Will The Next Election Be Hacked?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. - Rolling Stone
Fresh disasters at the polls -- and new evidence from an industry insider -- prove that electronic voting machines can't be trusted
The debacle of the 2000 presidential election made it all too apparent to most Americans that our electoral system is broken. And private-sector entrepreneurs were quick to offer a fix: Touch-screen voting machines, promised the industry and its lobbyists, would make voting as easy and reliable as withdrawing cash from an ATM. Congress, always ready with funds for needy industries, swiftly authorized $3.9 billion to upgrade the nation's election systems - with much of the money devoted to installing electronic voting machines in each of America's 180,000 precincts. But as midterm elections approach this November, electronic voting machines are making things worse instead of better. Studies have demonstrated that hackers can easily rig the technology to fix an election - and across the country this year, faulty equipment and lax security have repeatedly undermined election primaries. In Tarrant County, Texas, electronic machines counted some ballots as many as six times, recording 100,000 more votes than were actually cast. In San Diego, poll workers took machines home for unsupervised "sleepovers" before the vote, leaving the equipment vulnerable to tampering. And in Ohio - where, as I recently reported in "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?" [RS 1002], dirty tricks may have cost John Kerry the presidency - a government report uncovered large and unexplained discrepancies in vote totals recorded by machines in Cuyahoga County.
Even worse, many electronic machines don't produce a paper record that can be recounted when equipment malfunctions - an omission that practically invites malicious tampering. "Every board of election has staff members with the technological ability to fix an election," Ion Sancho, an election supervisor in Leon County, Florida, told me. "Even one corrupt staffer can throw an election. Without paper records, it could happen under my nose and there is no way I'd ever find out about it. With a few key people in the right places, it would be possible to throw a presidential election."
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It wouldn't just be possible ... it has already occured in 2 presidential elections, midterms, and probably in other special elections. A lot of key people have been in the right places, not just a few ... and still are. Great idea, putting Secretaries of State in charge of elections in which they are decidedly biased, huh?
24 September 2006
The Let America Vote Act
Call on Congress to Pass 'Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation' Now
Brad Friedman - Huffington Post
Given this year's primary election meltdowns and train wrecks that we've been reporting since March 7th of this year, in which electronic voting machines have failed to start up and thousands of American voters have been turned away from the polls when they came to vote, but couldn't...
Given the fact that one such meltdown occurred last Tuesday in Maryland, where many of the DC media and politicos live...
Given VelvetRevolution's new Princeton Diebold Virus Hack report demonstrating conclusively that electronic voting machines may be hacked in a minute's time resulting in flipped elections without a trace left behind...
Giving that American democracy and the right to vote in that democracy ought to be a beacon to the world...
It is NOW time for Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation to be brought and passed immediately by both houses of the U.S. Congress, in order to at least mitigate the coming train wreck this November 7th.
Call it the Let America Vote Act (LAVA) of 2006...Let democracy flow!
The legislation can, and should be, as short as a single paragraph so that it can be read and passed quickly by every U.S. Congress member. It can apply only to this November's general election, if that is needed to get it passed and signed quickly.
Read More >>
Call on Congress to Pass 'Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation' Now
Brad Friedman - Huffington Post
Given this year's primary election meltdowns and train wrecks that we've been reporting since March 7th of this year, in which electronic voting machines have failed to start up and thousands of American voters have been turned away from the polls when they came to vote, but couldn't...
Given the fact that one such meltdown occurred last Tuesday in Maryland, where many of the DC media and politicos live...
Given VelvetRevolution's new Princeton Diebold Virus Hack report demonstrating conclusively that electronic voting machines may be hacked in a minute's time resulting in flipped elections without a trace left behind...
Giving that American democracy and the right to vote in that democracy ought to be a beacon to the world...
It is NOW time for Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation to be brought and passed immediately by both houses of the U.S. Congress, in order to at least mitigate the coming train wreck this November 7th.
Call it the Let America Vote Act (LAVA) of 2006...Let democracy flow!
The legislation can, and should be, as short as a single paragraph so that it can be read and passed quickly by every U.S. Congress member. It can apply only to this November's general election, if that is needed to get it passed and signed quickly.
Read More >>
Officials Wary of Electronic Voting Machines
NYT - September 24, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — A growing number of state and local officials are getting cold feet about electronic voting technology, and many are making last-minute efforts to limit or reverse the rollout of new machines in the November elections.
