Boulder County Canvass Board: 2012 General Election
We, the multi-partisan 2012 General Election Canvass Board, are sworn, and determined, to serve and protect all Electors equally, without regard of party affiliation (yours, ours, mine, or the Clerk's). It is for your protection that we, as established under Colorado statute, even exist. Read the written Oath that all Canvass Board Members must speak and sign: CB_Oath.jpg
NOTES:
Nevertheless, please be apprised that Dan Gould, Chair Boulder County Democratic Party, warns us:
"I wish to point out that [this] website... is NOT a legitimate site for the actual Boulder County Canvass Board. This site is not now and never has been an authorized site of the actual Canvass Board, in spite of the banner at the top and discussion within. The actual Boulder County Canvass board never set up a website. The actual Boulder County Canvass Board completed its statutory work on Friday November 23, 2013 when it voted whether to certify the Boulder County election results. It voted, and proceeded to adjourn and has not met since. Therefore, you are cautioned not to conclude that the Austin memo has been reviewed and endorsed by the legitimate and now adjourned Boulder County Canvass Board." [reference links added for clarification]
One of the three 2012 Canvass Board Democratic members objected when this website acknowledged the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy in December 2012. With neither apology or reservation this website also condemns the Islamist Terrorism that killed and maimed so many in Boston in April 2013.
ALERT: The files below are Public Information and as such may be freely downloaded and distributed.
| FILE DATE | DESCRIPTION | WEB & DOWNLOAD LINKS | FYI LINKS & COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 - 2013 | BOULDER COUNTY ELECTIONS |
RECENT NEWS: Click Here | Opens in new window | |
| 2012 | BOULDER COUNTY ELECTIONS | WATCHER REPORTS: Click Here | Opens in new window | |
| 07 MAY 2013: Citizen James August writes an open letter (.pdf)... | ...to the Boulder County Commissioners in which he outlines yet again the many documented failures of the Bell&Howell Mail Ballot Envelope scanning machine... | ...and demands that it be returned for a full refund before the deadline for doing so expires (about the end of July 2013). Mr. August presented this open letter... | ...to the Commissioners this same day and also gave a copy to Times-Call Reporter John Fryar. [NOTE: This flawed machine has no chance of keeping up with Mail-Ballot-Only elections mandated by new HB 1303 - DRM] | |
01 May 2013
TO WIN' |
The Bell&Howell Mail Ballot Envelope scanning machine (aka "Bitsy") - so militantly defended by both the
Boulder County Clerk and
|
Recent discovery of alarming test reports (.pdf) and mid-election software revisions (.pdf) for Bitsy has revealed troubling facts. This mid-April CORA Request sought information from the Clerk about Bitsy's software Release Notes, testing, and Software Version Control. | Based on the Boulder County Legal Department CORA Response to that request, the Boulder County Clerk's Information Technology management for Voting Operations seems to have about the same level of computer systems control as a Bingo Night operation (e.g., Bitsy). | |
| 10 March 2013 | Learn about all the 'features' of the new Boulder County
' ROBO-JUDGE '... |
... in this funny yet terrifying YouTube video (5 minutes). |
Email friendly: http://tinyurl.com/a7gwtpg |
|
| 07 MARCH 2013 UPDATE: | Citizen August presented his Report to Boulder County Commissioners Cindy Domenico, Deb Gardner, and Elise Jones (all Democrats). Mr. August gave each a copy of his 14-page Report (see below) detailing four major areas of Fiduciary Violations by Boulder County elected officials. When he directly asked of them, "Will the Commissioners commit to investigating these charges, and promptly report back to the public?"... | ... the Commissioners side-stepped this simple, direct question
by dismissively replying that his report '...would be taken under advisement.'
The Commissioners then expressed unanimous and enthusiastic support for apparently more vital issues such as the preservation of an historic Grange building and of keeping The Evil Empire of Erie on a short leash. This is not merely another Democrat vs Republican issue. It is about the fundamental health of the end-to-end election process in Boulder County. |
If Citizen August's question goes ignored and unanswered, a shadow is cast over the rights of
all Boulder County Citizens regardless of political affiliation.
