Articles in Category: Election Irregularities

Zogby 'Exit Poll' of San Diego's CA50 Busby/Bilbray Election Suggests 6-Point Distortion in Announced 'Results'

Election Attorney Paul Lehto Blames Registrar Mikel Haas's Administration of Election, Refusal to Properly Count Paper Ballots for Discrepancy

Says, 'Abuse of Discretion' Improperly Delayed Count of Paper Ballots, Creates 'Second Class Ballots, Voters'

By Brad Friedman on 11/10/2006 12:43pm PT

This just in from attorney Paul Lehto concerning the People's Republic of San Diego, where one of the country's most irresponsible Registrar of Voters, Mikel Haas, defied the California Secretary of State by refusing to count paper ballots as "normal ballots" on Election Night.

Lehto says Exit Polling data commissioned from Zogby International shows a '6-Point Distortion' from the "results" as so far announced by Haas's office in the Francine Busby/Brian Bilbray U.S. House election in California's 50th Congressional district.

The complete results of the Zogby polling is available for download here [PDF].

NOTE: Busby (D) has appropriately refused to concede the race against her opponent Bilbray (R) until all votes have been properly counted. As of this moment, the San Diego County Registrar's website shows "100%" of precincts reporting despite thousands of uncounted paper ballots, absentee ballots and provisional ballots. Those "results" show Bilbray leading Busby 53% to 43%.

In fact, however, given Haas's defiance of the California Secretary of State's order to provide an adequate number of paper ballots for all voters who, in California, may vote by paper for any reason if they wish, coupled with his irresonsible --- and likely illegal --- decision to send all of the county's pre-programmed, election-ready, hackable Diebold touch-screen voting systems home on "sleepovers" with pollworkers for a full three weeks prior to the election, it is literally impossible for there to be any confidence in any of the reported "results" as announced for any election this year in San Diego. The county's elections are now officially and wholly corrupted by Haas's abominable and disgraceful election administration, fed by his apparent loathing of voters and democracy.

ALSO NOTE: The VelvetRevolution.us Election Strike Force, of which The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder, contributed to the funding of this Zogby poll. Please consider donating to VR in support of such efforts!

Lehto's press release follows in full...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - NOVEMBER 10, 2006
Contact: Paul Lehto, Esq., 425.422.1387

CA 50 EXIT POLL ESTIMATES 6-POINT DISTORTION ENABLED BY REGISTRAR’S ABUSE OF DISCRETION

Haas’ Decision To Delay Paper Ballot Count
Artificially Inflates Votes For Republican

November 10, 2006 San Diego, CA – Attorney Paul Lehto, a national expert on election integrity, today released the results of an independent Zogby exit poll of voters in the November 7 election in California’s 50th District. The exit poll shows the race much tighter than the results published by the San Diego Registrar of Voters as of the day after the election, six percentage points closer. Moreover, after adjustment for an oversampling of Bilbray voters, the adjusted poll shows Democrat Francine Busby well within the margin of error, making the race uncertain in actual outcome. Paper based votes yet to be counted favor Francine Busby, such as paper ballots obtained at the polls, which constitute 6.4% of all voters and favor Busby 58% to 39%.

The poll also contains important findings about the relationship between different forms of voting and voter demographics, revealing a tendency for Democrats to use paper ballots versus other forms of voting such as electronic machines. In violation of state and federal law, and despite lawsuits filed to stop the process, San Diego Registrar of Voters Mikel Haas delayed the paper ballot count for paper ballots obtained at the polls by fully qualified voters, preferring to have other forms of ballots have been counted preferentially first, attempting to justify this second class service to paper-based voters by stating “this is an electronic election” when in fact the public is legally allowed a choice of either technology.

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

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Article Categories: Busby/Bilbray, Election Irregularities, California, Election 2006, Paper Ballots Legislation

Three Cheers for Francine Busby!

San Diego 50th U.S. House Candidate Says She Won't Consider Conceding Until All the Votes Are Counted!

By Brad Friedman on 11/8/2006 4:00pm PT

U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray appears to have handily won reelection to the House but his opponent, Francine Busby, said she won't consider conceding the race until all of the votes are counted.

Well, hallelujah! And thank you, Francine. On behalf of every voter in CA-50, San Diego, California and America (if we may be so bold.)

The Voice of San Diego continues...

Despite Busby's statements, CNN and The New York Times called the race in [Brian] Bilbray's favor.

Part of the delay in tallying the votes stems from the countywide deployment of new electronic voting machines for the first time this election. That prompted local Democrats and election watchdog groups to urge voters to request paper ballots.

Busby said that her own ballot was mistakenly counted as provisional after she requested a paper version. Her vote won't be added to the official total until the Registrar of Voters verifies that she's an eligible voter.

