My trip to an election official's office

[BeFree]

While downtown, paying some taxes, I spotted a Supervisor of Election's office.

I just had to go in and say, Hi. The nice lady behind the counter welcomed me. I immediately spotted the electronic vote stealing machine parked in the corner and pointed at it, saying: "That's what I came to see."

Resisting an urge to grab the damn thing and beat the hell out of it, or finding the nearest body of water and throwing it in, I merely walked up to it and gave it the evil eye.

She proudly approached me at that damned machine ready to guide me through a sample election. I submitted to the DEMONstration. Biting my tongue the whole time, I tell you this, was not pleasant.

"That's all there is to it," she said.

Oh yeah? I don't think so. Do you know who programs this machine? Can you read the programming? Did you know the programming is a secret? Did you know the code could be written to move votes from one column to another?

Oh yeah, I peppered her with the questions garnered from the pages of this forum. This forum was, indeed, heard in that office. And the response was, as you should expect, a sense of dumbfoundedness on the official's part.

Now, don't worry, I never raised my voice, and it was, all in all, as pleasant as could be for the two of us discussing the issue. I don't take it too personal.

But this lady did, and does. Heck, she's worked over 15 years in the office; she's dealt with many an election. So, I asked her, and prodded her, with this simple exclamation: "I trust you, but I don't trust that machine, it is as simple as that."

I figure that if election officials have a growing doubt about those machines, and the secret coding, and about the singular bookkeeping without any double-check standard, and it's profound lack of confidence from computer security experts, then that machine doesn't stand a chance.

[Hissyspit]

1. And you don't trust the people who make the machines.

You should have named names.

Good for you for what you did, though!

:patriot:

[peace13]

2. It is going to take a lot more of this kind of thing.

I went to poll worker training in Ohio several weeks ago. My question to the Diebold guy was 'Is this machine hooked into the internet?' He looked at me and said 'Did you see me connect it to the internet?' Meaning that, did I see a cable go into the machine? What an ass! When I told him that I sat in my den ever night 'hooked' to the internet with no cable he blew me off. Long story short, after over 10 years of poll working I was not called this election. Maybe they had too many people, who knows. Life in Ohio gets harder and harder! Peace

[kitkat65]

4. I spoke with two poll workers who TRIED to get out of doing it Tuesday

because of job deadlines. One of them was told that every poll worker had to be present due to the possibility of problems or confusion caused by using the new machines. This is in Franklin County.

[AndyA]

3. We need lots more like you to visit officials and ask questions!

Thanks for doing this. It likely means more than you know.

When you have a company CEO like Diebold's go on record as stating they are going to deliver the election to the Republicans, that alone should disqualify their machines. Like it or not, elections must be fair, transparent, and verifiable. Mandatory audits must also be done on a random basis to ensure accuracy.

None of these things are possible with electronic voting machines. We need to take the private sector out of our elections. They should be publicly run.

Again, thank you for taking the time to talk with the people in your election office.

[Peace Patriot]

5. Excellent! Perfect! Good on you! And thanks for the description of

your encounter, and for speaking up for all us!

The lady you met probably doesn't make the decisions. Those are made way high up, where the bribes occur, where the smell of that HAVA $4 billion boondoggle rules, where the "revolving door" employment deals are made, and the lavish lobbying junkets are arranged. She probably doesn't get a week of fun and sun at the Beverly Hilton, sponsored by Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia. (***See below, bottom of this post.)

But you planted a seed. You reconnoitred the scene. You broke the sound barrier--the silence between citizens and elections officials, fostered by the DEAFENING silence of the corporate news monopolies and of too many Democratic Party leaders, on this all important matter.

This week, the Calif Dem Party endorsed Debra Bowen for Secretary of State--the best news I've heard in months, and probably the most important election campaign in the country. 80% of the delegates voted for her! (****See below.)

The tide IS turning!

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

SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Hopeful signs - latest news:

California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496
Seven of these counties just promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205

Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263

Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html
(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630

Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226

-----

More resources for American Revolution II:

www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)


(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)

www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739

The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution

****www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system--big endorsement from Calif Dem Party 5/06)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)

*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477

Congressional bills:

Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). To sign the HR 550 petition: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html
At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967
(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)


Also of interest:

Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363

Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htm
More Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

***Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507

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

Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:

-----------

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

[nicknameless]

6. Thank you for doing this.

A perfectly sad illustration of what we're up against.

See, the BoEs are ready for the next election:

[mmarcus]

23. But how do you work with them if they have short term memory failure?

It's like mine won't remember 100 pages of solid evidence if I feed it to them with a spoon. I still have a good relationship but I'm running out of options in my playbook and we have Diebold touchscreens.

[tom_boy]

7. Thiis won't be easy

The painful answer to the whole vote issue is that we need to spend some serious money to uncover the fraud.

You'd think a crime of this magnitude would be easy to document.
(We do need some hard physical evidence to convict these people in court). We know perps, we know the location, we know the time. We just need the evidence.

