BBV - Riverside County: You'd make the Communists proud

[BevHarris]

Riverside County, California impedes court-ordered voting system observation

Black Box Voting Consumer Report Sept 13 2004

Riverside County's tactics would do a Communist country proud.
When Republican candidate Linda Soubirous asked for a recount, she requested 44 items to audit the election. Riverside denied 39 of them, including a denial of her right to compare the internal flash memory of the touch-screen voting machines with the votes that showed up on the WinEDS Central Tabulator. (for another story on Central Tabulator vulnerability, click here:http://www.blackboxvoting.org/?q=node/view/78)

Riverside's refusal was of particular importance, for two reasons:

1) The main argument that touch-screen proponents make, claiming their machines can be audited, is that you can pull the flash memory inside the machine to compare it with the tally. Soubirous' case was the first in which a candidate actually asked to do that; her request was denied.

2) During the counting of the election, on two occasions, employees of the vendor were observed to access the central tabulator. On the second occasion, the employee uploaded something from a card in his pocket, but refused to allow anyone to look at the card, and then left the state with it. (See Black Box Voting Consumer Report on this incident: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/?q=node/view/27)

With the help of attorney Greg Luke, and some support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Soubirous took the issue to court. A judge allowed her to get a look at the touch-screen flash memory, and also said her group could observe as the data from the touch-screens was backed up.

According to programmer Jeremiah Akin, one of the leading voting integrity advocates focusing on Sequoia Voting Systems, the process of observation was a sham.

"They allowed only one person in the room. I was told to stand between tape marks," he said.

Akin asked Riverside to demonstrate that the cartridges were empty before Riverside transferred results for Soubirous' election onto them.

Riverside refused to demonstrate that the cards were not preloaded with data, saying it would take too long. Riverside then responded that he was not allowed to ask questions.

Then Akin attempted to watch the data transfer process -- but the county had positioned the computers so that the backs were facing the person standing in the taped area, so he could not view the screens.

Akin was not able to see most of the screens at all. He did glimpse a portion of one screen, with glare from the lights on it, making it difficult to see. (Note to future observers: Show up with binoculars and a periscope.)

What Akin did manage to see on the screen was curious: They were transferring from the touch-screen voting machines to a pair of laptops, to a "z" drive, a designation typically reserved for networks. If data was transferring through a network, anyone could be anywhere -- including in another room -- superimposing their own information onto the data.

"There is no valid reason to use a network for this task," says Akin, explaining that it was an unnecessary step that took up more time and introduced points of failure into the process.

It was not possible to track the data by following the cartridge through the process. Cartridges were pulled, stacked, mixed around, put out of eyesight, and uploaded onto computers whose screens could not be observed.

When allowing other observers to enter, the original observer was told to leave the room, leaving the process unobserved for a portion of time.

The next observer was then allowed to stand in between tape marks, stare at backs of computers, and ask no questions.

# # # # #

Next Black Box Voting public event: Sept 22 in Washington, DC, demonstrations of the GEMS central tabulator hack.

Best,

Bev Harris

[bearfan454]

1. Will the Ca SOS do anything about it ?

This has to stop.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. If these machines were on the up and up

Logically, you would expect that they would welcome any and all scrutiny, particularly at a time when they are doing the hard sell.

This kind of behavior can only cast further suspicion on the reliability of these machines.

[BevHarris]

4. yeppers. (n/t)

.

[OnionPatch]

3. So Creepy!!

I'm in Riverside county! I have been following this some and it looks like a really bad situation. I work on a newsletter for a Dem club here and am wondering if I should recommend absentee voting.

[Andy_Stephenson]

7. Absolutely!!!!

and get observers in the polling stations.

You can have them sign up at

www.blackboxvoting.org

[nolabels]

22. Thanks for the link

I signed up also :kick:

On edit: If you ever read the bio on this criter for riverside you might be wondering also. Nothing that stikes you at first, but when checked out it makes your eyes do this :crazy:

The local Rag Newspaper covers for her like a rock

Fear of Fraud

By Paul Krugman
July 27, 2004
(snip)
After first denying any systematic problem, state officials declared it an innocent mistake. They told Accenture to match a list of registered voters to a list of felons, flagging anyone whose name, date of birth and race was the same on both lists. They didn't realize, they said, that this would automatically miss felons who identified themselves as Hispanic because that category exists on voter rolls but not in state criminal records.

But employees of a company that prepared earlier felon lists say that they repeatedly warned state election officials about that very problem.

