(R. Doug Lewis) -- got a touchy question, and his web site shut down

[BevHarris]

The Election Center and R. Doug Lewis: Site is down
Other pages are still accessible, like this one, http://electioncenter.proboards14.com/ if you know the address, and here is what is on the page the defunct home page links to:



Why the fuss? Everyone wonders why, when it costs only about $15 per precinct to have the touch screens print out paper ballots that voters can verify, that can be kept in a ballot box for use if needed as evidence and an audit trail, the Election Center quietly passed around a letter to the election industry advocating against the paper trail.

Now, people are beginning to question the money trail on these machines. Who gets lobbying money? Who gets contributions? Does anybody get kickbacks? How are people getting paid? Why did San Diego decide, right in the midst of the exposure of very serious questions about Diebold touch screen security, to hurry ahead and buy 10,000 machines? Why did Maryland do the same, purchasing 11,000 machines for $55 million?

How did the flaws get through certification? Why are the most critical group of people, the secretaries of states, organized by a private firm called "The Election Center?" The Election Center, run by an individual named R. Doug Lewis, also organized and trains state election officials, and, through NASED (National Association of State Election Directors) selects the certifiers of the voting machines.

As more people ask how Diebold machines got through certification, more scrutiny is applied to Wyle Labs (which quit certifying the software in 1996, but through its voting machine specialist Jim Dearman, is said to have certified the firmware examined by the Hopkins/Rice scientists). An even more unusual certifier is Ciber, who certified the GEMS program that was the subject of the Harris report http://www.blackboxvoting.org/access.diebold.htm. This firm is the latest in a series of four software certifiers for voting machines, each of whom dropped certification duties after a short time, each of whom hired Shawn Southworth to do the certification. Who chose Shawn Southworth? NASED, under the guidance of R. Doug Lewis.

Who hired Lewis? Who started The Election Center? What are his credentials? R. Doug Lewis holds perhaps the most powerful position in the United States when it comes to election security. What we do know about him: Prior to running The Election Center, he owned a used computer parts store called Micro Trade Mart for about eight years. It went out of business and he then took over training and organization of the United States election industry.

His resume before this is murky. He claims to have been "an assistant to a president in the White House" (but he doesn't say which president). He says he was the head of the Kansas and Texas Democratic Party (but he doesn't say which years).

On his own forum, someone has asked those simple questions. And now access to the site has been shut down. You try: http://www.electioncenter.org

Will anyone answer the question posed on his forum? Will R. Doug Lewis provide an answer? Or will the question be removed?

Bev Harris

P.S. I tried to sign up for his forum about a month ago. I was not allowed to join, and never could obtain the e-mail response even to participate in the open general forum. I must admit, I probably would have asked the same question. Whoever did, good job. (And why did I get a pop-up of a tattoed rock musician with turquoise eye shadow when I visited the page?)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Who is he?

Why does he matter?

Why do I get a notice that unless I disable my popup killer(as if...) I will get nagging popups?

Do I detect an asshole? I think so, and my asshole detector is finely tuned to a high degree of sensitivity.

[BevHarris]

2. R. Doug Lewis is one of the main reasons you have unauditable voting

He is the single most powerful man in the election industry in the United States, yet he was not elected, and won't answer questions about his credentials.

He matters very much. He is one of a small group of people at the very center of the election industry, and he has far too much power accompanied by very little accountability.

Bev

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Who gave him his power?

What has he done, withing the last 30, 60, or 90 days to deserve this power? Is he another "Self-Defined Man", sprung fully-formed from the loins of Ayn Rand?

I don't get this. No criticism of you, Bev, implied in my questions.

[BevHarris]

7. This is exactly the question -- who hired him? Who set this up?

The Election Center was formed as a private Virginia corporation. It was reincorporated right about the time R. Doug Lewis took over. It was started by an unnamed group of people from Washington D.C. It is located in Houston, Texas.

I have never been able to find out who gave him his power, nor has anyone I know been able to learn the answer. We had two huge threads that asked DU researchers to see what they could find about "The Mystery Man" a couple months ago. They found a lot, but not much about what his credentials are or who hired him.

Bev

[DagmarK]

10. This is who I think he is.........

Purely speculation:

I think he came from the bowels of NASA. I forget who the NASA computer geek turned election queen of San Antonio (a la NASED, I think) was. (Theresa LePore?). She came from NASA. How interesting that NASA and NASED sound sooooooo similar.

I think Dougy probably worked for a think-tank connected to NASA and Reagan's star wars spook brigade. The presi he must have served under was Reagan.

And I believe James Baker gave Dougy the keys to the kingdom with exact orders as to his mission. Mr. Baker, I think, is his boss. And that's why Baker took the reins down in Florida in 2000.

Why do I think this????? No reason in the world other than a strong gut feeling.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

13. Lessee, Texas?

An unsucessful computer service company operator. No shortage of them. From Houston, TX.

My mother, who was psychic(Kinda a southern, always said I was psychic. But it ain't psychic, it's simple arithmatic:

I smell Tom DeLay.

[MuseRider]

37. Bev, I just e mailed a friend

of mine who may be able to help a bit. I will send you any response I get that might be helpful. It would be about his time in Kansas if indeed he was involved in the party.

[BevHarris]

50. I would love to get any information on his time in Kansas

If he was indeed the head of the state Democratic Party, I'm sure someone will remember him -- right?

