BBV - Wa. State Secretary of State is Making A Tour

[JohnGideon]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/photos/bydate.asp?DisplayType=ThumbDesc&PhotoDate=10/16/2003&Page=3

The last picture on the link shows our state Sec. of State as he is touring high schools in the state. I wonder if he talks about how secure he thinks the machines are? I wonder if he mentions anything about paper ballots?

Do we have anyone in the area of the schools mentioned who could drop in and add a little to the presentation? I'm on the other side of the water.

[seemslikeadream]

1. Donald Tighe

Is the director of Youth-e-Vote.

In what's being called the largest online vote in history, George Bush was elected president, and the GOP held on to a Senate majority.

More than 10,000 public, private and parochial schools participated out of 106,000 schools nationwide. The goal had been to register 10 million students, but Tighe said the orgaqnization underestimated the administrative challenge in coordinating the project. Though testiing large-scale online voting was not the project's focus. Tighe said the project would be examined to help determine the feasibility of internet voting. "I think it's inevitable that technology will play a role in the voting process.

http://www.fcw.com/civic/articles/2000/1106/web-evote-11-07-00.asp

[RedEagle]

2. Not only is this guy indoctrinating children into DRE's, look at this...

http://www.vote.wa.gov/outreach/Key_Into_Freedom/index.tpl

If you can get to that site, from the WASH ST. SOS web site, voting for kid, and then the higher grades, it talks about introducing our children to Internet voting.

Not only that, I called the SOS office and the DRE's used are Sequoia's, the same one that they haul around to every demo in the state.

This is improper in so many ways:

Literal advocation of one vendor's voting system.

Indoctrinating young people into touch screen voting. No representation of other voting systems appeared to be mentioned in the article.

The SOS web site has a fun lesson in on-line voting.

With Touch Screen systems much less Internet voting so in question, it is improper, at the least, for an SOS to be touting voting systems. Teaching and encouraging voting, yes. But this is practically shilling for Sequoia, which happens to be partnered with VoteHere, which happens to have former SOS Ralph Munro on its BOD, Sam Reed is a protoge of Ralph Munro, has claimed his intent to take Washington to Internet voting, and won't allow any Touch Screen machines that produce a voter-verified paper ballot in the state.

This is out of line.

contact:
Seattle PI
Schools
Governor
Attorney General
Legislators
Auditors/county councilpersons
Washington State Executive Ethics Board- 360-664-0871/www.wa.gov/ethics

[JohnGideon]

4. I Just Got A Card From State Sen Tim Sheldon

saying that he is very concerned about electronic voting. "The vendor will always push a new system even if it is untried, in order to make a sale. We need a verifiable paper trail to insure the integrity of all elections."

He may be on our side, so I wrote him back and explained that the SOS may give us the ability to have a receipt but that was not good enough. I also asked to meet with him at his leisure.

[RedEagle]

7. Guide to Voter-Verified Paper Ballot Elections

John,

You may send this to Senator Sheldon. You can clean it up a bit if you like. I took some of this from Bev and added some here and there. It's important they understand we have to have a voter-verified paper BALLOT-


You will see numerous attempts to give in, grudgingly, on something that sounds like voter-verified ballots, but isn't really. It’s parsing the language and it’s important to NOT let that happen.

The "other side" is trying to do end runs around the voter-verified paper ballot issue.

1) It's a ballot, not a "receipt"
2) It's a ballot, not a "trail"
3) It's got to be verified, not "verifiable"
4) It's a paper ballot, not an "audit trail"

Here's how they are using language to attempt end-runs around trustworthy voting:

Calling it a receipt: This leads to laws (yes, they already have them in some states) that the voter-verified paper ballot is NOT the legal record of the vote; instead, they say the computer record is the legal record, so if they don't match, they want us to use the computer bits and bytes instead.

This lends itself to the idea of voters slipping a “receipt” into their pocket and leaving the polling area with it, possibly to sell.

