31 October 2006
30 October 2006
Florida Diebold machines help you pick the right candidate
Engadget - Oct 30th 2006
Apparently Diebold's problems aren't limited to Maryland, Georgia or Alaska -- what a shocker. Down in the Sunshine State, during a week of early voting before next week's nationwide midterm election, certain Diebold machines have been registering some votes for Democrats as selections for the Republican candidate.
Read More >>
Engadget - Oct 30th 2006
Apparently Diebold's problems aren't limited to Maryland, Georgia or Alaska -- what a shocker. Down in the Sunshine State, during a week of early voting before next week's nationwide midterm election, certain Diebold machines have been registering some votes for Democrats as selections for the Republican candidate.
Read More >>
Diebold Quietly Repaired Voting Machines
Reports: Diebold Repaired Thousands of Voting Machines
Without Telling Md. Officials
BALTIMORE - Diebold Election Systems quietly replaced flawed components in several thousand Maryland voting machines in 2005 to fix a "screen-freeze" problem the company had discovered three years earlier, according to published reports Thursday.
State Board of Elections Chairman Gilles W. Burger said Diebold's failure to fully inform board members of the repairs at the time raises questions about whether the company violated its state contracts.
Read More >>
Reports: Diebold Repaired Thousands of Voting Machines
Without Telling Md. Officials
BALTIMORE - Diebold Election Systems quietly replaced flawed components in several thousand Maryland voting machines in 2005 to fix a "screen-freeze" problem the company had discovered three years earlier, according to published reports Thursday.
State Board of Elections Chairman Gilles W. Burger said Diebold's failure to fully inform board members of the repairs at the time raises questions about whether the company violated its state contracts.
Read More >>
Twelve Arrested In Orange County Voter Fraud Scheme
Orange County's top prosecutor Monday defended his delay until a week before the election in outlining charges filed against a dozen people accused of switching registered Democrats to Republicans without their knowledge.
At a Santa Ana news conference, District Attorney Anthony Rackauckas, who was joined by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, denied that politics played a role in relation to revealing details about the case.
"We were making arrests during the week and I think it's appropriate to have a press conference," Rackauckas said. "We're at a time here when, I think, voter awareness is very important. People are thinking about elections, they're thinking about the Democratic process, and I think this is a very good time to get that awareness up that voter fraud is not going to be tolerated, not in this county and not in this state."
Read More >>
Orange County's top prosecutor Monday defended his delay until a week before the election in outlining charges filed against a dozen people accused of switching registered Democrats to Republicans without their knowledge.
At a Santa Ana news conference, District Attorney Anthony Rackauckas, who was joined by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, denied that politics played a role in relation to revealing details about the case.
"We were making arrests during the week and I think it's appropriate to have a press conference," Rackauckas said. "We're at a time here when, I think, voter awareness is very important. People are thinking about elections, they're thinking about the Democratic process, and I think this is a very good time to get that awareness up that voter fraud is not going to be tolerated, not in this county and not in this state."
Read More >>
MESS WITH TEXAS
State Rep Reports ES&S Touch-Screens Dropping Candidate Names, Flipping Straight Ticket Ballots from Democratic to Republican in San Antonio
Bradblog - 10/30/2006
The drumbeat of reports from around the country of touch-screen voting machines failing during Early Voting continues to grow. These aren't "glitches." These are failures.
So far, the reports have all involved Democratic (or Green) votes flipping to, or otherwise benefitting, Republican candidates. In South Florida, St. Louis County, Missouri, Virginia, Arkansas, Dallas, and now San Antonio, Texas.
While I was guesting this evening on the Chris Duel show on KTSA News-Talk 550 AM, we received a call from Democratic State Rep. Jose Menendez, who reported several incidents that have come to the attenion of his office during Early Voting, which is already under way in San Antonio. The reports concern votes flipping and candidates not showing up on the summary screens of Bexar County's paperless ES&S touch-screen systems.
Read More >>
State Rep Reports ES&S Touch-Screens Dropping Candidate Names, Flipping Straight Ticket Ballots from Democratic to Republican in San Antonio
Bradblog - 10/30/2006
The drumbeat of reports from around the country of touch-screen voting machines failing during Early Voting continues to grow. These aren't "glitches." These are failures.
So far, the reports have all involved Democratic (or Green) votes flipping to, or otherwise benefitting, Republican candidates. In South Florida, St. Louis County, Missouri, Virginia, Arkansas, Dallas, and now San Antonio, Texas.
While I was guesting this evening on the Chris Duel show on KTSA News-Talk 550 AM, we received a call from Democratic State Rep. Jose Menendez, who reported several incidents that have come to the attenion of his office during Early Voting, which is already under way in San Antonio. The reports concern votes flipping and candidates not showing up on the summary screens of Bexar County's paperless ES&S touch-screen systems.
Read More >>
27 October 2006
Va. Elections Board Orders Backup Voting Equipment
October 27
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The State Board of Elections has ordered three Virginia localities with flawed voting machines to add machines in case the equipment causes confusion on Election Day.
Alexandria, Charlottesville and Falls Church have touch-screen machines that don't spell out the full names of several candidates on the summary page.