Thanks!

Bev

[ElsewheresDaughter]

3. i got an http 403 forbidden

:shrug:

[Generic Other]

4. Does this link work?

http://electioncenter.proboards14.com/index.cgi?action=recent

[MrPrax]

14. This one worked for me!

boring forum...but the thread seems intact and a very very good posting by Bev...
Who the hell is this guy?
I hope the 'spin' doesn't cover up the democracy part...hell even an AYM will give you a piece of paper

[BevHarris]

6. Hey, now they let you post there -- I just went and added my reply

If you have questions for the Election Center, I encourage you to go there and post them right away. This is the first time I've been able to ask any questions since R. Doug Lewis hung up on me when I asked about his credentials, last February.

Maybe he will answer you?

Bev

[ElsewheresDaughter]

8. Testimony of R. Doug Lewis for Senate Government Affairs Committee May 9,

http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/050901_Lewis.htm

The Election Center an international service organization of voter registrars and elections administrators
12543 Westella, Ste. 100 Houston, TX 77077
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.electioncenter.org

Testimony of R. Doug Lewis for Senate Government Affairs Committee May 9, 2001

[berry]

11. Thanks for the link to the testimony--

not that it offers much. Was this oral testimony, do you think? It's odd that it doesn't include questions and answers....

And did he ever follow up with all the recommendations he says he's going to detail? I suppose Bev will know.

<<Testimony of R. Doug Lewis for Senate Government Affairs Committee May 9, 2001

It is impossible in just five or six minutes to tell you all of the items we can recommend to fix the worst ills of Election 2000. In just a matter of a few more weeks The Election Center’s National Task Force on Election Reform, composed of representatives of the nation’s elections administrators, will present a report to you and to the public a series of more than 30 specific issues for action with more than 80 specific recommendations.>>

I also wonder who else was up testifying that day. Bev should be testifying to that Committee!

[DagmarK]

9. Clarification please: THE above Qs were on his forum???

That looks like a synopsis on our very first thread on who is Doug Lewis (and who is Southworth) back in June, I think......

Hmmmmmmm

[DagmarK]

12. Hilarious Bev........using your full name on there!!

Brazen Bev! Good for you!

[KC]

15. From the old thread

does anyone still have that picture of him?

[Eloriel]

16. I'm confused, Bev

Are you saying someone else posted those questions and used your name? That's what your P.S. seems to indicate. Other posters aren't picking up on that.

Eloriel

[DEMActivist]

17. No, no, no, no, no...:-)

The first poster in that thread is unknown to Bev.

Bev was just all excited about being able to post without registering. Because when she tried to register before they ignored her.

So she was just happy to be able to support that original poster who she doesn't know. Thrilled might be an apt description.

:evilgrin:

[RedEagle]

18. The Election Center's National Task Force on Election Reform

Task Force mentioned in a previous post. First address wouldn't let me go, next one worked, from Johnson County Election Commissioner (Kansas) Connie Schmidt. Here's the address, who was on the Task force board and task force, and some snips from the report:


http://www.electioncenter.org/electionreformreport/Board%20of%20Directors%20Letter.htm

The Election Center’s
Task Force on Election Reform
Membership
Al Davidson, CERA, Co-Chair
Marion County Clerk
Salem OR 97301

Lance Ward, Co-Chair
Secretary
Oklahoma State Election Board
Oklahoma City OK 73152

Beryl Anderson, CERA
Deputy Secretary of State
Columbus OH 43215

Donald W. (Don) Blevins
Fayette County Clerk
Lexington KY 40507

Ron Chaney
Chairman
Henrico County Electoral Board
Richmond VA 23273

Brad Clark
Registrar of Voters
Alameda County
Oakland CA 94612

Glenda M. Clendenin, CERA
Director
Moore County Board of Elections
Carthage NC 28327

Bill Cowles
Supervisor of Elections
Orange County
Orlando FL 32856

Pam Finlayson, CERA
Director of Elections
Allen County
Fort Wayne IN 46802-1713

Robert J. Fontaine, CERA
Executive Director
Board of Elections
Providence RI 02904

George Gilbert, CERA
Director of Elections
Guilford County
Greensboro NC 27402

Lance Gough
Executive Director
Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
Chicago IL 60602

Jim Hendrix
Director
State Election Commission
Columbia SC 29250

Pat Hollarn, CERA
Supervisor of Elections
Okaloosa County
Fort Walton Beach FL 32547-1285

Carolyn A. Jackson
Hamilton County Election Commission
Chattanooga TN 37403

J. Patrick Kelly, CERA
El Paso County Clerk/Recorder
Colorado Springs CO 80901-2007

Kevin Kennedy
Executive Director
Wisconsin Elections Board
Madison WI 53701-2973

Scott O. Konopasek
Election Manager
Snohomish County
Everett WA 98201-4059

Conny B. McCormack
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
Los Angeles County
Norwalk CA 90651-1024

Johnnie McLean
Deputy Director for Administration
North Carolina State Board of Elections
Raleigh NC 27602-2169

Peggy Nighswonger
Elections Director
Secretary of State's Office
Cheyenne WY 82002-0020

The Election Center’s
Task Force on Election Reform
Membership
Cathy Pearsall-Stipek, CPO
Pierce County Auditor
Tacoma WA 98409-7484

