What happened in Georgia in 2002?
http://rawstory.com//news/2008/Cyber...
Some critics of electronic voting raised questions about the 2002 Georgia race even at the time. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, who was five percentage points ahead of Republican challenger Saxby Chambliss in polls taken a week before the vote, lost 53% to 46%. Incumbent Democratic Governor Roy Barnes, who led challenger Sonny Perdue in the polls by eleven points, lost 51% to 46%. However, because the Diebold machines used throughout the state provided no paper trail, it was impossible to ask for a recount in either case.
Stephen Spoonamore, founder of Cybrinth LLC, held a little noticed press conference in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday where he discussed his investigation of a computer patch applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election.
According to an anonymous whistleblower:
.... the whistleblower ... said that he became suspicious of Diebold's actions in Georgia for two reasons. The first red flag went up when the computer patch was installed in person by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich, who flew in from Texas and applied it in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds....
Who is Bob Urosevich?
Two voting companies & two brothers will count 80 percent of U.S. election using both scanners & touchscreens
By Lynn Landes
Online Journal Contributing Writer
April 28, 2004—Voters can run, but they can't hide from these guys. Meet the Urosevich brothers, Bob and Todd. Their respective companies, Diebold and ES&S, will count (using both computerized ballot scanners and touchscreen machines) about 80 percent of all votes cast in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Both ES&S and Diebold have been caught installing uncertified software in their machines. Although there is no known certification process that will protect against vote rigging or technical failure, it is a requirement of most, if not all, states.
And, according to author Bev Harris in her book, Black Box Voting, " . . . one of the founders of the original ES&S (software) system, Bob Urosevich, also oversaw development of the original software now used by Diebold Election Systems."...
http://www.onlinejournal.com/...
What's a a computer patch?
According to Wikipedia:
A patch is a small piece of software designed to update or fix problems with a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing bugs, replacing graphics and improving the usability or performance. Though meant to fix problems, poorly designed patches can sometimes introduce new problems...
Why was a "computer patch" applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election, in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds?
Gosh! Would that be an appropriate question for Karl Rove? If his royal butt ever warmed a seat under sworn oath at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee? Gosh all darn! Wouldn't you love to hear Senator Leahy asking him that question?
Landes' article goes on to warn:
The ability to rig an election is well within easy reach of voting machine companies. And it does not matter if the machines are scanners or touchscreens, or are networked or hooked up to modems.
So, for those states and counties who think they're dodging the bullet by not buying (or not using) the highly insecure and error-prone touchscreen voting machines (which will process 28.9 percent of all votes this year), a huge threat still remains—computerized ballot scanners. They will count 57.6 percent of all votes cast, including absentee ballots.
And, I think we can all vote with Landes on this one:
There is no federal agency that has regulatory authority or oversight of the voting machine industry—not the Federal Election Commission (FEC), not the Department of Justice (DOJ), and not the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The FEC doesn't even have a complete list of all the companies that count votes in U.S. elections.
Once again we are witness to an "eyes closed, hands off" approach to protecting America. The 2004 election rests in the private hands of the Urosevich brothers, who are financed by the far-out right wing and top donors to the Republican Party. The Democrats are either sitting ducks or co-conspirators. I don't know which.
My mantra remains: Vote Paper Ballots, Ditch the Machines.