Guest Blogged by John Gideon
“A growing number of communities all across the country are now saying they simply want nothing to do with electronic voting machines. They’ve decided not to spend a dime of their taxpayers’ money on those machines until they can guarantee that the votes of their citizens will count on Election Day and that those votes can actually be recounted with confidence.” said Lou Dobbs at the top of Thursday’s “Democracy At Risk” segment. The Lou finishes with this understatement, “Cook County [IL] saying it usually takes three or four elections to get it right. You are just writing off three or four elections? That’s an insane statement.”
The text-transcript of Thursday’s segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight follows in full…
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beset with problems of electronic voting machines, some election officials are reconsidering paying election equipment manufacturers, demanding higher performance.
In Cook County, Illinois, local officials dropped a bombshell Wednesday saying it usually takes three or four elections to get new election equipment right. The March primary was a mess. Results were delayed up to 10 days so Cook County only paid 13 of the $28 million contract to Sequoia and is withholding the rest until after the election.
PETER SILVESTRI, COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONER: We got quicker election results quicker from the Iraqi elections than the Cook County elections. I witnessed some of the problems the voters were having and it really did tick me off because, again, this is the United States of America. We shouldn’t be experiencing these types of problems.
PILGRIM: In Boone County, Missouri, the county clerk says the more than million dollar elections equipment contract for ES&S is under review. The county paid $400,000 already but is saying the next payment, $800,000 depends on the voting equipment company helping the county comply with testing standards.
WENDY NOREN, BOONE COUNTY CLERK: We’re having trouble making sure that the equipment I got matched exactly what the state certified. And so we’re waiting for more information from the state before I pay the bills on this.
PILGRIM: In Arkansas, the May election was also plagued with late delivery of equipment and machines that didn’t work. The state withheld payment and even demanded the company, ES&S, compensate the state for money spent on paper ballots and programming during the chaotic election.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (on camera): Now, there’s no time, really left before the election, a little more than a month. Some election officials are now only now taking a very critical look at the equipment they’ll be using and those who ignore performance criteria will leave themselves open in November to flawed elections. Lou?
DOBBS: Flawed elections? We’re talking about a disaster here. Kitty, as you’ve been reporting relentlessly, it begs the question, why is any election officer in this country taking a risk with these machines when they could easily move to ballots — paper ballots so that they could have an audit trail? This is playing with nitroglycerin.
PILGRIM: What we’re finding is the people who question it are actually the ones under attack and have to have real spine to stand up to this system that everyone has accepted as …
DOBBS: Cook County saying it usually takes three or four elections to get it right. You are just writing off three or four elections?
PILGRIM: It’s a joke.
DOBBS: That’s an insane statement. Hopefully there are more people like those folks in Boone County, Missouri who have got the guts to say this is the way it’s going to be. For the sake of the citizens in those jurisdictions. Kitty, thank you very much. Kitty Pilgrim.
What I can’t understand is why Lou Dobbs is still the only television journalist working this story. ‘U.S. Election Disaster Looms’ seems like a catchy enough subject for an investigation.
Thank you Brad for your tireless efforts to get the truth out there to the major media outlets. It appears, however, that they are simply not interested in investigating this matter.
Keep up the great work.
P.S. Don’t let the bastards get you down!
Look for more from CNN soon. There may be a whole program on just voting machines and elections coming up.
Also “Hacking Democracy” (ex-“VoterGate”)will be shown on HBO beginning on Nov. 2 and running during November.
There is a lot more coming from the media.
OT ALERT
And another one’s gone
Another one’s gone
Another one bites the dust
“Disaster” is the correct word. Dobbs is right, and I hope he + Olberman continue covering it. Maybe the rest will join them.
I find it disturbing that so many in the blogosphere are NOT focussing on this issue but are, instead, preoccupied with the Foley scandal. That story has done its share of damage to Republicans, but that won’t matter at all if the Nov. 7 elections are stolen and we end up with the same Republican Majority in both Houses! Regaining control of Congress is THE most important issue now, and that won’t happen if Republicans can manipulate election results once again.
