Alvarado Selected To Help Monitor Upcoming Presidential Election In Venezuela

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 29, 2006

Contact:Jose Alvarado, Tel: (914) 995-2846 or Alvarado@westchesterlegislators.com

County Legislator Jose Alvarado (D, Yonkers) will travel to Venezuela this weekend as part of an “electoral observer delegation” to monitor Venezuela’s December 3rd presidential election. As impartial observers on voter security, privacy and fairness, delegation members will be stationed at polling locations and will be present during the vote counting process.

“Since 1998, the Venezuelan government has brought in international observers as a way to assure voters and the global community that the country’s presidential elections are free and fair,” said Alvarado. “As an elected official myself, I know what to look for and because I’m fluent in Spanish, I will be able to get an unfiltered account of what’s going on.”

Alvarado said he was selected on the basis of a questionnaire he completed this summer while attending the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) convention in Chicago. Alvarado said that Hugo Chavez, the current Venezuelan president who is running for re-election, has been very critical of the Bush administration and of American policies. “Those of us who expressed an interest in being electoral observers were screened to ensure that we could be impartial,” Alvarado said. “I let them know I’m only interested in making sure the peoples’ voice and choice prevail. Then, about a month ago, I learned that I was selected to participate.”

Alvarado noted that, under the Venezuelan constitution, there is a separate branch of government, known as the National Electoral Council (CNE), which oversees the entire election process, from voter registration to which voting machines to use. “The theory behind creating the CNE was to remove politics from the election process,” Alvarado said. “As a separate branch of government, its decisions are not influenced by the executive, legislative and judicial branches.”

According to Alvarado, observing the election will have a secondary benefit ---he’ll get an insider’s look at Venezuela’s electronic voting machines, touted by many as among the most sophisticated and secure in the world.

“Our County Board will soon be choosing which voting machine the county should opt for in order to comply with new HAVA federal mandates,” Alvarado said. “Observing the electronic machines in full operation will provide some great insights into voting machine technology that I’ll be able to share with my colleagues.”