NO, it is a BALLOT. It must be the legal record of our vote, because it is what we ourselves have authorized.

Calling it a "trail" -- Little did we know they'd try using this language to end-run the purpose of the voter-verified paper ballot. Calling it a "trail" lends itself to things like saying internal machine records that can be printed can be used, or can be twisted into sidelining this "trail" into a position of little relevance and allowing it to be used only in unusual circumstances.

Calling it "verifiable" (meaning, maybe it doesn't get verified)-- No, we want to VERIFY it, we want to make sure every time we cast a vote we have verified it.

Calling it an "audit trail" -- this lends itself to getting rid of the paper ballot that any citizen can look at and understand, and encourages solutions that only computer cryptographers can evaluate. We are not interested in a cryptographic "audit trail" that We, the People, cannot read.

"VOTER VERIFIED PAPER BALLOT" --- no exceptions.


5. The voter-verified paper ballot must be verified by the voter, at the time of voting, and such verification must be visual, of the physical ballot, WITHOUT an interface, such as a machine/program unit; and must be printed in English and or English/foreign language. The only exception are the visually disabled, who must have such assistance and should have such assistance.

Watch the recent proliferation of voter-verified ballot systems that do not let the voter make actual, personal, verification of the ballot and/or that do not leave that ballot at the polling place in a ballot box so they can be used for recounts and auditing. The opposition is trying, with any means they can, to keep people from actually READING THE BALLOT THEMSELVES, or having that ballot available for RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.

Watch for this.

Voter-verified paper ballots also protect the visually disabled from disenfranchisement- because sighted voters will be reading those ballots, any machine errors are going to get caught. Without those ballots, everyone, including the blind, is at risk.

The blind get an audio review, or a pen to scan the ballot for audio review, or the review comes from the feed to the PRINTER. And they DON'T get any more than that with the other systems.

Printing a ballot does not mean the blind have to have it read by someone else. This is the most garbage argument of all. No law mandates that.

You cannot disenfranchise the entire populace from their right to an honest, accountable vote based on one sub set of the population. That's like mandating that everyone cannot use seat belts because, say, 1% of the population cannot wear them for physical reasons. You cannot put the other 99% at risk.

Voter-verified paper ballots are the seat belts of honest, accountable elections. Don't leave your polling place without them securely deposited in a ballot box.

[BevHarris]

11. Ah the power of word processors -- what you said you borrowed from me

and then adapted was actually something I had borrowed from YOU and then adapted...

Gee, pretty soon it will belong to all of America. (Guess that's the purpose of this whole exercise!) :)

Bev

[ParanoidPat]

42. Open Source Editing!

Who says you can't get anything done by committee. :evilgrin:
It seems when accuracy counts, open source is the way to go! :)

[JohnGideon]

14. RedEagle...Got It, Thanks

I'll use it as a follow-up when I get an answer to the email I already sent to Sheldon.

In the meantime, I have an assignment for in the morning to call and dig some information out of the SOS's office. Should be fun! Take no names!

[AntiCoup2K4]

12. Tim Sheldon on board could be a good thing....

Sheldon's pretty conservative most of the time, but in this case that's not neccessarily a bad thing. Republicans take him seriously, and maybe he can convince them how serious the problem is. Before Chris Vance and the GOP slime patrol brainwash all of them.

Because the Legislature's so divided in this state, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have reasonable Republicans fighting the fraud. I think there are a few of them left out there, though I used to think Sam Reed was one of them :-(

[RedEagle]

13. Senator Brandland

...a Republican, listened and voted against the SERVE project. That's even worse than Touch Screens.

Internet voting for military and overseas, brought to you by tax dodging Accenture, on a Microsoft platform, with votes going to servers in the Pentagon.

The serve gang ADMITTED at a meeting they couldn't protect against insider fraud.

[glitch]

3. What an evil grin

Is he thinking, 'Go ahead and vote, sucka', looks like it.

