by Angry Girl
Did you know....
NOTE: Please copy the above list and distribute freely! LET THE FACTS BE KNOWN! Thank you!
Links to all the above and MUCH more >>
29 April 2005
20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA
by Angry Girl
Did you know....
1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.
2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.
3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.
4. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."
5. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines.
6. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, long-connected with the Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee.
7. Senator Chuck Hagel was on a short list of George W. Bush's vice-presidential candidates.
8. ES&S is the largest voting machine manufacturer in the U.S. and counts almost 60% of all U.S. votes.
9. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper trail of any votes. In other words, there is no way to verify that the data coming out of the machine is the same as what was legitimately put in by voters.
10. Diebold also makes ATMs, checkout scanners, and ticket machines, all of which log each transaction and can generate a paper trail.
11. Diebold is based in Ohio.
12. Diebold employed 5 convicted felons as consultants and developers to help write the central compiler computer code that counted 50% of the votes in 30 states.
13. Jeff Dean was Senior Vice-President of General Election Systems when it was bought by Diebold. Even though he had been convicted of 23 counts of felony theft in the first degree, Jeff Dean was retained as a consultant by Diebold and was largely responsible for programming the optical scanning software now used in most of the United States.
14. Diebold consultant Jeff Dean was convicted of planting back doors in his software and using a "high degree of sophistication" to evade detection over a period of 2 years.
15. None of the international election observers were allowed in the polls in Ohio.
16. California banned the use of Diebold machines because the security was so bad. Despite Diebold's claims that the audit logs could not be hacked, a chimpanzee was able to do it!
17. 30% of all U.S. votes are carried out on unverifiable touch screen voting machines with no paper trail.
18. All -- not some -- but all the voting machine errors detected and reported in Florida went in favor of Bush or Republican candidates.
19. The governor of the state of Florida, Jeb Bush, is the President's brother.
20. Serious voting anomalies in Florida -- again always favoring Bush -- have been mathematically demonstrated and experts are recommending further investigation.
NOTE: Please copy the above list and distribute freely! LET THE FACTS BE KNOWN! Thank you!
Links to all the above and MUCH more >>
by Angry Girl
Did you know....
NOTE: Please copy the above list and distribute freely! LET THE FACTS BE KNOWN! Thank you!
Links to all the above and MUCH more >>
23 April 2005
Chairman of Voting Reform Panel Resigns
Erica Werner - AP
The first chairman of a federal voting agency created after the 2000 election dispute is resigning, saying the government has not shown enough commitment to reform.
DeForest Soaries said in an interview Friday that his resignation would take effect next week.
Though Soaries, 53, said he wanted to spend more time with his family in New Jersey, he added that his decision was prompted in part by what he called a lack of support.
"All four of us had to work without staff, without offices, without resources. I don't think our sense of personal obligation has been matched by a corresponding sense of commitment to real reform from the federal government," he said.
Read More >>
Erica Werner - AP
The first chairman of a federal voting agency created after the 2000 election dispute is resigning, saying the government has not shown enough commitment to reform.
DeForest Soaries said in an interview Friday that his resignation would take effect next week.
Though Soaries, 53, said he wanted to spend more time with his family in New Jersey, he added that his decision was prompted in part by what he called a lack of support.
"All four of us had to work without staff, without offices, without resources. I don't think our sense of personal obligation has been matched by a corresponding sense of commitment to real reform from the federal government," he said.
Read More >>
22 April 2005
John Conyers Meets with Dir. of Election Commission
My Meeting with the Baker-Carter Executive Director
Today, I had a lengthy, substantive, and frank meeting with Dr. Robert Pastor, Executive Director of the Carter-Baker Election Commission. I shared my concerns about the Commission with him. Among other things, I remain concerned about the involvement of Mr. James Baker, III, in this Commission, and the emphasis of some of the Commission's work thus far. In this meeting, Dr. Pastor displayed great familiarity with my report on the 2004 Ohio Presidential election and expressed his strong commitment to election reform. Dr. Pastor has established an open channel with me to continue discussing these concerns, and I intend to continue this dialogue. I also intend to attend future meetings of the Commission, and personally meet with President Carter and other Commission members. In sum, I want to assure you that I will be monitoring this Commission and its work very closely. In other words, I am on the case.
I appreciate the energy and activism that has led so many of you to communicate with Commission staff and members. At the request of Dr. Pastor, and in the interests of demonstrating our good faith efforts to work with the Commission, I would ask that you contact the commission only via the email box which they have established to receive your comments concerning the commission: CDEM@american.edu. I have spoken with the leadership of the Election Reform groups which have been contacting the commission members to ask them if they would take this measure.
It is clear to me that your voices have been heard. Dr. Pastor has assured me that many of the emails sent reflected the same concerns that have motivated President Carter, himself, and others to pursue election reform in the United States and throughout the world, and will guide the work of the Commission.
As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions, and would be happy to ensure that Commission members are aware of them. Thank you for your continued efforts to preserve our democracy.