After Mr. August was finished, Democratic Party Chair Dan Gould assailed the Commissioners with an attempt to impugn the credibility of this website, and by association it's webmaster. Apparently Mr. Gould felt that a recitation of Party solidarity was more important than an objective investigation of the charges leveled by Citizen August. | |
| 07 MARCH 2013 | Boulder County Citizen Jim August, retired aerospace engineer, presents his opening remarks to the Boulder County Commissioners. Mr. August outlines four major areas of Fiduciary Violations involved in the acquisition of the Bell & Howell Mail Ballot Scanning and Tracking System. | 20130306_2_BOCC_intr_JA.pdf - In which Citizen August asks, "Will the Commissioners commit to investigating these charges, and promptly report back to the public?" He believes the best resolution is to return the defective B&H system used in the 2012 General to the supplier for full refund [about $220,000], which is permitted in the contract. | The Fiduciary Violations of Public Trust perpetrated by Boulder County elected officials include 1) Biased Procurement procedures, 2) Lack of detailed equipment Specifications, 3) Lack of formal testing before use in a live election, and 4) The use of known-defective equipment in an election. | |
| 07 MARCH 2013 | The Bell & Howell Mail Ballot Scanning and Tracking system was acquired and placed into service by Boulder County elected officials in apparent disregard for their fiduciary responsibility to all the people of Boulder County. | 20130306_2_BOCC_JA.pdf. This is the complete 14-page Report submitted to the the Boulder County Commissioners by retired aerospace engineer Jim August. | This document also identifies 15 detailed objections and supporting evidence to back up each. Much of the evidence was provided by the Boulder County Attorney’s Office in response to CORA requests. | |
| 23 JANUARY 2013 | "Due to an administrative error, the Colorado Secretary of State Hearing to address a Petition for Emergency Declaratory Order has been rescheduled to February 28, 2013." |
Here are the details of that Hearing:
9:00 AM Thursday, February 28, 2013 1700 Broadway, Blue Spruce Conference Room (2nd floor), Denver, CO 80290 Here is the full text of the Colorado Secretary of State Hearing Notice: 20130122_Notice.pdf Please attend if at all possible. |
This Hearing is associated with a HAVA complaint against the the beleaguered - and seemingly untested Bell and Howell hardware/software Mail Ballot envelope scanning system now in use by Boulder County. Many eye-witness details of the B&H system and the Federal HAVA complaint they generated are presented below and also on the Watcher Reports page. | |
| 22 JANUARY 2013 | "IN THE MATTER OF SOS-HAVA-07-12-0001 detailing the FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW"
Here is the full text of those Facts and Findings: 20130122_SOS_BH_Findings.pdf |
- In which SOS Consultant Mike Lyons somehow concludes (he never actually saw the B&H system): "Whether or not [the Bell & Howell Envelope scanning and sorting] machine is found [at a future date] to be a part of the 'voting system' [as defined by either Federal or Colorado statute]... | ... there is little doubt that [it] needs transparency. oversight, and a thorough understanding of the underlying components that drive the system... This would include ballot printing, envelope printing and insertion." | |
| 14 JANUARY 2013 | Aerospace engineer Jim August provides Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert (and Boulder County citizens) with precision insight into the murky facts of how the beleaguered - and seemingly untested - Bell and Howell... | ... hardware/software Mail Ballot envelope scanning & Automatic Signature Verification system came to be acquired by elected Boulder County officials for use in the 2012 General Election. Here is the full text of the letter to DSOS Staiert: 20130114_2SOSreBH_JA.pdf - in which Mr. August reports the "[Boulder County Clerk stated that] I would need to provide a deposit of $7,500 before they would start searching for any test results [on the B&H system], which may not be available until the end of the first quarter of 2013 if they even exist." | Citizen August goes on to say: "The accuracy of the ASV process and all other processes performed by the B&H system is unknown because there is no proof that testing was successfully performed. If the SOS had required testing / certification on all parts of the "Voting System" as requested in the complaint before the [2012 General] election then maybe Boulder County would not have violated the law and created so many questions about the integrity of all Mail-in-Ballots cast in Boulder County. | |
| 10 JANUARY 2013 | Aerospace engineer Jim August provides Boulder County citizens with formerly secret documents (forced public by his CORA requests) showing that our... | ... county government feels that no competitive bidding process is necessary whenever the "...expenditure [almost $240,000] is no more than what was approved as a budget item..." At right are two of these documents regarding the untested, un-Certified, and unreliable Bell & Howell Mail Ballot Envelope Scanning and Sorting machine: | Proposal for B&H MBE S&S machine:
20120717_BH_VBM_Proposal_final.pdf
Proposal to Boulder County Commissioners for acceptance of non-competitive Bid for B&H MBE S&S machine: 20120814_BH_Contract.pdf |
|
| 03 JANUARY 2013 | Canvass Board member and professional Process Engineer for IBM Corp (32 years, retired) Russ Boehm criticizes the Secretary of State's Plan... | ...for 'testing' the
Bell and Howell hardware/software Mail Ballot envelope scanning system.
