The Chair of the Anchorage Assembly has appointed an independent third party investigator to look into what went wrong during the April 3rd Municipal Election. A retired judge investigate the matter. Chair Ernie Hall made the announcement at Tuesday's regular assembly meeting, along with other election updates. KSKA's Daysha Eaton was there and has this report.
The public has been waiting for more than a month now for the Chair of the Anchorage Assembly to announce the appointment of an independent third party investigator. Assembly Chair Ernie Hall announced Tuesday evening that a retired judge will do the job.
I am very pleased to announce this evening that the body will be approving a contract for a third party investigator. That investigator is retired judge Dan Hensley."
Henseley was a Superior Court Judge in Anchorage from 1997 to 2005 before retiring to Seattle. The assembly approved his contract with an estimated price tag not to exceed $35-thousand dollars. They also set out in writing the scope of his review to include: What happened at polling stations where ballots ran out ... What happened at the Clerk's Office regarding ballot distribution, election worker support, and training ... He'll also take a look at Election protocols ... and give a recommendation of how the Assembly and the Clerk's Office can best ensure that such problems never occur again. In addition to announcing the investigator, Chair Hall read an open letter of apology to a woman who publicly protested the Election Commission's report about broken voting machine seals during last week's special meeting.
I wish to read this open letter of apology to Wendy Isbell, election worker at Romig Precinct 675. Dear Ms. Isbell, you have my profound apology. You have served this community as an election worker in the 2008 and 2012 elections. You have been generous with your time. You brought forward to this body twice in public testimony the concern you have about broken seals on the acuvote machines."
Hall confirmed that the Municipality was now looking into her allegations. Hall added that the hand recount of ballots from 15 precincts would begin this morning at 8:30 (Wed 5/9) at City Hall ... And that the count would begin with precinct where Isbell worked, and the one from which she reported a broken seal.