Your source for alternative media coverage of the 2008 election alongside the 2004 elections and the related voter irregularities in Ohio.<br><br>Additional articles about the elections by <a href=http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3>Bob Fitrakis</a> and <a href=http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/7>Harvey Wasserman</a> are in the <a href=http://www.freepress.org/columns>columns</a> section.
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Those interested in contributing statistical skills to the project may want to contact <a href=mailto:truth@freepress.org>The Free Press</a> and <a href=http://uscountvotes.org target=usvotes>uscountvotes.org</a>.
Election Issues
The teaser in Thursday, August 12th's Dispatch proclaimed "Diebold deal helps counties." It should have read "Diebold settles lawsuits by offering free and discounted shoddy election hardware and software."
This is the equivalent of the Ford Motor Company settling the lawsuit against its incredible exploding Pintos by offering the dead driver's family free leases and discounts to buy cars that blow up.
So, Diebold gets caught not counting people's votes – the solution: allow them to destroy democracy on a grander scale.
In the bizarre settlement, more than half of Ohio's county boards of elections will receive free and discounted voting machines and software from Premier Election Solutions (formally Diebold). This is a result of an August 2008 lawsuit against Diebold by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. In the counterclaim filed by Brunner, she alleged that Diebold voting equipment "dropped votes in at least 11 counties." The failure to count votes occurred when Diebold memory cards were uploaded to computer servers.
This is the equivalent of the Ford Motor Company settling the lawsuit against its incredible exploding Pintos by offering the dead driver's family free leases and discounts to buy cars that blow up.
So, Diebold gets caught not counting people's votes – the solution: allow them to destroy democracy on a grander scale.
In the bizarre settlement, more than half of Ohio's county boards of elections will receive free and discounted voting machines and software from Premier Election Solutions (formally Diebold). This is a result of an August 2008 lawsuit against Diebold by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. In the counterclaim filed by Brunner, she alleged that Diebold voting equipment "dropped votes in at least 11 counties." The failure to count votes occurred when Diebold memory cards were uploaded to computer servers.
It is fitting on the fifth anniversary of the death of Bill Moss, lead plaintiff in the legendary Moss v. Bush 2004 lawsuit in Ohio, that the Associated Press is admitting the easy hackability of Diebold machines.
“A hacker has discovered a way to force ATMs to disgorge their cash by hijacking the computers inside them,” reads the AP lead.
The AP goes on to warn that, “The attacks demonstrated last week targeted stand-alone ATMs. But they could potentially could be used against the ATMs operated by mainstream banks.”
What the Associated Press and corporate for-profit media fail to report is that Diebold, one of the world’s leading ATM hardware and sofware providers, also manufactures electronic voting machines with similar problems.
The similarities between hacking a Diebold ATM and a Diebold/Premier election machine are startling. For example, the hacker, Barnaby Jack, Director of Security Testing for Seattle based IOActive, Inc., stated “Every ATM I’ve looked at, I’ve been able to find a flaw in. It’s a scary thing.”
It’s even scarier that all major studies of electronic voting machines have found the same flaws.
“A hacker has discovered a way to force ATMs to disgorge their cash by hijacking the computers inside them,” reads the AP lead.
The AP goes on to warn that, “The attacks demonstrated last week targeted stand-alone ATMs. But they could potentially could be used against the ATMs operated by mainstream banks.”
What the Associated Press and corporate for-profit media fail to report is that Diebold, one of the world’s leading ATM hardware and sofware providers, also manufactures electronic voting machines with similar problems.
The similarities between hacking a Diebold ATM and a Diebold/Premier election machine are startling. For example, the hacker, Barnaby Jack, Director of Security Testing for Seattle based IOActive, Inc., stated “Every ATM I’ve looked at, I’ve been able to find a flaw in. It’s a scary thing.”
It’s even scarier that all major studies of electronic voting machines have found the same flaws.
The new novel by the Clinton family's favorite Ohio political consultant, Greg Haas, is entitled "The Butcher's Thumb." It begins and ends with the same four words: "The campaign never stops." Coming from arguably the Buckeye state's most accomplished political operative, this thinly-veiled memoir gets closer to the truth surrounding Ohio and national politics than any nonfiction autobiography could approach.
The novel opens with Democrat Al Thornton and Republican Will Kensington in a too close to call presidential election. Haas accurately captures the fear and fervor of Florida 2000 as well as the Ohio Kerry debacle four years later.Echoing the reality of Bush's first cousin John Ellis of Fox News, who prematurely called the election for Bush, our protagonist Matt Risen hears the key phrase that secures the election for Kensington: "We're reversing our earlier prediction and are now declaring Republican William Kensington the winner in Ohio...."