Among them is the Democratic candidate for US Senate, James "Jim" Webb Junior. His last name is not completed on the page.
The full names of the candidates appear on the ballot where voters make their choices. The shortened name shows up on a summary page, where voters can review their selections before hitting the button to record their votes.
The three localities are the only ones in the state using machines they bought from Hart InterCivic. The company says it will fix the equipment, but cannot get state certification in time for the election next month.
Jean Jensen, secretary of the elections board, says elections officials in the three localities have been instructed to post signs informing voters of the error and to add machines.
Read More >>
October 27
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The State Board of Elections has ordered three Virginia localities with flawed voting machines to add machines in case the equipment causes confusion on Election Day.
Alexandria, Charlottesville and Falls Church have touch-screen machines that don't spell out the full names of several candidates on the summary page.
Among them is the Democratic candidate for US Senate, James "Jim" Webb Junior. His last name is not completed on the page.
The full names of the candidates appear on the ballot where voters make their choices. The shortened name shows up on a summary page, where voters can review their selections before hitting the button to record their votes.
The three localities are the only ones in the state using machines they bought from Hart InterCivic. The company says it will fix the equipment, but cannot get state certification in time for the election next month.
Jean Jensen, secretary of the elections board, says elections officials in the three localities have been instructed to post signs informing voters of the error and to add machines.
Read More >>
26 October 2006
25 October 2006
DoD's New, Untested, Secretly Developed Overseas Military Voting Scheme for General Election 'Poses Significant Security Risks.'
Bradblog
Last month we reported on the Defense Department's newly announced scheme to allow military and overseas ballots to be cast via the Internet. It was pointed out, among other concerns, that in many cases troop and overseas citizen votes would be subject to conversion from unsecured email voting into faxed documents by a private company who, in turn, would then forward the vote to the appropriate county jurisdiction.
The San Jose Mercury News quoted experts at the time who charged the system was "ripe for fraud" as military voters would apparently not be warned that their ballots might be seen by others and transferred into faxes, etc. by "a private contractor whose top executives have made political contributions to Republican Party organizations."
Underscoring those initial reports today, a group of independent computer scientists and E-Voting experts including David Jefferson of Livermore National Laboratories, Avi Rubin of Johns Hopkins, David Wagner of UC Berkeley, and Barbara Simons, a former researcher for IBM, have released an alarming short paper warning of "significant risks" found in the newly announced plan from the DoD's "Federal Voting Assistance Program" (FVAP).
Read More >>
Bradblog
Last month we reported on the Defense Department's newly announced scheme to allow military and overseas ballots to be cast via the Internet. It was pointed out, among other concerns, that in many cases troop and overseas citizen votes would be subject to conversion from unsecured email voting into faxed documents by a private company who, in turn, would then forward the vote to the appropriate county jurisdiction.
The San Jose Mercury News quoted experts at the time who charged the system was "ripe for fraud" as military voters would apparently not be warned that their ballots might be seen by others and transferred into faxes, etc. by "a private contractor whose top executives have made political contributions to Republican Party organizations."
Underscoring those initial reports today, a group of independent computer scientists and E-Voting experts including David Jefferson of Livermore National Laboratories, Avi Rubin of Johns Hopkins, David Wagner of UC Berkeley, and Barbara Simons, a former researcher for IBM, have released an alarming short paper warning of "significant risks" found in the newly announced plan from the DoD's "Federal Voting Assistance Program" (FVAP).
Read More >>
Quebec puts the brakes on electronic voting
Engadget - Oct 25th 2006
While the U.S. mid-term elections are going full steam ahead with a myriad of maybe-reliable and not-so-reliable electronic voting systems in place, Quebec is pulling back from its adventures in e-voting, after the province's chief electoral officer Marcel Blanchet delivered a harsh report on the 2005 municipal elections. The voting machines were used in some 140 municipalities in the province last year but, according to the report, they went down like bad plate of poutine, suffering from blackouts and transmission errors, resulting in unreliable results -- although he adds that there's nothing that can be done about the results now except to move on. He also reported that the electronic voting machines weren't any faster or more economical than manual counting. As a result of the report, Quebec's Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau is accepting Blanchet's recommendation that the current moratorium on electronic voting put in place after last year's elections be maintained, apparently indefinitely.
Read More >>
Engadget - Oct 25th 2006
While the U.S. mid-term elections are going full steam ahead with a myriad of maybe-reliable and not-so-reliable electronic voting systems in place, Quebec is pulling back from its adventures in e-voting, after the province's chief electoral officer Marcel Blanchet delivered a harsh report on the 2005 municipal elections. The voting machines were used in some 140 municipalities in the province last year but, according to the report, they went down like bad plate of poutine, suffering from blackouts and transmission errors, resulting in unreliable results -- although he adds that there's nothing that can be done about the results now except to move on. He also reported that the electronic voting machines weren't any faster or more economical than manual counting. As a result of the report, Quebec's Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau is accepting Blanchet's recommendation that the current moratorium on electronic voting put in place after last year's elections be maintained, apparently indefinitely.
