MACHINES DECERTIFIED!!! ONLY ONE MACHINE PER PRECINCT FOR DISABLED VOTERS WILL BE ALLOWED!

While media members waited on hold to hear the announcement from the Secretary of State, the song “Coward of the County” played.

See attached Press Release from SAVE R VOTE!

By announcing the results at 11:59 p.m., the Secretary of State likely avoids any possibility of counties filing an injunction in time to meet the 6-month pre-Primary election deadline.

Quotes from Bowen: Fewer than ½ of CA counties use DREs. Many in many counties are using paper ballots. Many use optical scan machines.

Many voters in CA will NOT be affected by this decision.

There will be one single recertification document.

Diebold – Optical scan system – decertified and recertified only if meets certain requirements.

Diebold DREs – decertified and recertified subject to certain conditions. Only one machine in a polling place for use by disabled voters. Reduces risk of viral attacks that could infect central equipment.

Sequoia – Optec optical scan – decertified and recertified – subject to conditions

Sequoia AVC Edge I and II – decertifying and recertifying with a number of security requirements including only one machine in each voting location to allow independent access by disabled voters – concern regarding corruption of software and source code

Hart Intercivic – eSlate used only by one county – decertifying and recertifying subject to security requirements. Has the least risk of the three systems.

E S & S InkaVote Plus – (LA County) – ES&S submitted 3 months late and due to failure to submit timely as required by prior administration requirements and election code, withdraws and decertifies and does NOT recertify at this time.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/el...ctions/elections_vsr.htm

From Paul Lehto-

Decertification/Recertification Decisions Issued August 3, 2007, by Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Diebold Election Systems, Inc.

Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval (.pdf, 6,734KB)
Hart InterCivic

Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval for Hart System 6.2.1 (.pdf, 5,886KB)
Voluntary Withdrawal of Certification of Hart System 6.1 (.pdf, 303KB)
Sequoia Voting Systems

Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval (.pdf, 4,631KB)
Elections Systems and Software, Inc.

Rescission and Withdrawal of Approval (.pdf, 303KB)

--
Paul R Lehto, Juris Doctor
lehtolawyer@gmail.com

Wow. The NASA analogy / line ROCKS!!!
Way to go.

cheers
Rob

Here it is in black and white.

We won.

The Cylons have suffered a massive defeat tonight.

Thank you Secretary Bowen, for your courage, honor and integrity.

John

Brad and Leftisbest, thanks so much for staying up late and passing this on. Sounds like Debra Bowen has some steel in her spine. Sort of wish there were some like her at national level. Hope San Diego county down here abides and doesnt find other sneaky ways to game system. Bilbray vs Busby, I always wondered on that one. again, thanks, taking it back one bit at a time. this is a huge one though.

Thank you, Debra Bowen, for taking a stand to save our democracy!

Sorry I made so many mistakes on the last thread. I am only human, had a few beers, and I am tired. This is why I PERSONALLY never claim to be a journalist.

Debra Bowen, a true American hero (and boy do we need a few more like her now)!

Well I'll be. To be honest,I was expecting much worse.

Someone just sent me this quote from Bowen's plans. Haven't had time to verify it.

"The vendor must provide printing specifications for paper ballots to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will certify printers to print ballots for this system based upon their demonstrated ability to do so. The vendor may not require exclusivity in ballot printing and must cooperate fully in certification testing of ballots produced on other ballot printers."

What this means to me is that she's looking at things in a *very* detailed way. It seems on the surface like it's a minor detail whether or not the vendors print the paper ballots. But it's not. Because if they print them, they have extras. And extras can be substituted for real ballots. Experience has told us this. Very good sign that Bowen and her team are looking at this.

Hooray!

Will there be a ripple effect into other states?

Yes, Bowen is the hero this new day. We won. We-the-fucking-people won. I'm being silly, right? I don't care. We won.

I actually had this mapped out as one of the most desirable possible outcomes... but didn't bother to list it... yet it happened...

Howard Dean told YearlyKos that the party was going to each county in the country to see about their election systems and procedures.... Maybe they should start in California.

Let every electronic voting machine company know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge—and more.

Thank you Debra Bowen for exposing the lies and corruption of the Diebolds and Sequoias of the world, and for exposing ES&S for the coward it is, afraid to even submit its systems for scrutiny.

I will rest easier knowing you are at the helm, as Secretary of State of the largest state in the union, and the sixth largest economy in the world. You are a person of great wisdom, courage and integrity.

I salute you, Secretary Bowen!

Bravo!

Thanx Brad!

Woo Hoo!!!!

(I live in the ONE county that uses eSlate.)

Re: Early Voting systems

The DRE's used in early voting also require 100% manual recount (Edge Model I or II, AccuVote TSx).

However, I don't see any mention of the Hart eSlate getting a 100% manual recount if used in early voting. The other systems specifically mention this fact.

Not sure why that is...

Sometimes the right person, in the right place, at the right time can save a nation.

Finally, a politician who places abiding values and high principle above political expediency and personal convenience. A noble light to brighten the way of her benighted democratic colleagues. If they will only heed.

For the first time in six and a half years, I take easy breath.

Lieder-Singer

We've used op-scans with paper ballots here in San Diego, so I'm not overjoyed at using them again. Yes, they're better than DREs, but they still can't assure voters of honest elections.

Bowen's plan does not ban sleepovers.

Bowen's plan still allows the "tamper-evident seals" that Bev Harris proved worthless. You can open up the machine, remove the memory card, replace it with a rigged one, and seal the machine back up, all without ever touching the "tamper-evident" seal, which will then show no sign of tampering. A picture of the placement of the numbered seal will not demonstrate that the defect that allows this to occur (a larger hole on that side of the bar that it "seals") has been corrected.

Bowen can let "federal labs" (Sean Southworth?) certify the software.

The vote count is still secret. There is still no way that the public can observe and verify it.

If Bowen was serious about protecting voters, not just placating vendors and elections officials, that totally worthless "tamper-evident seal" that doesn't show any evidence when the machine is tampered with, would be banned, as would sleepovers.

Looks to me that the machines were "conditionally" recertified at the same time they were "decertified," which means that they never were decertified.

Mark S said:

If Bowen was serious about protecting voters, not just placating vendors and elections officials

Surely you're not serious, are you, Mark? You think she was trying to "placate" vendors and officials?! Good lord. There are elections to run, amigo. Would you prefer hand-counted paper ballots, as Tobi and Harris have described it, in a hostile environment? You think that would work? Think again.

A path is built one stone at a time. Bowen just laid down quite a few of them in a row.

As to your contention that sleepovers are not banned, I'm not so sure about that. So stay tuned. (But first, I'm going to sleep...it's 5am out here!)

Perhaps not, Mark...

It's going to take while for me to hear the new data so I can't reference the areas you refer to...

... but the Aug 3rd deadline was only for certification notices...

... and I believe that Bowen did remark that there is more to come...?

From the nytimes:
Company officials have downplayed the results of Bowen's review, saying they reflected unrealistic, worst-case scenarios that would be counteracted by security measures taken by the companies and local election officials.

The companies also complained that the examiners had access to computer coding, manuals and other information that is not available to the public. Haha!

Mark is pretty much on target here, I am sorry to say (not b/c it’s Mark, but b/c there ARE a bunch of unplugged holes here).

But before diving into the depths of depression, let me say this about that! This is the most significant positive action by any politician since Kennedy (for those who believe in JFK). It dumps tens or hundreds of thousands of DREs by limiting them to one per precinct, and only for use by disabled voters (although 5 votes MUST be cast on each DRE, so maybe they will drag … oh, I’m not going there!). It frightened ES&S so much that they squealed and cried and stamped their feet, and refused to open themselves up to scrutiny. They got decertified (yes it is a bit unclear on how they may weasel back into certification in time for 2/08).

Even though every precinct will now be limited to one DRE, the DREs will still go on sleepovers, albeit likely much shorter. But I’ve raised the issue many times, why no background checks on poll workers and poll captains? It sadly does allow sleepovers and requires better training for those who will be responsible for the machines for the period(s) before the polls open.

Yeah, the tamper-evident seals are a joke if you can get to where you need to go without triggering them. Serial numbering them won’t be of much help if they remain virgin.

