BREAKING: Black Box Voting -- Secret meeting this morning

[BevHarris]

The Price of Democracy Has Just Been Set: $100-$200k

- Secret meeting held by The Election Center and voting machine companies

- Electronic voting industry interviewing lobbyist for coalition of voting machine vendors

- Lobbyist has ties to SAIC

- SAIC is the firm hired by Maryland and Ohio to issue a report on whether Diebold voting system can be trusted

Stay tuned. Full report to be issued shortly with detailed notes of the meeting.

In the mean time, read this ASAP:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0308/S00173.htm

Bev Harris

P.S. Watch very carefully for breaking updates: http://www.blackboxvoting.com
How did we get this information:
Get this for security -- David Allen, Plan Nine Publishing, the publisher of Black Box Voting, got hold of the password to the secret teleconference and signed in UNDER HIS OWN NAME. No one even asked who he represented.

[Cassandra]

1. $100-200K

Doesn't take much does it? You'd think that people about to sell us down the river would at least get more for it.

[arcane1]

4. I guess that's just the up-front costs..

with huge profits to follow

:grr:

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Interesting

Under Model 1: Goals

"7. Reduce substantially the level and amount of criticism from computer scientists and other security experts about the fallibility of electronic voting systems."

[Fredda Weinberg]

3. So they hired a lobbyist?

That's the big deal?

[jimmynochad]

21. It is not the hire but what the projects are...

Project one - off the record dinners with election officials
Project two - create their own standards that are the "gold standard". This means that they want to make a standard that supercedes the importance of any government standards. If you are a vendor that is not part of the club, you will not get the gold star on your voting machine.
Project three - create a blue ribbon panel of people they select and pay

The cost per project is a total that is divided among the members plus there are dues that are related to the company's size.

The cost percentage for the administrative services is standard for a firm that has two offices (one in expensive Northern VA) and has lawyers on staff. ITAA will also handle all of the media flack and setting up meetings.

[John_H]

53. If these dinners are truly "off the record"

they're illegal. Any dinner over 15 bucks in MD has to be reported, and that's for elected officials. It may even be illegal for appointed or hired state officials to meet with lobbyists at all.

My guess is that these folks are a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. The fact they hired lobbyists is a tiny little story. The fact that they feel the need to hire lobbyists is positive sign.

I gotta tell you guys something, and I mean it with the best intentions--this breathless blockbuster breaking news bit on every development large and small probably isn't helping the cause. I mean, it may work all right here, but I've always found that reporters get real suspicious real fast when they're getting oversold.

[ldf]

54. i'm afraid it is real easy for me

to get all "breathless" about these "blockbuster" developments in the voting machine scam.

but then again, maybe i'm overreacting. it is only the very basis of our democracy that we are talking about.

nah, you can call me a drama queen, but it doesn't make it less important.

this story must stay hot.

and i kiss the feet of bev! we are not worthy.

[John_H]

107. An old PR pro gave me some great advice years ago...

Nudge the little ones, then hammer the big ones home.

Even with the very important issues surrounding BBV, there are "little ones" and "big ones." Hiring lobbying and PR firms is run of the mill (and so is the Election Center's PR plan, in addition to not being very good).

The Hopkins guys, DemActivist hacking the machines, the FTP site--those are big ones.

Giving every development all equal weight is counterproductive, makes folks look like stereo salesmen, etc. That was my only point--didn't intend at all to trivialize BBV.

[ParanoidPat]

108. Very good point....

....and right now one of the big ones is why the industry is so adamant about changing public perception of what the problem is rather than address the issue of adding the printer for a human verifiable audit trail! :)
It will be a lot cheaper in the long run guys! :hi:

[BevHarris]

110. I'm an old PR pro with a family full of old news pros --

Your old PR pro friend gave you generic advice that doesn't even apply to most PR situations, which are when you have a client that isn't news and you have to figure out how to make them newsworthy and then hammer the hell out of it.

But you are totally wrong on this. This story is the big one. Here are the points:

1) The firm wants $200,000 by Friday, yet this is the first meeting ever on this topic in the industry. How bizarre is that? Normal way of doing things: Industry gets a meeting together, goes over the need for a lobbying arm. They put a task force on it from their coalition and pick a few candidates and interview them.

By contrast, in this one R. Doug Lewis (who is supposed to represent the elected officials, NOT the vendors) meets with this firm on the q.t. last week, they do this meeting and are told to pony up by Friday.

2) The money is wrong. Way wrong. No, the $200k isn't per company, that's total. No, it isn't a down payment, it's the whole fee. No, it isn't the ITAA's fee with direct costs added, the ITAA's fee is just 25% of the $200k. And for this, look what we get:

- a massive PR and media campaign
- polling
- market
- surveys
- a full congressional lobbying effort
- approaches to academics and key organizations
- a panel of academics to refute anything troublesome

Ask your old pro in PR if the normal price for the above would be $200,000 or $2 million. I'm telling you the pricing is out of whack, and there is funding that's flying under the radar on this.

3) The plan is insidious: The idea is to bypass and marginalize the FEC standards by having the vendors set their own. I have no doubt that their "gold standard" involves some sort of avoidance of keeping the evidence trail -- the voter-verified paper ballot, by using cryptography. They will probably recommend VoteHere, a company with no visible revenue that has been spending like there's no tomorrow for several years now, who has direct ties to defense contractors. Then they will get some kind of endorsement from defense contractors and homeland security groups, and we'll never get evidence of our vote again.

It's a big story, and it's got the kind of stuff regular people can understand, and even better: It's got the kind of stuff that unravels.

Stay tuned.

Bev

[sendero]

111. damn!

Thanks for that Ms Harris. I read the article and I was thinking, 200K?, that's cat food. I knew something wasn't right but my limited knowledge of PR in general wouldn't let me put it together.

Congratulations on the continuing excellent work you are doing, we are all indebted to you.

[stickdog]

26. Other than you've completely exposed yourself? Again.

Oh, I don't know.

[BevHarris]

5. Let me put it this way: Even my cheap-ass PR firm couldn't do it for this

ITAA claims they'll take 25 percent of what is paid. Now, if they pay $100k that's $25,000.

Something stinks to high heaven here.

And Fredda: Lobbyist = ITAA, ES division
ITAA, ES division director: Sr. Vice President of SAIC
"Independent" report on Diebold security for MD, OH: SAIC


Bev

[grasswire]

7. I took it to mean...

...$200,000 from each company.

[BevHarris]

10. Nope. That was discussed in the meeting. That's divvied up

between the "members."

mm hmm.

Something smells.

SAIC doing the report. SAIC Sr. Vice President a director of the ES division of ITAA. ES division of ITAA wrote this lobbying proposal.

Oh, by the way: In the meeting they told us the code words:

"Never use the word 'lobbying.'" Everywhere you see the term "educate the key constituencies" substitute "lobby." One item of discussion: "We don't want people running around saying we needed to hire a lobbyist because the industry is in trouble." -- Don't use that word.

Detailed notes with extensive quotes from the interview will be published on http://www.blackboxvoting.com

Give it a short while.

Bev

[althecat]

13. So did I... the way I see it is this.. LINK TO COMPANION ARTICLE

Voting Machine Co's are not being asked to contribute.. They are being made an offer than cannot refuse. The ITAA is going in to bat for them whether they like it or not. And (significantly) they are not even being asked to pay...

Ipso facto.. SAIC, EDS, RAYTHEON, IBM.... - the members of the ITAA -are paying for this.

The following is a link to a companion article.

The ITAA, The Election Center & R. Doug Lewis
- Background resources for the media on: the ITAA, The Election Center & R. Doug Lewis

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0308/S00174.htm

[BevHarris]

15. This is some of the finest journalism being done today --

Please read Alastair's articles. These two are among the best ever -- in fact, some of the best written on this topic. I am quite tempted to send his articles to every single news outlet that called him a tabloid and say "See? Here's a newsman."

Yes. I'm going to do it.

Bev

[seemslikeadream]

24. Stay tuned?

It's carry out again tonight! I can't leave my computer.

[grasswire]

6. stunning

and outrageous.

Thanks, Bev. We all look forward to the rest of the story.

[grasswire]

8. it says...

....."Fees in addition to annual dues: $100,000 - $125,000"

Doesn't that sound like each company pays $100,000 - $125,000 for this?

[RedEagle]

11. Money Isn't the First Concern!

Yep, need to know that stuff, for sure, because it points to some funding from somewhere that is kept under the radar.

The big insult is, they don't care about making voting safe or honest, they put their effort and money into PR so people buy into their lies.

WHY do they resist voter verified paper ballots? Because they can't fix elections that way?

Hit'em over the head for putting spin above honesty, while finding out just WHO or WHAT is funding this affront to self-determination.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[BevHarris]

18. Okay, this is a ball that's going to gather speed as it rolls.

And among the most critical researchers and helpers on this -- and I do mean critical:

Everyone on the private research thread, and every DUer whose research was validated for these articles.

Especially: Red Eagle -- unbelievable catch.
Eloriel -- fantastic work
And the others. You know who you are...

[althecat]

23. Eloriel...

A VERY VERY VERY VERY big ups.... truth is folks, the articles are both based almost entirely on an incredible bit of research accomplished in an instant.

[seemslikeadream]

27. Al don't you ever sleep?

beautiful just beautiful

[althecat]

31. 8.30am here now... Tomorrow...

I had a few hours sleep. But I had to get up for this one though. There was a timing issue :) Are you planning on ringing C-Span again:) We have a technique that seems to work.. lets keep using it.

