Google Ads

Thursday, October 8, 2015

City Charter Bug Fix Review: Barrow's Ballot is in Good Hands - Press Release


Dear Tom,

The next general election is August 2016 and at that time the Barrow plan would be in full effect.  The plan requires that two paper voting receipts be printed at every voting location when the polls close after 8pm.  One with a signature that is taped on the wall at the voting location. The other receipt is sent with the votes to the Elections Bureau for total vote counting.  Both receipts require a signature on them.  If there is a close election then a recount would be required by law otherwise the votes are certified by the clerk.

The question is, how hard is it for a printer to print two sheets of paper?

This concept is very workable before the 2016 August Primary Election. The next question is WHY you want to print the paper in the first place. What is wrong with a voting scoreboard with real time results that you can access on your phone, tablet, laptop, google glass, wristwatch, etc? How about voting online one day? If you must print two tally sheets at the end of the night, then do what you have to do.

It is the position of Councilmember Cushingberry to review this legislation with the Elections Commission and, personnel versed in Information Technology skills like network management, data security, and system design.  Tom Barrow’s work will not be in vain and the initiative to have fair and accurate accounting of votes will be implemented by the next general election. 

The real fix is to the bug in the charter that is forcing Councilmember Janee Ayers to run for office in 2016 and 2017 because of the departure of Saunteel Jenkins. The wording in the charter says that a vacancy has to be filled  by voting in the next general election.  It should read that a vacancy has to be filled when the vacant position is up for election at the end of  it's 4 year term

Fact: Candidate Jenkins was elected for a 4 year job. She left early for a new job so Janee Ayers was appointed to fill out the remaining time. 

Fixing this bug in the charter would save a lot of time and money in the elections bureau and, address both issues at the same time. If Mr. Barrow is interested in taking on this task please set up a meeting, call, or do what you do to get something started. 

Thank you for your service to our community Tom.
Sincerely,
Richard Clement - Legislative Aide to Councilmember Pro Tem Cushingberry


4 comments:

CJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CJ said...

The next 2016 election is the Primary, August 2, 2016...The 2016 General election will be on November 1, 2016.

Also, the Initiative is not Tom's plan, furthermore if we are going to be professional, he should be addressed as Mr. Tom Barrow or Mr. Barrow. The name of the organization is "Citizen's For Detroit's Future." So, it would be best addressed as the Initiative of the "Citizen's For Detroit's Future" not "Tom's plan.

Friends of George Cushingberry said...

Mr. Cushingberry and Mr. Barrow have know each other since the 70's and it seems that Mr. Barrow was having a bad day. Mr Barrow wants two voter summary sheets printed at each precinct with a signature on it. Mr. Cushingberry is more than willing to help Mr. Barrow with this effort.

You cannot display candidate vote totals in real time.

The only thing that should report the day of the election by precinct is:
the total number of voters that have shown up to vote,
the number of voters turned away,
the total number of absentee ballots
At the end of the night:
the total number of votes by candidate, proposal

Very soon, Mr. Cushingberry,Mr. Barrow,Mr. Spivey,Ms. Ayers will all get together with their
tablet computers, sign off on this one and be done with it.

Then we will fix the wording in the Charter for council vacancies.


Friends of George Cushingberry said...

Tom Barrow is not speaking the truth. His Voter project was rejected by the Wayne County Circuit court affirming the decision of the Detroit Elections Commission and the Detroit City Council. The language was flawed because Mr. Barrow did not consult with ANY competent legal council. Furthermore, Mr. Barrow did not consult with Information Systems professionals on his effort. Mr. Barrow's complaints are without merit and, serves as a case of the Accountant gone wild. The results of this did not impact on the election between Garlin Gilcrest and Janice Winfrey for the City Clerk's job. Therefore, Mr. Barrow is promoting Trump-like fake news in the City of Detroit.