Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 6/21/05

[Melissa G]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 6/21/05

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

If you can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.



If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x379236

All previous daily threads are available here:
http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm





Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[END_HATRED_NOW]

1. Here you go...

Did you know....

1. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper trail of any votes. In other words, there is no way to verify that the data coming out of the machine is the same as what was legitimately put in by voters. Yet, Diebold also makes ATMs, checkout scanners, and ticket machines, all of which log each transaction can generate a paper trail.

2. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.

3. ES&S is the largest voting machine manufacturer in the U.S. and counts almost 60% of all U.S. votes.

4. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.

5. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.

6. Diebold employed 5 convicted felons as consultants and developers to help write the central compiler computer code that counted 50% of the votes in 30 states..

7. Jeff Dean was Senior Vice-President of General Election Systems when it was bought by Diebold. Dean had been convicted of planting back doors in his software and using a "high degree of sophistication" to evade detection over a period of 2 years. Even though he had been convicted of 23 counts of felony theft in the first degree, Dean was retained as a consultant by Diebold and was largely responsible for programming the optical scanning software now used in most of the United States.

8. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines.Hagel, long-connected with the Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee. Hagel was also originally on a short list of George W. Bush's vice-presidential candidates.

9. All -- not some -- but all the voting machine errors detected and reported in Florida went in favor of Bush or Republican candidates. Serious voting anomalies in Florida -- again always favoring Bush -- have been mathematically demonstrated and experts are recommending further investigation.

10. Diebold is based in Ohio.The chairman and CEO of Diebold was a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." California banned the use of Diebold machines because the security was so bad. Despite Diebold's claims that the audit logs could not be hacked, a chimpanzee was able to do it!


(See the movie here:) IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE GETTING INTO THE MOVIE
GO TO THE HOME PAGE , AT THE TOP CLICK ON VIDEO, THEN FIND "VIDEO TAPES AND CLIPS"

http://blackboxvoting.org/

OR HERE

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/2197/2367.html?1115689400

http://blackboxvoting.org/baxter/baxterVPR.mov.

The authenticity of the correct execution of an election is vital to the legitimate activity of the elected government body.

I believe it is certainly time to resolve the issue of "stealing " any election; we need to revamp the regulations in America and take the voting process out of private corporate hands....

Would you agree that there should be a federal regulatory agency which oversees the voting process? Yes or no & why?

[END_HATRED_NOW]

4. more sources,

These are the sources for my first post here...Have fun!

http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0916-04.htm

http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/private_company.html

http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647886

http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/03/03_200.html

http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/031004Fitrakis/031004fitrakis.html

http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26

http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx

http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000896.php

http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_28/b3689130.htm

http://theindependent.com/stories/052700/new_hagel27.html

http://www.essvote.com/HTML/about/about.html

http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm

http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/041020evotestates/pfindex.

http://www.diebold.com/aboutus/ataglance/default.htm

http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,61640,00.html

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/301469.shtml

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0312/S00191.htm

http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf

http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf

http://www.globalexchange.org/update/press/2638.html

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/26/loc_elexoh.html

http://wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,63298,00.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4874190

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml

http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65757,00.html

http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm

http://www.rise4news.net/extravotes.html

http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=950

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00227.htm

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/7628725.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10544-2004Oct29.html

http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm

http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/0,10801,97614,00.html

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/tens_of_thousands.html

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1106-30.htm

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/110904.html

http://uscountvotes.org/

http://www.swissvs.org

http://VelvetRevolution.US

[FogerRox]

12. This list needs to be updated/corrected

I hesitated to bring this up again, especially in this thread-- but there some inaccuracies in this list. This list has been emailed and posted up on a plethora of sites-- it is old & should be fixed.

1. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper trail of any votes.
Try this NASED.org look for list of qualfifing systems--Diebold does have a printer--- doh!

2. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.
85% of americans votes in 2004 were counted by computer--miami herald--- I dont think your math can hold up --- YOu have to figure Sequoia, hart-Intercivic, Shoup, and another 6 vendors

3. ES&S is the largest voting machine manufacturer in the U.S. and counts almost 60% of all U.S. votes. Again, someone forgot Sequoia

5. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.
Bob Urosevich is still VP of Diebold voting Systems? I dont think so


8. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S.
Try AIS, not ES&S

[Melissa G]

2. Vote buying a way of life in W.Va. county

Posted on Mon, Jun. 20, 2005
Vote buying a way of life in W.Va. county

LAWRENCE MESSINA

Associated Press


HAMLIN, W.Va. - According to political lore, just before John F. Kennedy's momentous win in the 1960 West Virginia primary, the Democratic boss of Logan County asked the Kennedy campaign for "35" - meaning $3,500 - to buy votes for the presidential candidate. In an apparent misunderstanding, Kennedy's people delivered $35,000 in cash in two briefcases.