The novel opens with Democrat Al Thornton and Republican Will Kensington in a too close to call presidential election. Haas accurately captures the fear and fervor of Florida 2000 as well as the Ohio Kerry debacle four years later.Echoing the reality of Bush's first cousin John Ellis of Fox News, who prematurely called the election for Bush, our protagonist Matt Risen hears the key phrase that secures the election for Kensington: "We're reversing our earlier prediction and are now declaring Republican William Kensington the winner in Ohio...."
I was unaware that SOS did not require the precincts to have paper ballots on hand for the primary. I do not disagree with that decision, as it seems to me that it would be a pretty high cost for just a few people like me who dont trust the machines and wish to vote on paper.
When my wife and I went to the polls this morning, she asked for paper ballot and was asked the reason she was asking for it. She refused to answer and left the polling place, with the intention of returning later. She (we)did not feel that question was appropriate. I asked for paper, and gave the reason that I did not trust the machines.
I was then given a provisional ballot envelope. I informed them I did not want to vote provisionally, I wanted my vote to be counted tonight, not next week. The informed me that all paper ballots needed to go into the envelope for privacy, and that all paper ballots would be treated as provisional. I was decidedly unhappy at this point, still not realizing that SOS did not order paper ballots to be available. At this point, I decided to vote on the machine.
When my wife and I went to the polls this morning, she asked for paper ballot and was asked the reason she was asking for it. She refused to answer and left the polling place, with the intention of returning later. She (we)did not feel that question was appropriate. I asked for paper, and gave the reason that I did not trust the machines.
I was then given a provisional ballot envelope. I informed them I did not want to vote provisionally, I wanted my vote to be counted tonight, not next week. The informed me that all paper ballots needed to go into the envelope for privacy, and that all paper ballots would be treated as provisional. I was decidedly unhappy at this point, still not realizing that SOS did not order paper ballots to be available. At this point, I decided to vote on the machine.
To the Editor:
Your Feb. 26 editorial “The Voters Will Pay” opposes a merger between manufacturers of electronic voting machines, but avoids the question of why we use them at all. As you say, “numerous studies have shown that electronic voting machines are particularly vulnerable to software glitches, intentional vote theft or sabotage.”
In a real democracy, there is no room for such shortcomings, especially when there is no reason to tolerate them. Having observed the fiasco in Ohio in 2004 firsthand, I believe that the conclusion is unavoidable that we need universal hand-counted paper ballots.
They are not perfect. But they are cheaper, trackable and subject to far fewer abuses than the electronic systems that have failed us so badly in recent years.
Harvey Wasserman
Bexley, Ohio, Feb. 26, 2010
The writer has co-authored four books about election protection.
The same types of machines that helped put George W. Bush in the White House in 2000, and “re-elect” him 2004, may now decide who wins the all-important “60th Senate seat” in Massachusetts. The fate of health care and much much more hang in the balance.
As Bay Staters vote to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, most will be marking scantron ballots to be run through easily hackable electronic counters made by Diebold/Premier.
A paper ballot of sorts does come through these machines. But the count they generated was seriously compromised in the Florida 2000 election that put George W. Bush in the White House. Similar machines played a critical role skewing the Ohio 2004 vote count to fraudulently re-elect him.
In 2004, Lucas County (Toledo) Ohio, incorrectly calibrated Diebold scantron machines left piles of uncounted ballots in heavily black districts in the inner city.
The Free Press also found that on optiscan machines in Miami County, Ohio the reported totals were significantly higher than the actual number of people who signed in to vote.
As Bay Staters vote to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, most will be marking scantron ballots to be run through easily hackable electronic counters made by Diebold/Premier.
A paper ballot of sorts does come through these machines. But the count they generated was seriously compromised in the Florida 2000 election that put George W. Bush in the White House. Similar machines played a critical role skewing the Ohio 2004 vote count to fraudulently re-elect him.
In 2004, Lucas County (Toledo) Ohio, incorrectly calibrated Diebold scantron machines left piles of uncounted ballots in heavily black districts in the inner city.
The Free Press also found that on optiscan machines in Miami County, Ohio the reported totals were significantly higher than the actual number of people who signed in to vote.
Is election reform brewing in the Buckeye State? In an extensive and well-argued editorial the Dispatch made the case for the integration of key state government databases into a statewide electronic voter registration system under the control of the Secretary of State’s office, as proposed in pending legislation.
