Earlier this evening, I heard Mark Crispin Miller as the guest on Air America's Majority Report discussing the Busby/Bilbray election fiasco with whoever was guest hosting tonight (sorry I missed the name.) As well, I'm told that Lara Flanders covered the issue on Air America as well tonight while guest hosting for Mike Malloy (I believe both Mimi Kennedy and Jeeni Criscenzo were her guests.)

But the largest media outlet to cover the story that we originally broke back on June 7th --- and who still failed to invite me as a guest...am I hard to reach? --- was Lou Dobbs on CNN.

Tonight, Dobbs covered the threat to democracy posed by the Voting Machine Sleepovers that we've been reporting on here since the Busby/Bilbray election was run on highly-hackable Diebold voting machines which were sent home overnight with poll workers for days and weeks prior to the election in contravention of both state and federal rules and laws.

One of our sources, San Diego Poll Worker Patti Newton, who we had helped CNN's producers get in touch with, is interviewed in tonight's report. Newton shows, on camera, the location of the "secure storage" she provided (her garage, near the paints) for the voting machines given to her for use in the "bellweather" Busby/Bilbray U.S. House Special Election a full week prior to the Election Day on June 6th. We originally posted some of Patti's story in our report back on June 8th.

Tonight Dobbs and reporter Kitty Pilgrim discussed "the threat to American democracy from within," the lack of security for e-voting machines and described them as "incredibly vulnerable to fraud, tampering, hacking and theft."

Here's a QuickTime video of Dobbs' report, courtesy of BRAD BLOG reader, Tab B. UPDATE: Here are faster streaming versions of the video courtesy of David Edwards...

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

The full text transcript from Dobbs' report tonight follows below. It's short! Please read it!...

My reporting here, and the concerns expressed about the Busby/Bilbray election results as announced, have little or nothing to do with Francine Busby or Brian Bilbray or even, in particular, the June 6th U.S. House special run-off election in California's 50th congressional district.

It has only a tiny bit more to do with San Diego. And only slightly more than that to do with California.

It has everything, however, to do with democracy. Across the entire country. As opposed to any one race in any one area.

If I've not been clear on that until now, please allow me to set the record straight.

The concerns I've reported --- and will continue to report --- over the blatant disregard for the rule of law and clear illegalities endorsed and encouraged by the SD County Registrar of Voters, Mikel Haas, and apparently approved at this point by California's Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, have everything to do with the future viability of democracy in this country in general, and a perhaps naive hope that there's a chance in hell that taking action now will help to salvage a shred of legitimacy for this November's election.

That can only happen if action is taken now, however, directly in regard to the Busby/Bilbray election results as announced.

As far as I can see it, what happens in regard to Busby/Bilbray will be America's last, best, and only hope of affecting any real election reform prior to the November 7th general election. That's why, for me, this has become "Line in the Sand" time.

Never, in the two-and-a-half year history of The BRAD BLOG have I set aside almost everything else in order to cover and raise attention to a single story --- to the exclusion of almost every other story --- for such a long period of time as I have done since the original coverage of this matter the day after the June 6th election.

Since then, I've stated many times in both written and spoken words that I don't actually give a damn who won the Busby/Bilbray race and that I didn't even much bother to follow any of it prior to Election Day. I've got no dog in the hunt and only care that the person who actually received the most votes is the one that was declared the winner. At this point, there is absolutely no way of knowing who actually won.

The fact of the matter is that just two or three months after both the federal certification oversight body (NASED) and California's own Secretary of State issued emergency "security mitigation requirements" in light of newly discovered and massive vulnerabilities in Diebold's voting systems, those security requirements were entirely tossed out the window when all of the machines were sent home with poll workers for overnights in the days and weeks prior to the election. In doing so, the machines themselves were effectively rendered illegal and uncertified for use in any California election, and at the federal level as well.

Unless something is done, the same thing is about to happen in elections across this entire country.

(NOTE: Lou Dobbs will be covering this issue on CNN tonight I am told. Including interviews with some of the poll worker sources we gave them after originally reported on them here at BRAD BLOG.)

I'd have hoped that more media, candidates, individuals and even Election Reform organizations would have come to understand the national significance of what all the sturm and drang here has actually been about. If they haven't, that's likely my failing. So I'll try again to make both myself and the stakes here crystal clear...

What happens here and now --- in regard to this race and its results as announced --- will send a signal to elections administrators across the country. The signal will be one of two...

Congratulations to California Sec. of State Bruce McPherson!