Toni Pippins-Poole
Assistant Elections Administrator
Dallas County
Dallas TX 75207

Ernie Roberson, CERA
Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters
Shreveport LA 71101

Connie Schmidt
Johnson County Election Commissioner
Olathe KS 66061

Howard G. Sholl, Jr
Deputy Administrative Director
New Castle County Dept of Elections
Wilmington DE 19801

Christopher M. Thomas
Director of Elections
Lansing MI 48901

Dawn Williams, CERA
Marshall County Deputy Auditor
Marshalltown IA 50158

John Willingham
Williamson County Elections Administrator
Georgetown TX 78626

Regis Young, CERA
Butler County
Director of Election/Voter Registration
Butler PA 16003

Jane Carroll
Plantation FL 33322

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gary Bartlett
Executive Secretary-Director
State Board of Elections
Raleigh NC 27602

Donetta Davidson
Secretary of State
Denver CO 80202

Ernest Hawkins, CERA
Registrar of Voters
Sacramento County
Sacramento CA 95827

R. Doug Lewis, CERA
Executive Director
The Election Center
Houston TX 77077

Julie Pearson, CERA
Pennington County Auditor
Rapid City SD 57701

Tom Wilkey
Executive Director
State Board of Elections
Albany NY 12223


(What's with this? NASED brain child of TEC?)

Acting as a catalyst for new ideas or working with difficult issues, it was through The Election Center: That state directors of elections formed the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and served as an incubator for NASED until the organization could operate on its own (1989).


(Does this kind of sound like an artificially created front for TEC to work through?)

The Center also provides staff services to the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) for the voting systems program. NASED is responsible for the voluntary testing, through an independent nationally recognized testing laboratories (NRTL), of voting systems hardware and software to meet or exceed the Federal Voting Systems Standards as developed by the Federal Election Commission. The program as administered by the Center for NASED, comprises developing materials for distribution to government officials concerning systems testing, developing and handling the public information about the program, administering the day-to-day needs of the program, and assuring that American jurisdictions get qualified voting systems that will continue the fair, free, honest and accurate elections that are the hallmarks of American democracy. The Center continues to invest considerable time and resources of its own toward this project which is vital for democracy.

[w4rma]

19. Various references

"Fix the Vote, but Skip the Uniformity " by R. Doug Lewis
…
Doug Lewis is the executive director of the Election Center in Houston, a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit association of state and local election administrators.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43514-2000Dec22.html

Lewis is the executive director of The Election Center in Houston. In his opinion "America's voting system is not totally broken and does not need a major overhaul", only some minor fine-tuning. Some of the fine-tuning he suggests is self-serving, such as federal dollars to train local election officials - a service he provides. He bemoans the "a hue and cry for wholesale reforms" and is quick to dismiss new ideas from "a parade of pundits second-guessing the way we choose our presidents". He seems to be satisfied with the status quo, including punch-card ballots. He seems pleased that "between 95 and 99.4 percent , depending on the county -- cast their ballots correctly" and does not seem troubled by the millions who did not. And he actually says, "our decentralized system allows for flexibility and innovation." What flexibility? What innovation? What a mess!

Even so, he does have a few suggestions that I hope will be considered by Congress, for example: "Congress should give local and state election administrators the right to record and use the Social Security numbers of all voters. Appropriate safeguards can be devised for meeting privacy issues. Use of Social Security numbers is critical to protecting the rights of individuals -- to keep them from inadvertently being removed from voter rolls as felons, or confused with individuals of the same name or birth date. How many Mary Smiths or Jesus Martinezes are there? It was for exactly that reason that Congress amended the Social Security Act in 1994 to permit the use of Social Security numbers by state motor vehicle departments and by state and local courts. It makes no sense that election officials are still prohibited by Congress from using them."
http://erin.home.4t.com/12_2000_News.html

…
But Congress did not want to impose new cost requirements on the states, he says, and the standards became voluntary.

The Federal Election Commission had no money to enforce standards, and vendors were wary of picking up the cost. So an association of state election directors hired a consultant to find laboratories to test voting systems. The group agreed to mediate among vendors, labs and authorities.

It became an example of interdependence between public election officials and private companies that critics say can grow too intimate. In this instance, there was no illegality, not even over-reliance upon the vendors to do official duties--but there was unchallenged secrecy.

The first vendor to sign up for testing complained about Election Technology Laboratories, says R. Doug Lewis, executive director of the Houston-based Election Center, which helps administer the program. Among the vendor's concerns was the lab's desire to examine its actual lines of computer programming code.
…
http://edition.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/11/latimes.votecount/
http://stolenvotes.org.uk/usa

…
R. Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center, a nonpartisan group that trains and certifies election supervisors,
…
http://www.sptimes.com/News/120300/Columns/The_election_is_a_tie.shtml

…
As members of the Board of Directors of The Election Center, we are pleased to present the final document to the public.

Ernest Hawkins, Registrar,
Sacramento County, CA

Donetta Davidson,
Secretary of State, CO

Julie Pearson, Auditor,
Pennington County, SD

Gary Bartlett, Ex. Dir.,
NC State Board of Elections

Tom Wilkey, Ex. Dir. ,
NY State Board of Elections

R. Doug Lewis, Ex. Dir.,
The Election Center
http://www.electioncenter.org/electionreformreport/Board%20of%20Directors%20Letter.htm

…
About The Election Center

The Election Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. The Election Center’s purpose is to promote, preserve, and improve democracy.