Let's not be coy. Jeb Bush says he won't allow an independent examination of voting machines because he has "every confidence" in his handpicked election officials. Yet those officials have a history of slipshod performance on other matters related to voting and somehow their errors always end up favoring Republicans. Why should anyone trust their verdict on the integrity of voting machines, when another convenient mistake could deliver a Republican victory in a high-stakes national election?

This shouldn't be a partisan issue. Think about what a tainted election would do to America's sense of itself, and its role in the world. In the face of official stonewalling, doubters probably wouldn't be able to prove one way or the other whether the vote count was distorted - but if the result looked suspicious, most of the world and many Americans would believe the worst. I'll write soon about what can be done in the few weeks that remain, but here's a first step: if Governor Bush cares at all about the future of the nation, as well as his family's political fortunes, he will allow that independent audit.
(snip)
http://healthandenergy.com/fear_of_fraud.htm

[stellanoir]

5. I'm sorry but

when I read the title of your thread, I started to laugh, that was until I read it's content. This is so pathetic and could sadly spell the end of our democracy.

It's the same old shit. They are confronted with common sense and science and respond with simplistic platitudes which aren't even true. It's enough to inspire one indulge in spontaneous human combustion.

All I can do to counteract my fears for this election is to keep visuallizing Kerry taking his oath of office on the capital steps. I live in a deeply blue state. So aside from writing e-mails about EVMs I'm at a loss for what to do. . .

Thanks again as ever for your tireless efforts. Keep exposing these idiots.

Was there any response for the AAR (unfiltered) Oprah campaign. . .? Hope so. I wrote in. Never wrote to Oprah before.
Good concept though.

[cthrumatrix]

6. I would use the word "criminal"...this is not America

[tom_paine]

8. No, it's Imperial Amerika

The names sound alike, but these countries stand for diametrically opposed values.

Imperial Amerika stands for corruption, aristocracy, lies, and injustice.

[cthrumatrix]

9. so very sad....but it seems to be that way

[Zorra]

10. This is so blatantly unethical. Your post literally made me furious.

It is full-on obvious to everyone that the main reason electronic voting devices are in use is because they can be used to very efficiently commit electoral fraud.

How can we prevent electronic voting machines from being used in the November elections?

Is there any plausible way to do this?

[Andy_Stephenson]

11. Vote with a

sledgehammer? :shrug:

[Zorra]

16. LOL. Go to the electronic voting precinct of your choice and "vote"

two weeks early?

A spontaneous nationwide DLF event.

Anyone for tea?

[Andy_Stephenson]

17. I'll have a large cup please

with sugar and cream.

:)

[K-W]

12. Yah, those damn commies.

Could we not use communists as a foil on DU please. There any number of words you could use to describe the actual regimes that committed voter fraud that dont endict an entire political philosophy. And more important, words that are not associated with the left wing and liberalism.

[Andy_Stephenson]

13. Bev calls em as she sees em...

and the tactics of Riverside County...are just like those used in Communist Russia.

If you don't like the analogy...you are free not to post to the thread.

[K-W]

14. Excuse me?

I am also free to post on thisthread. Bev sees this one wrong, and I have every right to point that out. Communist Russia, was never communist.

Do you know how many people in history have had thier rights, lives, and careers destrroyed because of sensless communist bashing? How many good american liberals were destroyed because various interests associated communism with several nations, villified them and it, and then associeted communism with any form of leftism or dissention?

[Andy_Stephenson]

15. Whatever

:eyes:

[K-W]

18. edit: never mind

I never meant to walay this thread, I didnt think anyone would take offense at my request. DU, always a suprise.

[Andy_Stephenson]

19. I didn't take offence.

I understood what you were saying. But what Bev said about riverside...well they do act like Soviet Communists.

:hi:

[K-W]

20. It sounded like you did.

As you asked me not to post on this thread if I didnt agree with it.

"They act like soviets" would be fine. Bev didnt specify the soviets, she chose the red-baiting language of associating all communist countries with vote tampering. I understand why, its a part of many peoples speach to do this, but it is historically innacurate, and the reason those stereotypes exist is in order to villianize countries simply for making economic choices that dont benefit us and to villianize americans who dissent or call for liberal reforms.

So I simply ask that in the future she refrain from using the communist boogeyman from the cold war as a foil to make a point. That is all.

[Andy_Stephenson]

21. "associating all communist countries with vote tampering."

I guess you are right...since Communnist Coountries citizens don't have the right to vote. Well at least in the manner we do.