Read More >>
24 October 2006
Potential problems loom in election voting
Yahoo News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Long lines and long counts threaten to mar next month's U.S. congressional elections as millions of Americans put new voting machines and rules to the test, election officials and experts say.
The result could be delays in knowing whether Democrats capture one or both houses of the U.S. Congress, or whether President George W. Bush's Republicans keep control.
"In close elections, it may be days and weeks before a winner is known in a particular race," said Paul DeGregorio, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, created to oversee a 2002 election law overhaul.
Read More >>
Yahoo News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Long lines and long counts threaten to mar next month's U.S. congressional elections as millions of Americans put new voting machines and rules to the test, election officials and experts say.
The result could be delays in knowing whether Democrats capture one or both houses of the U.S. Congress, or whether President George W. Bush's Republicans keep control.
"In close elections, it may be days and weeks before a winner is known in a particular race," said Paul DeGregorio, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, created to oversee a 2002 election law overhaul.
Read More >>
Voter chaos predicted at US polls
FT - Holly Yeager
A combination of new voting technologies, changed rules for voters and a tight battle for control of Congress threatens to result in widespread troubles during the US midterm elections, according to a report to be released on Tuesday.
The study, by electionline.org, a non-partisan election clearinghouse, examines an array of changes to US voting practices and their potential impact on polling day, November 7.
“This was supposed to be the year – and the election – when the voting process nationwide was more secure, more technologically advanced and more trusted by the citizens and candidates participating,” the report says. “Yet as the midterm elections approach, machine failures, database delays and foul-ups, inconsistent procedures, new rules and new equipment have some predicting chaos at the polls at worst – and widespread polling place snafus at best.”
Read More >>
FT - Holly Yeager
A combination of new voting technologies, changed rules for voters and a tight battle for control of Congress threatens to result in widespread troubles during the US midterm elections, according to a report to be released on Tuesday.
The study, by electionline.org, a non-partisan election clearinghouse, examines an array of changes to US voting practices and their potential impact on polling day, November 7.
“This was supposed to be the year – and the election – when the voting process nationwide was more secure, more technologically advanced and more trusted by the citizens and candidates participating,” the report says. “Yet as the midterm elections approach, machine failures, database delays and foul-ups, inconsistent procedures, new rules and new equipment have some predicting chaos at the polls at worst – and widespread polling place snafus at best.”
Read More >>
Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names
Computer Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions;
Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov. 7
Washington Post - October 24, 2006
U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.
Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.
Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.
Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.
"We're not happy about it," Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. "I don't think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that's a concern."
[...] Election officials in Alexandria said they have been vexed by the problem since they purchased the voting machines in 2003. Although the problem has raised eyebrows among confused voters, elections officials said they are confident that the trouble has not led voters to cast ballots incorrectly.
"This is not the kind of problem that has either shaken our confidence in the system overall or that of the vote," said Alexandria Registrar Tom Parkins. "There have been far worse problems around the country."
Read More >>
Computer Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions;
Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov. 7
Washington Post - October 24, 2006
U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.
Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.
Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.
Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.
"We're not happy about it," Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. "I don't think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that's a concern."
[...] Election officials in Alexandria said they have been vexed by the problem since they purchased the voting machines in 2003. Although the problem has raised eyebrows among confused voters, elections officials said they are confident that the trouble has not led voters to cast ballots incorrectly.
"This is not the kind of problem that has either shaken our confidence in the system overall or that of the vote," said Alexandria Registrar Tom Parkins. "There have been far worse problems around the country."
Read More >>
Chicago Voter Database Hacked
ABC News
Bob Wilson, an official with the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project — which bills itself as a not-for-profit civic organization dedicated to the correction of election system deficiencies — tells ABC News that last week his organization hacked the database, which contains detailed information about hundreds of thousands of Chicago voters, including their Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.
"It was a serious identity theft problem, but also a problem that could potentially create problems with the election," Wilson said.
Read More >>
ABC News
Bob Wilson, an official with the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project — which bills itself as a not-for-profit civic organization dedicated to the correction of election system deficiencies — tells ABC News that last week his organization hacked the database, which contains detailed information about hundreds of thousands of Chicago voters, including their Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.
"It was a serious identity theft problem, but also a problem that could potentially create problems with the election," Wilson said.
Read More >>
Cook Political Report : Devastating Tidal Wave looms
The most important result is the finding that among ` most likely voters' , the Dems lead the GOP by 22 % , 57 - 35 %.
With a margin like that, the only way the GOP will hang into the Congress is through massive vote fraud; so massive it will be very, very obvious what is going on.
If the American people want control of their nation back, then they need to be ready to tar and feather anyone, of ANY party, caught cheating this election.
Read More >>
The most important result is the finding that among ` most likely voters' , the Dems lead the GOP by 22 % , 57 - 35 %.
With a margin like that, the only way the GOP will hang into the Congress is through massive vote fraud; so massive it will be very, very obvious what is going on.
If the American people want control of their nation back, then they need to be ready to tar and feather anyone, of ANY party, caught cheating this election.
