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| Alaska: Division of Elections Denies Request for Election Records |
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| By Kay Brown, Alaska Democratic Party | |
| February 24, 2006 | |
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Democrats Evaluate Options for Next Step
The Alaska Division of Elections is refusing to release public records that are needed to verify the 2004 election results, claiming the release would cause "security risks." "The State should release these records so that the people of Alaska can be assured that their votes were counted correctly. The Division of Elections' numbers do not add up. All we ask is that the Lt. Governor and the Director of Elections follow the law and meet their obligation to Alaskans so every one knows why these numbers don't add up," Metcalfe said. The 2004 General Election vote reports that were produced by the state's Diebold computer system and are posted on the Division of Election's web site contain numerous errors. According to the posted “Statement of Votes Cast” by district and precinct, a far larger number of votes were cast than the official totals reported in the statewide summary. In many of the House Districts, more votes are shown in the totals than there are voters in the district. The ADP filed a formal public records request on Dec. 19, 2005, seeking the "central tabulator data file" taken from the Diebold-supplied computer used to run the "GEMS" (Global Election Management Software) application. This is the electronic file containing all final vote tallies for the 2004 General Election. "It's time for the delays and excuses to end," Metcalfe said. Under the public records regulations, the Division was supposed to release the data file on Jan. 4. On Jan. 4 the Division extended the deadline until Jan. 19. In a Jan. 19 letter, the Division asserted that the file was proprietary information belonging to its contractor, Diebold Elections Systems. In a Feb. 3 letter, the Division advised the Democrats that Diebold had agreed to waive its proprietary rights to the GEMS database files, and said that the records would be provided if it determined that the integrity of the election system could be protected. In the Feb. 3 letter the Division asked for an additional 10-day extension until Feb. 13, and the Democrats agreed. On Feb. 13, the Division again extended the deadline to Feb. 27. In a letter dated Feb. 22, the Division denied the Democrats' public records request. Comment on This Article
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