Diebold stockholders met today by protestors - Bev was there! Me, too!

[cmd]

The annual Diebold stockholders meeting was held today at the Stark Kent campus in North Canton, OH. More than a hundred protestors met them in the parking lot along with a voting machine that would not tabulate votes, three gigantic balloon balloons that hoisted an equally gigantic sign, and three lost souls from Billionaires For Bush.

Security people moved us to the back of the parking lot "for our safety." Then some Diebold officials came out to talk to us. They invited three spokespersons to go in and talk to the stockholders. Since we were just a group of concerned citizens at that time (Bev, the True Majority people and Ruckus had not arrived yet) two ladies and my friend AWD were selected to represent us. Our concerns were presented and Wally O'Dell gave a non answer. (Diebold is meeting all the standards for voting machines; there is no requirement in the standards for a paper trail.) AWD suggested that they go beyond the minimum standards and prove that they have secure machines.

Bev and company arrived a little later and spoke to our group. When the stockholders broke up, some of us took our signs and our "The Computer Ate My Vote" t-shirts to the parking lot exit. I could see that people were reading the signs as their cars went by - their lips were moving.:eyes:

AWD should have some photos on his website later on today. I'll post again when I find them. There was lots of media from the Cleveland and Akron/Canton stations. I'll post those as I find them. Wish you all could have been there. cmd

[LynzM]

1. Glad you guys were there....

I did some calling to Congress today and have been explaining/passing out phone #s here to people at work. Planning to send out a big email tonight. Get the word out! Can't wait to see pics!

[tom_paine]

2. Hurrah for you True Patriots!

Good work!

:toast: :toast:

[zbdent]

3. Damn, you should have asked my question:

"How many of you deposit cash into an ATM without any kind of paper trail that says your money went into your account?"

[truthspeaker]

4. what a great question!

[cmd]

5. I'm not sure if any one brought that up inside

We certainly did outside. I know the media got some of it.

[xchrom]

6. the more public the better

these protests can lead to some pretty good pressure -- congratulations!
great work!

[trumad]

7. AWD?

Do you mean Jeff Seeman?

[cmd]

10. Sure do

Jeff is alive and well. He lives about 25 miles north of me.

[redqueen]

15. That sig ROCKS! Eat that, mindless followers of chicken$&!^ bush!

:thumbsup:

[Vickers]

8. Awesome! You rock!!!

:toast::toast::toast::toast::toast:

Zbdent, that is an aweome question...I plan on using it (and I will credit you).

:yourock:

[zbdent]

11. My permission is granted

say it loud!!

[ParanoidPat]

9. My she sure gets around!

Woooo Hooooo! :bounce:

She sure seems to be racking up those frequent fryer miles!

She is the true definition of an 'American Hero'! :kick:

We can NEVER thank you enough Bev. :)

[cmd]

13. Bev flew in over night from California

She is quite the traveler. I think she is looking forward to a quiet afternoon, then off to Cleveland for a meeting there tomorrow. I'll post the details when I find them.

Bev is just the sweetest, loveliest woman. I was so pleased to meet her.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Glad you were there!

:yourock:

[codegreen]

14. kinda cool of them to invite some of you in; they didn't have to do that

i just find that interesting and somewhat optimistic

[redqueen]

16. PR

It was clearly nothing more than the usual BS PR crap.

That he brushed off these serious concerns by saying there's no rule forcing them to address them says all we need to know about the genuineness of the gesture.

[codegreen]

18. you're totally right

i know what i said is full of naivety, just felt like saying it

[Andy_Stephenson]

17. I wish I had been there

waaaaaaaaaaaa

;(

[Kolesar]

19. Diebold lowers earnings forecast, largely due to anti-EVM activism

Good job, protestors!!!

excerpt........
Wally O'Dell, chairman and chief executive officer, said Tuesday during a conference call with investors that he was "absolutely, unequivocally" committed to staying in the electronic voting business.

Diebold's equipment has been in the spotlight recently in California for glitches that arose during that state's Super Tuesday primary in March, when devices called voter-card encoders failed at a quarter of polling places.

