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TransitJohn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:09 AM
Original message
Clerk changes election vote totals (Wyo. primary last Tues.)

By MATTHEW VAN DUSEN
Star-Tribune staff writer Saturday, August 21, 2004




The Natrona County clerk has changed Tuesday's primary election totals in several municipal races after noticing a glitch in new vote-counting software.

The error changes the order in which some candidates finished, but does not affect which candidates will advance to the general election. Only one candidate lost votes but five of the 10 municipal races in the county had changed totals.

Clerk Mary Ann Collins said she noticed on Thursday that the number of votes candidates in Evansville received seemed low. She checked the printout from the voting machine and the absentee ballots against the vote-computing software, called Unity, and saw the numbers were different for the Evansville races.

Collins determined the software problem only affected nonpartisan races after checking the voting machine printouts and the absentee votes against the Unity software report in several partisan races. There does not appear to be any pattern in the skewed vote totals.

On Friday, officials were sending voting machine memory packs and memory pack readers to Omaha, Neb.-based Election Systems and Software, the company that designed and maintains Unity. The program is new and cost $70,000. She has told the company she wants on-site technical support during the general election Nov. 2.

"I'm not going to go into the general election and not be comfortable," Collins said.

The county Canvassing Board was satisfied with the revised election results and certified them.

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/08/21/news/casper/6c2e825b3f9e154187256ef70007adbb.txt


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NC_Nurse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:13 AM
Response to Original message
1. So they're already
practicing for Nov.!

Doesn't this seem like proof that these systems are faulty? easily tapered with? SOMETHING? If one clerk can change the totals...imagine what some really motivated group could do!

:wtf:
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Mari333 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:16 AM
Response to Original message
2. ES and S republican CEO , GOP donor, Aldo Tesi
Edited on Sat Aug-21-04 08:37 AM by Mari333
http://www.votersunite.org/takeaction/three_items.asp

----- Serious Bugs in ES&S Software -----
Serious bugs have been found in the software of the ES&S iVotronic voting machines and the Unity accumulation software used in both optical scan and paperless systems. If any counties in your state use these systems, the officials must to be informed of the bugs, so that they know to use the workarounds that apply to them.

http://www.votersunite.org/info/auditbug.asp


Aldo Tesi, CEO of E S & S, Republican donor...shady bastards

http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/publicsector/content.cfm?articleid=4444&EID=0

In another case, Aldo Tesi, CEO of Omaha-based Election Systems & Software Inc., contributed $1,200 to Republican candidates in 1999 through the Commercial Federal Bank political action committee.


Republican donor, president of ES & S software used to determine our votes....
fix is in folks, if we dont stay on our feet and win by a landslide

(I tried to post a picture of Aldo Tesi but when I did it said "this jpg has an illegal code"..
Guess he doesnt want his pic to be seen by the general public...uh huh

more on E S and S
their website
http://www.essvote.com/HTML/about/about.html

HERE IS THE SCARY PART, READ THIS

"For more than three decades, ES&S has had a successful track record of producing quality results. We support thousands of elections every year and are proven experts you can rely on, every day. In fact, in 2004, ES&S will support roughly 5,200 election events in the U.S., representing approximately 53 percent of all U.S elections this year."
THATS 53% OF ALL us ELECTIONS THIS YEAR......


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liberal N proud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:28 AM
Response to Reply #2
4. Can anyone link this company to Bush campaign
I know that Diebold in Canton, Ohio is a big contributor to bush as a couple of other e-voting companies.
Can anyone remember or find a link where it says Elections Systems is a donor to the bush regime?
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Mari333 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:30 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. I just posted it, Aldo Tesi, head of E S & S
republican CEO and republican donor.
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liberal N proud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:33 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. Sorry, I will open thy eyes and close thy mouth!
:dunce:
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mbperrin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:43 AM
Response to Reply #4
8. Oh, like
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0301/S00166.htm
Senator Hagel Admits Owning Voting Machine Company
Friday, 31 January 2003, 10:13 am
Article: Talion.com

BREAKING NEWS: Senate Ethics Director Resigns; Senator Hagel Admits Owning Voting Machine Company

By Bev Harris

U.S. CHUCK HAGEL NOW ADMITS OWNERSHIP IN VOTING MACHINE COMPANY SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEE DIRECTOR RESIGNS

“Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue” -- “The Hill” 1/29/2003 (lots and lots more - thanks, Bev Harris!)

