RECOUNT OHIO:Cobb & Badnarik Fundraising Drive:Reposted for Freshness

I am reposting this because the last one got too long and muddled with endless debate. Let's try to keep this focused on the fundraising effort folks. NOTE: This is NOT about overturning the election results. This is about fighting for the civil right of having a transparent & reliable voting system. If you need to debate this, please make a new diary.
( p.s in the last thread, I realize I was as guilty as anyone in getting caught up in some of the debate )

As of this posting Cobb & Badnarik have raised $71,268 & ( last updated Friday, so it's got to be more now ) rising, with the goal of $150,000 by Monday. We can make this goal a reality.

Kossacks have been an invaluable asset to this drive and I thank each and every one of you for pitching in

I am reposting this thread, as the one that was up yesterday is no longer in the Recommended list. Please Recommend this diary to keep the drive alive.

http://www.votecobb.org/

Click Here To Donate

11/11 - David Cobb and Michael Badnarik, the 2004 presidential candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties, today announced their intentions to file a formal demand for a recount of the presidential ballots cast in Ohio.

"Due to widespread reports of irregularities in the Ohio voting process, we are compelled to demand a recount of the Ohio presidential vote. Voting is the heart of the democratic process in which we as a nation put our faith. When people stand in line for hours to exercise their right to vote, they need to know that all votes will be counted fairly and accurately. We must protect the rights of the people of Ohio, as well as all Americans, and stand up for the right to vote and the right for people's votes to be counted. The integrity of the democratic process is at stake," the two candidates said in a joint statement.

http://www.votecobb.org/

Click Here To Donate

NOTE: THE THERMOMETER HERE WILL UPDATE WHEN VOTECOBB.ORG UPDATES IT. The image is directly linked to their site. YOU WILL NEED TO REFRESH YOUR BROWSER TO SEE THE RESULTS
Also: I am merely continuing a drive that others before me started. A word of thanks to SensibleShoes and others who began this cause. ( though I will take credit for posting the thermomenter here ( pat pat ).

•  Good morning....

  Any way we can get a new total?

  by NCYellowDog on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 09:39:13 AM PDT

•  3565

  w00t!

  by Cedwyn on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 09:39:25 AM PDT

•  I gave $100 - I'd love to see a recount!

  by LondonYank on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 09:46:26 AM PDT

  •  It's Bullshit

    That we already donated to the Democratic party for this specific purpose, and they're just sitting on it.

    by political on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:14:12 PM PDT

    •  one thought about the Democratic Party

      If by some miracle they do recount Ohio and Kerry wins, he'll unconcede.  And then he's gonna need every one of those damn lawyers to fight the GOP, who'll be saying the recount was wrong, partisan, silly, etc.  

      It's been noted on these threads that you can still only donate to the legal section of the K/E campaign.  So maybe they are planning something.  One can only hope.

      by queerbklynboy on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:58:56 AM PDT

      •  Isn't it a sure thing?

        If by some miracle they do recount Ohio

        Why do you use this sentence?
        Could Blackwell decide against a recount, although the candidates are entitled to ask for one?

        by cwkraus4clark on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 11:06:30 AM PDT

        •  shouldn't have been so fatalistic

          I meant that the Kerry win would be the miracle, not the recount.  But yeah - who knows what else Blackwell/GOP will try to pull? His failed attempt to exclude provisional ballots without birthdates was pathetic, but that line of attack seems to be his mindset.

          I do think there will be a recount, and hopefully Kerry's infamous lawyers will be there every step of the way to ensure its accuracy. I donated to Badnarik/Cobb and blackboxvoting today.  

          by queerbklynboy on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 11:17:06 AM PDT

  •  I gave $30

    But I'm a law student.  I just heard on Air America that unless they find evidence of fraud or something else really off in the recount, Kerry probably won't win the election.  Oh well, the further right they go the better it is for us.

    by ereid922 on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:35:12 PM PDT

•  just gave $10

  wish i could do more but i'm not working full-time right now. i really hope this leads to recounts in other states.  

  by libmtbchick on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 09:56:23 AM PDT

  •  Thanks! We're going to turn over some rocks

    and expose some worms to the sunlight.
    

    by Ron in Santa Cruz on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:14:49 PM PDT

