Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
Sen. Diane Feinstein has announced a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee to be held in September. In her press release she says:
“I was very surprised to read how easily these machines could be hacked into and election results distorted,” Senator Feinstein said. “This report demonstrates the precarious risk of relying on electronic voting machines, especially when a verified paper record is not provided. These findings are yet another reason that states and counties should consider a move to optical scan machines that provide an auditable, individual voter-verified paper record without having to rely on a separate printer.”
If she really feels states and counties should consider a move to optical scan then why not say so in her legislation instead of doing all she can to protect Direct Recording Electronic machines? It’s time to step up and match the rhetoric with action, Senator.
Today is a big news day with big stories breaking nationally. King Co. Washington’s county commission decided to take the voters advice and not use tax-payers money to purchase an untested, uncertified high-speed optical scan system from Diebold. Florida State University has released a new study that discusses problems with the Diebold optical-scans used in the state. We are still trying to get that report. Plus the heat is being turned-up in congress.
All of those stories and many more today, all exhaustively linked below…
NAtional: Senate to Hold Hearing on Security of Voting Machines LINK
NAtional: Chairman Feinstein Announces Plans for Rules Committee Hearing to Examine Security of Electronic Voting Machines LINK
NAtional: EAC Releases Report on HAVA Spending by States LINK
NAtional: Editorial – Time Running Out for Voting Reform LINK
NAtional: A Publicly Owned and Controlled Voting System Ensuring Transparency and Oversight by the People or Nothing LINK
NAtional: What the U.S. Is Doing Wrong with E-Voting LINK
NAtional: Some States Slow to Spend Voting Aid LINK
CA: California’s DRE Voting Systems Tested for Accessibility, Fail Fair Test LINK
CA: Public Comments on Top to Bottom Review of Voting Systems Used in California LINK
CA: Good Overviews of California’s ‘Top-to-Bottom Review’ of Voting Systems and the Pathetic Election Official/Vendor Talking Points in Response LINK
CA: Report from Public Hearing on Debra Bowen’s ‘Top-To-Bottom Review’ of Voting Systems LINK
CA: Voting Machine Memory Cards Could be Switched in Booth, Says Reviewer LINK
CA: E-Voting Machine Companies On Defensive LINK
CA: Opinion – Secure Votes, Secure Systems? LINK
CA: Companies say California voting-machine review is unrealistic LINK
CA: Elections officials blast vote-hacking research
The fight over electronic balloting’s security also has activists clamoring to ban the new technology. LINK
CA: Audit standards review group releases report LINK
CA: E-voting machines fail hacking test LINK
CA: Opinion ““ Legally Certifiable LINK
CA: E-voting could be breached LINK
CA: E-vote vendors attack critical state review LINK
CA: Officials say state’s tests didn’t include standard safeguards LINK
CA: Editorial – How safe is your vote? LINK
CA: Makers of voting machines battle critics over UC study LINK
CA: California Hacks Its E-Voting Machines LINK
CA: Review uncovers E-voting flaws
UC Davis researchers assist in compiling security report LINK
CA: Opinion ““ Conspiracy Theorists Who Oppose Electronic Voting Suggest We Return To The Good Old Days Of ‘Hanging Chads’. LINK
CA: Humboldt County – Bowen Review Lights Up Humboldt Media LINK
CA: Will California Finally Ban Failed DRE Voting Systems? LINK
CA: Debunking the “laboratory” defense LINK
CT: Officials declare end of lever-style voting machines LINK
CT: Bysiewicz pulls lever voting machines LINK
FL: Study: Fla. voting machines still flawed LINK
FL: State: Fla. voting machines can be hacked LINK
FL: Fla. Voting Machines Still Flawed LINK
FL: Miami-Dade County – Test weeds out 261 Dade polling clerks
Poll workers who fail a new test on voting procedures will no longer be allowed to oversee Miami-Dade precincts. LINK
NY: New York Can’t Purchase Voting Machines from any Vendor Asserting a Proprietary Right to Conceal Information from Public LINK
OH: Shreds of evidence LINK
OH: Lucas County campaigns for fall poll workers
12,000 voters called by elections board LINK
WA: King County – Council rejects new vote tabulators
All-mail balloting to use old counters LINK
WI: Federal proposal may force state to buy new voting machines, again LINK
**”Daily Voting News” is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in “Daily Voting News” may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or BradBlog.Com**
John, I think this is a good step in the right direction. She seems to finally be “getting it” as far as DREs are concerned. Let’s hope she takes the appropriate steps from here forward.
John,
Please pass this link on to Senator Feinstein. It is about a rightie who thinks like she does concerning EVM’s, and my criticism of that thinking.
The electronic voting machine (EVM) watchdogs twenty years ago, and even further back, were saying what may be said once again ad nauseum before a brain dead congressional committee (1988 Article). It details the dangers since circa 1964.
One should be able to shock the hell out of the EVM issues audience with these quotes from a 1988 official government report:
(NIST Report 1988, bold added).
Even earlier reports exist and were cited in some of Bowen’s official reports.
No one mentioned that twenty to forty years is enough time to have more than “suggested rules” which are admittedly inadequate. And which election war lords, puppets of the incompetent EVM companies, are ignoring anyway.
And who asked why one person certifies the machines no matter how many ITA companies claim to do the certification? Or who sets the standards of the lone ranger maytag repairman doing the testing (The Lone Tester)?
Pathetic as the Iraq debacle is what comes to mind at the moment.
“We never could have imagined…”