HAHN LATEST TO ASK WHY BALLOTS RE-INKED.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California questioned on Monday why the City Clerk's Office hand-sorted ballots on election night so workers could re-ink ballots that might have been marked too faintly to be counted accurately by machine. Without informing the candidates or setting up a system of independent observers, City Clerk In the United States, a City Clerk is an elected or appointed official who is responsible as the official keeper of the municipal records. In some places, the Clerk may be known as the "Village Clerk" or "Town Clerk". Frank Martinez had his staff and temporary election workers use blue highlighters to mark Ink-A-Vote ballots they deemed questionable - a practice that has raised concerns about the integrity of the election process. ``I do have questions, as the City Council does, on what happened election night,'' Hahn said in an interview. ``This is the first time we used the Ink-A-Vote system and I want to make sure the original ballots were not obliterated o·blit·er·ate tr.v. o·blit·er·at·ed, o·blit·er·at·ing, o·blit·er·ates 1. To do away with completely so as to leave no trace. See Synonyms at abolish. 2. in any way. ``Ideally, we would have a situation where none of the ballots are touched.'' The City Council already had planned to review what happened election night, when the count was delayed for hours despite the low turnout and relatively few contested offices. Council President Alex Padilla Alex Padilla is a politician in California. He was elected as the State Senator for the 20th District of California in November 2006 and was inaugurated in early December. In order to enter the Senate he had to resign as Councilman for the 7th District on the Los Angeles City said questions about the re-inking of ballots will be given top priority. ``Our voting procedures are precious and we want to make sure everything proper was done,'' Padilla said. ``But, having said that, I am sure that there was nothing improper done with the ballots. The concerns we have are the timing and making sure that the ballots were handled properly.'' Councilwoman Wendy Greuel Wendy Greuel is President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 2nd District. Greuel was elected in 2002 to fill the remainder of the term of Councilman Joel Wachs. She was elected in her own right in 2003 and reelected in 2007. , who introduced the motion calling for the review of the election, said she is writing to Martinez to demand answers to the questions that have been raised. ``I don't believe he shared with us the methods that were going to be used in highlighting ballots. Our first concern has to be the integrity of the ballots and having an accurate and fair election.'' Martinez said there are 24,000 ballots still to be counted, as well as tabulations to be completed in 13 precincts pre·cinct n. 1. a. A subdivision or district of a city or town under the jurisdiction of or patrolled by a specific unit of its police force. b. . He intends to ``open'' the process to assuage as·suage tr.v. as·suaged, as·suag·ing, as·suag·es 1. To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief. See Synonyms at relieve. 2. concerns about how the ballots were counted. ``What we are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. is transparency,'' Martinez said Monday, after a weekend of controversy over disclosure by the Daily News of how thousands of ballots were marked up by election workers. ``We were following the guidelines of the state. Our concern was to make sure all the ballots were counted.'' However, under criticism from some of the campaigns and other election observers, Martinez said he is taking precautions to make sure everyone is satisfied with the certification procedure, expected to be completed March 29. The uncounted votes should be tallied a day or two before certification. ``All the campaigns can have someone here and I'm thinking of sending letters out to invite them,'' Martinez said. ``We would do nothing to jeopardize the election process.'' Hahn and the City Council have called on Martinez to report to them on what happened election night. In addition to the hand-sorting of ballots, there was a delay in getting them to Piper Technical Center for counting when fog grounded two helicopters. Martinez, whom Hahn named city clerk last September, said he had taken extra precautions to make sure the election ran seamlessly. County election officials who observed the process, however, said they believed the hand-sorting and re-inking were unnecessary since Ink-A-Vote machines are designed to process even the slightest mark. ``I have spoken with him briefly since then and he still believes he made the right call,'' said Kris Heffron, chief deputy registrar-recorder for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, who was at Piper Technical Center as the ballots were being hand-sorted. ``He was concerned about a close election and wanted to make sure the results came out accurately.'' Martinez said workers used a blue highlighter high·light·er n. 1. A usually fluorescent marker used to mark important passages of text. 2. A cosmetic for emphasizing areas of the face, such as the eyes or cheekbones. to mark ballots where it was believed the marking was too faint for the computer to read. The highlighting allows those ballots to be reviewed if there is any question about the vote, Martinez said. Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , who finished first in the election, is monitoring the situation. ``We will watch to see how the certification process goes and then make a decision if further action is needed,'' Villaraigosa campaign consultant Ace Smith said. Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, who finished fewer than 6,000 votes behind Hahn, said he also would be watching the certification process to determine whether he should take legal action. Martinez said he has not received a formal complaint from any of the campaigns. Martinez said the same issues will not affect the May 17 runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. election, when voters will decide the mayor's race, two ballot measures and a runoff in the 11th Council District. ``Because it is such a small ballot, we won't even be using voting machines voting machine, instrument for recording and counting votes. The voting machine itself is generally positioned in a booth, often closed off by a curtain to assure secrecy for the voter. ,'' Martinez said. ``Voters will be given a ballot and fill out the circles themselves and it will be obvious if there is a problem.'' Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com |
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