•  A thought

  In the future, we should thank these gentlemen by allowing them into the system a little more.

  by KumarP on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 09:57:22 AM PDT

  •  well, the libertarians certainly.

    i think there's a limit to how green we can go, but we could stand to be a bit greener, i think.

    to dispel any previous confusion arising from the sig before this,
    i'd like to reaffirm that this account is indeed dedicated to justice.

    by Tacoma Narrows on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:27:50 AM PDT

  •  As a Libertarian, I'd ask Dem grassroots

    Pressure Dem State Legislators to fight for:

    1. Put MultiPartisan bodies in control of State election machinery.

    The Wisconsin Libertarian designee on our State Elections Board, at my prompting, got rid of unauditable touchscreen systems long before the Democratic Party discovered the problem. We got this seat by taking over 10% in the 2002 Gov. race. (Hint to Gov. Doyle: unless the rules are changed, the 10% threshold gives Ed a strong incentive to run for Gov. again.)

    2. Reasonable ballot access requirements in all States. I'm less concerned here with Presidential Candidates than Party ballot status.

    3. Fair access to any matching fund scheme the State has in place.

    In WI, to get matching funds, you must take 6% of all Primary votes cast for your seat. Since smaller Parties are less likely to have upticket Primary races, our Assembly candidates are screwed unless they can convince all supporters to vote in the LP Primary, and forego contested Statewide Primaries. We face better funded candidates, whose fundraising is then doubled  with money drawn from taxpayers.

    by ben masel on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 01:00:01 AM PDT

  •  Absolutely

    They seem to have behaved with real integrity here, in the interest of a functioning democracy.  And they would widen the spectrum of political debate, which can only be a good thing.

    by fuckthefuckingfuckers on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 10:42:39 AM PDT

•  I gave $10

  single mom/below poverty w/ two teenagers. Now everybody give! Go Greens.

  by peglyn on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:13:25 AM PDT

•  $100 -and- any new word from the Kerry camp

  Any chance we can get any of that bloody ketchup money

  by Einsteinia on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:26:51 AM PDT

•  How close are we?

  Has anyone heard the number as of today?

  by demfromnc on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:27:37 AM PDT

•  Too bad about the other diary

  getting "muddled" as you said.

  It's cool that Cobb and Badnarik are doing this.  If nothing else, it will appease science nerds like me;  I'd like to see if there is a significant difference.

  These are pretty extraordinary fundraising efforts.

  You could delete the other diary and tell us to recommend the hell out of this one, if you want!  Hell, pimp it on the open thread, even.

  by Plutonium Page on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:37:26 AM PDT

  •  Oh, I suck.

    Nevermind, this one is already up there.   Duh.  Sorry. :-)

    by Plutonium Page on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:38:31 AM PDT

•  When will they get counted?

  When will we know the Ohio results with the provisional ballots counted? It's been eleven days. Will we know the results today?

  by lightarrow on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 10:41:45 AM PDT

  •  Someone posted a link somewhere

    which said that we'll know by December 1.  It sounds like they may be drawing the process out to avoid a recount.

    by NonemptySubset on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:26:01 PM PDT

  •  Kerry team in Ohio -- Report from Plain Dealer

    My first time posting here..

    This article may have already been posted, but thought it might be of interest to the Kos community.

    More From The Plain Dealer   |   Subscribe To The Plain Dealer

    Kerry campaign scrutinizes Ohio
    Checks provisional ballots, other issues
    Thursday, November 11, 2004
    Scott Hiaasen
    Plain Dealer Reporter
    Lawyers with John Kerry's presidential campaign are gathering information from Ohio election boards about uncounted ballots and other unresolved issues from last week's election.

    Attorneys say they are not trying to challenge the election but are only carrying out Kerry's promise to make sure that all the votes in Ohio are counted. They describe this effort, which began this week, as a "fact-finding mission."

      From Our Advertiser

    Unofficial totals give President Bush a 136,000-vote advantage over Kerry in Ohio, but the totals won't be certified until early next month.

    Dan Hoffheimer, the statewide counsel for the Kerry campaign, said the goal is to identify any voting problems to prevent them in the future - and quell doubts about the legitimacy of the Ohio election being raised on the Internet.