Read More >>
Voting Irregularities Discovered in Ward 5
Primary Election Results in Washington, D.C.
DC Statehood Green candidate, in routine review of votes after primary, uncovers discrepancy: only 89 votes recorded for 140 Statehood Green voters, with 51 votes apparently 'lost'.
Read More >>
Primary Election Results in Washington, D.C.
DC Statehood Green candidate, in routine review of votes after primary, uncovers discrepancy: only 89 votes recorded for 140 Statehood Green voters, with 51 votes apparently 'lost'.
Read More >>
Electronic Voting Machines Could Skew Elections
Diebold, the company that makes the voting machines, told ABC News, "These discs do not alter the security of the Diebold touch-screen system in any way," because election workers can set their own passwords.
But ABC News has obtained an independent report commissioned by the state of Maryland and conducted by Science Applications International Corporation revealing that the original Diebold factory passwords are still being used on many voting machines.
Read More >>
Diebold, the company that makes the voting machines, told ABC News, "These discs do not alter the security of the Diebold touch-screen system in any way," because election workers can set their own passwords.
But ABC News has obtained an independent report commissioned by the state of Maryland and conducted by Science Applications International Corporation revealing that the original Diebold factory passwords are still being used on many voting machines.
Read More >>
22 October 2006
It's a must: hackerproof democracy
Denver Post
It's been four weeks since a judge said the secretary of state had done an "abysmal" job of certifying the security of the state's voting system and ordered emergency measures to try to ensure the integrity of the voting process.
That's 19 business days for clerks in all 64 Colorado counties to install video surveillance of voting machines, run background checks on anyone charged with transporting the equipment, put numbered security seals on all machines, provide climate-controlled storage and fulfill the rest of the judge's requirements before early voting begins.
Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Scott Doyle has called it "craziness."
Read More >>
Denver Post
It's been four weeks since a judge said the secretary of state had done an "abysmal" job of certifying the security of the state's voting system and ordered emergency measures to try to ensure the integrity of the voting process.
That's 19 business days for clerks in all 64 Colorado counties to install video surveillance of voting machines, run background checks on anyone charged with transporting the equipment, put numbered security seals on all machines, provide climate-controlled storage and fulfill the rest of the judge's requirements before early voting begins.
Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Scott Doyle has called it "craziness."
Read More >>
21 October 2006
FBI Investigating Source of Disks; Diebold Says Elections Safe
October 21, 2006
Olney, MD (AP) - The FBI is investigating the possible theft of two computer disks believed to contain electronic voting software.
The disks were delivered anonymously to the Olney office of Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland delegate who has questioned the security of electronic voting systems.
A Maryland election official tells The Washington Post that the disks were apparently produced for use by a firm hired by the state to assess the security of Maryland's electronic voting systems.
Labels on the disks indicate they contain the versions of two Diebold programs that powered voting machines in Maryland in 2004.
The program is no longer used in Maryland.
The president of Diebold says the system that will be used in next month's election is safe and tamperproof.
Read More >>
October 21, 2006
Olney, MD (AP) - The FBI is investigating the possible theft of two computer disks believed to contain electronic voting software.
The disks were delivered anonymously to the Olney office of Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland delegate who has questioned the security of electronic voting systems.
A Maryland election official tells The Washington Post that the disks were apparently produced for use by a firm hired by the state to assess the security of Maryland's electronic voting systems.
Labels on the disks indicate they contain the versions of two Diebold programs that powered voting machines in Maryland in 2004.
The program is no longer used in Maryland.
The president of Diebold says the system that will be used in next month's election is safe and tamperproof.
Read More >>
19 October 2006
13 October 2006
The Elephant in the Polling Booth
Mark Crispin Miller
To say that this election could go either way is not to say that the Republicans have any chance of winning it. As a civic entity responsive to the voters' will, the party's over, there being no American majority that backs it, or that ever would. Bush has left the GOP in much the same condition as Iraq, Afghanistan, the global climate, New Orleans, the Bill of Rights, our military, our economy and our national reputation. Thus the regime is reviled as hotly by conservatives as by liberals, nor do any moderates support it.
So slight is Bush's popularity that his own party's candidates for Congress are afraid to speak his name or to be seen with him (although their numbers, in the aggregate, are even lower than his). It seems the only citizens who still have any faith in him are those who think God wants us to burn witches and drive SUVs. For all their zeal, such theocratic types are not in the majority, not even close, and thus there's no chance that the GOP can get the necessary votes.
And so the Democrats are feeling good, and calling for a giant drive to get the vote out on Election Day. Such an effort is essential—and not just to the Democrats but to the very survival of this foundering Republic. However, such a drive will do the Democrats, and all the rest of us, more harm than good if it fails to note a certain fact about our current situation: i.e., that the Democrats are going to lose the contest in November, even though the people will (again) be voting for them. The Bush Republicans are likely to remain in power despite the fact that only a minority will vote to have them there. That, at any rate, is what will happen if we don't start working to pre-empt it now.
