Cali Lawsuit Filed Against Sec of State on Deceptive Primary Ballots

[laserhaas]

Joining Civil Rights attorneys Bill Simpich and Stephen R. Jaffe, is the entity known as Election Justice. They filed a lawsuit against the California Sec. of State and Registrars ( link to website HERE and link to actual lawsuit - {HERE}) over allegations that the California Elections Code Section 3006(c) - that mandates all votes have the right to apply for a Presidential party ballator, are being deceived.

Whereas fake and false ballots, with bogus dates or otherwise, are sent out as "official" (btw - ???? - Mail Fraud).

Here's a nice video, from the "video.com" website, explaining what's going on.
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[center][font size=6] PRESS RELEASE [/font][/center]

[center] [font size=4 color=navy]ELECTION JUSTICE NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [/font][/center]
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Contact:

Shyla Nelson
202.725.8459 / 802.280.1770
[e-mail]

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Press Conference: Friday, May 20, noon (outside) San Francisco Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue
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[center]CALIFORNIA LAWSUIT FILED OVER ELECTION LAW VIOLATIONS[/center]
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SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2016: Civil rights attorneys and voter rights activists are filing a
civil lawsuit in Federal Court over election materials sent out in advance of the California
Primary. Critical omissions of instructions from county applications to vote by mail have
violated state election laws, according to the plaintiffs.

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Civil rights attorneys Bill Simpich and Stephen R. Jaffe have filed the suit on behalf of both leftleaning
supporters of Bernie Sanders and the right-leaning American Independent Party.
“These omissions will likely discourage thousands of California voters,” says Simpich.
“Independent voters who have stated ‘No Party Preference’ (NPP) may not be able to vote in
the June 7th Primary because of the confusion over how to obtain a party-based Presidential
primary ballots. Those ballots are not automatically mailed with their nonpartisan ballot. They
must be requested by the voters. That has not been made clear in the instructions sent.”

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Collaborating on the lawsuit is Election Justice, a national election integrity and voting rights
organization which made international news with their recent suit over the voter roll purges
prior to the New York Primary. “We are proud to support this effort in California as it represents
a real chance for voters to become educated and empowered to exercise their rights,” Election
Justice spokeswoman Shyla Nelson said. “We are seeing an unprecedented level of civic
engagement in this year’s election, and with that, the exposure of many flaws in our electoral
system. Election Justice is committed to fixing what’s broken and renewing the spirit of true
democracy in the selection of our nation’s leaders.”

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Allegations in the lawsuit include the violation of Elections Code Section 3006(c) which
mandates that all NPP voters have the right to apply for a Presidential party ballot for the
Democratic, American Independent Party, or Libertarian parties.

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Also alleged is the violation of Elections Code Section 3006(b)(3) which requires that voters be
informed of the right to personally deliver their application for a vote-by-mail ballot directly to
the county elections office by May 31 - not merely mail it. “These instructions are also missing
from some of the applications to vote by mail,” says Simpich. “The polls have been open since
May 9. Voters have the right to come to the polling place up to the final day of elections on
June 7 and ask for the ballot of their choice. We intend to make sure they know that this is their
right.”

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Further, defendants Tim Depuis and John Arntz, chiefs of the Alameda County Registrar of
Voters and the San Francisco Department of Elections, distributed to voters an electronic
application to vote by mail that does not contain the mandatory notice, as seen on Depuis’
Oakland website and Artnz’s San Francisco website.

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In San Francisco and other counties, election officials mailed the proper version with the
mandatory notice to independent voters, but an improper version to party-affiliated voters,
which implicitly discourages party voters from re-registering as independents. “Registration/
party affiliation changes are still possible until May 23. We are seeking an extension of the
registration period due to these errors,” Simpich said.