    "We're not expecting to change the outcome of the election," Hoffheimer said. "We want to be sure that the public knows what really happened."

    The campaign's inquiries come against a backdrop of increasing hysteria among Internet activists who, in chains of e-mails and articles, claim that Ohio's election was so riddled with problems that the outcome may not be legitimate.

    For example, a confusing counting method used in Cuyahoga County's election totals wrongly suggests that more than two dozen suburbs had more votes than voters. And a computer glitch in Franklin County added nearly 3,900 phantom votes for Bush in one precinct.

    "There were enough problems reported around the state that undermined people's confidence," Hoffheimer said.

    The Kerry campaign has compiled a list of more than 30 questions for local election officials, asking about the number of absentee and provisional ballots, any reports of equipment malfunctions on election night, and any ballots that still listed third- party challenger Ralph Nader as a candidate. (Nader was removed from the ballot by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.)

    As of yesterday, the attorneys had not yet contacted the Cuyahoga County's elections director, Michael Vu.

    Election officials cannot begin to officially canvass the ballots until Saturday. But in Cuyahoga County, they have begun reviewing provisional ballots to make sure the voters are registered and did not vote more than once.

    This review process is being monitored by representatives of both political parties. Mark Griffin, a Democratic lawyer, said he's worried that some provisional ballots - special ballots given to voters who believe they are registered but who don't appear on the voter rolls - may be discarded because poll workers failed to sign the ballot envelope as required.

    But election officials said they would count these provisional ballots if the voter's signature matched the one in their records.

    About 155,000 provisional ballots were cast in Ohio, including nearly 25,000 in Cuyahoga County. Whether these ballots are counted is a decision left to the local election boards, which are each made up of two Democrats and two Republicans.

    To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

    [e-mail], 216-999-4927

    © 2004

    by jzso on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 01:21:01 AM PDT

    •  umm

      you can't change an election by counting all of the votes.  Only the failure to count all of the votes can change the election. If Kerry won, he changed the election by failing to stand up for us.  I'm still pissed about this.

      by seamus on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 08:18:52 AM PDT

•  Yes!

  Almost there!

  by BrianL on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:05:41 AM PDT

  •  I keep checking in to track our progress

    and it's great to see the rising total!  Kossacks can change the world - or at least get another vote count from Ohio.

    by LondonYank on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 05:38:57 AM PDT

    •  well

      Here's to hope.

      by BrianL on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 02:46:12 PM PDT

•  Way to go!

  Kossacks donated more than $3000.00 following Thursday's diary by SensibleShoes.

  Kossack's rounded up more than $2900.00 following yesterday's diary by Brian Nowhere.

  Like someone posted yesterday, this isn't about Kerry.  It's about our right to a fair and transparent election process.  Can we make it happen?  I say YES!

  by Shaniriver on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:36:18 AM PDT

  •  where do you get these figures? n/t

    by beagleandtabby on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:05:08 PM PDT

    •  Those would be loose figures

      from adding up lines like this

      Just gave them $100 (none / 0) from the post below this.

      There is little reason to expect people to fake giving. There is ample reason to expect not everyone posted what they gave. I would expect the tallies are noticably below the real value of Kossack gifts.

      by Ranger CN on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:32:47 PM PDT

      •  Then you'd better add $25 from me. (n/t)

        by darcyjae on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:55:32 PM PDT

        •  and $50 from me

          by fuckthefuckingfuckers on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 10:44:23 AM PDT

    •  Went through the thread...

      and added them up, at least those that posted an amount.  I know, I need to get a life!  :)

      by Shaniriver on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:33:46 PM PDT

      •  Ok

        then it is definitely below the truth.  I gave, but didn't make a formal declaration on the thread of the amount.

        I imagine most did not.

        by beagleandtabby on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:43:22 PM PDT

        •  I just wrote "I'm in"

          Wonder how much it was assumed I was "in" for. ;-)

          by Jim in Chicago on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:40:53 PM PDT

          •  amount

            Just assigned the default contribution to you:
            $12.48, one package of Boca Italian sausage, three bonobo monkeys, and a slightly scratched album from Love and Rockets.

            by Skipbidder on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 12:08:43 PM PDT

            •  Oops!

