California election fraud updated reports
author: ~L
|
Election fraud in California... Election fraud in Washington State in the last election... When is Oregon next?
|
Brad on The Mike Malloy Show
(And a Quick Hit on Ed Schultz with the Great Jim Lampley)
Just off the air from the Mike Malloy show. And yes, before I came on he did
comment that when touched the screen of the Diebold voting machine he
used to vote in today's Georgia primary, it was touching the ass of Satan. If
you missed it, his interview with me follows. It was a lively one. We discussed
trouble at the Georgia primaries, the Busby/Bilbray sleepover mess, Diebold
skullduggery in the California Secretary of State's office, and all manners of
democracy crumbling.
He asked me to stay over for an additional segment after the top of the hour,
when we had a... .skeptic call in from Sacramento who believes I'm "a phony."
Which is always fun, of course. Glad to meet the critics. Enjoy...
- Brad on Mike Malloy Show, 7/18/06 [MP3, appx 40 mins]
Also, I had meant to post this a couple of weeks ago, so will take the
opportunity to do so now before I hit the road for the next bunch of weeks and
may become scarcer than I'd like (but I really need a break. Big time. So
please forgive me) This is audio from the Ed Schultz when NBC/HBO sports
anchor Jim Lampley was sitting in for Schultz show a day or two after our
Emergency Busby/Bilbray Townhall in San Diego. I'm on with him for just a
quick few minutes, but he gave one of the kindest and most generous
introductions I've ever received. Lampley is a terrific hero himself, and was
kind enough to show up to support us at the San Diego event with his wife
Bree Walker (whose new show in Los Angeles, I hope to be doing soon as
well. Like Lamps, she's aces!)
- Brad on Ed Schultz Show, Guest Host Jim Lampley, 6/30/06 [MP3, appx 5
mins]
found at  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3091&print=1
___
______
Protesters call for elections investigation
By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO -- Saying they distrusted electronic voting machines and the way
the county handled them, dozens of protesters called on county supervisors
Tuesday to hold an investigation and public hearing on their concerns "about
the integrity" of local elections.
Supervisors made no immediate comment Tuesday, but chairman Bill Horn
said he was not inclined to ask for any investigation after the board meeting.
The protesters were led by Jess Durfee, chair of the San Diego County
Democratic party, and included people who identified themselves as poll
workers, political candidates, members of the League of Women Voters,
activists and academics.
Speakers who testified at the county board meeting said:
# They remain convinced that the electronic voting machines that the county
plans to use en masse in November could be tampered with ---- resulting in
fraudulent, stolen elections.
# That they seriously question County Registrar Mikel Haas' decision to let
polling officers bring the Diebold Systems, Inc. electronic voting machines
home with them before the June elections ---- sometimes for as long as two
weeks. The county used the machines in a limited manner in the June 6
primary elections. Protesters said poll workers or others could rig the
machines while they are outside of the county's control.
County Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard issued a statement through
county spokesman Mike Workman, calling Haas "the best registrar in the
state."
Haas said over the telephone Tuesday that polling officers have always been
allowed to bring home the balloting materials, in part because it would take
too long to try to drive materials out to 1,600-plus precincts on election day.
He said that machines are equipped with seals to prevent or detect
tampering, that they are checked out to polling officers trained by the county,
that "zero-tapes" are run before voting begins to ensure the machines have
not been used, that they are watched while the election is run, and checked
back in after voting stops.
And, he said, tampering with election materials or results is a felony offense.
After the county meeting, Durfee and about 45 protesters held a press
conference on the county steps, carrying signs reading, "Honest elections
now," "Vote paper --- hand count," and "No honest count of votes (equals) no
democracy," ---- and occasionally chanting, "Count our votes!"
Protesters, including Durfee, said they had no evidence of specific incidences
of potential election fraud. But they said they felt there was a "growing crisis
of
confidence" surrounding elections and the voting system.
Prodded by reporters to point out incidences where machines might have
been manipulated, one upset woman shrieked, "You wouldn't be aware" ----
suggesting that tampered electronic machines could throw elections
undetected.
Tuesday's protest was just the latest incident in a long-running drama
surrounding the county's attempt to move to electronic, touch-screen voting
machines after federal and state officials banned punch-card ballots in 2001.
Supervisors voted to spend $31 million to buy 10,200 touch-screen machines
in December 2003 from Ohio-based Diebold. In 2004, the state conditionally
certified the machines, and the county used them in full force in the 2004
primary elections. But electronic glitches caused 36 percent of the county's
precincts to open late, preventing an unknown number of voters from voting.
