SOS candidate informs Cobb group of state-wide vote undercounts

MARIETTA (January 11, 2010) – Latest Secretary of State candidate, David Chastain, addressed attendees at the monthly lunch meeting of the Madison Forum at Marietta’s Rib Ranch on Tuesday. After announcing he had filed as a candidate last week, Chastain related his recent experience in trying to determine the average undercount of electronic votes across Georgia.

In December, Chastain spent a day in the research room of the State Archives studying election records from county referendums around Georgia. He focused on single-issue referendums where there is only one question on the ballot – bonds, sales taxes and redevelopment powers. In his sample of over 50 elections, ranging in size from 46,619 total ballots to 220, he found almost .8%, or 1,378 of total ballots cast were blank, or undercounted. However, in the handout he shared with the group, there were referendums with over two percent undercounts and one over three percent.

In all referendums surveyed, there were blank ballots ranging from only 1, in a number of smaller counties, to 279 and 285 in Cobb’s SPLOST referendums of 2003 and 2005, respectively. One county reporting zero blanks was tossed because the election files revealed documents noting two voting machines that were deemed inaccurate with scratched out totals. 

The Cobb Libertarian referenced the 2005 Cobb SPLOST in his public remarks to the State Election Board in January, 2009, to illustrate why Georgia needs verifiable elections. This prompted the Secretary of State’s Inspector General to initiate an investigation. The case was heard and closed without discussion at the October SEB meeting. Chastain was never informed of the matter, denying him the opportunity to speak. It was this action that prompted the defense industry analyst to do his own election research.

Chastain promised his prospective supporters that as Secretary of State he would serve the entire four years of his term and not depart early to run for higher office. He also promised that he would be sure to find a deputy secretary with experience in developing quality processes from the private sector to assist in standardizing election management and identify more reliable voting technology.