              You forgot the bag of pretzels!  :o)

              by Shaniriver on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 02:36:44 PM PDT

•  Just gave them $100

  Hope I'm not the only one that wants to see a recount in Ohio.  What do we have to lose at this point?

  If there's any chance this will tip Ohio to Kerry and we don't have to deal with Bush for 4 more years, it's worth every penny!

  by Liberal Warrior on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:44:42 AM PDT

•  I gave $500 last night. We can do this!

  And if, on the outside chance, we get Kerry Ohio, he's going to owe us bigtime. Howard Dean as FCC chief will then be only the beginning.
  

  by Ron in Santa Cruz on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:08:54 PM PDT

  •  and I gave $100 last night

    SSIA....

    If nothing else comes of the recount, it's good TV... :-)
    

    by PresentMoment on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:55:04 PM PDT

    •  asdf

      and I gave $50 yesterday

      by jiffykeen on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 04:04:59 PM PDT

  •  Me too!

    I mailed $50 yesterday, but mostly I am replying to test my first post on dailykos  which I have followed avidly since about early Oct. You people are the best!

    by mnguitar on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 07:22:39 PM PDT

•  What a great story!

  Thanks for the post!

  by alnc on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:12:55 PM PDT

•  Yay

  Looks like they are at 98,455 now!

  by treehugger on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:21:35 PM PDT

•  $150,000 ?

  I thought the earlier estimates were $110,000 for 11,000 precints at $10 a precinct. What's the additional $40,000 about?

  by JoshuaJSlone on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:31:43 PM PDT

  •  It is for

    the administrative costs involved in all of this.

    by Brian Nowhere on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:36:05 PM PDT

  •  from the website which is linked above

    The Cobb and Badnarik campaigns are in the process of raising the required fee, estimated at $110,000, for filing for a complete recount. [Please note: there are other expenses involved with this effort so we have set a goal of raising $150,000]. The campaigns are accepting contributions through their websites.

    by bruh1 on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:37:16 PM PDT

•  donuts n/t

  by kyoders on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 12:39:17 PM PDT

•  Wait a minute...

  I wonder-even if this occurs how do we observe all this stuff, challenge rules of counting chads etc.. who has the money for this?
  art

  by pronin2 on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:02:46 PM PDT

  •  If a recount occurs

    I imagine it would be like Florida, with observers present and the media allowed to film it - that is unless the terrorists set their sites on OHIO again (snicker). Oh, and of course there will probably be the mob of angry white dude staffers on paid leave from the Hill trying to stop the counting of votes.

    by ValleyGirl on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:14:37 PM PDT

    •  They were

      from our friend Tom DeLay's office...not just any staffers.

      by Patsy Stone on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 01:17:00 PM PDT

    •  Actually

      In case of a recount in Ohio or Florida, I believe Antonin Scalia has plans to fly in and personally stop the counting himself.

      by Jim in Chicago on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:43:04 PM PDT

      •  Unless he's busy

        hunting ducks with Dick Cheney.

        by NonemptySubset on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 06:50:07 AM PDT

      •  Nice!

        He''l fly in with his duck huntin' gear on...

        I've said this before, but, the gall of the Bush cabal (lead by the evil James Baker III -- how's that case against the 9-11 families comin' there JB?) to go to the Supremes and force the state to stop the counting is, and remains, a stunning violation of states' rights. The fact the Repugs did this, and then calls themselves Republicans goes to show the dubious nature of this neo-con (NOT REPUBLICAN!) administration.

        Power to the People!

        by Patsy Stone on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 07:20:32 AM PDT

•  Scrimped on groceries...

  and donated $25 more...PB&J is my friend for the rest of the month.

  by Shaniriver on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 03:20:23 PM PDT

  •  $25 from me too

    The evil that is my personal property tax bill has just descended on me, or I would have given more.
    Every bit helps, they are over $112K Now.

    by Revel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 07:26:28 PM PDT

•  Bev Harris petitioning to recount Florida

  
  Listen to this!  blackboxvoting.org is getting hacked every 5 hour, but Bev Harris is getting Florida recounted IF SHE CAN...

  http://wilem.com/rrs/interviews/rrs_20041111_bevharris.mp3

  Also, where can I find the links to Michael Moore's videos from the Ohio voting irregularities in Ohio? Air America is going to have a report later in the day. 960 AM in the S.F. Bay area.

