BREAKING: LEGAL PROCEEDINGS LAUNCHED AGAINST DIEBOLD IN FLORIDA!

[BradBlog]

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS LAUNCHED AGAINST DIEBOLD IN FLORIDA!
Leon County Election Supervisor Alleges 'Breach of Contract' After Security Test Revealed Hackable Elections Possible on Diebold Optical-Scan Systems!
E-Voting Monolith and 'Competitors' All Refuse to do Business with County Unless the Elected Ion Sancho is 'Removed from Office'

Ion Sancho is fighting back.

Sancho, the Election Supervisor of Leon County, Florida who exposed a number of security flaws in Electronic Voting Machines made by the Diebold corporation of North Canton, Ohio, has earlier today launched legal "breach of contract" proceedings against the company. The action has been filed on behalf of the Leon County Supervisor of Elections office.

As with the alarming security flaw revealed by Sancho in a mock election "hack test" at the end of last year, the ramifications of this action could be enormous. That, as all three certified Voting Machine Vendors in Florida have now all refused to do business with Sancho, and Jeb Bush's Department of State is applying pressure to remove Sancho from his elected position...

COMPLETE STORY:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002519.htm

---------------------------------------

Also, from late last night if you missed it...
'Moscow Times' Covers Diebold, Crumbling American Electoral System
The World is Watching...
URL: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002516.htm

---------------------------------------


---
Brad Friedman
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[cascadiance]

1. Just wait... They'll find a way to "Shelley" Sancho...

... and get another stealth wingnut bum like McPherson here in California! Just wait and see!

[Tiggeroshii]

4. That's what it looks like

IT'll be easier too cause he's not even Sec. of State

[memory]

36. NO!! NO!! NO!!! Is there any way that we can help him?

This whole thing is maddening to me! Especially since probably 90% of the "people" no absolutely nothing about it and apparently don't want to know about it. This is the most important issue out there in my opinion, and anyone that I try and talk with about it here in Red state heaven Oklahoma thinks its silly. That I'm being silly to even consider that elections are being stolen. ARGGHH:banghead:

[Tiggeroshii]

38. The discussion needs to be framed differently

It will turn people off if you go on a tangent about why the right wstole the elections, etc etc. What you need to point out is that it is very possible and votes are very vulnerable the way things are and it needs to change. The evidence of vulnerability lies solely in the million or so votes that were sipmply lost cause poll workers didn't know the data cards can handle so little information... they began deleting votes. Simply that these machiens do not have a paper ballot is good enough reason for us to avoid them, and that is the point that needs to be gotten out there, not whether or not it has been done. People won't listen.

[sutz12]

42. Maybe we should tell them.....

that the Democrats are trying to steal the electios, so we had better get them right. :think:

[FredStembottom]

56. You are not so far off!

Tell any Republican you know that these machines are in danger of compromise by ANY, repeat ANY hacker out there. Republican, DEMOCRAT, GREEN or COMMUNIST CHINESE.

ANYBODY.

[Wordie]

58. Just tell RWers that the Moscow Times has picked up the story!

That ought to do the trick! :evilgrin:

Seriously, I think that would be a good approach. If even the Moscow Times has picked up the story that there's something wrong with our voting machines, that's pretty embarrassing for our country. And your idea about keeping the discusson focused on how it could be either party doing it is excellent too.

Edited to add: Recommended!

[sojourner]

61. nah. anything that comes from outside the US is suspect in their eyes.

and if WE point to it they believe it means we are Commie sympathizers, anti-American traitors, etc.

[cascadiance]

62. Tell them that's a rather "Pravdaish" attitude for them to have! :)

[sojourner]

75. they wouldn't get it...

even being compared to Pravda would bring up their xenophobia enough that they'd deflect the comment immediately.

[CAcyclist]

70. Exactly. nt

[Patsy Stone]

2. Yay!

K&R!

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. On what grounds is Jeb trying to remove Sancho?

For what, doing his job?

[Amaryllis]

6. For not complying with HAVA requirements. Same reason NY is being

sued by the DOJ.But Sancho can't comply with HAVA requirements:
"Of the three vendors certified to sell election equipment in Florida -- Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia -- all three have now refused to do business with him." And you can't use paper ballots in FL. This is being caught between a rock and a VERY hard place.

[ret5hd]

7. so , what is your take on why the e-voting companies...

won't do business with him?

c'mon, you can say it.

