ISSUE # 30 ... CALEB KLEPPNER AND HIS KLEPTOMANIACAL MACHINE
March 1 "I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts." -
Will Rogers
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO TOWN
Caleb Kleppner (TrueBallot.com) is packing his bags and his little black box for a most-important business trip to Aspen. He may be the one guy in America who has the "counting machine" and ready ability to program it specifically for the Instant Run-Off Voting (IRV) vote count that will be implemented for our May 2009 election. 
Remember, Aspen voters overwhelmingly supported a conversion to IRV in the November 2007 election when city officials claimed that IRV would save time and money by eliminating a separate run-off election should one candidate not get 50% plus one. They failed to disclose all of the confusing and practical difficulties with the untested system. The truth of the matter is that depending on which vote-counting method is selected (because the ballot language left this to the discretion of Council), the results can vary dramatically as demonstrated in last week's IRV open house at City Hall.
So, it falls to Caleb. Once our elected officials determine the method that will tabulate the votes for their re-election - yes, City Council gets to determine which method will be used, even with three of them up for re-election in May -- (is this Chicago?) -- Caleb goes to work programming the algorithm into his little black box to batch, eliminate and tabulate the ballots just so. What ever happened to just COUNTING the ballots?? Plus, City Attorney John Worcester specifically recommends that no hand-count be allowed to verify Caleb's computer count. Is he concerned about a potential kleptomaniacal algorithm that "steals" some votes?
In short, Caleb Kleppner of Connecticut will be bringing his little black box to Aspen to count our votes using an IRV method that has had no prior use in the U.S. And city officials feel that no hand count should be done to verify the results. Chicago has ACORN; Aspen has IRV. (And you guessed it, Aspen taxpayers are paying $7500 for Caleb's customized vote-counting program, plus his trip to Aspen - presumably to be charged to City Manager Steve Barwick's "p-card.")
We keep asking -- wouldn't a hand count of our mere 2000 votes be less expensive? And hand-counting would avoid quirky, unpredictable computer bugs! Officials state that the hand counting error rate would be too high! Which brings us back to the point that if the votes are that hard to count, it's the wrong system
MEET IRV
Just who is IRV? Surely there were good intentions to make our elections more efficient by eliminating a second trip to the polls, but the more we learn, the more we see that IRV's lack of a proven track record and his confusing ways could cause chaos in our upcoming elections. Despite the fact that he is a special friend of Jack Johnson, The Red Ant would NEVER date IRV:
He's a flake
He's wishy-washy
He has commitment issues
He's unpredictable
But the Ant is willing to give Caleb a chance!
WHERE IS CITY LEADERSHIP?
City Council and City Management are once again playing straight out of their traditional playbook.
The disclosure of the unresolved IRV issues is coming 10 weeks before the election. Surely, ever-the-election-junkie and self-appointed IRV task force member Mayor Mick must have known about these issues months ago, and did not act to make them public.
-They didn't tell the public before the November 2007 vote that different IRV methods could produce different winners with the same ballots.
-They didn't tell the public that in certain circumstances, one counting method under discussion could even give some voters more influence in the outcome than other voters.
-One of the vote-counting methods can favor the incumbent.
-The task force created to make the recommendations was heavily weighted with elected officials and their city employees.
-The public and press were not informed of the meetings where potential methods were considered.
-They have not given the public complete materials on the various alternatives to allow for informed public comment on a complex subject.
-Leaving the counting method to their sole discretion enables incumbents to determine their own re-election rules.
-The new and currently untested computer program will be used as the official count, with great resistance to a hand count for validation.
In short, they've made a big mistake with our voting process but will not admit it!
IRV'S COMMITTEE
Council named an IRV Committee in the fall of 2008 to develop the vote-counting rules. So, just who was on this IRV Committee? And how did they vote on the two methods then being considered?
Su Lum* Aspen Times Columnist Absent
Sy Coleman* Aspen Citizen Absent
Blanca O'Leary* Aspen Citizen Absent
Pam Cunningham Aspen Citizen Absent
Linda McAusland* Aspen Citizen Absent
Peter Nicklin* Aspen Citizen Absent
Pam Schilling* Town Clerk - Basalt Absent
John Worcester City of Aspen - City Attorney Method 1
Jim True City of Aspen - Asst. City Attorney Method 1
Jack Johnson* Council member Method2
Mick Ireland Mayor Method1
Kathryn Koch* City of Aspen - City Clerk Method 1
Barry Crook* City of Aspen - Assistant City Mgr. Method 1
Janice Vos-Caudill* Pitkin County Clerk Method 1
* Designates members appointed by Council. We don't understand how others were given voting power.
