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Oprah Sucks!

by: Jeff Gardner

Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 12:14:43 PM EDT

Oops, I mean OPRA (the Open Public Records Act) - that wonderfully well-intentioned law that is supposed to ensure public access to government information - sucks.

In preparing my Perth Amboy diary, I searched around the internets for Tuesday's Senate results by municipality. But, the NJ Division of Elections website lists results only statewide and by county, as do various media outlets. The Middlesex County Clerk's website lists only countywide results for the Senate race, with local results only for local races. And Perth Amboy's official website has no election results at all.

But, hey - I have a phone, right?

So, I called the Clerk's office in the city of Perth Amboy for the results, and guess what? I was told they "don't give that information over the phone." Instead, I would have to submit an OPRA form, and they would mail the results to me. Mail me the results?!

When I asked why she couldn't just tell me the results and if the information was some kind of secret, the woman I was speaking to responded by asking who I was. (Apparently, my sarcasm isn't always well-received in these situations.) So, a little white lie later, I was put on hold so the supervisor could weigh in. The supervisor confirmed the office's policy that OPRA requires them to document every such inquiry in writing.

So, she explained, if I wanted the results, I could go to their website, download the OPRA form, print it out, fill it out, and fax it to them. When they received the fax, they would make a copy of the results and mail it to me - or I could come in and pick it up. But, not to worry, the supervisor assured me - it's free!

Well - it's free if you don't count all that paper wasted faxing and copying, the wasted postage, the postal delivery fuel (or mine), and the environmental impact of this transaction multiplied by the thousands or millions of OPRA requests that could have just been met with a simple answer.

No thanks - I still had a phone. So, I called the NJ Division of Elections, who didn't have the information by municipality. But they gave me the number for the Middlesex County Board of Elections, who didn't have the information either. But they gave me the number for the County Clerk's office, who very lovingly gave me the information I wanted.

Thanks for nothing OPRA - it's time you streamlined your process.

Jeff Gardner :: Oprah Sucks!

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Oprah Sucks! | 13 comments

The extremes make the middle suffer (4.00 / 1)

You have some people who can give you information right away and maybe even with a smile. But, others hold on to it like it is Bin Laden tracking data (actually maybe better than that). So, each request gets documented to provide a paper trail in the event of a delay.

by: Creed Pogue @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 16:51:37 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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Not the OPRA law that does this (4.00 / 1)

This is the implementation and policy of the clerk.

OPRA allows them to do this, but doesn't require this kind of silliness. In my town we can go to the clerk, tell them what we want, they photocopy it and we pay 5 cents a page and walk away.

They only make us fill out paperwork if it's a lot of pages, they are really fricking busy. or it requires research and time.

by: huntsu @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 17:15:53 PM UTC

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Be careful of what you wish for... (0.00 / 0)

..because you might actually get it.

by: thecontrarian @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 17:16:50 PM UTC

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A streamlined effective OPRA? (0.00 / 0)

I'll take my chances.

by: Jeff Gardner @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 17:45:29 PM UTC

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Community solution in the works (4.00 / 2)

You just moved something on my to-do list for next week up a little. I just registered the domain polimetrics.net and I'll talk next week about how we can and should start the Garden State Polimetric Databank.

by: Dvd Avins @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 18:06:16 PM UTC

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See now (0.00 / 0)

and I thought I was just ranting.
:-)

by: Jeff Gardner @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 18:14:57 PM UTC

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You are not alone (0.00 / 0)

Kathy Callahan was given that same runaround by the Borough Clerk in Closter - and Kathy was a candidate for County Committee.

What a travesty this election was for so many folks. We REALLY have to clean house. We can start with ethically challenged folks like Loretta Costano in Closter and the folks who refused to give out the results for County Committee.

One Vote. Yours. It really does matter.

by: carolh @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 18:59:01 PM UTC

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Kathy STILL does not know if she truly (0.00 / 0)

won in District 2. They probably won't tell her in time for her to vote AGAINST Ferriero next week. What criminals we have here in NJ. I am just absolutely disgusted. Candidates for ANY office have the right to know if they won. If anyone wants to let the Borough Clerk know she should release election results to the public - ESPECIALLY the candidates - the phone # of the Borough is 201-784-0600. Fax is 201-784-9721.

I have NEVER encountered a more rude public servant in my life.

One Vote. Yours. It really does matter.

by: carolh @ Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 19:07:23 PM UTC

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Maybe nobody knows? (0.00 / 0)

I don't know the specifics of the race in Closter, but it's possible that Kathy doesn't know the results of her election because all the votes haven't been counted yet.

Provisional ballots are not opened and counted until 48 hours after the election. So the process would have started today. Sometimes the process takes days. Was the race close enough for provisionals to even make a difference?

For full disclosure, I work at the Somerset County Board of Elections. I'm certainly not defending any unprofessional behavior. We in Somerset are always sweet and accomodating :)

But the reality is that sometimes accurate results take time to determine. What does your County Clerk have to say?

by: macoxwell @ Fri Jun 06, 2008 at 00:37:08 AM UTC

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Perhaps (0.00 / 0)

that is the case here. The first unofficial number Kathy was given was that she lost by only one vote. So it was close enough to be a problem.

I also spoke with some more knowledgable folks about elections and the machines they use. The machines have a battery backup good for the whole day - so an unplugged machine would still work. Only the side that is for your party will light up - perhaps they made a mistake and so they asked the elderly woman to use the other machine. Also, as far as the write - in Kathy spoke of not being recorded - I was told, often write ins are not recorded if they do not result in a win.

So, there are some outstanding questions still. I'll give the Borough Clerk a little slack here - since even in Tenafly there was a terrible glitch. Two districts received the wrong machines. It was a mess, but hopefully it will be straightened out soon.

I haven't spoken to the County Clerk - but I refered Kathy to her. Not sure what Kathy found out.

So, Kathy may have to hang there a while longer, but I gotta tell ya, that Costano woman is still the rudest public servant I ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Ever.

One Vote. Yours. It really does matter.

by: carolh @ Fri Jun 06, 2008 at 02:51:13 AM UTC

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