BBV - How They Could Steal the Election This Time

[Kelvin Mace]

On November 2 millions of Americans will cast their votes for President in computerized voting systems that can be rigged by corporate or local-election insiders. Some 98 million citizens, five out of every six of the roughly 115 million who will go to the polls, will consign their votes into computers that unidentified computer programmers, working in the main for four private corporations and the officials of 10,500 election jurisdictions, could program to invisibly falsify the outcomes.

The result could be the failure of an American presidential election and its collapse into suspicions, accusations and a civic fury that will make Florida 2000 seem like a family spat in the kitchen. Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's Labor Secretary, has written, "Automated voting machines will be easily rigged, with no paper trails to document abuses." Senator John Kerry told Florida Democrats last March, "I don't think we ought to have any vote cast in America that cannot be traced and properly recounted." Pointing out in a recent speech at the NAACP convention that "a million African-Americans were disenfranchised in the last election," Kerry says his campaign is readying 2,000 lawyers to "challenge any place in America where you cannot trace the vote and count the votes" .

The potential for fraud and error is daunting. About 61 million of the votes in November, more than half the total, will be counted in the computers of one company, the privately held Election Systems and Software (ES&S) of Omaha, Nebraska. Altogether, nearly 100 million votes will be counted in computers provided and programmed by ES&S and three other private corporations: British-owned Sequoia Voting Systems of Oakland, California, whose touch-screen voting equipment was rejected as insecure against fraud by New York City in the 1990s; the Republican-identified company Diebold Election Systems of McKinney, Texas, whose machines malfunctioned this year in a California election; and Hart InterCivic of Austin, one of whose principal investors is Tom Hicks, who helped make George W. Bush a millionaire.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040816&c=1&s=dugger

David Allen
Publisher, CEO, Janitor
Plan Nine Publishing
http://www.plan9.org
http://www.blackboxvoting.com

[CrispyQ]

1. Hart InterCivic is what my county has.

Damn! This really pisses me off. I can't imagine what will happen on Nov 3 if Shrub "wins." Will we even recognize our nation with four more years of this a-hole?

[Kelvin Mace]

2. I really fear a train wreck

in November.

David Allen
Publisher, CEO, Janitor
Plan Nine Publishing
http://www.plan9.org
http://www.blackboxvoting.com

[Karenina]

16. Yup.

What a mess.

[shraby]

6. Write to your congresscritter

and demand the machines print out a paper ballot or that paper ballots be available for those who don't want to vote on the machines.

[CrispyQ]

8. But what do they do with the paper ballots?

Have someone input them into the computer? Or do they count them by hand? And then, do they even count them? There is so much opportunity for fraud. Even with the current non-digital system there is opportunity. You never know if your vote was counted or not! It's entirely a trust issue. Trust that they are honest, trust that they are competent.

Here's my idea for an electronic system. The computer generates a random number for each voter. When you are finished voting, you get a printout of your ballot with your secret number. When the votes are tallied, a report is posted with the results of EACH & EVERY vote. You can then go to a website or newspaper, find your number & verify that your vote is correct. Also, the voters can view the tally & the VOTERS can verify that the count is correct. And if your vote isn't there or is incorrect, you get it fixed.

We should get over this expectation that we'll know who won that night. With the method above, any voter who's ballot didn't show would have it investigated & fixed to get their vote in.

Ok, so where are the holes in this idea & how would you fix them? Or, do you have a better idea?

[Kelvin Mace]

12. The paper ballots

are compared to the digital total. Unless something went wrong, the paper count should match the digital count. The digital count can be used (as long as it matches the paper), but the paper provides backup and is the count of first and last resort.

[unblock]

3. and don't forget the low-tech methods as well

simply arresting people on the way to the polls and detaining them until the polls closes does the trick nicely. in states that steal voting rights from felons, this disenfranchisement provides nice cover. oh, we're just checking your record to make sure you don't have any felonies. sorry it's taking so long.

in fact, if you let word out on the street that you're going to do this, then you might not even have to -- those likely to get stopped on the way to the polls know who they are (*cough* black *cough* democrats *cough*) and might not try at all.

of course, you have to release them if they didn't commit a crime, but once the polls close, you've accomplished your mission.


the constitution guarantees that congresscritters cannot be arrested on the way to a vote in congress. perhaps that should be extended to all voters on eletion day....

