COPS: NO MORE ELECTION FRAUD IN SAN DIEGO

"COPS:" NO MORE ELECTION FRAUD IN SAN DIEGO

Oversight Procedure by Citizens' Oversight Projects will thwart many central-tabulator hacks

Coordination Meeting to be held from 6pm to 8:30pm Thursday, May 29, at Giovanni's Restaurant, 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd at Ruffin Road.

SAN DIEGO -- Citizens Oversight, Inc, (a 501c3 nonprofit) also known as Citizens' Oversight Projects (COPS) will be holding an election integrity team coordination and training meeting, on Thursday, May 29, 6pm to 8:30pm, at Giovanni's Restaurant, 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92123. Public invited. (Dinner and drinks are available on self-service basis at the restaurant).

The "Election Snapshot" oversight procedure comes out of an in-depth top-to-bottom review of the San Diego County Registrar of Voters by COPS over a two year period starting in 2008. The oversight procedure is based on gathering information at key times in the post-election processing period and then performing some post-election analysis. The total time for any volunteer who wants to be involved is an initial overview meeting on May 29, followed by two sessions at the Registrar of Voters in June of about two hours each. Volunteers needed who are detailed oriented to learn the procedure so it can be deployed at each election.

"Although we are making no accusations of impropriety, election fraud is possible in San Diego County by manipulating central tabulator results," said Ray Lutz, electrical and software engineer and founder of Citizens Oversight. "If such election fraud were to occur, we expect the election would be flipped from many pre-election polls with a substantial margin of victory of at least 5% -- so no one would entertain an expensive recount, and no automatic recount is triggered."

Lutz said that COPS has already sent a letter to the Registrar, Michael Vu, requesting information and cooperation. In prior elections, the former Registrar Deborah Seiler was cooperative and provided the information required. "We really don't want much from the Registrar, but our oversight should thwart most central-tabulator based manipulations. We hope Mr. Vu will be cooperative, but he has not formally responded to our request."

If the procedure detects election fraud, additional work by volunteers may be needed to diagnose who, what and how the fraud is occurring. "Our election process is a sacred element of our democracy, and it is our job as citizens to provide oversight to ensure no impropriety is occurring," Lutz said. "Fortunately, this simple procedure can thwart most central-tabulator vulnerabilities."

COPS expects that with the oversight procedure in place, no election fraud will be detected because the Registrar has been put on notice that we are providing the oversight. If the elections come out less surprising than recent elections, then perhaps we will know the oversight is thwarting fraudulent activities.

Also at the meeting, a general overview of COPS will be provided with opportunity for citizens to learn how to be optimally effective with their time as activists. "Our approach has been very successful in actually causing positive changes, from stopping Blackwater in East County to making sure San Onofre did not restart with faulty and dangerous mis-designed steam generators. Honestly, we have been so successful with this approach that we have hardly had time to encourage others to take part."

COPS is planning a set of training courses to help citizens move to be optimally effective, dedicating only time for about one or two meetings per month from citizens who would like to enrich their lives with civic engagement. Anyone interested in such activities and meeting others in a social networking situation are invited.

For more information, call Ray Lutz at 619-820-5321. or email at raylutz@citizensoversight.org

More information on the Election Snapshot project can be found at:
http://www.copswiki.org/Common/ElectionSnapshotReview

The 79-page in-depth report on the San Diego Registrar of Voters can be found here:
http://www.copswiki.org/Common/COPsRovReport

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