A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections.
Stephen Spoonamore is the founder and until recently the CEO of Cybrinth LLC, an information technology policy and security firm that serves Fortune 100 companies. At a little noticed press conference in Columbus, Ohio Thursday, he discussed his investigation of a computer patch that was applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election.
Spoonamore is one of the most prominent cyber-security experts in the country. He has appeared on CNN's Lou Dobbs and ABC's World News Tonight, and has security clearances from his work with the intelligence community and other government agencies, as well as the Department of Defense, and is one of the world’s leading authorities on hacking and cyber-espionage.
In 1995, Spoonamore received a civilian citation for his work with the Department of Defense. He was again recognized for his contributions in 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security. Spoonamore is also a registered Republican and until recently was advising the McCain campaign.
http://rawstory.com//news/2008/Cyber...
I find this story deeply disturbing. It doesn't matter how many people we get to the polls to vote if the system is corrupt.
Given attempts by those connected to McCain to aquire Diebold, I don't have a lot of hope that the 2008 election will proceed without attempts to subvert it.
The New York Times announced Monday that defense contractor United Technologies had made an unsolicited bid to take control of Diebold, the voting machine manufacturer. UTC first approached Diebold two years ago, but thankfully Diebold has and continues to reject its offers.
But the most interesting and frightening part of this story is in the connection between the attempted takeover of a voting machine manufacturer and the Republican candidate John McCain.
Uber-lobbyist Charlie Black is the chairman of BKSH a "bipartisan" Washington based firm that provides government relations services to a number of Domestic and International clients. While he is on the BKSH payroll, Black lobbies in his spare time as well; His clients include General Motors, JPMorgan, AT&T and none other than United Technologies! But what Charlie Black is most well-known for is that he is chief political adviser to John McCain.
http://current.com/...
Second source:
Diebold Rejects Takeover Advance
By REUTERS
Published: March 4, 2008
Diebold said Monday that its board had rejected an unsolicited $2.64 billion takeover bid from the United Technologies Corporation, a diversified manufacturer.
(March 3, 2008) Diebold, a maker of automated teller machines and office equipment, said the bid, which amounted to $40 a share, undervalued the company.
"U.T.C.’s proposal is an opportunistic attempt to buy Diebold at a time when shareholders do not have sufficient data to evaluate the offer and as such, the board believes that it would be irresponsible to engage in discussions with U.T.C. at this time," John N. Lauer, Diebold’s nonexecutive chairman, said in a statement.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
The reason why I find these types of stories so disturbing is that we STILL don't have any protections in place that would prevent election fraud by those on the right who are so inclined.
The Republicans are desperate because winning in 2008 looks like a pipe dream. What might they try, in their desperation, to ensure their victory?
How can we protect the integrity of our electoral process? Perhaps we need shadow voting to make sure the numbers match up between the "official" tally and the unofficial tally conducted to keep the elections honest.
I'd like to hear suggestions from folks on how we can address this issue.
What good does it do to elect Obama if the machines just switch our votes to McCain?