BBV: Voting machine maker attacked for California performance

[Kadie]

Voting machine maker attacked for California performance

JIM WASSERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, April 21, 2004


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(04-21) 17:42 PDT SACRAMENTO (AP) --

Embattled electronic voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems weathered new accusations Wednesday of computer glitches, last-minute software fixes and careless job performances that, in the words of the California secretary of state's office, "jeopardized the outcome of the March election."

A state voting systems panel is considering disciplinary action against the Texas-based firm, which could bruise its standing nationally as states gear up to spend billions of dollars for new touch screen voting equipment.

Diebold President Robert J. Urosevich apologized Wednesday to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, the eight-member voter systems panel that oversees California voting machinery and to 17 counties that use its varying electronic voting systems.

more...


http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/04/21/state2042EDT0193.DTL

[LittleApple81]

1. This is great news. But what about Urosevich's argument?

Me thinks this ain't true (from the article):

Urosevich, too, defended the performance of his company's machines used in California, Georgia and Maryland, contending that none has encountered security breaches or misreported vote counts.


Wasn't Georgia where the Repug won in a landslide both the Repug primary and the election when he was a "dark horse?"

[0007]

2. Fantastic baby - Oh Bev I love you!

[Eric J in MN]

3. plain paper ballots are the answer

No electronic glitches from plain paper ballots.

No corporations involved in counting the votes.

The state prints plain paper ballots.

Voters mark X's on them. Deposit them in a transparent ballot box.

Voters are allowed to watch the ballot box until the end of voting, and then until the end of hand counting.

If counting takes all night, it's still a fraction of the time it takes to build electronic voting machines, ship voting machines, store voting machines, test voting machines, train people on voting machines, etc., and the security is much better by keeping it simple with paper ballots.

[aquart]

4. See? That works for me.

It would work for everybody else, too.

[FreakinDJ]

7. The optical system in California worked fine

and was about the most reliable of any voting system out there.

It should be argued they are more reliable then the new machines

[Eric J in MN]

9. In a county in Florida during the Dem. Primaries,

In a county in Florida during the Dem. Primaries, Richard Gephardt beat John Kerry even though Gephardt had dropped out.

The election supervisor realized something was wrong and did a recount which Kerry won.

However, if the results hadn't been so unlikely (if Edwards got those votes mistakenly instead of Gephardt) there would have been no recount.

Hand counting is the best.

No need to automate something done as rarely as elections.

[fearnobush]

5. Expose the anti-democratic Republican Diebold voting machine

empire. Smash the GOP Diebold lies of no paper trail needed. Who ever took money out of a Diebold ATM and fought against a paper receipt for their transaction... no one.

[FreakinDJ]

6. Heard on the news today

A group in California is calling on the state to not use the touch screen machines in November

Is there any one we can write in support of this

I could use a good write in Champaign about now

[Kadie]

8. Here is another story

Decision Nears On Whether To Use Touch-Screen Voting
Registrar: Not Using Them Would Be A "Recipe For Disaster"

POSTED: 4:25 pm PDT April 21, 2004
UPDATED: 4:33 pm PDT April 21, 2004

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Touch-screen voting machines were supposed to make voting easy to the touch, but some say they're just troubled technology.




California's touch-screen voting machines were condemned and praised Wednesday as a decision nears on whether the technology should be used for this fall's presidential vote.


"A system that hides our votes in an electronic box and counts them with secret software cannot be trusted," said True Majority spokesman Elliot Hoffman.


"There are a growing number of citizens in this country who are concerned that electronic-voting systems produce results that cannot be verified," said California Voter Foundation spokeswoman Kim Alexander.


Secretary of State Kevin Shelley is said to be actively considering putting the touch-screen machines on ice, at least for the November election.

more... http://www.thekcrachannel.com/politics/3029005/detail.html

[Eric J in MN]

10. write Secretary of State Kevin Shelley and your state

Write Secretary of State Kevin Shelley and your state representatives.

Or phone, so you know at least one person in government received your position.

[ParanoidPat]

16. Contact your elections officials here.....

CALIFORNIA

Secretary of State - Kevin Shelly

California Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: [phone]

Elections Division

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
TDD: 1 800 833 8683 (No Charge to Calling Party)
Vote Fraud Hotline: [phone] VOTE (8683) Recorded
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Contact: http://www.ss.ca.gov/cgi-bin/print_form.cgi

Elections Division Home
County Elections Supervisors
State Election Code
Voter Registration Information
Voter Registration Form - English
Voter Registration Form - Spanish
Absentee Voting Information
Absentee Ballot Application - English
Absentee Ballot Application - Spanish
Absentee Ballot Application - Tagalog
Absentee Ballot Application - Japanese
Absentee Ballot Application - Chinese
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/Outreach/absentee/links/VT_absentee_ge2004.pdf">Absentee Ballot Application - Vietnamese
Absentee Ballot Application - Korean
Voting Equipment Page
Election Results Page (Historical)

[RedEagle]

18. CC those letters.....

....to the state representatives, federal representatives, and the press. ;-)

Makes ignoring the demands of the citizens a little bit harder to do.

[FreakinDJ]

11. What ever happened to Senator Chuck Hagel and

the conflict of interest over his owning a controling interest in one of the companies that writes the software for the voting machines

[Kadie]

12. I don't know

I haven't heard anything regarding that lately. :shrug:

[Eric J in MN]

14. Nothing was done. He's still a Senator, and Nebraska

Nothing was done. He's still a Senator, and Nebraska still doesn't allow recounts.

An optical scan ballot is almost as bad as black box voting in a state which doesn't allow recounts.

[Andy_Stephenson]

15. Washington has

that problem...re handcounts.

[dusty64]

13. An apology is hardly

enough and I hope the SOS doesn't buy it. These rightwing extremist controlled machines need to go and NOW!

[Andy_Stephenson]

17. Bob...

Lied...and continues to lie...
here is the proof


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1448124&mesg_id=1448124