- AUSTIN, Texas
-- Austin-based election integrity group VoteRescue executed a
highly successful Citizen Exit Poll in Travis and Williamson Counties
on Tuesday in order to monitor the "official" results tallied by
secret vote counting on electronic voting machines, both the
screen-types and the ballot scanners.
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- The project was executed along with VoteRescue's
coalition, Texans for REAL Elections, and in coordination with a
national effort called "Project Vote Count" which originated in
Florida by activist Mark Adams. Florida had high
participation in the Exit Poll project during their January 29th
primary; Ohio also participated in the Exit Poll effort on March
4th, the same Primary day as Texas.
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- Austin area Exit Pollers secured 1566 Exit Poll
Questionnaires in five precincts: Three in Travis County, and two in
nearby Williamson County. The respondent rate was very high,
ranging from 21.3% up to 58%. Respondents were willing to
sign the questionnaires, which were formatted to be used as affidavits
if broad discrepencies were found between Exit Poll results and
official county results.
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- The fact that voters were willing to forego their
secret ballot in order to make sure their votes were accurately
counted was a statement to VoteRescue and the Coalition that
people share their legitimate concerns and doubts about the
secret vote counting that occurs when they vote on a screen-type of
voting machine such as the Hart InterCivic E-Slate, or even when they
vote on a paper ballot, but that ballot is counted by the
computerized optical scan counting device such as the ES&S
type used in Williamson County, Texas. Both types of voting equipment
have been decertified in three states during the last few
months due to expert studies showing the ease with which they can
be hacked and vote totals manipulated without detection: California,
Ohio, and Colorado.
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- While our Citizen Exit Poll results cannot be
released immediately, it can be reported that some discrepencies were
found in the numbers of two of the five precincts polled. The group is
analyzing the data to determine if such discrepencies are signicant
enough to challenge the official results.
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- VoteRescue and its coalition have been working
for years to eliminate all electronic voting systems both statewide in
Texas, and nationally. The group supports a return to hand-counted
paper ballot elections, with enhanced security procedures, and
citizens monitoring the election and counting the votes in public
view, then posting totals at the precinct level. The current
system of corporate-controlled secret vote counting in Texas does not
even meet UN standards for election integrity in third world
nations.
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- Vickie Karp - 512/775-3737 Political Assignments
Desk Karen Renick - 512/496-7408
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