Cross-posted from Calitics
In a particularly disheartening step towards making elections in San Diego a complete joke, the county has hired former Diebold sales representative Deborah Seiler as the new registrar of voters. Diebold has "sold more than 10,000 of the machines to the county at a total cost of $31 million." Timed rather pugnaciously with Secretary of State Debra Bowen's review of all the state's voting systems, the article informs us that Seiler is "concerned" about potential decertification of voter machines. Well, she should know right? She sold them. Former Registrar Mikel Haas, who's since been promoted to a position overseeing the Registrar's office (among others), insists her Diebold experience is a plus, saying "We use that system, so it's kind of a plus."
But w- w- w- w- wait it gets worse...
Making matters even worse is that this move just cements the all-corruption-all-the-time team at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters. Last month, the Assistant Registrar of Voters position was handed over to Michael Vu, who, as the article reminds us, presided over Cuyahoga County, Ohio elections in 2004. How did that go for him? A court order forced the polls to stay open 90 minutes late and two election workers were convicted of rigging the vote (as Vu defended their innocence). And so San Diego, your county has spoken. Your votes should have as little chance of counting as possible. Enough to warm the heart isn't it? Or is that just the glow from the Constitution burning?
Now, there is the remote chance that these two people are not a lethal blend of evil and incompetent, but what are the real odds of that? They both have records of being squarely on the wrong side of clean elections, and I have a hard time imagining that there's literally nobody else available for this job who wouldn't be an overt slap in the face to anyone who feels that voting should, perhaps, NOT be corrupt. It isn't as though San Diego has a particularly good record of late anyways. Last year, protestors objected to irregularities such as voting machines being sent home with poll workers overnight before election day. At the time Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Bill Horn explained "Nobody said that there was local fraud...Until I get a firm accusation of something illegal taking place, I don't have a reason to have a public hearing."
That, of course, was and remains complete crap. Last year, the Board of Supes hid behind the SoS certification of voting machines as justification for not bothering to investigate potential problems (in addition to Horn's blustering attempt at explanation). And so now the integrity of San Diego County elections continues to circle the drain. Here's hoping that Debra Bowen carries a big stick when she reviews San Diego...she's coming into the den of despotism.