Princeton University Exposes Diebold Flaws

This is a video by the Information Technology group at Princeton University demonstrating how easy it is to manipulate electronic voting machines. Watch this, then ask your local Registrar of Voters, Election Commissioner, etc. what they think about it. Don't take "You have to trust us" as an answer. Don't take "But we have laws against tampering with election equipment" as an answer. Come on, we have laws against robbery but probably every convenience store in the country has been robbed some time. Election officials often send these vulnerable machines home with poll workers before the election, where they sit in homes, garages, cars, and even carports. All it takes is one crook to find one machine and install a virus that spreads between voting machines just like any other Windows virus. So on to the official talking points from Princeton: Main Findings The main findings of our study are: 1. Malicious software running on a single voting machine can steal votes with little if any risk of detection. The malicious software can modify all of the records, audit logs, and counters kept by the voting machine, so that even careful forensic examination of these records will find nothing amiss. We have constructed demonstration software that carries out this vote-stealing attack. 2. Anyone who has physical access to a voting machine, or to a memory card that will later be inserted into a machine, can install said malicious software using a simple method that takes as little as one minute. In practice, poll workers and others often have unsupervised access to the machines. 3. AccuVote-TS machines are susceptible to voting-machine viruse! s - computer viruses that can spread malicious software automatically and invisibly from machine to machine during normal pre- ! and post-election activity. We have constructed a demonstration virus that spreads in this way, installing our demonstration vote-stealing program on every machine it infects. 4. While some of these problems can be eliminated by improving Diebold's software, others cannot be remedied without replacing the machines' hardware. Changes to election procedures would also be required to ensure security.

Princeton University Exposes Diebold Flaws

Main Findings The main findings of our study are: 1. Malicious software running on a single voting machine can steal votes with little if any risk of detection. The malicious software can modify all of the records, audit logs, and counters kept by the voting machine, so that even careful forensic examination of these records will find nothing amiss. We have constructed demonstration software that carries out this vote-stealing attack. 2. Anyone who has physical access to a voting machine, or to a memory card that will later be inserted into a machine, can install said malicious software using a simple method that takes as little as one minute. In practice, poll workers and others often have unsupervised access to the machines. 3. AccuVote-TS machines are susceptible to voting-machine viruse! s - computer viruses that can spread malicious software automatically and invisibly from machine to machine during normal pre- ! and post-election activity. We have constructed a demonstration virus that spreads in this way, installing our demonstration vote-stealing program on every machine it infects. 4. While some of these problems can be eliminated by improving Diebold's software, others cannot be remedied without replacing the machines' hardware. Changes to election procedures would also be required to ensure security.

"Path to 9/11" = The Big Lie

Even many conservatives agree that the ABC/Disney "docudrama" Path to 9/11 is full of blatant inaccuracies, some of which are even based on "Internet myths." This slanted program is purely neoconservative/Republican propaganda against Democrats, most likely to influence the public against voting Republicans out of office this November. Most people will believe that if it's on network TV, it must be true.

I can't believe my country is using our old enemies' most blatant dirty tricks on us. This is clearly The Big Lie. Tell it loud enough and often enough, and fiction will become fact in people's minds.

Sure, docudramas tend to change things to make them more dramatic or make the story move faster. But this isn't a story about a little girl in a well or a sports figure who overcame adversity; this is the turning point in modern American history. We cannot afford to let the ruling party change history to solidify their power. Look what happened in Germany in the 1930s when that happened. I seem to recall this tactic being popular in the Soviet Union and Communist China, and probably many other countries that misled and mistreated their citizens.

The motivation is obvious: If Bush/Cheney and their cabal can frighten enough people out of voting for Democrats this November, they won't even need to manipulate the vote counts to solidify political control.

Take action to protest this dangerous propaganda. Complain to ABC and Disney about airing the Big Lie.

Contacts:

http://thinkprogress.org/tellabc

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911

Disney’s Chairman of the Board is former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-ME). Senator Mitchell has a long and distinguished career both inside and outside government and he knows how important it is to accurately represent historical events.

We need to remind him that 9/11 was a national tragedy, and that politicizing and flagrantly misrepresenting the facts about 9/11 is wrong.

Senator George J. Mitchell
T: (212) 335-4600
T: (212) 335-4500
F: (212) 335-4605
george.mitchell@dlapiper.com

More information:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__060907_the_height_of_hubris.htm

Letter to Senator Boxer

(Via e-mail form on her website, entitled "Vote of No Confidence" in regard to her motion to vote on Rumsfeld)

Dear Senator Boxer:

Thank you for standing up to the war criminals in the Bush administration. I hope the Democrats get a majority in the midterm elections so we can impeach them all. Of course, what we need are war crimes trials, but impeachment would at least stop them from doing any more harm.

Regarding the elections, I hope we don't have more races like CA-50 where Congress decides to "select" members before all the votes are counted and nullifies any recounts. Lately I have been afraid it is too late to salvage democracy because the wrong people are in charge of *counting* the votes.

You may know there is an ongoing struggle in Humboldt County to meet the accessibility requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Friday morning I was dismayed during the County Board of Supervisors meeting in Eureka because HAVA requirements have backed our Supervisors and County Recorder into a corner. Although it seems like a noble idea to ensure that voters with disabilities can vote at the polls independently, none of the certified accessible voting technology is secure, accurate, or reliable.

It seems that Humboldt County will have to spend nearly $800,000 to outfit 80 polling places with the Hart Intercivic eSlate to meet HAVA requirements and avoid Federal penalties. As you may know, the Elections committee far preferred the VotePAD, but after heavily slanted testing, it was not certified. The VotePAD would have cost only about $52,000 for 80 units--and it is much more secure, accurate, reliable, and usable. The eSlate was a distant runner-up, but since it is certified and Hart is willing to help us make our deadlines, the Supervisors approved purchase of the eSlate units. San Luis Obispo County is twice as big as Humboldt County, and only 11 disabled voters used accessible equipment in the June election. Also, many other counties using eSlate have had serious technical difficulties.

I am concerned that the general confusion surrounding a hasty installation of new equipment (here and in other counties facing the same dilemma) will prevent conclusive election results. This will set the stage for more premature "selection" of representatives as occurred in CA-50 this June.

Whether this is a premeditated political plan to seize power, or just a big pork-barrel project, it seems that HAVA's disability provisions are a pretext to force counties to purchase high-priced and insecure, unreliable, and inaccurate electronic voting devices.

You have probably heard of the poll results that 92% of Americans want to understand how their votes are counted and even watch the process. Howe often do you see poll results that nearly unanimous? Please stand up for the 92% of your constituents who want their votes to be counted accurately, and question the wisdom of using HAVA to force counties to use expensive and inadequate electronic voting equipment. I'm sure you want all our votes for you to be counted accurately when you run for re-election.

Thank you for representing me in Congress. You nearly always support my positions, and I wish you the best of luck fighting the power-mad totalitarians in Washington, D.C. There are too many in the administration who act as though they hate our freedom and show reckless disregard for everyone outside their circle. (For example, the Patriot Act and the response to Hurricane Katrina.)

Sincerely,
Me

Outrage at Bilbray isn't just for liberals

Well, I guess voting advocacy really isn't just a liberal cause. Check out this post about Bilbray and Hastert stealing CA-50... which turns out to be on a right-wing website.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=19852