Read More >>
My Meeting with the Baker-Carter Executive Director
Today, I had a lengthy, substantive, and frank meeting with Dr. Robert Pastor, Executive Director of the Carter-Baker Election Commission. I shared my concerns about the Commission with him. Among other things, I remain concerned about the involvement of Mr. James Baker, III, in this Commission, and the emphasis of some of the Commission's work thus far. In this meeting, Dr. Pastor displayed great familiarity with my report on the 2004 Ohio Presidential election and expressed his strong commitment to election reform. Dr. Pastor has established an open channel with me to continue discussing these concerns, and I intend to continue this dialogue. I also intend to attend future meetings of the Commission, and personally meet with President Carter and other Commission members. In sum, I want to assure you that I will be monitoring this Commission and its work very closely. In other words, I am on the case.
I appreciate the energy and activism that has led so many of you to communicate with Commission staff and members. At the request of Dr. Pastor, and in the interests of demonstrating our good faith efforts to work with the Commission, I would ask that you contact the commission only via the email box which they have established to receive your comments concerning the commission: CDEM@american.edu. I have spoken with the leadership of the Election Reform groups which have been contacting the commission members to ask them if they would take this measure.
It is clear to me that your voices have been heard. Dr. Pastor has assured me that many of the emails sent reflected the same concerns that have motivated President Carter, himself, and others to pursue election reform in the United States and throughout the world, and will guide the work of the Commission.
As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions, and would be happy to ensure that Commission members are aware of them. Thank you for your continued efforts to preserve our democracy.
Read More >>
20 April 2005
Executive Director of National Election
Reform Commission Goes Ballistic!
4/19/2005 - Bradblog.com
Dr. Robert A. Pastor Accuses Velvet Revolution of 'Harassment', Sending Fake Email! Supplies no evidence for his conspiracy theory, nor his firm belief that Republicans won Election 2004.
Earlier this evening, we received a phone call from Dr. Robert A. Pastor, the Executive Director of the Baker/Carter National Election Reform Commission.
It was an interesting conversation.
Apparently, he was irate at us because Americans are sending Email to him and the commissioners complaining about the fact that James A. Baker, III is co-chairing the Commission. Baker, of course, is the long-time Bush Family loyalist and Bush/Cheney trial law attorney who architected the strategy to ensure that Americans' votes would not be counted in the 2000 election.
Read More >>
Reform Commission Goes Ballistic!
4/19/2005 - Bradblog.com
Dr. Robert A. Pastor Accuses Velvet Revolution of 'Harassment', Sending Fake Email! Supplies no evidence for his conspiracy theory, nor his firm belief that Republicans won Election 2004.
Earlier this evening, we received a phone call from Dr. Robert A. Pastor, the Executive Director of the Baker/Carter National Election Reform Commission.
It was an interesting conversation.
Apparently, he was irate at us because Americans are sending Email to him and the commissioners complaining about the fact that James A. Baker, III is co-chairing the Commission. Baker, of course, is the long-time Bush Family loyalist and Bush/Cheney trial law attorney who architected the strategy to ensure that Americans' votes would not be counted in the 2000 election.
Read More >>
New pope intervened against Kerry in US 2004 election campaign
German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican theologian who was elected Pope Benedict XVI, intervened in the 2004 US election campaign ordering bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters including presidential candidate John Kerry.
In a June 2004 letter to US bishops enunciating principles of worthiness for communion recipients, Ratzinger specified that strong and open supporters of abortion should be denied the Catholic sacrament, for being guilty of a "grave sin."
He specifically mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws," a reference widely understood to mean Democratic candidate Kerry, a Catholic who has defended abortion rights.
The letter said a priest confronted with such a person seeking communion "must refuse to distribute it."
A footnote to the letter also condemned any Catholic who votes specifically for a candidate because the candidate holds a pro-abortion position. Such a voter "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for holy communion," the letter read.
Read More >>
Article VI of the Constitution:
[...] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
The Constitution >>
The First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The Bill of Rights >>
"I would not look with favor upon a President working to subvert the First Amendment's guarantees of religious liberty ... Neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test -- even by indirection."
-- John F. Kennedy
Address to the Ministerial Association of Greater Houston, September 12, 1960
JFK - Quotations on Religious Freedom >>
German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican theologian who was elected Pope Benedict XVI, intervened in the 2004 US election campaign ordering bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters including presidential candidate John Kerry.
In a June 2004 letter to US bishops enunciating principles of worthiness for communion recipients, Ratzinger specified that strong and open supporters of abortion should be denied the Catholic sacrament, for being guilty of a "grave sin."
He specifically mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws," a reference widely understood to mean Democratic candidate Kerry, a Catholic who has defended abortion rights.
The letter said a priest confronted with such a person seeking communion "must refuse to distribute it."
A footnote to the letter also condemned any Catholic who votes specifically for a candidate because the candidate holds a pro-abortion position. Such a voter "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for holy communion," the letter read.