Yes, you ARE reading that correctly. No private citizens voted on the original Method 1 recommendation to Council. Four City of Aspen employees served on the committee. And perhaps the most curious of all, both Mayor Mick and Councilman Jack Johnson, both of whom are eligible for re-election in May, served as voting members of the committee. (The Mayor appointed himself, without Council approval.) See the two methods considered at
http://theredant.squarespace.com/storage/Why%20IRV.pdf
Even the editorial board at The Aspen Times has an issue with the appearance of a conflict of interest and lack of independence on the IRV committee, calling for Mayor Mick and Jack Johnson to recuse themselves immediately.Click Here for Times Editorial
SO, WHAT'S NEXT?
The Red Ant is pleased that Marilyn's nephew Douglas, a mathematician, and several diligent citizens wrote letters to the editor and spoke up at Monday night's Council meeting encouraging Council to give more thought to how our votes are counted. The IRV Committee will now meet once again - this time in public - to discuss the myriad vote-counting methodology choices (there are presumably more on the table now than when they first voted), and engage in a proper public process. (The meeting is today - Friday - at noon in City Hall.) At the same time, Council will have the opportunity to study the complex IRV issue in greater detail. The IRV method vote by Council is scheduled for March 9.
(It's no easy job, even for mathematicians, brainiacs and lawyers. The anomalies, legal issues, and fairness issues are exceedingly complex. Seewww.TheRedAnt.com for some background materials. Even the ever-analytical Ant has not landed firmly on a preference of the 5 methods she has been exposed to, as she has not yet heard all the arguments, pros and cons.)
The Red Ant is no fan of Aspen's IRV, especially given its likelihood for spoiled ballots and voter confusion. We are additionally concerned by the lack of good internal controls for counting techniques and the apparent violation given some recently-discovered language problems in the city's charter on this matter. We are continually told by city officials that based upon the election results from 2007, the city charter was changed to require IRV and there is no way around using IRV in May, whether or not the voters and systems are ready for it. The Red Ant wishes the city were more aggressive with their ideas to get this right, but they seem committed to moving ahead with IRV despite growing concerns.
The Red Ant would love to fight to prevent IRV from being implemented in May - the systems are not ready nor tested, and the voters are not expecting the ballot complexities. Please tell us what you think by taking this one-question poll:
Click to take One Question IRV Poll
Join the IRV debate on our blog at www.TheRedAnt.com. And we'll keep you posted on IRV developments. And if IRV calls, The Ant is not available.
IN THE MEANTIME, GET YOUR OWN $50 "P-CARD"
While Barwick and the boys (and 280 employees of the city) try to defend their prolific spending at high-end Aspen eateries (and you can bet that food is just the tip of the iceberg - stay tuned) on the public's dime with their debit-straight-from-the-city's-coffers "p-cards," you too can join the fun at Matsuhisa, Montagna and Pinons!
It's true. Get $50 from the City of Aspen if you can prove that you've lived in town throughout 2008. It's easy. Click this link http://www.aspenpitkin.com/pdfs/depts/45/FoodTaxApp08.pdf
print the "2008 City of Aspen Food Tax Refund" form, fill it out, include proper documentation as noted and send it to our friends at the City by April 15. They'll mail you $50. Hey, better YOU spend your tax dollars than have it spent on a staff meeting at the Pine Creek Cookhouse! Bon appétit.
Elizabeth
New Proposed Tabulation Method Available for Review
City to vote on the just released proposed methodology on Monday evening.
Feel free to comment on this blog after you have reviewed the following proposal.
http://www.aspenpitkin.com/pdfs/depts/38/cc.ord.003-09sec.pdf
Reader Comments (2)
Ant,
are you sure that this irv election is legal?
I'm no lawyer, the city code talks about counting votes as if votes were ballots. and they are not in irv, are they?
Aren't there a bunch of flaws in the code that would let an election loser sue to overturn the election?
Did the city council tell the voters that these problems would come with irv?
were voters warned? if not, why not?