The Registrar of Voters in San Diego is Mikel Haas, one of the country's worst, as BRAD BLOG readers likely know well by now.

Voting machines malfunctions at numerous polling locations also forced many voters to manually register their opinions via paper ballots and Busby's campaign claimed that some precincts had reportedly run out of ballots.

In the days leading up to the election, the Registrar of Voters also ran out of absentee ballots and was forced to send out photo copies, which will take days to manually transfer to official ballots by hand.

More interesting details in the article by Daniel Strumpf and Kelly Bennet, both of whom are to be congratulated for their use of the word "appeared" to qualify their reporting of a possible Bilbray win, and letting CNN and New York Times face the ignominy of reporting the results of a race --- marred with so many security, integrity and verification issues --- that neither outlet, nor any human being on the face of the earth, could actually prove to be accurate in any way at this time.

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Article Categories: Busby/Bilbray, Election Irregularities, California, Election 2006

The New York Times on 'Left-Leaning' BRAD BLOG's Election Coverage...

By Brad Friedman on 11/8/2006 3:19pm PT

From today's New York Times in an article headlined "Blogs Take Lead in Reporting Polling Problems" by Tom Zeller, Jr.:

Brad Friedman, perhaps the most dogged critic of electronic voting machine technology in the blogosphere, said he saw his site traffic spike at left-leaning Bradblog.com, as reports of machine malfunctions began pouring in from around the country.

"Folks understand by now that I’ll get these stories out so that they’ll get confirmed," Mr. Friedman said.

Well, somebody hadda "take the lead in reporting polling problems," Zeller!

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, BRAD BLOG, Election 2006, New York Times

E-Voting Toon of the Moment...

By Brad Friedman on 11/8/2006 1:26pm PT

(Here's a good place to start. Though, NOTE TO CIO Insight: they weren't "glitches," they were failures.)

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Election Reform, Toons, Election 2006

AUDIO - Brad on the Election Results, This Morning with Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann...

UPDATE: And This Afternoon with Chris Duel on KTSA in San Antonio...

By Brad Friedman on 11/8/2006 12:17pm PT

After co-anchoring last night's 9-hour Velvet Revolution Election Strike Force radio marathon spectacular until the wee hours, we were still more than happy to wake up and speak to both Stephanie Miller and then Thom Hartmann this morning...

-- Brad on Stephanie Miller Show, 11/8/06 [MP3, 9 minutes]

-- Brad on Thom Hartmann Program, 11/8/06 [MP3, 8 minutes]

UPDATE 4:57pm PT: And here's another from this afternoon with Chris Duel on KTSA News-Talk 550 AM...

-- Brad on Chris Duel Show, 11/8/06 [MP3, 11 minutes]

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Election 2006, BRAD BLOG Media Appearance, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann

A Few Candidates We Hope Do Not Concede, a Few Who Shouldn't Have, and Several Who Have Vowed to Not Do So...

Tester Announced 'Winner' in Montana, But We Say What's the Hurry?

By Brad Friedman on 11/8/2006 10:55am PT

We'll have much post-mortem to come today, and likely for the next several. Now that the media has announced John Tester (D) the "winner" in Montana, the balance of the Senate all comes down to Virginia. Will it get ugly? We hope so.

For now, here's a far-from-complete list of folks that The BRAD BLOG feels shouldn't concede or shouldn't have conceded, and a few whom we congratulate for announcing they don't plan to do so. More soon on these races specifically and why we feel this:

SHOULDN'T CONCEDE:
George Allen (R-VA) U.S. Senate
Conrad Burns (R-MT) U.S. Senate
Bruce McPherson (R-CA) Secretary of State

SHOULDN'T HAVE CONCEDED:
Jim Talent (R-MO) U.S. Senate
Rick Santorum (R-PA) U.S. Senate
Harold Ford (D-TN) U.S. Senate

ANNOUNCED THEY WON'T BE CONCEDING UNTIL EVERY VOTE IS COUNTED:
Francine Busby (D-CA) U.S. House, CA-50
Bob Fitrakis (G-OH) Governor, Ohio
Clint Curtis (D-FL) U.S. House, FL-24

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Election 2006

VIDEO - Kitty Pilgrim Reports on Early E-Voting Problems

By Alan Breslauer on 11/7/2006 11:02pm PT

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Earlier today, on Lou Dobbs Tonight, Kitty Pilgrim reported on a number of E-Voting problems.