Citizen Boehm says: "This 'demonstration' is inadequate since it does not test for consistent output of the mail ballot process. Instead, it focuses only on the Bell & Howell equipment... |
...This testing has never been the subject of the LAT [Logic and Accuracy Test] and it should be."
Here is the full text of Boehm's letter to SOS Gessler: |
|
| 02 JANUARY 2013 | Bringer of the original HAVA Complaint, Al Kolwicz issues this stinging response to the Demo/Test Plan floated by the Secretary of State office for the complex Bell and Howell hardware and software in the new Mail Ballot envelope scanning system. The 'Plan' is authored by an 'expert witness' hired by the Colorado Secretary of State's office. | The full text of Mr. Kolwicz' objection to the SOS' DEMO/test Plan is here:
20130102_HAVA_Criticism_AK.pdf.
Among Citizen Kolwicz' objections are:
|
Mr. Kolwicz describes the SOS' after-the-fact Demo/Test Plan for the complex Bell and Howell hardware/software Mail Ballot envelope scanning system as an '...unhelpful demonstration plan [that deviates] from the context of this HAVA complaint. In addition to the misnaming as a "test," and the fundamental inadequacies it outlines, relating such a mere demonstration to this complaint would be a disservice to the public since the plan and demonstration would misdirect the public’s attention away from the issues raised in the complaint.' | |
| 01 JANUARY 2013 | Aerospace engineer Jim August offers an in-depth critique of shortcomings in the Secretary of State's "DEMO/test Plan" for the Bell and Howell hardware/software Mail Ballot envelope scanning and signature processing system. |
For reference, the SOS'
Beauty Queen Demo/Test Plan
is here: 20121228_BH_TestPlan.pdf. One waggish Canvass Board member has called it a mere vaudeville act (starring Gene Wilder as SOS Gessler). Please read engineer Jim August's professional objections here: |
In which Jim August says "If procedures in the referenced document are to be pursued unmodified, I request any reference to "TEST" to be removed so there is no way anyone can misinterpret this "DEMO" as being a test." | |
|
FLASH !! ---
FLASH !!
31 DECEMBER 2012 |
At last, the Colorado Secretary of State office has an official response regarding the Non-Certification of the 2012 General Election in Boulder County: |
Dear Canvass Board Members,
I have attached the findings of the SOS regarding the Boulder Canvass board non-certification. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or our election compliance attorney, Stephanie Mann. Thank you all for your service on the Canvass Board. Suzanne Staiert |
The SOS essentially 'whitewashed' the Non-Certification by the majority of the Canvass Board.
Most findings and objections of the Canvass Board were summarily dismissed - without supporting
citations - using phrases like:
'outside the scope of our investigation,' or 'outside our investigative authority,'
or 'did not have the potential to change any race or ballot measure.'