The federal labs deal – allowing vendors to provide software from the federal labs OR from the SOS – what a freakin’ huge loophole. You can drive a truck through it, or hire Sean Southworth to drive it for you! I was appalled when I read they would allow software to come directly from the “federal labs”, which of course are neither federal nor labs. We all know they get their certification qualification because they (the vendors) PAY the ITAs to issue exactly what they want and hold back the bad stuff.

I had expected, hoped for, a more robust statement of the role of the public but saw it only in relation to the DREs, which will be few and far between. There was nothing there about transparency in the central tabulator process, and that is the biggest danger of all – where 100,000 votes can be flipped in a millisecond. No new requirements that I could find that would allow for any added citizen oversight.

And even though there will be WAY fewer machines, it only takes ONE virus-infected voting cartridge to infect the central tabulator, and then the whole election is in question.

Debra Bowen and her staff and the computer scientists from the UC System performed an incredibly valuable service to the voters in a VERY VERY short period of time. I believe she will continue to pull the reins in tighter and tighter, and that she acted on issues she could be reasonably assured would not be shot down in a court battle. There WILL be more battles, and she will win more and more.

Would I have liked to see all of the above concerns wiped out? Absolutely! Do I think they are still so serious as to allow rigging of an election? Absolutely! Do I think it will be somewhat harder to rig elections under the new rules? – Yes, a bit. Do I believe she will be back for several more wins in this World Series – absolutely!

Let’s make sure we stay tight with the SOS and work constructively to get the rest of the loopholes pinched closed.

A lot of great work has been done, and laid the foundation for a lot of great decisions in the future. “You can’t always get what you want, but if try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.”

... Pat said...
"From the nytimes:
Company officials have downplayed the results..."

Ok... we already knew that the corporations have been lying nonstop from the beginning... and your point is?

Now if you'll excuse me I believe Diebold accidentally posted a copy of their latest and most secret e-voting software to a Hungarian kitty porn site last night...

Great work Brad! To you and all of your vigilant compatriots!

I'm glad my skepticism re the CA decision was not prophecy! I feel better now lol.

Brad #22

Well said.

Now I don't have to get a bad taste in my mouth any longer when I say "Secretary of State".

Now it feels like minty freshness ... thanks Debra for even making the word "politician" not always leave a bad taste in my mouth (e.g. the Ken Blackwell, Karen Harris taste).

Politicians take note: if you need an example of what the people want to think of when they say "election official", Debra Bowen is that example.

(Don't forget Ian Sancho and Bruce Funk either).

It's a grand new day in California!!! Thanks so much Brad, and ALL you incredibly hard working citizens who have dedicated themselves to restoring integrity to our elections.
Here's what I anticipate, though - that the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, led by Conny McCormack (ex-pres, 2004-06) and other Friends of Vendors, will be screaming bloody murder. People... please be ready to support Bowen in the media and with your representatives.

A wonderful step by Debra Boewman but leaves a real problem.

Thousands of people in a given place vote Democratic on paper. A dozen or so impared people vote on the machines. Machines, however deliver several hundred thousand votes for neo-cons.

Might we again hear Rush Limbaugh hollering; "Get over it - the GOP won fare and square"

One machine can off-set any number of honest ballots.

Needs to be a way to show that machines can not deliver more votes than voters who used them.

Cons do, & will cheat - that's what they are all about. Machines can deliver no more votes that the number that use them. That has to be made clear.

Indeed, the vendors and many CA election officials will be screaming everything and anything.

I encourage all who read here to write a short letter to the editor to a CA newspaper on this issue.

If every CA newspaper of any size got a pro-paper ballot letter, that would be great.

T would wager that the DREs-IS-WONDERFUL side has their letters in preparation right now, with all sorts of fantasy arguments.

Mark #21; Leftisbest #25

Your concerns are noted and not forgotten. It is just that moving forward is what is happening here.

That means the travel in the wrong direction along with that disheartening momentum has not only been stopped in its tracks, but has been reversed.

Now is the time to get behind this fresh momentum, and push in the direction of your concerns.

A better direction is what we have, and in our world of physical reality, we have to go thru point B to get to point C. We were at A and now we are at B, and we all need to push on towards point C.

And don't worry, there is a lot of improvement after that so long as we keep going in the direction of honest, open, and fair elections.

I know you are behind that.

Thank you Debra Bowen!!! Yes, there is still work to be done, but this is a great start. Everyone out there - we need to work to help her. LA County has 25% of the states votes, I think, and she just decertified their machines. LA has the most combative and powerful RoV, Conny McCormack. LA needs to rally behind Bowen. The rest of us need to help all in LA!!!

For those upset that everything wasn't decertified - note that she has changed the audit!!! Yahoo!!! And it's not just count more votes or a tier audit. It's the risk based audit - the closer the race, the more votes get counted!!! This is so HUGE. This is so MAJOR. Given that the Holt Bill is almost there with the tiered audit, which is better than just a single number, but still wasteful and doesn't catch everything. So now we will have a meaningful audit!!! NOw if the elections officials can manage to understand how to do this, transparently, we are almost there....

OT sorta ...

We need a sample of Debra Bowen's blood because I think she is a carrier of the antidote to the Senate virus. Yesterday they could not recall that we have a 4th Amendment and gave Gonzales warrantless wiretap power. The House refused.

The "I can't recall" virus is a Senate disease. Politicians can not recall what the people want, like this fellow who is infected with the disease:

For 20 years [he] has been forgetting everything that just happened. All day long, he believes he has just woken from a deep haze.
...
He has no memories, no images, nothing.

(Spiegal). The antidote to this disease is in the blood of Debra Bowen, and I hope she will give some blood to the US Senate blood bank.

When they ask for out vote next time, we can say "I don't recall who you are". I want a third party.

A great day for democracy.

Yes Mark and Leftisbest, there is more work to be done. But we're off to a great start here.

And Sheri is absolutely right; Bowen will be attacked relentlessly by lazy, incompetent and financially-in-the-pocket-of-voting-machine-companies-election officials, and I have no doubt they will even file suit, claiming Bowen has overstepped her authority. And if they are able to get their suit in front of a rightwing judge... who knows what might happen?

We MUST MUST MUST come out with strong, vigorous support of Sec. of State Bowen and stand up to these election officials who insist on destroying democracy by having our elections run by private corporations using secret machines and secret software.

Don't ungird your loins yet, folks... the battle swings in our favor, but the war continues.

Literally, I feel triumphant. Thank you Debra Bowen, Lowell Finley, and the red team. What a relief. It's been a long haul, pushing this rock up the mountain and over the top. Now let's make sure there are enough people working in the polls to ensure that polls open, and voters CAN vote.

It will be amusing to see if the ROV's try to sue. The focus now turns local. The question to the ROVs should be, "A lawsuit will cost the voting taxpayers WHAT? Please, avoid the controversy, be economical, follow the law, and just purchase a few extra scanners. Make the voters happy."

I am particularly pleased about the Inka-Vote decertification. It's been a long time since we've seen arrogant power abusers, such as the LA County ROV, held to account.

(rubs eyes...drinks more coffee)

Does that really say a hand count of all Diebold and Sequoia system ballots? Somebody pinch me.

Debra Bowen is a bulldog for the people. Thank you all who have hounded these corrupt inept treasonous power-mongers, building for this showdown. You took a bite and never let the jaws unclamp. Whoopeee! Power to the people.

Hoo-ray for Debra Bowen, and everyone else who stood up to these well-financed voting machine companies!

And Brad, I first heard of Debra Bowen right here on your blog, immediately sending the link to her campaign website to my list of friends here in the North Bay. Thank-YOU!

And btw, one machine per polling place is just fine. That's what we had at the polling place that contained the two precincts I worked at. We were located near areas in which a lot of senior citizens lived, and I saw maybe a couple dozen handicapped voters come in, yet no one used either machine. It was my job to go to the training for them, set them up, and take them down. Hoo-eee. What a waste of time, all so that these fly-by-night businesses can get their HAVA money from the U.S. government, and then be gone.

We activists in San Diego are excited. Years of hard work and then this. Victory is a helluva antidote to work-frustration-anger. We're all feeling a lot healthier today.

Thank you Debra Bowen, Lowell Finley, Evan Goldberg and all those other giants at the CALIFORNIA SECRETARY OF STATES OFFICE, the place of giants.