Don't count on Republican congress to spend the kind of money necessary to pierce the veil. And if we just go at it piecemeal, we may never get the kind of evidence necessary to stand up in court

[emlev]

9. We have plenty of evidence, that's not the problem

Besides which, we haven't even gotten to the step legally where we get to have "discovery," and get access to more evidence.

Actually, it's amazing how much evidence we have given that these machines were designed to leave no trace!

[Kurovski]

8. K&R

Democracy in action. Thanks.

[emlev]

10. My conversation with an election official

When they called me to see if I'd work the polls at the upcoming primary election I asked about the new voting machines. The worker told me that her boss had told her they were really easy to operate, no problem. It turned out the woman I was talking to had only been on the job three days. I told her there was much more to the story than ease of use (!) and suggested that *when she was not at work* she go to VotersUnite.org, go to the section where problems are listed by vendor, and read up on our vendor. She sounded interested. Hope she'll do it.

[kster]

11. K&R...... nt

[Land Shark]

12. Next time an election official complains about trust or trusting them

you can make the point of the inappropriateness of trust when the system is supposed to be based on checks and balances. BUT, maybe that point is best made this way.

After the election official complains about voter or activist not trusting, you can say:

Well, we only just met and you want me to trust you even though thousands of people voted against you and/or your boss in the last election. But, I'm willing to do that, I'm willing to trust you as well, as long as you trust ME. Do you trust ME?

(Wait for an answer)

If there is hesitation, you can add a positive fact about yourself, like no convictions, or at least thousands haven't voted against you....

If the election official trusts you, then say:

Great, thank you, so, since you trust me I can have access to these machines unsupervised right before the election like you do. 'Kay?

If the election official doesn't trust you:

Why are you more trustworthy than me when your job and credibility depend on the image that these things work smoothly while I'm not going to have the same penalties either way?

[anoraksia53]

21. wow great points

Don't know if I'd have the balls to put it quite that way, but I'll work on it.

You're sure right about the trust thing......Elections should never require trust.

[vanboggie]

13. K&R

Kudos to you!

[bleever]

14. Great job! Most good people don't even think to doubt the magic box.

K&R!

[IndyOp]

15. Now that you are flying on a personal power buzz - and YEAH for you! -

:yourock:

Think about how much fun it would be to make an appointment to see the head dude/ess and take her one of these bad babies:



You can check to see if someone has delivered a copy to your county's BOE here:
http://www.votersunite.org/takeaction/mb2-counties.asp

And you can print copies here:
http://www.votersunite.org

My appointment with my local BOE dude is coming up in about a week -> :bounce:

I talked with him for about 35-minutes last week and he was dumbfounded, too. I worked really hard to stay calm and cool, too. No histrionics, just facts and questions.

:smoke:

[BeFree]

16. No power buzz

Just a sick feeling that needs a cure. I find it a suffarage that such an elemental education must be presented in an elections office. You would think they'd have a clue, eh? That they would be looking out for us voters.

I looked at the myth busters pdf. 70 pages? Geez, who's gonna have time to read all that?

What is needed is a one page fact sheet. One page that anyone one of us could use to present and make a profound statement with, succinctly. How 'bout it ER Forum members, can we condense the mass of info into a one page killer fact sheet?

Please, IndyOp, tell us how your meeting goes; we need to encourage everyone to go see their election officials and do some lobbying for our rights for fair elections.

[eridani]

17. We have very open administrative procedures in WA state

Same damned proprietary software, though.

[eridani]

18. Mostly they mean well

They know everything about the adminstrative aspects of running an election--they're just so damned CLUELESS about computers!

[Iowa]

19. You're right...

What pisses me off is we know it and they don't. I'm just some guy scoping the net, and I know more about this issue than most election officials. That's insane. If I know it, they should know it too - and more. It's their damned job, and their failure to grasp an issue that is so fundamental is staggering.

[mmarcus]

24. But my county has an IT guy

What's his excuse for being clueless?

[BeFree]

20. Ah, my memory returns a bit

As the conversation continued, and having laid the programming hole on the table, it seemed to make sense to express this idea to fill that gaping hole.

If the code that operated these machines was a code that could be downloaded from the internet by anyone, and especially by anyone in any election office, and then applied to these machines, more confidence would be forthcoming.

If that code was universal and was a code easily understood by basic computer experts, then the use of the machines would become more acceptable.

She agreed.

[mmarcus]

22. My trip to my elections office

They give me lip service. I've made a lot of trips to my elections office. At first they were really nice and taking me on a little tour and explaining everything.

It was all copasetic until I asked, like, one single quewtion.


They gave me the most bullshit answer, and I knew it was complete bullshit, but I was polite cause I figured they just didn't know any better. Do you know how many articles, questions and everything I've forwarded on? It's like they've got this little plastic smile on their face when they realize you know anything at all and they just turn to the next person and repeat the same bullshit they gave me at first.

I have tried for about two years to work with my elections officials and I swear to you I was as nice and polite and all about working together as you can be for months and months and months. We just started going over the same territory and pretty soon I could tell that they knew better and this was all a game.

Am I nuts? I haven't burned my bridges yet, but they already avoid me and its getting hard to get any substantive answers to any of my questions at all, plus they do NOT seem to learn or be educatable.