Read More >>
Article VI of the Constitution:
[...] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
The Constitution >>
The First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The Bill of Rights >>
"I would not look with favor upon a President working to subvert the First Amendment's guarantees of religious liberty ... Neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test -- even by indirection."
-- John F. Kennedy
Address to the Ministerial Association of Greater Houston, September 12, 1960
JFK - Quotations on Religious Freedom >>
19 April 2005
Congressman John Conyers Condemns Election Reform
Hearings as 'Outrageous', 'Racially Charged'.
The first meeting of the Baker-Carter election commission was disappointing and, at times, outrageous and tainted with racially-charged innuendo. Let me make absolutely clear that I greatly admire former President Jimmy Carter and believe he was insightful and on-target throughout the hearing. However, given the incredible lack of balance and profound lack of good faith demonstrated by some of Carter's fellow commissioners and many of the witnesses at this hearing, at times he seemed to be a very lonely voice of sanity.
The remarks of Mr. James Baker, III, which were echoed by a number of right wing political operatives called as witnesses, seemed to have a singular purpose of spreading hoaxes and conspiracy theories about ineligible Democratic voters being allowed to cast votes. The remedy was cleverly repeated like a broken record, "photo ID, photo ID, photo ID." Right wing pundit John Fund was called as an "expert" witness by the hearing and offered racially charged proposals with racially charged rhetoric.
The substance of the testimony alleging "voter fraud" was a fraud itself.
[...] The pattern of the hearing was clear: Republican political operatives, with little or no track record of involvement in voting rights issues, facing non-partisan advocates for civil rights. Predictably, this hardly was a fair fight. The deck was stacked from the beginning.
Read More >>
Hearings as 'Outrageous', 'Racially Charged'.
The first meeting of the Baker-Carter election commission was disappointing and, at times, outrageous and tainted with racially-charged innuendo. Let me make absolutely clear that I greatly admire former President Jimmy Carter and believe he was insightful and on-target throughout the hearing. However, given the incredible lack of balance and profound lack of good faith demonstrated by some of Carter's fellow commissioners and many of the witnesses at this hearing, at times he seemed to be a very lonely voice of sanity.
The remarks of Mr. James Baker, III, which were echoed by a number of right wing political operatives called as witnesses, seemed to have a singular purpose of spreading hoaxes and conspiracy theories about ineligible Democratic voters being allowed to cast votes. The remedy was cleverly repeated like a broken record, "photo ID, photo ID, photo ID." Right wing pundit John Fund was called as an "expert" witness by the hearing and offered racially charged proposals with racially charged rhetoric.
The substance of the testimony alleging "voter fraud" was a fraud itself.
[...] The pattern of the hearing was clear: Republican political operatives, with little or no track record of involvement in voting rights issues, facing non-partisan advocates for civil rights. Predictably, this hardly was a fair fight. The deck was stacked from the beginning.
Read More >>
Defects In 2004 Balloting Described
Brian Faler - April 19, 2005
It did not feature much in the way of butterfly ballots, hanging chads or protracted Supreme Court fights. But the first hearing yesterday of the Commission on Federal Election Reform made it clear that the 2004 election was not without problems.
Former president Jimmy Carter and ex-secretary of state James A. Baker III, who co-chair the commission, invited a dozen experts to American University to recommend ways to improve the nation's voting system. The commission will consider those suggestions, along with others expected at a second hearing in June, and submit its own recommendations to Congress.
Those recommendations are not expected until September, which is a good thing because the academics, advocacy group leaders and politicians invited to testify yesterday provided a dizzying list of electoral problems that might make some wonder how any ballots were counted in November.
[...] "In the 2004 presidential election, the United States came much closer to electoral meltdown, violence in the streets and constitutional crisis than most people realize," professor Richard Hasen of Loyola Law School said in his written comments. "Less than a 2 percent swing among Ohio voters -- about 100,000 voters -- toward Democratic candidate for president John Kerry and away from incumbent Republican President Bush would have placed the Ohio -- and national -- election for president well within the 'margin of litigation,' and it would have gotten ugly very quickly."
Read More >>
Brian Faler - April 19, 2005
It did not feature much in the way of butterfly ballots, hanging chads or protracted Supreme Court fights. But the first hearing yesterday of the Commission on Federal Election Reform made it clear that the 2004 election was not without problems.
Former president Jimmy Carter and ex-secretary of state James A. Baker III, who co-chair the commission, invited a dozen experts to American University to recommend ways to improve the nation's voting system. The commission will consider those suggestions, along with others expected at a second hearing in June, and submit its own recommendations to Congress.
Those recommendations are not expected until September, which is a good thing because the academics, advocacy group leaders and politicians invited to testify yesterday provided a dizzying list of electoral problems that might make some wonder how any ballots were counted in November.
[...] "In the 2004 presidential election, the United States came much closer to electoral meltdown, violence in the streets and constitutional crisis than most people realize," professor Richard Hasen of Loyola Law School said in his written comments. "Less than a 2 percent swing among Ohio voters -- about 100,000 voters -- toward Democratic candidate for president John Kerry and away from incumbent Republican President Bush would have placed the Ohio -- and national -- election for president well within the 'margin of litigation,' and it would have gotten ugly very quickly."