[lysergik]

5. No doubt

Yikes, thats a scary image, and a scary program. Impressionable minds will think that this way of voting is "cool" because of the technology factor, a very small percertage will actually stop and think of the possible dangers and implications of such a system.

[RedEagle]

6. It Doesn't Stop There

Goto:

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/

Scroll down and click on "Vote for Kids"

Look at the 8-12th grade fun and games
"Explore the World of Voting Online"

Keep nosing around. I found courses for teachers to "teach" about voting, registration, etc.

How great centralized registration is. (And I'm thinking of Palast's stuff on Florida)

Why do we have a political figure, providing lesson plans to teachers?

Why don't we have educators teaching civics? Since when do government officials provide teaching resources like this?

I suppose they want to get'em while they're young.

10. Kick

Seattle needs a kick!

8. Sam Reed's name is in the 1990 voting machine standards violated in King

Yep, Seattle has broken Diebold equipment, and it's Sam who isn't meeting the laws he wrote, along with his predecessor!

1) Sam's name is in the front of the standards book which the Diebold equipment in his own state doesn't meet, according to the standards, and a leaked Diebold memo found by Bev Harris. This story was NEVER published in Washington State, to my knowledge!

Diebold is used in King County.

2) The machine pictured is apparently a Sequoia machine, which is now linked up with a company run by Sam's best buddy!

[eridani]

15. I'm in Seattle...

...and I got a blowoff when I wrote Reed about the issue. I think it's time to look into having someone run against him specifically on this issue. Any ideas?

[Andy_Stephenson]

16. I'll Run

and I could win

[eridani]

31. If you are serious about this--

--can you let those of us in WA know so we can start talking you up at precinct meetings?

[AntiCoup2K4]

17. Bring back Ralph Munro!

Maybe he would run as a Democrat this time ;-)

[JohnGideon]

18. Ralph Is Part Of The Problem

He is on the Board of Directors of VoteHere which is now partnered with Sequoia. Sam Reed is his protege.

[RedEagle]

19. While Ralph Munro

...was getting kuddo's for moter voter, the state's election laws were quietly and gradually being moved to favor electronic voting.

[SharonAnn]

9. WTH?

We're fighting an enemy that plans ahead, that plans very far ahead.

We'd better starting thinking of playing hardball and planning ahead or we're gonna be left far, far behind.

These companies have incredible amounts of vested intereste\ (and money) riding on this stuff and they're tryinhg to control the discussion everywhere.

Fortunately, tonight at our Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting the topic of Electronic Voting came up again and despite the attempt of several people to "poo-poo" the whole idea, we actually got strong support from about 25% of the attendees. The situation is that those who don't know technology really have no idea how it can be deliberately comporomised and they have some kind of blind trust in computers. Guess that's the result of some kind of marketing job.

[JohnGideon]

20. Just Got Off The Phone With The SoS Office

On assignment I asked a few questions. I talked to someone about the program to talk to High School kids. This is a state mandated and tax payer funded trip the SoS has made for 3 years now. He includes local Reps. and County Auditors in the discussions. This program is partnered with the Sec. of Instruction.

I then started asking questions about the V.O.T.E. program for all school kids so I got passed on to another person. I asked who paid for the web site? The taxpayer and the website was designed by the state. Who paid for the program? The taxpayer. She did say that if there was any program that was too large; the Assoc. of State SoS's would help out or they would go to the groups that are shown on the "Resources" link from the V.O.T.E. main page
http://www.vote.wa.gov/outreach/links/index.tpl

[BevHarris]

21. taxpayers are paying for a page that glorifies unauditable voting

Then, for those of you who live in Washington, letters to the editor requesting that your tax dollars be spent on promoting responsible, auditable voting will be a good use of time today.

