McKinney's "Shocking" Election Practices Revealed in Georgia - posted

[cyberpj]

Monday, July 18, 2005
"Shocking" Election Practices Revealed in Georgia

Rep. Cynthia Mc Kinney concluded a press conference this morning on the Diebold Company's performance in the Georgia elections. For E-voting activists, Georgia is the ground zero of the entire Vote Hacking bomb.

What so many fail to grasp in this issue is that it is more about top-down control than a partisan issue. In Georgia, for example, many Democratic Party officials, particularly the Secretary of State, have doggedly pursued the Diebold systems despite evidence of the ease of changing results and other programming anomalies.

What McKinnney's office has just released is a group of documents that lend the visible evidence necessary to take this issue out of the hands of conspiracy theorists, and put it in the public purview of government officials. The first flickers of a problem appeared in the public mind with the election of Gov. Sonny Perdue with an unaccounted for 11 point swing overnight in the voting publics voting preference. Perdue was the first Republican Governor elected in Georgia since the reconstruction.

Georgia's elections have been fraught with massive problems from day one and election officials have hidden the problems from the voters.

Georgia's election officials sought to protect Diebold instead of the voters.

The first document is a list of bugs and failures experienced in Georgia's 2002 election, none of which have been resolved to date, much less in time for the 2004 election.

Mr. Sam Barber of American Computer Technologies, Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit against Diebold. ACT was originally a Minority Owned Business contacted by Diebold to subcontract the Acceptance Testing of the Diebold system. When they discovered Mr. Barber really intended to test the equipment as prescribed by computer science, they threw him off the contract.

What they WANTED Mr. Barber's company to do was assemble the 2 pieces of equipment and CALL it acceptance testing. When he refused, he was dismissed by Diebold in McKinney, TX.

Documents now available: http://www.countthevote.org/cynthia_2005/list.htm

http://www.countthevote.org/

[goclark]

1. kick

[mattclearing]

2. Sweet.

Nice to know that '02 GA election is still getting some scrutiny.

[MelissaB]

3. This needs two more recommendations for the greatest.

Hint...hint...

[Stevepol]

30. This gets my highest recommendations, 10 1/2 stars = 110%

[napi21]

4. Anybody here from GA?

You know Cathy Cox (the one who pushed through the Diebold machines for Ga. is running for Governor next year?

Can all Georgians from DU get together and contact her with this info?

I admit, in 2002, when a lot of people at the polls were very apprehensive about this new fangled equipment, I wasn't. I have worked with computers for years as a Director of Accounting, and I fooloshly trusted the designers, programmers, and operators to be honest! STUPID ME!

We need to get this mess resolved, and NOW! I think we can persuade Cathy by telling her she has NO CHANCE of winning if the problem isn't corrected!

[shirlden]

10. She has NO CHANCE of not winning

if these aren't fixed. Cox got in over her head on these machines, but the pay off for her will be when the machines elect her to be the next dem governor of Ga.

I have every confidence that our old Duer, R.J. is still leading the charge against Cox and her machines down in Ga.

:bounce:

[Boredtodeath]

11. She is

I work with RJ everyday.

Well, AP just dismissed the concerns.......
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=62916
McKinney calls for review of voting machines

The Associated Press - DECATUR, Ga.

Georgia should review its electronic voting machines to make sure they're accurate, Rep. Cynthia McKinney said Monday.

snip....

"This is not just road-paving equipment. This is deciding who is going to make public policy," the congresswoman said.

State elections officials dismissed McKinney's complaints, especially that the machines weren't properly tested before the 2002 elections.

"There's absolutely no credible information whatsoever that there has been any tampering," said Chris Riggall, spokesman for the Secretary of State, who oversees elections. "As a matter of fact, the accuracy level has soared and the real scandal is the antiquated system Georgia had before, which had the second-highest error rate in the country."

Don't you love how they switch from "not properly tested" to "accuracy level" without ever addressing the testing questions?

McKinney said she planned future news conferences where she would show more evidence of problems with electronic voting.

Watch for RJ's work to surface next week at Cynthia's press conference.

[MelissaB]

14. Who is RJ?

[Boredtodeath]

24. That would be

Roxanne Jekot

[autorank]

19. Boredtodeath...you were right!

Isn't that nice to hear. I remember your comments on all of this, not that I doulbted them at the time but I just thought I'd say this.

Kick ass, or keep kicking ass! And thank you.

[Boredtodeath]

32. Yeah, it is nice to hear

Thank you.

[cosmicdot]

13. get the info to 'Cathy Diebold' Cox?

I just wish a moratorium on HAVA spending would be called ... millions being spent ... is it a self-fulfilling prophecy?