Its members are almost exclusively government employees whose profession it is to serve in voter registration and elections administration, i.e., voter registrars, elections supervisors, elections directors, city clerk/city secretary, county clerk, county recorder, state legislative staff, state election director and Secretary of State for each of the individual states, territories, and the District of Columbia and voting systems manufacturers.
…
A small professional staff is maintained to develop and administer these programs and to provide research services for members, legislators, local, state and federal elections officials. Research projects can involve in-depth surveys of major issues or specific portions of laws affecting voter registration and elections.

The Center also provides staff services to the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) for the voting systems program. NASED is responsible for the voluntary testing, through an independent nationally recognized testing laboratories (NRTL), of voting systems hardware and software to meet or exceed the Federal Voting Systems Standards as developed by the Federal Election Commission. The program as administered by the Center for NASED, comprises developing materials for distribution to government officials concerning systems testing, developing and handling the public information about the program, administering the day-to-day needs of the program, and assuring that American jurisdictions get qualified voting systems that will continue the fair, free, honest and accurate elections that are the hallmarks of American democracy. The Center continues to invest considerable time and resources of its own toward this project which is vital for democracy.

With more than 1,000 members nationwide, The Election Center has the largest number of the state and local election and voter registration administrators as members of any elections related organization in America.
http://www.electioncenter.org/electionreformreport/APPENDIX%20A%20B%20C%20Task%20Force%20Report%20.htm

[BevHarris]

20. The research provided on Lewis (above) is nice but it still doesn't

explain what his credentials are to hold this office, who hired him, who pays him, or who he is.

From 1986 to 1994, R. Doug Lewis sold used computer parts. Then he took a position as the ultimate insider in the election industry for the United States of America.

Somebody find anything on R. Doug Lewis pre-1994 (something that holds up, not the resume "I was assistant for a president (unnamed) in the White House) --

All the speeches, pontificating and public talking about elections after 1994 are nice...but WHO IS HE?

What we do know is that he hangs up on people. (Me. Voting machine whistleblower Dan Spillane. And an investigative reporter for a large newspaper). And we do know he is one of the people running the show, though he won't answer any of the tough questions.

Think about this: If someone has genuine stature, do they take out their own web site because they can't figure out how to disable a message in a forum asking what their credentials are? (His forum is hosted by an outside server, and the link to the forum was situated in one of the top positions in the menu bar frame on his home page).

Just wondering...

Bev

[punpirate]

21. Well, Bev...

... just go back to those four companies he ran in the early `80s to explain what he is. *smile*

I think I'm going to search around for my copy of the George C. Scott movie, "The Flim-Flam Man," just to see if there are any similarities to R. Doug Lewis....

Cheers.

[BevHarris]

26. Oh yeah. The ones that all had the same initials.

Change what the acronym stands for depending on who you are pitching. Handy, isn't it?

Lobbying, marketing, just make sure the word "America" is in the acronym. I'll have to go look up my information on that, was it you? I think so. A DUer did find another smidgen about him, and it was involvement in four companies with the same acronym.

This should be interesting.

Bev

[punpirate]

51. Yeah, found through...

... the Texas DBA records. That's what I meant.

Cheers.

[ParanoidPat]

23. Looks like he only removed the main 'frames' page....

......because this Google search for site:www.electioncenter.org "electioncenter.org" gets you to all of the rest of the pages!

Download 'em if you want 'em! They're going fast! :evilgrin:

Yo! R.Doug! You set it up so everyone has to ask YOU any questions about certification of this crap and now that a few million of us want to know more about it you won't even leave your web site available so we can read your lame ass BS!

What up dude? :shrug: Just so you remember, it's who we choose on our ballot that's supposed to be kept secret, NOT how the ballots are counted! :)

[DEMActivist]

36. Well, the message boards are remotely hosted

So, I suspect he can't even contol that one. hehehehehehehehe

[Lostnote03]

22. Well, well, well???

.....I have not participated in much of the discussion regarding electronic voting simply because my lack of knowledge surrounding the world of bits and bytes.....I however have read just about every thread relating to the subject posted here.....I dutifully walked into our county election supervisors office 3 or 4 months ago and asked him to please pay attention to the the developing imformation....He referenced Bevs testimony in California as being factually inconsistant and pretty much summed up his intent by stating that when it hits the headlines he will look more seriously into the matter....He did say that he would read Bevs book however I felt that he was just being polite....I had forgotten R.Doug Lewis's name but managed to recall Southworths name and mentioned the Huntsville companies as well as the proprietory software concerns....In any case he did not appear to recognize the names and allowed me to stumble onward.....Well Lo and Behold listed in the Nat'l Advisory Task Force is the rat bastards name....I would like some advise regarding how to approach this gentlemans "nothing here, move on" attitude that he dismissed me with....I am considering my first letter to the editor and would like some guidance regarding this issue....Best wishes

[DUreader]

25. Bev and other BBV, Please Read Lostnote03's Reply

kick

[BevHarris]

27. Now what you said there is really interesting:

he did not appear to recognize the names and allowed me to stumble onward.....Well Lo and Behold listed in the Nat'l Advisory Task Force is the rat bastards name

These guys are thick as thieves, but they can't remember each other's names when asked? Good footwork, Lostnote. You guys are really making a difference.

