Oh ho!
Two weeks before Iowa’s high-profile U.S. Senate election, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s campaign may be planning for a recount. Ernst’s campaign filed open records requests this week with at least five Iowa counties, seeking materials that include training manuals, satellite voting locations, names of precinct ballot counters, recount procedures and any communications sent to her competitor, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley.
“I think they’re gearing up for a recount,” said Johnson County Auditor Travis Weipert, who received the letter from Ernst’s senior adviser Derek Flowers Tuesday. Recent polls show Ernst, a Red Oak Republican, and Braley, a Waterloo Democrat, are neck and neck, with Ernst having a slight lead. If the margin of victory is thin or the results uncertain after the Nov. 4 election, a recount may be requested.
Our auditor, Travis Weipert, is a good egg and very conscientious. He has no problem at all with transparency but this must tick him off. Why ask now? Why not back in August, or after the election? This kind of data dump can interfere with an election in its own right, but it certainly smells of planning the kind of tactics that Coleman used in the Minnesota recount, documented by our own dear
WineRev. Sweet merciful Lord, spare us!
More on Ernst's request:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a letter to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office Oct. 6 seeking election materials that included voting instructions, satellite polling locations, names of ballot counters, recount rules and any materials sent to Braley’s campaign. NRSC general counsel Megan Soward, who signed the Oct. 6 letter, did not return a phone call Wednesday.
Sarah Reisetter, director of elections for the Iowa Secretary of State, replied to Soward with links to state election training materials and information about satellite polling locations. Reisetter said the state had not received any open records requests from Braley or his sponsors. As for the names of ballot counters, Reisetter recommended Soward contact all 99 Iowa counties, which may have been what triggered Ernst’s letter to county auditors.
Of course, Republicans think it is just
hunky dory that she is doing this; after all, those Democrats always steal elections by getting more people to vote for them.
Do I know for a fact that Ernst is planning the same kind of sleazy interference that Coleman pulled in Minnesota? No, I don't. But Republicans so often borrow tactics from each other that it is a reasonable inference.
The crowning irony? Ernst was herself the Montgomery County Auditor and jolly well knows what an irresponible move this is. The linked bio may turn your stomach, so advance warning if you follow it.
One thing this does tell me: Ernst is worried. They have information that the election is close and they will do what they can to sway it their way.
You can sway it back for Braley - please give time or money to help in this race and keep the Senate sane.
Below the fold, the text of the request.
Under the Iowa Open Records Law, Iowa Code § 22.1 et seq., and Title II of the Iowa Code governing Elections, on behalf of the Joni Ernst for U.S. Senate campaign, I request the following information and data:
1. Any communications, instructions, and/or training manuals issued by your county pertaining to the administration of the 2014 Election.
2. Materials furnished to elections officials for use in the counting process at early voting centers, polling places, and by the Absentee and Special Voters Precinct Boards and County Boards of Supervisors. These materials include a statement of returns form, a tally sheet, and a certificate of results.
3. Materials related to handling absentee ballot applications and counting absentee ballots, including a list of individuals who have requested absentee ballots and any forms used to record and transmit absentee ballot information.
4. Lists of locations of early voting centers, polling places, ASVP counting centers, and locations for the county canvass.
5. List of individuals who are charged with counting ballots at the precinct level and at the county level.
6. Materials related to the recount process, including manuals provided to elections officials and a timeline of events involved in a recount.
7. Copies of any requests filed by, or on behalf of the Bruce Braley Senate campaign, the Iowa Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee, or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, pursuant to the Iowa Open Records Law, Iowa Code § 22.1 et seq., or Title II of the Iowa Code.
8. Any materials related to these matters that were provided to the Bruce Braley Senate campaign, the Iowa Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee, or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
I request that these documents be produced at the time they become available and on a rolling basis thereafter. In the event that any produced documents are subsequently altered, updated, or otherwise modified, I request that such productions be supplemented with the updated version of the documents or records.