Read More >>
15 April 2005
The silent scream of numbers
The 2004 election was stolen —
will someone please tell the media?
Robert C. Koehler - Tribune Media Services
As they slowly hack democracy to death, we’re as alone — we citizens — as we’ve ever been, protected only by the dust-covered clichés of the nation’s founding: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
It’s time to blow off the dust and start paying the price.
The media are not on our side. The politicians are not on our side. It’s just us, connecting the dots, fitting the fragments together, crunching the numbers, wanting to know why there were so many irregularities in the last election and why these glitches and dirty tricks and wacko numbers had not just an anti-Kerry but a racist tinge. This is not about partisan politics. It’s more like: “Oh no, this can’t be true.”
I just got back from what was officially called the National Election Reform Conference, in Nashville, Tenn., an extraordinary pulling together of disparate voting-rights activists — 30 states were represented, 15 red and 15 blue — sponsored by a Nashville group called Gathering To Save Our Democracy. It had the feel of 1775: citizen patriots taking matters into their own hands to reclaim the republic. This was the level of its urgency.
Read More >>
The 2004 election was stolen —
will someone please tell the media?
Robert C. Koehler - Tribune Media Services
As they slowly hack democracy to death, we’re as alone — we citizens — as we’ve ever been, protected only by the dust-covered clichés of the nation’s founding: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
It’s time to blow off the dust and start paying the price.
The media are not on our side. The politicians are not on our side. It’s just us, connecting the dots, fitting the fragments together, crunching the numbers, wanting to know why there were so many irregularities in the last election and why these glitches and dirty tricks and wacko numbers had not just an anti-Kerry but a racist tinge. This is not about partisan politics. It’s more like: “Oh no, this can’t be true.”
I just got back from what was officially called the National Election Reform Conference, in Nashville, Tenn., an extraordinary pulling together of disparate voting-rights activists — 30 states were represented, 15 red and 15 blue — sponsored by a Nashville group called Gathering To Save Our Democracy. It had the feel of 1775: citizen patriots taking matters into their own hands to reclaim the republic. This was the level of its urgency.
Read More >>
Raw Story Breaks Expose On Baker/Carter
Election Reform Commission Controversy
Reports That the Fix is in on Secretly Seated Blue-Ribbon Commission! Stacked with Partisan Operatives!
Controversy Swirls Around Baker-Carter Electoral Reform Panel, Stacked With GOP Veterans; Carter Center Denies Role; Secret Service Questions; Kerry Camp: 'Dishonest'
From RAW Reporter Larisa Alexandrovna's Exclusive:
Velvet Revolution (an organization comprised of nearly 100 real Election Reform and Voting Rights groups and co-founded by BRAD BLOG author, Brad Friedman) issued a press release on March 30th, calling for Baker to immediately step down from this commission.
VR will shortly be launching an action to allow citizens to contact Carter and the rest of the Commission to let them know we've had enough boondoggling of our democracy! Stay tuned...
Bradblog.com >>
Questions surface regarding legitimacy of Baker-Carter election reform commission
Raw Story >>
Election Reform Commission Controversy
Reports That the Fix is in on Secretly Seated Blue-Ribbon Commission! Stacked with Partisan Operatives!
Controversy Swirls Around Baker-Carter Electoral Reform Panel, Stacked With GOP Veterans; Carter Center Denies Role; Secret Service Questions; Kerry Camp: 'Dishonest'
From RAW Reporter Larisa Alexandrovna's Exclusive:
- Deep GOP, partisan and Voting Machine Company entanglement in formation of Commission!
- Unauthorized use of the Carter Center name by the Commission on all of its literature though Carter Center says they will have no involvement whatsoever with Commission!
- Commission hold hearings in separate room from audience who may only watch via closed-circuit TV!
- Background security checks required for audience members by Commission, denied by Secret Service!
Velvet Revolution (an organization comprised of nearly 100 real Election Reform and Voting Rights groups and co-founded by BRAD BLOG author, Brad Friedman) issued a press release on March 30th, calling for Baker to immediately step down from this commission.
VR will shortly be launching an action to allow citizens to contact Carter and the rest of the Commission to let them know we've had enough boondoggling of our democracy! Stay tuned...
Bradblog.com >>
Questions surface regarding legitimacy of Baker-Carter election reform commission
Raw Story >>
14 April 2005
Miami Herald Discusses Clint Curtis,
Calls for a Return to Paper Ballots!
The drumbeat of the pro-democracy movement in America (who could have ever imagined there'd be a need for one in this country?!) seems to be growing louder as more and more Mainstream Media folks get into the game!
Following on the heels of yesterday's Miami Herald piece about Miami-Dade's possible return to paper ballots, Herald columnist, Robert Steinback jumps in with a damning condemnation of Electronic Voting today pointing out that, "Nothing is more important, for the world's pre-eminent democracy, than assuring the sanctity of each vote."
