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Secretary of State Jan Brewer announces major election reforms. There seems to be a few holes in the changes. Some of these changes are just pathetic to think that anyone holding a State Office would even consider them. Most anyone with a little common sense would realize that this can’t work out and moving forward without more thought to the problems would truly be silly and ridicules to think that a voter would accept these changes.
A large number of states have or are making changes in the election machines they use by deleting the use of the Diebold electronic voting machine. Yet here in Arizona Jan Brewer is going forward into the same problem other states are retreating from. She is wanting the use of the Diebold machine with a printout of the vote “before the vote is tabulated”. Call me strange but I don’t feel warm and fuzzy with a “pre-tab receipt” that is given “before” the electric vote is sent in. And even more strange, only the voter retains the printed receipt! The word s-t-u-p-i-d comes to mind with this. How can the “elections office” get a “true” recount without a paper receipt in their hands?
I don’t make bank deposits of my money at ATM machines without a paper receipt and a way to track my deposits, so why would I give my vote away without the elections office being able to track the votes? No paper trail means my vote is lost! I don’t throw my money away making deposits without paper trails and I won’t vote by this proposed method.
http://www.azsos.gov/releases/2006/pressrelease01.htm
1-5-06: In Wisconsin, you can now inspect your voting machine source code
Across the USA, citizens are waking up and insisting on oversight of their own elections. One such citizen is John Washburn, who has requested a look at the computer commands that control Milwaukee-area voting machines.
A tough new law enables him to do this: Assembly Bill 627
SECTION 2. 5.84 (3): If a municipality uses an electronic voting system for voting at any election, the municipal clerk SHALL PROVIDE TO ANY PERSON, UPON REQUEST, at the expense of the municipality, THE CODING FOR THE SOFTWARE THAT THE MUNICIPALITY USES to operate the system and to tally the votes cast.
Click here for more information
Will Jan Brewer have the same new laws to enable validation of the codes as in Wisconsin?
Well, depends on how you look at it. Here’s a survey of recent articles from the Internet:
State of California says Diebold failures in massive mock election could translate to problems at polls.
The entire story is at:
[link:www.azfairelections.org]
Finnish security expert Harri Hursti proved that Diebold lied to Secretaries of State across the nation when Diebold claimed votes could not be changed on the memory card.
A test election was run in Leon County Tusday Dec. 13 with a total of eight ballots - six ballots voted "no" on a ballot question as to whether Diebold voting machines can be hacked or not. Two ballots, cast by Dr. Herbert Thompson and by Harri Hursti voted "yes" indicating a belief that the Diebold machines could be hacked.
Correct results should have been:
Yes:2
No:6
However, just as Hursti had planned, the results tape read:
Yes:7
No:1
This exploit, accomplished without being given any password and with the same level of access given thousands of poll workers across the USA, showed that the votes themselves were changed in a one-step process. This hack would not be detected in any normal canvassing procedure, and it required only a single a credit-card sized memory card
On Oct. 17, 2005 Diebold Elections Systems Research and Development chief Pat Green specifically told the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) board of elections that votes cannot be changed using only a memory card.
The entire story is at:
[link:www.azfairelections.org]
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A law firm said it filed suit on Tuesday against Diebold Inc. (DBD.N) alleging the voting-machine maker lacked sufficient internal controls, was unable to be confident in the quality of its voting machines and made misleading statements about its condition.
The lawsuit was filed by Scott + Scott LLC in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and seeks class-action status.
On Monday, the company, which also makes automatic-teller machines, said chief executive Walden O'Dell is resigning for personal reasons and named Thomas Swidarski, president and chief operating officer, to replace him.
The entire story is at:
[link:today.reuters.com]
Diebold, the controversial electronic voting machine manufacturer, is coming off a tumultuous week. Its chief executive, Walden O'Dell, resigned. It was hit with a pair of class-action lawsuits charging insider trading and misrepresentation, and a county in Florida concluded that Diebold's voting machines could be hacked. The company should use Mr. O'Dell's departure to reassess its flawed approach to its business. The counting of votes is a public trust. Diebold, whose machines count many votes, has never acted as if it understood this.
The entire story at:
[link:www.nytimes.com]
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