The controversy doesn't appear to be fading: TrueMajority.org - a group started by ice-cream maker Ben Cohen - plans to demonstrate outside the Diebold shareholders' meeting Thursday morning at the Stark Professional Education and Conference Center at Kent State University. "The Computer Ate My Vote" demonstration is part of a national campaign advocating that electronic voting machines be backed up by voter-verified paper ballots.


Plain Dealer

[loudsue]

20. This is GREAT news!

:pals: We've gotta turn up the heat on this, too -- November is getting closer by the minute. I don't think I can bear another election that gets stolen like the last 2 (plus the California governor's recall fiasco -- make it 3, that we KNOW of).

:yourock:Way to go Ice Creamers and BBV Patriots!! :yourock:

:kick:

[ParanoidPat]

28. Remember, this decision only affects the TSx model.....

There are still other Diebold models in use in, IIRC, 13 other counties.
Call, fax, write and e-mail your State and Local elections officials and politely and firmly DEMAND a moratorium on these machines until the paper ballot issue has been fixed.

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)

[Kolesar]

21. Canton Repository Pre-Story

THE CANTON SUPPOSITORY Complex Registration Required

Activists arrive in Stark for protest
Thursday, April 22, 2004 By TIM BOTOS Repository staff writer

JACKSON TWP. — A protest rally this morning against electronic voting machines may have a grass-roots feel, but it actually was organized from the top.

Two national activist groups, TrueMajority.com and the Ruckus Society, put together the protest, planned for 9:30 at Stark Professional Education and Conference Center on Kent State University Stark Campus on Frank Avenue NW.

“We’re committed to seeing this through,” said Frank Sellers, executive director of the Ruckus Society in Oakland, Calif.

What they want is electronic voting machines that produce a paper audit trail. Machines that Ohio planned to buy to replace punch-card systems aren’t equipped to do that.

.........heavy snippatage.........

[zbdent]

30. Yeah, funny that "the top" for us is a web site

yet one of the "tops" for the Repig "grass-roots" movement is Scaife and/or Clear Channel.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

22. good job. thanks.

nt.

[VolcanoJen]

23. Oh, THANK GOODNESS for you guys!!!!!

Damn, I should have made the drive up to Kent, the alma mater of my Pops.

Thank you, BBV Activists!!!!!

[cmd]

24. It was a pleasure

I love being in a crowd of like minded people.

[Melinda]

25. But did you read what Walden "Wally" O'Dell said?

The leader of Diebold Inc. said Thursday that he doesn't expect California's review of its electronic voting machines to hurt the company.

Chairman and CEO Walden W. O'Dell told reporters after an annual shareholders meeting that the company is not considering getting out of the elections business. Diebold also makes automated teller machines.

"We will help in California if we are allowed. If we are not, we won't," O'Dell said. "I think whatever goes on in California is separate from what goes on in other states. Each state will make their own decisions."

-snip-

About 150 shareholders attended Thursday's meeting. None raised questions about Diebold's election systems.

-snip-

About 35 people concerned about voting security protested outside the meeting.

link

----------------
Please, please let it snowball!

BTW, anyone seen that tinhatted fella? :evilgrin:

[Trajan]

26. "I think whatever goes on in California is separate .... "

Ehem ...

This comment contradicts what is well known: California is viewed as the BELLWEATHER state: introducing trends in government to the other states of the union ....

O'Dell is full of shit .... What happens in CA DEFINITELY matters to the other states ....

[Melinda]

29. I hope the CA AG does file charges... CA will DEFINITELY matter then!

Diebold would like to marginalize what they've done in CA, and if they can control the damage (which is what O'Dell appears to be trying here) then and only then could CA even remotely be considered "separate"

Let's not allow that to happen. ;)

[ParanoidPat]

31. Never forget, "As California goes, so goes the NATION!"

:bounce:

[anarchy1999]

34. Just what I was thinking. As it goes...............

n/t

This time though, we have no time left. We can't afford the usual as it goes......

[obietiger]

33. Does anyone believe O'Dell is honest?

I hope everyone remembers that O'Dell told Republicans in a fund-raising letter last year that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

[obietiger]

27. Thanks for the report

You guys did a great job! I read the write up in the Canton paper this morning - now let's see what they write tomorrow.

[MoonRiver]

32. God bless you all!

I have no words to describe my love and admiration for you heros and true American patriots!

:loveya::grouphug::loveya: