Deny Certification to Diebold and E S & S in California

[JunkYardDogg]

Below is our California Election Protection Network Letter to send to the SoS VSPP Board to Request that Certification be denied to Diebold and to the E S & S tabulators.

Please copy this letter and FAX it into the VSPP office.
Do not E-Mail it as the VSPP inbox is full and they are not paying much attention to it.
Bruce McDannold told us that.
We have about two weeks to get this letter or variations of, into the VSPP . They are giving 2 weeks to submit Public Comment.
Pass the letter on to everyone you know.
We got a lot of people into that auditorium and I understand that there was a demonstration going on outside while we were inside.

FAX TO:
Voting Systems and Procedures Panel (VSPP)
Office of the California Secretary of State
Attn. Bruce McDannold
FAX [phone] - Tel. [phone],
or mail to: 1500 11th St, 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814
DENY CERTIFICATION TO
1. DIEBOLD GEMS 1.18.22 AV-TSX 4.6.1 Voting System with The Accu View Printer Module
2. E S & S TABULATORS, Models 100, 550, and 650
3. Any System with Wireless and Internet Capabilities
4. BAN DIEBOLD From Doing Business in California

In order to protect, preserve and defend the Sanctity of the Vote, I hereby request that State Certification be denied to the above mentioned voting systems and equipment as they are in violation of the following;
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 2 VOTING, INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM, AND RECALL
SECTION 1. All political power is inherent in the people.
Government is instituted for their protection, security, and benefit,
and they have the right to alter or reform it when the public good
may require.
SEC. 2.5. A voter who casts a vote in an election in accordance
with the laws of this State shall have that vote counted.
TABULATING SYSTEMS SOFTWARE:
Both the Diebold System and the E S &S Tabulators operate on Proprietary Closed Source Code Software, their tabulating processes being so secretive and hidden from public scrutiny and observation as to make the verification and observation process hidden and non transparent to the Voter. This is antithetical to the very foundation of American Democracy.
AVVPAT:
A voter’s ballot is one of the most important documents which exist in a free society. California voters deserve an AVVPAT equal in size and layout to a standard ballot, not a gas pump receipt. This size AVVPAT is actually intentionally constructed so as to create an impediment and discouragement to a voter’s use for verifying their vote. A proper AVVPAT must be constructed so as to ENABLE the voter to verify their choices, not to discourage a voter to verify their vote. The so called AVVPAT on the Diebold is so small as to be unreadable to Voters with less than perfect eyesight, making it prejudicial and discriminatory towards voters with a form of eyesight disability. Further, due to its miniscule small size, the Diebold AVVPAT is so small as to make it impossible for the voter to properly review their choices in one continuous viewing. This small size only serves the needs of Diebold, it does not serve the needs of the voters. Also, the paper is Thermal Paper, decreasing the shelf life readability, rendering it useless for a meaningful recount and not in compliance for the 22 month mandatory ballot retention laws. The ONLY acceptable and valid AVVPAT is one filled out by the hand of the voter, not a replica or copy of how the machine voted.
WIRELESS and INTERNET CAPABILITIES:
This functionality MUST be denied as it compromises the entire integrity, secrecy, and security of the voting process. Any knowledgeable hacker with a good encryption cracking program can access and corrupt and alter the voting data in a matter of minutes. The E S & S tabulators have a Dell Laptop which contains wireless equipped functionalities.
BAN DIEBOLD FROM DOING BUSINESS IN CALIFORNIA FOR 3 YEARS:
Enforce California Election Code Section 19214.5, Subsection (a) and (3) due to their Criminal Acts of Defrauding 17 California Counties in the sale of Uncertified Software.

From:

[Senior citizen]

1. Thanks, JunkYardDogg!

I sent snail mail to McPherson and the VSPP this morning.

I'll print out some copies of your post and take them with me to hand out everywhere I go until the deadline.

[Peace Patriot]

2. It is probably B.S. that their email box is "full." Good news, if true--

many letters sent! But IF they have such a ridiculous PUBLIC COMMENT email system, that it can't handle volume from the public, the server certainly can save email and send it later. Honestly, these people.

So, are they bouncing email back to people, or what? Did he say? And did he give you any numbers, as to volume of letters? That would be good to know.

They can shut down a Fax machine at night, and at arbitrary times. If that happens (and I would bet dollars on it, right now), I'd say go ahead with email and keep a record of the sending (for legal purposes). Then try Fax again later. Or if you can afford it, use Fed Ex (or snail mail if there is time).

