|
Edited on Sat May-28-11 05:33 PM by Scuba
Note that this is a draft, and Wisconsin (and other) Progressives are getting a chance to see it before it's sent. Wider dissemination is desirable.
Ms. With makes some very serious allegations and some very serious demands in light of those allegations. It's a good read, and all Wisconsin Progressives should be familiar with these facts.
I hope eowyn-of-rohan, lefta dissenter, iwishiwas, eloc and other Wisconsin DU members (and recount participants) will weigh in.
May 31, 2011
Judge Thomas Barland
Judge Gerald C. Nichol
Judge Gordon Myse
Judge Michael Brennan
Judge Thomas Cane
Judge David G. Deininger
Government Accountability Board
Re: Citizen Complaint against the GAB and Kevin Kennedy
Dear Honorable Judges:
According to the Government Accountability Board’s own Code of Ethics, “It is declared that high moral and ethical standards among state public officials and state employees are essential to the conduct of free government; that the legislature believes that a code of ethics for the guidance of state public officials and state employees will help them avoid conflicts between their personal interests and their public responsibilities, will improve standards of public service and will promote and strengthen the faith and confidence of the people of this state in their state public officials and state employees.”
According to Thomas Payne, the right to vote is the primary right to which all other rights are protected. I believe our votes are sacred and the way in which they are handled is the most important process to which this ethical statement should be applied.
To this end, I am writing regarding my participation in the recount of the Supreme Court election involving David Prosser and Joanne Kloppenburg. I spent several days in Franklin and Waukesha.
My first experience was observing Milwaukee County. In the City and South Suburbs of Milwaukee, all materials from each ward were processed together by the same poll workers. I could observe every step and see all the evidence first hand: envelopes, poll books, matched seals, matched absentees, matched envelopes, etc. The majority of what I saw matched, the recount ran smoothly, disputes were small and the poll workers and observers solved the problems together, and for the most part, all workers all followed one basic process.
On arrival at Waukesha, I found exactly the opposite: All elements of the ward were pulled apart; Some people had the poll books; others had the ballots. No one table of poll workers or observers ever saw all the elements of one county in one place. When they brought bags to the tables with mismatched seals and large gaping holes big enough to put ballots through, we had to take someone's word for the fact that this gross abuse of the handling of our votes was being recorded, and whomever was responsible for this horrific neglect for their safety would eventually be held accountable. But by pulling apart all the element of the districts, they made it impossible, as an observer, to corroborate anything from any district, as we had in the city of Milwaukee.
In the south suburbs and city of Milwaukee, we all sat together at tables, two poll workers, two observers. In Waukesha, they had blue lines on the floor you couldn't cross if you didn't have the right tags, and there were yellow barricades between the observers and poll workers, making it harder for observers to see. Only the head clerks were allowed to put all the elements of the ward together. I do not know still if any of all the evidence of fraud even got entered into the records from Waukesha. (As of this writing May 28, Waukesha still has not posted it's minutes.) The process of how to do the recount changed every day. I never once saw a ballot bag resealed and renumbered. Ballots were thrown into bins and taken away to, somewhere? I never knew where they went or if they ever all got resealed, but what I saw observing how they were treating my vote made me literally nauseous every day.
At the time, my impression was that this was why Waukesha was taking so long. Waukesha’s processes seemed purposefully confusing and created circumstances that could hide any fraud.
On Friday, May 13, 2011 while observing in Waukesha County, something else crossed my path that gave me great concern.
When I arrived at 1 PM, I was assigned to a table of poll workers. They were just finishing counting a touch screen tape. I witnessed the poll workers become unsure of what they were counting, and call Barbara Hansen over to examine the tape. Ms. Hansen determined that they had actually counted a test tape, and instructed them to ignore it.
The workers went on to count several stacks of paper ballots. Then came another touch screen DRE tape of votes from Pewaukee, wards 8-10. Because they had been so unsure of the first DRE tape, the poll workers specifically called Ms. Hansen back to the table to confirm that they were indeed counting votes and not a test. Ms. Hansen instructed the poll workers to unwind the tape and check the top to make sure it was a legitimate record of actual votes and not a test. I witnessed Ms. Hansen confirm that the tape was indeed actual votes.
At the end of count, I noticed something disturbing. The date stamp at the end of the tape where the poll workers signed the night of the election was dated March 30, 2011, 1:40 AM. We re-rolled the tape to the start, where the opening date was March 29, 2011, 11:01 AM. Ms. Hansen was called back to the table. She again confirmed that these were actual votes, but could not explain why the tape was dated March 2011, even though the date on the tape indicted the election date of April 5, 2011.
