Diebold admits all versions of their software delete ballots without notice!!

[Stevepol]

This fact should have automatically barred Diebold from being certified, but evidently the accreditation organizations don't consider accurate vote counting as essential to certification.

All this has been brought to light by Debra Bowen in CA and could lead to Diebold's decertification in CA and hopefully in other states as well. In fact, since I'm just hoping, here's wishing them a total lack of certification in every state and municipality in every square inch of the US.

Here's Bradblog's story:



Startling admission made during public hearing in CA to consider decertification of the company's voting and tabulation software...

by Mitch Trachtenburg

Even the audit log system on current versions of Premier Election Solutions' (formerly Diebold's) electronic voting and tabulating systems --- used in some 34 states across the nation --- fail to record the wholesale deletion of ballots. Even when ballots are deleted on the same day as an election. That's the shocking admission heard today from Justin Bales, Premier's Western Region manager, at a State of California public hearing on the possible decertification of Diebold/Premier's tabulator system, GEMS v. 1.18.19.

An election system's audit logs are meant to record all activity during the system's actual counting of ballots, so that later examiners may determine, with certainty, whether any fraudulent or mistaken activity had occurred during the count. Diebold's software fails to do that, as has recently been discovered by Election Integrity advocates in Humboldt County, CA, and then confirmed by the CA Secretary of State. The flaws, built into the system for more than a decade, are in serious violation of federal voting system certification standards.

The problems may lead to decertification of the company's voting systems, as well as an examination of voting systems made by other companies to determine if they too may have been able to sneak such violations past both federal and state testers...

Here's the rest of the story:

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6995#more-6995

[havocmom]

1. Interesting they are confessing the problems now that DEMS are in charge

What, they don't want DEMS to be able to use the same tools the GOP has been using to pretend they were still the majority?

[Greyskye]

2. Damn I love our SoS!

:thumbsup:

K&R

[midnight]

3. While we ride out the,shock and awe, compliments of the gang that diebold elected

It really brings little comfort that this information is being revealed. Their needs to be a great apology/restitution to the American people for that crime.

[AndyA]

4. Just how many people have or are now "serving the people" because of these machines?

It's very possible that the entire 8 Bush years were a fraud! (Yes, they were, but this increases the chances that the prick wasn't even close in either election.)

How many other Republicans are in office today due to this (likely intentional) defect in programming?

I'll bet the votes that got dumped were mostly for Democrats, that's another little secret that will come out at some point.

Who is going to jail for this?

[driver8]

5. I will never believe that shrub won either of those elections!

With this info, and the bullshit that went on in Florida and Ohio -- no freakin' way!

Fuck Diebold.

[Liberal_Christian]

11. Probably every Republican in office or close to it.

[Wilms]

6. There is a serious problem. But not what one would think reading the headline.

Kim Zetter, at Wired, seems to have written in a way that, while not as sensational, leaves one more likely to accurately understand the nature of the problem.

Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems) admitted in a state hearing Tuesday that the audit logs produced by its tabulation software miss significant events, including the act of someone deleting votes on election day.

The company acknowledged that the problem exists with every version of its tabulation software.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/03/diebold-admits.html

[bleever]

7. Machines specifically designed so that vote theft is undetectable.

Something fishy about that...

[BeFree]

8. Well

La-dee-daa, those 'whacko conspiracy theorists' are proven right again.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. The real reason Diebold fled North Carolina:

I would love to see federal legislation include some of NC's statutes. Diebold would fold up their doors. Others would clean up or do the same.

The real reason Diebold ran Friday, December 23. 2005 David Allen.
Yesterday was the deadline for signing the affidavit mentioned here:


§ 163‑165.9A. Voting systems: requirements for voting systems vendors; penalties.
...
(3) The chief executive officer of the vendor shall sign a sworn affidavit that the source code and other material in escrow is the same being used in its voting systems in this State. The chief executive officer shall ensure that the statement is true on a continuing basis.
...
b) Penalties. - Willful violation of any of the duties in subsection (a) of this section is a Class G felony. Substitution of source code into an operating voting system without notification as provided by subdivision (a)(2) of this section is a Class I felony. In addition to any other applicable penalties, violations of this section are subject to a civil penalty to be assessed by the State Board of Elections in its discretion in an amount of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation. A civil penalty assessed under this section shall be subject to the provisions of G.S. 163‑278.34(e)."

http://blackboxvoting.com/s9/index.php?/archives/59-The-real-reason-Diebold-ran.html

***Note - David Allen of High Point NC wrote this section of NC law.
THANK YOU DAVID!

[Liberal_Christian]

10. But you'll never hear anything from the right on this...

When a small number of ACORN employees were guilty of voter registration fraud you'd have thought conservatives were getting ready for WW3; even though those employees:
1. were acting in their OWN interests and NOT in ACORN's
2. plead guilty
3. were FIRED by ACORN
4. and they along with ACORN fully cooperated with the investigation.

But when DIEBOLD actually developed software installed in voting machines that:

1. adds AND SUBTRACTS votes.
2. easily accessible by any computer programmer via PUBLIC ftp site or actual voting device.
3. was created by a company (Diebold) that has higher-ups connected to GOP
4. was created by a company (Diebold) who's CEO "promised votes to Bush" (proven with actual documentation)

All of which lead to a very constitutional recount then a very UNconstitutional supreme court intervention

CONSERVATIVES FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH ANY OF THIS (except the recount -gee I wonder why)

So I guess conservatives think that ACORN having a handful of unethical employees is by far worse than actual corrupt corporations and corrupt government sects being completely partisan and ruining elections.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. actually, in Maryland, republicans are fighting Diebold and paperless voting

and they, Democrats, and progressives have been blocked by Linda Lamone, who
is State Elections Director for Life.

[Liberal_Christian]

13. It's about time they grew a conscience...

It's just a shame they only fight for fairness when the unjustice affects them.

[Land Shark]

14. And how many states or organizations CERTIFIED this software????? nt