Even though this election could go either way, neither way will benefit the Democrats. Either the Republicans will steal their "re-election" on Election Day, just as they did two years ago, or they will slime their way to "victory" through force and fraud and strident propaganda, as they did after Election Day 2000. Whichever strategy they use, the only way to stop it is to face it, and then shout so long and loud about it that the people finally perceive, at last, that their suspicions are entirely just—and, this time, just say no.
MUST READ!!! >>
Mark Crispin Miller
To say that this election could go either way is not to say that the Republicans have any chance of winning it. As a civic entity responsive to the voters' will, the party's over, there being no American majority that backs it, or that ever would. Bush has left the GOP in much the same condition as Iraq, Afghanistan, the global climate, New Orleans, the Bill of Rights, our military, our economy and our national reputation. Thus the regime is reviled as hotly by conservatives as by liberals, nor do any moderates support it.
So slight is Bush's popularity that his own party's candidates for Congress are afraid to speak his name or to be seen with him (although their numbers, in the aggregate, are even lower than his). It seems the only citizens who still have any faith in him are those who think God wants us to burn witches and drive SUVs. For all their zeal, such theocratic types are not in the majority, not even close, and thus there's no chance that the GOP can get the necessary votes.
And so the Democrats are feeling good, and calling for a giant drive to get the vote out on Election Day. Such an effort is essential—and not just to the Democrats but to the very survival of this foundering Republic. However, such a drive will do the Democrats, and all the rest of us, more harm than good if it fails to note a certain fact about our current situation: i.e., that the Democrats are going to lose the contest in November, even though the people will (again) be voting for them. The Bush Republicans are likely to remain in power despite the fact that only a minority will vote to have them there. That, at any rate, is what will happen if we don't start working to pre-empt it now.
Even though this election could go either way, neither way will benefit the Democrats. Either the Republicans will steal their "re-election" on Election Day, just as they did two years ago, or they will slime their way to "victory" through force and fraud and strident propaganda, as they did after Election Day 2000. Whichever strategy they use, the only way to stop it is to face it, and then shout so long and loud about it that the people finally perceive, at last, that their suspicions are entirely just—and, this time, just say no.
MUST READ!!! >>
HACKED!
What People Are Saying
"The dishonesty that has marked the election practices of this new century is despicable. For the past 200 years we've improved the voting booth to include all of our citzens. Now that we all have the right to vote,we must ensure that all of our votes are counted. 'Hacked!' is a must-read!"
-- Liz Carpenter - Author, Lecturer, Former Press Secretary, and Chief of Staff to Lady Bird Johnson.
"'Hacked'is a stunning expose of stolen elections and election voting manipulation.It is shocking and alarming.The book by Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp is designed to wake up America.I am sure it will."
-- Helen Thomas - Hearst Newspapers Columnist and author of "The First Lady of the Press"
"You get a receipt when you buy a Slurpee,don't you? Why not when you choose a president? 'HACKED!'cracks open the democracy-in-a-box scam called 'electronic voting'. Can a robot pick a president better than you can? This crew of experts and investigators explains why robo-voting can't be trusted."
-- Greg Palast - BBC investigative reporter,filmmaker,author of "Armed Madhouse", the most important journalist of our time according to Britains'Tribune magazine
Read More >>
What People Are Saying
"The dishonesty that has marked the election practices of this new century is despicable. For the past 200 years we've improved the voting booth to include all of our citzens. Now that we all have the right to vote,we must ensure that all of our votes are counted. 'Hacked!' is a must-read!"
-- Liz Carpenter - Author, Lecturer, Former Press Secretary, and Chief of Staff to Lady Bird Johnson.
"'Hacked'is a stunning expose of stolen elections and election voting manipulation.It is shocking and alarming.The book by Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp is designed to wake up America.I am sure it will."
-- Helen Thomas - Hearst Newspapers Columnist and author of "The First Lady of the Press"
"You get a receipt when you buy a Slurpee,don't you? Why not when you choose a president? 'HACKED!'cracks open the democracy-in-a-box scam called 'electronic voting'. Can a robot pick a president better than you can? This crew of experts and investigators explains why robo-voting can't be trusted."
-- Greg Palast - BBC investigative reporter,filmmaker,author of "Armed Madhouse", the most important journalist of our time according to Britains'Tribune magazine
Read More >>
12 October 2006
Open Letter Sent to States Urging Emergency Paper
Ballot Plans and Procedures for November Election
Bradblog
An urgent letter has been sent today to the Governors, Secretaries of State and State Election Directors of all 50 states urging them to immediately create and implement plans and procedures for allowing the use of Emergency Paper Ballots at every local jurisdiction during this November's general election.
The missive, signed by a broad coalition of more than 50 Election Integrity Advocate groups, congressional members, elections officials, computer scientists, attorneys and journalists comes on the heels of Federal legislation recently introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate. Those bills, which were not brought up for a vote before Congress adjourned for the Election Recess, called for funding to states who implement plans to provide Emergency Paper Ballots. The legislation was introduced in the wake of recent primary elections around the country where voters were unable to cast a vote due to failure, malfunction, or other inability of electronic voting systems.
