Kimberly Ellis says her request for an independent audit of the vote for California Democratic Party leader was rejected

Democratic organizer Kimberly Ellis, the candidate who narrowly lost the race to be the next leader of the California Democratic Party, on Friday said the state party has rejected her request for an independent audit of the election.

A statement released by the Ellis campaign Friday afternoon claims that it has uncovered “alarming discrepancies and an amassing of ineligible voters” during her campaign’s ongoing review of the ballots cast during the state party’s convention almost two weeks ago.

The Ellis campaign said her request for the audit was rejected by newly elected state party chairperson Eric Bauman, who beat Ellis by just over 60 votes.

“Eric’s rejection of an independent forensic audit is well beyond troubling. If everything was done on the up-and-up, what is there to hide?” said Hilary Crosby, former controller for the state party and an Ellis supporter.

Ellis has already submitted a separate, formal challenge of the election results.

Chris Masami Myers, state party executive director, earlier this week said in a statement that it would be reviewed “in accordance with the standard practices described in the bylaws.”

The party’s compliance review commission, made up of six members who were appointed during former Chairman John Burton’s tenure, will review the evidence and take oral or written testimony before issuing a ruling in mid- to late June.

Ellis has called for the party to appoint an interim chair until the challenge is resolved but, in her statement, said Bauman rejected that request.

An attorney for the Ellis campaign also submitted a request to the state party to preserve all of the ballots and other elections material in the party elections.

#PressRelease

Bauman Refuses Request for Independent Forensic Audit

OAKLAND, Calif. (June 2, 2017): Eric Bauman has rejected the request by the Ellis campaign for an independent forensic audit, which was formally submitted for consideration on Tuesday through legal counsel. While the Ellis campaign’s review of the ballot is ongoing, initial inspection uncovered alarming discrepancies and an amassing of ineligible voters to change the outcome of the election, warranting a call for an independent expert to intervene and validate the vote.

Because of the magnitude of the concerns, the Ellis campaign firmly believes any allegation raised should be accompanied by verified evidence from a credentialed, independent professional. The Ellis campaign recognizes that their position is not impartial and have requested that an outside independent firm step in and conduct a complete forensic audit so that the voting delegation has confidence in the neutrality of the assessment.

Kaufman Legal Group, which jointly represents Eric Bauman’s campaign and now the California Democratic Party, was provided specific requests, including a formal legal demand for preservation of records. The Ellis campaign continues to seek an inclusive and collaborative remedy to validate the election outcome. Should their efforts towards reconciliation not be returned, the Ellis campaign reserves its right to seek remedy in other venues.

As per the CDP’s Bylaws, the ratification of any officer race is subject to challenge, and no certification can take place until the challenge is resolved. As such, the Ellis campaign requested that an interim Chair serve until the election is certified. Bauman refuted this interpretation and instead has claimed his authority to serve as Chair.

“Eric’s rejection of an independent forensic audit is well beyond troubling. If everything was done on the up-and-up, what is there to hide?,” said Hilary Crosby, immediate past Controller of the CDP. “We’re the largest Democratic Party in the country; are we really saying we don’t know how to run a fair, transparent and impartial election, where the outcome is not in question? Instead of calls for unity, we should be calling for truth, because if we can’t agree on the facts, how can we agree on how to move forward.”

Source

Source for Ellis Press Release

I am a PLEO appointed delegate to the CADEM Party & my boyfriend ran for Vice Chair. As a candidate, he was allowed in the ballot counting room with one other person (me) and I can say that while we were not present for the entirety of the count due to other commitments, we made it in time to see the end of the final stack’s 2nd count. With the knowledge we have from that and the information we’ve been given by others and the Ellis campaign, I will say that I am very confident that an independent audit by a third party is necessary. The fact that Eric Bauman will not concede to this confirms for me that shit ain’t right in the chair race or this whole backasswards “party of the people.”



Source: ONTD_Political