And I can just imagine how many perfectly honest county election officials began calling The Election Center for guidance recently. I'll bet many of them are beginning to wonder about the evasiveness too.

Bev

[Lostnote03]

53. Thanks for the replies....

......I alerted my election supervisor the day of the Johns Hopkins NY Time article.....Actually I would like some ideas on what to ask this individual since he sat on the advisory task force.....I seriously doubt if this man is computer savy so an obvious question would be, did the discussion of vote rigging even come up and if so who presented the arguement that diminished its effect on the decision making process.....My local paper has not printed anything on the subject and with a fall election heating up the impact of a letter to the editor will certainly make it onto the talk radio shows....Our largest city has purchased Diebold so this will certainly add to the mix....best wishes

[salin]

28. You should send him the article that appeared in many eastcoast papers

last week about a study raising questions (Johns Hopkins?) and/or an item in Maryland that, I believe the Governor has taken some action (I don't remember what - maybe more study or slowing down the transition to the electronic machines?) in relation to the study.

Can anyone fill in the blanks ? Where is the study - which big paper did it run in - and what did was the Maryland Governor's response.

If these are in the paper - then you, Lostnote, can show this official that the story HAS indeed hit the papers.

[DagmarK]

38. Salin.....about the MD gov's decision to test the machines...careful!

It's a HUGE setup..... I don't have the link to the 200+ post thread on the MD Gov's choice of SAIC (the private leg of the Pentagon) to "test" the software......

[salin]

41. the point isn't his solution - it is an answer to 'when it (the story) is

in print. These are two instances where the story made it to the press. The duer says the official wouldn't really entertain a whole lot of discussion about the issue until it was in print.

In this instance - all that is important - is links to the newspaper stories about the electronic voting machines - that voice concerns.

[ParanoidPat]

24. How to fix a 'broken' web site!

Now if only elections were this easy to fix! :evilgrin:

The Election Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and improving democracy. Its members are government employees whose profession is to serve in voter registration and elections administration.

Choose one of the links to learn more about the Election Center.

* About Election Center
* Election center board of directors
* Membership information
* Code of Ethics
* Information on NASED systems

Latest additions:

HHS Grant info (.pdf format) *NEW*
DRE's and the Election Process (.doc format)

ACCESSIBILITY GRANTS FOR POLLING PLACES

We have visited with the people at US Health and Human Services that will be in charge of the accessibility grants and here is what we can tell you at this time:

· They are not yet prepared to accept phone calls or applications, but should be ready by mid-April.

· They anticipate placing a notice in the Federal Register in mid-April which will inform of the availability and conditions of funding.

· They will send us a link in the near future that will provide interested parties with access to applications and directions for completing applications

· The information will be available by April 15 at THE EARLIEST and they discourage direct inquiries about the process and applications prior to that date.

According to them, they are operating on three principles:

· Keep the process simple

· Put the notice and conditions of payments out quickly

· Be consistent with the direction in the law

In our conversation with them, they indicated they anticipate that on the 45th day after being published in the Federal Register, that they will cutoff applications at that point for FY 03. All valid applications received as of close of business that day, will be qualified for a portion of the $13 million. They will be looking for compliance with these things:

· Making polling places and voting areas of each polling facility accessible to the disabled including privacy and independence

· That the jurisdiction is notifying (including outreach) people with disabilities where accessible polling places are located.

· That the jurisdiction is involved in training volunteers, election officials, and pollworkers on accessibility issues in voting

After reviewing the applications that have met the requirements and are received by the deadline, it is their intention to see that all qualified applications receive some funding under the provisions of the law.

We will let you know more when we know more.



Important Notice !

Conference Committe - Side-by-side Summary of House and Senate Bills (pdf)
Conference Committee Document- Summary of House and Senate Bills with similarities and differences (MSWord)

Introduction to HR3295 Agreement
House-Senate Agreement 10/2002

ELECTION REFORM LEGISLATION MOVING - TIME FOR ACTION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS

Election Reform Legislation Passed


Section by section summary of Final HR3295
Final version of HR3295 (.pdf quite large)
HR3295 Passed by Senate
HR3295 Passed by House

Recommendations to Congressional Conference Comm on Election Reform -June 13, 2002
Election Reform Report
New job openings
Professional Education Program Special Summer Session
Associated Press Story on DOD Facilities
New Brochure Available on Official Elections Postal Logo
Op Ed on Elections
Washington Post Op Ed Article
New Election Officials Workshop
March 14 Testimony to U.S. Senate Rules Committee on Elections Reform
Senate Government Reform Testimony, May 9 2001
House Administration Testimony, May 10 2001
NASED overview of getting voting systems qualified



We would like to get feedback from you. Please feel free to tell us what you think!

[Terwilliger]

29. Hey Bev!

http://www.yesmagazine.org./26courage/pibel.htm

Is that an article you're familiar with? Seems like word is getting around. I found the link on www.cannabisnews.com

[DEMActivist]

33. Great article!!!!

Whoooo hooo! With a plug for DU too!!

Doug Pibel is a frequent YES! contributor whose opinions can be found at www.democraticunderground.com and www.onlinejournal.com.

