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(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 9, 2008 Getting the Framing on Election Polling Right
Polling,especially exit polling,is a well-recognized science.Computerized voting,on the other hand,is vulnerable to human error,programming error,and technological glitches,which we should emphasize.It is also vulnerable to deliberate manipulation- speculation which we should avoid.We encourage candidates,pollsters,pundits,media, and elected officials to reconsider election results when we focus on the technology...
SHARE Wednesday, November 7, 2007 Getting in Touch with the Inner VVSG
Who would have thought then that we would become the technology-savvy watchdogs of the computerized voting industry?Or that we would rise to the occasion in such numbers and determination that one of the premier manufacturers of security systems in the world(Diebold)would change its election division's name in an effort to preserve the corporate brand?Kudos.Now let's get back to work;it's complicated but we're up to the task.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, April 11, 2007 A Return to Maryland: the Lessons of Success
On Monday, April 9, the 2007, at the stroke of midnight, the Maryland General Assembly performed a miracle that had been unattainable for 4 years. It turned our lemon of a voting system into a potential jewel. Legislators passed bills that will transform our paperless touchscreen voting machines into paper ballots/optical scan technology in 2010. This transition will have consequences for the nation.
(3 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 8, 2006 2006: A Year to Write Ballads About
All that we have accomplished serves to remind us of the extent to which a healthy democracy requires eternal vigilance on the part of individual citizens, dedicated to protecting the heart of our communities: the American election system.
SHARE Tuesday, November 7, 2006 Robo-Calls and Push Polls
As the election nears, reports are increasing that deceptive robo-call campaigns are being used in competitive races around the country. The goal is not to deliver legitimate messages or solicit legitimate polling data. Calls often occur multiple times in a day, and occur late into the night.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, October 8, 2006 URGENT! WE NEED YOUR HELP
The Election Defense Alliance is hiring Zogby to do independent exit polls in November. Polls that can't be changed when the election turns out to be the opposite from the exit polls like the 2004 elections. Please give as generously as you can because our democracy depends on safeguarding our elections.
SHARE Sunday, September 24, 2006 Maryland: America in Miniature: One voter's report from the trenches
Most interesting (and here I provide a nugget to the "conspiracy theorists" among us), had that small error at the beginning of the day not occurred, the press and elected officials would have been focused on the technological and system failures in the Diebold E-Poll Books and the Diebold AccuVote TS system. That would have been the huge story that came out of the Maryland Primary. It was not.
SHARE Thursday, September 14, 2006 The Fallacy of Voter Fraud Plays Out in Maryland's Primary: A Work of Science Fiction?
In an effort to quell Republican concerns, State Elections Administrator Linda Lamone offered the Legislature yet another Diebold product: E-Poll Books, tied to the statewide voter registration database, for voter check in. The Legislature adopted this suggestion and reallocated the millions of dollars, provided by the Governor for leasing optical scan, to the purchase of Diebold E-Poll Books.
SHARE Tuesday, September 12, 2006 Maryland Election Nightmare Underway
Live from the trenches: Voting integrity activists, after failing to secure a paper ballot in the 2006 Maryland Legislative Session, have been concerned that it might take an election meltdown to focus the Legislature and the State Board of Elections on the vulnerabilities in paperless touchscreen voting. We may have just gotten that "perfect storm."
SHARE Thursday, September 7, 2006 Who Knew: Democrats are Blamed for Pre-9/11 Failures
You will remember last year, when the Democrats shut down the Senate over the Intelligence Committee's failure to undertake the promised investigation. We may see a few "crumbs" from the full loaf on Friday. As we know, Friday afternoon is optimum time, politicians find, for dropping distasteful and embarrassing information into the media's trough. It appears that Republicans expect to spread the 9/11 blame around.