[seemslikeadream]

32. Shhhhh!!!!!!!

a persons' only supposed to get 1 call a month I'm already over my limit. I have my ways and watching for another chance.

[AP]

9. I read a biography about Stephen Biko and one thing that was totally

stunning was how STUPID thos racist fascists running South Africa were. They were definitely evil, but they were ever so stupid.

[JasonBerry]

12. The User Name Issue

That, to me, is absolutely stunning.

If their security is the same for their new "high-tech" democracy....enough said.

Thanks Bev, that is scary.

[Bushfire]

14. Whopper of a story.

There is no good way of spinning this secret meeting by them. This is HUGE imho. Has there been a thread yet on the Georgia meeting, or any reports yet from DEMActivist or ParanoidPat btw?

[BevHarris]

16. DemActivist report just called in.

More news there, an amazing meeting.

Yup, crash those meetings folks, and take incredibly detailed notes, because these people are showing their true colors.

Bev

[shockandawed]

17. Thanks Bev

Wish there were more DU ers like you actually in the trenches, exposing the lies.

Bless you! Keep it up.

[AnnabelLee]

19. Breathtaking in their hubris

Absolutely breathtaking. But then, we've come to expect that.:mad:

[salmonhorse]

20. Sadly, "Black Box Voting" WILL be instituted...

In a world filled with VerisignTM software pay stations & user name/password entry gates, not so very unlike these used here @ DU, my sense is that the push should be focused upon the firms that will be certifying the installation of said software and the proper operation of systemics Diebold notwithstanding; which is to say: Diebold being then clearly without any objective standing in the field whatsoever.

Otherwise...they have built 'them' again sadly...'they' will come ~

[Gordon25]

22. Get this out, folks

Bev, thought you'd like to know the Scoop article and accompanying PR plan write up are already in the hands of the legislators here in AZ working on this. It is ammunition in their hands.

Don't delay, folks. If you have been working with state or local election officials and/or legislators, get this data into their hands asap. At a minimum it serves as an innoculation against the plan. At best, it becomes ammunition in the quest for full investigation and reform of the whole process. Make sure to point out that the industry plan does not call for making the software secure, it only calls for convincing the right people that it is secure.

Got 'em playin' $200,000 defense. Course, the first $50,000 will be spent denying they are in enough trouble to have to hire a lobbyist. Hi, Fredda.

Gordon25

[grasswire]

25. oh my manners

Hi, Fredda!

[althecat]

28. Still Bigger Than Watergate! Scoop Takes You Inside An E-Voting Whitewash

With Georgia's events coinciding, and this being an incredibly easy story for any news organisation to turn around. This is another critical moment.... On the day we published this I sent out a message to Scoop columnists and contacts. Today I sent the following to the same list... please forgive any tabloidisation :)

******

SUBJECT: Still Bigger Than Watergate! Scoop Takes You Inside An E-Voting Whitewash Campaign

Dear All,

Another posting to the Scoop-E-Voting superlist. You know what to
do.

We have just published the second biggest breaking angle on the e-
voting story since the publication of the link to the Diebold FTP files
- and the first post to this list.

Today's scoop is very different. For a start it is accessible to any
news agency to match.... without risk and with legitimate angles in
spades.

To assist with this process Sludge has have even written it as a
straight news story so as not to frighten the horses.

The Scoop concerns a PR campaign proposal from a very large US
IT lobbying organisation discussed this morning on conference call
with voting machine manufacturers from around the US.

An introduction to the players, full text of the PR proposal (leaked
to us) and a bunch of background links and supporting material
follows below.

And watch...

http://www.blackboxvoting.com

For a report from inside the conference call.... :)

While links to Scoop would be nice. The primary objective of this
post is to get more news editors on board. Please send this to all
the news editors you know. Writers/Columnists please write about
this and submit to your editors. People with newslists - post to your membership... We are approaching the tipping
point in this story and your assistance has been invaluable so far.

Thanks and Regards
Alastair Thompson

.... And I attached the full text of the articles copied from...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0308/S00283.htm

I will post this in a seperate thread here as it is quite big. Please pick it to bits... it is a smorgasboard of information like you can only get on the internet...

:)

[althecat]

30. Link To DU Copy Of The Full Story...

http://tinyurl.com/kvva

[Junkdrawer]

29. Perhaps the LCCR, the LWV, and Common Cause should see...

how they are about to be played for chumps.

BTW: That's the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, and the League of Women Voters. They and many other organizations are fighting hard to eliminate the punch card machines in an effort to eliminate the over-vote and under-vote problems of that system. Unfortunately, it out of the frying pan into the fire - they seem to be reluctant to listen to expert technical opinion

[BevHarris]

39. Not necessarily being played for chumps. Their contributions

have been redacted out of the financial statements required for nonprofits.

Follow the money trail.

Bev

[BevHarris]

42. Police report: Four break-ins in seven days among BBV activists

Just got report of another one, police there now.

