CA: State Sen. Debra Bowen Email/Petition Re: Diebold/McPherson

[Wilms]

Petition
http://ga3.org/campaign/diebold


Last Friday afternoon, as millions of Californians were preparing for their Presidents' Day holiday weekend, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson quietly re-certified Diebold electronic voting machines for the 2006 elections.

To rush through this re-certification, the Secretary of State had to go back on his word -- twice -- and violate federal and state law in the process. Compounding this travesty is that the re-certification is based solely on the views and recommendations of people on the Secretary's payroll.

This is unacceptable!

Urge Secretary of State McPherson to reverse his decision on Diebold -- email him today!

The Secretary of State based his decision on what he called an "independent audit" -- which was really a review of the Diebold machines conducted by a board that he appointed himself. The results of this study were kept secret from you and every other California voter until after the Secretary made his decision to give Diebold the green light.

There was absolutely ZERO public review or input before this decision was made. That's not how you restore public confidence in California elections.

Why is Secretary McPherson so intent to rush through this Diebold certification?

Where are the results of tests conducted by the federal "Independent Testing Authorities?" McPherson told us last December that he wouldn't even consider Diebold's application until those tests were done.

And why didn't McPherson allow experts and the general public to review and comment on this latest report BEFORE he decided to flip-flop on the issue and re-certify these Diebold machines?

Urge the Secretary of State to reverse his decision to re-certify the Diebold machines -- and schedule a public hearing to independently review new and damaging information about Diebold's machines!

This report determined that "there are serious vulnerabilities" with the Diebold machines "that go beyond what was previously known."

Don't you think that Californians deserve voting systems without "serious vulnerabilities?"

Urge Secretary of State McPherson to stop the re-certification of these Diebold machines until we know the facts -- send him an email today!

So, just to recap the facts here:

The Secretary of State's own rushed secret study points out "serious vulnerabilities... that go beyond what was previously known," yet the Secretary decided to re-certify the machines.

There has been absolutely no opportunity for public comment or review on these latest findings.

The Secretary of State told us he would wait for test results from the federal "Independent Testing Authorities" before acting on Diebold's request to re-certify its machines. He didn't do that.

The Secretary of State said any voting machine in California would have to meet all federal laws, rules, and regulations. These Diebold machines fail that test -- especially by using "interpreted code" that is banned by the Election Assistance Commission.

The Secretary of State said any voting machine in California would have to meet state law. These Diebold machines violate state law because they don't provide an audible "read-back" of the machines' auditable paper trail for blind and visually-impaired voters.
What could Secretary of State McPherson possibly be thinking?

Tell Secretary of State McPherson to put his decision to re-certify the Diebold machines on hold now!

Thanks so much for your help on this critical issue. The integrity of California's state elections system is at stake.

Sincerely,

Debra Bowen
California State Senator

P.S. I'm pursuing many other actions as well, including compelling voting machine vendors and the Secretary of State to appear before the State Senate. But right now it's important for Secretary of State McPherson to hear from all of us directly, since it was his decision on Friday to certify Diebold's machines -- and it is his responsibility to hear the facts and comply with the law.

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Petition
http://ga3.org/campaign/diebold

[Peace Patriot]

1. Here's my letter to Bruce McPherson

Dear Secretary of State Bruce McPherson:

We were absolutely appalled at your decision to certify Diebold electronic voting machines in California's 2006 elections -- and we urge to reverse that decision, and to delay any further action until you schedule hearings to allow experts and the general public to review and comment the latest study results.

Your actions in this matter been characterized by secrecy and deception, and have been about as transparent as the electronic voting system over which you preside. Last December, you announced that you were sending Diebold voting machines back for federal review by the "Independent Testing Authorities" because their memory cards hadn't been reviewed. Now you're going back on your word, approving Diebold machines for use in California even before receiving the results of these federal tests.

Instead, you've based your findings on your own, secretly arranged, so-called "independent state audit" that, as a matter of fact, determined that "there are serious vulnerabilities" with the Diebold machines "that go beyond what was previously known."

This report was made by a board that you appointed yourself, with no opportunity for public review. That's not how you restore public confidence in California elections.