  by candice on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 03:26:01 PM PDT

•  Gave to BBV, the Ohio Recount and Volunteered

  I do think it is important to POST at dailykos.com and let the world know about the real truth that doesn't get out via normal media anymore, but I also think it is important to get off your computer chair and actually DO SOMETHING if you see injustice. I see injustice, so not only did I donate, I also offered to be a volunteer for BBV, donated to the Green Party for the Ohio Recount and volunteered for Kathy Dopp to get my county's info if she needed a warm body to go get it.

  by MelvinFrohike on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 04:00:53 PM PDT

  •  Now yer talkin

    I'm in my bathrobe at the moment, but I love your moxy kid. I'm inspired to do something as well.

    by Brian Nowhere on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 04:41:35 PM PDT

•  PLEASE donate to the Ohio recount effort! I did.

  I am in pretty unhealthy financial straits, but I sent in my $20.

  Better yet, I wrote passionate emails about this to my considerably more well-heeled friends and family.  My parents just donated $100 and they assured me they will be forwarding my emails through their address books of like-minded friends.

  Give the gift that keeps on giving, people.  Agitate, spread the word, donate what you can.  It's vital for us all to get the spotlight shining on what went down in Ohio so we can fight for cleaner elections in 4 years, 8 years, and on down the line.  And if it reveals any really awful shenanigans and at least puts something of a crimp in Mr. Bush's "mandate", all the better.

  To your keyboards!

  by Rithmck on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 04:53:18 PM PDT

•  Wisconsin recount?

   (I'm the 2nd Congressional District delegate on the Executive Committee of the Wisconsin Libertarian Party)

  After initially doismissing the calls to recount Wisconsin as an attempt to discredit the Ohio effort, I now think it's an excellent idea, at least for a representative sampling of Wisconsin wards.

  While Bush or Kerry could get a recount here at no cost, The Wisconsin Statutes call for a Candidate who did not finish within 2% of the winner to pay the actiual cost, presumably much higher than the $10 per precinct in Ohio, so I'm afraid the LP would not be able to fund a Statewide recount.

  Due to a motion by the LP's designee on the Wisconsin State Elections Board (the only Statewide 3d Party election official in the Country) touchscreen systems were not in use here. The majority of votes were cast on optical scan equipment, with some smaller municipalities still using handcounted paper.

  A recount of a smattering of Wisconsin wards would at the least provide a benchmark for evaluating the significance of any Ohio discrepencies, and in passing, highlight the value of having Parties other than D and R directly involved in election administration.

  The LP won a seat on the State Election Board with "Major Party" status, obtained when Ed Thompson topped 10% in the 2002 Governor race.

  The original LP designee on the Board moved to decertify unverifiable touchscreen systems as his first act in office early in 2003, which motion was accepted unanimously and with no media notice, as the issue had not yet hit the radar.

  It was argued on the basis of inadequate safeguards, not cast as a "Republican plot" to "steal the election." Had the issue been presented in a similarly non-partisan manner in other States, we might not be facing the prospect of unconfirmable results in so many jurisdictions.

  If the Badnarik Campaign should decide to call for a partial, or complete Wisconsin recount, I'm willing to do the legwork.

  by ben masel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 07:48:02 PM PDT

  •  interesting idea

    I'm all for a WI recount, considering I was there working for the Kerry campaign, and heard we were leading by a MUCH larger margin than we ultimately won by...

    But, if we're looking for a benchmark, I kind of think that NH will do.  There's another rec. diary on this.

    Personally, I think all of the states should be doing partial random audits, to check the machines.  I'm pushing for it here in IL, but that seems like a separate concept from these recounts.

    by Chicago Lulu on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 07:56:32 PM PDT

    •  I'm interested

      in the 97% reported turnout in overwhelmingly Republican Ozaukee County. That's 97% of eligibles, not registereds. At the polls registration and all.

      by ben masel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 08:29:19 PM PDT

•  Brian:

  Plerase update Diary to also include the Badnarik recount donation link. https:/badnarik.org

  by ben masel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 07:52:11 PM PDT

  •  oops.

    https://badnarik.org
    

    by ben masel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 07:53:04 PM PDT

    •  does the 112 k inclu de the banderik effort?