[Amaryllis]

10. This in Brad's article pretty well says it:

When asked whether the refusal by all three companies to do business with Sancho was due to collusion as punishment for exposing Diebold, or whether ES&S and Sequoia both feared their equipment would be submitted to the same rigorous testing the Diebold machines faced, Sancho would say only, "There's an old adage, Brad, where there's smoke there's fire."

Sancho is a bulldog; he will fight for fair elections and Jeb and Co. need rigged machines to win. Ion is taking on multi-national corporations and BushCo. They can't let him continue to expose them, plus they are probably tyring to send a message to other uppity election officials, just like they did with Kevin Shelley.

[Wordie]

60. Could Sancho countersue??? In that he is being forced to commit an illegal

act if he has to OK a machine that won't record an accurate tally, and they're trying to fire him for refusing to commit it? (I'm sure it must be illegal to tamper with the vote in Florida - they couldn't have gone so far to change those sorts of laws, too - so would something like this work?)

[Orangepeel]

41. Optical scan machines with paper ballots can be used in Florida

they are used in Orange County, at least.

[understandinglife]

5. K&R.

Peace.

[earth mom]

8. K & R! nt

[stepnw1f]

9. kick! (nt)

[mom cat]

11. Sancho can use paper ballots! They are still legal, cheap, and

a lot harder to fudge.

[Amaryllis]

12. Can't use paper ballots in FL.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. We use them in Alachua County

and then they scan them.

[Amaryllis]

16. Well, then I was wrong. I thought I read that they couldn't be used in FL.

It always amazes the that election officials that think DRE's are their only option even when they don't like any of the DRE options.

[BradBlog]

20. Paper Ballots in Florida...

They can be used, as they had previously been in Sancho's Leon County. However, the "hack test" showed that even with paper ballots counted with a Diebold op-scan, the election could be hacked.

Had they counted the paper ballots from the election hack test by hand, they would have found the *correct* total. Only the optical scan counter had been hacked to report the count incorrectly.

In Florida, however, a new law makes it illegal to count paper ballots by hand if they've already been counted by a machine. That would apply to both manual audits and recounts.

So Sancho's hack would/could have never been discovered via a hand count. Just FYI.

More info on that particular point in this story:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002497.htm

Brad

[Amaryllis]

25. Thanks, Brad. That is what I was thinking of regarding paper

in FL: "In Florida, however, a new law makes it illegal to count paper ballots by hand if they've already been counted by a machine."

Knew it was something to subvert even paper.
Isn't it also illegal in Nebraska to count paper by hand if it's been counted by a machine? Or is it just illegal to recount any election that's been done by a machine? Of course if there's no paper, it's a moot point.

[DoYouEverWonder]

27. Thanks for the info

These bastards will try to avoid counting votes every way they can. They know they can't win otherwise.

[AbbyR]

50. Do WHAT???

:wtf: "In Florida, however, a new law makes it illegal to count paper ballots by hand if they've already been counted by a machine. That would apply to both manual audits and recounts."

It's illegal to hand count if it's already been done by machine? Damn, and I'm the one who still check my calculator by doing computations on paper. What a crazy world. Maybe I've lived too long.

We MUST get rid of these idiots in Washington - and Florida and everywhere else - who are making these idiotic laws.

[wordpix2]

64. they won't allow hand counts in FL ever since GORE WON there, am I right?

[Pacifist Patriot]

53. You are f****ing kidding me. How did I miss that one?

*sigh* As if I wasn't tired enough this morning. Looks like I've got even more work ahead of me. This is just beyond the pale.

[Wordie]

59. What were they thinking???

It's been established that the electronic machines aren't always accurate. That was made completely obvious by the whole fiasco in Florida in 2000. It would have made sense to address the issue of the accuracy of the machines, but no! Instead Florida disallows paper counts, so that nobody can discover when there's been an innaccuracy??? Couldn't someone sue to challenge the constitutionality of that law???

Only in Florida! :banghead:

[cascadiance]

65. I agree an additional lawsuit towards that original law is also in order..

Perhaps a challenge could be made to the law requiring machine recounts. Perhaps say that if no *completely certified* and verified machine counting mechanism is available to elected officials, then in THAT case a hand count is allowed. It should be argued that the government shouldn't be *forced* to be beholden to private entities for voting mechanisms without the ability to say *no* to what they offer. That way, Sancho's hands won't be tied. If none of the machine vendors want to respond to the call for a voter machine requirement in the event that Diebold is breeching their contract, then the locality has the option to doing hand counts then as an option. Then perhaps these other voting machine companies will know they can't collude to try and pressure folks like Sancho out of office through this sort of manipulation, and that they have to step up to the bar with an *adequate* voting machine option. Might still be too late to get a decent voting option for the primaries this time around, but perhaps will help for November.

[TankLV]

71. Turn it around, that a HAND COUNT is MANDATED until and unless a machine

count can proof BEYOND A DOUBT that it is 100% accurate.

That means, all source codes MUST BE PULIC.

ANY PROPRIATARY OR SECRET CODES SHALL BE PROHIBITED.

In addition, that THERE SHALL BE NO TIME LIMIT to the counting of the votes and that THE ACCURACY AND THOROUGH COUNTING OF ALL VOTES TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER ANY OTHER CONSIDERATION.

Plus, my favorite:

NO ONE WHO IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN OF A CANDIDATE IN THE ELECTION MY ACT AS AN OFFICIAL, OR BE EMPLOYED BY, ANY LOCAL OR STATE ELECTIONS OFFICE. If any body should be an employee or officer or hold ANY position in any candidate's election organization, said individual(s) shall be PROHIBITED by law from holding any capacity in any local or state elections office.

[cascadiance]

74. Yeah, Chuck Hagel should have taken a hike years ago for that reason!

He was too in bed with E&S when he had what had been described as a relatively surprising win in Nebraska.

[1monster]

24. Yes, paper ballots are still legal in Florida, but hand counting them

isn't legal. You are still going to have to put them in a Diebold, ES&S, or Sequoia electronic vote counter...

Rigged seems such a mild word for what the Republican Legistlature and Governor have done to elections in this state.

[Amaryllis]

26. Thanks, that's what I was thinking of. Knew they'd found some way

to even mess up paper.

[mom cat]

29. Even Orwell could have not imagined this one.

[HuffleClaw]

13. so?

they'll easily delay proceedings until AFTER the coming election.

[blue4barb]

15. k/r

[Lochloosa]

17. I am so proud of my hometown....give 'em hell Ion!

[oscarguy]

18. Electronic voting is recipe for election fraud. We need a paper trail...

in other words paper ballots that can be examined, recounted and on and on. It is self evident. ....Oscar

[BradBlog]

21. See my previous reply, oscarguy...

...concerning the "paper trail" in Florida.

They already had one in Sancho's Leon County. They're just not allowed to actually count it! By law!

[seafan]

22. The solution=Never use a machine to count paper ballots in the 1st place!

If I am not mistaken, most, if not all, county election supervisors in Florida have the final say in deciding which voting method to use.

If paper and pen voting is used, and the FIRST tally is done by hand, this does not violate this Florida law. (In this case, a machine would not have been used to count them in the first place.)

This seems so incredibly simple to me. Now we have Mr. Sancho in the PERFECT POSITION to order pen and paper ballots, counted BY HAND, immediately after polls close. Then the tallies are called into the Sec of State's office.


The only answer is to divorce all machines from our voting process from the outset.

Count those wonderful, crisp, hand-marked paper ballots B-Y H-A-N-D.

[BradBlog]

28. Solution Not That Simple...

>>This seems so incredibly simple to me. Now we have Mr. Sancho in the PERFECT POSITION to order pen and paper ballots, counted BY HAND, immediately after polls close. Then the tallies are called into the Sec of State's office.<<

It's not quite that simple. Unfortunately. I can't recall the *specific* reason that can't be done, but I know that one of them is the requirement of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which Florida has interpreted to require an electronic voting machine in every precint. (HAVA doesn't actual require that -- just one "disabled-accessible" voting device in every precinct -- but the Voting Machine Companies have spent quite a bit of money successful propogating that idea)

There is more in FL law requiring electronic voting, as I recall, but I forget what the state law demands are. In either case, Sancho had looked into using the Vote-PAD (Vote-PAD.us) as a simple paper-based, non-electronic solution to meet the "disabled-accessible" requirements, but they too were disallowed by the state of Florida.