Here is the complete 4-page SOS Response: 2012_SOS_Boulder_Canvass.pdf. |
|
| 28 December 2012 | Colorado Election Integrity authority Marilyn Marks of the respected Citizen's Center provides its official response to the Secretary of State's after-the-fact Demo/Test Plan for the complex Bell and Howell hardware/software Mail Ballot envelope scanning system. | In a separate email, Ms Marks characterized the SOS' Demo/Test Plan as seemingly "...designed [only] to confirm the B&H capabilities advertised in the marketing brochure... My analogy here is that a new car was involved in a wreck because of a combination of alleged faulty design, alleged operator error, and non-compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Standards. The injured passengers ask for an investigation of the causes and the impacts, and whether the car model should be allowed on the highway. Authorities respond by driving the car full of beauty queens down Main Street in the July 4th parade, and declaring that it operates well." | Here is the full text of the Citizen's Center response to the "Beauty Queen Test": 20121230_HAVA_CitCtr_MM.pdf. Please, read it in full. It should be noted that, as of this date, Secretary of State Gessler still has not offered an official response or action regarding the lack of either: (1) Certification of the Bell & Howell system, or (2) Certification of the 2012 General Election in Boulder County! My personal opinion of the Secretary of States' so-called 'Plan' is that it will mostly be entertaining PR; An old-fashoned vaudeville act - with full apologies to Gene Wilder (as the SOS) and the late Peter Boyle (as the B&H monster). |
|
| 27 December 2012 | Far, far, from being a mere "mail sorting machine" (as coyly described by Clerk Hall), the Bell&Howell Mail Ballot Return Envelope barcode and signature scanner is a programmable, 'intelligent' electronic sub-system that is fully interfaced with the Colorado state election database (SCORE) and completely integrated into the end to end Boulder County election process. | In spite of objections by the Logic and Accuracy Test Panel, and the Canvass Board, Clerk Hall forged
ahead with use of the B&H system - without either testing or Certification for use in Colorado elections.
Over and over, Official Election Watchers observed and reported on the apparently
fragile and unreliable nature
of the B&H system in operation.
A "Mike Lyons" provides us with a Demo/Test Plan for the beleaguered Bell&Howell system. Mr. Lyons is a new actor in this tragic power play. Whatever his credentials may be, Mike has written this Demo-Test Plan: 20121228_BH_TestPlan.pdf. |
Never mind that this "Testing" of the complex Bell & Howell Mail Ballot scanner should have been done well
before our 2012 Mail Ballots were fed into its maw.
Here is the link to the B&H website and the particular B&H model used in Boulder County: MLOCR/BCR and MMT SABRE sorter and software combo. |
|
| 26 December 2012 | Colorado Secretary of State announces public hearing for Dec. 26th on Al Kolwicz' HAVA complaint (.pdf file) against the new but-not-Certified Mail Ballot Return Envelope barcode and signature scanning machine. | Here is the
SOS notice (.pdf file) of time and place.
The Boulder County Attorney responds here:
20121226_BoCo_HAVA_Defense.pdf
(9.5 Mb). For more info,
Click here.
To review all known complaints regarding the 2012 Election in Boulder County: Click here. |
In a cynical act of obfuscation and misinformation, Boulder County continually refers to the Bell&Howell system as a "mail sorting machine." | |
| 10 December 2012 | Ellyn Hilliard withdraws Re-Count request citing excessive fees. | Read her reasons why: Click here. | Extreme fees by hostile Clerks suppress election integrity for all of us. | |
| 08 December 2012 |
NOTE: Large fees required for fulfilling data and CORA requests
are typical for the Clerk's office.
Hilliard Re-Count cost estimates are filed by Canvass Board and Clerk: |
Canvass Board Majority:
$6,250.
Boulder County Clerk: $27,777. Secretary of State thinks the Clerk's |
(Looks like yettanuther $900 government hammer to me - DRM) | |
| 07 December 2012 | State House District 11 candidate Ellyn Hilliard (R) files official Re-Count request.
