ERD: The Sequoia Train Wreck, & the HAVA Train Wreck Edition-

[FogerRox]

The HAVA train wreck continues:
late equipment deliveries may cause shortages

When I started working on today’s Election Reform News Thread, the http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x424592">ERD, I started to see a familiar pattern, It was like http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002673.htm">Brad Blogs E-Voting Train Wreck plus http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=424332">Autoranks HAVA LOGJAM.

One trend I saw on my first google news search. Some counties are announcing they are going to use uncertified software in Touchscreen voting equipment. In the rush to meet the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) mandates, voting machine vendors are facing late deliveries and what appears to be equipment shortages, while vendors customer service departments are being stretched thin.

Without the vendors customer service and support, are jurisdictions feeling they should do whatever they have to do. Many Election Officials are facing School Board, Municipal and then Primary elections.

FL. County to use voting machines with non-certified software:
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/14389916.htm

PA Allen County to use voting machines with non-certified software:
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/nation/14391021.htm

IN. Kosciusko County to use voting machines with non-certified software:
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=4798441&nav=0RYb

It may be, that the Big 3 vendors, Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia are giving Election Officials good cause to look elsewhere. If it was me, I would find a vendor that had product ready to ship. In Indiana, Kosciusko County has looked to Microvote for voting equipment, knowing that Indiana has yet to certify the software in the Microvote. This should good news to smaller vendors, who now can move out any equipment that is cluttering up the warehouse.

Here is a shortage of, “memory paks”, in Harrison County Kentucky:
http://www.courierjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/NEWS02/604210426

And yet vendors seem to be saying, ” We can deliver”.: PA., Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said ES&S will deliver 2,628 machines - two for each voting precinct - before the primary. Here:
http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16506712&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6

This same song seems to be playing in NJ. Essex and Passiac Counties were expecting deliveries to be completed by as early as late Febuary, Sequoia, is a good 2 months late on delivering the expected 1200 or so Sequoia Advantage DREs.

NJ., Essex County Freeholders want to know: Where are the voting machines?
“Originally, the county was supposed to deploy the new machines for the upcoming elections. As per the county’s contract with Sequoia, the 700 machines were due to arrive by Feb 28. By …… Feb……, only 49 had been delivered.”
http://www.localsource.com/articles/2006/04/19/shared/essex_county_news/doc4446420b09f53806735342.txt

NJ., Passaic County County Administrator Anthony J. De Nova said he expects 600 machines with built-in audiokits to be delivered later this week.
De Nova said the Sequoia machines would be ready for the June primary election, adding that 50 Sequoia machines without the audio accommodation had been delivered to the county to assist in training election staff
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1NiZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjkyMTEwOCZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=

Have we seen the end of vendor problems, probably not. With what appears to be tens of thousands of voting machines still contractually owed be vendors, it remains to be seen how many elections this spring get botched by vendors who wrote HAVA and now are overwhelmed by HAVA. I think many of us will vote on our venerable old lever machines – one more time. Election Officials will likely pull out the stops to assemble a combination of lever machines, optical scanners and touchscreens in hopes that Election Day in November goes smoothly. But the oncoming train wreck seems to be gaining momentum, something’s broken, and it won’t slowdown.

What’s broken is HAVA. Greedy Vendors got their fingerprints all over the law from the start. 4 years later, HAVA has shown its true intentions, and it’s a powerfull locomotive barreling down on us..


@ the ERD, there is a small compilation of recent Sequoia prblems in Chicago, Pennsylvania, and how NJ has not yet gotten shipments due in feb, from its main supllier, Sequoia Voting Systems. 2 NJ Counties are edgeing towards using their lever voting machines while they wait for 1200 Advanatage DREs from Sequoia.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x424592#424595

As well as NOLA election news:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x424592#424654



If you like the election news in the ERD.....please feel free to recommend the Election Reform Daily Thread, click here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=nominate&forum=203&thread=424592

[rumpel]

1. HAVA only created major chaos in all counties across the country

and further deteriorated the rights we all hold dear.

[SharonAnn]

2. I think the vendors created HAVA. They just want to sell lots of

voting machines for as high a price as they can.

[FogerRox]

4. That would be repeating a pattern we saw with MEDICARE Pt. D

[EFerrari]

3. Chaos has become their preferred weapon.

And stinks of Rove. Panicked election boards make bad decisions.

They are firestarters.

[glitch]

15. Chaos is their modus operandi, where they make their biggest profits.

Naomi Klein called it Disaster Economics, whether generated by nature or the machinations of the bfee, chaos offers the greatest opportunity for looting, of votes or cash or favor or whatever.

[Amaryllis]

5. There have been problems with Microvote running uncertified software

also; cant remember where I saw it, but it was in the past couple of days.

[EFerrari]

6. It was a VoteTrustUSA article and I just saw it too. n/t

[FogerRox]

7. Corrected link for Autoranks logjam piece

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=424332

Thanks Land Shark, for pointing that out to me,

[livvy]

8. So with the pending chaos,...

we should be able to get some real accurate election results. :sarcasm: How much of this is greedy vendors? How much is pre-planned chaos? Or is it some of both?


Must go find shiny silver hat now. :tinfoilhat:

[FogerRox]

10. ohhhh, owwww, pretty hat-- LOL

[Wilms]

9. K&R n/t

[FogerRox]

dupe

[FogerRox]

11. Thanks, dont forget the ERD

Recommend here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=nominate&forum=203&thread=424592

. . . . of course only after youv'e read the entire thing. LOL

DO IT !

[bleever]

12. K and R. I hear that train a comin'; it's comin' round the bend.

Run, kids!

[FogerRox]

13. Look daddy, its a staem locomotive ! !

Comin to run your ass over, boy. Now step back from those tracks.

[EFerrari]

14. Kick

[McCamy Taylor]

16. Not good! Is Bush Co. hacking primaries nationwide like in Texas?

I believe they hacked the Texas Dem governor's primary so thar Chris Bell would be nominated and there is stromg evidence that they hacked one of their own GOP primaries for state Supreme Court. All this uncertified softwear being rushed in maked me wonder if the Bush Co. fix is in like it was when they dumped Reno in the primary.

[autorank]

17. Highly recommended and bookmarked. Thank you FogerRox!!

What an evil web it is: we'll make sure Florida never happens again, by "Helping America Vote," an Act will play forever on and off the Broadway of America's imagination.

By making sure Florida never happens again, they really meant, making sure they never had to lose a popular vote and steal a Democratic state by 300 or so votes. Nope, no damn way. Now they've got the machines and invisible votes enshrined through the DRE's -- they are the official record. How about that? No more Florida's, no more Ohio's, just victories at the discretion of those in charge or to the highest bidder.

We have rights that come from simply being born, where ever we're born. One of the most fundamental is the right to self determination. Nothing in HAVA or even in the way our current political system enables, encourages, or ennobles self determination. It's all a smack down for the dignity and uniqueness of human rights and self determination.

Shame on them but they HAVA no shame.