For more info on how Diebold was able to get the phony "disabled-accessible" provision into HAVA (hint: it involved Ohio's corrupt Bob Ney) see this article:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002261.htm

Brad

[seafan]

33. For the visually impaired, why not use paper ballots written in braille?

Heavens, what did we ever do before the electronic revolution....

Heck, put one electronic machine in each precinct and let it gather dust while everyone picks up a pen and paper ballot to vote on.

It's time for people to push back.

Thanks for the related info, BTW.

[oscarguy]

23. Well that really is a BUMMER. Are you saying it is illegal to have a ...

recount of votes ? Where in Hell are we going as a Nation ? It seems hard to beleive. I fought 2 tours in Viet Nam as a Marine for our rights and Constitutional freedoms,etc.. When I went to school we were taught the EVILS OF THE SOVIET UNION and on and on. This is the sort of thing, Democratic elections,a Government by the People for the People and on and on, that we were very much encouraged to stand up for,I`m serious. It all seems so twisted and bizzare now, kind of a joke or something only idiots would take seriously. There was truth to it somewhat back then, there was. This all changed when George II took over. It was not this way before. I still beleive we can take back our Country. What do you think ? ...Oscar

[BradBlog]

30. Not illegal to have a "recount", but...

...It's nearly impossible to have a valid or useful one.

You can recount the votes (if the totals are *incredibly* close), but the machine-counted votes will have to go right back through the same machine that counted them in the first place (which may have already been hacked, as Sancho's Leon County "hack test" demonstrated).

>>Where in Hell are we going as a Nation?<<

I wish I knew.

>>I still beleive we can take back our Country. What do you think?<<

I believe we can too. But it's gonna require a helluva lot more of us, to start making a helluva lot more noise. Please don't let me stop you from making that noise! Please get busy! As is, I'm doing just about all that I can myself. We could use alot more noise makers out there!

Brad

[liquiduniverse]

31. Wouldn't it be possible to bring in a different machine counter

Seems like somebody, besides Diebold, could create an optical counter that can read the completed ballots, if for nothing else, just to double-check the official results. Might be a way to get around the law.

[BradBlog]

40. Nope...not if they won't do business with Sancho.

He can only use equipment certified by the state of FL. Only Diebold, ES&S & Sequoia are certified. And they are all refusing to do business with him.

Go figure.

[NYC]

19. Recommended.

Sancho is a hero.

[0007]

47. Nominated here also

Sure a wried country we live in, 'eh?

[NoodleyAppendage]

32. Sancho = TRUE HERO of Democracy.

It's people like Sancho that still give me hope that we can turn this country around and avoid the fascist state it's quickly becoming.

JB

[RedOnce]

34. K&R!

[lovuian]

35. Whoo HOO Sancho!!!

good for you!!!

[JudyM]

37. Fascinating. Think of all the information that will come out in discovery

I'll bet this heats up in the public eye.

[nolabels]

39. Just a kick for all them people so interested in personalities.

Like what does it really have a damn to do with anything. The upcoming congressional elections are going to be stolen and the pubs will keep both houses. I will keep this in my bookmarks to bring it up so I can say "see, I told you so".

[texpatriot2004]

43. Thanks Brad for this good news. nm

[Senator]

44. Take a sec to Thank the Media

Well, Fred Grimm of the Miami Herald anyway.

This from Amaryllis on the Election Reform (should be "revolt") thread

Let's write Fred Grimm and thank him for covering this.
More MSM coverage.

Miami Herald
Posted on Tue, Mar. 07, 2006
IN MY OPINION

Election official hammered for telling the truth

BY FRED GRIMM
[e-mail]

Ion Sancho may be a hero in California, where grateful election officials have verified the ''serious security vulnerabilities'' in Diebold voting machines that the Leon County election supervisor uncovered last year.

Sancho is regarded a little differently in Florida.

Florida's secretary of state's office disparaged Sancho's finding, demonstrating considerably more interest in propping up vendors than protecting elections.

California, alarmed by Sancho's report, dispatched its independent, expert-laden Voting Systems Technology Assessment Advisory Board to conduct its own investigation.

Florida, meanwhile, threatened to sue Sancho.

For the rest:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14034640.htm

Remind Grimm that Sancho is a hero nationwide. It's only due to the silence of his collegues that he doesn't know it.

And do thank him for his courage to speak the truth -- even in Florida.