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Lou Dobbs, Election 2006

CLINT CURTIS VOWS TO VERIFY TOM FEENEY ELECTION RESULTS

Says Will Do 'Forensic Reconstruction' to Determine 'If Election is Supported by Actual Voters'

By Jim Cirile on 11/7/2006 10:27pm PT

Guest Blogged by Jim Cirile

As of midnight EST, MSNBC reported that with 90% of the vote in, Tom Feeney was projected to win FL-24 57%-43%.

As loyal BRAD BLOG readers know, Feeney, one of CREW's 20 Most Corrupt Congressmen, was being challenged for his congressional seat by election fraud whistle-blower Clint Curtis, who alleges Feeney asked software designer Curtis to design vote-rigging software.

Curtis just got off the phone with BRAD BLOG'S Brad Friedman, broadcasting live in the Election Meltdown-apalooza. Curtis says he "apparently lost 57-43%" based on MSNBC results with 90% of the vote in --- but notes that there were "oddities" --- for example in some districts there were more Republican votes than there are registered Republicans. Of course, some Dems or independents could have voted for Feeney, but statistically, that is highly unlikely.

Curtis says "We have a lot of feet we'll be putting on the ground," and he will now do a "forensic reconstruction" to find out "if the actual election is supported by actual voters." Imagine that!

Note that there are STILL no numbers being reported from Seminole County per the FL Sec. State website (as of 12:06 PM EST).

In short, Curtis is not conceding. We say BRAVO! If he lost fair and square, that's fine, we will all accept that. It's the "fair and square" part we are just a bit uncertain of. Who was it who once said "Trust Yet Verify"? Why, it was Ronald Reagan. Wise man occasionally, it turns out. Stay tuned for more news from FL-24. It's likely this story may continue for awhile. And that, friends, is a good thing.

UPDATE: 2:20 AM Eastern time with 99% reporting:

District 24
Tom Feeney (R) 122,938 58%
Clint Curtis (D) 89,158 42%

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Florida, Tom Feeney, Clint Curtis, Election 2006, Election Fraud

CONTINUED ELECTION INTEGRITY OPEN THREAD

Getting too hard for our dial-up friends on the other thread.

By Agent 99 on 11/7/2006 9:27pm PT

Continuing the previous thread... which includes more details on the Election Integrity Broadcast Marathon with Peter B. Collins and Brad Friedman (listen up right here!)

Everyone, please start commenting on this thread now. We want to hear from our dial-up friends, and long threads knock them out of the conversation.

UPDATE FROM BRAD: Feel free to call in as well at 888-573-8372 and let us know how we're doing! Thanks Kira and 99 for doing a beautiful job here! Jim Cirile to blog a fresh Clint Curtis item shortly I'm told!

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, BRAD BLOG, Election 2006, BRAD BLOG Media Appearance

VIDEO - Rick Santorum Concedes

By Alan Breslauer on 11/7/2006 8:30pm PT

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum concedes to Senator elect Bob Casey.

UPDATE FROM BRAD 11/8/06 7:56pm: Please note, his concession came only after he succeeded in getting the PA Republican Party to send a letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth demanding that voting machines in 27 counties be impounded after reports that Republican votes were flipping to Democratic on touch-screen machines. Ya don't hear that very often. We support the impounding of those machines...though we received late-night reports that Santorum and the GOP had withdrawn their request. More soon...

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Pennsylvania, Election 2006, Touch-Screen DREs/BMDs

Scarborough, Shrum and Buchanan on E-Voting, Paper Trails and More

By Alan Breslauer on 11/7/2006 2:37pm PT

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Joe Scarborough, Bob Shrum and Pat Buchanan all go off on e-voting machines earlier today. Scarborough and Shrum also wonder what Republican's have against paper trails. All three pundits look for Democrats to retake the House.

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, MSNBC, Election 2006, Joe Scarborough

MELTDOWN '06: 'Voting Nightmare' Reported by Denver Post

Dems Seek Extension of Voting Times after Hundreds of Voters Turned Away from Polls as Machines Fail...

'We Will Not Get to Vote Today' Says Voter Turned Away After an Hour Who Had Arrived at 6:45am...

By Brad Friedman on 11/7/2006 1:19pm PT

From Denver Post...

Democratic party leaders are planning to seek a two-hour extension for voting in Denver, due to massive computer problems which have created long lines, and kept many from casting their vote.
...
The problems began right at 7 a.m. as computer problems at the voter-check in stations bogged down, creating a bottleneck in the first hour of voting as a rush to the polls overloaded the system.
...
At Denver Botanic Gardens, more than 200 voters backed up in a line that stretched out of the gates and down the block more than half way to 11th Avenue.

"We will not get to vote today," said a frustrated Lauren Brockman as he left the Botanic Gardens.

He lined up at 6:45 a.m. hoping to beat the rush, only to stand in line for close to an hour before leaving.

But an hour wait was short, compared to some.