[DUreader]

30. Vadem posted some video of R Doug L.

link to Vadem thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=156575


Do you want to see video of R. Doug Lewis...

Vadem (161 posts)
Sun Aug-10-03 05:15 AM
Original message
Do you want to see video of R. Doug Lewis...



in which he praises Teresa LePore and vows to stand at her side anywhere; he tells a naughty joke
about adulterers and St. Peter -- must see it.

This is a complete video shelf of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections at their Annual
Conference, 6/3/03; Doug Lewis has four segments. I watched the beginning of his first one on HAVA
titled "How we got Here". The other segments are "Initial Legislative Intent", "Voter Intent" and "Steps
to Take". Lots of other speakers, too:

http://www.thoughtron.com/srqvideoarchives/Shelf_Of_Vids_2003SumConf.htm


This one is a webcast held at Georgia Tech titled "Help America Vote Act: Full Participation in the
Electoral Process for Persons with Disabilities", 5/13/03.

http://www.tvworldwide.com/event_030513_ittatc.cfm

[LEFTofLEFT]

31. I guess my statement to you is to have faith in us as competent elections

I guess my statement to you is to have faith in us as competent elections administrators....

Statement to congress by Doug Lewis.


Have faith - That they will fuck us

[DUreader]

32. Sounds like Enron's faith based accounting n/t

[JNelson6563]

34. and of this:

Have faith - That they will fuck us

I am a devout believer. ;-)

Julie

[Junkdrawer]

35. Let me ask this musical question: "Who are we up against?"

I mean this seriously. Is it:

1.) A small group of companies hawking voting machines?

2.) A little larger group of RW politicos and the voting machine companies?

3.) The largest part of the Republican Party?

4.) The same shadow government that brought us Selection 2000, controls BushCo and includes such groups as PNAC?

I think it's 4.) and I'm starting to wonder about what used to be called "rogue elements of the CIA". I'm sorry, but R. Doug Lewis's background smells a lot like a cover story to me.

[Lone_Wolf]

39. I have a feeling it is 1 and 4

Basically, the wingnuts that believe the end justifies the means.

[DagmarK]

40. We are up against the Republican Party........

They steamrolled this whole thing -- they are in power because of it -- they are responsible to the people.

So basically......it doesn't matter WHO is engineering this hostile takeover of free elections. It's our govt who is enabling it.

This basically needs to go to an open congressional inquiry.

and that isn't going to happen.

And therefore, we need a HUGE lawsuit in federal court to REQUIRE the Congress to open this can of worms.

[DEMActivist]

43. Actually.....

I can tell you from personal experience that it's NOT just the republicans.

Please understand that we have first hand experience that indicts the Georgia Democrats in this. Their attempt to stonewall ANY investigation into this goes all the way up to the DLC/DNC players as well.

on edit:
The "republicans" may be writing the programs, but the Democrats (like Cathy Cox) are buying them. There's a lot of money flowing into (D) coffers as well.

[starroute]

42. 1997 newsgroup postings

I went looking for "Doug Lewis" on Google Groups last night and found two messages posted by him on April 16, 1997 at a newsgroup called "su.org.assu.elections."

One just said, "I represent The Election Center. . . Does that fit with what happens here?"

The other was a lengthy response to a thread about how to increase voter turnout, saying that simply making voting easier wouldn't help and what was needed was civics classes for the young, emphasizing the importance of voting. It concluded, "Working with elections and the elections process is my career, my love & my passion and yet I know the solutions are more involved than most people want."

That made me wonder a bit, both because love and passion have not been obvious hallmarks of Doug Lewis's activities since 1997, and also because he never seems to have posted to any newsgroup either before or after those two posts on that single day.

He really looks more like someone attempting to establish creds in a certain area than like a person who really had a passion for electoral reform.

[Junkdrawer]

44. This may have gotten lost in the discussion on SAIC...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=131243&mesg_id=131243#131347

[RedEagle]

45. Some information from NASED

Right, this isn't specifically about Lewis, but if we can nail down when these organizations were formed, who was involved, and if it all happened in relatively the same time frame...

And, why was something as important as the election process left out to fend for itself, letting an organization like The Election Center get involved? Did the crisis hit in 2000 or in the late 80's, and was it or were they contrived?

Did this happen in the latter years of the Bush/Reagan regime? (And I DO mean to flip those. Don't believe Reagan was doing the driving)

Was this about the same time that Hagel went to Nebraska to head up ES&S?

As previously posted:

Acting as a catalyst for new ideas or working with difficult issues, it was through The Election Center: That state directors of elections formed the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and served as an incubator for NASED until the organization could operate on its own (1989).

(This is a chicken and egg question. Who formed NASED? Whose brainchild was it really? Doug Lewis?)


http://www.nased.org/


* ALL QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE
TESTING PROCESS MUST BE DIRECTED
TO THE ELECTION CENTER.

(Right now, you can't get to The Election Center from the link at NASED's site)


(I just thought some of the items on the agenda of this meeting were of interest)

NASED WINTER MEETING
February 8-10, 2002
Capital Hilton, Washington DC
Congressional Room
(Draft)


Purchasing Statewide Systems
Linda Lamone, Maryland
Britt Williams, Technical Consultant, Georgia

(Our two favorite purchasers of statewide systems)

Federalism vs. Nationalism in the Current Political Climate:
How the Battle Will Define Your Job
Michael Greava, John G. Searle Scholar
American Enterprise Institute
(Coordinated With the NASS Agenda)

(Does anyone else find it odd to be even discussing these issues at a meeting of Election officials? I mean, Election Officials jobs couldn't be more simple, right- conduct fair, honest elections. What does Federalism, Nationalism, and the Current Political Climate have to do with it?)