--
www.january6th.org

[wordpix2]

66. I wrote to thank Grimm, Senator

[annabanana]

45. We have to get legislation that would make the companies

PROOVE that their machines are accurate and secure. We should never have to proove that they're not...

Who will write this legislation?

[Joanne98]

46. Will election officials put "bidness" ahead of integrity?

[Mr_Spock]

48. I can't figure our why the Repukes don't want the machines unhackable?

I mean, what do they have to worry about - it's not like they were hacking the machines - right?

[cascadiance]

51. More like, do Rethugs REALLY think there's a "non-cheating" reason for

having unhackable paperless voting machines only? Do they really think us naive in accepting that they AREN'T trying to cheat by not having a paper trail? Saving money on paper? This isn't "paper or plastic" in the grocery lines! They probably waste far more paper there anyway.

[AbbyR]

52. OK, now that we know what they're doing...

I think we crazy liberals need to start hiring our own hackers. Hey, my hacker can beat up your hacker any day of the week.

This is insane?!? I honestly don't see how anyone will be able to get away with this - but thanks - I now have my next column.

Damn, I wish our founding fathers and mothers would rise up in their graves and scream at us for what we have made of their country.

[Canuckistanian]

49. How is this playing in Florida?

Is there any coverage of this at all?

In other words, does the average Floridian know the name Ion Sancho and what he's trying to do??

[AzDar]

54. This unfortunate mess we've found ourselves in for the past 5 years

has shown me one thing...There are SO many TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOTS out there: Sybil,Cindy, now Sancho..even Pat Tillman.
And every one has been sandbagged by the BFEE.
Starting with Ol' Prescott and on down the line, they are a CANCER on America; polar OPPOSITES of the aforementioned..

[lonestarnot]

55. Oh hell yeah oh hell yeah oh hell yeah! Woooooodamnwhoooo!

[Pacifist Patriot]

57. I just sent this to Senator Nelson and my Democratic

candidate for U.S. House. My next step is to contact as many state politicians as possible. Did anyone send this to KO? Is this the type of story he'd like?

I hope you are following the legal dispute with Diebold in Leon County, Florida. I realize the situation is a political debacle at the state level, but the outcome would certainly affect federal candidates for office as well.

I am extremely concerned with the attempts to remove the Leon County Supervisor of Elections when he seems to be one of the few SOEs sincerely concerned about election integrity and vote security.

I find it astonishing that Florida has a law which prohibits the handcount of paper ballots and defers to machine counts when a remarkable number of questions regarding the certification and security of proprietary software remain.

I have absolutely no idea what you can do about the situation but I can assure you that voter confidence is extremely low. I fear a low mid-term turnout if the electorate feels their votes won't be counted accurately anyway.

Too many unasked and unanswered questions promote an environment of distrust and suspicion. Please do not be afraid to stand loud and firm on this issue. Any candidate willing to tackle the issue of fair and transparent elections in the Information Age will be viewed as a champion of democracy.

[wordpix2]

67. just sent it to Hardball and Keith O

[wordpix2]

63. OMG! Sancho, watch your back b/c BFEE is after you

[AmyStrange]

68. MORE Info: DePuy: Sancho should face jury

DePuy: Sancho should face jury
Elections head says he has plan
By Jeff Burlew
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

FROM: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/NEWS01/603010328/1010
Leon County Commissioner Ed DePuy suggested Tuesday that a grand jury should investigate why the Supervisor of Elections Office was unable to get voting equipment for the disabled by a January deadline.

DePuy, during Tuesday's County Commission meeting, said only an impartial panel of jurors could get to the bottom of the matter. Commissioner Tony Grippa agreed, but DePuy later withdrew the request.

"I want people under oath to go in and testify as to why we can't get our act together in Leon County," DePuy said before withdrawing his motion.

Commissioner Cliff Thaell said asking for a grand jury would be "a very dangerous step." Commissioner Bob Rackleff called the idea "shameful and grotesque."

TO READ THE REST of the STORY: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/NEWS01/603010328/1010

d

[superconnected]

72. Gee, all this trouble to get sancho

and the guy only exposed security flaws.

Why do Republicans hate election dishonesty being exposed. Oh yeah, I know that one.

[Uncle Joe]

69. Ion Sancho, you are a patriot and I salute you!

:patriot:

Kicked and recommended.

:kick:

[superconnected]

73. gotta love his name - Ion

What is he, a free radical? :)