Verified Voting Foundation reports thatin the2010 Primaries we will have more recounts than recountable elections!Future state, local and presidential contests are at risk because many states still have paperless electronic voting, poor chains of custody or poor election practices, flawed voter registration databases, voter caging, deceptive mailers, robo calls, and voter suppression. A new threat has been added to the equation, the 1000 times worse, inherently insecure Internet Voting and Email Balloting.
The US has ENRON style elections where in many cases there isn't any paper to shred or voting software is prone to error or makes malfeasance easy to hide:
Just this week, in Monroe County Arkansas,thousands of votes disappeared, and election officials could not explain how or why. SeeJune 4,Exclusive: Impossible Election Results in Monroe County, Arkansas Puzzle State, Local Officials
Just this week,in Garland County Arkansas, where there is a hotly contested US Senatorial runoff between incumbent Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln vs Lt Gov Halter,officials chose to open only 2 polling placesinstead of the usual 42in a Halter stronghold. This resulted in long lines and waits, plus increased distance for voters to travel in order to vote. Such tactics often harm the vulnerable voter populations most - folks who can't miss long periods of work or who don't have good transportation.
"Flawed and failing computerized vote-counters have been reported in hundreds of news stories, experienced by thousands of voters, caused millions of dollars in official investigations and studies..."Ellen Theisen, Voters Unite.
From 2000 to Present:
2000 - The Presidential Election was lost because of flawed voting system software, malfeasance, elections that cannot be audited, and poor transparency laws.In Florida 2000, Al Gore was ahead UNTIL the central tabulator reached its thresh-hold andsubtracted 16, 022 votes from his totalsin Volusia County Florida.
ES&S: Shoddy parts for iVotronics since 2001
Interview with Prof. Michael Shamus, Carnegie Mellon University
Sequoia: Switched to substandard paper ballots for 2000 Presidential Election
Sequoia: Intentionally misaligned ballots for Palm Beach County for 2000 Presidential Election
2004 - A paperless voting machine lost 4,400 votes in Carteret Co NCin Nov 2004, causing the outcome of a statewide contest to be un-decided. This was due to flawed voting system software. See North Carolina's Ballot Blues"A Florida-style nightmare has unfolded in North Carolina in the days since Election Day, with thousands of votes missing and the outcome of two statewide races still up in the air." AP Newswire, November 13, 2004
2006 - Paperless touchscreens in Sarasota County Floridafailed to record 18,000 votesfor the FL-13 US Congressional race. That is 18,000 voters who showed up for the FL13 election who cast a ballot but no vote was registered.
At present, many key city, county, state, and federal elections have no way to deter fraud and malfeasance, no way to conduct recounts or audits, no way to prove the validity of election results
To see how bad the problems with electronic voting, flawed voter registration databases, voter supression are, visit this database of voting problemsby state.
THE NEW THREAT TO OUR ELECTIONS
Internet Voting and Email balloting cram down. It is happening now! I-votingis being pushed, currently on the backs of our overseas military, under the guise of helping them vote. This is similar to how HAVA was passed on the backs of the disabled community.
"An increasing number of states will offer Americans living overseas a chance to return their completed ballots over the Internet this November.
But cybersecurity experts and voter advocates contend that these well-intentioned efforts ignore the technical vulnerabilities of sending a voted ballot as an e-mail attachment, potentially subjecting this midterm contest to electronic vote rigging and hacking. SeeBenefits, risks of e-mail ballots weighedThe Old Revolving Door Swings Again - In favor of insecure voting
Internet voting companies are polishing their patina by hiring away top election officials to peddle their products, providing the implied message that these products must be safe and secure. The Internet Vendor Everyone Counts (what a misnomer that is)hired former Elections Assistance Chairman Paul DeGregorioto be their CIO. Just last week, Pedro Cortez, the Secretary of State of Pennsylvaniaabruptly resigned his postto accept position of Executive Vice President of EveryoneCounts.
Track Internet Voting Legislation in Your StateVoter Actionis monitoring internet voting legislationacross the country that threatens our democracy by introducing a voting system that creates serious election vulnerabilities.
Learn more about the risks of internet and email balloting, at Verified Voting's blog
We have an Election Integrity Emergency in the US, and the threat has just been ramped up 1000 fold by the Trojan Horse of internet and email voting, accomplished on the backs of our overseas military.
"The core of our American democracy is the right to vote. Implicit in that right is the notion that that vote be private, that vote be secure, and that vote be counted as it was intended when it was cast by the voter. And I think what we're encountering is a pivotal moment in our democracy where all of that is being called into question."(more here) Kevin Shelley, formerCalifornia Sec. of State
