Why doesn't the GOP want Ohio's voting machines tested?

[babsbunny]

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2800

by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
September 11, 2007

Ohio Republicans have blocked a proposal to test electronic voting machines prior to the 2008 presidential primary.

By a 4-3 vote, Republicans on Ohio’s State Controlling Board blocked Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s proposed $1.8 million unbid contract for voting machine testing. Brunner had already set aside the $1.8 million for the test. Her specific request to the Controlling Board was a waiver for competitive bidding. Her office had hoped to complete all testing by November 30, 2007.

A former judge, Brunner is successor to the infamous J. Kenneth Blackwell, who helped engineer the theft of Ohio's electoral votes for George W. Bush in 2004. Brunner won election as a reform candidate, vowing to guarantee the public access to the polls---and an accurate vote count---in 2008.

[Triana]

1. Well. Can there more OBVIOUSLY be election fraud in Ohio then?

I don't think so.

Jeese they've gotten blatant with their election fraud, haven't they?

[zbdent]

2. Another example of how America needs a super-majority consisting

of Dems (or independents who will vote with the Dems on key issues - Joe Lieberman ain't no such animal) to get anything done these days ...

[Mnemosyne]

3. Felonies and treason sound about right to me. It's amazing

the number of articles re: "voter" fraud I've found while researching for the ERD thread.

In the 1984 General Election I was "lost" when they transferred data to computer. I heard of scores having this happen to them here. I didn't know of provisional ballots then, and no one offered one. I went to all four polling places in the city, yeah, small town, and not one offered me a provisional ballot.

Makes you wonder how long the scam has been going on.

[mod mom]

4. they will have to rely on the machines to do the stealing because Brunner won't

allow for the disenfranchisement.

[mod mom]

5. Here is why the repuglicans don't want the machines tested:

Nearly half of voting machines tested fail

Montgomery officials tested the 5% of machines that drew complaints; 56 of those 125 machines failed.


By Lynn Hulsey
Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

DAYTON — After two days of tests, the results are in: About 2,500 people cast ballots in November on 56 malfunctioning electronic touch-screen voting machines in Montgomery County, said Steve Harsman, county board of elections director.

He said it is impossible to know how many people finalized their electronic ballots without realizing that the Diebold Elections Systems machines were inaccurately registering their votes. But people had three chances to review their votes before finalizing them, and all the machines accurately tallied the votes that were finalized by voters, Harsman said.



On Tuesday, county election officials completed testing of 125 machines identified in voter complaints collected by Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, which called for the investigation. Some 2,530 voting machines were used in the county on Election Day.

Harsman said several malfunctioning machines were clustered at certain precincts, indicating they may have been damaged during delivery by a trucking company that hauls the machines to the polls.

-snip

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/21/ddn032107elex.html

[ellacott]

6. They claim the testers are liberals and biased

I'm in Ohio. They claim that all the professors and professionals who want to test the machines have made claims that the machines are unreliable. They also have a problem that they're all liberals.

They claim that this would jeopardize unbiased testing of the machines.

[Supersedeas]

7. elections are to be won at any costs -- and fair elections is too big a price to pay

[killbotfactory]

8. Because they spent so much money rigging them

it would be bad for business.