BBV: You gotta be Replaced.

[Andy_Stephenson]

Today I am drawing a line in the sand. As we move forward into the brave new world of paperless voting, many of us are concerned that our votes will not be counted as cast. I for one am in that group of citizens. We have pushed this into the forefront of the national debate and it is now time to take this to the next level. So henceforth I am calling for the replacement of any politician that will not yield to the will of the people on this issue and will be posting the names of state and federal legislators that will not give us what we want.

Today I am starting the list and will be including some Washington state officials that need replacing. I don't care if they are Republican or Democrat...if they won't get on board for a voter Verified Paper Ballot they have to be replaced with someone that will.

So here in Washington State...I would like to start the list with our Secretary of State as well as a county auditor and state representative. If you would like to add officials from your state please do so and I will compile them into a page that will be up on my site later this week.

Thanks everyone for all the hard Work you have done to get this the attention it deserves.

Now for the You gotta be replaced list:

Sam Reed, Secretary of State Washington
http://www.samreed.org/default.aspx

Laura Ruderman, Representative from the 45th District of Washington
http://www.leg.wa.gov/house/members/d45_2.htm

Dean Logan King County Director of Elections
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/news/2003/073103.htm

Bob Terwilliger, Snohomish County Auditor
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/politics/election2003/bios/bio-terwilliger_bob.html

David Elliott, Washington State Director of Elections
http://www.electioncenter.org/voting/InetVotingWhitePaper.html

Mischelle Townsend, Registrar of Voters, Riverside County Ca.
http://www.co.riverside.ca.us/election/profile.htm

Cathy Cox, Secretary of State Ga.
http://www.cathycox.com/

In the same vein…I would ask everyone to stop financial support to organizations that are pushing for no paper ballot. The ACLU national is against VVPB as is the National League of Women Voters. Support those local chapters that are for VVPB earnestly but cut the funding off for the nationals that still insist that vapor ballots are the only way to go. Flame away if you want this is my stance I am non-negotiable on a voter verified paper ballot.

Andy

[Atman]

1. We gotta get viral with this

I'm posting your message on other political boards. It is a great cause and a great campaign. Thank you!

[Andy_Stephenson]

2. Add to the list here...

if you would like. I will post officials from all 50 states that need replacing. They can come off the list...but it takes a commitment to the statement of principal. That will be up soon. Ms Ruderman has refused to sign the statment so that is why she is on the list.

Sam Reed...well he put forth legislation that is just palin bad!

Cathy Cox...need I say more?

[drthais]

3. hoe do I find out

how Louisiana politicians stand on this issue?
I will take up the fight here
and I'm sure I won't be alone

[Andy_Stephenson]

4. Well here...ask them to sign this...if they don't

you know where thay stand.


STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE
For Clean Voting

"When we introduced electronic technology into our election system, we created changes which provide opportunities to tamper. These vulnerabilities may allow incorrect results on an unprecedented number of votes at once. We believe that we must implement more robust safeguards for a trustworthy voting system. We therefore endorse the following statement of principle:

Electronic voting systems, as they now stand, present a clear and present danger to democracy.

- If electronic voting systems are used, we insist that they produce a paper ballot, verified by the voter at the time the vote is cast, and placed in a ballot box.

- We insist on unbiased voter registration procedures.

- We insist on the implementation of improved procedures to audit elections.

(Your first and last name)
(Your title and organization)
(Your city, state and country)
(If you want ONLY paper ballots, no machines, please indicate here. We are collecting a body of signatures for that option also)


If they sign...please...forward their name to me and I will add them to the list of "Heros" or "Zeros" as the case may be.

Also...get grass roots organizations to sign...the more the merrier. Lets show em who the boss is.

Andy

[Andy_Stephenson]

5. Also...if they refuse to sign on to the Holt bill

and it's Senate companion...they need replacing.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. My top priority on your list....

...is replacing Sam Reed!

;)

[Andy_Stephenson]

7. Mine Too

But getting a paper ballot is far more important. We need to scare these people show em we mean business.

[Andy_Stephenson]

9. Oh...and not with

Ms Ruderman either...right?

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. That nonentity?

And with a paper ballot, no less.