The poll workers, as well as the observer from the other side speculated that the machine’s date stamp mechanism must have malfunctioned, much like when a computer battery goes dead and the internal clock resets. But that didn’t make sense to me because the date would have gone back to January 1. And since the touch screen data cards aren’t likely to have batteries that “wind down” like a lithium battery, I felt this anomaly was big enough to escalate to the judge.
The judge swore in another clerk whose name I did not catch, but she swore that the tape did indeed represent votes that were taken the night of April 5, 2011 and that the date stamp must have just malfunctioned.
I left that Friday uncomfortable with this. I had too many questions. How did it misdate the tape? Why would the date be March 30, 1:40 AM? How come no one could adequately explain how the date stamp was wrong when Ms. Hansen double-checked to see if this was not a test tape, but confirmed three times they were real votes? And even if it was a test tape, still, why was it dated as such? And how do touch screen machines produce such a mistake? And if touch screen machines can produce this kind of mistake, what other kinds of mistake can they produce that would threaten the integrity of our votes?
I decided to write a letter to submit to the judge on Monday, asking for an explanation be entered into the record that would reasonably satisfy my questions. These are, after all, our votes, the very cornerstone of our democracy. IT’S YOUR JOB TO KEEP THEM SAFE! If our votes are not safe, then we should be outraged and demand that they are handled with the highest priority. This touch screen tape represented to me the chance that votes might be compromised.
The following Monday, there was an announcement that the canvass board in Waukesha was closing observations for the morning while they “caught up on paperwork.” I arrived at 1 PM Monday May 16, and presented my letter to the appropriate person to escalate to the judge. I explained that I needed it placed in the record that this touch screen tape and the misdated stamp should be explained clearly and with reasonable explanation for the records.
After the representative approached the judge with my letter, I was simply told, “There were no touch screen votes in Pewaukee.” Imagine my surprise.
If I had not gone through two observations by Ms. Hansen and one sworn testimony to verify this was indeed a tape that represented actual votes, I might not have thought twice. But after all that I witnessed, now, suddenly, there were no touch screen votes from Pewaukee.
However, even if there were no actual votes from April 5 on touch screen machines in Pewaukee, this still did not satisfy the question, why was the date stamp on a test tape March 30, 1:40 AM. Was the test taken at 1 AM in the morning? If it had been a case of a powered-off battery, why did it not reboot at January 1? I wanted to know more.
I did some research into touch screen machines, and what I found was disturbing to say the least. The machines used in Pewaukee, the Eagle (w/ modem & no SEQ-AVC Edge II 5.0.24 modem) are the same type of machines that registered as flipping vote during the 2004 presidential election. You might not have heard about this, because back then the media did not report the over 70,000 complaints that came in to election boards all across the country on election night. In fact, Senator Robert Hagan, distinguished veteran and current senator from Ohio’s 60th district who was serving in the Ohio House in 2004, voted on one of this brand of voting systems, the Sequoia, and will attest to the machine literally flipping his vote! Even though he pressed the button for “Kerry” he saw his vote register for “Bush.”
You can imagine my shock at hearing this. As I researched further, I discovered a frightening and potentially dangerous situation with these machines. Seems not only does the technology leave our votes open to fraud and manipulation by allowing tampering with the data cartridges, but they can also quite easily be manipulated via modem, which the Pewaukee machines are loaded with, according to your information. In fact, in November 2006, the National Institute of Standards and Technology reported it could not devise a test to confirm the accuracy of software-dependent voting machine tallies. Apparently, vote flipping can be programmed by anyone having access to any form of machine software at any time. Local security measures can't overcome an already present line of malicious code.
Princeton University professor Andrew Appel demonstrated this potential for vote fraud when he acquired six Sequoia touch-screen machines on eBay for $86 each. Within seconds, his students broke the lock and inserted a code to flip votes only on Tuesdays in November without leaving a trace of evidence.
I also learned that Election Systems & Software (ES&S), Diebold, and Sequoia are the companies primarily involved in implementing the voting stations throughout the country. All three had strong ties to the Bush Administration. The largest investors in ES&S, Sequoia, and Diebold are government defense contractors including Accenture.
After these discoveries, I had to find out more about how these machines came to Wisconsin. Imagine my surprise to find out that in 2005, Kevin Kennedy was lobbying to award a $13.9 million contract for a statewide voter database to the Accenture. Even though Mr. Kennedy was told that Accenture had a controversial and problematic track record, e.i. being the same type of machines reporting fraud in 2004, he entered into the contract.
