Double bubble trouble audit

The county's audit, which was released this afternoon, projects that 49,500 independents may not have had their votes counted. This is a colossal error, which just about everyone is trying to either pontificate on or distance themselves from. Note the reaction of Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State, reported in Monday's Los Angeles Times:

Bowen, who oversees elections in California, said she was "astonished to see a ballot design this poorly thought out" when she first looked at the Los Angeles County ballot.

Maybe Bowen, who is charged with overseeing state elections, should have taken a look at the ballot BEFORE the election... after all these ballots have been used since 2002.

Meanwhile the first three pages of the audit report focus on how much effort the county made to inform citizens of its "confusing" ballot and then try to soften the impact of the 49,500 potentially disenfranchised voters by claiming the number is "much smaller than the number reported in the media."

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't recall seeing anyone claim nearly 50,000 people had not had their votes count.

Look for the audit on the County Registrar's web site... it was not online when I wrote this post, but the media department over there say it will be soon.