The state then banned the county and three others from using the machines
in the November general elections, and required Diebold to create a way for
the machines to create printed, paper copies of votes.
For the last two years, the county has been using paper ballots and "optical
scanning" machines to count them while waiting for Diebold's machines to
pass state and federal muster. They were certified by the state again in
February. The county used them for disabled voters at the polls in June.
A number of the protesters at Tuesday's board meeting said they were
particularly dismayed because Haas allowed polling officers to bring ballot
materials ---- including the electronic voting machines ---- home with them
before elections.
They said that could allow machines to be tampered with.
"Why don't Las Vegas casinos send their slot machines home with their
employees?" Oceanside resident and longtime electronic voting critic Jim
Hamilton asked supervisors. "It's because they don't want to gamble with their
money. Why do we gamble with our votes?"
Haas said the county would continue to move forward on its plans to use the
electronic voting machines "in full force" in November.
Supervisor Horn, meanwhile, said he was satisfied that the state had certified
the Diebold machines, and said that public hearings had already been held at
the state and county level.
"I don't have a problem with the integrity of the system," Horn said.
Ekard, meanwhile, praised Haas and the county's system in the statement
read by Workman.
"I think Mikel Haas is the best Registrar in the state," the statement read. "He
and his office just ran a great election, and several great elections in the
past
few months. Mikel and his staff are always looking for ways to improve the
election process and will continue to do so."
-- Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or
 gconaughton@nctimes.com.
from http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/07/19/news/top_stories/
12_05_187_18_06.txt
___
Supervisors grill registrar on election glitches
Greg Kane
Record Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006
San Joaquin County's top elections official offered a blunt assessment of last
month's glitch-plagued primary during a presentation to county lawmakers
Tuesday.
"Election day, as you know, did not go well for me," Deborah Hench told the
county Board of Supervisors during the morning hearing.
Hench was called to answer questions about the June 6 primary, which was
plagued by staff shortages, equipment problems, and late absentee ballots
and precinct openings. At least 35 of the 333 polling places during the
election had only one or two workers instead of the recommended four, and
some workers weren't trained properly to assemble and maintain the Diebold
TSx touchscreen machines used by the county.
::: Advertisement :::
Several board members said they were disappointed by the outcome of the
recent primary and of other elections that were marred by similar precinct and
balloting problems. Supervisor Victor Mow said experience gained from
previous elections should allow Hench and other officials better to anticipate
problems instead of suffering new ones.
"Sometimes it feels like we're not getting better and even going backwards,"
Mow said.
The county has changed voting systems five times since 2002, mostly
because of certification problems with the touchscreen equipment used in last
month's election. The county had used the ATM-like equipment in the March
2004 primary before shelving it after other counties had problems with
crashing and freezing.
Supervisor Jack Sieglock acknowledged that many outside factors could lead
to poor performance on election day but said the ultimate responsibility falls
to
Hench.
"The burden, fair or unfair, is yours," Sieglock told Hench.
Several factors led to the problems June 6, Hench said. Absentee ballots from
some areas were late, because a printing firm could not reproduce some of
the document's templates.
Some poll workers failed to show up the morning of the primary, leading
several stations to open late. Many other polling places were understaffed
because of a scarcity of volunteers, a problem exacerbated by the absence of
hundreds of high school seniors who volunteered for credit when the state
held primaries in March, Hench said.
Sieglock also complained that he could see how the people around him in the
polling place were voting simply by turning his head at the machine. Hench
said some poll workers didn't organize the machines properly to be at least 3
feet apart and placed flat against the wall, a problem she aims to correct by
distributing photographs to workers in November.
Another problem came from the new printers attached to the touchscreen
machines to produce a state-required paper trail. Some workers had
problems setting up the printers so they worked properly, she said.
Hench plans to revamp the department's training methods to improve the
performance of poll workers in November. The county also is considering
increasing poll workers' stipends - they currently earn $65 to $85 for the day's
work, or $4.50 to $6 an hour - to attract more people.
The June primary was the latest in a string of elections that have had some
glitches in the county.
In November 2004, ballot shortages and poll-worker problems delayed vote
tallying into the early hours of the next morning.
Last November, a misplaced card containing ballots from two precincts forced
workers to rescan the documents, also delaying results.