Now we get to write to the local newspapers, visit County Supervisors, get on TV and so on. Debra Bowen has done the heavy lifting, now its our opportunity to make all of this good news resonate out to the public. Let ROVs, media and others attack, we're waiting for them, too.

It was a long but gratifying night. Still first thing this morning I turned on the news from Sacramento and the 'repugnant' ROV's have done a dangerous spin job, making our Secretary of State look like she's causing more problems for voters and many other complaints. We all need to be contacting these news stations and telling them what was really at stake, how they are enabling the hackers of our democracy. I would start with KCRA Channel 3, whose weekend anchorperson has been placing emphasis on certain words in order to discredit Debra and her legitimate findings. I believe his name is Mike Terrcel. Continued bad reporting like this could do much more harm than the county republican ROV's could have hoped for, for our cause and acurate voting results. Pardon any typos, no coffee yet.

Way ta go ... Yaaaaaaaawn ... but first tv Off,

cause the asshole in thief is blowing smoke up the ass of folks in Minn.

That's the way they do it in my precinct in Masshole PAPER ballots & 1 lowly lonely evm.

To LeftIsBest and Mark and the others concerned that Bowen hasn't yet gone far enough...Just a reminder that last night was about certification of voting systems that had to be done by midnight to take effect for next Feb's primary.

Polling place procedures and other executive rulings, etc. can be made separately. For example, Bowen is already on record (prior to the election) as saying she felt voting machine sleepovers are illegal. She can file an order or specific decision on that at any time. It didn't have to be done last night.

Same with many other election procedures. All of which is why I've suggested we "stay tuned".

Beyond that, I agree that sending letter to your local media/papers with your opinions on the Bowen decisions so far is a very good ide.

The ONLY thing the Elections Officials (the ones who choose to cast their lot with the vendors anyway) and the vendors themselves have left is to try and destroy Bowen. That campaign is already on. I suggest citizens stand up to it any way possible.

Having read all the posts, I will concur that Bowen's actions are a start and she is to be congratulated for manuevering between public demand and election official/vendor demands (and yes, except for a few election officials, vendors and election officials are 'family' and of the same in their mindset).

BUT it seems to have been forgotten that the source code reviews basically said that ALL the systems need to be re-engineered so allowing any of the components to be used is not what is needed.

And Brad, you seem to forget Rebecca Mercuri's offer and letter; yeah, HCPB everywhere might be a hostile environment but it's going to be anyway.

AND for all of you; I have sweated and fought with the SD ROV via public records requests re three consecutive elections and sent an election complaint into Bowen's office for investigation regarding:
a precinct not counted in the Nov.2005 election;

the GEMS audit log reflecting either an external connection or someone in the GEMS database during vote tabulation (and misrepresentations to the SOS from Mischelle Townsend and an outright lie by Deborah Seiler to Bowen's office) in the June 2006 election;

the failure of the SD ROV to test -per the 'Procedures for Use- all the touchscreens and memory cards used in the Nov. 2006 election (with the documentation to back up my claims, including the witnessing of the records (what little there was) by an attorney.)

AND FOR WHAT?

The Election Division of the SOS 'investigation' consisted of querying the Registrar of Voters whether such was 'true'; And since the ROV said that such wasn't true, that's the end of it.

So all of you election integrity activists who think that covering all the 'conditional provisions' and then finding that such were not adhered to and then making an election complaint about such will make a difference, I have to tell you that I just won't believe it.

'Conditional procedures' are useless if not followed and ignore the base issues associated with the systems.

That said, Bowen's actions throws a big monkey wrench into Mikel Haas' budgetary allocation for $5M more of the touchscreens in San Diego.

As we say in my native state of Louisiana (the other LA),

POO-YAH!!!

Congrats Brad and all y'all fighters against Electile Dysfunction! Big Win, but as has been noted, many more battles to fight. Right now, tonight, let's all have a victory beer!

And CA, make sure y'all stay on top of that move to give up electoral college votes, Congressional district by district. That isn't a bad idea, but only if it's done nationwide.

Cheers everybody!

shw

Doesn't the fact that the e-voting companies LIED every single time they bragged about security matter, as far as renewing certification and new contracts?

If a bank lied about security to this degree, would they every do ANY business ever again?

Interesting headline on the San Francisco Chronicle website:
Elections chief gives OK to vote machinesDespite security concerns, she clears them for use in February

The final paragraph states: Bowen's decision will have no immediate effect on San Francisco, Contra Costa or Solano counties, which all use voting machines made by Nebraska-based Election Systems and Software, which were not studied in the University of California review.

Okay, what is officially the "one county" using Hart Intercivic eSlate? These machines were recently introduced here in San Mateo County, but the Los Angeles Times reports that they are used in Orange Counties [sic].
The Times also reports that Bowen's announcement was made at "11:51 a.m." in the evening. I think the Times could use a few good proofreaders.

By the way, for what it's worth, in our most recent election in San Mateo County, as I recall there was one eSlate per precinct, while most voters used paper ballots --- exactly as Bowen is recommending.

Brad cited me above: "Would you prefer hand-counted paper ballots, as Tobi and Harris have described it, in a hostile environment? You think that would work? Think again."

This makes it appear as though I, and possible Bev Harris as well, prefer technoelections over hand count when faced with a hostile hand count situation.

So I would like to clarify a few things here. I can not speak for Bev, but for myself, I will say that I do not prefer hostile hand counts, of course, but I will take them any day over the technoelection coup d'etat we have sustained in our nation since the 1980's.

I believe that our democracy will be restored (or created, depending on how you look at things) only when we completely eliminate all of the computerized voting equipment from our elections. Op scans, DREs, e-pollbooks, and possibly the voter registration databases (I withhold judgment on those only because I have not yet taken the time to investigate abuse with them, and the NH implementation seems sound enough).

I believe that only elections using hand marked, hand cast, and hand counted processes with full citizen oversight of the end to end voting process (except of course the secret ballot), will confirm our commitment to our Republic as a free and open democratic society.

When I talk about hostile hand counts I am referring to those conducted by election officials who prefer to sabotage the election because they don't believe in hand counting, don't want to take the time, or are just plain criminals. I personally have been witness to this, and it is not a pretty sight.

And there are plenty of these types to go around, aided and abetted by criminal Party hacks.

We must recognize this challenge, just as we recognize the criminality of technoelection fraud.

This challenge, once recognized, however, is much easier to deal with than technoelection fraud. We can boot out the criminals. We can neutralize them with laws, rules, regulations, and public observation compounded with public humiliation.

But if we want to implement rational and workable hand count elections that sustain integrity of results, we need to be aware of, recognize, and neutralize the hostile hand count saboteurs in our midst.

This acknowledgment on my part, and I suspect Bev would agree, in no way infers that I think we should default instead to technoelections!!!

Just that we need to be diligent in laying the proper foundations, education, and training, to implement hand count elections that are effective, efficient, and create integrity of election results.

It's really just a management thing. We manage people, process, paper, and numbers. And if the people are skanks, we need to recognize that and deal with it.

Bruce said:

And Brad, you seem to forget Rebecca Mercuri's offer and letter; yeah, HCPB everywhere might be a hostile environment but it's going to be anyway.

Not necessarily. Remember, this is a process of turning around the Titanic here. It can't be easily done in one fell swoop. And certainly not with both elections impending and incredibly hostile Officials/Vendors teaming up to do and say anything to save their own asses.

The Titanic has begun to turn. I expect it will continue to turn. The search/hope for a silver bullet is fruitless given the enormity of the problem and what has been allowed to happen with so much money, in so many places, to so many voters.

Want to kill HCPB forever? Force Mikel Haas and friends to do it across their entire county next February. Want to see it NOT work and be discredited for an entire nation? That's a great way for that to happen.

The ship is turning. Test beds and pilot programs need to be established as proving grounds. All coming. All in the works around the country.

Again, a path is layed one stone at a time...The fight for democracy continues and the victory here for democracy should not be "misunderestimated". I believe that will become clearer in the days, weeks, months (and years!) ahead...

Brad, I agree. This was a great start. But we all still have a lot of work to do. Here in California we are facing a avalanche of bad press towards Debra Bowen, her results and her decision. Mis-information will be the tool that the repugnants use to attack her credibility. As activists, we must get the word out LOUDLY in papers, on radio and on television, where ever we can find the public tuned in. While we are doing this we must keep fighting for the next steps.