AND Chuck MIGHT be a Bush supporter:

http://www.georgewbush.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=2220
Bush-Cheney '04 Announces Nebraska Campaign Leadership Team

Arlington, VA – Today, Bush-Cheney ’04 announced its campaign leadership team for Nebraska. The Bush-Cheney ‘04 Nebraska Leadership Team will help build a network of grassroots support and serve as messengers for the President’s re-election campaign.

Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns and Senator Chuck Hagel will serve as Co-Chairs of the Bush-Cheney ’04 Nebraska Leadership Team. Governor Johanns is serving his second term as governor, and Senator Hagel is serving his second term as the senior senator from Nebraska.(more)

How's that?
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UpInArms Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 09:32 AM
Response to Reply #2
12. and remember Chuck Hagel (senator - R Nebraska) owns
quite a bit of ES&S

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

excerpt:

One underlying issue is whether Hagel properly disclosed his financial ties to Election Systems & Software (ES&S), a company that makes nearly half the voting machines used in the United States, including all those used in his native Nebraska.

ES&S is a subsidiary of McCarthy Group Inc., which is jointly held by the holding firm and the Omaha World-Herald Co., which publishes the state’s largest newspaper. The voting machine company makes sophisticated optical scan and touch-screen vote-counting devices that many states have begun buying in recent years.

<snip>

In a disclosure form filed in 1996, covering the previous year, Hagel, then a Senate candidate, did not report that he was still chairman of AIS for the first 10 weeks of the year, as he was required to do.

Under the ethics panel’s regulations, an “excepted investment fund” is one that is: “publicly traded (or available) or widely diversified.”

...more at link...
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ecoalex Donating Member (718 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 09:46 AM
Response to Reply #12
13. Hagel lost his Senate races twice, until he bought intoES&S
After he bought into ES&S he won....Ya'll can figger that one out.
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rfranklin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:21 AM
Response to Original message
3. "Technical assistance" means that ES&S will be able to...
reprogram the machines right on the spot! Isn't that convenient?
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Mari333 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:42 AM
Response to Reply #3
7.  More on the ES and S boys and girls
Edited on Sat Aug-21-04 08:46 AM by Mari333
http://www.democracyunbound.com/votecountmachines.html

It was founded by Todd and Bob Urosevich, originally under the name Data Mark.

- The Urosevich brothers obtained financing from the Ahmanson family, who took a 68 percent controlling interest.

The investment group related to the Ahmansons sold their shares in 1987 to the McCarthy Group (35%) and the World-Herald Company, Inc. (45%)

- Involved with the McCarthy Group: Michael R. McCarthy, Chairman

- Senator Chuck Hagel: According to the Congressional Quarterly, Republican senator Chuck Hagel was Chairman of American Information Systems.

of course, Bev Harris has already uncovered all this on her page

http://www.blackboxvoting.com
read it and weep

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Skarbrowe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #7
9. Thanks for the link!

Someone on the DU posted the link to www.blackboxvoting.com the other day and I read the whole online book in one sitting. Extremely depressing. Bev Harris's book will eventually be another Silent Spring. I think someone on the DU has also said that. :) Well, just repeating good stuff.

I'm really beginning to wonder about my vote. Don't worry though, I will still vote. It's all I have. It's all we have.

Skarbrowe
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Skarbrowe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 09:01 AM
Response to Reply #9
10. Is the name of the operating system GENS?

