Valporaiso Dems want election breakdown investigated
Chesterton Tribune
Novermber 09, 2018
http://www.chestertontribune.com/Elections/valpo_dems_want_election_breakdo.htm
The Valparaiso Democratic Committee is demanding a “full and transparent investigation” into what it’s calling Tuesday’s “election breakdown,” in a statement released after deadline on Thursday.
The text of the statement in full:
“The day after Porter County citizens were impacted by the election problems on Tuesday, Nov. 6, Valparaiso Democratic Committee Chair Drew Wenger stood in front of the Porter County Administration Building and held a press conference to detail the many ways the Porter County Clerk's office failed to run an efficient and fair election. And today, Thursday, Nov. 8, more than 36 hours after the polls closed on Election Day, citizens are still waiting for results to be posted from any Porter County precinct. This chaotic situation is unbecoming of our proud and engaged county. In the interest of full transparency, this glaring issue must be addressed immediately to satisfy the rightful concerns of our citizenry.
“The task of managing elections was handed over to the County Clerk's office in March of 2018. We have been documenting numerous complaints this week dealing with absentee applications not being processed or absentee ballots not arriving in a prompt fashion, poll worker assignments not being communicated, poll worker trainings being short and insufficient, and a general lack of professionalism emanating from the office. These documented issues make it apparent that the management of our election was inept and perhaps suspect. Citizens are demanding to know that their votes counted.
“The incompetence seen in the months before the election manifested problems heretofore unseen in Porter County on the day of the election. Thirteen polling locations were not fully staffed and could not open until an hour after their mandated opening time, resulting in many voters becoming frustrated and forgoing voting altogether. As Election Day continued, it became clear that most polling locations were not going to receive their absentee ballots by the 6 p.m. closing time, leading to much confusion. The Porter County Clerk's office was unreachable by phone, forcing many precinct inspectors to make the call to pack up before properly counting the early votes into the total precinct results.
“The Valparaiso Democratic Committee is demanding a full and transparent investigation into the root cause of this breakdown of standard operating protocol, and an account of all complaints received by the relevant governmental bodies working on various aspects of the election. The people of Porter County deserve, at the very minimum, a detailed explanation as to why their voices are not being counted.”
Biggs on FBI
Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, told the Chesterton Tribune that he and County Attorney Scott McClure met with FBI officials for about two hours yesterday. He was not at liberty to discuss anything said in the meeting.
When asked if the County has considered contacting the Indiana Secretary of State’s office in the event the FBI declines to investigate, Biggs said “All I can say is they weren’t the only agency we contacted.”
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