Our state legislators, experts in elections and state politics, and groups working for clean government urged Mr. Kennedy to change course. Hundreds of Wisconsinites rallied outside your headquarters to demand that you and Mr. Kennedy reject the Accenture contract. When you followed Kennedy's recommendation with the Accenture deal, people grew so concerned, a suit was filed in an attempt to block the deal.
Kennedy continued to cheerlead for Accenture even though testing by your employees revealed multiple system errors in the software. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported "Voter registration system delayed: Testing finds too many errors to meet deadline."
I wonder why, when so many people in this state warned him that he was making the wrong deal with the wrong company, Mr. Kennedy encouraged you to go ahead with it anyway. And why, if Accenture's performance has proved unsatisfactory, did he continue to refer to them as Wisconsin's "partner?" And why, if your own Code of Ethics states it is your job to, “help avoid conflicts between personal interests and public responsibilities, and…promote and strengthen the faith and confidence of the people of this state in their state public officials and state employees,” would you align your allegiance with Accenture, who has the proven ability to perpetuate voter fraud?
For me, that put my vote at risk. For me, you have clearly failed to do your job as my public servants.
Under the circumstances and considering what we found in Waukesha, how can you, with clear conscience and commitment to the above-stated Code of Ethics, sit by and sanction what Mr. Kennedy has done in regards to the current Supreme Court recount? Countless other anomalies were reported to you, including but not limited to: countless ballot bags with broken chains of custody; duct taped bags; crossed off seal numbers; ballots held in Kathy Nickalous’ access through the recount process; her special software no other clerk had; confusing recount processes breaking up evidence; proof positive that the Eagle Sequoia touch screen voting machines are capable of fraud, as your staff proved and warned you about; my misdated tape considering the dangers of fraud via modem. How can you choose to ignore this enormous body of evidence and instead move forward guaranteeing us Prosser won the election?
As a public citizen of Wisconsin, I demand that you reverse your decision that Prosser was the clear winner in this case, and start to do your job to Wisconsin, what you swore you would do (these words are directly from your own website):
“The G.A.B. is an independent, non-partisan agency. The public can be assured the G.A.B. will investigate the activities of public officials where there is a reasonable basis to do so. The Board and its staff take any allegation of election misconduct seriously, whether it is by candidates, voters, political parties, or other groups seeking to influence the outcome of elections.”
In the face of all the evidence that creates substantial reasonable doubt that there wasn’t fraud involved in the 2011 Supreme Court election, if you don’t, you will be intentionally abandoning the Wisconsin and US Constitution, as well as your own Code of Ethics, proving your allegiance to the corporation that owns our voting system contracts.
It is the duty of We the People of Wisconsin to uphold your commitment to your job. If you can’t, then all of you and Mr. Kennedy must step down immediately; otherwise you as a Board must hold Mr. Kennedy accountable for not securing the safety and well-being of our votes. He must step down immediately.
In light of this evidence and what happened with the Supreme Court election, you can no longer be trusted with our votes.
Therefore We the People demand you take immediate action, beginning with but not limited to:
We demand that for the upcoming recall elections, all touch screen voting machines be quarantined and only be used in case of disabilities or similar obstacles to vote, and that every touch screen vote is accompanied by a paper ballot, filled out and certified by a poll worker.
We demand observers at all the upcoming recall elections and that ballots are hand counted and observed by both parties the night of the election.
We demand that after the recall elections, we repeal voter suppression bill and install an election integrity reform bill, and allow Wisconsin to go on to lead the nation in this vital issue that concerns the security of our entire nation.
We demand Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickalous be immediately removed from office and an interim clerk sworn in while investigation begins into how our votes became so brutally mismanaged and who else is involved in this conspiracy to take control of our government through manipulation of our votes.
We demand to go back to the November 2010 election and recount to substantiate that Scott Walker actually did get enough votes to actually be our real governor. We understand that the fraud perpetrated via the Eagle (w/ modem & no SEQ-AVC Edge II 5.0.24 modem), the kinds of voting machines Mr. Kennedy lobbied to use in our state, is remarkably untraceable. But we believe, through due process of a handcount, we will be able to uncover enough evidence, much like we have in Waukesha, to proof enough evidence to cast reasonable doubt that was there not election fraud.
