FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Provisionally" Certified Election Software Raises Questions in Thurston County Lawsuit
Olympia, WA. September 30, 2004. Yesterday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Strophy ruled in favor of J.
Mills, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, and Ruth Bennett, Libertarian candidate for Washington State Governor. The
two candidates will be placed on the ballot for the November general election.
In one of the plaintiffs' statements, they alleged that "certain irregularities related to improperly certified
tabulation software within six counties using 'consolidated' ballots rendered unreliable results and adversely affected
plaintiff's access to the general election ballot."
One of the bases of Judge Strophy's decision favoring the Libertarians was the uncertainty about the provisional
software recently installed in the six counties.
"We have been warning Washington's election directors that the use of this software would open the state to valid
election challenges," said John Gideon, Information Manager for VotersUnite!. "This ruling is yet another warning that
precautions must be taken before the November election."
VotersUnite! and Concerned Citizens for Democratic Integrity are calling for the new, "provisionally" certified software
to be replaced with the fully certified software immediately.
"Since the ballots have to be rebuilt now anyway, there's no reason not to restore the certified software and use it for
the November election," Ellen Theisen, VotersUnite! Executive Director stated.
Members of the press are invited to visit the website, created by VotersUnite! and Concerned Citizens for Democratic
Integrity in King County to inform the public about Washington's current use of election software without Federal
certification and advocate for some assurance of the accuracy of November election results. ( http://www.electionintegrity.com).
VotersUnite! ( http://www.votersunite.org) is a national non-partisan organization dedicated to fair and accurate elections. It focuses on distributing
well-researched information to elections officials, elected officials, the media, and the public; as well as providing
activists with information they need to work toward transparent elections in their communities.
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John Gideon Information Manager www.votersunite.org
Contacts:
Ellen Theisen; ellen@votersunite.org
John Gideon; jgideon@votersunite.org