Boulder County Election posted contest results: Click Here (.jpg image file) |
Hilliard_RecountReq.pdf This is the letter as sent by Ellyn Hilliard to the Colorado Secretary of State. | Read $27,777 Cost estimate by Boulder County Clerk. | |
| 29 November 2012 | CCCA lobbies 2013 Colorado legislature for even more Mail Ballots, closing of precinct polling places, and more regional "Service Centers." | 20121129_CCCA_2_Legis.pdf - Wherein the possibility of Same-Day Registration and Voting is implicitly flirted. |
Mail Ballots, Provisional Ballots, and Foreign Ballots represent over 80% of ballots cast yet all three voting streams are aggressively hidden from effective public oversight by County Clerks. | |
| 26 November 2012 | CANVASS BOARD MAJORITY PRESS RELEASE: | Click here:
CB_MAJ_PR.pdf.
This is the full 14-page Majority Report: Gessler_letter_6.pdf. |
Republican Party Press Release:
REP_PTY_PR.jpg. |
|
| 26 November 2012 |
FLASH: Four bi-partisan Canvass Board members sign
(REP_Majority.jpg)
Majority Non-Certification Report: Gessler_letter_6.pdf. To see just one example why, Click here: PP_vs_HART.jpg. |
Meanwhile, the three dissenting Democrat Canvass Board members "certify" (Democrat_Minority.jpg) their own minority report and praise the election outcome - without mentioning that Democrat Clerk Hall also voted with them: Democrat_Letter.pdf. | NOTE: Such action directly conflicts with Colorado Secretary of State Rule 41.3.1 shown here: "The canvass board must make its determinations by majority vote in accordance with section 1-10-101.5(3), C.R.S." | |
| 21 November 2012 | The Colorado Secretary of State office has agreed that '...in the event there was a lawsuit against the
[Canvass] board or its members
and the [Boulder] county did not defend, the Secretary would instruct the Attorney General to intervene in any such
action.'
The Canvass Board owes many Thanks to these three Patriots: |
You all just wouldn't back down! To read the original email from SOS to George, Click here |
To read the Nov 16th statement of CB non-defense from Boulder County, follow these links: Page 1, and Page 2. Boulder County may similarly feel no obligation to protect its other Boards and Commissions, who would be wise to assess their own potential risks of personal liability. |
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| November 20th 2012 | Clerk Hall's position that Canvass Board meetings are, and shall remain, Closed-Door affirmed by County attorney, who also states that Canvass Board members need not be defended against personal libility for failing to hold Open Meetings as defined and required by Colorado Statute. Annotated by Marilyn Marks, Colorado Election Integrity activist. | From Boulder County Attorney:
20121116_BoCoAtty_2_CB_MM.pdf
Marilyn Marks offers comments and examples of current legal harrassment of Canvass Board in Douglas County: Click here Read this Urgent Email sent to Colorado Secretary of State by Marilyn Marks. |
ALERT: First .pdf has a long download time: 2.5 Mb. The second two links are only small text files. | |
| November 19th 2012 | Report on Canvass Board Meeting of same date in which Open Meetings and Member indemnification are discussed. | Clerk Hall once again reinforced the opinion of Boulder County attorney David Hughes which circularly supports the Clerk's opinion on the same matters: 20121119_CB_Meeting.pdf | ||
| November 15th 2012 | Should Canvass Board meetings be kept shrouded behind Closed Doors? An email exchange between Canvass Board Member Daniel Martin and Boulder Clerk's office. | 20121115_CB_Shrouded_DRM.pdf | 102 Kb .pdf | |
| November 12th 2012 | Process flow diagrams of the various Voting Processes used in Boulder County. | 20121112_BoCo_VotingProcess.pdf | 1.25 Mb .pdf | |
| November 10th 2012 | 2012 General Election Canvass Board Reconciliation and Audit Schedule |
20121110_Canvass_Sched.pdf | 520 Kb .pdf | |
| November 10th 2012 | Notes from the Canvass Board meeting of the same date. All CB Members were in attendance. | 20121110_Canvass_Board_Notes.pdf | 181 Kb .pdf | |
| November 9th 2012 | Extract of Colorado TITLE 1 Statutes Concerning Terms Relating to Abstract, Canvass, and Certify (with Reference Mainly to Canvass Boards) | 20121009_T1_CB_Extracts.pdf | 111 Kb .pdf | |
| November 5th 2012 | Audio of the 8th Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 20121102_CB08.mp3 | 200.3 Mb (huge) 143 min. |