I wanted to ask about that if someone new off hand. I can go back to site and check, but there is a reason, something very strange that I wanted to post about if the operating system on a least most of the voting boxes is called GENS.

I'll try looking it up when I have time, if no one knows.

Thanks

Skarbrowe
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papau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 09:08 AM
Response to Original message
11. Machine translated Die Welt article on how easy it is to cheat on BBV

http://german.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.worldlingo.com/products%5Fservices/worldlingo%5Ftranslator.html

hacker

"chop the vote!"

The zaehlmaschinen for the presidency election in the USA areeasier to manipulate than lemonade automats

Of Thomas's Fischer man

Vegas read

Sometimes the coworkers of the Gaming control board shoot inread Vegas with shock pistols at einarmige bandits. Play machines must be able to bear a current draw of 20000 V, before they in the casino may. It is only one of many tests. The Gaming control board demands also copies of all computerprograms, in Vegas play machines read steers. Supervisors search in samples, whether someone changed the programs. Heavy times for computer hackers and others, before a few years still with all kinds of technical cheat in theSpielerparadies Vegas to clear could.

When on the next to last weekend in Vegas read the annual Defconconference met, one of the largest meetings for computer hackers from all world, it concerned to many participants nevertheless automat cracks. But the interest applied not so much for the einarmigen bandits, separates the zaehlmaschinen for the praesidentenwahl in the USA to 2. November. "chop the Vote!"the title of a Defcon Informationsveranstaltung was -" cracks you thechoice!"some anarchist assessed participant preached" electronic civiliandisobedience "and made the present agents FBI nervous. Technically experienced choice cheats could succeed, to decide running between Bush and Kerry?

With the presidency election 2000 there was defective readers and thefamous-notorious "butterfly choice lights" of Florida, the too endless new countings led - and George W. Bush possibly an undeserved choice victory provided. Therefore many electoral districts have in the meantime, propelled of 2002 an issued law named Help America Vote act, new expensive automats purchased. About 50 million American in November paperless will select itspresident: They tap with the finger on their desire candidates, represented on a screen, and their voice moves into a virtual wahlurne. Further 55 million register its decision as had on paper, feed the wahlschein however afterwards into an electronic readmachine. The hook: "many of these choice machines are less safe than lemonade automats", Cindy Cohn says, the chief attorney of the California Aktivistengruppe ElectronicFrontier Foundation.

The harsche judgement has to do thereby, that with American elections not only one, officially certified model is set up by choice machines. Each Federal State, often even each electoral district decides for own methods of thecounting of votes. The manufacturers more or less supervise the reliability of theirmachines, the computer programs for the controlling of the automats areconsidered as professional secret. "the thing is less a computer problem than a supervision problem", Bev Harris says, a Aktivistin from Renton in the Federal State Washington, the protest against electronic choice machines used up itself. Harris had excited 2003 attention in January, as it discovered 40000 computer files on an InterNet side of thechoice machine manufacturer thief old. Among them were among other things complete programs for thief oldchoice machines and for the devices, at the end of a choice all voices add.

The topic is long a found food for conspiracy theoreticians. Angefeuert become them by exposures, that politicians and lobbyists participation in some choice machinemanufacturers hold. The boss of the choice machine manufacturer thief old, Walden O'Dell, harvested in the past year a Entruestungssturm, as it awkwardly praised, "the president its voices to supply". Actually it gave in the past years a few strange incidents with choicemachines. 2002 registered the choice machines of the company ES&S with acommittee choice in the texanischen Scurry County enormous profits fortwo republican candidates - nevertheless after a new counting theprofit went to their democratic adversaries. With the choice to the district boss in the California RiversideCounty added suddenly the republican candidate Bob Buster, after two coworkers of the choice machine company had thezaehlmaschinen in the middle at the night "repaired". Groups of citizen rights documented at least 56 of such cases.