Not only did you succeed in running the first federal election --- with illegal/decertified voting machines --- since massive vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Diebold systems you okayed for use (against state laws), but you've also now received an 18% pay raise in the bargain!

According to yesterday's Sacramento Bee, your pay will increase by $23,265 to a full $154,875 just after you run your next illegal election in November!

Nice work if you can get it! Not that he's not worth it, of course. Here's a video to give you an idea what $154,875 buys for California these days. (The following video and details explaining it were originally posted at BRAD BLOG here back in February, when McPherson was acting as if he didn't know for sure if he'd re-certify Diebold in the state. Nice acting, Bruce! It was dang-near believable!)

-- Video in Streaming Flash format...
-- Video in Windows Media format...

(Hat tip Bruce Sims, who pays closer attention to California's elections --- by far --- than Bruce McPherson has ever done. And Sims does it on his own damn dime. For free! And also, unlike McPherson, doesn't have Diebold employees actually doing his work for him!)

Downloadable/printable versions of the flier, and more details, are available here...

UPDATE: Printable/emailable flier for the "Emergency Townhall" events now available here...

This will be quick-ish. By necessity.

Several additional organizations and individuals have announced "NO CONFIDENCE" declarations in the announced Busby/Bilbray election results due to state and federal laws and provisions violated when the San Diego County registrar allowed the highly-hackable Diebold voting machines to be sent home with poll workers in the days prior to the June 6th. U.S. House special election.

"Emergency Townhall" events...to rally around the issue, raise awareness, and discuss actions to deal with the problem moving forward and call for accountability are now scheduled for Tuesday the 27th in Los Angeles and Wednesday the 28th in San Diego...

LOS ANGELES: Tue, June 27, 2006 @ 7:30pm
Venice United Methodist Church
1020 Victoria (Lincoln & Victoria, 1 block N. of Venice Blvd.)

SAN DIEGO: Wed, June 28, 2006 @ 7:00pm (rally@ 6pm)
Oceanside Civic Center
330 N. Coast Hwy. Oceanside, CA

Speakers at both events to include myself, Rob Cohen (co-director of the upcoming VoterGate documentary), Mimi Kennedy and Marcy Winograd (CA Election Protection Network and PDA), Jeeni Criscenzo (U.S. House nominee in San Diego's 49th district) and...possibly others to be announced soon.

Both events are OPEN TO ALL and I hope you'll turn out if you're anywhere near! More details, a swell poster, fliers and other info soon (hopefully by this evening). Please spread the word!

New Folks Declaring "NO CONFIDENCE" in the Busby/Bilbray Election Results as Announced...

- - The Commonweal Institute. A "multi-issue research and educational institute/think tank" who, amongst other things, has been "working to raise awareness of the public and our political representatives of the problems posed by electronic touch-screen voting systems and how these might be corrected."

- - Progressive Democrats of Sonoma County. They also join both the national PDA and California Election Protectoin network in endorsing the declaration of "No Confidence" in the reported Busby/Bilbray Election results.

- - Clint Curtis. Vote-rigging whistleblower, election integrity advocate and now candidate in Florida's 24th congressional district. Curtis, whose extraordinary story was first broken here is running against Rep. Tom Feeney, the man who he claims had asked him to create vote-rigging software when they both worked for the same computer firm. Curtis has released an eloquent declaration of "No Confidence". Few know better than Curtis how easy it is to game these systems via electronic voting systems. As with the other candidates who've come out to declare "No Confidence" (see the list below), we recommend that you support him...as opposed to candidates and organizations who do not do so.

(ADDITIONAL NEWS FLASH: The Miami-Dade chapter of Democracy for America has just endorsed Clint!)

- - Among those already having declared "No Confidence":

- - It's also well worth noting again that San Diego's Republican radio host (and former mayor), Roger Hedgecock has also come firmly on board --- as I discovered while a guest on his program yesterday --- in calling for accountability in Busby/Bilbray as well. And he is an ardent Bibray supporter! Hedgecock will be guest hosting the Rush Limbaugh show tomorrow.

(Hat tip to "journalist" "Jeff Gannon" who thought we'd not be interested in covering this story! Wrong again, old boy! Thanks for the tip!)

Apparently, it's neither a case of "sour grapes" nor "sore losers" when Republicans challenge elections that they reportedly lost. That's only the case when Democrats charge irregularities or illegalities in an election. And, of course, when it's a Republican whose ox has been gored, the GOP uses every available means to fight the results of the election, and the courts and the legislatures usually play along. And nobody bothers to call them "tin-foil hat conspiracy theorists." Go figure.