Ohio’s voter registration databases are in disarray. In the 2008 presidential election, many voters found their right to vote challenged in Ohio because of discrepancies in state and federal databases. For example, under Social Security I am listed as Robert John Fitrakis, but on my driver’s license it’s Robert J. Fitrakis. On the voting rolls I’m Robert Fitrakis. If the states would integrate their databases and establish a single form for voter registration, bizarre challenges over middle initials and names may become a thing of the past.
Ohio’s voter registration databases are in disarray. In the 2008 presidential election, many voters found their right to vote challenged in Ohio because of discrepancies in state and federal databases. For example, under Social Security I am listed as Robert John Fitrakis, but on my driver’s license it’s Robert J. Fitrakis. On the voting rolls I’m Robert Fitrakis. If the states would integrate their databases and establish a single form for voter registration, bizarre challenges over middle initials and names may become a thing of the past.
2008 Ohio Election Protection Report
by
Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism
Election Integrity
The Green Party of Ohio
Presented December 2, 2008 at the Ohio Secretary of State Elections Summit
Introduction
The November Presidential election was a historic landslide victory for Barack Obama. A closer election would have magnified the many troubling aspects of our election systems, despite the improvements made by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
The Ohio Green Party, Election Integrity, and the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism deployed a team of observers, exit pollsters, and Video the Vote volunteers throughout Ohio counties on Election Day. Observers monitored the opening of precincts, activities throughout the day, and the closing of polls. Other observers spent election night watching the activities at county Board of Elections (BOE) offices. Exit pollsters surveyed voters leaving the polls and videographers were on hand to videotape the day’s happenings.
by
Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism
Election Integrity
The Green Party of Ohio
Presented December 2, 2008 at the Ohio Secretary of State Elections Summit
Introduction
The November Presidential election was a historic landslide victory for Barack Obama. A closer election would have magnified the many troubling aspects of our election systems, despite the improvements made by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
The Ohio Green Party, Election Integrity, and the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism deployed a team of observers, exit pollsters, and Video the Vote volunteers throughout Ohio counties on Election Day. Observers monitored the opening of precincts, activities throughout the day, and the closing of polls. Other observers spent election night watching the activities at county Board of Elections (BOE) offices. Exit pollsters surveyed voters leaving the polls and videographers were on hand to videotape the day’s happenings.
Problems persist with Ohio’s election system and the Buckeye State is in desperate need of reform.
Mary Jo Kilroy squeaked out a 2,311 vote victory in Ohio’s U.S. 15th district, but only after a monumental struggle over counting provisional ballots.
A shocking 10% of all Ohio voters on Election Day 2008 were forced to vote provisionally. This was the most provocative statement made at Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s Ohio Elections Summit 2008 on December 2 at the Ohio Historical Society.
The location was telling. Lawrence Norden, legal counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, informed Ohio Elections Summit attendees that they were at a “first of its kind” historical summit.
Mary Jo Kilroy squeaked out a 2,311 vote victory in Ohio’s U.S. 15th district, but only after a monumental struggle over counting provisional ballots.
A shocking 10% of all Ohio voters on Election Day 2008 were forced to vote provisionally. This was the most provocative statement made at Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s Ohio Elections Summit 2008 on December 2 at the Ohio Historical Society.
The location was telling. Lawrence Norden, legal counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, informed Ohio Elections Summit attendees that they were at a “first of its kind” historical summit.
(Columbus Free Press videos are included Here, Here and also Here)
The Yes- on- Issue 2 signs you might see around Columbus include the words ‘safe, local, food.’ But both proponents and opponents of the measure say it is an attempt to prevent the Humane Society of the United States from facilitating changes to Ohio’s laws pertaining to confinement practices for farm animals. The confinement practices in question are those that prevent farm animals from having enough room to stand up, lie down, turn around or extend their limbs.
Eriyah Flynn is an animal rights activist working with Mercy For Animals in Columbus, Ohio. “The farm bureau said (to the Humane Society of the United States) ‘we’re not going to work with you.’ The HSUS had wanted to talk with them as they had done in other states. The farm bureau basically rejected them and went to the legislature with basically a big scare tactic, saying ‘look, the HSUS is going to ruin agriculture in Ohio,’” Flynn said.
Eriyah Flynn is an animal rights activist working with Mercy For Animals in Columbus, Ohio. “The farm bureau said (to the Humane Society of the United States) ‘we’re not going to work with you.’ The HSUS had wanted to talk with them as they had done in other states. The farm bureau basically rejected them and went to the legislature with basically a big scare tactic, saying ‘look, the HSUS is going to ruin agriculture in Ohio,’” Flynn said.