[Andy_Stephenson]

12. I have taught you well

Grasshopper.

[Joanne98]

8. Good idea

kick n/t

[Joanne98]

11. Add to the list

J. Kenneth Blackwell
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/voter/index.html

Bob Ney
http://www.house.gov/ney/biography.htm

I had to put his biography, it's such BS.
Plus look at his district map, it's gerrymandered.

[Andy_Stephenson]

13. OK Ohio

you got your marching orders.

Replace em.

[Joanne98]

19. Aye Aye sir

n/t:)

[SaddenedDem]

14. Hopefully, today, we rock Cathy Cox back on her heels

The State and Local Government Operations Committee will meet this Thursday, March 4th at 4:00 pm in LOB 310.

The Committee will again take up consideration of SB-500, to require that DRE voting machines "produce a permanent paper record with a manual audit capacity". Committee members have requested a demonstration of the existing Diebold machine and of the Tru-Vote machine (which does provide for the production of voter verified paper ballots).

The room will accomodate about 120 persons. It is important that we fill the seats! We must show the members of this Committee how important passage of SB-500 is to our community and the people of Georgia. Please mark your calendars, take the afternoon off from work, mark your friends' calendars, have them arrange to get off as well and plan to join us there.

To educate yourself about SB-500 and the issues surrounding "faith-based voting", to learn why we believe a voter verified paper audit trail of our election system is so important, please link to:
http://www.voterchoice.org/auditableballots.php

---

Brit Williams said this was just a "political ploy" by republicans (a republican senator introduced this bill) to harm Cathy Cox and keep her off the ballot in 2006 for governor.

My reply was "I don't care what their agenda is as long as we get voter verified paper ballots."

We're working on replacing her....working hard to replace her.

[Andy_Stephenson]

15. Saddem...

I'll say it again...scikem...and I mean that in the nicest of ways.

:)

[SaddenedDem]

17. It's our last shot for 2004

If we don't get this bill on the Senate floor, the 2004 legislative session will end without a vote on this issue.

We're running short of time. Without a special session (will never happen for this issue) we have a 15 day window to make this happen.

We know how critical it is to make this happen TODAY.

Wish us luck.

[SaddenedDem]

16. BTW, GBNC, the latest strategy

The new talking points coming from every BBV official is that they can't do VVPB until they get:

The printers certified; and

They get NIST/EAC/NASED certification for printing VVPB; and

They can't possibly do it for the 2004 elections.

The reply is simple:

Printing paper ballots is already a part of the CERTIFIED system. (You know, the REPRINT disguised as a RECOUNT they have touted for 2 years).

All that must be done is to move that process to the point where the VOTER is present and can VERIFY the printed ballot.

[Andy_Stephenson]

18. Their talking points are

horseshit!


DEMAND A PAPER BALLOT!

Paper Not Vapor.

Add to this list yall!!! Scare the crap out of em! This campaign will work.

[TinfoilHatProgrammer]

26. I think that's oversimplifying the matter

Let us assume for a moment that it would be acceptable to print out a voter-verified paper ballot on the built-in printer on the voting terminal.

Presumably (at the very minimum) a software change would be required to support printing a paper ballot. Software changes render the system uncertified and therefore the new voting terminal software would indeed have to be recertified.

Printing ballots is part of the certified system (as you correctly point out) but I was under the impression that it was a feature of the GEMS server and generally used for recount purposes. So unless voters are going to now vote in the presence of the GEMS server (or at least in the presence of a printer attached to it), I don't see how the feature is relevant here. I think giving voters that kind of access to the GEMS server would be prohibitive from a security standpoint. Besides, it would also be necessary for all voters to vote at the same place, i.e. at the printer.

If the software needs to be changed, then the new ballot-printing feature must be designed and implemented, and the new version of the software must be tested. Requirements must be drawn up. What goes on the paper ballot? Is it simply text? Does it have to display all candidates, or simply the candidates chosen by the voter? How big does the font have to be? What fonts are acceptable? How are multiple languages on the electronic ballot (particularly languages such as Chinese, for example) to be supported on the printed ballot? Should the paper ballot be designed simply for a manual hand-count, or does it additionally need some kind of bar-code or other digital encoding for counting via scanner or other device? How should it be handled when the voter indicates that the ballot doesn't reflect his/her choices (through user error or otherwise)? Do visually-impaired voters not get to read and verify their ballot without assistance, or does there need to be an additional system implemented by which the paper ballot can be scanned and read back (or otherwise communicated to the visually-impaired voter, e.g. via braille or some other mechanism)? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered; it's not simply a matter of waving one's hand and saying "voter-verified paper ballot!"

