Brad Nelson, the Director of Pima County's election department, is important as much for what he doesn't know and refuses to say as for what he says and what he knows. The plaintiffs purpose is to paint for the judge a portrait of a manager out of touch with the fundamental work of his organization, ignorant of even the rudiments of computer technology, who fails to keep abreast of current information regarding election security.
Keep in mind that the improvements to security and integrity bruited by Nelson before the court, came primarily not from the bureaucracy charged with the task of securing our elections, but from the very same committed activists working through the Democratic Party who are behind this suit. Nelson's testimony strongly indicates that he was not only ignorant of security vulnerabilities in the GEMS system his organization uses, but seems to have actively avoided learning about them at times. Nelson seems to have been woefully ignorant of deficiencies in basic security procedures in his own office such as handling of data backups and vote totals in summary reports, and even claimed ignorance as to the existence of a fire-proof safe in the office. He remains unwilling to look behind the statements of his employees, regardless of their self-contradictions or credibility. He has not conducted an internal investigation of a single allegation of wrong-doing. This is likely unacceptable behavior in a manager of a McDonalds. not to mention one charged with managing a task that requires the utmost public confidence and the highest standards of integrity. When questioned about a box of tapes containing election databases from prior elections, Nelson became highly evasive. He claimed he had no knowledge of whether a particular tape containing RTA election database, which the Secretary of State's office affirmed they did send, was ever received, even suggesting that it was never sent. Frankly, I would say that the County Attorney actively assisted the witness in trying to muddy the waters on this point, giving their imprimatur to the idea that the tape was never sent during cross exam. I was frankly disappointed to see such a amateurish ploy in a bench trial by a county attorney. Blake Moorlock and Garry Duffy produced an excellent piece in Tucson Citizen “Record of votes in '06 RTA election missing”Brad Nelson, the Director of Pima County's election department, is important as much for what he doesn't know and refuses to say as for what...all »Brad Nelson, the Director of Pima County's election department, is important as much for what he doesn't know and refuses to say as for what he says and what he knows. The plaintiffs purpose is to paint for the judge a portrait of a manager out of touch with the fundamental work of his organization, ignorant of even the rudiments of computer technology, who fails to keep abreast of current information regarding election security.
Keep in mind that the improvements to security and integrity bruited by Nelson before the court, came primarily not from the bureaucracy charged with the task of securing our elections, but from the very same committed activists working through the Democratic Party who are behind this suit. Nelson's testimony strongly indicates that he was not only ignorant of security vulnerabilities in the GEMS system his organization uses, but seems to have actively avoided learning about them at times. Nelson seems to have been woefully ignorant of deficiencies in basic security procedures in his own office such as handling of data backups and vote totals in summary reports, and even claimed ignorance as to the existence of a fire-proof safe in the office. He remains unwilling to look behind the statements of his employees, regardless of their self-contradictions or credibility. He has not conducted an internal investigation of a single allegation of wrong-doing. This is likely unacceptable behavior in a manager of a McDonalds. not to mention one charged with managing a task that requires the utmost public confidence and the highest standards of integrity. When questioned about a box of tapes containing election databases from prior elections, Nelson became highly evasive. He claimed he had no knowledge of whether a particular tape containing RTA election database, which the Secretary of State's office affirmed they did send, was ever received, even suggesting that it was never sent. Frankly, I would say that the County Attorney actively assisted the witness in trying to muddy the waters on this point, giving their imprimatur to the idea that the tape was never sent during cross exam. I was frankly disappointed to see such a amateurish ploy in a bench trial by a county attorney. Blake Moorlock and Garry Duffy produced an excellent piece in Tucson Citizen “Record of votes in '06 RTA election missing”«
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