Remembering John Gideon's Generosity to Ohio and the Nation

Written by Candice Hoke Sunday, 03 May 2009 09:43

The loss of John Gideon is incalculable. John Gideon was a stalwart friend of Ohio and all who seek transparency, accountability, fair access, and accuracy in elections.

John argued that our American birthright was slipping away by our ceding control over elections to private companies, permitting them to conduct elections and produce election results not subject to independent checks and public accountability.

John was also a friend to all whose voting rights were potentially injured by unreliable voting equipment. After Cuyahoga County, Ohio sustained a notorious election debacle when transitioning to e-voting, the Cuyahoga Election Review Panel (CERP) was charged to investigate the causes of all election problems and to recommend remedies. VotersUnite.org materials helped us learn about similar problems elsewhere. This web-based relationship matured into an ongoing professional relationship when the Public Monitor Project (a part of the Center for Election Integrity at Cleveland State University) began its work in August 2006.

John had studied the CERP investigation and final Report -- to which many contributed -- and so knew the depth and breadth of problems to be overcome in Cuyahoga. He pledged his assistance. The Monitor project contacted him many times. The most recent critical, beyond-the-call-of-duty assistance John rendered to Cuyahoga dates to December 2007-January 2008, when the Cuyahoga Board of Elections (CCBOE) was considering and then was required to change voting systems and vendor in roughly 65 days before the presidential primary.

I immediately contacted John to obtain information concerning the national performance records of the competing voting equipment companies, as our county already had had major problems with Diebold-Premier. John's submissions were fast and well documented, helping the CCBOE to make decisions with "eyes open." After the CCBOE selected a vendor for optical scan paper ballot equipment, John allowed me to press him into service on the next two fast track issues: the pricing of the new voting equipment, and examples of warranties and other contractual clauses (to protect the county and taxpayers in case the voting equipment failed). Even though this was late December-early January, in the midst of holidays, John and VotersUnite.org Co-Director Ellen Theisen helped me gather solid information on all these points -- including lower prices elsewhere than offered to Cuyahoga -- so that the CCBOE procurement contract could be written with the best possible legal protections and at pricing far better than the company originally offered. They even contacted election officials elsewhere to cull needed information and sent detailed, timely information directly to the CCBOE.

The value of this work continues to be realized today, just as it was barely three weeks after the contract was signed over a year ago. In the weeks prior to the March 2008 primary, ES&S Inc. had submitted to the CCBOE multiple sets of flawed test ballots. The ballots couldn't pass the tests showing scanners could read and tabulate votes accurately. John and Ellen had flagged this as a recurring ES&S issue elsewhere, and we had recommended that the County include cancellation and penalty provisions if the vendor's ballots were flawed. In Febrary 2008, CCBOE Director Platten canceled the ES&S ballot printing contract and returned to the local printer for the March '08 ballots -- which passed the tests.

Thus, John assisted election officials in avoiding overpriced voting equipment that often failed in recording and counting votes accurately. He did not blame the officials but the federal government's certification testing that allowed defective voting and voter registration equipment to be marketed and purchased with our tax dollars. John was essentially a "disgruntled citizen" who tirelessly sought to improve his nation's government.

Through VotersUnite.Org and Daily Voting News, John facilitated the work of citizens, advocacy organizations, election officials, academics, and policymakers who sought to achieve fair, honest elections. The unique databases that John and Ellen created, available at VotersUnite.Org, allow all to locate press-documented information about the types of election problems that have been occurring from 2004 to the present. You can search by State, by type of problem, by equipment vendor, or by date, and access critical information that empowers the work for fair, honest elections. Subscriptions are free to Daily Voting News, which will continue to be published. Ellen Theisen is continuing this important work with volunteers so the Election Problems databases and News will continue.

To share remembrances and tributes to John's work, from California Secretary of State Debra Bowen to former EAC Commissioner Rosemary Rodriguez, to diverse advocacy organizations nationally, go to this tribute page prepared by Joyce McCloy at NC Coalition for Verified Voting.

--Candice Hoke, Cleveland