This is not a one step solution. This is an enormous problem. The repugnants knew what they were doing as they got HAVA passed with all the emphasis on electronic voting machines. They sent out their ROV's to brag about the machines. They had articles in papers nation wide. And so on. We have to look at this not as the building that we are taking down in one fell swoop with explosives, but as the problem we are dismanteling in large chuncks.
I believe that our SOS will file some sort of charges against any person who broke the law as Brad referred to:

"Polling place procedures and other executive rulings, etc. can be made separately. For example, Bowen is already on record (prior to the election) as saying she felt voting machine sleepovers are illegal. She can file an order or specific decision on that at any time. It didn't have to be done last night." (dismanteling requires timing)
This should be the next step. And I hope that all of us will be contacting Bowen's office to 'remind' her of this and ask that she follow through. It really doesn't matter where you live, you can still contact her office and request that she follow through.

So as I see it, we keep working. We must 1st get a lot of positive info out about Bowen and her great work. Making clear what her decision means and why this was done. Secondly we must keep working on getting the illegal actions of poll workers stopped and this would mean adding new laws or rules from Bowens office that state directly to these problems. At the same time we can keep pushing for legal actions to be taken against those who have already broken laws.

I know it seems like a really long fight. But isn't it worth it? And aren't days like today and very late last night inspiring and energizing for all of us to keep pushing. Consider the consequences if we do not keep working on this for as long as it takes.
I am willing to work with all of you to get some plans in place for the next steps. And yes we will disagree on how from time to time, but we will succeed. We have to, for our country, for our rights, for our childrens future. Isn't it fulfilling to watch the good guys win one battle at a time against all those corporate funds and greedy repugnants.

Wow, Brad. It looks to me like the Good Guys just won. Whew. Let me catch my breath. This could change my entire gloomy World View (it's only been this gloomy since the national election in 2001.) The Repugs may never ever win an election again!
I love the Kennedy-esque quotation at Comment 17. Now we Dems can steal elections the old fashion way. Get out that cemetary vote, Chicago!

With a slap in the face of California's disabled community, California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen has decided that the "easily hackable, insecure, untrustworthy, bug-ridden," touchscreen voting machines are not good enough to be used under any conditions --- except for the disabled community. She doesn't want the "sanctity of the vote" jeopardized for "regular" people, so she gives the crappy stuff to the disabled. She doesn't care if their vote is lost.

Thank-you Debra Bowen! Thank-you Debra Bowen! Thank-you Debra Bowen! Everyone here has responded eloquently. I only want to reiterate what some have said already; The attacks on Debra will be relentless. The far-right will do anything they can to stop honest elections from happening in our country. Their very survival depends on it. Debra will need support. At this moment we should speak loudly to newspapers, friends, groups.
(Remember what happened the last time a California SOS decertified faulty voting machines.)

The Sacramento Bee coverage opens with:

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, bowing to fears of computer fraud,...

What a partisan hack!! Debra courageously slew the mighty vote devouring dragons DIEBOLD, ESS and Sequoia.

Scroll down the article and see a comment by Stephen Weir, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials,

He said her decision essentially tells "the voting community out there 'your voting system is damaged, but we're going to fix it.' That doesn't feel good to me."

What is his point? That a damaged system should be left alone? Because he has a morbid pleasure in a hackable system.... that the people shouldnt be trusted with deciding who will represent them? Is his own job security at risk? Would a dictatorship "feel good" to Mr. Weird... er Weir, Mr Weir.

A HUGE Thank You to Debra Bowen!!
Next step, IRV (Instant Runoff Voting)? Maybe? That would be a GIANT leap for democracy (IMHO)
Woo Hoo!! I am Jazzed today!! Thanks again for everyones vigilance at the testing level....
Matthew Bishop, a UC Davis researcher who led the "Red Team" and UC Berkeley researcher David Wagner as well as their colleagues.
Thanks to everyone on every level... this is huge.
Thanks again to Brad.

Its about hope vs fascism

Brad , you said "Want to kill HCPB forever? Force Mikel Haas and friends to do it across their entire county next February. Want to see it NOT work and be discredited for an entire nation? That's a great way for that to happen."

Whole lot of assumption there that discounts how many people would chip in to make sure that HCPB WOULD work; Bowen could have de-certified all the machines just based on their non HAVA compliance and certified the Vote-Pad for the disabled.

And it is GEMS that John Washburn was reporting on of how the 'vote flipping' could occur; couple that with what I found in the GEMS audit log for the June 2006 election and it is reasonable to question whether Bilbray received the votes that it was reported he got.

And if you saw the documents I have showing how much schmoozing Evan Goldberg has done with Seiler and Vu, you might think differently.

And when I can't get a decent response from Bowen's office on an election complaint that documents and has witnesses to wrongdoing by the SD ROV, well I can't get to excited about this.

Yes, turning a large organization around is not an easy task but trying to find a middle ground -especially when it is known that complaints will follow no matter what is done- argues for taking an approach that is like solving the gordian knot; it's only solved by cutting it.
As evidenced by the postings here.

We all knew Bowen would do the right thing. Yet one cannot really savor this victory, as on the same day the Dems in the Senate authorized Bush's warrantless wiretapping. Staggering. Unconscionable. The Dems have once again shown their uncanny stupidity by buying into the "if we don't allow them to spy on us, we're going to be attacked! (by the Neocons, in another false flag "terrorist attack.") BS.

Sigh. They STILL Don't Get It.

Will there even BE an election in '08? This is looking less and less likely. Does anyone really believe this bunch would ever simply step down? And Bush's latest executive orders are downright chilling--they can seize everything you own, no court review, nothing. We are only one more false flag attack from martial law and suspending our elections indefinitely. They may do it, and no matter how many millions are suspicious of 9-11 and the Neocons, the infiltrated corporate press will parrot the Neocon talking points, and our cowering Democrats will buy into it AGAIN.

This is why I no longer believe that fixing the election system is THE issue it was before '06. The issue now is *impeachment* and *exposing the truth of 9-11 to America*. That is the only way to end the reign of terror, before the next "false flag" attack gives the Neocons the pretext to suspend the rest of our rights. I believe time is short for our great republic.

I am refocusing all my energies on trying to get impeachment on the table and to bring 9-11 truth to the Dems and the media. I have gotten a few cautiously encouraging letters back from journalists, and reading between the lines you can tell they agree but are being muzzled. We have to continue to force the issue enough so that the dam breaks and the corporate media can finally no longer hold back the truth.

In other words, we need to fight as if the survival of America depends on it... because it does.

I was very pleased to be an early Debra Bowen supporter, and heartily second all expressed sentiments to keep supporting her in this uphill struggle.

I think that the most honest, cheapest way to make sure that the vote in California (and elsewhere) is valid would be hand-counted paper ballots at the precinct level, tallied at the precinct level, and then handed up to the county AND state levels simultaneously. The only way for citizens to trust that their votes count again is for that tally to be certified at the precinct level by the judges on site - I know, because I was a volunteer election judge at my precinct in 2004. I don't see why ANY poll volunteer would mind counting the ballots by hand (even pairing up "opposing" party member judges to count each ballot cast) - certifying, along with their fellow poll workers, what the tallies are on the spot, then handing up the results. All precinct results would be published the next day on the Internet and in the newspapers, leaving no chance for contradiction. The only thing "wrong" with this approach is that it works.

I can think of no legitimate argument for computer involvement at this time on the part of any legitimately concerned citizens, just those with vested interests in continued voting fraud. Optical character readers would be fine for a backup JPEG-type file, but I would NOT trust any sort of computerized system, which necessarily would include OCRs, to play any part in tallying any totals - too easy for those totals to change. That's why the chain of evidence needs to be so clear from the ground up, without the daisy-chained machines that somehow need to be networked together. The purest form of democracy is transparent process coupled with the sanctity of the secret ballot; a precedent might be created along the lines of jury duty (and paid time off) to get decent bi-partisan poll workers ... We wouldn’t want a repeat of that Farce in Florida (“Let us in! Let us in!!”) when 150 Republican foot soldier thugs showed up to storm the Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board during their recount efforts, now would we ...

... FrankLee spun for the corporate masters thusly...

"With a slap in the face of California's disabled community,"

... a slap mandated and required by law courtesy of the e-voting corporate whores in the federal government...

