An article in the Gouverneur Times as to the, as of yet uncertified results in the 23rd Congressional District contains numerous false assertions and allegations.

There was no virus in the voting machines on Election Day in the 23rd District or anywhere else. The article is full of inaccurate information and unfortunately quoted a single word from a commissioner who mischaracterized the issue in question.

The State Board has already acknowledged there was a software problem identified during our mandatory pre-election testing regimen prior to Election Day. The problem centered on races which were composed of multi-candidate formats which allow voters to vote for more than one candidate in a given race. For example, in judicial races the voter is often allowed to vote for 3 out of 5 candidates or 2 out of 4, etc., or in a town where there are “at large” districts. The source code did not allow for enough memory in these contests and caused the scanners to freeze during operation. The Counties experiencing the problem were notified prior to Election Day and the voting systems were corrected and re-tested and the corrective action was applied successfully in those areas.

However, the human review of the software problem did not adequately identify every machine that had the problem and, as a result, there were some scanners which did freeze on Election Day. When these scanners froze, the local boards implemented procedures according to state law and Board of Elections regulations. These procedures do not allow for new changes on Election Day, so inoperative scanners were taken out of operation and emergency ballots were cast and counted in those areas according to existing procedures.

This problem was discussed in numerous press reports around the state and was openly discussed at the November 10th State Board of Elections meeting by the Commissioners and the Director of Election Operations.

With regard to the use of USB ports, there is a single USB port on the ImageCast scanner. Pursuant to state Election Law 7-202(t) the port does not permit any “functionality potentially capable of externally transmitting or receiving data via the internet, via radio waves or via other wireless means.” The port is sealed, is not accessible and has no capability for any exchange of information. The scanners do not operate like personal computers. Any device, such as a flash drive, placed in the port will not be recognized.

In addition, from the time the pre-election testing is completed until Election Day morning the machines are in the care, custody and control of the local board of elections. The machines as a group are under lock and key. Individually, the critical areas of the machine are covered in tamper-evident seals which are numbered and logged. Any broken seal will be investigated and the machine re-tested prior to any further use. Any broken seal discovered on Election Day will cause the scanner to be taken out of service immediately. The inspectors then follow long-established procedures to go to emergency ballots, until an alternate scanner can be deployed.

Lastly, any reference to a slot that is accessible to voters and poll workers for stuffing the ballot box is inaccurate information. A gap between the scanning device and the ballot box was discovered during functional testing of the ballot marking devices more than a year ago. Every machine in use on Election Day was retrofitted to completely block access to that gap. Prior to completion of the retrofit last year the gap was blocked by a tamper-evident numbered security seal. As stated earlier, any broken seal would cause the removal of a scanner from use immediately.

In addition, from the time they are created up to and including final storage, all election materials paper and machines are secured and tracked in a chain of custody by the local board of elections. All ballots voted, unvoted and spoiled must be accounted for throughout the election process.

Despite the numerous misstatements of fact in the above mentioned article, the results in the 23rd Congressional District, and all other contests in counties which utilized optical scan voting machines, will have been canvassed and audited pursuant to state Election Law, and will be certified in due course. In the end, the new optical scan voting systems guarantee we have ballots as marked by voters ensuring that every vote is counted.

Here in Oklahoma City, there is a neighborhood on the fringes of downtown called “Bricktown”. It is a mix of historic old buildings, supported by infill development subject to strict architectural guidelines, all connected via a below grade canal which meanders through the district, offering paddleboats and water taxis to ferry visitors around

The buildings are skewed towards fun and entertainment, with nightclubs, brewpubs, restaurants, retail stores, joined by residential uses, hotels, large retail hubs, a movie multiplex, including a (memo to Tim Tielman – please insert high pitched girly shriek here) Bass Pro.

Their AAA ballpark, AT&T Bricktown Ballpark anchors the district, and the Cox Convention Center and Ford Center, home of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder, are all closeby.

We were astounded seeing how much new development has occurred since our first visit here in 2006. More importantly, Bricktown can offer a plethora of design guidelines and ideas for Buffalo’s Canalside to follow. Here in OKC, they are light years ahead of Buffalo in terms of making their historic district a reality. Here’s hoping we can catch up. Fast.

UB Basketball RECAP

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If you’re too young to remember Kevin Maguire, I feel sorry for you.  He was a beast and he simply loved to fight.

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The five venue venture across Texas and Oklahoma is underway!

No USRT air travel itinerary ever goes off without some sort of glitch or colorful hiccup, and today was no exception. As we sat at the gate in rainy Buffalo ready to push pack, the pilot comes on the PA and informs the passengers that there has been a national computer glitch and many flights are grounded because flight plans have to be loaded manually into the air traffic control system. In essence, we could be here a while.

Aaarrghhh!!!

A few minutes later we were informed that we were one of the lucky flights, they got us loaded and locked and we were good to go. Connections went seamlessly and we landed at DFW right on time!

We headed up towards OKC, basically to check into our downtown hotel, and then it was over to Stillwater, 65 miles north, the home of Oklahoma State University and the Big XII Cowboys.

Oklahoma State has two of the prettiest and most opulent sports venues that we have seen in our travels – Boone Pickens Stadium was actually built in 1924, but just this season completed a total makeover, and the result is dramatic – a “retro” designed brick, masonry and wrought iron structure, with canyon wide concourses, tons of concession stands and accents done in orange and black OSU colors.

Right next door, and dominating the one end zone, is Gallagher-Iba Arena. We got a peek into the place a few years back, and were impressed with the marble tiled floors, brick accents, fantastic seating bowl and a plethora of amenities not common to venues at this level of sport.

Joining us for parts of this road trip swing are our good friends Gary Herman and Mike Casiano from New York City. Gary and “The King” are paying their own “official” visits to both the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder and the NFL Dallas Cowboys to bring their 122 venue list back to current. (Yes these guys are the only other two that we know of who share bragging rights to this feat with the USRT). Us guys always have a fun bet as to who can get to the doorsteps of new venues as they open first. Since we’re all going together to the basketball game on Friday and the Cowboys on Sunday, I guess whoever walks through the turnstiles and get their tickets scanned first wins.

Back to Boone Pickens Stadium – as nice a venue as it is, and local fans here are so warm and friendly, the one thing this stadium lacks is a soul. There was little or nothing in the way of memorabilia, championship banners, murals of former greats. The corridors here are sterile and generic – lots of directional signage, escalators and masonry accents, food stands everywhere, all very pretty, but year by year timelines, statues, anything to trumpet the program’s history would have been welcome.

We ended up seeing a heck of a game. After a snooze of a first half where the underdog Colorado Buffaloes held the lead, the Cowboys put in their third string quarterback, Brandon Weeden, and he put a spark into the team. The offense got into high gear, then the Buffaloes retook the lead thanks to a 97 yard kickoff return, but in the end it was the Cowboys who got the last laugh, taking a 31-28 lead late and hanging on for the win. The home town fans, waving their arms, chanting and clapping in unison walked into the night with a win.

We’re back at the Sheraton in downtown OKC – roughly 21 hours after the 4AM alarm went off in Buffalo to begin the day. Eyes are droopy, and tomorrow we get to enjoy a great day here in Bricktown, enjoying the energy of this nice city, dinner at cool sports bar, and then a night of NBA basketball at the Ford Center.