We intend to use the evidence we found at the recount to educate the public and campaign for election reform, starting here, starting now by facing the blatant corruption within the GAB, on the part of the judges, the director and extending to all and all Wisconsin judges, legislators, law enforcement officials, as well as any corporation and/or heads of corporation found aiding and abet in this travesty of putting Wisconsin's allegiance with the corporations that are stealing our votes.
We are also connected to thousands of grass roots organizations all over the state, who are connected to organizations all over the world. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin citizens and millions of American voters standing at the ready—in all parties, of all races, of all social and economic class level. I will have no trouble and fully intend to inspire every good citizen of our entire nation to stand up to make sure our votes are safe.
This recount proves they are not. You have abandoned your posts and endangered our constitution.
Rest assured, Honorable Judges, this is just the beginning. If no action is taken on this, I promise, the backlash against you will come from not only this huge body of Wisconsin citizens who will stand up with me to demand action on this vital issue of making sure our votes are secure. Every good American is ready to stand for this reform, we only have to lead the way. But that’s what we do in Wisconsin.
Never before in the history of this great state or country has so much corruption been so transparent. And never before have citizens risen up in so much solidarity to uphold the law. It’s an amazing movement to be a part of. And I have Governor Walker to thank.
Do not be fooled into thinking this movement will not sweep to your desk, your job and your position. This is the start of the change we will take nation wide. You can either do what is right, or you can prepare to be confronted and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law for your acts of treason.
Kind Regards,
Barbara With
Cc: Kevin Kennedy
President Barack Obama
David Prosser
Joanne Kloppenburg
Kathy Nickolaus
Doug LaFollette
Senator Robert Hagan, Ohio
Senator Carpenter
Senator Coggs
Senator Cowles
Senator Cullen
Senator Darling
Senator Ellis
Senator Erpenbach
Senator Fitzgerald
Senator Galloway
Senator Grothman
Senator Hansen
Senator Harsdorf
Senator Holperin
Senator Jauch
Senator Kapanke
Senator Kedzie
Senator Larson
Senator Lasee
Senator Lassa
Senator Lazich
Senator Leibham
Senator Miller
Senator Moulton
Senator Olsen
Senator Risser
Senator Ryan
Senator Schultz
Senator Taylor
Senator Vinehout
Senator Vinehout
Senator Vukmir
Senator Wanggaard
Senator Wirch
Senator Zipperer
Assemblypersons:
Tyler August
Joan Ballweg
Peter Barca
Terese Berceau
Penny Bernard Schaber
Kathy Bernier
Janet Bewley
Garey Bies
Ed Brooks
Fred Clark
Elizabeth Coggs
David Craig
David Cullen
Chris Danou
Steve Doyle
Mike Endsley
Paul Farrow
Jason Fields
Jeff Fitzgerald
Tamara Grigsby
Gary Hebl
Gordon Hintz
Mark Honadel
Brett Hulsey
Andre Jacque
Andy Jorgensen
Chris Kapenga
Dean Kaufert
Samantha Kerkman
Frederick Kessler
Steve Kestell
Joel Kleefisch
John Klenke
Joe Knilans
Dan Knodl
Dean Knudson
Dale Kooyenga
Bill Kramer
Scott Krug
Margaret Krusick
Mike Kuglitsch
Tom Larson
Daniel LeMahieu
Michelle Litjens
Amy Loudenbeck
Howard Marklein
Cory Mason
Dan Meyer
Nick Milroy
Louis Molepske, Jr.
Jeffrey Mursau
John Murtha
Stephen Nass
Lee Nerison
John Nygren
Jim Ott
Alvin Ott
Sandy Pasch
Kevin Petersen
Jerry Petrowski
Warren Petryk
Mark Pocan
Sondy Pope-Roberts
Don Pridemore
Mark Radcliffe
Jon Richards
Janis Ringhand
Keith Ripp
Roger Rivard
Kelda Helen Roys
Donna Seidel
Erik Severson
Jennifer Shilling
Christine Sinicki
Richard Spanbauer
Tony Staskunas
John Steinbrink
Jim Steineke
Jeffrey Stone
Pat Strachota
Duey Stroebel
Scott Suder
Gary Tauchen
Jeremy Thiesfeldt
Tom Tiffany
Barbara Toles
Travis Tranel
Robert Turner
Karl Van Roy
Robin Vos
Amy Sue Vruwink
Chad Weininger
Mary Williams
Evan Wynn
Leon Young
Jocasta Zamarripa
Josh Zepnick
Bob Ziegelbauer
(edited to insert "Wisconsin" in subject)
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