Less than two months before voters head to the polls, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Maryland this week became the most recent official to raise concerns publicly. Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, said he lacked confidence in the state’s new $106 million electronic voting system and suggested a return to paper ballots.
Dozens of states have adopted electronic voting technology to comply with federal legislation in 2002 intended to phase out old-fashioned lever and punch-card machines after the “hanging chads” confusion of the 2000 presidential election.
But some election officials and voting experts say they fear that the new technology may have only swapped old problems for newer, more complicated ones. Their concerns became more urgent after widespread problems with the new technology were reported this year in primaries in Ohio, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and elsewhere.
This year, about one-third of all precincts nationwide are using the electronic voting technology for the first time, raising the chance of problems at the polls as workers struggle to adjust to the new system.
Read More >>
NYT - September 24, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — A growing number of state and local officials are getting cold feet about electronic voting technology, and many are making last-minute efforts to limit or reverse the rollout of new machines in the November elections.
Less than two months before voters head to the polls, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Maryland this week became the most recent official to raise concerns publicly. Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, said he lacked confidence in the state’s new $106 million electronic voting system and suggested a return to paper ballots.
Dozens of states have adopted electronic voting technology to comply with federal legislation in 2002 intended to phase out old-fashioned lever and punch-card machines after the “hanging chads” confusion of the 2000 presidential election.
But some election officials and voting experts say they fear that the new technology may have only swapped old problems for newer, more complicated ones. Their concerns became more urgent after widespread problems with the new technology were reported this year in primaries in Ohio, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and elsewhere.
This year, about one-third of all precincts nationwide are using the electronic voting technology for the first time, raising the chance of problems at the polls as workers struggle to adjust to the new system.
Read More >>
CNN Demonstrates Voting Machine Hackability
Lou Dobbs talks a little bit, and then Miles O'Brian gets a demonstration from one of the guys from Princeton who proved just how easy it is to hack them on their own video a few days ago. (That video is in the September archives here, in case you haven't seen it.)
Lou Dobbs talks a little bit, and then Miles O'Brian gets a demonstration from one of the guys from Princeton who proved just how easy it is to hack them on their own video a few days ago. (That video is in the September archives here, in case you haven't seen it.)
Judge Finds in Favor of Voter Lawsuit Against
E-Voting Systems in Colorado
Bradblog - 9/22/06
I just received a phone call from Holly Jacobson of VoterAction.org, the group that has supported voter lawsuits attempting to decertify e-voting machines in Colorado, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
She called us from Colorado just after leaving the courtroom, where the case in that state against the use and purchase of e-voting systems made by Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart InterCivic was being heard yesterday. She called and said: "We won!"
[...] Jacobson explained that, though the judge allowed the state of Colorado to use the machines for this November, they would have to do so with new strict security guidelines to be written by the VoterAction folks.
She explained that they had expected something like that since the case was being heard just weeks from the November elections, without enough time for a complete overhaul to be made to the system now in place in Colorado.
Nonetheless, they are all "popping champagne and celebrating," according to Jacobson because the biggest victory, apparently, comes in that the Judge has found that Colorado must completely start over in their certification process for these systems immediately after the upcoming election. Apparently, she says, he found that the state's process for certifying the systems was enormously flawed. (See our previous report about the "expert" in charge of certifying voting systems for the state, who was revealed during his deposition to have had no formal computer science education, and to have not even bothered to have performed any actual tests of the systems before certifying them!)
Jacobson also reports that Lowell Finley, the group's lead attorney, has characterized the Judge's mandate for new certification procedures to be so strict the state simply "won't be able to certify any DRE [touch-screen] voting systems" under the new procedures.
Sounds good to us.
Read More >>
E-Voting Systems in Colorado
Bradblog - 9/22/06
I just received a phone call from Holly Jacobson of VoterAction.org, the group that has supported voter lawsuits attempting to decertify e-voting machines in Colorado, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
She called us from Colorado just after leaving the courtroom, where the case in that state against the use and purchase of e-voting systems made by Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart InterCivic was being heard yesterday. She called and said: "We won!"
[...] Jacobson explained that, though the judge allowed the state of Colorado to use the machines for this November, they would have to do so with new strict security guidelines to be written by the VoterAction folks.
She explained that they had expected something like that since the case was being heard just weeks from the November elections, without enough time for a complete overhaul to be made to the system now in place in Colorado.