      just curious if they are combining totals

      by bruh1 on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 08:18:42 PM PDT

      •  oh

        and i gave yesterday and convinced several friends to give- so hopefully they will do it :)

        by bruh1 on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 08:19:22 PM PDT

      •  That's my impression.

        tho I can't guarantee. been trying to get the ear of folks at Badnarik Central, but they're obviously swamped.

        by ben masel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 08:26:52 PM PDT

        •  that's cool

          someone made a really good point in another diary- are they having computer scientists look at the software for any attempts to manipulate the vote as part of the recount- i know BBV has a FOIA out - i would like these issues settled once and for all including the issue of software concerns- it wont solve the long term but i am curious- i k now this is for giving money, but wanted to know what they are going to be doing for hte recount to tell my friends so they will donate more as well as to know myself

          by bruh1 on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 09:37:06 PM PDT

          •  The software

            is not available for audit, as the manufacturers consider it a trade secret. This is why the Holt Bill, while a step forward, is not adequate.

            by ben masel on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:33:46 PM PDT

            •  decompile it

              If someone had access to one of the machines they could decompile the program executables and dig through what they do.  It's ugly but possible.  The trick is that Diebold would have been really stupid to put vote shifting code in their release software so it's probably some rogue "uncertified" code added later.  Furthermore it is extremely unlikely that all of the machines are hacked but rather just selected ones.  I think that it is critical that some well respected computer scientists get access to several of the Diebold machines.  Sick some people from the EFF on these machines and see what they can dig up.

              However, if it was me doing the hacking for starters I would write the malicious code such that it removes itself from disk after the crime and wipes the bits on the drive so that the program can't be found via disk recovery.  The other option would be having the code run somewhere else entirely and modify the vote numbers via the phone lines, but I'm not sure how easy it is to cover up the tracks in the telco phone records.  I don't know too much about this stuff specifically but I'm sure a clever programmer could think of ways to make it very difficult if not impossible for this kind of tampering to be found even by skilled professionals.  They may have used incompetent programmers for the GEMS software, but I doubt they would do the same if they brought in someone to add malicious code.  In fact, if I wanted to find someone to do something like this I would want to bring in someone trusted and helluva smart from within the CIA's cyberwarfare department...

              I don't think the conspiracy actually needs to be that big.  You really need one person on the political team to instigate it and one programmer.  The candidate doesn't need to be made aware of the fraud that he is benefiting from.  The equipment manufacturer CEOs don't even need to know about it explicitly.  They just make it easy to do and then don't ask/don't tell.

              To be honest, if there is fraud involving altering the electronic vote counts, I do not think it can be traced back to a culprit unless someone either slips up in a stupid way or blows the whistle.
              

              by kenjib on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 01:13:38 AM PDT

              •  open software

                Oh and on a tangent - this is one of the best examples of an application for which open source software is really by far the best way to go.  In my opinion it's the only way to go if electronic voting will still be used in the future.

                by kenjib on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 01:17:49 AM PDT

              •  Maybe someone from that cyberwarfare department

                Is about to be fired in these liberal purges, and might be pissed enough to talk.

                by darcyjae on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:49:12 AM PDT

        •  Me Too

          I posted the question about combined efforts being reported on the Badnarik site's blog a few minutes ago.

          In our rush to get this fundraising thing done, it seems that David Cobb has been receiving the lion's share of the donations. I can only guess that our focus on Cobb here at dKos has a little to do with that!

          At least one poster over at the Badnarik blog wonders how Cobb has been so successful raising recount funds.

          by wanderindiana on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 11:36:11 PM PDT

          •  I picked green over lib...

            because at the time I donated the greens were the only ones whose donation allowed me to specify recount. Politically I favor libs.

            by Ranger CN on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 12:39:41 AM PDT

            •  Again, Me Too

              Cobb and the Greens were the first to respond, it seems, to the "recount-specific" nature of donations.

              I personally had contact with Rick Otten of the Ohio Green Party and Kara Mullen, the U.S. Green Party Fundraising contact. Both were very helpful in providing clarification and donation links. I also contacted Cobb's campaign manager, Lynne Serpe, about putting up a "bat" on the votecobb.org site showing the running total of Ohio vote challenge donations. Within a few hours of my request to her, the thermometer went up.