West Virginia's coal country has a long and rich history of vote-buying - which explains why many folks in Lincoln County all but shrugged over the indictment last month of five people on federal charges they secured votes for liquor or a $20 bill or two.

snip
As with past election fraud probes, the latest case targets solely Democrats, who dominate the voter rolls and local governments through the region. In Lincoln County, population 22,100, Democrats outnumber Republicans 4-to-1; the indictment focuses largely on the party's primary elections, going back to 1990.

Not that the GOP has clean hands. Republican former Gov. Arch Moore pleaded guilty to five corruption-related charges in 1990, including one that alleged he spent $100,000 in unreported campaign cash during his successful 1984 campaign.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/11941358.htm

[Melissa G]

3. Utility regulation initiative becomes 8th measure to make ballot

Posted on Mon, Jun. 20, 2005


Utility regulation initiative becomes 8th measure to make ballot

Associated Press


SACRAMENTO - An initiative backed by consumer groups to re-regulate California electricity providers became the eighth measure to qualify for the state's Nov. 8 special election ballot.

snip
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the election to try to persuade voters to pass three measures he's endorsed - proposals that would automatically cut state spending when lawmakers fail to agree on how to erase revenue shortfalls, give the duty to draw legislative and congressional districts to a panel of retired judges, and make it tougher for new teachers to get tenure.

But five other initiatives have also made the ballot, including proposals to require minors to get permission from their parents or a court to get an abortion and to require public employee unions to get permission from their members to use dues for campaign contributions.

snip
Lenny Goldberg, a spokesman for one of the consumer groups backing the measure, The Utility Reform Network, said the proposal would "make sure there's enough electricity to prevent blackouts and make sure that the massive fraud perpetrated on consumers by unregulated private traders like Enron will never happen again."

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/11943380.htm

[Melissa G]

5. They Died So Republicans Could Take the Senate

They Died So Republicans Could Take the Senate
Tuesday, 21 June 2005, 11:46 am
Opinion: Thom Hartmann

Published on Monday, June 20, 2005 by CommonDreams.org

They Died So Republicans Could Take the Senate

by Thom HartmannRichard Nixon authorized the Watergate burglary and subsequent cover-up to advance his own political ambitions. Because Nixon's lies were done for the craven purpose of getting and holding political power, his lies - in the minds of the majority of the members of Congress - were elevated to the level of impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Bill Clinton had sex in the White House with Monica Lewinsky, but Congress concluded he'd lied about it to maintain political power. Another impeachable crime.

The real scandal of the Downing Street Memos, with the greatest potential to leave the Bush presidency in permanent disgrace, is their implication that lies may have been put forward to help Bush, Republicans, and Blair politically. If Bush lied to gain and keep political power, precedent suggests he and his collaborators in the administration may even be vulnerable to impeachment.

Conservatives say the Bush claims of WMD and "mushroom clouds" were a "lie of ignorance." Condoleezza Rice periodically does the talk-show circuit and repeats the "lie of ignorance" myth. "The entire world thought Saddam had WMD," she and other Bush representatives suggest over and over again. "We had bad intelligence."

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0506/S00291.htm

[Melissa G]

6. Secret tapes spark investigation

Secret tapes spark investigation
Monday, June 20, 2005 Updated: 11:08 PM


MCALLEN -- The Hidalgo County district attorney is launching an investigation into voter fraud after secretly recorded tape reveal a plot to sell votes to candidates.

MCALLEN – Some people are in deep water this week after secret tapes surfaced of operatives allegedly selling votes to the former mayor of McAllen.

Authorities are now using that tape in their criminal investigation. The district attorney said he’s waging war against politiqueros.

Joey Lopez admitted last week that he met with O.E. Brand, son of former mayor Othal Brand, in a McAllen office. Lopez told O.E. was his offer would offset votes another candidate already had. O.E. Brand contacted the Texas Rangers after the incident.

http://www.newschannel5.tv/2005/6/20/3239/Secret-Tapes-Spark-Investigation%7D

[Melissa G]

7. Political Interference at the Department of Justice

Government Witness in Tobacco Case Says Justice Department Lawyers Asked Him to Weaken Testimony

DU Discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=203

Political Interference at the Department of Justice

Two weeks ago, the Justice Department made an unexpected and stunning reversal in the tobacco litigation, cutting its request for relief for cessation activities from $130 billion to $10 billion. A day after the Department's reversal was disclosed, the media reported that the Department had also pressured two of its expert witnesses - Dr. Michael Eriksen and Matt Myers - to change their testimony.<7> Professor Bazerman's account corroborates these previous allegations. It also directly contradicts the Justice Department's explanation for its recent changes in legal strategy.

snip
In his op-ed, Mr. McCallum argued that the Justice Department has "proven time and again a strong commitment to holding the tobacco industry accountable for past fraud and abuse."<10> But the remedies Professor Bazerman recommended - and that Mr. McCallum sought to weaken - were those that tobacco executives may have feared most. Of all the remedies sought by the Department, only Professor Bazerman's remedies directly threatened the jobs of the executives currently running the major tobacco companies.