[JohnGideon]

22. Ummmm! Bev?

I really think the bigger issue is the use of the Sequoia machine in the talks that Reed is doing in the High Schools. Does he even mention a voter verified, paper ballot when he is speaking to the kids? Of course he doesn't. That's the issue. The web page is more of a game for the kids so they get some interest. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[BevHarris]

23. You are right. I need to take more time before posting.

n/t

[RedEagle]

25. Well, about that kid's web page...not so innocent

OK, they are not doing online voting- exactly. But perceptions and habits develop from things like this. Want the populace to have a favorable and trusting attitude toward online voting? Where are you going to start? Let's get impressionable 14 year olds to play with Touch Screen voting equipment. Let's get them ivolved in the insitution of voting from the front door- gee, isn't it fun to play with a Touch Screen or to play a game online, just like I'll do when I'm 18. Only it won't be a game, it will be voting, and the students will learn about the mechanics of voting a certain way and that it's important, but they won't learn about the real nuts and bolts of voting- an honest, accurate vote count.

Brainwashem early if you want them to vote like good sheeple later.

Look at how this is presented:


http://www.vote.wa.gov/outreach/Key_Into_Freedom/index.tpl


"Learning about citizenship is an important part of growing up. You are approaching the age of 18, when you legally become an adult. When you turn eighteen you gain rights and responsibilities that may be unclear to you now. Use this site to guide you through the electoral process. Learn the importance of civic participation and the value of voting."


SPREAD THE WORD!
Spread the word. Voting keeps our country strong! Send an E-card to
your friends and family.

(That's right, send an E-CARD)

FUN AND GAMES
Explore the world of voting online. Challenge your friends and family to different games.

(EXPLORE THE WORLD OF VOTING ONLINE. So what if the kids end up playing games. Do those games have to be associated with online voting? What in the world is the use for this, huh?)

CURRICULUM
For teachers and parents alike, here are lesson plans geared toward the 8-12 grade groups.

(I can't even begin to communicate how much this gauls me. What happened to civics class? When did teachers get lesson material from elected, political, officials?)

The real issue here, and another avenue of research, is to see who and what is behind Vote America. If other Secretary's of State have educational pages for children, are they sponsored by Vote America and do they, by association, emphasize "E," "voting online?"

What happens when you talk about voting on line and present it as a fun game? What happens when you emphasize one particular voting system at all?

[JohnGideon]

26. I Did Check Oregon's SoS Pages

They don't have this program at all that I could find.

24. The other big issue

Sam Reed and Ralph Munro were among the writers of the 1990 Voting Machine Standards--which are to be met BOTH nationally and in Washington State so every vote counts.

Recently, serious questions have been raised about Diebold, and about companies NOT meeting the standards in general. Diebold is used in Washington State, in King County, and the memos show the Diebold software doesn't meet the required standards!!! Diebold software has been put in place in many elections under Sam and Ralph!

How is it that Sam and Ralph can write standards for voting machines for Washington State (and the rest of the country), and not be required to meet these very same rules as Secretary of State???

Sam and Ralph can't claim they don't KNOW about the standards! Their NAMES are in the front of the damn book!

Someone explain this!?!?

[BevHarris]

30. Thanks, Dan

This is very important. Your post triggered my bookmark.

[JohnGideon]

27. Kick

n/t

[RedEagle]

28. "Teach, your children well,....."

(Go to the bottom of the page. Tell me what that is doing there?)


WASHINGTON STATE CURRICULUM GRADES 8-12
TEACHER: LESSON 1
THEME: BALLOTS, POLLS & VOTING BOOTHS
"The hottest places in Hades are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, remain neutral."
(Dante)

ACTIVITY:

To cast a vote on an issue or for a candidate is to take a position; it is not to remain neutral. Even to those who have not yet voted, the terms "ballot," "polling place," and "voting booth" are not unfamiliar. Students have probably heard and read of them in the news and in civics and history classes. Yet many may not yet have a clear mental picture of what it would feel like to cast a PERSONAL ballot, enter a polling place or step into the voting booth for the first time.

Few could imagine several decades ago that the nature of voting would change in so many ways -- in so many ways but one: it is still a personal decision; it still takes a commitment; it still depends on each citizen to make democracy work. This role of the individual in renewing the vision that began in our 1787 Constitution cannot be altered no matter how the process of voting changes.

This activity is intended to give students a clearer picture of what a ballot can look like, in the past and present. It will acquaint them with the variety of polling places and voting booths, in the U.S. and elsewhere, past and present. It is hoped that familiarization will lead them to be more comfortable with the process and then to exercise their political right as soon as they are 18 years old!

Through an analysis of only visual images, students will notice that we as a democracy have a common bond with so many nations and people, which is the profoundly powerful desire and power to influence our futures by the act of voting. Secondarily, they will encounter the changes to the voting process, all designed to make the act of voting more available and the results more reliable.

This activity will call upon students' powers of observation and their abilities to derive learning non-verbally. These images are best seen digitally. You can use a digital projector and a computer to project them, have students go to the web site in a lab or library or you can save the images to a disc and load them to each computer's hard drive. If you choose to print and duplicate the student lesson with photos, make the copies light enough so the details in the photos are clear.

The activity is in two parts and employs both a visual experience and a subsequent written analysis. Students can work individually in class or at home; they could also do this in pairs. Collaboration on the questions might create a desirable symbiosis in which each insight by one student leads to further insights by the other. For Student Activity (C), you might opt to use the questions as a basis for a class discussion rather than as a writing assignment.

See Student Acitivities (A), (B) and (C). Make enough copies for each student.

As an enrichment or extension activity, students can get more information on the possible alternative of voting via the Internet, by going to www.secstate.wa.gov , click on "Elections and Voting," then select "Examining Internet Voting in the State of Washington."

http://www.vote.wa.gov/outreach/key_into_freedom/curriculum/lesson_1/display_page.tpl?P=1b&T=3

A. What do you observe about the differences between the various voting techniques in these images? Is there one way that seems better to you than the others in these images; e.g., are voting machines better than paper ballots and a box?

The only saving grace is the picture of voters using touch screen is pretty unappealing.


I gotta stop adding to this. It gets worse:

http://www.vote.wa.gov/outreach/key_into_freedom/curriculum/lesson_1/display_page.tpl?P=1c&T=3

Hey boys and girls, now that you've seen all the pictures and read all the nice captions, which voting system do you want to use?

And, just because we can't get enough of a good thing, there are links again at the bottom of the page so you to can learn about Internet voting!

[lysergik]

29. This is rediculous.

"Paper ballots are evil!, Voting machines are good!!!"

Great work there Mr. SOS, you idiot.

Who do we need to write to get them to discontinue this senseless mindless tampering with kids?

[lysergik]

40. The WWE and the SOS

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/office/news.aspx?news_id=196

Thats right folks, Smackdown the Vote.. Bringing the wonderful world of a fake sport and evoting into the same realm..

I just don't know what else to say except, WTF!?

[JohnGideon]

32. How About A Copy Of Bev's Book To Every Civics Teacher

in the schools that the SoS visited? It will certainly clear things up for them and may get some to talk to their students about it. Good for everyone.

[JohnGideon]

33. Kick

n/t

[RedEagle]

34. Action

If you want to, and I encourage you to look at the lesson plans in the educational protion of this web page...

Interspersed throughout are references to Internet voting, and pages that can't be anything but, "Which voting system looks best?" which has no place in an educational curriuculim.

You can file an Ethics Complaint with the Washington State Executive Ethics Board.

You can't necessarily complain that the SOS office is providing educational material. Reference one of John's posts above.

But what's IN that material, and the references to a particualar type of voting system, are out of line. And you can complain about Sam Reed, by association, shilling for Sequoia, by dragging their machines to every meeting around the state he can. And they go to counties for auditors when they give meetings.