[hedda_foil]

47. The AEI had a speaker on Federalism/Nationalism at NASED?????

I totally concur with your take on this, RedEagle. It REEKS!

[Junkdrawer]

49. I was musing about that today...

Seems every time somebody thinks that the CIA and/or the Military Industrial Complex (MIC??) should be cut back or reined-in, BAM, there's either an assassination or there's an election where a disproportionate number of far right politicians are voted in. Notable dates are: 1963, 1980 and 1994. They are, in turn, Kennedy's assassination (rumor at the time had it that Kennedy wanted to cut back the CIA), Reagan's election (just a few years after the Church committee added Senate oversight to the CIA) and the year the Democrats lost the House (just after the country started to demand the Peace Dividend at the end of the Cold War).

And if the country “turns to the right” to cut back on “those tax-and-spend Democrats”, they are badly mistaken. The Reagan/Bush I years were marked by the largest increases in Defense spending and Federal deficits ever. Now we’re getting the same with Bush II. The rhetoric is conservative, but the actions seem to benefit the CIA and the MIC.

[hedda_foil]

57. You're right. And Reagan's election was also ...

After Carter fired all Poppy B's pet CIA thugs (who promptly went private, of course).

[Vadem]

46. Kick, again...

:kick:

[salin]

48. Funny... this morning - I got onto the site - now it appears to be down.

hmmmm coincidence (perhaps)... due to all the traffic generated from Bev? (perhaps)... or in response to all of the traffic generated from Bev? (perhaps)....

[Vadem]

52. Who started the Election Center? Doug Lewis states:

(paraphrasing) "It was begun in 1985 by two former members of the Federal Election Commission, Office of Election Administration, recognizing that there was not enough teaching for election officials on how to make improvements to the voting process." (Of course, he doesn't state the names of those two former members).

This was taken from the video of the webcast by RESNA Technical Assistance Project, ITTATC, and Georgia Tech's Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) on the HAVA: Full Participation in the Electoral Process for Persons with Disabilities, on May 13, 2003. (Lewis' statement is at approximately 10:19 on the video):

http://www.tvworldwide.com/event_030513_ittatc.cfm

As to how we can find out who R. Doug Lewis is, I'm wondering if the spam we have all received on "Spyware", to find out everything about your neighbor, boyfriend, Congressman, etc., would work on finding Lewis; or perhaps that software advertisement is truly spam.

Has anyone ever bought it and tried it?

[BevHarris]

54. The Election Center may have been started in 1985 but

it was reincorporated shortly before Lewis took over.

Bev

[RedEagle]

55. Lewis and Cast of Character Around Him and Standards Board

I wasn’t searching for R. Doug Lewis per se, but find it interesting that at the recent NASED meeting, he and Tom Wilkey and Denise Lamb gave a presentation on ITA issues. Thought maybe if looking specifically for Lewis didn’t bring anything up, looking at the others might. Wilkey has been associated with this for some time, too. Small article on Wilkey included here.

I pulled some information from the web, looking for the panel that does the voting systems standards. This first post is 2/18/00. The post in parentheses is from the FEC website: www.fec.gov/pages/vssfinal/overview.doc. These standards were approved 4/30/02. So there is roughly a period of two years here. Note that most of the players stay the same, sometimes they are further up in the hierarchy. Also note that when Shawn Southworth changes companies, a Jennifer Price seems to go with him.

In the later group, we have SysTest. If information is correct, they have 1/3 interest in VoteHere. Need that confirmed. If so, that might explain, under Issues Not Addressed by the Revised Standards in the 2002 standards, that although they kind of condemn Internet voting, they happen to see it as fine and dandy for the military and overseas voters. (Voila, SERVE) I find the second paragraph interesting, as it seems to talk about DRE’s as a coming technology, and they were certainly around when this was created. The telecommunications angle is interesting, since lately I’ve been hearing about voting by Internet and PHONE. This may be kind of a skewed set-up for that.

Anyway, if SysTest is connected to VoteHere, they definitely didn’t belong on this panel in any capacity. And who or what are Computer Sciences Corporation, Granite Creek Technology, and a Software Consultant from (where else) Texas doing on this board?


http://www.elections.state.ny.us/news/wilkey.htm

ALBANY, NY-(2/18/00)- New York State Board of Elections Executive Director
Tom Wilkey was reappointed Chair of the Voting Systems Accreditation Board of the National
Association of State Election Directors.

The fourteen member panel of state and local election administrators and computer
professionals selects and monitors Independent Test Agencies for the qualification testing of
voting systems throughout the United States. Currently, thirty two states, including New York
participate in this program.

Mr. Wilkey has chaired the panel since completing his term as NASED's president in
1996.