              Finally, after looking here, it seems that Cobb lost several thousand votes along the way in Ohio, and may be more motivated to recount.

              by wanderindiana on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 12:54:31 AM PDT

              •  Ditto

                I personally had contact with Rick Otten of the Ohio Green Party and Kara Mullen, the U.S. Green Party Fundraising contact.

                Except I was in touch with Chad Edwards of WV Greens and Kara.

                by Ranger CN on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 05:49:03 AM PDT

            •  Badnarik had closed his books

              before the recount idea came up. All donations at badnarik.org' secure server now go to recounts. If money continues to come in past the Ohio threshold, it will be used for recounts in other States, not yet announced.

              lp.org is the channel for regular Libertarian Party fundraising.

              by ben masel on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 01:14:59 AM PDT

              •  recount wasn't mentioned

                anywhere on the lib/badnarik sites at the time I donated.

                by Ranger CN on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 05:47:34 AM PDT

                •  No Authoritative Word on Thermometer Total--Yet

                  Someone over at the Badnarik blog has said that the Greens are calling them and asking them how they are doing [with fundraising] and that they have no idea if the total reported at http://votecobb.org/ is a combinantion of all the Green/Libertarian fundraising efforts.

                  by wanderindiana on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:35:28 AM PDT

•  My Letter to the New York Times

  Dear Editorial Staff of the New York Times:
  Like many other readers, I had hoped that the Jason Blair scandal and the mea culpa from the Times on its coverage of the runup to the War in Iraq would induce your newspaper to provide higher journalistic standards.
  However, I must report that your recent story on the potential vote fraud in the 2004 elections failed any standard for journalistic fairness.  In the article, the Times did not investigate any viewpoint other than that antagonistic to the weblogs.
  If I were a college professor and was handed the article as a report from a student, I would postpone the inevitable "F" only to allow time for the the student to fully research the topic by actually investigating the premise of the online activists; namely, that massive voter fraud occurred in the 2004 election.
  Once that student actually researched the possibility that our electoral process was severely compromised could I give a passing grade...
  Sincerely,
  Micheal Allison

  by michealallison on Sat Nov 13, 2004 at 08:38:59 PM PDT

•  Cobb's Votes Disappeared

  Picked up this tidbit from, of all places, Michael Bednarik's campaign blog:

  At around 60% [ed. actually it was somewhere less than 40%] of the precincts reporting in Ohio, I saw David Cobb's votes go from around 10,000 down to ZERO. After that, I started taking screenshots of the Ohio state departments website. Here are a couple shots of the votes being erased again:

  Ohio at 66.72% of precincts -- 4,696 votes
  Ohio at 68.33% of precincts -- 11 votes
  Ohio compilation of screenshots
  
  I don't think this means that someone was messing with the votes, but it's still interesting information.
  Maybe whoever was updating the website made a few mistakes.
  
  I've got more screenshots of the night. Email me at [e-mail] if you are interested.
  
  James D. Taylor

  by wanderindiana on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 12:15:38 AM PDT

  •  Sorry For the Bad Links Above

    The place to go is http://64.71.168.78/.

    by wanderindiana on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 02:00:04 AM PDT

  •  Mybe not...

    I remeber reading somewhere that in a couple of precincts Cobb was registering exactly the same numbers as Kerry in the final tally. (I don't have a link to that story, sorry.) This may be a correction of that.

    by asdf100022000 on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 04:27:43 AM PDT

•  Gave $10.01

  Why do I fell like this is the most important contribution I have made this year?  Would like to give more, but I am currently looking for work.

  by madwayne on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 03:15:21 AM PDT

•  Anyone see this?

  http://blog.democrats.com/ohio

  by Patsy Stone on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 08:14:50 AM PDT

  •  Awesome

    It looks like the Ohio Dems are on top of it.

    by demfromnc on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:00:01 AM PDT

    •  It's getting difficult

      to keep track of all of the "glitches" and "anomalies" isn't it?

      Don't worry though, everything's fine with the system. Nothing to see here, move along.

      I've identified from reading this that so far there have been issues in at least 7 states. That's over 10% of the states. Absolutley nothing to worry about...

      People should just go back to religion (the opiate of the masses) and television (the great obfuscator) and stop so much thinking!