The tobacco industry is a major supporter of the Republican Party, contributing over $2.7 million in the last 2-year election cycle, with much of this money directly paid by senior executives at defendant corporations.<11> It is exactly these same executives who were covered by Professor Bazerman's testimony and who would be affected by his recommendations. And it is exactly these same executives who benefited most directly from the attempt to undermine Professor Bazerman's testimony.

snip
We are concerned that the Justice Department under the Bush Administration may be orchestrating a surrender reminiscent of the ITT case. The Justice Department's position attributing its strategy to the ruling of the appeals court is not credible. According to recent news reports, recent reversals in position were opposed by the expert attorneys who have led the litigation for the past five years and were contradicted by a brief filed by the Department itself just five weeks earlier.<12> Now we have learned that a major witness whose testimony was not affected by that ruling was pressured to change his testimony.



snip
Sincerely,


Henry A. Waxman / Martin T. Meehan

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0620-25.htm

[Melissa G]

8. Death penalty for poll cheaters sought

Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Death penalty for poll cheaters sought
DU discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=203

SENATOR Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada has filed a bill seeking to amend the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) whereby capital punishment will be imposed on candidates found to have engaged in election fraud.

Estrada asked his colleagues in the Senate to support his proposal to stop the illegal act from being committed in future elections.

snip


Estrada said electoral fraud should be considered a heinous crime because it abuses the right of suffrage.

"In order not to undermine the exercise of the right of suffrage by every citizen, penalties for certain election offenses are hereby increased while those are grievous and odious, aside from being inherently depraved, repugnant and outrageous to the common standards of decency and morality," he said.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2005/06/21/news/death.penalty.for.poll.cheaters.sought.html

[Melissa G]

9. Supervisors consider precinct mergers

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14729914&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6

Supervisors consider precinct mergers
TIM ROHWER, Staff Writer
06/21/2005



The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors is considering the merger of six voting precincts with nearby precincts.
The main reason is that the polling places in the six precincts are not handicapped accessible, a major requirement under the new Help America Vote Act, said Marilyn Jo Drake, county auditor.

It would not be economically feasible to make the polling sites handicapped assessable, she said. The federal government would provide $2,500 to each precinct to help with the expenses, but that would not come close to covering the entire costs, Drake said.

Several hundred voters would be impacted if the board approved the mergers, said Gary Herman, deputy county auditor.
"It will be an inconvenience for some because of the longer travel," he said.
Drake said, "We're not putting costs first, but where do you draw the line to say, 'We're going to make it handicapped assessable.'"

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14729914&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6

[Melissa G]

10. VerifiedVoting.org to Brief Senators on Verifiable Elections

VerifiedVoting.org to Brief Senators on Verifiable Elections--Stanford University Professor Champions Paper Ballots and Public Audits

American Politics Today #32

Washington, D.C.
June 21, 2005

By Marc Strassman
Reporter
American Politics Today
California Politics Today
Etopia Media Voting News
Etopia Media News Networks


This page and its contents are copyright © 2005 by Etopia Media News Networks. All rights in all media reserved.


Stanford Professor David Dill to testify on Capitol Hill


According to a press release issued today by the Verified Voting Foundation, Inc.:

"On Tuesday, June 21, the Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on publicly verifiable elections from VerifiedVoting.org Founder David Dill. Dill is a Stanford University Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and a nationally recognized expert on systems verification. He will recommend passage of federal legislation to require voter-verified paper records and routine mandatory audits of elections so that every vote is counted as cast.

"WHAT: U.S. Senate Rules Committee Hearing on Voter Verification in the Federal Elections Process

"WHEN: 10:00am, Tuesday, June 21

"WHERE: SR-301, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

'The debate about electronic voting should not be about election fraud but about performing independent checks on the conduct and results of elections so as to instill public confidence in our democratic system,' said Professor Dill. 'Voters have no means to confirm that paperless e-voting machines have recorded their votes correctly.'

Two verified voting bills

VerifiedVoting.org supports H.R.550, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, and S.330, the Voting Integrity and Verification Act, which would require that voting systems used in federal elections produce a voter-verified paper record that voters can inspect before casting their votes.

"H.R.550 was introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and S.330 was introduced by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).

http://www.etopiamedia.net/empnn/pages/apt/apt32-5551212.html

[Melissa G]

11. Mississippi Jury Convicts Ex-Klansman in 1964 Killings

Thanks to demodonkey for post
On the 41st Anniversary of the deaths of these Voting Rights patriots...

Mississippi Jury Convicts Ex-Klansman in 1964 Killings
The New York Times
http://digbig.com/4dsfg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4116870.stm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

These killings happened in Mississippi... but I was in Selma AL this spring and walked across the Pettus Bridge where there is now a grassroots memorial park on the side where the "Bloody Sunday" attack happened. In the park there are trees dedicated to voting rights activists who gave their lives for this cause, including for Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner as well as those who died during the Selma marches.

It was very moving... made me really think about the importance of what we all are doing now to continue the work for election reform and voting rights in our time.

NGU.