Once it's designed and implemented, the code must be submitted to the ITAs for code inspection, and the system must be fully re-tested to make sure all required functionality works correctly and according to FEC requirements. Regression-testing a system such as this one is a non-trivial effort, and while I don't want to overstate the matter it certainly doesn't happen over an afternoon. Assuming the system passes, it then has to be submitted to Georgia for their own testing and eventual state certification. Once it's certified by the state, it needs to be installed on all 27,000 voting machines well before the November election -- installing software on 27,000 machines is a non-trivial effort that most likely takes weeks, and it needs to be done prior to any pre-election logic and accuracy testing (or any other system testing) that must be done prior to deployment -- testing which is also a non-trivial effort that most likely takes weeks. Surely a modification of the system to print a paper ballot will involve some new election-day procedures, as well -- what to do with the ballots at the end of the day, how to install paper in the printer if necessary, how to handle the case where a voter indicates the ballot doesn't match their selection, etc. That means that thousands of poll-workers and support people need to be re-trained -- after the system has been implemented, tested, certified and installed (although presumably there can be some overlap with the installation phase). There are logistical considerations as well: the most obvious one that springs to mind is what to actually do with a few million paper ballots after the election is over. At the minimum, secure warehouse space and transportation must be arranged in each county for the thousands of bags/boxes full of thermal paper. A big deal? No, of course not. It's simply one of many details that must be planned in advance. The reality of the situation is that the available time for implementation of the required code changes is not nearly as long as it initially appears -- implementation in time for the 2004 general election is almost certainly not in the cards.

This entire scenario assumes that it's acceptable to use the existing printer on the voting terminal to print the ballot. If it's determined (by the state, or by the ITAs who interpret the FEC requirements) that a two-inch wide thermal paper ballot that's accessible to the voter (i.e. not behind a screen or some other device that prevents manipulation of the paper) is not an acceptable mechanism for printing a ballot then in addition to the software changes outlined above, a new hardware device must be designed (or purchased), tested, certified, and deployed. Not only that, but someone would have to come up with the funding for 27,000 new printers to go with the voting machines. Ideally, of course, the existing printer could be used. But in the absence of an established set of requirements (from the state, or the FEC, or congress, or whomever) that scenario is in no way certain.

Of course I reiterate my own view that a voter-verified paper ballot is an excellent idea and a laudable goal. I'm simply trying to make the point that it's not as simple as it may initially seem, and that trying to get a voter-verified paper ballot from electronic touch screen machines in time for the general election later this year is almost certainly not going to happen.

JC

[Andy_Stephenson]

27. Hi JC long time no see

but I knew...you'd turn up. Where is Cocoa?

I bet she is along directy.

[govegan]

38. Here is simplification:

Systems analysts, designers and programmers had heads totally screwed on backwards and were incompetent from the beginning

or

Same group was complicit in engineering election fraud, which is virtually inevitable with most of the systems as they are.

That's as simple as it gets.

[RedEagle]

35. Those Systems Exist!

Accupoll
Avante
TruVote

Officials just "think" they have to listen to Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia, and HartIntercivic.

Now, what is the incentive they feel so important that they can't do business with companies that already have the product (certified) that we need?

[lcooksey]

20. ACLU against VVPB?

I couldn't find anything on the ACLU website for or against VVPB. Can you provide a link I can reference when I write to them to protest?

[Andy_Stephenson]

21. They are one of the lackeys

of the industry.

[Joanne98]

22. kick

x(

[Joanne98]

23. kick

Today is an important day so get back up there:)

[Festivito]

24. BBV, a mistake that needs to be yanked. nt.

[Andy_Stephenson]

25. Here is what I sent to every member of the

House and Senate in Washington State.