Where is the unbiased demonstration of ALL types of voting systems, including good old paper and pen and a DRE that prints a voter-verified paper ballot?

Additionally, it's interesting that Sam Reed, protoge of Ralph Munro, who sits on the BOD of VoteHere, that also happens to be partnered with Sequoia, and provides Internet voting services....

The more complaints that come in, the better. If anyone knows of any other state venue to issue complaints to, let everyone know.

And, according to the research John did, our tax dollars are paying for it.

One caveat- Have to check out the VoteAmerica program and see if this language about machines and Internet voting is there, too, If that is so, then we've got a potential National problem. Maybe need to check which states are using the program, John said Oregon wasn't.

If the VoteAmerica program is in use in Texas, Florida, Maryland, Arizona, Utah, Georgia, and Ohio, that will prove very interesting.

Washington State Executive Ethics Board
2425 Bristol Court SW
PO Box 40149
Olympia, WA 98504

http://www.wa.gov/ethics

360-664-0871
fax [phone]

I think you can download the forms from their web site.

You have to file a separate form for each individual, even if the complaint is the same.

[BevHarris]

35. Very, very good Linda!

I need to interview you tomorrow (the day has finally arrived) but my e-mail is down. So is my caller ID. This is what you call "tech teeth gnashing" lately. Anyway, could you PM your number to me?

Great, great work here -- very good strategic thinking.

Bev

[JohnGideon]

36. OK, I'll Get On the Ethics Submission But......?

what about my original suggestion? If we countered Reed's visit with a copy of BBV, or even a copy of Chptr 2 just to get them interested, we may get a few Civics or Government teachers interested. Just an idea.

[RedEagle]

37. By all Means

Didn't mean to leave that out.

You don't even have to wait for the book.

You can download and copy the files from Bev's site.

Hey, did you get a list of the school's Reed went to?

[JohnGideon]

38. Just What Was In The Caption w/The Picture

West Seattle High, Burlington Edison, Camas and Battle Ground.

I guess I will take my copy of Chp. 2 to Kinko's and make a dozen or so copies and send them out next week. I may as well send copies to Tim Sheldon and my two Reps at the same time. It looks like Haigh may be a problem. She is one of the main sponsors on all of the Internet Voting Bills.

[lysergik]

39. Time to get her to change her mind and get a clue

Thats right, time for her to borrow a clue from those in the know or face not being reeleected next time around!

[RedEagle]

43. You need people power

You might try a petition.

But if you've got the expertise, having a one-on-one may be a good idea.

Warning- The legislators have been drillled so long by the SOS on the "new voting marvels" they have a hard time getting past that.

Lots of letter from people in her district.

Have the LWV in your area put on a forum.

Read Title III of HAVA.

Was Haigh the one who had a daughter in the military who didn't get to vote?

People like her have a very good reason to want a change. But they tend to overlook the security angle. They literally look at getting the opportunity to vote as more important then making sure the vote is counted correctly, seriously.

[JohnGideon]

41. More, Frightening Pictures

http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2003/10/16/news/news01.txt

"This year, Reed also introduced students to new touch-screen voting machines that are being installed across the state by 2006.

The small screens mounted on fold-out trays and encased in metal shades allow voters to select candidates and verify their answers by touching the screen."

[JohnGideon]

44. Kick

n/t

[JohnGideon]

45. Kick

n/t

[JohnGideon]

46. Kick

n/t

[JohnGideon]

47. Ethics Complaint Against WA. SoS Filed

it's in the mail.

[RedEagle]

48. You can compare California's course to Wash

California has an educational program on their SOS web site at:

http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/Outreach/civics/home.htm

I actually thought it was pretty good, on a fast skim. No mention of voting machines or inferences.

Or,for that matter, Voteamerica.

But Voteamerica.info is registered to the CA SOS.

I would encourage people to take a look at the web sites of their secretary of states and if they have "kids" stuff, see what's there and if course material or outlines are provided, check those out too.