Before Foley, the focus among diarists and bloggers on some of the best-known sites was on the polls, sometimes with no mention of voting problems. Whether it’s naivete or denial, too many progressives seem to be prematurely counting the proverbial unhatched chickens, certain Democrats will take the House. Republicans just don’t seem all that worried, and that worries me. If the Electronic Voting Machine fix is in, switching to Paper Ballots everywhere could be the Neocons’ worst nightmare. Republican attempts to discredit Paper may reveal their vulnerable spot…
At the R- Chaired 9/28 CHA (Committee for House Administration) Hearing, for example, hand-picked “witnesses” from certain Bds.of Elections accused those who advocate Paper of “scare tactics,” and those who provide a forum for voters’ complaints, like Rep.John Conyers, of “exaggerating” and misleading the public.
Subpoena power, investigation, and potential impeachment or prosecution are at stake. This could be our last chance to regain Our America. We need to demand Congress re-convene to vote on proposed election reform immediately, and we need to do it en masse.
NBB
I can’t wait for the next presidential election when some hacker makes a big joke out of the whole country and makes the election outcome 98 percent in favor of Ralph Nader or someone. Check out my blog if you want here
Nancy Bernardi-Baker:
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m just sitting here holding my breath with our democracy teetering on the brink and feeling that the upcoming election will push it in one direction or another. Meanwhile, everyone talks about the polls and the Democrats increasing likelihood of taking back one or both Houses while completely ignoring what I fear is the Republicans ace in the hole, their ability and willingness to corrupt the vote in any way possible. The people that have a stranglehold on the Republican Party are like the mafia and I think they will do anything to retain their power, especially knowing that failure to do so will almost certainly mean criminal indictments for many of them, not just loss of political power. There is simply no sane or justifiable reason for all the efforts they have made to prevent verifiable paper trails in elections in many critical parts of the country except to be able hack the vote and not have it be detectable. We really need to be ready to be out in the streets when all (or the vast majority) of the close votes go their way in the upcoming elections. I just don’t see any likelihood that we will be able to change things in time (before the upcoming elections) to prevent what they are planning. I hope beyond hope that I am proven wrong about all of this.
#1, J.Rubbins:
What I can’t understand is why Lou Dobbs is still the only television journalist working this story. ‘U.S. Election Disaster Looms’ seems like a catchy enough subject for an investigation.
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When you can spy on everyone, without appropriate limitations, you can blackmail just about anyone. You would have access to unbelievable amounts of information, real-time surveillance and tracking from satellites, and the ability to set up people electronically through computer hacking.
Oh, but I’m sure that doesn’t go on…
All of us have to get involved in elections in order to turn the tide of this fascist administration and congress. Be it democrats or republicans, neither party should dominate any election by having private voting companies count our votes on faulty machines. Throw the damn machines in a pit and burn them, – and give us back the hand counts so we citizens have control of our own destiny once again! So, it takes a little time and money to get it right. At least we will have the will of the people back once again and can hold government accountable.
Thank you Lou and Kitty for bringing the most important news topic in America to light, – the right of citizens to decide our country’s direction instead of selling us out to voting machine companies that are run by thugs! Have we gone totally mad? Where’s the rage?!!
After six or eight years, Lou won’t take it anymore. Way to find a spine, Lou, (eventually)!
Read tbrnews today as to how long the repub. House has known about Foley and his predatory ways. The cabal has never acted like they had to answer to anybody. I am glad there are a few brave souls like RFK Jr. and Low Dobbs and Brad Friedman. One of the most brilliant political moves I have ever seen was to push the paper ballot legislation. After Nov. 7 when the repubs are whining about stolen elections, WE can thank Brad. Did Boxer’s paper ballot iniative even make it to the floor for a vote?