 313-456-0240 / -0061 fax
110 State Office Building; 305 Ludington; Escanaba, MI 49829
906-786-0169 / -6645 fax
State Office Building, Suite 4C; 350 Ottawa NW; Grand Rapids,
MI 49503 616-356-0400 / -0411 fax
6 Penn Plaza Building; Petoskey, MI 49770
231-348-2922 / -3729 fax
8) Jackie L. Currie, Detroit City Clerk
200 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48226
313-224-3270 (fax 313-224-1466)
lover@ccsd.ci.detroit.mi.us
(staffer Rose Love; forwarded before)
9) A. Edwin Dore, President/Ingham Regional Healthcare Foundation
c/o Ingham Regional Medical Center Greenlawn Campus -- 401 West
Greenlawn
Lansing, MI 48910
517-372-6255 IRHF / 517-334-2121 IRMC
OR
IRMC -- Pennsylvania Campus
2727 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
Lansing, MI 48910
517-334-2121
OR
1159 Cliffdale Drive
Haslett, MI 48840
517-339-7971
former Deputy Sec'y of State under Candice Miller; past Deputy
Controller of Ingham Co., also of Wayne Co.
10) Kathryn A. Dornan, City Clerk/Farmington Hills
31555 West Eleven Mile Road
Farmington Hills, MI 48336-1165
248-473-9558 (fax: 248-426-1500)
kdornan@ci.farmington-hills.mi.us
11) Judy Elliot, Branch County Clerk
County Courthouse -- 31 Division Street
Coldwater, MI 49036
517-279-4306 (fax 517-278-5627) / countyclerk@countyofbranch.com
12) The Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Governor
Governor's Office/State Capitol -- Box 30013
Lansing, MI 48909
OR
111 S. Capitol / Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-3400 (fax 517-335-6863)
form pg: www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995-57932--,00.html
SE Michigan Office 3022 W. Grand Blvd. / Cadillac Place,
Suite 14-150 / Detroit, MI 48202 / 313-456-0010
Northern Michigan Office / 1504 West Washington, Suite B /
Marquette, MI 49855 / 906-228-2850
represented on the committee by: Kelly G. Keenan
13) The Honorable Beverly S. Hammerstrom, State Senator -- 17th District
Post Office Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
OR
S8 Capitol Bldg. / Lansing, MI 48913
517-373-3543 / fax: 517-373-0927
SenBHammerstrom@senate.michigan.gov
represented on the committee by: Shelly Edgerton
14) Terri Hegarty, Grand Rapids City Clerk
City Hall, 300 Monroe Avenue NW / Grand Rapids, MI 49503
616-456-3010 / thegarty@ci.grand-rapids.mi.us
15) Melvin "Butch" Hollowell, Chair/Michigan Democratic Party
606 Townsend
Lansing, MI 48933
517-371-5410 (fax 517-371-2056)
midemparty@mi-democrats.com
OR
c/o Butzel Long
150 West Jefferson
Detroit, MI 48226
hollowel@butzel.com
16) Susan Kaltenbach, Saginaw County Clerk
Saginaw Co. Governmental Center -- 111 S. Michigan Ave.
