Votes Were Announced, Union or No Union

By Laurie Greene, Founding Editor

Following Election Protocols, below is a rundown of what happened at 2550 Mariposa Street, Fresno, California. The Gerawan ballots arrived by with ALRB officials carrying them in a black container with red handles. They arrived at the building at approximately 10:15 AM. Watch video here: https://youtu.be/dttdNbUQbG4

Observation Notes

Black cooler with red handles contains ballots.

Cervantes showed 21 large yellow Legal-sized? Envelope packets, each containing blue ballots and yellow #10 envelopes of challenged ballots

1. Challenged ballots
   1. Cervantes removed ballots in yellow envelopes designating them as “challenged ballots.”
   2. Silvia said even if there are 300 Challenged ballots, “We’ll be OK.”
2. Challenged ballots were identified during the Nov. 2013 election under the following circumstances:
3. Farm employees were told to bring a paystub.
4. Upon arrival, voters picked at random, were asked to show a California ID as well.
5. If they lacked a second ID, CA ID, their votes were sealed in yellow envelopes designated as challenged ballots.
6. Many voters told Silvia their vote was challenged. They were upset, angry and intimidated.
7. TOTAL Contested ballots 634
8. These contested ballots will be counted today only if necessary after the blue ballots are counted.

• #10 Yellow envelopes identify and contain one challenged ballot each.
• Placed in separate gray tote box to isolate them from the blue [non-challenged] ballots
• See Silvia Lopez’s comments

4. Blue Ballots
   1. Blue Ballot Rules. If voter:
      • used a check mark instead of an X OK
      • marked in the outer box instead of inner box OK
      • Marked “No” for unwanted option OK
      • Ballot with marking indicated the ID of the voter UNACCEPTABLE
   2. Counted in bunches of 50 2
   3. Read “No Union” in Spanish
   4. Cervantes made announcements in English, then Spanish
   5. 2:36