All of you:

1) Take precautions.
2) Report any break ins to the police, even if it looks like nothing was taken

Four of us have now had break ins. Scoop, we'll probably take you up on that article shortly, when all photos and police reports are done.

I heard also that Dr. Rebecca Mercuri had a break in attempt to her hotel room while in Denver.

One of the break ins was to a car. The brake line was cut.

Take care and report anything that happens both to the police and to me or to Alastair, who has a well-placed media connection here in the States. It does not advance the issue to be called paranoid. We may have to come forward as a group on this.

I'm going to give you a peek at part of the detailed notes from David Allen from the meeting this morning -- this should give you pause for thought:

Question: Would the existing Elections Systems Task Force (EST) be reconstituted or reformatted in any way?

Answer: They have been more focused on the HAVA legislation but would be interested in meeting with this group. (The major companies involved are Northrop-Grumman (defense contractor), Lockheed-Martin (defense contractor), Accenture and EDS.)

The EST’s “goal was very limited. They just wanted to get the legislation enacted (HAVA) and to create more business opportunities for them as integrators. Their agenda was “how do we get congress to fund a move to electronic voting.”

R. Doug Lewis suggested that ITAA draft a legal brief to address the concerns of possible anti-trust ramifications so that members of the new group would know what they could and could not do. ITAA concurred and said it would do so at the first meeting of the new group.

# # # #

This is turning into some disturbing stuff.

Bev Harris
http://www.blackboxvoting.org

[Junkdrawer]

47. Whose brake line???

That would be attempted murder, no?

[BevHarris]

59. Who do you think, of all of us, they would consider the biggest threat?

Yeah.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution knew she was the real deal right away.

And I still haven't gotten done with that meeting transcript. Pu it this way: She was cool, composed, relentless. Slides and polite nods began the dog-and-pony show, but before it was over a scarlet-faced Dr. Britain Williams had shouted that Dr. David Dill was a LIAR! and people were hopping out of their chairs and Dr. Williams found himself blurting out an invitation to rig a Georgia voting machine!

Problem is, he did so in front of a reporter, who held him to it.

Bev

[Eloriel]

51. I posted this on the WRONG thread

Musta looked pretty strange, esp. in response to such a serious post.

Sorry

Eloriel

[salin]

88. Accenture

isn't that the company that "managed" scrubbing Florida's voting records? The one that was given a HUGE ($ millions) private contract by Jeb! in place of a governmental agency that cost in the ballpark of $150,000?

Or were they not a part of that - but just part of looting the Florida Pension fund in the implosion of Enron?

[seemslikeadream]

89. Well they are doing some stuff in Florida

06/05/03
Florida to negotiate outsourcing with Accenture, BearingPoint

The issuance of the intent to award announcement marks the second time that Florida has been on the verge of awarding the contract. The state delayed award to BearingPoint Inc. in March when several contractors threatened to protest the contract if awarded.
www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/outsourcing/20930-1.html


Hydro transfer is a cause for concern for consumers

While Accenture claims Florida will save over $93 million US, the state auditor reports the deal will cost Florida $30 million more than the current system.
www.citizensforpublicpower.ca/newsroom/oct15_sun.html

Bingo
DoD Votes for Accenture's eDemocracy
July 7,2003

Just a month after acquiring election.com IT consulting firm Accenture has won a contract with the Depatment of Defence to establish trial Internet voting for overseas U.S. personal for the 2004 elections Terms of the contract were not disclosed

"We created our elections practice in responce to the market need that emerged following the 2000 elections, and we continue to see tremdous global business opportunities in the election industry,"said Steven J. Rohleder
Previously a stratigic alliance partner with Accenture, election.com has implemented its election systems management software in more than 170 U.S. counties and several U.S. states.
www.dc.internet.com/news/print.php/2231671

[seemslikeadream]

90. well found this on google

from DU Last January
www.democraticunderground.com/forum_archive_html/DCForumlD22/1650.html

I don't what's wrong but the thread is in Politics and Campaigns Jan01-02 started by chookie Another Florida Voter Purge coming right up

[salin]

91. can't get the link to work. n/t

[seemslikeadream]

93. Its on the second page of google

Accenture florida, if that helps

[salin]

96. The company I was thinking of is Alliance Capital Management

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/01/011402_Florida_Enron_Alliance.html

Here is a story about them, and the bilking of the Florida pension fund.

I could swear that when the story was unfolding there was something funky about this company that was an independent spin off from Arthur Anderson (?) - and somewhere the name accenture came up. It was the first time I had ever heard of Accenture. I will keep digging. Don't think it is a huge significant thing - but one never knows.

[seemslikeadream]

97. The Daily Enron ties all three together

www.thedailyenron.com/documents/20020806082411-99527.asp

oops well not tied together but wasn't it fun reading about Tom Delay pressuring the government officals at Enron's request to win an $120 million contract to build the Marianas Island's new power plant. Delay's wife being on the Alexander Straties payroll though she does not maintain an office there. Alexander represented Enron in the Marianas.