NOTE: THEY PUT MCDANNOLD'S EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE OFFICIAL VSPP MEETING NOTICE! So, where do they get off shutting down the public email address???

[JunkYardDogg]

6. He told us Friday at noon, when the Hearing was over

He said that the E-Mail Address everybody was sending stuff into , last week, was full, and he had his staff going thru it
SLOWLY
So, I'm just reading between the lines.
He told us that he had to get a new E-mail Address
right from da Horsey's mouth

[Peace Patriot]

3. Go here for more info on this matter, more contact info, including

CA legislators, and links to all current threads on this topic:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x378741

(Subject title: "Revolt Against Diebold in Calif! Wow! ACTION THREAD re June 30")

[Senior citizen]

4. Got a dozen of them signed tonight!

Went to a community meeting. Four people said they can fax them in themselves, and the other eight I'll mail in the morning. (On edit: I added places for the date and the name & address of sender on the top, and a signature line on the bottom.)

Guess I'd better print up another batch.

THIS is why I love DU. I can learn stuff and act on it quickly, courtesy of my fellow DUers.

JunkYardDogg, you rock! :yourock:

[mod mom]

5. Thanks, JYD, to you and all the other CA activists leading the way

in the fight against the machines! Glad to hear the good news coming out of the left coast. Another thanks to those who entertained us by booing Arnold in Santa Monica. It made for great air play!

[nicknameless]

7. Also, McPherson wants public input re: vote auditing legislation by Friday

From Kim Alexander's website:
http://calvoter.org/news/blog /

Tuesday, June 21, 2005
SoS Bruce McPherson seeks public comment on vote auditing legislation
California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson is seeking input from the public on legislation currently pending in the California Legislature to address voter verified paper audit trail standards for electronic voting machines. His request for public comment is available on the Secretary of State's web site; comments must be received no later than this Friday, June 24.

Two bills are at issue here: Senate Bill 370, authored by Senator Debra Bowen, and Assembly Bill 1636, authored by Assembly Member Tom Umberg. Both bills would require in statute that the voter verified paper audit trail be used to perform the one percent manual recount that is required under state law. Both bills have passed out of their houses of origin and have gained unanimous, bipartisan support so far in the Legislature.

Many activists who have worked on the paper trail assumed that once it was mandated, it would of course be the record that county officials would use to verify the accuracy of the computerized vote count, since printing electronic ballot images and comparing those to computerized counts is a completely meaningless exercise. Unfortunately, some county registrars intend to continue this practice, even after voter verified paper audit trails are mandated.

SB 370 and AB 1636 would require by law that the voter verified paper audit trail be used to perform the manual count. CVF will be submitting a letter to the Secretary of State urging him to support these changes in the law so that it is clear to vendors, election officials and voters that the manual count be performed in a manner that truly verifies the accuracy of software vote counts.

Anyone who wishes to weigh in on this matter is encouraged to do so. Comments can be addressed to:

Constituent Affairs
Secretary of State's Executive Division
1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Via fax: [phone]
Via email: [e-mail]

[Helga Scow Stern]

8. We are faxing it like crazy from Ojai. n/t

[byronius]

9. Four faxes here from Sacramento.

[pauldp]

10. Thanks to Junk Yard Dog from SLO

Here in San Luis Obispo we have a group - investigatethevote.org

I'll spread the word please let us know what else we can do.

[JunkYardDogg]

11. If you need a speaker let me know

I'm in Oxnard and the DFA people would probably like to work with you
You have Diebold in SLO
If we could possibly get 19214.5 enforced, Diebold couldn't supply software for the "Special Election"
You have to establish a contact group to work with the county clerk/RoV to try to control which equipment is purchased
Work with the DFA People,
contact me for info
Are you the ones putting on a presentation soon? Let me know

[Senior citizen]

12. Got another bunch signed today--woohoo!

Went to a Defending Democracy conference here in San Diego. Only took 40 copies with me. So many people wanted them that I ran out and had to take their email addresses and send it to them when I got home. And quite a few said they're going to copy it and FAX it to all their friends to FAX to Sacramento.

JunkYardDogg, have I told you lately that I love you?

:yourock: :kick:

[Amaryllis]

13. kick for CA activists!