"California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen has decided that the "easily hackable, insecure, untrustworthy, bug-ridden," touchscreen voting machines are not good enough to be used under any conditions --- "

Yes she did.

"... except for the disabled community."

No, she didn't.

"She doesn't want the "sanctity of the vote" jeopardized for "regular" people, so she gives the crappy stuff to the disabled."

Wrong.
There is no law requiring them to use the crappy stuff and there are non-e-voting solutions available to the disabled in CA.

It was the corporate whores who insisted on offerring only e-voting "solutions" to the disabled.

This a bad situation going back to when e-voting corporate whores at advocacy, state and federal levels pimped the disabled... by declaring that e-voting was the only way to handle the disabled vote and lying nonstop each and every step of the way while doing it.

(... yes, the corruption spread down even to the advocacy level in the form of disabled "advocacy" groups who accepted massive donations from Diebold et al to praise "disabled e-voting solutions" that... solutions that didn't even meet disability standards.)

"She doesn't care if their vote is lost."

She does, I believe, but she currently has to put one designated disabled voting station in each precinct and...

... and listen to the following well...

...and it was the well-paid corporate whores... like the former CA Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and the current crop of election officials you hear screaming so loudly... it was they who insisted on "e-voting only" for the disabled in CA by deliberately refusing all non-e-voting solutions.

And whose fault is that?

Not the disabled groups who refused to become corporate whores for Diebold et al.

Not the disabled themselves who want only to vote and have that vote counted... for once...

And not Secretary of State Bowen who has begun to fix CA's badly compromised and corrupted elections system.

Come back here with this corporate spin after the county officials explain about why they refused to use the non-e-voting solutions for the disabled that are available.

First, the Presidential Primary will be Feb. 5, 2008, so I think she
actually had until Aug. 5, Sunday, to decertify. However, she told everyone she would announce her decision on Aug. 3, and she did.

The statement about printing ballots comes from:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/el...systems/requirements.pdf

and is dated 10/5/05. Bowen has added it to the Certification
document which is good.

She put major restrictions on Diebold and Sequoia DREs, no more
than 1 per polling place and 100% manual count, and only minor
restrictions on Hart. Orange County can still use Hart, but must
train poll workers that every voter has a right to a paper ballot.

This will make it easier to defend in court.

I was happy about the news on De-Certification of E voting systems in CA.

I have a major concern about RE CERTIFICAION. Testing cannot be done properly if all the software used to create whatever Election has not all been disclosed. I have this concern with one of the Vendors.

All software used to import information into the tally program, test and verify contest definition information and all other information necessary to present a DRE image of a ballot to the voter on election day, should and MUST BE TESTED IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE ACCURACY ON ELECTION DAY.

At this point in time, I can say for a fact that their are many problems in many states regarding accuracy of a DRE image.

Since states are different in LAW requirements, these states would have no idea on what they should be looking for. Security is not the primary concern.

The primary concern should be with accuracy of the ballot image which in almost every case comes from data which was used to create the paper ballot.
-Gerard Gonzalez
Visalia CA

Agree that the this is just the beginning. We've won the battle-- the war goes on.

A couple links. First one is a comprehensive list of all California newspapers. Usually fairly easy to figure out how to submit a LTE. Second link is to Congress.org Media Guide. Type newspaper name in "Organization Search" and go from there.

http://www.newslink.org/canews.html

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

This is so important because we could easily see things backslide with the radical regressives and their hack buddies in Corporate Press attempting to bring Sec. Bowen down. Keeping those LTEs flowing is our best line of defense, as well as letters to our electeds. We can't stop now!

Many thanks and blessings to SoS Bowen, and all those fighting to preserve our country!

If there's one thing I've learned about the people behind the scenes really running this country, it's that they're really smart...and they already have a plan, for if e-vote machines are pulled.

I hope everyone else knows and has learned this. They're always a step ahead.

This is good news, though...of course...naturally...

But, always look ahead, be on guard! It NEVER ends!

And I can finally add ONE politician to my list of good politicians, that I can count on ONE hand...Debra Bowen!

Doing here job! UNLIKE 99% of all other politicans! Why am I not surprised, that it's a woman?

Hillary Clinton can take a lesson from Debra Bowen. And so can Nancy Pelosi.

Hey! How about THIS article from the Sacramento Bee:

"California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, bowing to fears of computer fraud, Friday decertified Los Angeles County's electronic voting system and sharply curtailed the use of two other machines that California counties had hoped to use to conduct the February 2008 presidential primary."

What's with the "bowing to fears" part? That makes it sound like, "Although Debra Bowen was FOR e-vote machines, she BOWED TO THE FEAR...".

What exactly is THAT supposed to mean? By the Sacramento Bee???

Debra Bowen PROACTIVELY dumped them, she didn't "bow to fears"! That's a really loaded sentence, there!

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/308452.html

Is that reporter some kind of idiot?

Also, from that same article:

"She had said she would issue a decision by Friday to comply with a requirement to give counties six months' lead time to make changes.

But she delayed acting for hours, finally holding a press conference at her downtown office as midnight approached.

Stephen Weir, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, questioned her decision-making process, saying Bowen could and should have waited until Monday to act.

Weir said Bowen is moving the ball "in the wrong direction" because she used an improper system to test the machines. He said her decision essentially tells "the voting community out there 'your voting system is damaged, but we're going to fix it.' That doesn't feel good to me.""

The sentence "because she used an improper system to test the machines" is not in quotes, notice. Did the writer of this ARTICLE say that???

Who IS that guy?

Thank you ZapKitty for debunking the crap spewed out by FrankLee. I had a mind to do the same when I read it earlier but I put it off to take a nap (tired as I was after staying up late waiting for Secretary Bowen's decision, celebrating afterward and then going to work this morning) and when I returned to make the effort you had done a better job than I could have anyway. It should be noted that Ms. Bowen was a proponent of Vote-PAD, a non-computerized device designed to help people with disabilities hand mark a paper ballot. This inexpensive and effective voting system for the disabled was rejected by Bowen's EVM-industry-lackey predecessor, Bruce McPherson, after an infamous and gamed certification trial last August.

I'm sure we'll see lots more of this kind of propaganda and shrill lies from the voting machine companies, various corrupt or lazy election officials and the likes of FrankLee in the coming days and weeks. We need to keep rebutting it forcefully and showing Ms. Bowen that we appreciate the courage she showed and true risk she took upon herself by opposing these powerful, corrupt forces and their dangerous, anti-democratic EVMs. Given how far we have gone down the road to ruin and how powerful the opposing forces have become, it is just plain unrealistic to think that in the time she had she could have made the even more profound moves some in the EI community might have liked. There is more to do but this is a BIG victory for election integrity!

"But Bishop's test drew immediate controversy when its results were released a week ago. The experiment focused on machines made by Diebold, Sequoia and Hart InterCivic. A fourth company, Election Systems & Software, did not provide information to the state in time to undergo review. Bowen decertified that system, which Los Angeles County had planned to use in February."

When you read a newspaper article, look for the author of the article, taking it upon himself, to make statements like, "But Bishop's test drew immediate controversy"...that is the author of the article saying that.

The paragraph above, a good reporter would've left that sentence out completely. Without that sentence, the paragraph would be reporting, not "opinionating".

Off topic but important:
http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.html

S. 1927, Bush's 4th amendment buster, now being debated on the House floor....

"Groups representing voters with disabilities have defended electronic touch-screen machines because they can provide independence in the voting booth through technologies such as audio playback of selections or a sip-and-puff tube."

Here's what I always say about these "groups representing voters with disabilities", which always comes up:

1. What good is the access, if your vote isn't counted? That's the same thing as NO ACCESS, YOU IDIOTS!!!

2. There was an article on Brad Blog, that they DIDN'T PASS ACCESSIBILITY, YOU IDIOTS!

3. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE, AND WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES???

4. Can someone "smack down" these people, who are against democracy?

Big Dan- It would take a heart, brain and soul transplant to make Hillary, Pelosi or the likes of Diane Feinstein see the same light of integrity that Debra Bowen sees!

The guy who wrote that Bowen was "bowing to fears of computer fraud" is a disengenous idiot. It took true political (and perhaps, personal) bravery to buck the powerful, corrupt EVM industry and their minions as she has and only a liar or a paper with an agenda would make such a statement or write such an article as the one in the SacBee.

