Company sues Blackwell over voting machines

[RamboLiberal]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050202/NEWS01/502030306

A Texas-based company sued Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell this morning for ordering county election boards across the state to abandon plans for electronic voting machines.

Hart InterCivic Inc.'s eSlate voting machine was selected in 2004 by Hamilton County and seven other Ohio counties.

However, Blackwell said Jan. 12 that the General Assembly's passage of a bill last May requiring all machines to have a voter verifiable paper trail has made the move to electronic voting too slow and expensive. He ordered all county election boards to instead select an optical-scan system - in which voters fill in ovals with No. 2 pencils - by Feb. 9.

They must choose between optical-scan systems offered by Diebold Elections Systems and ES&S - the only two certified by Blackwell's office. Hart InterCivic is developing an optical-scan system.

[shadowknows69]

1. my head hurts

[rainy]

2. yea, they're easy to tamper with, just just use little

stickers and cover up the real vote.

[Eloriel]

3. Not only that -- IT'S STILL COMPUTERIZED

Optical scan systems use the same software (or can) as the touchscreen systems. When Diebold built its touchscreens, it just used its tabulating and perhaps other software from the older optical scan machines and cobbled together the new software.

These are just as manipulable due to errors, false code, internal or external hacking, insider real-time vote total manipulation.

[Thor_MN]

6. I agree that machine counts can be manipulated

but the optical scans can be hand counted, where the touchscreens leave no trace of voter intent.

[rexcat]

7. I would prefer to use ink...

not a pencil.

[rexcat]

8. I would prefer to use ink...

not a pencil.

[Skarbrowe]

11. But they will only hand count them if the election is very close.

"They've" got it built in now to make sure the votes are never that close again.

[sandnsea]

13. No, they do a pre-count

In my county they count a certain percentage to make sure the machines are tabulating correctly. All the ballots in the county go to one location so there's much less opportunity for tampering. And the ballots that you fill out are the ballots. If we don't push for opti-scan, we're going to end up with worthless paper trails instead. It's just insane to think people are going to agree to go back to hand counted ballots.

[Blaq Dem]

9. Unless they provide receipts...

where the voter can double check and verify everything.

[merwin]

12. LOL, voter verified receipts are worthless.

You need a complete auditable paper trail. What are you going to do? Tell everyone they need to bring their receipts to the voting location for the recount? :-)

[LisaL]

4. I guess there is just no escaping Diebold.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[Liberty Belle]

5. Such a choice. Which cheater do you prefer?

[BeFree]

10. The point is...

...all DREs will be trashed. Votes will be cast on paper and, for the time being, counted by machines with secret software. For the time being.

It won't be long that the secret software will no longer be a secret and then the truth about diebold will be out.

Until then, our message must be plain and simple: Paper Ballots, hand counted.

[sandnsea]

14. No

It should be paper ballots with open source software. We've got a chance at that. No chance at all with getting hand counts. Most people would be perfectly content with touch screen and paper printouts. We have got to at least get the concept of real paper ballots out there.

[Zhade]

15. Agreed - open-source is the way to go.

NT!

[BeFree]

16. Oh yeah?

And who makes this 'open source' machine?

And will they have 50,000 units ready to go by 2006?
Will the BOE's all be trained on how to use them?

See, that's the hole we are in. The only feasible way at this point is to use paper ballots counted by humans. In another 6 years we may come up with an open source machine, until then.......

[sandnsea]

18. Pass laws

Require the machine companies to open their software. They either open it or they can't sell their machines. They will open it if they have to, because they're not going to lose millions of dollars in contracts.

[BeFree]

20. But if they open it

Then they will be caught. So forget that.

Besides, we only have 12 months, the courts would keep the issue tied up far longer. I believe that in the long run we will have an OS that can be trusted. But even now computer experts are saying no e-counts... that leaves us with paper, human counted. Don't think we can't do this in twelve months, but if our message is unclear we could fail.

Your idea is to murky, sandnsea, and fraught with failure. We have but one chance to regain our vote.

[sandnsea]

21. Open the software is murky

Oh yeah, people don't understand that. :eyes: That can be done with vigorous campaigns by SOS's to make it top priority legislation. I would suggest Montana to start, Dem control and those people do not like secrecy. It's also a very small number of people to educate. You could actually get the militia and the pirg involved, that would generate interest all by itself. It would set a great precedence across the country as well.

Your idea is naive. We haven't had hand counts in decades. It'll never happen. I don't know why we waste time on fools' missions.

[BeFree]

24. Naive? Fools mission?

Where the hell do you get off claming that? There are still places in America that hand count.

Look, if you like the diebolds, just say so, likewise if you think you will convince all those SoS and election officials, you are the one with your head in the sand, beneath the waves?

[sandnsea]

25. with us or against us

I am really sick of that attitude around here lately. It's getting to be as bad as the Bushies. Proposing realistic solutions does not mean you're a fucking right wing plant.

Howard Dean is the one who said the best chance of tackling voting problems is at the state level. Shame on me for agreeing with him. Does he want diebold too?

There are very few places that hand count votes and HAVA requires everything to be updated anyway. So, after Democrats pitched a fit over antiquated voting systems in minority and poor areas, we're going to turn around and support an even more antiquated system that was replaced because of rampant fraud. :crazy: We'd be a laughing stock.

[jasop]

17. The two companies that DELIVERED Ohio for BushCo

that just fucking cute. A no one care that this two companies are connected to high ranking officials and that these two companies have a set of brothers in high positions in both companies.

Oh well... chalk another one up for the Republicans

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

19. no one realizes Chimp is never leaving-ever---permanent chimp

The stage is set
:
1) after they fake the elections in 2006 and all but a couple members of Congress are repub, and all but a handful of Senators are Repub.

2) We have a "terra" event (a second "new pearl harbor")

3)The Draft is re-instated-widely supported and nearly unanimous in Congress

4) The U.S. attempts to take control of the entire Middle East.(Israel nukes Iran and U.S. troops invade as part of the "relief effort" )

5) Under a Red alert and state of emergency, all opposition is rounded up in a major sweep--Patriot act 2 made it legal--those arrested get no phone calls .
No press cover the story because of "National Security interests".

6) new laws passes allowing extended stays in office for "pResidents" during "WARTIME"

7) the U.S. secretly unleashes a new form of "plague' type contagious fatal disease in Europe(where opposition to U.S. aggression is nearly unanimous) thereby throwing attention off what the U.S. is doing.

8) The U.S. formally announces it is taking complete control of the World for the "greater good", and all who oppose will be swiftly dealt with:nuke:

9) One country stands it's ground, is nuked and another country retaliates using Nukes on the U.S.

10) All out Nuclear disaster--Nuclear winter sets in

11) The food chain is destroyed, Those left on earth fight over the remaining food.
12) Chimp and friends find out exactly the worthlessness of their hordes of money, stocks, oil, even gold, (secretly stolen from the U.S. Treasury).
You have just entered...the Twilight Zone

[Rainscents]

22. We should use same system as Iraq... Purple finger!

[Rainscents]

23. I agree with you!!!

I thought the almost the same thing and I had mention this to my friend, he thought I was a nut case!!! I told him, you watch, Republicans are going to make sure they control (60% Senate seat) in '06 and when this happen, chip is going to create some scram and they're going to pass law so that CHIMP will be in WH indefinitely.

[struggle4progress]

26. kick