Read More>>
Calls for a Return to Paper Ballots!
The drumbeat of the pro-democracy movement in America (who could have ever imagined there'd be a need for one in this country?!) seems to be growing louder as more and more Mainstream Media folks get into the game!
Following on the heels of yesterday's Miami Herald piece about Miami-Dade's possible return to paper ballots, Herald columnist, Robert Steinback jumps in with a damning condemnation of Electronic Voting today pointing out that, "Nothing is more important, for the world's pre-eminent democracy, than assuring the sanctity of each vote."
Read More>>
13 April 2005
Lawsuit Filed Against Sequoia Voting Systems in Washington State!
Calls for Company to Open Their Software for Public Inspection!
Reuters reported yesterday that attorney, Paul Lehto has filed suite in Washington state against Electronic Voting Machine company, Sequoia Voting Systems Inc.
Read More >>
Calls for Company to Open Their Software for Public Inspection!
Reuters reported yesterday that attorney, Paul Lehto has filed suite in Washington state against Electronic Voting Machine company, Sequoia Voting Systems Inc.
Read More >>
The Stolen Election audio collection:
Vote Fraud is Real- Wake Up America
Ben Frank
If you listen to all five audios, you will understand that beyond doubt, something fishy went down in Ohio. The point being that there were tons of irregularities, glitches and even intentional fraud, yet the media AND the democratic ’leadership’ dismissed this as something to fix for next time. The proof of the stolen election is in the coverup (and of course all of the facts that were covered up).
If there was nothing wrong, then these problems would have been addressed by the media. Instead, there was a massive mainstream media blackout on all election problems. The absolute refusal to cover obvious stories amounts to complicity. The best Republican arguments against election fraud was, "Even John Kerry accepts the results, so it must not be true," or "If there was fraud, the ’news’ would have covered it." Insane- they use their own media blackout to ’prove’ there was no fraud. For the millions of Americans that know the truth, this was not good enough, but they didn’t care about convincing us, just about burying the story from the masses.
Read More >>
Vote Fraud is Real- Wake Up America
Ben Frank
If you listen to all five audios, you will understand that beyond doubt, something fishy went down in Ohio. The point being that there were tons of irregularities, glitches and even intentional fraud, yet the media AND the democratic ’leadership’ dismissed this as something to fix for next time. The proof of the stolen election is in the coverup (and of course all of the facts that were covered up).
If there was nothing wrong, then these problems would have been addressed by the media. Instead, there was a massive mainstream media blackout on all election problems. The absolute refusal to cover obvious stories amounts to complicity. The best Republican arguments against election fraud was, "Even John Kerry accepts the results, so it must not be true," or "If there was fraud, the ’news’ would have covered it." Insane- they use their own media blackout to ’prove’ there was no fraud. For the millions of Americans that know the truth, this was not good enough, but they didn’t care about convincing us, just about burying the story from the masses.
Read More >>
23 U.S. House Members Sign On To Waters/Conyers Letter to Voting Machine Companies!
Sending a clear signal to the nation's voting machine companies, 23 U.S. House of Representative members signed on to a letter authored by Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. John Conyers demanding transparency and accountability from the private companies which now run the public function of America's electoral system.
The letter, which was sent to colleagues last Thursday, was signed and sent late last Friday. It outlines -- in no uncertain terms -- the position of the 23 members of the U.S. House who signed on that all government funding via the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) should be withheld from the companies that do not comply with the standards originally set forth in VR's February 21 letter to the companies.
From Friday's congressional letter:
The letter was signed by the following U.S. House members:
John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Sam Farr (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), William D. Delahunt (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Robert Wexler (D-FL), James Oberstar (D-MN), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Barney Frank (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), George Miller (D-CA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).
The representatives have asked for a reply from the companies no later than April 15, 2005. A copy of the complete signed letter is posted below.
Read More >>
Sending a clear signal to the nation's voting machine companies, 23 U.S. House of Representative members signed on to a letter authored by Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. John Conyers demanding transparency and accountability from the private companies which now run the public function of America's electoral system.
The letter, which was sent to colleagues last Thursday, was signed and sent late last Friday. It outlines -- in no uncertain terms -- the position of the 23 members of the U.S. House who signed on that all government funding via the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) should be withheld from the companies that do not comply with the standards originally set forth in VR's February 21 letter to the companies.
From Friday's congressional letter:
"For the sake of our democracy, we believe you have a moral and patriotic duty to help eligible voters participate in and trust our electoral process. That is why we are urging you to adopt these common sense principles as expeditiously as possible.
"It is our very strong position and belief that only firms that abide by these principles deserve funding under the Help America Vote Act. We will do everything in our power to see that non-complying firms do not receive such funding."
The letter was signed by the following U.S. House members:
John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Sam Farr (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), William D. Delahunt (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Robert Wexler (D-FL), James Oberstar (D-MN), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Barney Frank (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), George Miller (D-CA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).