The two-page letter [PDF] (also posted in full at the end of this article) was signed by individuals such as: Sen. Barbara Boxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Rush Holt, Leon County, FL Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, OH elections attorney Cliff Arnebeck and University of Iowa computer scientist Doug Jones. Organizations signed on include: Common Cause, VerifiedVoting.org, VotersUnite.org, BlackBoxVoting.org, VoterAction.org, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, MoveOn.org, TrueMajorityAction.org and many other national, state and local Election Integrity advocate groups.
"No legally registered voter should ever be told to 'come back later,' or be forced to use a provisional ballot simply because a voting system is unavailable to them at the time they are able to vote," the letter reads. "It is imperative that an ample supply of Emergency Paper Ballots be made available to account for any unforeseen circumstance."
The letter continues, "All voters must have the option to vote on an Emergency Paper Ballot if necessary and all such ballots must be counted as regular — not provisional — ballots."
Read More >>
Ballot Plans and Procedures for November Election
Bradblog
An urgent letter has been sent today to the Governors, Secretaries of State and State Election Directors of all 50 states urging them to immediately create and implement plans and procedures for allowing the use of Emergency Paper Ballots at every local jurisdiction during this November's general election.
The missive, signed by a broad coalition of more than 50 Election Integrity Advocate groups, congressional members, elections officials, computer scientists, attorneys and journalists comes on the heels of Federal legislation recently introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate. Those bills, which were not brought up for a vote before Congress adjourned for the Election Recess, called for funding to states who implement plans to provide Emergency Paper Ballots. The legislation was introduced in the wake of recent primary elections around the country where voters were unable to cast a vote due to failure, malfunction, or other inability of electronic voting systems.
The two-page letter [PDF] (also posted in full at the end of this article) was signed by individuals such as: Sen. Barbara Boxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Rush Holt, Leon County, FL Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, OH elections attorney Cliff Arnebeck and University of Iowa computer scientist Doug Jones. Organizations signed on include: Common Cause, VerifiedVoting.org, VotersUnite.org, BlackBoxVoting.org, VoterAction.org, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, MoveOn.org, TrueMajorityAction.org and many other national, state and local Election Integrity advocate groups.
"No legally registered voter should ever be told to 'come back later,' or be forced to use a provisional ballot simply because a voting system is unavailable to them at the time they are able to vote," the letter reads. "It is imperative that an ample supply of Emergency Paper Ballots be made available to account for any unforeseen circumstance."
The letter continues, "All voters must have the option to vote on an Emergency Paper Ballot if necessary and all such ballots must be counted as regular — not provisional — ballots."
Read More >>
10 October 2006
The paranoids are right
Mere possibility of machine error does harm to democracy; paper trails necessary to reassure voters
E.J. Dionne, Jr. - Washington Post
10.10.06 - WASHINGTON -- Sometimes, paranoids are right. And sometimes even when paranoids are wrong, it's worth considering what they're worried about.
I speak here of all who are worried sick that those new, fancy high-tech voting systems can be hacked, fiddled with and otherwise made to record votes that aren't cast, or fail to record votes that are.
I do not pretend to know how large a threat this is. I do know that it's a threat to democracy when so many Americans doubt that their votes will be recorded accurately. And I also know that smart, computer-savvy people out there are concerned about these machines.
[I don't appreciate being called a PARANOID. We haven't been paranoid ... they have been deaf, dumb, and blind. Dixychik]
Read More >>
Mere possibility of machine error does harm to democracy; paper trails necessary to reassure voters
E.J. Dionne, Jr. - Washington Post
10.10.06 - WASHINGTON -- Sometimes, paranoids are right. And sometimes even when paranoids are wrong, it's worth considering what they're worried about.
I speak here of all who are worried sick that those new, fancy high-tech voting systems can be hacked, fiddled with and otherwise made to record votes that aren't cast, or fail to record votes that are.
I do not pretend to know how large a threat this is. I do know that it's a threat to democracy when so many Americans doubt that their votes will be recorded accurately. And I also know that smart, computer-savvy people out there are concerned about these machines.
[I don't appreciate being called a PARANOID. We haven't been paranoid ... they have been deaf, dumb, and blind. Dixychik]
Read More >>
07 October 2006
Foley Helped Bush Disenfranchise Florida Black Voters
Huffington Post
When told about the sex antics of flamed out GOP star Mark Foley, a flushed and indignant President Bush professed shock and disgust to reporters in Stockton, California. Bush's shock and disgust was undoubtedly heartfelt given the magnitude of the sleaze and the mortal election year danger it posed to House Republican leadership, and Republican candidates.
But Bush was anything but indignant six years ago at Foley, and for good reason. Foley played a pivotal role in sealing Bush's much-disputed snatch of the White House. He helped shove thousands of dubious votes into the Bush column in his home district of Palm Beach County, Florida. And he enraged thousands of Democratic leaning black, Jewish, and elderly voters by passionately and publicly defending the manipulation, exclusion, and possible outright fraud of their votes.
Read More >>
Huffington Post
When told about the sex antics of flamed out GOP star Mark Foley, a flushed and indignant President Bush professed shock and disgust to reporters in Stockton, California. Bush's shock and disgust was undoubtedly heartfelt given the magnitude of the sleaze and the mortal election year danger it posed to House Republican leadership, and Republican candidates.