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Colorado, Election 2006, Paper Ballots Legislation

MELTDOWN '06: AP - 'Polling places turn to paper ballots after glitches'

Voting Machine Companies (as expected) Blame 'Human Error'... (True enough, since the idiots who created these machines, and agreed to use them are most likely 'human')

By Brad Friedman on 11/7/2006 1:08pm PT

First, they're not "glitches"...They are failures! This from AP...

Programming errors and inexperience dealing with electronic voting machines frustrated poll workers in hundreds of precincts early Tuesday, delaying voters in Indiana, Ohio and Florida and leaving some with little choice but to use paper ballots instead.

In Cleveland, voters rolled their eyes as election workers fumbled with new touchscreen machines that they couldn't get to start properly until about 10 minutes after polls opened.

"We got five machines --- one of them's got to work," said Willette Scullank, a troubleshooter from the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board.

In Indiana's Marion County, about 175 of 914 precincts turned to paper ballots because poll workers didn't know how to run the machines, said Marion County Clerk Doris Ann Sadler. She said it could take most of the day to fix all of the machine-related issues.

Election officials in Delaware County, Indiana, extended voting hours because voters initially couldn't cast ballots in 75 precincts. County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that activate the push-button machines were programmed incorrectly but the problems were fixed by late morning.

Pennsylvania's Lebanon County also extended polling hours because a programming error forced some voters to cast paper ballots.

As expected --- and you'll be seeing and hearing a lot of this all night --- the Voting Machine Companies who have created the equivalent of Ford Pintos with these machine that "blow up" during normal use, no matter how careful a "driver" might be, are blaming "human error"...as opposed to themselves...and the election officials who were dumb enough to be suckered in by the wining and dining and false promises of the company lobbyists who are plying their insidious trade courtesy of your tax payer dollars...

But voting equipment companies said they hadn't seen anything beyond the norm and blamed the problems largely on human error.

"Any time there's more exposure to equipment, there are questions about setting up the equipment and things like that," said Ken Fields, a spokesman for Election Systems & Software Inc. "Overall, things are going very well."

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Article Categories: ES&S, Election Irregularities, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Election 2006

MELTDOWN '06: Diebold Voting Machines Failing to Start Up in Utah, Voters Being Turned Away...

Smartcard Encoders Reportedly Not Working...Paper Ballots Not Available Everywhere...

By Brad Friedman on 11/7/2006 12:17pm PT

From Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, the state which ran the 23-year elected Emery County, UT Election Administrator, Bruce Funk out of a job when he dared allowed independent investigators to test the new Diebold touch-screen systems forced on him by the state...

Utah County voters planning to cast their ballots on the way to work were stymied by technical problems with the state's new voting machines, while some in Salt Lake City also saw delays at the polls.

Robert Nelson was among those in Provo and other locations in Utah County who were unable to cast their votes using the new voting machines when the polls opened. After arriving at his polling location at 7 a.m., Nelson said he spent an hour and a half hoping the machines would be fixed.

"The workers were earnestly trying to get the machines to work, but not a one in our precint worked," Nelson said. "I work in Salt Lake City, so I couldn't wait for the machines to work."

Similar reports came in from other areas in Utah County, including Lindon. The clerk's office said the problem had been solved and the machines were up and running as of 8:55 a.m.

In Salt Lake City, some locations only had one machine up and running when the polls opened at 7 a.m.

No voting machines were initially operational at Highland High School, although some 25 people were already waiting in line to vote when the location opened.

The local ABC affiliate is reporting the Lt. Governor (a big supporter of Diebold, as we recall) says the problem is in the voting card encoders...

Utah's Lt. Governor Gary Herbert says voting machine encoders, used to program individual user cards have been incorrectly programmed, causing delays for many voters, primarily in Utah County.

Herbert says the problem is associated with voter card encoding machines, which have failed to function properly.
...
Many voters have experienced delays, and have been told to come back later.

Some voters have opted to use paper ballots, which are also available at most, if not all polling locations.

Herbert says the primary encoding machine problem has not been fixed, but provisional systems have been put in place and no one should be turned away.

Too late, Lt. Governor. Nice going.

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Article Categories: Diebold/Premier, Election Irregularities, Bruce Funk, Utah, Election 2006

MELTDOWN '06: Myriad Problems Reported to Local News Outlet in Chicago...

By Brad Friedman on 11/7/2006 11:47am PT

From machines not working or being available when the polls opened, to votes flipping on touch-screens and more...They use Sequoia machines in Chicago. Reports from voters as posted by the local NBC affiliate...

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Article Categories: Election Irregularities, Sequoia Voting Systems, Illinois, Election 2006, Paper Ballots Legislation

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