"This isn't Pepsi-Cola trying to get ahold of Coca Cola's trade secrets..."

[kentuck]

(email from Center for American Progress)

VANISHING VOTES: The electronic voting machines in Sarasota did not register a vote in the Jennings-Buchanan race for 13 percent of the voters. Since the machines were not required to provide a paper trail, there is no way to recover the vanished votes. Nevertheless, the FECC, made up of Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and two other elected officials, declared Buchanan the winner. While several reports have pointed to poor ballot design as a possible reason for the missing votes, there is little doubt that malfunctioning electronic voting machines with no verifiable paper trails were also responsible. According to a Herald-Tribune survey of voters who had trouble casting ballots on the ES&S iVotronic machines, 36 percent were unable to find the congressional race on their screens and 62 percent said "their votes for either candidate did not initially register on the ballot summary page." (See voter testimonials compiled by People for the American Way here.)

'THIS ISN'T PEPSI-COLA': There is no way to reliably reconstruct what happened in the midterm elections without examining the iVotronic equipment. A circuit judge will hold a hearing Dec. 19 to determine whether ES&S "will have to let others examine the 'source code' computer software for possible glitches." But ES&S is selfishly guarding its equipment, arguing that the source codes "contain trade secrets." But as Kendall Coffey, an attorney for Jennings, notes, "This isn't Pepsi-Cola trying to get ahold of Coca Cola's trade secrets. This is a candidate and a public and a nation that wants to know what went wrong. ... The right to vote is as precious as any trade secret." Jennings, in addition to watchdog groups PFAW, Voter Action, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have filed suits challenging the election results. Jennings also has until Dec. 20 to file a request with the House Administration Committee to investigate the race.

[havocmom]

1. K & R

Thanks, kentuck. Good for the spirit to see some sanity is seeping into the issue.

[kentuck]

2. Perhaps this story needs to stay alive a bit longer...

There seems to be more to this than previously reported..

[havocmom]

3. I'll kick it this evening for the night owls

I do appreciate all the interesting pieces you bring to our discussions. Put together, they make quite a picture.

kentuck is in the top five of my MUST READ Duers!

[Vidar]

4. K&R.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

5. The public's right to vote and to know what happened is greater than any trade secret

Or any other property right.

[Vincardog]

6. How the hell can add 1 to this count a trade secret?

[Bjorn Against]

12. They didn't just make a machine that can count...

They made a machine that can count a very special proprietary way.

[savemefromdumbya]

7. confiscate their trade secrets ASAP

before they shred

[Tom Joad]

8. It seems that it would be automatic, if there is no dispute that people

were denied the ability to vote for their choice... in a very close election, that the election is not valid.
common sense. Which is not often a Republican value.

[elehhhhna]

9. It isn't Pepsi Cola BUT E-voting IS "The New Coke".

[Canuckistanian]

10. Why don't they just get a warrant and seize a machine?

Let a judge decide if "trade secrets" are more important than public voting rights.

[3waygeek]

11. Indeed.

Pepsi was recently offered stolen classified docs from Coke. Pepsi informed Coke and the FBI of the offer.

[havocmom]

13. Kick

:kick: