Black Box: Updates on Georgia, California official records requests

[BevHarris]

1. Georgia: The Georgia Libertarian Party filed a records request last week. The deadline for the state of Georgia to respond was today. No response came in. When another request was filed last spring by DU members, the state also missed the deadline, but just by one day. Therefore...stay tuned...they had better respond by tomorrow! That should be very interesting.

2. California: Jim March, a Republican from California, filed a records request in Alameda County. The county responded that they would answer none of his public records request as it was all proprietary. He then asked for a document that was clearly public domain, the contract. In a nutshell, they are still dodging. His full report and comments on it can be found at http://www.blackboxvoting.org/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID12/34.html

Here is Jim March's report:

As promised, on Monday 8/11/03 I filed an updated, revamped PRAR with the county, and dropped a copy off with the same county lawyer who wrote the denial letter (as well as the Registrar's office).
You can now see the final version of that PRAR (mostly unchanged from the prelim weekend version) linked from my main "voteprar" page in both Acrobat and HTML formats:

http://www.equalccw.com/voteprar.html

They wouldn't allow immediate onsite review of even those documents they admit are definately public, such as Diebold's contract with the county. They want all queries to get reviewed by the lawyers.

I found out why, too: anybody wanna guess how big that contract is?

I kid you not: 300 pages.

They said that in an attempt to dissuade me from even asking (and they want 75cents a page!). I said I'd review it onsite and ask for copies of interesting bits. That seemed to take the gusto out of 'em.

Three HUNDRED pages? Jesus H. Christ...no wonder they're running scared. The sumbich probably has "secrecy clauses" in there up the yingyang. They're not sure exactly what info release could trigger such clauses, it's doubtful they understand it fully themselves, so of COURSE they're going to stonewall.

Good GOD folks.

Anyways. They have 10 days from 8/11 to respond. I'll keep y'all informed.

Jim March

[BevHarris]

1. Link to update from Pima County Democrats, who are also

pursuing remedies:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=167280

Gordon and crew have compiled an excellent report.

-- Bev

[Eloriel]

3. Yeah, it really is an awesome report

Quite suitable, I would think, for sharing with any local and state election officials as introductory material. And with the press.

Eloriel

[dusty64]

2. Yikes.

It seems unbelievable anyone would agree to such a contract, have they forgotten they work for the People and we have EVERY right to know what these machines are doing with our votes. As for Georgia, I guess they feel they do not need to honor deadlines. I've got to hand it to the Libertarians here at least they care, which is more than I can say for the Democratic and Green party in Georgia.

[DEMActivist]

4. Thanks to the Election Center (R. Doug Lewis)...

I expect the same basic response from Georgia as we see in California.

Does anyone have any doubt that R. Doug Lewis is coordinating these responses?

The interesting thing about the Libertarian request in Georgia is that the person requesting the information WAS ON THE BALLOT. We're not just talking about Joe/Jane Voter here, he was a candidate for Governor in 2002.

You think they'll have the courage to tell a CANDIDATE he can't see those records? (Personally, I hope they do. That response will equate to "lawsuit city.")

[arcane1]

5. wonderful work! again!

guys, we in CA need to raelly hammer our reps on this, with the recall looming. I'm in nearby Contra Costa, and I just might be faxing them the whole 24-page Johns Hopkins study, with the additional material so skillfully provided here

:evilgrin:



:toast:

[Eloriel]

6. You might want to include these

Hopkins Report: http://avirubin.com/vote.pdf)

Diebold Rebuttal to Hopkins Report: http://www.diebold.com/checksandbalances.pdf

Rubin et. al. - response to Diebold rebuttal: http://avirubin.com/vote/response.html


From Bev's site:
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

Eloriel

[ozymandius]

7. (and they want 75cents a page!)

Bev,

the same thing happened to one of my wife's friends. The friend is an investigative reporter in Tampa. While he was working on a local corruption story, he submitted a FOIA request. The county officials quoted him a copy price of $1 per page. Can you imagine the look on their faces when he arrived at the county official's office pushing a Xerox machine?

Just an idea.

Thank you for keeping the heat turned up.

[Zan_of_Texas]

10. FOIA

I was just talking to an investigative journalist about these type of info requests (on another topic). She said that in that case, a journalist got so frustrated requesting documents, that the government said were "lost," that he requested a document he had already gotten from them earlier, and they said THAT was "lost."

[ParanoidPat]

16. A laptop and a small hand scanner....

.....Would be sufficient! :evilgrin:
Don't forget extra batteries for the laptop! :) (They may not let you plug in) :(

[4dog]

8. Voter-verified ballot option available now

Near-dupe of post to earlier Bev thread that now is not very active.

Found this in Wired from May 9 afer reading the first post . Voting Machine Leaves Paper Trail .
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58738,00.html

Lou Dedier of ES&S supposedly made a prototype V-VB machine (not described). Avante and Vote-Trakker are also mentioned and linked. Diebold says they would make one if the market demands it.

Theoretically this should be welcome news. Practically, I am scared of products from Omaha, the center of much big-Republican activity. Any thoughts on how the V-VB could be corrupted?

Sorry this is off topic. Should I have posted this separately?