As consequence the government of the Federal State California decidedin April, to banish paperless machines completely from their polling stations. A set of groups of citizen rights demands sharper quality tests forthe machines, additional supervision, and it guesses particularly anxious citizens to the briefwahl. John Kerry communicated in the middle of July, that it arranged its own team of attorneys - a new fact for ademocratic campaign. The Kerry lawyers adjust themselves to possible problems during thecounting of votes. Rebecca mercuric, a Sicherheitsexpertin from Philadelphia, suggests, that all electronic choice machines additionally still anotherwahlschein made of paper out-spit are. Then one can recount at least later again.

(C) THE TIME 12.08.2004 NR.34hacker

»Hack the vote!«

Die Zählmaschinen für die Präsidentschaftswahl in den USA sind leichter zu manipulieren als Limonadenautomaten

Von Thomas Fischermann

Las Vegas

Manchmal schießen die Mitarbeiter des Gaming Control Board in Las Vegas mit Schockpistolen auf einarmige Banditen. Spielmaschinen müssen nämlich einen Stromstoß von 20000 Volt aushalten können, bevor sie ins Kasino dürfen. Es ist nur einer von vielen Tests. Das Gaming Control Board fordert auch Kopien aller Computerprogramme, die in Las Vegas Spielmaschinen steuern. Inspektoren fahnden in Stichproben, ob jemand die Programme verändert hat. Schwere Zeiten für Computerhacker und andere, die vor ein paar Jahren noch mit allerlei technischen Tricks im Spielerparadies Vegas abräumen konnten.

Als am vorletzten Wochenende in Las Vegas die jährliche Defcon-Konferenz tagte, eine der größten Versammlungen für Computerhacker aus aller Welt, ging es vielen Teilnehmern trotzdem ums Automatenknacken. Doch das Interesse galt nicht so sehr den einarmigen Banditen, sondern den Zählmaschinen für die Präsidentenwahl in den USA am 2. November. »Hack the Vote!« war der Titel einer Defcon-Informationsveranstaltung – »Knacken Sie die Wahl!« Manch anarchistisch veranlagter Teilnehmer predigte »elektronischen zivilen Ungehorsam« und machte die anwesenden Agenten des FBI nervös. Könnte es technisch versierten Wahlbetrügern gelingen, das Rennen zwischen Bush und Kerry zu entscheiden?

Bei der Präsidentschaftswahl 2000 waren es defekte Lesegeräte und die berühmt-berüchtigten »Schmetterlings-Wahlscheine« Floridas, die zu endlosen Neuauszählungen führten – und George W. Bush womöglich einen unverdienten Wahlsieg verschafften. Deshalb haben viele Wahlbezirke inzwischen, angetrieben von einem 2002 erlassenen Gesetz namens Help America Vote Act, neue teure Automaten angeschafft. Etwa 50 Millionen Amerikaner werden im November papierlos ihren Präsidenten wählen: Sie tippen mit dem Finger auf ihren Wunschkandidaten, dargestellt auf einem Bildschirm, und ihre Stimme wandert in eine virtuelle Wahlurne. Weitere 55 Millionen tragen ihre Entscheidung wie gehabt auf Papier ein, füttern den Wahlschein aber anschließend in eine elektronische Lesemaschine. Der Haken: »Viele dieser Wahlmaschinen sind weniger sicher als Limonadenautomaten«, sagt Cindy Cohn, die Chefanwältin der kalifornischen Aktivistengruppe Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Das harsche Urteil hat damit zu tun, dass bei amerikanischen Wahlen nicht etwa nur ein einziges, amtlich zugelassenes Modell von Wahlmaschinen aufgestellt wird. Jeder Bundesstaat, oft sogar jeder Wahlbezirk entscheidet sich für eigene Methoden der Stimmenauszählung. Die Hersteller überwachen die Zuverlässigkeit ihrer Maschinen mehr oder weniger selbst, die Computerprogramme zur Steuerung der Automaten gelten als Geschäftsgeheimnis. »Die Sache ist weniger ein Computerproblem als ein Aufsichtsproblem«, sagt Bev Harris, eine Aktivistin aus Renton im Bundesstaat Washington, die sich dem Protest gegen elektronische Wahlmaschinen verschrieben hat. Harris hatte im Januar 2003 Aufsehen erregt, als sie 40000 Computerdateien auf einer Internet-Seite des Wahlmaschinenherstellers Diebold entdeckte. Darunter waren unter anderem komplette Programme für Diebold-Wahlmaschinen und für die Geräte, die am Ende einer Wahl alle Stimmen addieren.