The representatives have asked for a reply from the companies no later than April 15, 2005. A copy of the complete signed letter is posted below.
Read More >>
12 April 2005
Dumping the E-Vote Machines in Miami-Dade
Back to the Future for 2000 Election Mess Ground Zero?
From today's Miami Herald:
Three years after spending $24.5 million to install a controversial touch-screen voting system, Miami-Dade County elections officials have been asked to study scrapping the system in favor of paper-based balloting.
The request from County Manager George Burgess follows the recent resignation of Elections Supervisor Constance Kaplan and the revelation that hundreds of votes in recent elections hadn't been counted.
Read More >>
Back to the Future for 2000 Election Mess Ground Zero?
From today's Miami Herald:
Three years after spending $24.5 million to install a controversial touch-screen voting system, Miami-Dade County elections officials have been asked to study scrapping the system in favor of paper-based balloting.
The request from County Manager George Burgess follows the recent resignation of Elections Supervisor Constance Kaplan and the revelation that hundreds of votes in recent elections hadn't been counted.
Read More >>
11 April 2005
Election reform speaker: Electronic voting out of hand
Laura Luxor - 04/11/05
While many Americans are intrigued by the idea of electronic voting, the process is out of control, creating an unhealthy democracy, experts said at the National Election Reform Conference.
Jonathan Simon, Harvard Law School graduate and author of While America Slept: The Theft of Election 2004 and the Death of American Democracy, told an audience of about 200 Saturday that losing control of voting systems puts citizens at risk of losing control of their government.
[...] Because of privatization, only the companies that own the electronic machines are able to know the outcomes, said Andy Stephenson, education director for Vote Trust USA.
[...] Larry English, an author from Mountain City, Tenn., who attended the National Election Reform Conference in Nashville this weekend, has conducted a major analysis of the 2000 presidential election. He proposes a ''Voter's Bill of Rights'' as a solution for election reform:
Read More >>
Laura Luxor - 04/11/05
While many Americans are intrigued by the idea of electronic voting, the process is out of control, creating an unhealthy democracy, experts said at the National Election Reform Conference.
Jonathan Simon, Harvard Law School graduate and author of While America Slept: The Theft of Election 2004 and the Death of American Democracy, told an audience of about 200 Saturday that losing control of voting systems puts citizens at risk of losing control of their government.
[...] Because of privatization, only the companies that own the electronic machines are able to know the outcomes, said Andy Stephenson, education director for Vote Trust USA.
[...] Larry English, an author from Mountain City, Tenn., who attended the National Election Reform Conference in Nashville this weekend, has conducted a major analysis of the 2000 presidential election. He proposes a ''Voter's Bill of Rights'' as a solution for election reform:
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10 April 2005
Flashback: Bolton Helped Bush Steal 2000 Election
Many ofpresident's appointees fought Gore's bid to take Florida, White House
Carol Rosenberg - Jul. 14, 2002
John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, caused a stir in May by accusing the Cuban government of transferring bioweapons technology to rogue nations. Nineteen months ago, he caused a different stir -- bursting into a Tallahassee library on behalf of the Bush-Cheney campaign to stop a recount of Miami-Dade County ballots.
[...] Bolton, the U.S. diplomat now responsible for arms control issues, said no payoff was promised for his decision to join the post-election fray. He had worked for the first Bush administration and, finding himself in South Korea on election night, contacted former Secretary of State James Baker in Texas to see how he might lend a hand. The reply: Go to Florida.
[...] It was his role, on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, to burst into a library where workers were recounting Miami-Dade ballots andrelay news of the U.S. Supreme Court's stay in the on-again, off-again presidential recount.
"I'm with the Bush-Cheney team, and I'm here to stop the count," he was quoted as saying in news reports at the time.
Read More >>
Photo of Bolton in Florida during Recount >>
Many of
Carol Rosenberg - Jul. 14, 2002
John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, caused a stir in May by accusing the Cuban government of transferring bioweapons technology to rogue nations. Nineteen months ago, he caused a different stir -- bursting into a Tallahassee library on behalf of the Bush-Cheney campaign to stop a recount of Miami-Dade County ballots.
[...] Bolton, the U.S. diplomat now responsible for arms control issues, said no payoff was promised for his decision to join the post-election fray. He had worked for the first Bush administration and, finding himself in South Korea on election night, contacted former Secretary of State James Baker in Texas to see how he might lend a hand. The reply: Go to Florida.
[...] It was his role, on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, to burst into a library where workers were recounting Miami-Dade ballots andrelay news of the U.S. Supreme Court's stay in the on-again, off-again presidential recount.
"I'm with the Bush-Cheney team, and I'm here to stop the count," he was quoted as saying in news reports at the time.
Read More >>
Photo of Bolton in Florida during Recount >>
Kerry: Trickery Kept Voters From Polls
Michael Kunzelman - Apr 10, 2005
BOSTON - Many voters in last year's presidential election were denied access to the polls through trickery and intimidation, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters' group Sunday.
"Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said at an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters.
[...] "Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.
Kerry has never disputed the outcome of election, saying voting irregularities did not involve enough votes to change the result. Bush won the pivotal state of Ohio by 118,000 votes, giving him enough electoral votes to win re-election.
[...] Earlier this year, Kerry joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in filing voting reform legislation. The Count Every Vote Act would create a federal holiday for voting, require paper receipts for votes and authorize $500 million to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment.
Congress' investigative agency, the Government Accountability Office, has also begun looking into the handling of provisional ballots and malfunctions of voting machines. The study could lead to changes in the election process.
Read More >>
Michael Kunzelman - Apr 10, 2005
BOSTON - Many voters in last year's presidential election were denied access to the polls through trickery and intimidation, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters' group Sunday.
"Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said at an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters.
[...] "Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.
Kerry has never disputed the outcome of election, saying voting irregularities did not involve enough votes to change the result. Bush won the pivotal state of Ohio by 118,000 votes, giving him enough electoral votes to win re-election.
[...] Earlier this year, Kerry joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in filing voting reform legislation. The Count Every Vote Act would create a federal holiday for voting, require paper receipts for votes and authorize $500 million to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment.
Congress' investigative agency, the Government Accountability Office, has also begun looking into the handling of provisional ballots and malfunctions of voting machines. The study could lead to changes in the election process.
Read More >>
09 April 2005
Blogs spin tale of computers, conspiracies
The Web sites say an Oviedo Republican asked a programmer for software to alter electronic vote totals
Lucy Morgan - April 9, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - Democrats around the country have accused Republicans of stealing the last two presidential elections in Florida.
Now some Internet Web sites that traffic in conspiracy theories have fashioned something of a political thriller out of a series of apparently unrelated events they say prove the elections really were stolen.
The tale reaches far beyond elections to include a dead investigator for the state Department of Transportation, a $210 red Coach purse, gambling trips to Las Vegas and Biloxi, Miss., a Chinese computer expert charged with illegally shipping computer chips to Beijing and an Oviedo computer firm accused of overbilling the state.
And the villain? U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, an Oviedo Republican elected to Congress in 2002 after spending two years as state House Speaker.
To the Internet blogs - short for Web logs - the hero of this tale is Clint Curtis, a 46-year-old computer programmer and self-styled book author, who says Feeney asked him to come up with an undetectable system to fix elections.
No one has proven anything, and no serious investigation appears to be under way, but the blogs are lighting up with the news and suggestions for proving corruption.
Read More >>
The Web sites say an Oviedo Republican asked a programmer for software to alter electronic vote totals
Lucy Morgan - April 9, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - Democrats around the country have accused Republicans of stealing the last two presidential elections in Florida.
Now some Internet Web sites that traffic in conspiracy theories have fashioned something of a political thriller out of a series of apparently unrelated events they say prove the elections really were stolen.
The tale reaches far beyond elections to include a dead investigator for the state Department of Transportation, a $210 red Coach purse, gambling trips to Las Vegas and Biloxi, Miss., a Chinese computer expert charged with illegally shipping computer chips to Beijing and an Oviedo computer firm accused of overbilling the state.
And the villain? U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, an Oviedo Republican elected to Congress in 2002 after spending two years as state House Speaker.
To the Internet blogs - short for Web logs - the hero of this tale is Clint Curtis, a 46-year-old computer programmer and self-styled book author, who says Feeney asked him to come up with an undetectable system to fix elections.
No one has proven anything, and no serious investigation appears to be under way, but the blogs are lighting up with the news and suggestions for proving corruption.
Read More >>
08 April 2005
County voting system invalid
J.D. Prose - 04/08/2005
BEAVER - The Pennsylvania Department of State said Thursday that Beaver County's $1.2 million electronic touch-screen voting system is unreliable and can no longer be used, even in the primary election that is only five weeks away.
"Needless to say, we're all shocked by this finding, and we need to work our way through," Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella said. County elections chief Dorene Mandity declined to comment, saying she had not yet read the state's report.
In decertifying the UniLect Patriot system, Secretary of State Pedro Cortes cited concerns he had after a re-examination of it on Feb. 15 by Carnegie Mellon University computer professor Michael Shamos that was prompted in part by a petition filed by Beaver County residents.
Cortes said in a five-page report that the Patriot system does not meet the state's criteria of being "safely and efficiently useable" in elections, or "capable of absolute accuracy." Cortes said the system is also confusing and difficult to learn, "displaying messages whose import is misleading or unclear."
Cortes' decision means that Beaver County, as well as Mercer and Greene counties, cannot use the Patriot system in the May 17 primary. These are the only three counties in the state that use the Patriot system.
Read More >>
J.D. Prose - 04/08/2005
BEAVER - The Pennsylvania Department of State said Thursday that Beaver County's $1.2 million electronic touch-screen voting system is unreliable and can no longer be used, even in the primary election that is only five weeks away.
