For Release: June 6, 2008
Contact: Joe Fox
(703) 537-0470
joefox@lesliebyrne.org
Byrne Asks Election Board to Hand-Count All Absentee Votes, Calls on Fellow Candidates to Join Her Effort
Fairfax, VA–Former congresswoman Leslie Byrne today delivered a formal request to Robert K. Sparks, Chairman of the Fairfax County Electoral Board, asking the Board to hand-count all paper absentee ballots in the 11th congressional district Democratic primary to ensure accurate tabulation. Byrne made this request in response to a notification of problems stemming from the printing of the absentee ballots, which have resulted in some cases of legitimate ballots being initially rejected by the ballot reader. Byrne believes that hand-counting all paper absentee ballots is necessary to prevent votes from being misread or overlooked.
Byrne is also calling on her fellow candidates in the Democratic primary race to join her in requesting a hand count. She feels that this issue bridges the divides between candidates.
“I firmly believe that every absentee ballot must be counted fairly and accurately, and a hand count is the only way that we can ensure that it happens. I cannot imagine any candidate in this race disagreeing with that view,” said Byrne.
In her letter to the Board of Elections, Byrne emphasized the importance of guaranteeing the constitutional right of every citizen to vote. She feels that a democracy cannot function unless the people believe that election results reflect their choices, and she will actively work with the Board and with her opponents to ensure that there is no doubt about the accuracy of the results in the primary on June 10.
The Board’s notification and Byrne’s official petition as delivered to Chairman Sparks are posted below.
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Leslie Byrne is a former member of Congress who has fought for economic and social justice in the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, and as the Consumer Advocate of the United States under former President Bill Clinton. She and her husband Larry have two grown children and two grandchildren, all living in Northern Virginia.
Letter to the Candidates:
June 6, 2008
Via fax and regular mail
Dear Candidate,
I am writing to notify you of a minor issue that has arisen regarding the Democratic absentee ballots in the 11th Congressional district contest.
In the course of preparing cast absentee ballots for tabulation our staff found that the printer that printed those ballots cut some of them slightly shorter than they should have been cut, with the result that the ballot reader at first rejects them when they are inserted in the reader. When that has happened, our staff reinserted the rejected ballots and the reader has then accepted them.
Our office is aware of the problem, and as noted above, staff has worked around the issue by reinserting the initially rejected absentee ballots. Thus far, our office has found fewer than 10 miscut ballots and, as noted, worked around the problem. Nonetheless, out of an abundance of caution, I am writing to alert you to what our office has found and to let you know what has been done about it. I emphasize that this problem affects only a small number of absentee sent to voters through the mail. It does not affect ballots cast in person in the elections office on the DRE machines or the provisional ballots being used on Election Day.
If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact this office.
Sincerely,
Rokey W. Suleman, II
Byrne Campaign Response to Electoral Board:
June 6, 2008
Mr. Robert K. Sparks, Chairman
The Office of the Electoral Board
Fairfax County Government Center
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 323
Fairfax, VA 22035-0081
Dear Chairman Sparks,
Due to the technical difficulties your staff alerted us to, we are petitioning you to have all paper absentee ballots for the 11th congressional district primary election hand-counted. We believe hand-counting all paper absentee ballots is necessary to prevent votes from being misread and/or overlooked in the tabulation process. Clearly, this should be substituted for the machine tabulation process which may be inaccurate.
Leslie Byrne feels strongly that every vote must be counted to ensure the constitutional rights of each citizen in Virginia’s 11th district. She believes that the Fairfax County Electoral Board shares her desire to accurately reflect the intentions of Virginian voters. Therefore we ask for a commitment by the Board to conduct a hand-count in order to effectively pursue this end.
If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at (703) 537-0470.
Sincerely,
Joe Fox
Campaign Manager, Leslie Byrne for Congress
CC: Thomas A. Reed, Vice Chairman
Margaret K. Luca, Secretary
Rokey W. Suleman II, General Registrar