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Voter suppression has become a central issue in this year’s hotly contested Presidential
primary season, as increased numbers of voters take to the polls and public visibility, largely
through social media, has brought a new level of transparency to public concerns. Blaire
Fellows, New York attorney and coordinator of Election Justice’s national legal team, says the
new level of public engagement on this issue is a welcome catalyst. “We have seen people get
involved in petitioning, protesting their county Boards of Election, and publicly call elected
officials to accountability. It is time this important issue get the attention it deserves,” said
Fellows.

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Simpich and Jaffee bring the lawsuit to protect the voting rights of millions of California voters.
Nearly 70% of ballots cast in the 2014 California special election were by-mail, and over 65%
of the ballots cast in the 2012 presidential preference primary were by-mail. (Source: http://
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/historical-absentee/) “Because these problems are happening
throughout the state of California, we are seeking statewide relief,” said Simpich.

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For further information contact:
Bill Simpich - [phone] email: [e-mail]
Stephen R. Jaffe - [phone] email: [e-mail]
Shyla Nelson, Election Justice - [phone] email: [e-mail]
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Election Justice is a national organization advancing election integrity, transparency, and protection of voting rights for all Americans.

[br][hr] link to the Press Release - (HERE) [br]
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Lawuit seeks Court Orders for:
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The plaintiffs in the lawsuit seek the following…

1. A "declaratory judgment" essentially saying that the defendants violated the law regarding their obligation to provide voting rights notices required by statute.
   
2. Wide distribution of this information via radio, TV, newspaper, internet social media platforms in Alameda County and throughout the state of California;
   
3. Ensuring that sufficient ballot forms for all of the Presidential primary candidates are at all of the polling places on June 7;
   
4. That no party preference voters are not refused a Presidential primary ballot if they personally appear at their proper polling place;
   
5. Changing the applications at the Board of Elections websites in Alameda County, San Francisco, and throughout the state of California to conform with the essential terms set forth in the uniform application created by the Secretary of State;
   
6. An order permitting the write-in of the Democratic, American Independent Party, and Libertarian candidates, or, in the alternative, segregation of the ballots that have already been cast by those with no party preference registration in order to permit voters to re-vote for the candidate of their choice by June 7;
   
7. An order extending the registration deadline to June 7, in order to ensure that no party preference voters are properly informed of the option to either re-register with a party or request a Democratic, American Independent Party or Libertarian Party Presidential primary ballot;
   
8. An order, as well, stating that party voters must be properly informed of the option to re-register as no party preference and request a Democratic, American Independent Party or Libertarian Party Presidential primary ballot if that is their preference;
   
9. An order that provisional ballots will not be issued to voters unless there is no other alternative.
   

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What the Proper Form Should Look Like


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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
- Do NOT be Rigged Out of Your Right to Vote

Bernie Needs California
to Assure Chance to Beat Hillary[/font][/center]


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[center][font size=4 color=navy] Even Cali Poll Workers Are Being MisInformed
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13 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Dem Primary has been rigged, from the outset
	12 (92%)
	There were some mistakes made, but not intentional
	1 (8%)
	No mistakes made, whole process has been pure - totally
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Retrograde]

1. Given the number of different ballots each county has to produce

I'm surprised there aren't more slip-ups.

I was trying to figure out how many different ballots there are in my county, Santa Clara, for the upcoming June election. The Republicans, Greens, and Peace and Freedom parties have closed presidential primaries: that 3 different ballots right there. The Democrats have opened the presidential contest to NPP voters BUT they're also having an election for party officials, so they have one ballot for registered Democrats and another for No Party voters who request it (the ones I and my husband, both mail voters, received were different). The American Independent Party and Libertarian Party are also having presidential primaries open to NPP voters: I don't know if they have any party issues up for a vote, but let's assume not for the sake of argument. So that's 7 different ballots that have to be produced just for the presidential primaries.