Saginaw, MI 48602
989-790-5251 / skaltenbach@saginawcounty.com
17) The Honorable Joseph Knollenberg, U.S. Representative -- 9th District
District Office -- 30833 Northwestern Highway, Suite 100
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-851-1366
OR
2349 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5802 / fax 202-225-2356
Rep.Knollenberg@mail.house.gov
OR
other district office:
15439 Middlebelt Road / Livonia, MI 48154 734-425-7557
represented on the committee by: Shawn Ciavattone
18) Justin P. King, Executive Director/Michigan Association of
School Boards
1001 Centennial Way, Suite 400
Lansing, MI 48917
517-327-5900 (fax 517-327-0775) / jking@masb.org
19) Terri Kowal, Shelby Township Clerk
Shelby Township Municipal Offices -- 52700 Van Dyke
Shelby Township, MI 48316
586-731-5100 / info@shelbytwp.org
20) Robert LaBrant
Senior Vice President/Political Affairs & General Counsel
Michigan Chamber of Commerce
600 S. Walnut
Lansing, MI 48933
517-371-2100 or 800-748-0344 (fax 517-371-7224)
blabrant@michamber.com
21) The Honorable Carl Levin, United States Senator
District Office -- 1810 Michigan National Tower/124 West Allegan
Lansing, MI 48933
517-377-1508
OR
459 Russell Senate Ofc. Bldg. / Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6221 / fax 202-224-1388
senator@levin.senate.gov
OR
other district offices:
Federal Building; 145 Water Street, Suite 102; Alpena, MI 49707
517-354-5220
1860 McNamara Building; 477 Michigan Ave; Detroit, MI 48226
313-226-6020
623 Ludington, Suite 200B; Escanaba, MI 49829 906-789-0052
Federal Bldg.; 110 Michigan NW, Rm. 134; Grand Rapids,
MI 49503 616-456-2531
301 East Genesee, Suite 101; Saginaw, MI 48607 517-754-2494
207 Grandview Parkway, Suite 104; Traverse City, MI 49684
231-947-9518
30500 Van Dyke, Suite 206; Warren, MI 48093 810-573-9145
represented on committee by: Cassandra Woods
22) Simone Lightfoot, Michigan State Coördinator/NAACP
15412 Grand River Avenue, Floor M
Detroit, MI 48227
313-659-1607 (fax 313-659-1614) / slightfoot@flint.lib.mi.us
OR
also coöordinator of FACTER (Flint Area Coalition to End Racism)
1026 East Kearsley
Flint, MI 48502
810-244-4140 / cell: 810-919-7197 / fax: 810-249-2634
23) Tom Masseau, Director of Public Policy
Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc.
Lansing Office -- 4095 Legacy Parkway, Suite 500
Lansing, MI 48911-4263
517-487-1755 or 800-288-5923 (fax 517-487-0827)
tmassea@mpas.org
OR
other MPAS offices:
Livonia 29200 Vassar Blvd., Suite 501 / Livonia, MI 48152-2116
800-414-3956 or 248-473-2990 / fax: 248-473-4104
Marquette 129 W. Baraga Ave., Suite B / Marquette, MI 49855-4644
906-228-5910 / fax 906-228-9148
24) Ruth Pruis, Jamestown Township Clerk
2380 Riley Street
Jamestown, MI 49427
616-896-8376 (fax 616-896-7271) / rpruis@twp.jamestown.mi.us
25) Robert Richards, City of Escanaba Clerk
410 Ludington, Box 948
Escanaba, MI 49829
906-789-7303 (fax 906-786-7349) / clerk@escanaba.org
26) The Honorable Mark Schauer, State Senator -- 19th District
Post Office Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
OR
S-9 Capitol Bldg
Lansing, MI 48913
517-373-2426
SenMSchauer@senate.michigan.gov
represented on committee by: Gary Garbarino
27) Lucille S. Taylor, Board of Trustees/Grand Valley State University
1 Campus Drive
Allendale, MI 49401-9403
616-331-2180 / enrightj@gvsu.edu
(Jean W. Enright, secretary to the Board)
OR
C & L Taylor
Laingsburg, MI 48848
517-651-9760
Lucille Taylor is the wife of MI Supreme Court Justice Clifford
Taylor; she was also Engler's counsel . . .
appointed by Engler end of October 2002 to GVSU board; picked by AG
Cox to head his transition team; etc., etc.
28) Mercedes Toohey, Spanish Speaking Advocates of Grand Rapids
c/o Clean-Tech LLC of Grand Rapids
410 44th Street SW, #E
Grand Rapids, MI 49548
616-447-7838
OR
211 Bristol Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616-791-0315
29) Janice Vedder, Delta Charter Township Clerk
7710 West Saginaw
Lansing, MI 48917
517-323-8500 / jvedder@township.delta.mi.us
30) The Honorable Chris Ward, State Representative -- 66th District
S1085 House Office Building / Post Office Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
517-373-1784 (fax 517-373-8957) / chrisward@house.mi.gov
represented on committee by:
Michelle Brant
[note: male]
------------ * ------------ * ------------ * ------------
if you want to write your state legislators, give them a heads-up
or a wake-up call about what's coming their way:
-----------------------------------------------
mailing address for all State Representatives:
Hon. [Name], State Representative -- XXXth District
Post Office Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
US Mail for all State Senators can be addressed as follows:
Hon. [Name], State Senator -- XXth District
Post Office Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
Other Contacts:
Green Party of Michigan
548 S Main St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555
info@migreens.org
posted to web 29 June 2003