Yesterday, in Tennessee, three poll workers were indicted for adding ballots to an election for the state Senate in which a Democrat won by 13 votes.

Of course, the GOP has fought that election tooth and nail, as the GOP, unlike Democrats, always do. And they've even managed to convince the state Senate to overturn the election due to their "allegations" of "irregularities."

As you'll see in the report from AP, the idea of poll workers gaming an election has once again occured. That, despite many absurd claims of late from Diebold spokesperson David Bear to NEWSWEEK, NYTimes and others to this effect...

Believe it, bitch.

Or this equally absurd comment from San Diego County Registrar Mikel Haas who discounted concerns of sending easily-hacked Diebold voting machines home for overnights with poll workers just before the Busby/Bilbray election. Even though the machines are incredibly vulnerable to tampering, and storage in poll workers' cars cannot be considered secure --- by Haas' own admission --- there is little to worry about when it comes to fears of poll workers doing anything untoward. As he made clear to me, "you'd have to want to commit a felony, which knocks out most of our poll workers."

Despite plenty of recent examples of "evil and nefarious elections officials" who were more than willing to "commit a felony," it looks like the story out of Tennessee yesterday makes the case against Haas and Bear's feigned Pollyanna-isms. Again.

As reported by AP (emphasis added)...

With special thanks to David Edwards for the Video Magic...

Lou Dobbs has now done at least eight reports over the last two weeks on the grave danger to American democracy as posed by Electronic Voting. We've had a tough time keeping up with them all.

We've yet to hear anybody so far refer to Dobbs as a "Lefty" or a "Moonbat" or a "Conspiracy Theorist" or a "Sore Loser" or suggest that he wears a "tinfoil hat". Just a coincidence, we guess.

Here's two of his reports that we've only gotten to post finally today. One is on un-recountable paperless elections and the other focuses on Democrat Cathy Cox (Georgia's SoS and Diebold champion) and her extreme conflict of interest in running her own unverifiable election now that she's the Gubernatorial nominee. Will Dobbs be running a similar report on Ohio's J. Kenneth Blackwell's similar conflict of interest? We'll hope so.

Please note: It seems Diebold is no longer returning Lou's calls for comments. Go figure.

06/13: Lou Dobbs - "Electronic Voting Machines Nullify Recounts"

- - Video in Streaming Flash format...
- - Video in Windows Media format...

06/20: Lou Dobbs - "Quite a little industry. E-Voting."

- - Video in Streaming Flash format...
- - Video in Windows Media format...

Text transcripts from both reports follow...
(See previously posted Dobbs reports here.)

Wow...Given what I know about San Diego's KOGO radio host, Roger Hedgecock --- a frequent fill-in for Rush Limbaugh, by the way --- I would have predicted a firefight between us concerning my arguments questioning the validity of the Busby/Bilbray U.S. House special election in California's 50th congressional district on June 6th.

You know, the one were the highly-hackable Diebold voting machines were sent home with poll workers for days prior to the election in defiance of both state and federal rules and laws, rendering them illegal and uncertified for use in the election.

Well, slap my bottom and call me Spanky!...Guess what? I just got off the air with him, and Hedgecock and I were in complete agreement! He may even turn up at next week's "Emergency Townhall" meeting on this which is currently being organized (details soon).

The full afternoon drive-time appearance, about 15 minutes, is linked below if you'd like to listen. But to give you a flavor, here's how it ended...

Were it not for other fairly unforgivable transgressions in the past in other areas politically, I might have otherwise given Roger the too-rarely bestowed BRAD BLOG "Intellectually Honest Conservative Award." If he decides, however, to show up and bring along a few thousand folks with him for next week's "Emergency Townhall" event in San Diego (details soon) --- as I've invited him to do --- I might even consider a "provisional" awarding of the highly coveted prize!

Listen up...
-- Brad on the Roger Hedgecock Show on Busby/Bilbray & Electronic Voting [MP3]

(AFTERTHOUGHT: For those interested in on-air firefights between myself and "conservatives," see my shoot-out with St. Louis' wingnut-in-training, Crane Durham here, or the time I helped run Ann Coulter off the air halfway through our debate on Ron Insana's show here.)