[reprehensor]

4. Nice, long piece. n/t

[Zan_of_Texas]

5. Thanks for posting this, David.

Ronnie Dugger is one of a select few early pioneers in investigating voting processes. It was, in fact, one of his early pieces that Rebecca Mercuri read, and inspired her to become interested in the topic, way back when.

Excellent piece. Dugger co-founded the Texas Observer, and is a real reporter, of the kind that are hard to find in these days of infotainment.

Read it. Pass it around. Act on it.

[hunter]

7. Kerry needs to win by a landslide...

Personally, I think the "train wreck" is inevitable. It's now a matter of surviving the crash. We can do this by watching these elections very carefully. Become a poll watcher.

Your local election officials should recognize your face, and your state election officials should recognize your writing.

Don't let any votes get "lost."

[Kelvin Mace]

13. If this goes back to the Supreme Court

and they have the cojones to again interfere, there will be a civil war in this country.

[saccheradi]

18. I'd love to be a poll watcher...

How would someone go about doing that??

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Bu$h & Co are counting on a train wreck

They know Bu$h can't win this time, heck they know he didn't win last time.

However, their goal at this point, is to make sure there is no winner on election night. In 2000, we had a major mess in Florida, now multiple that by 15 to 20 other states having the same problems.

The result will be that W will have an excuse not to step down, until a decision is made. While at the same time, making sure to fight every decision that is not favorable.

Yes, Kerry has a team of lawyers ready but so does Bu$hCo, and all Bu$hCo wants to do is make sure the election gets thrown to the courts again. Then they will fight every single decision tooth and nail until they create a constitutional crisis.

In the end, even if the courts decide in Kerry's favor, they will have thrown so much doubt into the win, that half the country will never support him. Bu$h is a very vindictive man, if he can't win, then no one else can win either.

[althecat]

10. Interesting theory with something going for it...

food for thought....

And if you are right then California may well be where the shit hits the fan.... 55 electoral votes is a big pile of shit... and they are having the biggest problems with voting machines.

[Boredtodeath]

11. More likely

they'll operate in states where no one is watching:

GA - 15 electoral votes
MD - 10 electoral votes
AL - 9 electoral votes
NC - 15 electoral votes

[Kelvin Mace]

14. Well, I'm doing what I can with a few others

to watch NC.

We could use more help Tarheels!!

David Allen
Publisher, CEO, Janitor
Plan Nine Publishing
http://www.plan9.org
http://www.blackboxvoting.com

[ocean girl]

15. I live in Palm Beach County and I want to help!

Who do I call to volunteer???

[saccheradi]

19. Gladly...

direct me to whoever "we" is and I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

[hunter]

17. Yep, when something works, they do it again.

Social Darwinism at its finest...

Ethics don't matter to these guys. It is all about winning, it's all about what they can get away with.

If Kerry wins by a small margin the Social Darwinists who support Bush want this election to be "tainted." They will shit in the meatloaf, load up on antibiotics, and eat it with a smile if that's what it takes. (Sorry for that ugly image, but I've got very strong opinions about this...)

I don't want Black Box Voting machines used in the November election, but the closer the election gets, and the more it seems these machines will be used, the more we will have to guard against election fraud.

This election must be as clean as we can make it.

[saccheradi]

21. does anyone know...

Is there a nationwide office where the "buck stops" regarding voting methods? If so, how can the body politic ensure that they are handling this responsibility in the most effective OBJECTIVE way possible?

[hunter]

23. Go local, there's no real "nationwide office." Elections run by states.

First, your county election officials should recognize your face. If (God forbid!) your local election officials are contemplating doing something unethical, you should be making them very nervous.

There are many ways of working on the State or Federal level, some of them more expensive than others. We all can't be jet-setting lobbyists, especially if we refuse to work for the bad guys.

Always remember, as a citizen of the United States, your government belongs to you.

[Joanne98]

20. Hi David

:)

[donsu]

22. voting in Nov. is a dream

nt

[mopinko]

24. we need to plan now

and they need to know about it. if they mess with the election, there needs to be a general strike. if you can't stay home from work, stay home from the mall. stop the economy.
protests and civil war only play into their hands. don't give them an excuse to declare martial law.