Guest Blogged by John Gideon, of VotersUnite and VoteTrustUSA
The “DVN Top 5” is a feature in the weekly voting newsletter of VoteTrustUSA. The January 9 edition can be found here. The selection of what will be the “Top 5” for each week and where it goes on the list is all mine. The fact that you may disagree with my choices is great because it shows that you have been reading the DVN articles that I’ve posted throughout the week here on The BRAD BLOG!…
This past week has been full of important stories on voting technology issues. It is hard to choose between the betrayals, the realizations of the truth, and potential decisions to chuck the whole DRE voting issue and go vote-by-mail. This week there are two honorable mention stories to go with my opinion of the 5 top stories of the week:
Honorable Mention #1 – Doug Jones, voting systems expert and professor at UofIowa, examined all of the evidence from Precinct 20, Maricopa County, AZ and told all concerned that the questionable ballots from last years primary need to be examined.
Honorable Mention #2 – In an effort to upgrade their voting system and to come into compliance with the 2002 Voting Standards, Riverside County, CA purchased voting machines that can only meet the 1990 Voting Systems Standards and that are not accessible for voters with disabilities. And, they spent $14.1M doing this. The voters in Riverside County need to wake up and look at what’s happening around them.
And the Top 5 Are:
#5 – After doing all she can to squelch public comment on the purchase of new voting machines to replace the machines that they recently purchased but that have failed miserably in recent elections (Hart Intercivic), Boulder County, CO Clerk, Linda Salas has decided to squelch the purchase. According to the Longmont Daily Times-Call Ms. Salas has changed her mind and now wants to lease or rent disabled accessible voting machines until other states and counties have had a chance to work the bugs out of their voting systems. Perhaps the strong contingent of voting activists in Colorado actually made her see the light? One can only hope.
#4 – In a sudden turn of events in California, Alameda County announced that they had decided that they would do what they could to be allowed to go to all vote-by-mail. Almost immediately their announcement was echoed by a dozen other North California counties. In order for the counties to change their mode of voting they need a state law that allows them to use vote-by-mail. The Alameda County supervisors have voted to lobby the state legislature for that law.
#3 – For months Connecticut activists have been questioning Secretary of State Bysiewicz about why she continuously claimed that any voting system used in the state would have to accommodate a full-face ballot. Coming on the heels of the revelation that the sole choice contractor for a voting system for Connecticut, Danaher Controls, would not be able to fulfill their promise of a 2002 federally qualified voting system, the Attorney General has now revealed that there is no law that requires a full-face ballot. In the mean time, the Attorney General is also investigating what actions can be taken against Danaher Controls for misrepresenting their equipment.
#2 – Could it be that a change of mind in New Mexico has come about because of a lawsuit or maybe the governor and elections officials have heard the facts from the voters and those facts finally caused minds to be changed? Whatever the reason we applaud the announcement this week that New Mexico will go with standardized paper ballots statewide. The future purchase of Sequoia Edge II DREs has been cancelled. The following four articles tell the complete story:
Gov. Wants Standardized Paper Ballots Statewide
Richardson Calls For Paper Ballots Statewide
PACE New Mexico and others join the Lopategui vs. Vigil-Giron lawsuit
Plaintiffs Applaud Governor’s Decision
#1 – The story that I hate to relate is the betrayal of Leon County, Florida and Ion Sancho by ES&S. VoteTrustUSA reports that after agreements and handshakes by Mr. Sancho and ES&S a message was left on Mr. Sancho’s cell phone from ES&S telling him that there would be no deal and that ES&S would not be able to provide any voting system to Leon County. According to the Tallahassee Democrat Mr. Sancho is now looking to the lawyers to see what actions can be taken against ES&S for their betrayal.
There’s a real easy way to fix the electronic voting problem that only involves money and gets around all the problems of changing laws etc. Diebold is in financial trouble. There are lots of Democratic folks wealthy enough to buy the company, George Soros being the first to come to mind. Buy Diebold, bring in software engineers to make the machines hack proof and then either give or sell them at an extreme discount to every state. There isn’t a state that would be able to justify refusing that deal. Problem solved the old fashioned Republican way, privatization Democratic style.
No to George Soros buying Diebold or anything else. The companies need to be shut down: Period.
No continuing with Diebold and no business getting cushy. There’s enough of that cheating on both sides already. We don’t need a ridiculous voting company to steal all the time for one side or the other, we need to simply have paper ballots in every precinct with watchdog police.
Doug E.
If it weren’t for HAVA, we’d be well on the road to eliminating voting machines. Ney was the primary architect on the House side, and he worked things out so that Diebold and E.S.&S. became providers for 2004. Dodd was thinking about blind people, as if they had been the problem in 2000. In retrospect, the fix was in for 2004 as soon as HAVA was passed.
HAVA ("HACKABLE AND VERY ACCESSIBLE") is a textbook example of how bureaucrats legislate in behalf of their own malign purposes, in this case using blind people as their cover. I personally doubt that the political system can cleanse itself here. The only hope remains the legal process.
You lost the election because less people voted for your side then the other. You wont win in 2006 either. Why? Because when people tune into what you have to say, all you are doing in complaining and whining and have no ideas.
Meduim Rite #4
You said "You lost the election … "
Actually I didn’t run for office or loose the election.
You said "… people voted for your side then the other."
Who cares in which order people vote.
My only concern is that no more incoherent and imbecilic neoCons like bu$hit and you get in.
Tedium Lite says "you have no ideas"
repeating drivel isnt an idea, its a talking point, dumbbell
There is some jihad of the christian type fomenting in Ohio.
Seems that an insurrection is brewing because of the working political philosophy of Blackwell (link here).
The debate could be attached to voting and election issues as well as seperation of Church and State.
Dredd: Ohio can only be saved through the legal process period.
Lets wait until Diebold’s trial begins along with the May 2006 trials, nothing more can be accomplished there whatsoever.
All that needs to happen now is expose the sham that is HAVA, get rid of congress, and dump the voting machines
We are forcing the EAC to do just that and dumping them ourselves.
Vote Trust USA
It doesn’t matter, therefore who votes for what because the stealing will be done with.
Doug E.
And now to remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in the flesh
Remember him and throw out the voting machines, end the process, and dissolve HAVA
Yes George Bush, fuck you. And fuck the neocons since they have never been for, will never be for, and can’t ever be for voting rights.
Or the voting rights act, or anything else.
YOUR TIME HAS COME: THE TRUE RIGHT OF VOTING WILL BE RESTORED AND YOU NEOCONS WILL BE SLAUGHTERED IN THE JUSTICE OF RULE OF LAW!
Doug
i think your site sucks, so many adds and nothing realy interesting.