[althecat]

33. kick n/t

[althecat]

34. Breaking News: Brit Williams KSU Agree To DemActivist Hack Demonstration

I am not sure if it is really my place to pass this on. But I know Bev and DA are very busy... and you guys ought to know. As it is the WSJ and AJC reporters present do as well as 15+ congressional staffers and numerous other reporters present at todays Georgian Black Box Baiting... a meeting that ran over for 2 hours longer than scheduled...

According to DemA (she will give the detail later I am sure):

***********


... at one point Dr Brit Williams accused David Dill and Rebecca Mercuri of lying.

DA - responded with some red hot rhetoric to the effect that Dill, Merccuri and many others including herself had asked him repeatedly for access to these systems to scrutinise them. And that he had failed to respond to every request for information.

... the exchange continued a bit and then DA said something like...

"You say these people are lying. You refuse to take anyones calls or respond to anyones mail. Will you agree to a demonstration here, in front of the media by a group of computer professionals of how the hacks work."

and Dr Williams said "Yes..."

And afterwards the KSU election center rep gave DA a card and said they were ready to host the demonstration as soon as she was ready to perform it.

***************

And so....

DA has scheduled a spot for this story to find a path to the small - and ever so important - screen.

You go girl!!!! You are a legend.

[seemslikeadream]

35. Love it love it

keep us informed. Did you guys have an earthquake today?

[althecat]

36. Yip... Yesterday.. (which is still today where you are)

But no damage done.. and long way away from me in Wellington.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/SC0308/S00077.htm

I figured out your song BTW.. very clever :)

[Eloriel]

55. Remember, seemslikeadream

YOU started it. One innocent little phone call to the right person, IN the right place, at the right time.

Phenomenal.

Eloriel

[seemslikeadream]

61. Very sweet of you

but I just love a good mystery and you all have held me captive. I had God running the phone lines that morning! BTW Sonny's picture from Larry is hung right next to my monitor. He looks so darn happy.
Maybe we'll get a chance to talk again someday.

[Gordon25]

37. Fantastic news!

:party: :toast: :bounce: :bounce: :toast: :party:

Way to go, DemActivist! The tidal wave just hit the beginning of the coastal upslope and is still gaining speed!

Diebold must be thinking that ITAA/Election Center PR plan is looking terribly inadequate all of a sudden. Kinda' like locking the patio sliding glass door against the oncoming tsunami.

Please, please give us as much notice as possible of time, place etc. of demo. I think I can get some Arizona media interested and quite possibly some legislators who are dealing with this issue may want to attend.

Attention anyone who believes one person can't make a difference: observe and rethink.

To Bev, DemActivist, Althecat, Eloriel, Paranoid Pat, and all the other DUers who brought this issue to this point kudos, kudos, kudos. If we still live in a functioning Democracy ten years from now history will be clear it is because you had the perception, guts, and will to snatch it back from the usurpers. As an ex-Marine, Vietnam vet, I salute you and commend your patriotism.

Gordon25

[DEMActivist]

41. Thank you all!

What a day it has been! Whew!

I've given Bev a transcript and she is frantically pulling it all together.

I'll just say as a prelude to the full story that Dr. Britain Williams isn't having a very nice evening. There were several times during the session where I thought he would have a stroke on the spot.

Bev will release this ASAP - the sooner it become public the safer I will be. Needless to say, I didn't create a fan club of the elections officials in Georgia today.

[Melinda]

43. I'm so incredibly proud and in awe of you DEMActivist.

You and everyone else at BBV just blow me away. Please, each and all of you stay safe... you are all heroes.

[aquart]

48. May all TPTB in the universe keep you safe.

Keep all of you safe.

[seemslikeadream]

49. You got a pretty big fan club here!

[Cronus Protagonist]

68. You'd beter be able to do it, DA!

They'll be sneaky. You need to have several methods ready and well rehearsed. I suggest contacting some slahdotters to help you out.


Fair & Balanced Buttons — The Cronus Connection

[bpilgrim]

95. dig it

but it sounds like she has plenty of folks to help her out.

the phd security experts who blew Diebold out of the water with their recent article i am sure would be able to provide some pertainant information :evilgrin:

http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/07/24/1846251

peace

[BevHarris]

104. Everybody's in touch with everybody

and I do mean everybody!

[BevHarris]

40. Correction: He accused Dill, Alexander and Johnson of lying

not Dr. Mercuri.

He accused Dr. David Dill, Dr. David Johnson, and Kim Alexander, all of the California Task Force on Electronic Voting, of lying.

And yes, when DemActivist challenged him to rig a machine in front of everyone, he blustered and said yes.

The AJC reporter wants to know when. She said perhaps as early as next week. Now they need to put up or shut up.