[Eloriel]

9. I dunno (re separate thread) but I'm grateful for the info

Thanks for posting this!

Eloriel

[4dog]

22. You're welcome, gracious lady, whose signature I always

look for to find an intelligent post.

[BevHarris]

11. And speaking of records requests -- Hagel suddenly "finds" disclosure doc

Full info on this here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=169255

[RedEagle]

12. Are The Same Players Still In Alameda?

I found my previous information on the Task Force for Election Reform, 2000. Is Brad Clark still around Alameda?


The Election Center’s
Task Force on Election Reform
Membership


Brad Clark
Registrar of Voters
Alameda County
Oakland CA 94612

[BevHarris]

14. Yes, same players:

http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11271~1565819,00.html

Aug 12, 2003: "Diebold touch screens have worked well in Alameda County, which switched from punch cards last year, registrar of voters Brad Clark said."

[BevHarris]

13. News Story: Cathy Cox defends Georgia touch screens

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/081303/new_20030813049.shtml

"Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox speaks Tuesday to a crowd of about 100 people at the Athens-Clarke County Library. Cox says the statewide electronic voting system is more accurate than the hodgepodge of voting methods that had been used in the state.

"In fact, the odds are better now that Georgians' votes are counted accurately than before the electronic machines were adopted, Cox said in a Tuesday appearance at the Athens-Clarke County Library.

"The university scientists' conclusions reflect a misunderstanding of the way elections are run, Cox said. Computer security is just part of a whole ''umbrella'' of security over the voting system, she said.

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

For those who are wondering what "state official" tried to get Hopkins Report researcher Avi Rubin fired, it was Dr. Brit Williams. For more on Dr. Williams go here: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/williams.htm

One of the particularly idiotic statements in the Williams letter at the link above is his "one in a billion" statement that there could be tampering. That statement, according to Dan Wallach, who I spoke with at some length today, shows that Diebold is using a checksum that is also easy to break. The one in a billion refers to the type of checksum (a device used to show files were not changed). Unfortunately, that figure reveals a checksum that can be defeated in under a minute.

Bev Harris

[RedEagle]

15. All the Paint in the World Won't fix a Bad Engine Design

"The university scientists' conclusions reflect a misunderstanding of the way elections are run, Cox said. Computer security is just part of a whole ''umbrella'' of security over the voting system, she said.


Gee, would this include the admission from SERVE Internet voting project members that the system was vulerable to insider fraud? That all voting systems are vulerable to this kind of fraud? You can't eliminate it but you can sure cut down on the damage with paper ballots. Can't manipulate those at the flick of a button.

These voting systems are just like a car- spiffed up on the outside, new wheels, chrome, lots of paint, a wax job, big advertising campaign, lots of dealership attention- all supporting a lemon engine.

All the outside trappings in the world won't change or affect flaws in the heart of the system itself. How much is there to misunderstand about running elections? Doug Jones of Iowa has been involved in elections concerns for years, is a computer scientist too, and is saying these machines are vulnerable. How does running an election affect the way a computer WORKS? Is administration a cure for programming flaws?

How many of Cox's security people and measures can stop a WiFi attack? How can you stop the manipulation of votes if it's built into the program? How many of her election support staff are computer experts to the level it takes to review code?

When auditors and Secretaries of State talk like this, they are talking about set dressing. Presentation. It's like assigning a very valuable, dedicated staff to oversee the fraud machines.

I'm sure there were dedicated staff when the lever mechanisms stopped counting at 999, as I read elsewhere today. I'm sure dedicated staff were on hand when other Touch Screens came up with more votes than voters registered.

I'm sure staff isn't so busy they can't keep an eagle eye on equipment 24/7 so no one switches a smart card.

If the engine is a piece of junk, you've just spent a lot of money for a plastic box.

Is there a voting machine lemon law?

[Eloriel]

17. PERFECT analogy

Man, the more she talks, the more I want to see that woman in PRISON STRIPES.

Speaking of anomalies, Bev, don't you have a nice list on your site somewhere? Or did you post a list to one of these DU threads? Could use that info -- not comprehensive and exhaustive, just a good big handful. I do remember the 18,181 votes glitch all by myself (since it's my favorite).

Eloriel

[BevHarris]

18. But do remember that 18181 was not Diebold.

If you dig around on http://www.blackboxvoting.com there is a list there somewhere.

I'm supposed to be on Amy Goodman tomorrow, and supposed to be digging up images and info for her now, or I'd help more. (Waiting for computer to launch a file, really, I'm not shirking here...)

[dusty64]

20. What is cox getting outta this?

No one could have their heads so far up their butts for no reason, any proof of money going to her from diebold?

[hunter]

19. three hundred pages at 75 cents each???

That's cheap, just $225...

Having Jim March camping out in their offices, asking for copies one page at a time... priceless.

[Sven77]

21. voting machine review on Tech TV TheScreenSavers

voting machine review on Tech TV TheScreenSavers (tuesday's show)

TechTV TheScreenSavers
http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/

Analysis of an Electronic Voting System
Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute Technical Report TR-2003-19, July 23, 2003
http://avirubin.com/vote/

Diebold is getting millions of dollars for these machines and theres no transparency, no paper trail, and worst of all easy to hack.