Steve, thanks for the complement but I'd already been working on that piece when FrankLee popped up... the original version is actually aimed at Mike Malloy* so I just tweaked a copy to address the mindless corporate spew and posted it

*Malloy is apparently ignorant of the issues involved with the blind and voting and currently can only respond with stereotypes about the blind...

ZapKitty-

I didn't hear the comment by Mike Malloy. I think he usually means well and fights the good fight but he is one of those people who feel he has to voice an opinion about everything, even when he is not fully informed (and he usually is well-informed). The disabled voter gambit used by the EVM industry and their supporters is an effective one because opposing the disabled (even when it is a small, corrupted segment of disabled voters acting surreptitiously on behalf of their EVM paymasters) seems anathema to a progressive who does not realize he/she is being manipulated.

debra bowen was the only candidate that skippy officially endorsed last year! we at skippy international are proud to back the only democrat with a spine!

Steve,

That's why I'm trying education with him instead of eradication

Like most of you, I am THRILLED with Debra Bowen's decertification of most of the god-#%@^^$ DREs.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU BOWEN!

As to what the "mystery" one county that uses the Hart Intercivic DRE system...that's Nevada County [sic], where I live.

Nevada County just had announced a week ago or so that it chose to go with the damned Hart system, despite the vociferous objections of many people in Nevada County, myself included. I do hope that the Hart systems would be as fully decertified as the rest of the DREs.

Bowen is not only beautiful, she's smart and has cojones. Yea! Bowen for President!

RE: my post #35, and the_zapkitty #73

Update ... I have a bad feeling about the House being turned. Last night they voted to not allow warrantless wiretapping in violation of the 4th Amendment.

Tonight they are reversing themselves.

What could have caused the collapse of the Senate and the House? Their memory mirrors the disease I pointed out in post #35.

My God my friends, America is in GRAVE, GRAVE DANGER !!!!!!!!!!

I do not like to speak lightly or frivously as my friend bloggers here know. I have gone off to search for American since even before Simon and Garfunkel wrote those lyrics.

But like some of my loved ones, and some of my animals, america may have been lost.

I think we may need to do the yoda. Go into a "jungle" (any place you can hide) and wait for an opening to take down the sith. They have taken over our elected officials.

So ... lets expand the debate. What do we do if that is the case? I am leaning toward disappearing ... but ...

I need your help in the form of comments.

Well, now it is official.

The moles within the democratic party, federal division, have voted to abolish the 4th Amendment. That was not expected. The republicans I did expect to do that, but not the democrats.

The Senate and the House did so, really, they did.

Alberto and crew can wiretap and spy without warrants.

I think I will file a lawsuit Monday to have it declared unconstitutional ... but in this red state I doubt I will prevail ... or in the Supreme Court.

And, as some of us know, liberal Diane Fienstein just caved and voted for a racist judge to be put on the circuit I would have to appeal to if I lost in the District Court.

Why is the comedy "just shoot me" coming to mind.

God help me, I must be a fucking slug american slithering about the planet seeking things to slime one.

No ... fuck that ... I am V for Vendetta !!!!!!!!!
Are you?

Excuse me 99, Brad, John, DES

The script does not seem to recognize spaces.

And on this solemn funeral occasion, I did not seek to muck up the works here, I just wanted to make a point.

Please modify my post so that Bradblog readers can read it.

thanx.

#82....
can't count on the organized militia anymore,they are "busy" right now,and besides the governors don't control them anymore.Unorganized?...they are now known as terrorists.But I remind you all, that the men who signed "The Paper" were considered "traitors" and were considered to be an "insurgency" and they all had warrants for their arrest. I'm sure they all thought of disappearing at one time or the other but they were brave and fought against overwhelming odds. If your gonna disappear, do so like the Browns'...
"I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees."
- Randy Weaver

Pat #85

There are x neoCons who did this ...

we out number them about 2893 to 1 ...

if .0001 percent of us "detain" them for "questioning" ... they will be gone ...

... good riddance!

I hate to say this my dear Bradblog friends ... but I have contracted the disease I can't remember who to send my taxes to ...

So, I publicly advocate V ...

Yep, pay yourself, pay your good friends, pay your children, pay anybody but them ...

I kneel, one knee (only God gets two), in respect of the boston tea party.

Warrentless wiretaps over my empty wallet. Be careful.

Weighing in a little late,but weighing in none the less. As many have said this is truly a great day for Democracy. Many of us have worked dilligently and paid a hefty price to arrive here. Some of us a much greater price,(yes Steve Heller it is me and you). Debra Bowen has delivered and as Brad states this is a great start. Those that are already railing that she has not gone far enough are simply being naive about the, "struggle", "war", "fight" or however you choose to refer to the work to bring about change and return as much integrity and transperancy to our electoral process. Most everyone wants the promise of Free Uncompromised Elections. They require a tremendous amount of work and honesty. The advent of the "techno-age" systems makes this achievement much more difficult. We did not arrive at the flawed process in which we now find ourselves overnight. It came in degrees over time. It will not be corrected overnight. Debra Bowen has made a dramatic and very effective step on the road to correcting this process. Do not deride her for, "not going far enough". That mentality and expectations were contributing factors in getting us here in the first place. Yes the intentions may have been admirable but the methods and claims, some years back, were either too sweeping, outlandish, unachievible, or simply not sufficiently supported to be able to stave off the introduction and prolifferation of this flawed technology. Remember, we are dealing with entities whose sole purpose is selling a product to make staggering amounts of money and purchasers with many motives. Some of those motives were definately nefarious, those were the ones who saw the exploitability, others, (and this was a far greater majority than we may choose to accept) were swayed by the vendors simply with various forms of payola. Some for as little as a two-three day hotel stay and meals while viewing the sytems to others who now have that new Escalade and Condo in Maui. Once they had convinced their Counties to invest then there was no turning back. It was business as usual, Cover Your Ass and never ever cop to the fact that you were wrong.
We still have a way to go but this is a tremendous acheivement. Congatulations all and Thank you Debra Bowen.

We have to accept that there are now three major parties in this country: the Republicans, the Democrats, and the People. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are controlled by special interests, and neither can be counted on to represent us. With the organizing power of the internet, and heroes in elective office like Debra Bowen, we, the People, will prevail.

I see two fronts emerging. And those that know how to get on it need to get on it. I am just Joe 6-Pack. Unless you got an idea for my Music TV show...I am willing to sacrifice a song or two for some TRUTH if someone (I trust) want's to send me a MiniDV or DVD. I got to be honest, I can't deal time-wise, with trying to understand all this crap and do all the crap I do to get my show out, maintain the websites, etc etc etc. From the famous words of Bob Barker in one of his games, "That's Too Much!" (Said Loudly with Vigor)

Onward...

One is the rest of the States that use these electronic voter rights trashing machines, bring facts to them, bring pressure to the correct people.

The other is we really need to declare a truth war on the media.
TOO Much SPIN is going on. It makes me nauseous, it makes me angry, it SHORTENS MY LIFE!

Big Dan posted the URL to the web published story by The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/308452.html
Reading through that crap probably pissed you off as much as it did me. (thanks Big Dan) (Any volunteers to straighten that mess of crap out?)

However, When I actually picked up a copy of the actual Sacramento Bee newspaper dated August 4, 2007 my jaw about dropped.

The Sacramento Bee
Date Saturday, August 4, 2007
Headline: Voting decision stalled
Sub headline: Fate of state's electronic systems still uncertain.

By Kevin Yamamura
Bee Capitol Bureau

We start with the misleading headline.
***"Voting decision stalled"***
(The decision isn't stalled. Kevin Yamamura uses DATE and TIME in a vague way to make the headline technically correct but hell of misleading.)

He labels "voting rights advocates" as "electronic voting critics" (isn't that cute? New buzzwords)

Kevin suggests that electronic voting machines "COULD BE VULNERABLE." (When the UC team just told us that the electronic voting machines reviewed "ARE VULNERABLE." And let's not forget not ALL machines were reviewed)

Kevin then goes on to use TIME and DATE to make it seem like Debra Bowen is still remaining silent. As of Saturday... I guess technically if the bastard want's to play minutes and seconds games he's right, but by the time I got the paper he was wrong. Wrong in a very misleading way!