There are are least two more admissions from that meeting that send new, screaming, sirens of concern about rigging the 2002 election in Georgia.

Bev

[alfredo]

52. Make sure the machines used for the demo are not

somehow altered(updated).

[Junkdrawer]

60. I agree. That has always been the main concern of a rig challenge...

Is it possible to create a "programming" card that puts the version from the FTP site on the machine in question? Also, there's a new virus out that repairs the RPC exploit. I could see "someone" planting that virus in the machines BIOS. In short, an insider can open vulnerabilities and the same insider can close them.

[pfitz59]

38. Diebold and SAIC have offices just a few miles apart.

Here in Snohomish County! Wonder if they've been trading secrets?

44. The Election Center--racketeering?

Damn it I hate being clairvoyant!

The Election Center, involved in this memo, is one and the same involved in the "racketeering" aspect of my case.

I guess I was also right in saying a few days ago:

"In fact, VoteHere, and its major investors, and the other voting companies have full-time lobbyists in DC. WHAT have they been up to?" (Aug 06, 2003)

http://www.libertywhistle.us/Seq1Overview.htm

Dan Spillane
www.libertywhistle.us

(the case)
http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=30

If anyone is interested in seeing the racketeering aspect of my case pursued, please donate:

http://www.libertywhistle.us/donate.htm

[BevHarris]

45. Woh -- just saw the entire David Allen report. Should be up in minutes

on http://www.blackboxvoting.com

Highlights:
1) Defense industry players Lockheed and Northrop Grumman, and Accenture, and EDS, were the driving forces behind the HAVA bill and it was done for reasons of pure profit.

2) They hope this doesn't get into the press and don't want to put what they are really doing in writing because they don't want the public to know the industry is in trouble and hiring a lobbyist

3) Voting machine companies who don't pay up by next Friday may find themselves out in the cold (" I don't want to say this but a knife in the back")

4) They want to "re-engineer" certification and get more influence over it.

5) They are worried about antitrust problems and want the ITAA to do a little legal research for them

Now, the tone of the meeting is much more carefully worded, but make no mistake: These guys are selling democracy down the river.

After I get DemActivist's story up I'll create a web page for each at the http://www.blackboxvoting.org site as well.

Give me another hour...

Bev

[Cheswick2.0]

46. Bev, you are my hero, seriously

Please allow me to tell you how much respect I have for the battle you are fighting.

PS...and look how cute you are, what a nice picture smiling on the web site!

[althecat]

50. David Allen's report on the conference call is on BBV.Com and Scoop.co.nz

"I just don’t like to put it in writing because if this thing winds up in the press somewhere, inadvertently, I don’t want the story saying the e-voting industry is in trouble and decided to hire a lobbying firm to take care of their problem for them."

– ITAA professional lobbyist Harris Miller talking to Voting Machine manufacturers in a conference call, Friday 22nd August 2003

See full report..

here

http://www.blackboxvoting.com/

and here

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0308/S00175.htm

[peacetalksforall]

56. Bev, you always say follow the money...

I know nothing about how all this works, especially the lobbyist part, but I can allow a question to bubble up from my head...


if this 'lobbyist' is working so cheaply and has taken on the job of determining what the anti-trust issues are...isn't there a question of who pays the lawyers for the answers about anti-trust? Wouldn't it have to be expensive - the issues that would have to be analyzed and the interpretations and best judgements would have to be exquisitely formed so that they don't have to defend anything in a courtroom - either the lobbyist or the legal firm. No? Seems like something that would cost lots of money. Who would they get that would do it cheap - within the money they were talking about in the meeting. (While I laugh to myself for thinking BAKER!)

In regards to the break-ins...

Is anyone listing it on the internet in chronological order with police report numbers - seems that would be an easy enough subject for the sit-in-their-chair-at-the-bar right(eous) journalists.

[Eloriel]

57. More eyes needed

:Lkick:

Eloriel

[Booster]

58. Bev

I have been keeping up on your investigations and must admit most of it is over my head, but I just wanted to say you are awesome and I am very proud of you - it takes real guts to do the reporting you have done and it is very much appreciated. You go, Girl.

[Eloriel]

62. Let's see if I can type kick

this morning.

:kick:

Eloriel

[hedda_foil]

63. I'd better type k-i-c-k too.

[Eloriel]

64. I'm having trouble understanding

why there's not more response to this. This is an INCREDIBLY important -- and damning -- read.

READ IT, folks. You won't be sorry.

Eloriel

[Gordon25]

65. Kick n/t

:kick:
Gordon25

[ibegurpard]

66. I think a lot of this stuff went over people's heads.

It did mine. I'm trusting that the people who have been actively involved in this know what they're talking about when they say this is important.
What I find unbelievable is that some random person was able to call into this meeting and no one questioned him. :wow:

[Booberdawg]

71. I'm READING, I'm READING!!

I have followed all these BBV threads, Eloriel!

