The Democratic Party lawsuit trial against the Pima County Board of Supervisors was expected to end Thursday, but continued today with Demo attorney Bill Risner's witnesses. The trial is all about access to public records: The party wants database files that contain vote data, specifically from the RTA election. The party continues to question the legitimacy of the election and the possibility there was a vote flip caused by hacking into the system. By the end of the day, Risner and election integrity activists hope Judge Michael Miller orders the county to release the records. 

You'd think if there's nothing to hide, the county would want this to end and stand beside the voting system it supports. 

County administrator Chuck Huckelberry has already taken the stand, as well as Bryan Crane, the Pima County Elections Division employee accused of taking home data backups in his fellow employee depositions. The county also brought in its Diebold expert. 

That said, the best daily coverage of the trial has come from attorney Michael Bryan's Blog for Arizona.  Bryan's blog coverage is being picked up by other blogs across the country. The blog features some film footage of the trial, too, that has also been picked up by local TV stations. Talk about putting your blog where your heart is: If you haven't discovered Blog for Arizona yet, and I can't imagine why you haven't, now is the time with Bryan's excellent trial updates. 

I realized over lunch with a few family members this week that there remain large groups of Average Tucson Joes out there who don't really think there is a problem. When I talked with election-integrity activists they've wondered how they can get better news coverage and how they can pull away from an image they have of being conspiracy theorists. My Sonora Sammy-loving (Democratic) cousin thinks they are just that--crazy people beating a dead horse. 

It is interesting how folks who are smart and intelligent grew tired so fast regarding election fraud post Al Gore's loss. "We lost, let's move on."

But if we really have problems with the system, shouldn't we continue to question how our voting is conducted? If it takes a group of people some see as conspiracy-driven to change something as vital as election fraud, then I guess we're seeing patriotism in action.