At issue: A YES-NO question: Do Diebold touch-screens have a problem similar to that identified in the Black Box Voting project in Leon County, Florida -- the devastating hack of the Diebold optical scan system. Just a YES-NO question.
Black Box Voting has now obtained certain NEW specific information indicating that the answer with the touch-screens will be YES. One of our researchers has identified an interpreter, which appears to be specifically prohibited by 2002 FEC standards, inside a Diebold touchscreen system.
What is needed now is to confirm this finding with a "pedigreed" Diebold touch-screen system ie., one to which we are given legitimate access with one of our publicly known experts. We will have to show that what our protected source has found is also present in a system delivered by Diebold for use in actual elections. This cannot be a stolen system, a specially souped-up system (i.e. one that Diebold chooses), or a system used without authorization of its custodians.
Note that in July, Diebold sent threat letters to its customers, warning them not to allow examination of their systems. However, in December Black Box Voting was shown to be correct when we alleged that there was executable code and an interpreter in the optical scan machines/memory cards. Diebold lied, under oath and in writing, to secretaries of state and purchasing officials about this. Now, the entire Diebold product line has been called into question, and we believe our findings will soon spill over into other vendors' products as well.
Following our demonstration in Leon County, Florida, California refused to certify Diebold.
Pennsylvania has now refused to certify Diebold. Diebold has now been dropped from counties in Florida and Missouri. Diebold has refused to give its source code to North Carolina, most likely due to the NC requirement that allows POLITICAL PARTIES to examine the source code, which would risk revealing the problems exposed by the Black Box Voting projects conducted with Harri Hursti and others.
If you may be able to help with this project, please call Bev at (206) 335-7747 or Kathleen at
206-354-5723 or the main office at (425) 793-1030 or send to bev@blackboxvoting.org.
Telephone or send an overnight letter (sent by Fed X but not U.S. Post Office, to 330 SW 43rd St Suite K PMB 547 Renton WA 98055) The contents of our e-mail was penetrated by an outsider in late November in connection with confidential plans for upcoming testing, so we do not recommend that you contact us by e-mail for this particular endeavor.
The sooner the better. It is important to roll back use of ANY MACHINES WITH PROHIBITED CODE well in advance of the 2006 elections, in order to allow local jurisdictions to make other plans.
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Black Box Voting is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501c(3) elections watchdog group. This organization is not affiliated in any way with any political party or any vendor.
