BradBlog Debunks NH Paper Ballot Worries, But... "What You Should Actually Be Concerned About"

[WillyT]

What You Should Actually Be Concerned About

<snip>

However, for those in the media interested in actual concerns about the integrity of today's NH Primary, we'd strongly recommend the following video primer. In it, you'll learn that the Diebold optical-scan system used across most of New Hampshire (some 40% of precincts still count paper ballots by hand, at the precinct), can be easily rigged by insiders, and only if the paper ballots are properly audited by hand, in some fashion, can the results of the op-scanners be trusted in any way, shape or form.

Reporters would do well to take note, particularly given the tightness of the race at this hour on the Democratic side, between Obama and Clinton --- curious, given the final Zogby polling numbers which were dead-on on the Republican side, but so far, seem wildly off on the Dem side. Zogby's numbers had predicted an Obama blowout, 42/29 over Clinton.

The machines used in the state, are the same ones seen being hacked in HBO's documentary, Hacking Democracy. As well, a single private company with a very bad record, LHS Associates, Diebold's distributor and technical contractor in New England, runs the elections and controls the vulnerable memory cards for the voting systems across the state. That company, has a horrendous record of lax security policies and has admitted to having replaced memory cards, on a whim, on their own, in the middle of past elections.

As well, their Director of Sales and Marketing, Ken Hajaar, has previously posted a comment on The BRAD BLOG under his own name, declaring: "You are totally full of shit."

His tirade went on those concerned about transparency and Election Integrity, such as ourselves and BlackBoxVoting.org's Bev Harris to be "deluded", "paranoid" and "loony ideologues".

His comments here succeeded only having him be banned from working on elections in Connecticut by Sec. of State there, where LHS Associates also irresponsibly and secretly, plies their trade at tax-payer expense.

The video below shows LHS Associate President John Silvestro challenging Finnish computer security expert Harri Hursti, during testimony in New Hampshire, after Hursti's landmark hack of a Diebold optical-scan machine in late 2005 in Leon County, FL, as seen in Hacking Democracy. That hack is again shown in this video, courtesy of BlackBoxVoting.org...

<snip>

Link (this is at the bottom of the article): http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5529

Just FYI

:shrug:

[The Magistrate]

1. One Small Point, Sir

When turn-out is so much larger than usual, as it is in this instance, the predictive models of who will vote that determine poll results are quite likely to be off the mark by a considerable margin.

[WillyT]

3. Ok, So Help Me Out Here...

The polling was dead-on for the Republicans, but wildly off for the Democrats???

What scenario allows for that?

:shrug:

[The Magistrate]

5. Quite, Sir

Republican turn-out was in normal parameters, probably a little lower than usual. There is not much interest in their race, even among their own kind: only the 'usual suspects' trooped out.

The Democratic race is the marquee item, exciting great interest, and pulling in a number of people who do not usually participate. Even the published polls showed as 'undecided' as about a fifth of those they deemed likely to turn out, and most polls throughout this season have shown attachment to a preferred candidate to be pretty soft, since very few Democrats actively dislike any of the leading candidates. There is great latitude for last minute shifts in this sort of environment.

[WillyT]

6. Thank You, Good Explanation

But I'm curious how the pollsters will explain it.

Should be interesting at least.

:shrug:

[99th_Monkey]

2. I'm sure this cheers up the "depressed" Rethugs who own the voting machine companies

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_steven_l_080108_conservative_right_c.htm

[cyberpj]

4. And by the way... the more they say the polls were wrong (again) - they train us all to believe that

when it was never true before E voting.