Why are you so intent to rush through this Diebold certification? Where are the results of tests conducted by the "Independent Testing Authorities?" And why not allow experts and the general public to review and comment on the report you requested BEFORE making a decision?

We urge you to stop this nonsense now, and to begin acting in the public interest, by scheduling public hearings to review the latest study results on Diebold and the many security and performance flaws that have previously been identified, and furthermore to begin a public review of alternatives to the current election system, which is controlled by private, partisan corporations using "trade secret," proprietary software, with wholly inadequate audit/recount controls, and which most voters distrust and do not have the technical expertise to understand.

Our election system is outrageously non-transparent. Paper ballots hand-counted at the precinct level is the only transparent, open, verifiable election method currently available, and should be immediately adopted by the state until "open source" electronics with strict security and audit/recount controls are designed and ready to use. The money and time wasted on these "lemon" electronic voting systems, and the corruption involved, are mind-boggling.

We urge you to view your job as a sacred public trust and to open our election system, and your decisions about it, to those whom you should be serving--all California voters and citizens. We don't expect you to do this, but we always maintain the hope that people can change.

Sincerely,

XXXX

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

ALSO URGENT!

Senator Bowen is also asking for emails, faxed letters and phone calls to the offices of the CA Senate Rules Committee. Bowen is on the Rules Committee, and is also chair of Senate Elections Committee. As chair of Elections, she needs to get subpoena power for the McPherson/Diebold matter from the Rules Committee. I will post contact info here shortly.

[Amaryllis]

3. k an R

[Peace Patriot]

2. Here is the CA Senate Rules Committee info

For more background info and details:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2471271#top


IT'S ONLY 5 EMAILS/FAXES/CALLS. MAKE THEM ALL.

Senate Rules Committee (from whom Senator Bowen, who is also chair of the Senate Elections Committee, is asking for subpoena power in the McPherson/Diebold matter):

Senator Don Perata (Chair) D
[phone]
District office [phone]
[e-mail]
Fax [phone] Perata

Senator Jim Battin (Vice-Chair) R
[phone]
[e-mail]
Fax: [phone] Battin

Senator Roy Ashburn R
[phone]
[e-mail]
Fax: [phone] Ashburn

Senator Debra Bowen D - She is on the rules committee and
is also the chairperson of the Senate Elections Committee.
EMAIL ONLY PLEASE
[e-mail] -
(Ms. Bowen is mounting this case and will be busy preparing -- emails are welcomed--don't jam her phones up)
Fax [phone] Bowen

Senator Gilbert Cedillo D
[phone]
Fax [phone] Cedillo

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

WHAT TO SAY:

Be concise, be polite, be professional. Here's your message:


You want Rules Committee support for subpoenas of election industry and certification insiders to answer the Elections Committee's questions about voting machine programming, examination and certification.


A sample letter is provided below.

That's it. Short and simple. Polite, professional, firm. Short clear message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAMPLE LETTER

Senator ____,

California Senate Election Committee

Dear Senator ____,

I urge you to take a courageous stand to issue port subpeonas to key representatives and officials from Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart Intercivic, as well as Wyle and Ciber Testing Labs and state voting system examiners who fail to appear for your hearings on this matter.

I also urge you to subpoena documents as needed, including the non-disclosure agreements signed between examiners and vendors, and all other documents needed to assess the integrity of the certification process.

Voters must be able to ensure that voting systems are secure from tampering,either by outsiders or by insiders. If the citizenry cannot see for itself that elections are secure, that our votes are being counted as we cast them, it is only a matter of time before the very fabric of our nation is torn to
pieces.

Flawed, hackable systems have been approved that violate FEC guidelines. Some of these systems are so deeply flawed that they defy common sense. It is imperative that the elections industry insiders who were party to the design, examination and recommendation of these systems appear before California's Senate Election Committee in open hearings under oath to answer questions and address these serious concerns.

Sincerely,

[freedomfries]

4. K & r

[kster]

5. K&R.........nt

[Amaryllis]

6. kick

[nicknameless]

7. K&R

[nicknameless]

8. Why isn't this on the Greatest page? One more vote? Please?

:)

[Wilms]

9. .

[kster]

10. One more vote gets it to the greatest......nt

[Mister Ed]

11. K&R