Dear Representatives and Senators,

We the Citizens of Washington have drawn a line in the sand. Today we are calling on our Senators and Representatives, as well as local elected officials to sign this Statement of Principal for clean voting. We are non-negotiable on this issue and request your signature. Be warned however that we will be targeting those Republicans or Democrats that do not sign for replacing. This effort is supported by a broad range of citizens and political organizations including several Republican and Democratic groups. We would like to add your name to the heros list.

Some of you have already signed on, outstanding job Your sponsorship of HB 2978 was admirable. Unfortunately, some of your associates in the House and Senate saw fit to kill that bill and it's companion SB 6717. Please, take a moment to read this over, sign and return it, and I will add your name to the list of legislators working to protect our vote. Time is of the essence and names will begin appearing on both lists on Saturday so sign early and assure your place on the heros list!

Sincerely,
Andy Stephenson

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE
For Clean Voting

"When we introduced electronic technology into our election system, we created changes which provide opportunities to tamper. These vulnerabilities may allow incorrect results on an unprecedented number of votes at once. We believe that we must implement more robust safeguards for a trustworthy voting system. We therefore endorse the following statement of principle:

Electronic voting systems, as they now stand, present a clear and present danger to democracy.

- If electronic voting systems are used, we insist that they produce a paper ballot, verified by the voter at the time the vote is cast, placed in a ballot box.

- We insist on unbiased voter registration procedures.

- We insist on the implementation of improved procedures to audit elections.

(Your first and last name)
(Your title and organization)
(Your city, state and country)
(If you want ONLY paper ballots, no machines, please indicate here. We are collecting a body of signatures for that option also)

Here is a partial List of Heros in the house

Murray, Morris, Quall, Linville, Chase, Dickerson, Eickmeyer, G. Simpson, Morrell, Rockefeller, Kagi, Upthegrove, Miloscia

Yall ROCK!

and Senate

Jacobsen, Swecker, Shin, Kline, Brown, Kohl-Welles, Spanel, T. Sheldon

Yall ROCK too!

First person declining

Laura Ruderman

Shame shame on you.

I see this as a civil rights issue...and should be dealt with NOW!

[greatauntoftriplets]

28. Kick!!!

:bounce:

[Joanne98]

30. Is there any OH state legislation?

Where would I look?

[Andy_Stephenson]

32. Hmmm...

do you belong to www.blackboxvoting.org perhaps check in there in the next day or so when all the forums are back online. In the meantime...send the Statement of Principal to the legislators. Have em sign or else!

[Joanne98]

33. Thanks

I will

[Andy_Stephenson]

29. Ms Ruderman's response

"Andy - I did not "refuse to sign". Did you get my email explaining that it would be unethical to comment via this email account?"

Why Laura? THis is an issue as a legislator you should be dealing with in an official capacity.

[Joanne98]

31. kick

:)

[Andy_Stephenson]

34. Kick

n/t

[JohnGideon]

36. Ken Blackwell, Ohio SoS

He is spending $15.3M of tax payers money to do a PR blitz on voting machines. They have already hired a high power PR firm to do the work. They want to hide this behind the educational part of HAVA and pay for it with that funding. He is running for Gov. in 2006. Wanna bet he gets lots of time before the camera and microphone?

[eridani]

37. Which of these are elected positions, and which appointments?

We need to get people running for office here.

[Andy_Stephenson]

39. Here is their status

Sam Reed, Secretary of State Washington
http://www.samreed.org/default.aspx
Elected

Laura Ruderman, Representative from the 45th District of Washington
http://www.leg.wa.gov/house/members/d45_2.htm
Elected

Dean Logan King County Director of Elections
http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/news/2003/073103.htm
Appointed

Bob Terwilliger, Snohomish County Auditor
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/politics/election2003/bios/bio-terwil...
Elected

David Elliott, Washington State Director of Elections
http://www.electioncenter.org/voting/InetVotingWhitePaper.html
Appointed (I will accept his resignation when the people hire me)

Mischelle Townsend, Registrar of Voters, Riverside County Ca.
http://www.co.riverside.ca.us/election/profile.htm
Appointed

Cathy Cox, Secretary of State Ga.
http://www.cathycox.com /
Elected