Nonetheless, they are all "popping champagne and celebrating," according to Jacobson because the biggest victory, apparently, comes in that the Judge has found that Colorado must completely start over in their certification process for these systems immediately after the upcoming election. Apparently, she says, he found that the state's process for certifying the systems was enormously flawed. (See our previous report about the "expert" in charge of certifying voting systems for the state, who was revealed during his deposition to have had no formal computer science education, and to have not even bothered to have performed any actual tests of the systems before certifying them!)
Jacobson also reports that Lowell Finley, the group's lead attorney, has characterized the Judge's mandate for new certification procedures to be so strict the state simply "won't be able to certify any DRE [touch-screen] voting systems" under the new procedures.
Sounds good to us.
Read More >>
Taking the Initiative
PBS
In the voting booth this fall, voters in states across the country will find ballot initiatives with titles like "Taxpayers' Bill of Rights" and "SOS - Stop Over Spending."
The aim is to slash state spending, with the potential for deep cuts in health care, education, and other social services. But are these local initiatives really "home" grown? This week, NOW investigates how organizations associated with one wealthy New Yorker, Howard Rich, are secretly providing major funding for ballot measures.
NOW also takes a look at the questionable tactics used to put these issues on your ballot. Is someone manipulating your state's laws, your vote, and you?
Read More >>
PBS
In the voting booth this fall, voters in states across the country will find ballot initiatives with titles like "Taxpayers' Bill of Rights" and "SOS - Stop Over Spending."
The aim is to slash state spending, with the potential for deep cuts in health care, education, and other social services. But are these local initiatives really "home" grown? This week, NOW investigates how organizations associated with one wealthy New Yorker, Howard Rich, are secretly providing major funding for ballot measures.
NOW also takes a look at the questionable tactics used to put these issues on your ballot. Is someone manipulating your state's laws, your vote, and you?
Read More >>
23 September 2006
21 September 2006
Taking the Initiative
PBS - NOW
In the voting booth this fall, voters in states across the country will find ballot initiatives with titles like "Taxpayers' Bill of Rights" and "SOS - Stop Over Spending."
The aim is to slash state spending, with the potential for deep cuts in health care, education, and other social services. But are these local initiatives really "home" grown? This week, NOW investigates how organizations associated with one wealthy New Yorker, Howard Rich, are secretly providing major funding for ballot measures.
NOW also takes a look at the questionable tactics used to put these issues on your ballot. Is someone manipulating your state's laws, your vote, and you?
Editors Note: Grover Norquist's affiliation was mislabeled in the video broadcast. He's with Americans for Tax Reform, not Americans for Limited Government.
Watch the Video >>
PBS - NOW
In the voting booth this fall, voters in states across the country will find ballot initiatives with titles like "Taxpayers' Bill of Rights" and "SOS - Stop Over Spending."
The aim is to slash state spending, with the potential for deep cuts in health care, education, and other social services. But are these local initiatives really "home" grown? This week, NOW investigates how organizations associated with one wealthy New Yorker, Howard Rich, are secretly providing major funding for ballot measures.
NOW also takes a look at the questionable tactics used to put these issues on your ballot. Is someone manipulating your state's laws, your vote, and you?
Editors Note: Grover Norquist's affiliation was mislabeled in the video broadcast. He's with Americans for Tax Reform, not Americans for Limited Government.
Watch the Video >>
14 September 2006
How to Hack a Diebold (Ivy League Edition)
Marty Kaplan - Huffington Post
Princeton computer scientists have figured out how to hack into a Diebold AccuVote [sic] TouchScreen voting machine. The subversion of democracy takes a coupla minutes, a screwdriver or paperclip, plus a floppy with the malware they've written.
This is no comedy video; it's a bone-chilling, blood-pressure-raising, citizen-outraging rebuttal to all the calming unctuous bromides you've heard about the safety of our voting technology.
The authors of this paper may be geeks, but they don't wear tinfoil hats. The P doesn't stand for Paranoia; it stands for Princeton.
Link >>
Original Video at Princeton >>
Complete Paper at Princeton >>
Marty Kaplan - Huffington Post
Princeton computer scientists have figured out how to hack into a Diebold AccuVote [sic] TouchScreen voting machine. The subversion of democracy takes a coupla minutes, a screwdriver or paperclip, plus a floppy with the malware they've written.
