Vote Fraud is Rampant But Some Stand Up Against It

Winning Candidate Asks for a New Election After Learning Election Process Was Faulty

After winning the open seat on the King County Personnel Board in a June 5 election, Ray Goforth (the winning candidate), recently asked the county to consider nullifying the election results and holding a new election.

In a June 18 letter to King County Records and Elections Division, Goforth requested that an investigation be initiated to determine whether a new election should be held. He cited serious flaws in the voting process and denial of basic democratic rights. Major flaws of the process included:

* Not every employee received a ballot. In some areas, ballots were distributed after the balloting closed or not at all. In other areas of the County, ballots were dumped on tables in common areas without explanation or supervision.

* The County allowed a candidate who was ineligible to run to be on the ballot.

* The voter pamphlets were sparsely distributed. (Election filing documents clearly state that the voter's pamphlets will be distributed to all employees, along with a ballot.)

In his letter Goforth said: "As the publisher of a human rights magazine, I often write and print articles about flawed elections around the world. I have lectured from my pages that it is only through a taint free electoral process that civil society learns to invest confidence in democratic institutions. It is with no small measure of irony that I now find myself the winner of an election where there are credible allegations that the balloting was not completely free and fair. As I wrote in my editorial about another recent election, I am more concerned with the stability and integrity of the electoral process than I am with the eventual outcome."

He added that the seat on the board is an elected position and the process of that election should be held to no lesser standard than more important, highly visible elected positions at the county.

According to the official results, Goforth received 58 percent of the vote with the nearest opponent, Ellery Gage (the incumbent), receiving almost 12 percent. Goforth received more votes than all the opponents and write-in candidates combined.

The King County Personnel Board's main duties are to establish and maintain an effective personnel system for the county through administrative hearings and rules development. The board is composed of five members in which four members are appointed by the King County Executive and are subject to confirmation by a majority of the County Council. One member of the personnel board is elected by secret ballot by the 12,000 county employees who are members of the career service. All board members serve five year terms with one term expiring each year on a rotating basis.

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The above article was distributed by the Grassroots Media Network.

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