A statement has been released by Rosemary Rodgriguez, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)’s newest, Democratic appointee in reply to yesterday’s statement by writer and researcher Tova Andrea Wang, a Democracy Fellow at the Century Foundation.
The statement comes in the wake of our report yesterday detailing Wang’s statement calling on the EAC to lift the gag-order that’s been placed on her, so that she might respond publicly to the controversy concerning the EAC’s alteration and withholding of the bi-partisan report she submitted concerning baseless allegations of an epidemic of “Voter Fraud” in America — despite longstanding GOP claims to the contrary.
Rodgriquez is calling on her fellow commissioners to lift the gag-order on Wang so she can speak to media and others about the matter. The EAC chairmanship comprises two Democrats and two Republicans, each appointed by the President.
Wang had previously Guest Blogged for BRAD BLOG in an article titled “Where’s the Voter Fraud?”, written to coincide with the release of the EAC’s altered version of her original report. She was unable to speak directly to their report at the time, due to the EAC’s extraordinary restrictions on her.
Yesterday, Wang’s statement pointed out that the EAC had refused to even respond to requests from her legal counsel on the matter. The controversy is just the latest in the continuing erosion of EAC credibility, suggesting a remarkable inability to carry out their Help America Vote (HAVA) mandate to oversee the nation’s electoral system.
This latest embarrassment adds to an ever-growing list which has drawn increased Congressional scrutiny of late. It also serves to reveal still more evidence of the panel’s partisan nature, compromised sense of ethics, nearly complete lack of transparency, and utter incompetence.
And following-up on a related BRAD BLOG report revealing EAC failures, the commission has still failed to notify either public or elections officials of the newly confirmed “severe” vulnerability recently discovered in ES&S iVotronic touch-screen voting systems. The “security hole” would allow for a vote-flipping virus to be introduced into a voting machine by a single person which could then, in turn, flip an entire county-wide election undetectably. At least one note computer scientist has described the problem as “roughly comparable” to the Diebold Virus Hack revealed at Princeton last summer and first reported here. “Which is to say it needs to be taken very seriously,” warned the scientist.
Our report on that matter, early last week, included Email statements from the EAC flatly refusing to notify any of the 16 states that currently use the voting systems which are said by the scientist to feature the “serious security problem.” To date, no other media outlet has picked up that report.
EAC Vice-Chair Rodriguez’s brief statement calling on the EAC to end their censorship of Wang is posted [PDF] on the EAC website, but follows here below in full…
 |
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
1225 New York Ave. NW — Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 |
April 26, 2007
On April 16, 2007, Ms. Tova Wang, formerly a contract employee of the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC), made the following request of the EAC: “to discuss with third parties any and all aspects of her work for the EAC and to release her research and other information relating to her work for the EAC and the draft report that she submitted to the EAC.”
Today, Ms. Wang issued a public statement restating her request to the EAC, pointing out that we have not yet responded to her April 16 request. As a member of the EAC, I am compelled to comment on her request. I cannot bind the Commission, as one member, but I believe that the EAC should immediately respond to Ms. Wang’s request. I further believe that releasing Ms. Wang to discuss her work for the EAC will be a positive step as we endeavor to operate with more transparency.
Well at least somebody’s getting a sense of decency on that committee! Aside from this gesture from Ms Rodgriguez, instead of being a “clearinghose” the EAC has been one of the biggest obstructors of justice in the whole election reform process!! Is it just us or shouldn’t a rocket scientist be able to figure this out?
JESUS CHRIST
I just read the EAC Florida article, if that doesn’t prove my point than I’m a republican!
After watching the dem’s presidential debate I started wondering, do you think anyone would ever ask any of these proud americans what they think about the state of our elections at this point? They can’t think the 06 fluke is gonna be repeated, do they?
Hey
I really was proud to see an ALASKAN WITH HONOR
hello Gravel!
Now,
I’d just like to say hello to Beans and Olga!!!!!
Brad said “The EAC chairmanship is comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans, each appointed by the President.”
Brad to be most precise, it is probably better to say that they are nominated by the president (not appointed), because the Senate must confirm each nominee (like judges and cabinet officials).
The Senate can reject any nominee it chooses to reject. I pointed out to Bev Harris in two recent threads here that this is the way Senate consent, or not, has been done since the ink on the US Constitution dried. She still does not get it.
The problem is not the structure (it is ok to have a congress, president, and courts – and to have those the president nominates approved or not by the Senate), it is the neoCon influence on the committee that is bad.
These neoCons run with the most scandalous republican party in memory.
It would seem to me that the EAC comes under the Hatch Act, and that some of the issues the EAC is being scrutinized for, are Hatch Act scenarios.
So Dredd, does that mean KKKarl has been emailing?
Tell me that can’t find a tech to recover those emails, like yesterday!
Ancient #6
Excellent question.
Odds would seem to be in favor of Rovian neoCon corruption (RNC) reaching the EAC too … from the events we have seen in recent history.
Honestly, I had not thought of that possibility (emails between EAC members and Rove, et. alia). You did. Good!
Is she any relation to William Rodriguez, the last man out of the South Tower on 9/11, narrowly surviving being blown across the street by an EXPLOSION, then having to suffer through the 9/11 Whitewash Commission ignoring his testimony because he mentions EXPLOSIONS, and ordering the congressional transcripts of his testimony sealed for 75 years because it contradicts the “official” 9/11 myth? Then when he started speaking out about it and filed a R.I.C.O. lawsuit against the Cheney administration for orchestrating 9/11 he started receiving death threats and his apartment was burglarized twice, on one of the occasions his laptop being stolen?
Probably not related, nevermind. Rodriguez is a fairly common name.