This is no comedy video; it's a bone-chilling, blood-pressure-raising, citizen-outraging rebuttal to all the calming unctuous bromides you've heard about the safety of our voting technology.
The authors of this paper may be geeks, but they don't wear tinfoil hats. The P doesn't stand for Paranoia; it stands for Princeton.
Link >>
Original Video at Princeton >>
Complete Paper at Princeton >>
13 September 2006
Train Wreck In Maryland Primary
Polls across the state opened late due to missing equipment or missing poll workers
The state hired voting machine technical 'rovers' from Monster.Com ad
John Gideon - Bradblog
This morning voters in much of Maryland awoke with plans to go to the polls early and then head off to a normal day. Unfortunately when they got to their polling places they only found locked doors.
As reported by the Baltimore Sun many poll workers did not show up for work this morning and when they did they many had no idea how to operate new voting technology called "e-poll books" which are a necessary part of the voting process in Maryland and many other Diebold states. The workers were not trained to use that technology because Diebold did not provide the technology to the state until it was too late to properly train the pollworkers.
Read More >>
Polls across the state opened late due to missing equipment or missing poll workers
The state hired voting machine technical 'rovers' from Monster.Com ad
John Gideon - Bradblog
This morning voters in much of Maryland awoke with plans to go to the polls early and then head off to a normal day. Unfortunately when they got to their polling places they only found locked doors.
As reported by the Baltimore Sun many poll workers did not show up for work this morning and when they did they many had no idea how to operate new voting technology called "e-poll books" which are a necessary part of the voting process in Maryland and many other Diebold states. The workers were not trained to use that technology because Diebold did not provide the technology to the state until it was too late to properly train the pollworkers.
Read More >>
12 September 2006
11 September 2006
The myth of fair elections in America
The debacle surrounding the Republican victory in 2000 demonstrated to the world that America's electoral process is wide open to abuse. But as Paul Harris discovers, the system has actually worsened since then
Paul Harris - Observer.co.uk - Sep 7, 2006
One person, one vote. Count the totals. The one with the most wins. The beauty of democracy is its simplicity and its inherent fairness. It equalises everyone, even as it empowers everyone. What could go wrong? In America, it turns out, quite a lot.
Everyone remembers the debacle in Florida, 2000. The recounts, the law suits and the eventual deciding of a presidential election - not by the voters - but by the Supreme Court. The memory still causes a collective shudder to America's body politic.
Which makes the fact that America's system of voting is now even more suspect, more complicated, and more open to abuse than ever before so utterly shocking. Across the country a bewildering series of scandals or dubious practises are proliferating beyond control. The prospect of a 'second Florida' is now more likely not less. There are many - and not all of them are conspiracy theorists - who believed it may have happened in Ohio in 2004.
This week the venerable New York Times was the latest of many organisations and institutions to declare that America's democratic system is simply starting to fail. Not in terms of its democratic ideals, or some takeover by a Neocon cabal, but by a simple collapse in its ability to count everyone's votes accurately and fairly.
Read More >>
The debacle surrounding the Republican victory in 2000 demonstrated to the world that America's electoral process is wide open to abuse. But as Paul Harris discovers, the system has actually worsened since then
Paul Harris - Observer.co.uk - Sep 7, 2006
One person, one vote. Count the totals. The one with the most wins. The beauty of democracy is its simplicity and its inherent fairness. It equalises everyone, even as it empowers everyone. What could go wrong? In America, it turns out, quite a lot.
Everyone remembers the debacle in Florida, 2000. The recounts, the law suits and the eventual deciding of a presidential election - not by the voters - but by the Supreme Court. The memory still causes a collective shudder to America's body politic.
Which makes the fact that America's system of voting is now even more suspect, more complicated, and more open to abuse than ever before so utterly shocking. Across the country a bewildering series of scandals or dubious practises are proliferating beyond control. The prospect of a 'second Florida' is now more likely not less. There are many - and not all of them are conspiracy theorists - who believed it may have happened in Ohio in 2004.
This week the venerable New York Times was the latest of many organisations and institutions to declare that America's democratic system is simply starting to fail. Not in terms of its democratic ideals, or some takeover by a Neocon cabal, but by a simple collapse in its ability to count everyone's votes accurately and fairly.
Read More >>
09 September 2006
06 September 2006
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