Both kitkat65 and I made the same mistake, when looking at the Ohio Democratic Party's webpage. In their "Inside the Recount" photo gallery, there are some pictures from Geauga County and some from Guernsey County. The two pictures that include a man who appears to be Michael Barbian are from Guernsey County—not from Geauga County. The comparison still holds:
(photo from truthout.org)
(photo from Ohio Democratic Party)
But the relevance to the National Voting Rights Institute's legal case is not there. It is also worth noting that Guernsey County is a punch card ballot county, administered by Triad.
Guernsey County Detail:
Voting Technology: Punch Card
Vendor: Triad Governmental Systems, Inc.
Data Source: CASE-ohio.org; electionline.org
Last Verified: 4-Sep
Since Guernsey is, in fact, a Triad-administered county, that makes it more plausible that it really is Mr. Barbian in the recount photos.
Sorry about the confusion. That's what I get for blogging this stuff in real time, as we figure it out.
As it turns out, the Green Party Observer report from Guernsey County attests to the presence of a Triad employee during the recount.
There was also a man there from Triad, the company that manages the machines and computers that make the tally. He had come earlier and tested the equipment. I asked about this, wary of someone fiddling with the machinery. Malinak said that she and the deputy director had had him test "prelogical and accuracy." (emphasis added)
So we're back to our original question. Is that Michael Barbian in the photo? If it is, we may want to know some more about his earlier "tests" of the machinery.
Barbian had told me on the day that he “tested” Hocking County’s tabulator that the counties that they were not going to be present at during the recount – Triad tecs would be going out to remove candidates that were not going to be in the recount. They represent 41 of 88 counties in Ohio. We had instructions in our office regarding the removal of candidates who were not going to be recounted. Why did Tri Ad feel it was necessary (at no expense to the counties)to do our work for us?