San Diegans Protest Voting Machines and Registrar.
On a tuesday night, when much of America was watching 'American Idol', a large group of protesters turned a Supervisors meeting chaotic. The past two months have seen Walt Ekard, Chief Administrative Officer, hire a veritable rogues gallery of election officials. His choices have stirred incredulousness and outrage among a diverse group of voting rights advocates. His first hire was Michael Vu, who was registrar of voters in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Mr. Vu, it may be recalled, presided over two assistants who were convicted of vote tampering in the 2004 election. They refused to testify against Vu, who subsequently stepped down, declaring that it was just time for new leadership. In order to get to the bottom of the strange happenings in Cuyahoga County, a bi-partisan panel was established by the Elections Board.
Five days before the report was to be made public, the county of San Diego hired Vu as Assistant Registrar of Voters. What Ekard and the City fathers have failed to address is this: Did they know of the damning contents of the Ohio report, and expedited Vus hiring? Or, if they weren't aware of the reports contents, shouldn't his hiring be re-asessed in light of the fact that it cites Vu as incompetent and unethical?
As aghast as voters were with the hiring of Vu, the other shoe dropped in the form of Deborah Seiler, who has set up permanent housekeeping in that revolving door between the voting machine manufacturers and public positions in the registrars office. In fact, Googling Ms. Seiler is an exercise in vertigo. She alternates between being a high-powered PR person and saleswoman for Diebold, Sequoia and assorted trade associations.She has also been the registrar of voters in Solano County and worked on the state electorate boards. Ms. Seiler is now the Registrar of Voters for San Diego county and a staunch supporter of Diebold voting machines. It was Ms. Seiler, while wearing her Diebold hat, sold San Diego County 10,000 Diebolds at a cost of 31 Million dollars.
So on top of the Vu hiring, the Seiler hiring was the last straw for the 60 protesters who disprupted the meeting. Two particularly vocal patriots were ejected, but a demonstration and protest was still underway as this was being written.