That's not the only thing on the California ballot in June. There's an open primary for US Senate, a state proposition, and two county propositions. Those are the same for everyone. Now the fun starts. There's also a primary for the US House of Representatives - but there are 4 Congressional districts in my county. Now we're up to 4*7 = 28 different ballots the county registrar has to produce. There's a primary for state Senator (there are 4 state senate districts in the county) and state assembly (6 districts), and this is where I have to get out the maps and colored markers to see how much overlap there is and we haven't even gotten to the race for county supervisor or any city-specific offices or propositions. And all of this has to be produced in multiple languages (the ballots most people get include both English and Spanish, but voters may also request ballots and information in Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and other languages).

But wait - there's more: since Congressional, state senate, and assembly districts can and do cross county lines, so the registrar has to coordinate with those in adjacent counties to make sure that when they all go to count the votes those candidates get the right numbers.

Oh, and the candidates' names are listed in a randomized order that varies by assembly district. I'm impressed by how few errors there actually are (I did encounter one, once, in 40 years of voting here.)

So, yeah, I'd attribute any ballot problems to human error rather than Grand Conspiracy. And I don't think this lawsuit is going to go anywhere.

[laserhaas]

2. In being totally candid...Im (obviously) for Bernie

And you are?

I am being rhetorical

[Retrograde]

3. Candid about what?

About a complex system being susceptible to human errors? Yes, especially when you throw in that poll workers (who are also human) have to understand the details, and are expected to get them all correct even if they only do this less than once a year.

California's process is rather straightforward, IMHO. I think a lot of confusion comes from the word "independent". Since national news is East Coast biased to a large degree, that's the term that gets thrown around a lot to refer to voters who are not affiliated with a party. California uses a different term, currently No Party Preference, although Non-Partisan has been used in the past. California is also one of the few (only?) states where the American Independent Party is a recognized party: casual voters can be confused. California is also one of the states that allows parties to choose - on a per election basis - who to allow to vote in their primaries. All this information is readily available, but every election people get confused. It's not an attempt to keep people from voting: on the contrary, it's easier to vote in California that in many other states.

Maybe the Secretary of State should post something on YouTube, since things apparently aren't take seriously unless there a video.

I've already sent my ballot back. Straightforward process: got a postcard back in March asking which party's ballot I wanted, got the ballot itself at the beginning of May, spent a week reading the state and county voters' guides, filled it out, sent it back. Checked to county registrar's web site this morning and saw that it's been counted.

[laserhaas]

4. Candid - Lord Retro - on which side of the coin your on.

Hillary or Bernie?

Your posture appears to infer you are a Hillarian.

[Retrograde]

7. Neither

Both candidates have their strengths - Bernie has passion and the ability to create a following, Hillary has broader experience, dogged perseverance, and the ability to handle the mud the Republicans are going to throw at her. And both have their flaws - Bernie has a narrow focus and a sense of my way or the highway, and lately there's a touch of the demagogue. Hillary has a huge sense of entitlement, the inability to create a passionate following, and all the baggage she and her husband accumulated in public life. I tilt slightly towards Clinton, but I am not at all happy with that choice. I put a lot of blame on DWS for not growing young Democratic candidates during the past 8 years. O'Malley was, I thought, the best of this year's batch.

And, come November, I'll be supporting the Democratic nominee.

[laserhaas]

8. Your previous remark stated your ballot was cast

So you must have picked a side.

As for me...it is a simple choice...Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital deliberately destroyed our eToys public company and my career; and were successful because the arranged for one of their law firm partners to be the very United States Attorney over the cases in question

And my daughter was abducted right after the warned me to back off...or else.

She took theur money and he hasn't

Nobody, since 2001.. Will look into the case

And she most certainly won't

But...with Bernie...I have a chance

[Zorro]

6. I suspect a lot of Sanders supporters registered as American Independent Party members

thinking they'd get the Democratic ballot sent to them.

[Tarc]

5. So, Sanders supporters can't figure out how to register or vote properly

and demand more time?