The next authority (sic) he introduces is the wacko Steve Weir, giving Weir kudos on questioning Bowen's decision making process and suggesting Bowen might have waited until Monday. (Whatever Steve Weir May be, It is not an authority, and I give a crap what Steve does for a living, the only explanation is he supports a corrupt untraceable and un-validate-able election with no footprints. And I guess he does have the right to try to keep this SPIN/BLACKOUT/Mass deception crap going until someone else get's busted..)

Keven quotes Steve Weir saying, "What happens at midnight? Do all the voting machines turn into pumpkins?" "This isn't the way to do business. This thing is too rushed." And goes on to say he ain't sure if counties could handle the switch to paper ballots of Bowen acted to certify the machines. (Okay several problems here... Again Kevin is presenting a time/date distortion of the truth for the shock value. Since this is Saturday now if not Sunday now this is total non-sense not worthy of the paper it's printed in, I'd rather read a mis-printed FRYS AD for god sake! But to try to keep some sanity here, I will suprise you all and agree with Steve that this thing is too rushed timing sure seems to be everything for corruption to manipulate elections doesn't it Steve...On the other hand Steve, I like to think of the machines as being bar-b-que'd, actually I'd like to see them all bar-b-que'd, I'd chip in to pay for some beer to watch them all be bar-b-que'd. On the other hand Steve, they have to print (using your numbers) 20 million Sample Ballots anyway. Whoops there goes your weak printing time argument.)

Kev gives some statistics: (OMFG!)
The tested systems (cough cough choke cough) are used by 43 of 58 counties in California and by 9 million out of 15.7 million registered voters (UC Berkeley numbers)
(Dear Kevin tested? Do you mean to say how sorry/lame/poor excuse for allowing corruption to fester, the tests are.)

Kev then says a decision to decertify would be a victory for electronic voting critics (Um Kevie get this in your head, repeat after me "voting rights advocates" you slap every patriot in the face when you say CRITIC!) who unsuccessfully lobbied two of Bowen's predecessors (Oh you mean that last batch of CORRUPTION INFESTATION Republican: Bruce McPherson. the incumbent who replaced Kevin Shelley, who resigned in scandal. Are you saying we lobbied to try to GET YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE BACK!? I'd agree we TRIED.) to stop the machines use in California.

Kev talks about millions of dollars spent. (Gee kev, what about the trillions in Iraq because of these machines? And the deaths, And the shredding of the US Constitution and the...oh never mind you frigging ass bite.)

Kev uses interesting language like "to change a vote tally" in conjunction with computer virus. (It's not the vote tally Kev, it's the WHOLE THING! That's PLURAL Kev not SINGLE.)

Kev say's hackers can install virus's. (Kev YOU could install a virus, it's not hard to do, you put your disk in. A monkey can do it, a child could do it, an INSIDER can do it! A Friend of Bin Laden could do it, more on that later...)

Kev give the Electronic Voting Machine Manufactures and the Registrars of Voters a couple of paragraphs to bitch and whine (now that they have been caught with their pants down by the UC red team!) about the tests are unrealistic because of the Procedures and Policies (My ad lib paraphrase he terms it "Layers of Security." What a joke! I bet you couldn't even solder fuse on a power cord Kevin! Let alone realize that this isn't a joke it is our frigging NATIONAL SECURITY we are talking about! You should be a LOT more serious about this Kev. Your and my, and everyone else's very lives might just depend on it! )
Kev goes on.. about how Red Team had complete access and that's unrealistic. (No it's not keviee Insiders have complete access!)

Kev manages to leave the reader overwhelmed with what voting rights advocates want. Paper ballots vs. Op Scans vs. Open Source software. (Kev do you know any disabled folks? Have you seen how they interface with computers? This need not be confusing, HAVA is being abused to allow corrupt machines into the system, when really the whole process needs to be on PAPER BALLOTS HAND COUNTED WITH PUBLIC OVERSIGHT, if your disabled, you can PRINT a PAPER BALLOT to be counted, the technology is there to do it. The rest of us lucky to be healty folks with eyes and hands can mark the paper ballots.)

Next paragraph he talks about the 2000 election, that electronic voting machines became popular to comply with HAVA (kev does not say HAVA) and the accessibility of voting booths. (Kev now you've gone too far, the accessibility report was released before Saturday August 4, 2007 . It shows that they STILL DO NOT COMPLY!)

Kev then talks about disabled voters love affair with DRE's because they provide independence by audio playback of selections. (Kev, actually It's my belief that some electronics could be used to help the disabled PRINT A PAPER BALLOT TO BE HAND COUNTED WITH PUBLIC OVERSIGHT, the problem is when you have these un-validate-able electronic machines actually doing the COUNTING!!! Humans can not physically see electricity as it travels at 3e8 (lightspeed), they can see paper and can have public oversight on PAPER they can SEE physically.)

The last paragraph says how the time frame was made short bla bla bla.. (I agree Kev the time is short!)

Kev Kevin Kevie whatever.. I have no respect for you, if you call yourself a journalist. You probably even have a degree. Pure Utter crap. It should be revoked along with your coveted press card.

If anyone out there wants to call kevin yamamura 916.326.5548 or kyamamura@sacbee.com

But don't believe what I say, hey, I am just Joe 6 pack with a DSL and actually; I am on my sixth beer right now. Screw the spell checkers. Look this all up for yourself, I don't call myself a journalist. I am just a pissed off veteran, sick of this crap. Pointing out stuff that really really really really pisses me off.

I won't be buying a sac bee tomorrow. Hell (Bites) SN&R probably has better fact checking than you do.

I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me there is now a record of precedent set by a State Government in rejecting faulty and deficient voting equipment. Anybody up for a class-action lawsuit?

Big Brother is a republican blue dog democrat.

In the bill passed Saturday, the republicans in the House all (except Johnson (IL) and Jones (NC)) voted to give Bush what he demanded: warrantless wiretaps of americans.

These House democrats entered the preznit blush hall of shame:

Altmire, Barrow, Bean, Boren, Boswell, Boyd (FL), Carney, Chandler, Cooper, Costa, Cramer, Cuellar, Davis (AL), Davis (Lincoln), Donnelly, Edwards, Ellsworth, Etheridge, Gordon, Herseth Sandlin, Higgins, Hill, Lampson, Lipinski, Marshall, Matheson, McIntyre, Melancon, Mitchell, Peterson (MN), Pomeroy, Rodriguez, Ross, Salazar, Shuler, Snyder, Space, Tanner, Taylor, Walz (MN), Wilson (OH)

(House Vote).

It is a day of infamy, and it portends the final days of what was once american democracy.

It is not the system that counts, it is the people in the system. And those democrats in the House listed above, and all republicans save two, are pure and simple traitors to the 4th Amendment.

Dredd, I've been saying that all along: both parties are in on it.

Dredd, I'VE BEEN SAYING that "the hack" starts in the Democratic PRIMARY...like Hank Johnson over McKinney, and other little things like the Feeney/Clint Curtis things.

No one's watching the Dem primaries being hacked, that's where it all starts!

It makes sense, because look at all the Democrats voting Republican!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phil and Big Dan, I guess its a bit moot, but I was 1st to mention that SacBee article in Post 56

I share your sentiment... but the Bee does have a history of bias.
I think Christine Craft cancelled her subscription when they cancelled her last reason for getting it.... Mark Trail. God bless her, She should have a gr8 show tomorrow... some very good news for democracy!

Heres todays dose of "Yammering" Yamamura:

SacBee

Voting decision creates turmoil
Counties fear limits on electronic machines will cause chaos.
By Kevin Yamamura - Bee Capitol Bureau
Last Updated 12:31 am PDT Sunday, August 5, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1

~ ~ snip ~ ~

County officials elsewhere may fight Bowen's actions, and Bowen said Saturday she would not be surprised if her office faces legal action from counties or manufacturers. She said she consulted with legal counsel at length Friday and believes she can withstand a challenge.

Of course she can stand up to legal challenges. We were sold a defective bill of goods. The (Republican owned) Election Systems have had years to secure these machines.

Diebold has lost in court before..... BRING IT ON!!

We can bring in a chimp to hack their software and they will be laughed out of business. There will be a national wave of de-certifications! I hope they DO try to sue! LOL!

Yamamura brought up "fear" again. This time its in the subtitle "Counties fear... chaos".... who made this asshat spokesman for all CA counties? I think he needs to process his own fears with a dose of acceptance and democracy.
Poor baby cant hack anymore elections... boo-hoo.