"Needless to say, we're all shocked by this finding, and we need to work our way through," Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella said. County elections chief Dorene Mandity declined to comment, saying she had not yet read the state's report.
In decertifying the UniLect Patriot system, Secretary of State Pedro Cortes cited concerns he had after a re-examination of it on Feb. 15 by Carnegie Mellon University computer professor Michael Shamos that was prompted in part by a petition filed by Beaver County residents.
Cortes said in a five-page report that the Patriot system does not meet the state's criteria of being "safely and efficiently useable" in elections, or "capable of absolute accuracy." Cortes said the system is also confusing and difficult to learn, "displaying messages whose import is misleading or unclear."
Cortes' decision means that Beaver County, as well as Mercer and Greene counties, cannot use the Patriot system in the May 17 primary. These are the only three counties in the state that use the Patriot system.
Read More >>
07 April 2005
Pennsylvania Decertifies UniLect Electronic Voting Machines!
Pennsylvania officials Thursday barred three counties from using a touch-screen voting system that apparently contributed to an unusual number of uncounted votes in the November election.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said officials do not believe the undercount would have changed the outcome of any races in Mercer, Beaver and Greene counties.
Still, he said, "there are enough problems with this system that in our estimation it's in the best interests of the voters" to stop using them immediately.
The decertification of the UniLect Patriot voting machine came barely a month before this year's May 17 municipal primary election.
Read More >>
Pennsylvania officials Thursday barred three counties from using a touch-screen voting system that apparently contributed to an unusual number of uncounted votes in the November election.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said officials do not believe the undercount would have changed the outcome of any races in Mercer, Beaver and Greene counties.
Still, he said, "there are enough problems with this system that in our estimation it's in the best interests of the voters" to stop using them immediately.
The decertification of the UniLect Patriot voting machine came barely a month before this year's May 17 municipal primary election.
Read More >>
05 April 2005
Computer Experts Allege U.S. Vote Fraud
Brian Livingston - April 5, 2005
A group of distinguished computer scientists and mathematicians, including nine Ph.D.s, says it has found statistical evidence that vote counts of the 2004 U.S. presidential election were tampered with in one or more states, affecting the outcome.
To support its claims, the group, known as USCountVotes.org, shows that exit polls taken on Nov. 2 cannot be reconciled with announced vote tallies in some states.
The discrepancies, the organization points out, are worse in the U.S. than in one of two exit polls conducted during Ukraine's recent national election, which resulted in the results being thrown out by that country's Supreme Court last December. The two Ukrainian exit polls showed a discrepancy between the expected vote count and the official vote count of 4.7 to 10.7 percentage points. In the U.S., both USCountVotes.org and the company that conducted the presidential exit polling agree that the official vote count is at least 5.5 percentage points different from the expected vote count.
Americans, to be sure, are still exhausted from the 36-day legal ordeal that followed the 2000 presidental election. They understandably want the 2004 election to be wrapped up and consigned to history. For this reason, I've avoided writing about various problems with the 2004 election that computer scientists have speculated on for the past several months.
When USCountVotes.org released its comprehensive statistical analysis on March 31, however, the situation dramatically changed. There can be no doubt that questionable practices affected votes for president in some states.
Because the legitimacy of the U.S. government rests on the expectation that it is fairly elected, it's in the interests of Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike to examine the new evidence and use it to correct whatever problems are found. In addition, I believe this situation can show how computer science can be used when business groups with different interests want to assure themselves that any contested process will be handled faithfully.
Read More >>
Brian Livingston - April 5, 2005
A group of distinguished computer scientists and mathematicians, including nine Ph.D.s, says it has found statistical evidence that vote counts of the 2004 U.S. presidential election were tampered with in one or more states, affecting the outcome.
To support its claims, the group, known as USCountVotes.org, shows that exit polls taken on Nov. 2 cannot be reconciled with announced vote tallies in some states.
The discrepancies, the organization points out, are worse in the U.S. than in one of two exit polls conducted during Ukraine's recent national election, which resulted in the results being thrown out by that country's Supreme Court last December. The two Ukrainian exit polls showed a discrepancy between the expected vote count and the official vote count of 4.7 to 10.7 percentage points. In the U.S., both USCountVotes.org and the company that conducted the presidential exit polling agree that the official vote count is at least 5.5 percentage points different from the expected vote count.
Americans, to be sure, are still exhausted from the 36-day legal ordeal that followed the 2000 presidental election. They understandably want the 2004 election to be wrapped up and consigned to history. For this reason, I've avoided writing about various problems with the 2004 election that computer scientists have speculated on for the past several months.
When USCountVotes.org released its comprehensive statistical analysis on March 31, however, the situation dramatically changed. There can be no doubt that questionable practices affected votes for president in some states.
Because the legitimacy of the U.S. government rests on the expectation that it is fairly elected, it's in the interests of Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike to examine the new evidence and use it to correct whatever problems are found. In addition, I believe this situation can show how computer science can be used when business groups with different interests want to assure themselves that any contested process will be handled faithfully.
Read More >>
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