But Bush was anything but indignant six years ago at Foley, and for good reason. Foley played a pivotal role in sealing Bush's much-disputed snatch of the White House. He helped shove thousands of dubious votes into the Bush column in his home district of Palm Beach County, Florida. And he enraged thousands of Democratic leaning black, Jewish, and elderly voters by passionately and publicly defending the manipulation, exclusion, and possible outright fraud of their votes.
Read More >>
06 October 2006
Voter registrations faked in GOP drive
The Tennessean
At least five apparently bogus voter registration forms were submitted to the Metro Nashville election commission by a worker with ties to the Republican National Committee, and up to 150 other registrations have been called into question, The Tennessean has learned.
Election officials in Williamson County said they were probing three to five potentially fraudulent forms that might or might not be related to the Metro cases.
The five Metro forms contain the names, addresses and phone numbers of bona fide citizens, but the birth dates, Social Security numbers, signatures and some other details are wrong. Four of the citizens told The Tennessean that they did not submit the forms.
The five contain a signature with a surname of Morrison and a first name that is illegible but appears to begin with a "D." Metro staff said the registration forms bearing that signature were submitted in the name of Tennessee Victory 2006, a booster group advocating for GOP candidates in the state. A sixth form also apparently contains bogus information but does not bear a Morrison signature.
"I think it's pretty scary," said Jon Glassmeyer of east Nashville.
He discovered his name had been used when he received a new voter registration card in the mail though he's been registered for 20 years. He first noticed that the birth date was wrong and then that the Social Security number was off, too.
He's never heard of anyone named Morrison.
Read More >>
The Tennessean
At least five apparently bogus voter registration forms were submitted to the Metro Nashville election commission by a worker with ties to the Republican National Committee, and up to 150 other registrations have been called into question, The Tennessean has learned.
Election officials in Williamson County said they were probing three to five potentially fraudulent forms that might or might not be related to the Metro cases.
The five Metro forms contain the names, addresses and phone numbers of bona fide citizens, but the birth dates, Social Security numbers, signatures and some other details are wrong. Four of the citizens told The Tennessean that they did not submit the forms.
The five contain a signature with a surname of Morrison and a first name that is illegible but appears to begin with a "D." Metro staff said the registration forms bearing that signature were submitted in the name of Tennessee Victory 2006, a booster group advocating for GOP candidates in the state. A sixth form also apparently contains bogus information but does not bear a Morrison signature.
"I think it's pretty scary," said Jon Glassmeyer of east Nashville.
He discovered his name had been used when he received a new voter registration card in the mail though he's been registered for 20 years. He first noticed that the birth date was wrong and then that the Social Security number was off, too.
He's never heard of anyone named Morrison.
Read More >>
05 October 2006
The Headless Crisis
Unprecedented election fraud demands we stretch the meaning of citizenship
Robert C. Koehler - Common Wonders
As the party of torture and war profiteering finally founders on a scandal tawdry and trivial enough to achieve media staying power — a month before the congressional election, no less — I counsel sober restraint on the ironic gloating.
Sure, if the outing of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley’s gay chat-room banter with an underage congressional page brings down the Republican Congress, stops war with Iran, saves habeas corpus and wrests our democracy from the crowd that hates it, well, that’d be great, of course. But I don’t think we should get complacent.
What we mustn’t do is succumb to the illusion that democracy somehow takes care of itself.
I address this column to those of you with doubts, large and small, about the electoral process, and there are a lot of you out there — more than half the electorate, according to a recent Zogby poll. If you start taking your doubts seriously — if you begin staring with unblinking eyes into the can of worms that is our electoral system — you’ll feel your priorities begin to shift. There’s no non-alarmist way to put this: It’s worse than you think.
Read More >>
Unprecedented election fraud demands we stretch the meaning of citizenship
Robert C. Koehler - Common Wonders
As the party of torture and war profiteering finally founders on a scandal tawdry and trivial enough to achieve media staying power — a month before the congressional election, no less — I counsel sober restraint on the ironic gloating.
Sure, if the outing of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley’s gay chat-room banter with an underage congressional page brings down the Republican Congress, stops war with Iran, saves habeas corpus and wrests our democracy from the crowd that hates it, well, that’d be great, of course. But I don’t think we should get complacent.
What we mustn’t do is succumb to the illusion that democracy somehow takes care of itself.
I address this column to those of you with doubts, large and small, about the electoral process, and there are a lot of you out there — more than half the electorate, according to a recent Zogby poll. If you start taking your doubts seriously — if you begin staring with unblinking eyes into the can of worms that is our electoral system — you’ll feel your priorities begin to shift. There’s no non-alarmist way to put this: It’s worse than you think.
Read More >>
02 October 2006
Allegations trip up voting rights group
Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP
An advocacy group that registered more than a million voters two years ago is wrestling with new allegations of voter fraud and sloppy work just weeks before crucial midterm elections.
In Philadelphia, the city's voter registration office has rejected about 3,000 cards submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now since April because of missing information or invalid addresses.
