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Example Letter to Diebold’s Director of Global Communications January 14, 2005 Mike Jacobsen Director, Global Communications Diebold, Incorporated (330)
490-4000 Office (330) 490-3794 Fax Dear Mr. Jacobsen: I am writing to make a request for Open
Records as listed below. Your company
is the vendor of contract within the State of Georgia for elections voting
machine technology. On January 12th, we have requested
by phonecall to Tami Koch who was the Diebold trainer involved in an incident
of stolen equipment the name of a contact at Diebold who we could send an
Open Records Request to. She
promised someone would respond to my call and as yet, we’ve heard no such
response from Diebold. Below is a list of items I request as part of
an Open Records Request. This is an
attempt to investigate some stolen Diebold voting equipment in Georgia. 1. Please forward all records relating to the stolen Diebold
equipment reported stolen in 2002, 2003 and 2004. We request all of the following: Faxes, tapes, memorandums,
investigation reports, insurance claims, police reports, serial numbers of
the stolen equipment, full detailed information of software loaded on
equipment, hardware models and Diebold & 3rd party product
names/model #s, letters to/from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office,
emails to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office referencing the stolen
equipment, police reports, communications with Bibb County Sheriff’s office,
Cathy Cox or Kathy Rogers stolen equipment communications, Kennesaw State
University stolen equipment records and any investigation results or public
press or announcements regarding the stolen Diebold equipment in Bibb county
Georgia in 2002. 2. Please show all records related to Diebold technicians that were
contracted to help counties in GA conduct the 2004 election. Please list their work activities and any training
given, citizenship of said employees, signed documents proving they were poll
workers or oaths taken to determine if they were indeed eligible to conduct
elections in Georgia. Please produce
all faxes, letters and emails related to how these technicians were informed
of Georgia Poll Worker requirements and procedures. We are sending by way of carbon copy a similar
request to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office addressed to Cathy Cox as
well as Britt Williams at Kennesaw State University. As you know, the Georgia Open Records Act states that reasonable
charges may be assessed "for search, retrieval, and other direct
administrative costs for complying with a request under this Code section.
The hourly charge shall not exceed the salary of the lowest paid full-time
employee who, in the discretion of the custodian of the records, has the
necessary skill and training to perform the request; provided, however, that
no charge shall be made for the first quarter hour." [O.C.G.A. §
50-18-71(d)] I am prepared to pay reasonable search and retrieval fees if
necessary. As you know, advance payment is not required under the Act.
[O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(g)] Instead, once documents are requested, charges for
all costs incurred by your agency can be collected in the same manner as
taxes due. [O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(g)] In order to make such a fee request, however, your agency must
first notify me of the estimated cost of the copying, search, retrieval and
other authorized fees before they are incurred. [O.C.G.A. 50-18-71.2] Also, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(g) states records maintained by
computer shall be made available where practicable by electronic means. If my request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that your
agency justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the
Georgia Open Records Act. I will
also expect you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt
material. Also, know that the Open Records Act sets fines up to $100 for
any government employee who fails to provide a requested public document
within three (3) business days, unless there are out-of-the-ordinary
extenuating circumstances. Therefore, I will expect your agency to produce
the requested information within the three-day limit or give written reasons
why not, and the specific date the records will be available. Sincerely, Name: _____________________________________________________ Signed: _____________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________ |
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