Hench said she is doing everything in her power to ensure things go more
smoothly this November. She acknowledged that she likely will bear the
blame if problems persist, however.
"The buck does stop at my desk," she said.
Contact reporter Greg Kane at (209) 546-8276 or gkane@recordnet.com
from http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060719/
NEWS01/607190313
___
By Leslie Wolf Branscomb
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 19, 2006
The security and reliability of the county's electronic voting system was
questioned yesterday by protesters, who are calling for county hearings into
possible voting irregularities.
Their request, however, is likely to go unheeded. The majority of county
supervisors said yesterday that hearings are unnecessary because the voting
machines have been certified by the California secretary of state. Some
dismissed the protest as election-year grandstanding.
AdvertisementJess Durfee, chairman of the San Diego County Democratic
Party, yesterday called on the supervisors to air the issue publicly.
Practices such as allowing poll workers to take the voting machines home
have been widely criticized, Durfee said. "The growing crisis of confidence
will continue to undermine the election process," he said. "We risk everything
if we risk the integrity of our electoral system."
Durfee and others spoke to the supervisors at their regularly scheduled board
meeting. However, the issue wasn't discussed by supervisors because it
wasn't on the agenda.
Later, however, board chairman Bill Horn and Supervisor Dianne Jacob said
questions about the voting machines are for state, not county, officials.
"Nobody said that there was local fraud," Horn added. "Until I get a firm
accusation of something illegal taking place, I don't have a reason to have a
public hearing."
Regarding precinct workers taking home the machines, Horn added: "The poll
workers are not felons. They're volunteers, and we need every one we can
get."
Horn and Jacob said they suspected yesterday's rally was driven by election-
year politics.
A spokesman for Supervisor Ron Roberts said Roberts didn't think a hearing
was necessary. Supervisors Pam Slater-Price and Greg Cox were
unavailable for comment.
After the meeting, about 50 protesters rallied in front of the county building.
Jeeni Criscenzo, Democratic candidate for the 49th Congressional District,
said that during the June election she saw broken seals on voting machines
that were supposedly tamper-proof.
"There's no way in the world you can trust all 6,000" poll workers, Criscenzo
said. "It only takes one person to hack into this memory card and make
changes that could change the entire outcome of the election."
Others questioned the integrity of the vote count in the 50th Congressional
District, where Republican Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby
despite her apparent lead in pre-election polls.
State Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, also announced yesterday that
she plans to hold public hearings into possible voting irregularities, on behalf
of the newly formed Senate Select Committee on the Integrity of Elections.
Bowen is a candidate for secretary of state, the office which oversees
elections.
Durfee said his motivation is not partisan. "We don't trust the integrity of the
process, and it warrants a response from election officials," he said.
"The law requires that (the machines) be in a secure location, sealed and not
at any point be out of the custody of an election official," Durfee said. "If
this
practice continues, we can't be sure" that tampering hasn't occurred, he said.
The federal and state governments, in the wake of widespread allegations of
voting improprieties in the 2000 presidential election, mandated a change
from the punch-card voting system that resulted in controversy over "hanging
chads" - holes that weren't punched all the way through.
The county signed a $31 million contract with Diebold Election Systems to
provide the machines, and the secretary of state certified them in February,
with conditions for maintaining the chain of custody and other security
precautions. In the June primary election, 21 counties in California used
Diebold machines.
Rumors and reports have circulated on the Internet for months that the
Diebold machines are vulnerable to hacking. Yesterday some speakers said
a virus could easily be inserted into the system.
"They have been deemed secure to be used in elections in California, if you
use them the right way," San Diego County Registrar of Voters Mikel Haas
said yesterday.
Precinct bosses have been allowed to take voting equipment home before
elections for decades to ensure that everything gets to the polling place early
on election day, he said.
"It's the most effective and efficient way to distribute poll materials," Haas
said.
The workers are trained and sworn to protect the materials, and the machines
are sealed. Two other poll workers check the seals on election day and sign
documents attesting that they were unbroken.
Each machine is tested before voting starts to ensure that no votes have yet
been entered, Haas said.
In the June election, Haas said, there were no reports of tampering. Though in
about 100 cases, the paperwork regarding the seals was misplaced or not
returned, he said. Those ballots were recounted by hand and showed no
discrepancies with what the machine recorded, Haas said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leslie Branscomb: (619) 498-6630; leslie.branscomb@uniontrib.com
found at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060719-9999-
7m19diebold.html
|
add a comment on this article
|