Election officials in three of Ohio's largest counties have cited problems with hundreds of voter registration cards. ACORN is accused of submitting cards with nonexistent addresses, forged signatures and, in one case, for someone who died seven years ago.
[...] ACORN, which has about 220,000 members nationally, registered 1.2 million people to vote in 2004 and is running voter registration drives in 17 states this year.
The nonprofit dispatches workers and volunteers to poor neighborhoods, gas stations, courthouses and other places to sign up new voters.
[...] ACORN also was accused of fraud in 2004 in Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina and Virginia, and in 2003 in Missouri.
Prosecution is rare, and federal lawsuits against the group were dismissed in Florida.
Read More >>
Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP
An advocacy group that registered more than a million voters two years ago is wrestling with new allegations of voter fraud and sloppy work just weeks before crucial midterm elections.
In Philadelphia, the city's voter registration office has rejected about 3,000 cards submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now since April because of missing information or invalid addresses.
Election officials in three of Ohio's largest counties have cited problems with hundreds of voter registration cards. ACORN is accused of submitting cards with nonexistent addresses, forged signatures and, in one case, for someone who died seven years ago.
[...] ACORN, which has about 220,000 members nationally, registered 1.2 million people to vote in 2004 and is running voter registration drives in 17 states this year.
The nonprofit dispatches workers and volunteers to poor neighborhoods, gas stations, courthouses and other places to sign up new voters.
[...] ACORN also was accused of fraud in 2004 in Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina and Virginia, and in 2003 in Missouri.
Prosecution is rare, and federal lawsuits against the group were dismissed in Florida.
Read More >>
Editorial: Cheating the machine
The perils of electronic voting go on display
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - October 02, 2006
It would be a terrible irony if the United States, having bet blood and money on making Iraq a democracy to transform the Middle East, should see democracy become dysfunctional at home. Yet a time bomb is ticking away that threatens to explode the integrity of the American electoral system.
The mechanism at issue seems innocuous, so much so that many people don't take the threat seriously. After the debacle of the hanging chads and much else in the 2000 presidential election, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which required states to replace the patchwork of old voting machines with modern computerized systems.
The remedy may yet prove more dangerous than the disease -- and on Thursday Congress got a compelling demonstration of why.
Appearing before the House Administration Committee, Edward W. Felten, a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University, showed how he could put a virus on an electronic voting machine -- a Diebold AccuVote-TS -- so that it would wrongly record votes. He said he purchased keys to the unit on the Internet.
As it happens, Allegheny County eventually settled on iVotronic touchscreen machines, although a newer version from Diebold was chosen by 16 Pennsylvania counties, including Armstrong and Washington. But while Diebold is more controversial than most, electronic machines from other companies are also vulnerable to tampering. Mr. Felten's dramatic display merely backed up the reports made by other experts.
If electronic machines printed paper receipts that could be verified by the voter and then collected, that would settle many post-election arguments and boost public confidence. Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania at least, that has been rejected, because such backups would supposedly violate the privacy of voters and offend state law and the constitution.
But the greater right is for voters to have their ballots counted accurately. What is needed is state and federal law to fix the law that was supposed to fix the problem. The time bomb is ticking. If there's another great controversy like 2000, the fury of the aggrieved will be greater and they won't be so easily dismissed as sore losers. With the problems of electronic voting exposed, they may look more like sore winners.
Read More >>
The perils of electronic voting go on display
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - October 02, 2006
It would be a terrible irony if the United States, having bet blood and money on making Iraq a democracy to transform the Middle East, should see democracy become dysfunctional at home. Yet a time bomb is ticking away that threatens to explode the integrity of the American electoral system.
The mechanism at issue seems innocuous, so much so that many people don't take the threat seriously. After the debacle of the hanging chads and much else in the 2000 presidential election, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which required states to replace the patchwork of old voting machines with modern computerized systems.
The remedy may yet prove more dangerous than the disease -- and on Thursday Congress got a compelling demonstration of why.
Appearing before the House Administration Committee, Edward W. Felten, a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University, showed how he could put a virus on an electronic voting machine -- a Diebold AccuVote-TS -- so that it would wrongly record votes. He said he purchased keys to the unit on the Internet.
As it happens, Allegheny County eventually settled on iVotronic touchscreen machines, although a newer version from Diebold was chosen by 16 Pennsylvania counties, including Armstrong and Washington. But while Diebold is more controversial than most, electronic machines from other companies are also vulnerable to tampering. Mr. Felten's dramatic display merely backed up the reports made by other experts.
If electronic machines printed paper receipts that could be verified by the voter and then collected, that would settle many post-election arguments and boost public confidence. Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania at least, that has been rejected, because such backups would supposedly violate the privacy of voters and offend state law and the constitution.
But the greater right is for voters to have their ballots counted accurately. What is needed is state and federal law to fix the law that was supposed to fix the problem. The time bomb is ticking. If there's another great controversy like 2000, the fury of the aggrieved will be greater and they won't be so easily dismissed as sore losers. With the problems of electronic voting exposed, they may look more like sore winners.
Read More >>
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