Most of it is over my head but I clearly understand how staggering some of the developments are. Quite frankly I'm speechless.

I'm cheering you on from the cheap seats, but I wonder if a lot of people like me are reading, and feeling as grateful to all of you involved in this for your tireless dedication and hard work, but feel we have nothing remotely intelligent to offer to these complicated discussions. :shrug:

Some of the threads on the BBV issue look like a work in process for those of you working on it, so maybe some of us don't want to clutter up your threads with comments for you to sort through on top of the important work you are doing.

You all have MY undying support!!

Linda :hi:

[seemslikeadream]

72. My thoughs exactly

take heart E who knows how many people you have touch!

[Cronus Protagonist]

67. They could FIX the machines to improve public confidence

Isn't it strange how that option is not on the table? How much would that cost and the ROI would be huge anyway. So what could be the reason that's not on the table?

For example, if say, a children's swing manufacturer found out their swings were made in such a manner that they killed 1 out of every 100 children who used them, would they be content to hire a PR firm and do spin control or would they fix the equipment *first* and then handle the spin? I say the latter is the only "good business" way to do it.

So why is fixing the voting machines not the first item on their list to improve public confidence in the voting machines? The only straight conclusion one can come to is that they don't want them to be fixed. From there, one can read between the lines...


Fair & Balanced Buttons — The Cronus Connection

[Cocoa]

69. that actually was one of the lobbyist's recommendations

There's a thread here somewhere with notes from this meeting, and he suggested that the manufacturers address the quality issue to improve their credibility.

[BevHarris]

73. Well I'd like to see that quote. I just looked for it, find it nowhere

What they talked about was "re-engineering the certification process" (read: get more influence from the vendors, an inappropriate idea) and they talked about getting more influence over standards too.

Nowhere did they mention paper trail.
I did not see the word "quality" anywhere, but maybe you can correct me.

Bev

[Kelvin Mace]

74. I think it was this...

5. Improve security of technology and development/deployment processes.

Of course, you can I know that unless this involves a paper ballot and open source, the suggestion is meaningless.

David Allen
Publisher, CEO, Janitor
Plan Nine Publishing
1237 Elon Place
High Point, NC 27263
http://www.plan9.org

[Cocoa]

87. yes, that's what I was referring to

There were actually two references to raising standards:

ITAA felt the industry should help create its own credebility by setting high standards

...


ITAA suggested “re-engineering” the certification process to make the industry the “gold standard” so they can eliminate “side attacks you are subject to now from people who are not credible as well as people who are somewhat credible.”


Kudos to you for reporting these statements fairly. You could have left them out, just put in the things that make them look bad, and none of us would ever have known. :toast:

[stickdog]

101. A call to create their "own credibility" by setting their own standards

high, gold or otherwise hardly translates into "address the valid security/fraud concerns of our legion of extremely credible critics."

[BevHarris]

106. Prediction: The new "gold standard"

= put VoteHere cryptography "voter verification" scheme into every machine from every manufacture. Have SAIC recommend this. Then get sign-off from a couple defense contractors and Homeland Security types.

Thus guaranteeing we never get physical evidence of our vote again.

- SAIC: Commissioned for "independent" review of the Diebold machines
- SAIC Vice Chairman: Admiral Bill Owens
- Chairman, Board of Directors, VoteHere: Admiral Bill Owens
- SAIC Sr. Vice President: Ronald Knecht
- Director, ITAA ES division: Ronald Knecht
- Created request for $200,000 to develop massive PR campaign for voting machine companies (payable by Friday this week): ITAA ES div.

[BevHarris]

105. People who are not credible:

Dr. Brit Williams, the official voting machine examiner for the state of Georgia (and Ohio, Virginia, Maryland...) and advisor to the FEC:

I have heard that the statements these people make are reminiscent of "The Amazing Randi" (magician). Don't look there -- look here!

As in this: In Friday's meeting, much ado was made about the sealing of the machines with blue and red colored wire ties.

Yes, well this is more relevant: Was the wireless communications card ever placed in the touch screens? When? Exactly which polling places transmitted results by modem? (to which Dr. Williams replied "none" and "the machines don't have modems" and "only 30 percent of Fulton County modemed it in" and "in some counties there are no phone lines, or bathrooms.")

Thank you, Dr. Brit Williams.

[stickdog]

112. Brit Williams spent the lion's share of his career working at

the Georgia Tech Research Institute where he rose through the ranks to head the Computer Technology and Applications Division.