The panel is currently serving as an ad-hoc advisory board to the Federal Election
Commission in the revision of the Federal Voting Systems Standards which were released in
1990. These standards, which are the basis for NASED testing, are being updated to include the
latest technological advances including future use of the Internet and other related software
systems in the voting process. The revised standards are for the use of the states should they
adopt such methods and are due to be released during 2001.

http://civic.net/civic-values.archive/200102/msg00107.html


NASED
VOTING SYSTEMS/INDEPENDENT TEST AUTHORITY
ACCREDITATION BOARD
(National Association of State Election Directors Voting Systems Board)


Thomas R. Wilkey, Chair
Executive Director
New York State Board of Elections
Albany, New York
(Thomas R. Wilkey, Chair, info same)

Yvonne Smith, Vice Chair
Assistant to the Executive Director
Illinois State Board of Elections
Chicago, Illinois
(Yvonne Smith- Member Emeritus, Former Assistant to Executive Director)


Robert Naegele, President
Granite Creek Technology
Pacific Grove, California
(Robert Naegele- same)

Brit Williams, CSIS Dept
Kennesaw State College
Marietta, Georgia
(Brit Williams, same)

Paul Craft, Computer Audit Analyst
Florida State Division of Elections
Tallahassee, Florida
(Paul Craft, same)

Tom Harrison, Executive Director
Texas Ethics Commission
Austin, Texas
(Not on the 2002 list)

Denise Lamb, Vice Chair
Director State Bureau of Elections
Sante Fe, New Mexico
(Not on 2000 list)

David Elliott, Elections Division
Office of the Secretary of State
Olympia, Washington
(David Elliot, Assistant Director of Elections, rest the same)

Marie Brewer, Executive Assistant
Office of the Commissioner of Elections
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(Not on 2002 list)

Connie Schmidt
Johnson County Election Commission
Olathe, Kansas
(Not on 2000 list)

Donnetta Davidson, Arapaho County Clerk
(Donetta Davidson, Secretary of State, Colorado)

Steve Freeman, Software Consultant
League City, Texas
(Steve Freeman, same)

Jay W. Nispel
Senior Principal Engineer
Computer Sciences Corporation
Annapolis Junction, Maryland
(Not on 2000 list)


Ex Officios:

Penelope Bonsall, Director
Office of Election Administration
Federal Election Commission
Washington, D.C.
(Penelope Bonsall, same)

Joe Hazeltine
Jim Dearman
Wyle Laboratories
Huntsville, Alabama
(Jim Dearman only, in 2002, otherwise, same)

Jennifer Price
Shawn Southworth
Nichols Research
Huntsville, Alabama
(Jennifer Price, Shawn Southworth,
CIBER, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama)

Stephen Berger, Chair
IEEE Voting Equip. Standard
Working Group
Georgetown, Texas
(Not in 2000 group)

Carolyn Coggins
SysTest Labs
Denver, Colorado
(Not in 2000 group)


ITA Committee Secretariat:

The Election Center
R. Doug Lewis, Executive Director
12543 Westella St, Ste 100
Houston, TX 77077-3929
Tele: 281/293-0101
Fax: [phone]
281/293-8739
(Same except delete 281/293-8739 and add: [e-mail])

[BevHarris]

56. If SysTest has a fiduciary interest in VoteHere they need to recuse

from all voting machine certification. That needs to be verified, though. How does one call themselves an "Independent" Testing Authority (ITA) if they are not independent of the vendors?

I'll be that SysTest and VoteHere tie does not check out, because it sounds too bizarre even for the very strange voting industry.

[RedEagle]

58. Update on Systest(Not) Cisco should be in that slot

Checking into this revealed it's not Systest, as I indicated needed verification. It's Cisco that is supposed to have 1/3 interest.

I think I've been at this too long. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to check out Cisco either, I suppose.

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/govtaffs/regis/

This shows the relationship between Cisco and VoteHere

[Vadem]

60. Jennifer Price (Southworth's sidekick)

Has Jennifer left Shawn or is she working two jobs?

:shrug:


http://www.madisonresearch.com/news/press/020202.asp


MADISON RESEARCH CORPORATION ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS, NEW HIRE

Huntsville, AL (February 2, 2002): Madison Research Corporation recently announced the promotions of Larry Lewis and Regina Spradling, and the addition of Jennifer Price to MRC’s corporate office.

Larry Lewis, previously Manager of Corporate Development, has been promoted to Director of Corporate Development. Lewis will continue to be responsible for all of the company’s facilities, internal information technology infrastructure and MIS development, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions support. Lewis received his bachelor’s degree in technical industrial management from the New College at the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama.

Regina Spradling has been promoted to Systems Analyst in Madison Research Corporation’s software engineering department. She will be responsible for configuration management and technical writing for the company’s Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model, Level III activities. Spradling received a bachelor’s degree in general studies with a minor in business management from Columbia College of Missouri. She has been employed with MRC since January 2000.

Jennifer Price has joined Madison Research Corporation as Director of Information Software. She will lead the information software business practice, which is focused on migrating and supporting legacy systems, developing new application software and providing software consulting. Price received a master’s degree in computer science and engineering management form the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She has more than 18 years of experience in software development, including client/server and Web technologies.

Madison Research Corporation specializes in providing high quality Engineering and Information Technology Services to Federal Government agencies. Founded in 1986, MRC employs more than 650.

[ParanoidPat]

59. He's BAAAAACCCKKK!

Hi Doug! We missed ya'! :evilgrin:

I wonder what he changed? :shrug: We'll have to check the current pages against the 'way back machine'! :) LOL!