The number of organizations and individuals now declaring "No Confidence" in the reported results of the Busby/Bilbray special election to fill the U.S. House seat of the jailed Randy "Duke" Cunningham is now increasing exponentially. The race, as we've reported since it was held on June 6th, was run on easily-tamperable Diebold voting machines that were effectively illegal and decertified on both the state and federal level after they were sent home with poll workers for days and weeks prior to the election in contravention of laws, regulations, and of course, common sense.

I'd continue to encourage you to support candidates and organizations who are willing to speak up on these issues! As well as not support those who don't! And feel free to let them know why!

So far today, joining the burgeoning list of groups and individuals and candidates who have already declared "No Confidence" in the race and who are demanding a manual hand count of the ballots (you can do so yourself via VelvetRevolution.us' petition here) are the following:

Massachusetts Secretary of State candidate, John Bonifaz --- who's also a Constitutional attorney --- joins the "growing number of citizens" in declaring "No Confidence" in the unverified Busby/Bilbray election results. In his statement, he declares, "We face today a crisis in public confidence in the integrity of our elections. This crisis threatens the foundation of our democracy."

His statement then goes on to add...

In Maryland, U.S. Senatorial candidate Kevin Zeese calls for a hand count and says in his full statement:

The recently formed Election Defense Alliance, dedicated to bringing together and helping local groups fight for issues of electoral integrity, has also issued a "No Confidence" statement in the Busby/Bilbray election:

The folks above, with more to come as I understand it, join several other notable groups and individuals who have already declared "No Confidence" in the announced results and have demanded a manual hand count of the ballots used in the race. Some of those groups currently include the California Election Protection Network (CEPN), Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), VelvetRevolution.us, Tribune Media columnist Robert Koehler and U.S. House nominee (CA-49) Jeeni Criscenzo.

As we reported (both here and here) the media must stop reporting what they can't actually verify. There exists no proof that Brian Bilbray won the special election in the CA-50th U.S. House race. And yet, nobody holds AP or anyone else in the MSM accountable for reporting to that effect. (Never mind what they'd say about us bloggers if we reported something that couldn't be independently verified! So we try not to do that here. Ever! Of course, they still dismiss us despite the fact that we try only to report veriafiable facts, and they don't bother to do so.)

Given what we've learned since the still wholly unverified Busby/Bilbray election then, the following photo is from a rather prescient Election Night press conference held by Dave Berman and his "We Do Not Consent" folks up in Humboldt County before the polls closed on the evening of June 6th in California. As printed in the Humboldt Advocate on 6/9/06...

(Click photo to read the whole story)

As readers have likely noticed, the Busby/Bilbray issue has sucked me into its vortex (or vice versa?) for the moment. Necessarily. I'll hope BRAD BLOG readers with interests in other non-Busby/Bilbray items will understand, forgive and realize that it's just me here for the most part at this time, though David Edwards and John Gideon are able to jump in with other items as their time allows.

Further, I believe the Busby/Bilbray issue merits the attention currently being given to it, both on the blog and behind the scenes, since it has ramifications for every election in this country come November (after which it will be too late to do anything about what needs to be done now concerning the security of unsecure electronic voting machines).

With that then, two small points for now about which I'll have more details in the days ahead..."Emergency Townhall Meetings" are now being organized to deal with these issues both in Los Angeles and San Diego. In LA, there will be such an event with myself, and several other speakers (details soon) on Tuesday the 27th at 8pm @ the Venice United Methodist Church. In SD on Wednesday the 28th, there will be another event, specific time/location to come shortly. A press conference may be held in conjuction in San Diego next week as well. As mentioned, details forthcoming on all of the above. If you're anywhere in the area, I hope you will turn out. It matters.

Also, yes, as some have asked, I can confirm the item now posted at RAW STORY wherein Bobby Kennedy is quoted as saying in an interview: "I would say that very soon we'll be announcing lawsuits against some of the individuals and companies involved."

Such litigation is, in fact, in the works and has been for some time. Beyond that, it would be imprudent of me to give any further details at this time for a number of reasons. But you've now got still more to look forward to.

Beyond that, feel free to use this as an Open Thread to discuss any or all of the above...or anything else about which I haven't had time to do any reporting over this past week....

The California Election Protection Network (CEPN) has issued a 'No Confidence' Resolution in regard to the Busby/Bilbray Election held on June 6th in San Diego County.

The non-partisan election watchdog network, comprised of more than 25 election integrity groups, has also issued a press release this morning announcing that the elections held in SD County "were conducted under illegal conditions" due to the Registrar having sent voting machines home for overnights with poll workers for days and weeks prior to election day, in direct violation of state and federal rules, laws and provisions.

