Bruce Funk, the 23-year Emery County, Utah county clerk who allowed computer security experts Harris Hursti and Security Innovation to examine the Diebold AccuVote TSx voting systems forced on him by the state last March — which led to the discovery of a massive security vulnerability in all Diebold touch-screen systems, as originally broken by The BRAD BLOG, and subsequently followed up by New York Times, NEWSWEEK, NPR and many other MSM outlets — writes in with his concerns about the results of last week’s special election in San Diego between Francine Busby and Brian Bilbray to replace Randy “Duke” Cunningham in CA’s 50th U.S. House congressional district.
(All of our reports on that race, so far, in which San Diego county blatantly defied the CA Sec. of State’s own security mitigation requirements, not to mention common sense, by sending the voting machines home with poll workers days and weeks prior to the election can be read here.)
As reported recently by the Salt Lake Tribune, since allowing the security examination in Utah, Funk has been pushed out of his job by state officials, in apparent collusion with Diebold officials. (My radio interview with Funk about all of this, from my recent Guest Host stint on the Peter B. Collins Show, is here.)
In the letter on the Busby/Bilbray matter, Funk writes…
After reading your articles on the Busby/Bilbray Election, I am in shock! The security vulnerabilities I know to be associated with the Diebold touch screen voting machine would makes this unimaginable. Utah (and Diebold themselves) accused me that by my allowing Black Box Voting security expert Harri Hursti having access to two machines in Emery County that I had jeopardized the elections for the entire state of Utah. The analysis was all, of course, supervised and video taped to document anything done by Mr. Hursti.
You just don’t let these machines go outside established security procedures. Inappropriate access [to the Diebold touch-screen systems] for example; loading on a macro program can happen within minutes and will go undetected on the machine. You can access the machines as I recall even if the front doors are sealed. These security seals, that they talk about as the answer, will probably be taken off by these same poll workers and so who will even notice?
I would worry at every stage of the deployment of the machines even by those who might transport or set them up at polling locations.
I believe that people need to keep the security issues of these machines on the front burner and talk it up with everyone. My worry is that when we as people give up and get tired of the fight, then they have won. Corporate America needs to come clean about the vulnerabilities, clean them up, and let an independent group verify it. If these machines are so great why didn’t they use them in the Iraq Elections?
I just can’t believe San Diego would permit such a thing in such an important election. Or any election for that matter!
Bruce
Brad-
Have you heard of any movement by Busby’s people (or by ANYBODY else with authority) to officially contest (or even question) the results of the run-off election in the 50th? Sounds like that aspect of this issue is slowly slipping beneath the radar.
I’m getting reports that there is quite a bit of concern/chatter within Busby’s camp and within the DNC as well about this. Not sure where it’s all going, but suffice to say, it seems to be rather fluid and building at the time, if the reports I’m getting are accurate.
P.S. Still problems with comments being properly saved here with the new software! Please copy your comment before submitting if it doesn’t work the first time so you can resubmit if needed! Seems to work on second try for some reasons!
That was an excellent showing on Ed Schultz, Brad. Your careful, precise statement of the facts (except on SoS-Governator relationship) did more than anything to get across the seriousness of the story. I wish that more people would take this calm, just-the-facts approach.
I wish Ed Schultz were better informed and talked less. But we will have to be patient waiting for the day when it’s Ed Schultz being interviewed on the Brad Friedman show.
(Third try at submission)
Correction: Brad’s description of the relationship of the Governator and the SoS was also correct. My bad.
Mr. Funk makes a great point, asking why they didn’t use these machines in Iraq.
Especially with all the recently handicapped people there!
Sorry for the ugly comment.
I hope Busby wakes up to the seriousness of the issues. I phoned from Ireland.
I can’t believe these folks just do not get it. They are so blithely unaware of how easily the machines can be hacked.
On a similar note–security–I’m very glad to hear you’ve now got a more secure system put in place at BradBlog. I’m not surprised you and this blog are increasingly a target. Throwing light onto the dark alleyways of our so-called “democracy” is not appreciated by those who would rather not let the people play a meaningful role in our system of government.
It is time to go back to punch cards. The “hanging chad” ‘conspiracy’ took away a verifiable system.
Elections in the United States are an arm of war. War has been declared on America, on what it used to be, and was designed to be.
Unless and until the insurgency in the United States, the original patriot mentality of obedience to The US Constitution and laws, gets this fact, we will continue to be shocked and eventually possibly literally.
After all, torture is one of the trademarks of the republican dictatorship which controls “elections” in these United States.
All we need is to get people (regular citizens) to stand guard with cameras at every location voting machines are being stored the day before. They don’t have to be on the property. We have to be our own election officials. Let’s get something organized before November. We can’t trust the gov’t/media.
I really hope Bruce Funk and his Family are OK. Hope he has a good new job. Bruce is a real hero and deserves support. If not let employers recognise the integrity of this man and what he has done. This alone qualifies him as an excellent human being.