Secretary of State Cathy Cox (center) joined (left to right) by Georgia's Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of the Georgia Technology Authority Larry Singer, Assistant Secretary of State Terrell Slayton, Diebold Election Systems President Bob Urosevich, and Diebold CEO Wally O'Dell to announce the selection of Diebold Election Systems to provide new, touch-screen electronic voting equipment to all 159 counties by the November 5th General Election. The $54 million contract with Diebold makes Georgia the first state in the nation to acquire an uniform electronic voting system to improve the accuracy, convenience, and accessibility of elections.


Meet Cathy Diebold
June 11, 2004
By Denis Wright

Georgia's Secretary of State, Cathy Cox, could easily be considered the official Poster Girl for Diebold Election Systems, Inc.

Her photo appears on their website alongside a glowing quotation praising them to the skies. She also loaned them the Georgia State Seal, for that "official" look. And she is defending the statewide implementation of Direct Record Electronic (DRE) voting machines, more commonly known as touch screen voting, in the face of overwhelming evidence of security flaws and unreliable performance.

There have now been at least four major studies regarding problems with DRE devices and all of them are severely critical of Diebold and DRE voting. Maryland even hired an independent group to investigate; they hacked into the system and were changing votes within ten minutes. Thousands of computer experts have signed a petition, sponsored by Dr. David Dill of Stanford University, demanding a voter verified paper ballot. There is currently legislation winding its way through Capitol Hill that will mandate back-up paper ballots on every DRE machine. And California's Secretary of State recently decertified Diebold's DRE machines in that state, noting that the company was "banned," "decertified," "fraudulent," "despicable," and "deceitful" in their dealings with the state.

What has been the response from Cathy Cox?

We don't know. She and her office have remained virtually silent on the subject in public - except for actively lobbying the State Houses in opposition to a voter-verified paper ballot.

~snip~

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/06/p/11_diebold.html

[Cookie wookie]

18. Cox has done nothing but liesel, weasel

and outright lie to protect the paperless Diebold system in Georgia, and from these documents it is clear she knew of serious problems all along. She defeated our attempts to get voter verified paper ballots in 2004:

"Secretary of State Cathy Cox has resisted adding a paper trail, arguing that no federal technical standards for such a system exist. She also says hard-copy records have been a source of election fraud for decades.

Last year, Cox successfully beat back legislative efforts to outfit the machines with printers. But the drumbeat for a paper trail is growing louder. " Carlos Campos, AJC, http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/legis05/0305/08legvoting.html.

We can find no way to establish, even with years of hard work, that the software that Georgians have voted on in 2002 and 2004 was certified according to the law (even if that really meant anything, at least it's the law). Cox handed over control of creating the databases and ballots to Diebold in 2002 (Statewide contract, First Amendment).

We've had our votes used as a test drive for Diebold, and all of the most basic security measures that we were told by Cox and the Elections Division and Kennesaw have been in some way compromised in our elections since Diebold came to town. We have the proof of that now, it's a matter of getting the word out to the public, and unfortunately, states are still running ahead and purchasing and installing these machines. Voters everywhere should be outraged and heading into the streets!!

[Boredtodeath]

31. Georgia activists have begged Cox

In SEVERAL meetings with her. I know of one private meeting, in particular, before they introduced SB500 where the activists tried to bring Cathy Cox onboard with voter verified paper ballots.

Cox's response was a giant FUCK YOU.

Cox not only publicly opposed SB500, she had the entire office of the secretary of state in the halls of the legislature LOBBYING AGAINST IT.

At some point, Napi21, you're going to have to realize that Cathy Cox has been the biggest BARRIER to fixing the Georgia fiasco.

If you have any doubts, please feel free to look at the legislative history of SB500 here:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/search/sb500.htm

[CottonBear]

33. I'm from GA. I've met Cathy. I'll write or call her and advise her

to get rid of Diebold and go to paper ballots and hand counts NOW! Hell, I'll even help to count!

[Digit]

5. Highly recommended!

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. kick

[burythehatchet]

7. to all the people in Georgia

that I have been telling for 3 years "'02 was stolen", and you laughed at me....I TOLD YOU SO.

[CottonBear]

34. I knew that they stole the election. No one expected what came down.

It was a total shock. I have good Democratic friends who still insist it wasn't Diebold but I know that it was. Now, maybe, we have proof.

I'm really scared just thinking about Michael Thurmond and Thurbert Baker's re-election campaigns. Those two powerful, black Democratic officials are now in the Diebold firing line. :scared:

[AndyTiedye]

8. It Does Not Matter What Candidates We Run if Diebold Counts The Votes

Fixing the votes around the candidate

[NVMojo]

9. Kick!

[Gay Green]

12. Kick!

And nominated!

:kick:

[snot]

15. KICK. nt

[bleever]

16. This is what Not Giving Up looks like. I like it.

:thumbsup:

[mod mom]

17. Let's hope the DNC wakes up and starts to pay attention to this issue.

their report on Ohio Election Fraud was a poor attempt to get to the bottom of what happened. If they fail to address the machine issue, they will continue to lose elections, just like '00, '02 and '04! Certainly recommended!

[kster]

21. I think this is

only the beginning of whats to come.I cannot believe the Dem's could be that stupid to let the election of 2004 stand. I also agree with Kerry (if it was Kerry's plan) that he could not dispute the election results in Nov 2004. Gathering all of the evidence first, then fighting is a much better plan.

Kerry may not become Pres, but look what was accomplished,by the people at the DU and all the other sites. The people just won't let this past election go. KEEP PUSHING...... I think we are getting there.

[TroubleMan]

20. Cynthia McKinney once again is one of the few who will really stand up

in Congress for what's right....no matter what "the politics" are behind it.

[understandinglife]

22. Recommended!!

WATCH IT; SPREAD IT http://www.bushflash.com/right.html

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - How ever long it takes, the day must come when tens of millions of caring individuals peacefully but persistently defy the dictator, deny the corporatists their cash flow, and halt the evil being done in Iraq and in all the other places the Bu$h neoconster regime is destroying civilization and the environment in the name of "America."

[ClayZ]

23. Kick

:kick: 

[althecat]

25. Go Roxanne!!!

:yourock: and so do all the rest of the countthevote activists.

Nominated...

[Nothing Without Hope]

26. Without public visibililty, corruption will trump honest government every

time. That has always been true, and here we see it in Georgia.

This needs to be widely publicized.

[Amaryllis]

27. Is there a link to her statements at the press confrence?

[Boredtodeath]

28. No, there isn't

Cynthia actually LEFT the press conference almost immediately because she wanted the press to focus on Sam Barber and HIS statements. She wanted no "editoralizing" on the facts being quoted by the press.

This press conference was about the Diebold machines and she made valiant attempts to keep it focused on them and away from HER.

[Cookie wookie]

29. McKinney urges inquiry into electronic voting

By COREY DADE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/19/05

Fourth-District Rep. Cynthia McKinney on Monday called for an
investigation of the state's electronic voting machines, pointing to
numerous problems with equipment failure, defects and software problems
in the 2002 elections.

The DeKalb County Democrat criticized the state for investing in a $54
million touch-screen computer format from Diebold Elections Systems and
then forgoing adequate testing before the general election three years
ago. McKinney suggested the failure raised doubts about the accuracy of
the election results then and the outcome of the 2004 decisions — when
McKinney herself won back her seat after a two-year absence.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0705/19mckinney.html

[Janice325]

35. I live in Georgia, DeKalb county

When I voted for President in 2004 I stood in line for 3 1/2 hours before I could vote. I voted in Decatur. We had early voting, which I took advantage of.
I am white. I voted for Kerry, of course.
I took my girlfriend's elderly father to another location in DeKalb so he could vote. He's elderly, and as a result,was able to go to the front of the line. (I took him anyway, even though I knew he was going to vote for Dumbya. He's to old to drive. He's a long time Repub, who doesn't like Bush, but "hates the Democrats.")
Anyway, the point of this story is that where I took him to vote is primarily a black area, and there were people waiting in line TEN FREAKING hours to vote for Kerry. Too few machines in some areas.
Diebold's going to haunt Cathy Cox, IMO.

[Cookie wookie]

38. What was the name or location of

the precinct where the wait was 10 hours, if you don't mind revealing it.

Thanks.

[Boredtodeath]

39. This could be why - AJC 10/14/2004

In DeKalb County, officials have mailed notices to some residents that "the number of registered voters in your precinct is near capacity" and encouraging them to utilize advance voting.
http://www.ajc.com/hp/content/auto/epaper/editions/thursday/metro_14e6e03de66a90e6004e.html

[loudsue]

36. Someone needs to investigate Cathy Cox for taking $$ from Diebold

Man. Just pay the whores in elected office enough money and they'll do ANY damned thing they please. Screw the citizens.

It's gone on for too long, and Diebold makes sure we can't vote them out; Federal, State and local government officials.

What a racket they have going.

:kick::kick::kick:

[kster]

37. kick.nt

[dchill]

40. kick

for McKinney...

[kster]

41. Why, do I think

this is the story they want to cover up more than or equal to the Rove story.

Rove story,Rove and some in the administration GO TO JAIL.

But if this story gets out and gets legs it has a forever effect on the (GOP).

Just a thought.. KEEP PUSHING......

[Boredtodeath]

42. I don't agree entirely

This data is old - 2002 - and we really didn't expect much response to it from the media.

But it's purpose is served. We are setting the stage and history for much bigger information affecting the 2004 election that will come out in the next press conference.

The plan is to feed the press the history slowly so they can understand all the problems.

Too much, too fast and the press just ignores it saying "the story is too hard to understand and write."

So, please keep pushing, but understand that there's a method to our madness and we're happy with what we have seen in response to this.