[Peace Patriot]

14. Kick! Deadline Thursday, June 30. n/t

[Peace Patriot]

15. Wonderful work, ya'll! It's spreading like wildfire! We'll fill up ANOTH

...ANOTHER email box at the Sec of State's office!!!!!!!

------------------

Please see Amaryllis' post on the pigfest at the Beverly Hilton in August, with Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia wining, dining, dancing and corrupting our local election officials! You won't believe your eyes (or maybe you will). Food for thought. PM me if you or your group are thinking that maybe this shouldn't go unnoticed by alternative media in L.A.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

See also

http://www.votersunite.org/takeaction/alert061905.htm
and
http://www.electioncenter.org

[Piedras]

16. Copied and faxed

Thanks, JYD, for the sample letter. I faxed it.

[Peace Patriot]

17. Kick those letters out! Flood 'em! n/t

[emlev]

18. Sent it to my personal list. Asked them to forward.

[Peace Patriot]

19. About 50 hours left to the deadline! Boot that fax! n/t

[garybeck]

20. I like point #4 the most

4. BAN DIEBOLD From Doing Business in California

[Helga Scow Stern]

27. Diebold got voted in two days ago in Alameda County:

From Kim Alexander's weblog:

http://calvoter.org/news/blog/index.html

Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Alameda County supervisors approve registrar's plans to swap Diebold machines
Yesterday I attended a hearing of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, where they considered the county's plans to meet federal and state accessibility and security requirements for their voting system.

It was a disappointing day. I was hoping the supervisors would request a cost-benefit analysis of various options they were considering, such as replacing only some of their Diebold TS machines with newer TSx machines equipped with a voter-verified paper audit trail. Instead they voted 3-1, with one excused supervisor, to allow the registrar to begin negotiating a contract with Diebold to replace the county's entire inventory of 4,000 TS machines with TSx machines, which have not yet been certified by the state.

Throughout the meeting, there was confusion, misinformation and disinformation flying from all quarters. The registrar, county counsel, Diebold, and the activists who spoke all made various statements that were confusing or misleading. For example, the supervisors were considering a "blended" system, with paper ballots and one or two touchscreens per polling place. In her report to the supervisors, acting Registrar of Voters Elaine Ginnold stated that "the County Counsel advised that use of this option could raise an equal protection issue with disabled voters who would not have access to the same system as every other voter." When one of the supervisors asked the County Counsel staff to clarify, she responded first by saying this option would raise an equal protection problem, then went on to say it wouldn't. When people in the audience asked for clarification, the President of the Board, Keith Carson, asked her to clarify, and she stated that it would not raise an equal protectioon issue.
--snip

More details on yesterday's meeting are featured in Ian Hoffman's story in the Oakland Tribune, excerpted below.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_2830367

--------

Despite stout public opposition, Alameda County will likely stick with Diebold electronic voting machines for the next congressional and presidential elections.

County supervisors gave the go-ahead Tuesday to negotiate a $5.4 million deal for Diebold's latest touch-screen machine, known as the TSx, equipped with a printer so voters can verify their electronic choices.

Supervisor Gail Steele said she can't operate a computer, but she's able to vote on Diebold's machines and argues "it's the way of the future."

---

[Peace Patriot]

21. Kick! 24 hours left in which to fire off your fax! n/t

[Peace Patriot]

22. JunkYardDogg, I don't see how they can legally shut down their email box.

I have an email from Bruce McDannold stating that public comment to this email address is accepted: [e-mail]

You wrote:

"Do not E-Mail it as the VSPP inbox is full and they are not paying much attention to it.
Bruce McDannold told us that."

Letter senders, I would take this caveat from JYD to heart--and fax or Fed Ex is you can. If you can't, use the email.

-------

Email to me of June 7, 2005, from Bruce MacDannold, re: [e-mail]:

Bruce: "Yes, this address is working and, yes, anyone can submit comment by email."

He sent this email from another of his addresses: [e-mail].

The first email address is listed on the official public meeting notice.

I don't see how they can discount, ignore or fail to convey any letter sent to [e-mail].

[Peace Patriot]

23. P.S. See my further comment at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=381410&mesg_id=381428

[Peace Patriot]

24. Kick! n/t

[Peace Patriot]

25. Kick! 11 hours left to protest Diebold and ES&S election theft machines

for California!

[Peace Patriot]

26. Kick! About 5 hours left for public comment! Let it rip! n/t