      Great work everyone. I'm so proud I'm kvelling!

      by Patsy Stone on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:14:42 AM PDT

•  Columbus Dispatch article on 11/13 hearing

  ...can be found at a2jean's diary, if you'd like more info.

  by a2jean on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:26:45 AM PDT

•  RFK Jr. on election

  I have to go see my mom, so do with this what you will .. I quickly transcribed his opening comments but wasn't able to listen beyond:

  Ring of Fire, Nov. 13, 2004
  Guests:  Arianna Huffinfton, Jim Hightower, Alanis Morissette

  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., at beginning of show:

  "Talk about possibility that the election may have been stolen, I want to say this.  

  "I am myself really reluctant to be pulled in by the gravity of paranoia and conspiracy theories, but I have spent some time this week with pollsters, with Kerry's pollsters, Stan Greenberg (?) who has very good instincts on these kinds of issues.  And he was very troubled particularly by the results in Florida where his own polling and the public polling consistently showed Kerry ahead by 2 to 5 points and the just giant discrepancy between those early polls and the final results. And particularly by the exit polls.  

  "And you know I watched Brit Hume on Fox news onthe night of the election and he was utterly confounded by the change in those exit polls and the discrepancies in the exit polls and the final results.  Ithink Dick Morris said the same thing -- the exit polls are almost never wrong.

  "And, you know, this movement now to look into this has been fueled by revelations that while the exit polls correlated well in the counties and precincts where paper ballots were used, there's giant discrepancies between the exit poll and the results in the precincts where electronic ballots were used ..."

  You can hear the show archived here:
  http://www.airamericaplace.com/upload/aarf111304br32.mp3

  And Ring of Fire is reaired on Sunday.  Check http://www.airamericaradio.com

  by SusanHu on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:52:28 AM PDT

  •  is this true? have they shown this statement to be

    true? If so why doesn't this send yet a nother red flag up?

    And, you know, this movement now to look into this has been fueled by revelations that while the exit polls correlated well in the counties and precincts where paper ballots were used, there's giant discrepancies between the exit poll and the results in the precincts where electronic ballots were used ..."

    by bruh1 on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 09:58:25 AM PDT

    •  Who is be?

      
      I really have to go to see my mom now! :)

      And I am anxious to hear the rest of the show because RFKJr's co-host, Mike Papantonio, may have some good observations.... he's pretty sharp.

      I'd just like to add that I have never been so impressed with a community as I have been by this one ... look at all those donations! What a great bunch of people you all are.

      by SusanHu on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 10:08:03 AM PDT

•  $100

  Just paypaled $75 more, brining my total to $100.  I am furious that voting innacuracies (and potential fraud) are not getting more attention!

  by polojones on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 10:12:08 AM PDT

  •  Donated $25.00, now let's move on to NV, NM, IA

    I've emailed Cobb and Badnarik asking that they work to get recounts in the above three states as well.

    To see why I think this is important, you can check out my diary.

    Suffice it to say that if Ohio flips, it isn't necessarily over.  Suppose Rove asks for a recount in Wisconsin and flips that?

    by apotropaic on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 10:59:59 AM PDT

•  $30 from me

  plus 25 to bev harris

  by flatulus on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 11:05:14 AM PDT

•  Ohio recount should be a priority.

  I've donated $100 to the Green Party's Ohio recount fund and I have forwarded the www.votecobb.org website to family, friends and work colleagues. Regarding risk of Bush/Cheney requesting recounts in other states, bring it on.  This is not about Kerry/Edwards winning, it is about returning integrity to the election process.

  by Munibond on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 11:11:00 AM PDT

  •  $30 from me too for the Ohio recount

    Hi everyone.  I am so glad to see all this effort on behalf of voting integrity! I was signing onto BlackBoxVoting.org forums a lot last winter and spent some time searching through the Diebold memos. Diebold's willingness to play fast and loose with the election process is completely scary. There is no way Diebold machines should be counting our votes!

    I am really looking forward to these recounts, they should be very educational. Hope we can get lots of people to really pay attention to this.

    by inclusive on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 04:55:01 PM PDT

•  Ditto

  Donated to BBV and Ohio Recount. Right at 'em!

  by juniper on Sun Nov 14, 2004 at 12:14:27 PM PDT