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One consistent theme in the testimony is that summary reports, which contain current vote totals, were frequently printed before elections were closed and handled somewhat casually.
Sharing of vote totals with persons outside the elections department, if done with the intent to affect the outcome of an election, could constitute a crime.
Robert Evans, Jr. is the supervisor of the elections warehouse and was the assistant to Bryan Crane at the time of the RTA election of 2006 and was trained in use of the central tabulation computer. He testified that Bryan Crane (the head elections programmer) would regularly print summary reports showing current vote totals during elections before the elections were closed. Crane regularly printed and requested such reports and took them out of the computer room. He testified that Bryan Crane took home backups of specifically election data on CDs regularly “in case the building burns down.” He personally saw the town clerk of Oro Valley given summary reports by Bryan Crane before an mail-only election was closed.
Chester Martin Crowley was employed at the elections warehouse. He saw summary reports in Bryan Crane’s office often. Also saw the town clerk of Oro Valley given summary reports. He also saw Bryan Crane taking home backup discs “in case the building burns down”
Summary of testimony of Robert Evans:
Direct Examination by Bill Risner, attorney for the Pima County Democratic Party.
For the May, 2002 and March 2003 elections, Evans was the primary computer operator, because Crane was out for health reasons. He conducted the tabulation on the May, 2002, Oro Valley election. While the counting was going on and before 7pm on election day, the Oro Valley city clerk, Kathy Cuvelier, was in the counting room. She asked Evans to print a summary report for her. He refused, because the counting wasn’t over. Cuvelier left and came back with Nelson, who was new at the job. Nelson asked Evans for an explanation, then accepted the explanation, and the summary report was not printed.
Cuvelier had been there during other Oro Valley elections, in possession of summary reports. When the elections used polling stations where people cast their ballots, she came in after 7pm, when the polls had closed When there was an all-mail election, she got there before 7pm. She said she wanted to see how the election was going.
In case you missed our posting of Nov 29---Tucson Weekly Reports on Pima County Elections Procedures Trial---below is a brief synopsis including
Cross examination by Deputy Pima County Attorney Christopher Straub.
The Oro Valley elections when Evans was the primary computer operator were all-mail elections. Someone called Cuvelier to tell her when they began counting votes, and she came in during the counting.
Summary of testimony by Chester Martin Crowley
Direct Examination by Bill Risner, attorney for the Pima County Democratic Party.
Kathy Cuvelier, Oro Valley city clerk, was in the vote counting room prior to 7pm on election day.
http://arizona.typepad.com/blog/2007/12/pima-county-e-6.html
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