This page will give you a sense of what the the Georgia Tech Research Institute is all about (read: defense industry) --

http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/labs/index.html

Check out the "corporate members" of the ITEA:

http://www.itea.org/pages/files/2003%20Corporate%20Membership%20Application.pdf

GTRI & Voting Machines --

2002:

http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/scc38/1583/email/msg00134.html

2001:

http://perpos.gtri.gatech.edu/ivote/workshop.htm

From the 2002 Annual Report:

http://www.gatech.edu/president/annual-report/world-perspective.html

Researchers also delved into the complex relationships between technology and social and economic issues. Spurred by a growing national consensus that the voting process must be reformed and modernized, investigators at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have begun to explore the social and technical issues related to voting via the Internet.

"People wonder why they can’t vote over the Internet if they can buy things over the Internet," said Betty Whitaker, a principal research engineer at GTRI. "But then they consider the possibility of a security breach and its effects. We believe that over time, as the Internet, the research, the hardware, and the software evolve, researchers will be able to resolve some of the concerns about Internet voting."

[ibegurpard]

70. Yes, but the former is the cheaper way to do it.

And that's why we hear about large corporations that have kept known faults with their products under wraps... it's cheaper to settle a potential lawsuit than to fix the product.

[Booberdawg]

75. kick

:kick:

[TacticalPeek]

76. KKKick Karl. n/t

[rhite5]

77. kick

:dem: :dem:

[Booberdawg]

78. kick for the morning crew

:kick:

[Booberdawg]

79. kick

:kick:

[LittleApple81]

80. kick

[bearfan454]

81. Holy Crap !

This is Big !

[seemslikeadream]

83. Yes it appears to be

and when one reads bobthedrummer's thread concerning fascist in this country it appears there's been some weed seeds growing underground.

[bvar22]

82. My turn to kick

This needs to stay on the front page. Like others, most of this is over my head, so I usually feel that I can add nothing of substance to these threads beyond kudos and emotional support.

The MAIN POINTS I do comprehend:
1) The companies that manufacture the machines and write the software are owned or controlled by Republican interests.

2) The software (hardware?) is not secure or available to be examined by non-partisan experts.

3) The makers of these machines are dead set against paper vote receipts that could be used in a recount. (Also worth mentioning here, exit polls have been disappeared!)

4) The parties involved in sponsoring BBV are rallying and spending millions in lobbying, promotions, and CYA; but don't seem too concerned with addressing the REAL problems with BBV.

AND.....
DA will be doing a public DEMO-HACKING that should expose the vulnerability of BBV.

Good Luck, DA. Please be careful....NOTHING is beyond these animals.

[donsu]

84. kick

nt

[bvar22]

85. Back to the front page with this.

*

[RedEagle]

86. It's OUR Vote!

With permission, I'm going to quote someone else:

"The certification system is there to protect the VENDORS, NOT the VOTERS!"

And they don't want to change that.

Keep hammering that to your local officials and media.

Kick!

[oasis]

92. A boost for democracy

:kick:

[Oracle]

94. Thans again Bev...I will be tuned...

[TacticalPeek]

98. No secrets. n/t

[jimmynochad]

99. Anyone know of little know test in CA for recall?

The laws of CA require a logic and accuracy test prior and after each election on every voting machine (once if using paper for central count). The formula is /2 where n= maximum number of candidates (for recall it is 135 + write in = 136). Now each Assembly district has its own unique ballot rotation (because there are more candidates than Assembly districts). This means that in order to perform the L/A test, you need to have 9316 unique ballots per district. For CA that is 745280 total test ballots. This is about 5% of the total number of registered voters in CA.

My point is for the punch card and paper counties - who is going to punch all of these cards. Some counties have 5 or 6 districts running through their counties. Also the touch screens need to have each ballot hand pressed on the machine. Even at 25 seconds a ballot (there will be 4 total contests), that is over 60 hours per machine!!! For Riverside county that is over 1600 WEEKS of touching! An that number multiplies if they store more than one Assembly district on the machines. Think they will do it in time????? Not doing a L/A test should be grounds for a recall of the recall.

Bev's credo may be to follow the money. I would add, follow the law.

[ParanoidPat]

100. ROFLMAO!

:toast: Works for me! :evilgrin:
Now that's what I call outside the box! :)

[BevHarris]

102. My vote for funniest post of the thread!

Fantastic, gotta save and send!

[jimmynochad]

103. formula missing...

the formula is n times n+1 divided by 2

[tom_paine]

109. :kick:

:kick:

[loudsue]

113. PLEASE STAY SAFE, DU Heros and Heroines!!

Where the DoD and their lackeys are concerned, everyone is expendable. You are truly the heros of Democracy!!

O8) Many, many thanks to Bev, DemActivist, David Allen, Eloriel, TruthIsAll, Seemslikeadream, and our hero from Down Under!!! You guys are absolutely awesome. And a big thanks to all the researchers who have supported these efforts so brilliantly. May you all have safe, happy and long lives. O8)

Sue

[Eloriel]

114. Hey! I vote for that!

:evilgrin:

Eloriel

[Greyskye]

115. Rockin' stuff!

and a bit of a :kick: back to the front page. Keep hitting 'em and stay safe!