The statement goes on to call for a manual hand count of the ballots to be paid for by the SD County Registrar, charging that the office has the "obligation to conduct a proper election, not bill the people to pay for his blunder."

A few grafs from that news release today:

-- CEPN's complete press release can be read here...
-- CEPN's 'No Confidence Resolution' can be read here...

CEPN is urging citizens and members to sign Velvet Revolution's petition demanding a manual hand count of all ballots in the race.

In their statement and declaration, CEPN has joined several other organizations and individuals who have declared 'No Confidence' in the race who are demanding that the ballots be counted by hand. Included amongst those are Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), VelvetRevolution.us, and Tribune Media columnist Robert Koehler. As well, VoteTrustUSA has condemned the "egregious violations" in the election and U.S. House Nominee (CA-49) Jeeni Criscenzo has come out to discuss the "outrageous breaches in security" during the election, in which she also ran on June 6th (and won!).

Guest Blogged by Jeeni Criscenzo

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeeni Criscenzo is now the Democratic nominee running against incumbent Republican Rep. Darryl Issa for the U.S. House seat in California's 49th congressional district. In her guest blog below, she speaks about some of the horrendous outrages and other disastrous election administration she witnessed in San Diego County's Election on June 6th. She was a primary candidate that day, the same day as the now-questionable Busby/Bilbray race which was run on easily-hacked Diebold voting machines sent home overnight with poll workers prior to the election. Those "sleepovers" are in direct contravention of both state and federal laws and regulations implimented specifically in regard to Diebold voting systems. Thus, ignoring those rules and laws rendering them illegal for use in that election.

I spoke with her at some length last night, and I'm happy to see that, unlike so many Democratic candidates --- including Busby --- she is now more than willing to stand up and raise hell about these very clear outrages. While I have several concerns about her short-term suggested solution of using Absentee Ballots to fight back against the rise of the machines, her perspective is a unique one which deserves to be heard. She makes many points about which I wholeheartedly agree. I'll let you (and her) discuss any concerns in comments here.

No matter the nuanced quibbles, I'd urge you to support candidates like Criscenzo who are willing to speak out loudly and clearly about what the hell is going on here as we all work to find possible solutions to the ongoing and rapid crumbling of our current electoral system. Her campaign website, for more info or to send your support, is right here. --- BF

=============

Want Voting Integrity - Just Mail It!
by Jeeni Criscenzo

There has been a lot of talk since the California elections last week about the integrity of the vote count, particularly in the run-off election in the 50th District between Francine Busby and Brian Bilbray. It's not surprising that Busby's supporters are dubious of the results: polls showed Busby ahead by 3 to 7 points in the days before the election. An apparent Bilbray win is explained away as the result of a last minute blunder by Busby. If you plan to fix an election where the candidate you want to win is behind in the polls, you need to create a reason for the sudden change on election day, and there it was - Voila! - a last minute slip-of-the-tongue blasted throughout the country by the lock-step right-wing media.

As a candidate who won by a landslide (I was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Congress, CA District 49), I'm in the fortunate position of being able to look into the election process in San Diego without being called a sore loser.

I made some troubling discoveries on Election Day when I visited 37 precincts in Oceanside as a roving poll monitor (or as Carol Hilton, my friend and monitoring partner, dubbed us --- "Poll Cats"). So last Friday, I visited the Registrar of Voters office to ask questions and to see for myself how the count was being handled....

The Fox 'News' Republican Spin Machine was up bright and early on the day following the Busby/Bilbray election (which was conducted on illegal/decertified voting machines) to ensure the predictable party line was heard loud and clear. No matter whether they had any actual facts to bear out their reporting.

BRAD BLOG commenter, "Stop_George" has put together a great Flash Presentation for Huffington Posts's "Contagious Festival" to help set the record straight.

Please watch it, and then use the "Send to Friends!" link at the bottom of the page to spread the word and help the presentation climb up the festival rankings so thousands of more Americans will see it and learn what went on here!

Join PDA, The BRAD BLOG, Tribune Media's Bob Koehler, VelvetRevolution.us (and now, CA Election Protection Network!) and thousands of Americans so far, in declaring NO CONFIDENCE in the reported results of the Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House of Representative run-off election last week in California's 50th congressional district!

See how poll workers taking the voting machines home for overnights days before the election rendered them uncertifed and illegal for use by both State and Federal standards, leaving the announced results wholly unverifiable at this time.

Take your democracy back! Declare "No Confidence!" Sign the VR petition...