Peace out.

I posted a comment on todays SacBee article....
It hasnt shown up yet.
It went something like this:

Just Push the Yellow Button and Vote as Many Times as You Want on Sequoia Touch-Screen Voting Machines!

Diebold systems can be hacked in 90 seconds to flip the election results from one candidate to another... by a child.

Its not quite a defeat for Diebold and Sequoia but not quite a victory for the people in other words its more important to be seen doing the right thing.
Thanks for trying Deb.

... Stan said...

"Its not quite a defeat for Diebold and Sequoia but not quite a victory for the people...."

Wrong!

In your (perfectly normal) attempt to warn that the battles are far from over you have made an incorrect statement.

It is a stinging defeat for Diebold... and the other e-voting corporations.

Not only did yet another set of studies show up the utter BS that underlies e-voting, but then the "largest voting market in the US" took direct action against Diebold and other e-voting corporations based on those studies... and are putting strict measures in place to try and guard against the very real dangers that the corporations can no longer pretend aren't there.

And this is indeed a victory for the people of CA... and the rest of the world. It's just not the last victory that must be won.

But it is indeed a defeat for Diebold and the other e-voting corporations... and a victory for the people.

Of course the corporate spinmeisters will be desperately attempting to portray this as "no big deal"... but then lying is what they do, right?

We won!

Debra! Debra! Debra! Debra! Debra! Debra! Debra!

Now, on to Washington and let's win there!

That is why I ALWAYS use the machines with verifiable paper trail. This way my vote is NOT manipulated!

http://OsiSpeaks.com or http://OsiSpeaks.org

BRAVO, BRAVE, BRAVO!!! DEBRA AND BRAD YOU ARE REAL AMERICAN HEROES.

Hopefully the rest of America will wake-up and realize that they have no real assurance that their votes will be counted for the candidate they vote for as long as they are using electronic voting machines.

Paper ballots and hand counts are the only real answer.

... KYJurisDoctor whistled in the dark...

"That is why I ALWAYS use the machines with verifiable paper trail.

Then you have been misled, like so many others...

"This way my vote is NOT manipulated!"

Wrong.

Once it was thought that "paper trails" were the answer... but after the first rush to get such trails that idea turned out to be wrong. Because of the computer's corruptibility and human foibles it's now known that "paper trails" aren't even worth the paper they're printed on.

With DRE e-voting (what people refer to as touchscreens) the computer can tell you one thing, print out something to match what it told you and then the computer will actually cast and count your vote for... ... (wait for it) for whatever result the person who last accessed the machine wanted from you.

This was recently proven yet again:
https://bradblog.com/?p=4902

The answer?

The real answer has turned out to be paper ballots that are actually counted.

Opscans use paper ballots and (hopefully) count each one. Opscans are also hackable. But at least when the opscan machine screws up there are actual paper ballots left behind to count.

"COMMENT #95 [Permalink]
... gr8fuldaniel said on 8/5/2007 @ 11:42 am PT...

Phil and Big Dan, I guess its a bit moot, but I was 1st to mention that SacBee article in Post 56"

Sorry, I'm taking full credit for it! (smiley face)

Yamamura's writing could have been, "Debra Bowen is fighting for democracy", but it's written like, "Debra Bowen is creating controversy, and is dangerous, and doesn't seem to know what she's doing."

This is to Yamamura's biased writing:

FUCK YOU, WE'RE NOT STUPID, HERE!

The initial reactions I hear from the Daily Voting News seem to indicate actual shock from the pro-corporate-control election officials.

They shouldn't have been surprised, really... but it seems that they really have grown to believe that it is the corporations who are in charge of elections in California.

Debra Bowen is doing her job, she is performing her duty, and the corporation-compliant election officials just couldn't... or wouldn't... hear the oncoming train.

THAT A GOOD FIRST STEP, NOW WITCH LIER SHOULD WE VOTE FOR,BIG LIE ;MED EM LIES, SMALL LIES, MY VOTE GOES TO RON PAUL HOPEFULLY NO LIES, WILL HAVE TO SEE, AND THEN TURN HIM UPSIDE DOWN AND SEE WHAT COMES OUT OF HIS POCKETS.

Richard #106;

Ron Paul failed to vote to uphold the 4th Amendment and stood on the sidelines as Alberto Gonzales was given legal clearance to wiretap without a warrant.

Big Dan #93, #94

The neoCons in the democratic party (a.k.a. "Liebercrats") call themselves "blue dog democrats". Actually they are red state dogs.

Join the campaign to take them down in '08!!

Don't expect any help with voting machine improvements from these phonies. Stay true blue like Debra.

Dredd forgets that election integrity is not about Right and Left, it's about right and wrong.

I have been attempting to send the followiong letter to our Sec of State but it comes back as undeliverable:

Thank you for your efforts to restore democracy to CA. I understand that to comply with HAVA you have made one e-machine available in each voting place. Let us say that through out the state 100 impaired voters request to use those machines. May I suggest that the machines and those 100 votes be held sepirate and not even be counted until after all other varifiable votes are counted and results published. Indeed you could even concede that those 100 votes went to the GOP. My fear, and I trust yours, is that, if counted, those 100 impaired voters might somehow deliver 11,000,000 votes to the neo-cons. That's what the cons and their machines are all about.

I am suggesting that an accurate count be maintained of those impaired voters that request to use the machines be maintained and that those votes not be comingled with other votes. Indeed they should not even be counted until after all other results are published.

We have the worst of criminals in power because of riggable machines. We need to know clearly, how many in the state requested to vote on the machines and those votes need to be held apart from all others.

THE_ZAPKITTY # 108:

It may not about right or left, but about right or wrong. True enough but since none on the right ever strays from the pack they are either all right or all wrong. The RNC does not take any stand on voting issues that could better facilitate fraud in elections. So they without fail always take the anti-democracy position.

They are either all right or all wrong on other issues as well due to their follow the leader mentality. Let’s see how they come out on economic issues:

If you can believe what they tell you then:

1. Anybody who gets any part of any tax cut benefits from that tax cut.
2. All tax cuts are good tax cuts since they pay for themselves.
3. Tax cuts pay for themselves because they create a robust economy.
4. That robust economy will surely result in an increase in tax revenue for the government.

If you believe all of the above you can believe all the nonsense you are fed by the right wing “pundits” through the “liberal press”. If you can’t believe the above you can’t believe anything you hear from the “liberal press” via the right wing “pundits” who make up that “liberal press”.

In order to believe the above four claims you have to believe that government revenues will be higher if the tax rates are reduced to zero percent than they will be at any level of taxation higher than zero percent. If you can’t believe that then you can’t believe the complete nonsense the believers in supply side economics are feeding you through the mouths of all of those on the right. If 0% of everything is still nothing, then those on the right are flat out wrong as usual! If 0% of everything is still nothing, then the senseless claims coming from all of those on the right via the “liberal press” can only be believed by those who can’t think very well!

... DaveG said...

Nevermind what DaveG said.

Why should the disabled have their votes held back from being counted? They shouldn't... and under Bowens plan they won't.

Bowen has ordered that all the votes that are cast on the DRE machines are to have their voter printouts 100% counted by hand - essentially turning the DRE's into makeshift printers for ersatz paper ballots...

... not as good or as secure as real paper ballots but far better than the DRE's standard "vanishing electronic ballots".

News scoop - Remember the two election workers who were convicted in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Kathleen Dreamer and Jacquelyn Maiden? They were prosecuted by "special prosecutor" & Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter who was selected by neighboring Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason. The women were convicted and sentenced to 18 months but were also granted an appellate bond. The Appellate Court remanded it back to the trial court and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold was given the assignment to hear the Motion for new trial. Well, this morning Judge Saffold granted that motion. A courtroom observer relayed that the judge made statements to the effect that there was a public appearance of impropriety and that the women had a right to a fair trial and there was an appearance of an incestuous relationship between Bill Mason and Judge Peter Corrigan. Stay tuned for Bill Mason to be put on the witness stand. I wonder if Michael Vu and Bob Bennett will receive supoenas as well. It will be interesting.

As always, Brad, amazing coverage for us and thanks.

Days later, though, is there a site where the best actual transcript of that press conference is posted?

Anyone?

This won't change anything in Utah for about thirty years, but what great news!