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| November 2nd 2012 | Audio of the 7th Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 20121102_CB07.mp3 | 261 Mb (huge) 185 min. |
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| October 30th 2012 | Audio of the 6th Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 20121030_CB06.mp3 | 246.2 Mb (huge) 175 min. |
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| October 26th 2012 | Audio of the 5th Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 20121026_CB05.mp3 | 120.8 Mb (huge) 85 min. |
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| October 24th 2012 | PART 1: Audio of the 4th Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 20121024_CB_04a.mp3 | 121.6 Mb (huge) 87 min. |
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| October 24th 2012 | PART 2: Audio of the 4th Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 20121024_CB_04b.mp3 | 110.9 Mb (huge) 79 min. |
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| October 12th 2012 | PART 1: Audio of the 3rd Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 2012-10-12_Part_1.mp3 | 50.1 Mb
(large) 60 min. |
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| October 12th 2012 | PART 2: Audio of the 3rd Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Longmont Public Library. | 2012-10-12_Part_2.mp3 | 31.2 Mb (large) 45 min. |
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| October 1st 2012 | Audio Recording of the 2nd Canvass Board Meeting (for 2012 General Election) at Boulder Public Library (Boulder Creek Room). | 2nd_canvass_board_meeting.mp3 | 1.6Gb (huge) 119 min. |
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| Sept 26th 2012 | Audio Recording of the Clerk's "Elections 101" meeting at the Houston Room (Clerk's building) in Boulder. | elections_101.mp3 | 1.0Gb (huge) 115 min. |
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| Sept 25th 2012 | Audio Recording of the 1st Canvass Board Meeting
(for 2012 General Election) at Carelli's Restaurant in Boulder.
00:02:15 = Swearing-In of those Canvass Board Members in Attendance 00:28:00 = Daniel Martin inducted as "Electronic Secretary" for the Canvass Board. |
recording-20120925-140850.mp3 | 1.1Gb (huge) 119 min. |
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| Sept 25th 2012 | Canvass Board Meeting Guidlines. | BC_CB_MeetingGuidelines.pdf | 37 Kb |
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| Sept 21st 2012 | Secretary of State Watcher Guideline Summary. | 20120921_SOS_WIB.pdf | 551 Kb |
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| Sept 17th 2012 | "Solution" Plan (for mechanically and electronically manipulating Barcoded Ballots) devised by Boulder County Clerk and Staff to ensure Elector-anonymity in the 2012 General Election. | Hall_BoCoBallotBarcodePlan.pdf | 120 Kb N/A |
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| 2012 | SEARCHABLE: Title 1 Colorado Election Statutes (.pdf), complete. | Title1_2012.pdf | 2.4Mb N/A. |
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| 2012 | SEARCHABLE: Proposed (subject to change) Canvass Board Glossary of Terms (.pdf), |
20121102_CB_Glossary.pdf | 2.4Mb N/A. |
* I, Daniel R. Martin, maintain the three pages associated with the 2012 Boulder County Canvass Board. This website is not in any way associated with, or approved by, the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder or the Colorado Secretary of State offices. Nevertheless, I am a duly appointed Election Judge, and an active member of the two 2012 Boulder County Canvass Boards and the two Logic and Accuracy Test (LAT) Panels. I am therefore an experienced, knowledgeable, and official Election Official.
I choose all content and external web links for these web pages. Although I would be pleased to include content and links suggested by others, no one (except for official Watchers) has ever submitted any other links or documents to me for inclusion. At least 90% of these three pages is a simple aggregation of the work of others, mostly public news media.
Creating web pages is the least of my professional and technical expertise. Additionally I have over 25 years of computer programming history including both UNIX system and database (Informix, Oracle) administration.
I am a constitutional conservative and registered Republican, as my private website http://www.dansher.com/ clearly demonstrates. Of course that makes me 'partisan' - yet still I strive to be reasonably even-handed in the few editorial comments included here.