Das Thema ist längst ein gefundenes Fressen für Verschwörungstheoretiker. Angefeuert werden sie durch Enthüllungen, dass Politiker und Lobbyisten Beteiligungen an manchen Wahlmaschinen-Herstellern halten. Der Chef des Wahlmaschinen-Herstellers Diebold, Walden O’Dell, erntete im vergangenen Jahr einen Entrüstungssturm, als er ungeschickt gelobte, »dem Präsidenten seine Stimmen zu liefern«. Tatsächlich hat es in den vergangenen Jahren ein paar eigenartige Zwischenfälle mit Wahlmaschinen gegeben. 2002 verzeichneten die Wahlmaschinen der Firma ES&S bei einer Ausschusswahl im texanischen Scurry County gewaltige Gewinne für zwei republikanische Kandidaten – doch nach einer Neuzählung ging der Gewinn an ihre demokratischen Widersacher. Bei der Wahl zum Bezirkschef im kalifornischen Riverside County legte plötzlich der republikanische Kandidat Bob Buster zu, nachdem zwei Mitarbeiter der Wahlmaschinenfirma mitten in der Nacht die Zählmaschinen »repariert« hatten. Bürgerrechtsgruppen haben mindestens 56 solcher Fälle dokumentiert.

Als Konsequenz entschloss sich die Regierung des Bundesstaates Kalifornien im April, papierlose Maschinen ganz aus ihren Wahllokalen zu verbannen. Eine Reihe von Bürgerrechtsgruppen fordert schärfere Qualitätstests für die Maschinen, zusätzliche Aufsicht, und sie rät besonders besorgten Bürgern zur Briefwahl. John Kerry gab Mitte Juli bekannt, dass er ein eigenes Team von Rechtsanwälten zusammengestellt habe – ein Novum für eine demokratische Kampagne. Die Kerry-Anwälte stellen sich auf mögliche Probleme bei der Stimmenauszählung ein. Rebecca Mercuri, eine Sicherheitsexpertin aus Philadelphia, schlägt vor, dass alle elektronischen Wahlmaschinen zusätzlich noch einen Wahlschein aus Papier ausspucken sollen. Dann könne man wenigstens später noch einmal nachzählen.

(c) DIE ZEIT 12.08.2004 Nr.34
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Kellanved Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 12:58 PM
Response to Reply #11
17.  Die Zeit, not Welt
Die Welt: conservative daily, owned by Springer
Die Zeit: Social-Neo-Liberal highbrow weekly; with Former Chancellor Schmidt as editor-in-chief.
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papau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 01:24 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. Woops - I should have known that! :-)
nice catch!

:-)
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ksatriyakiller Donating Member (70 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
14. $70,000 for a computer hooked up to a monitor
bullshit
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 11:56 AM
Response to Original message
15. I don't get it!

How can the owner of the voting machines donate to either political party??
If that is not a conflict of interest what is?

Didn't Diebold's CEO promise Bush in writing that he would see that he was "taken care of?" in one of the states?
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SOS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-21-04 12:02 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. Diebold to "deliver" Ohio for Bush:
COLUMBUS - The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."
The Aug. 14 letter from Walden O'Dell, chief executive of Diebold Inc. - who has become active in the re-election effort of President Bush - prompted Democrats this week to question the propriety of allowing O'Dell's company to calculate votes in the 2004 presidential election.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm
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