Diebold's secret contracts -- and what they really mean

[BevHarris]

OK, that's a catchy headline for a rather heavy slog through legal materials, but for those who are involved in public records requests and litigation, there is now information online in the lead story at http://www.blackboxvoting.org pertaining to Diebold's attempts at secrecy and how one might go about penetrating their attempts to protect information.

The source? Let's just say this information comes from the other side of the fence. Much of the commentary appears to be Diebold's own conclusions on the matter.

This company leaks like a sieve.

Bev Harris

[imax2268]

1. Hey Bev...

we were just talking about you on a local show here in AZ...just called in...Andy is on...

[BevHarris]

3. Yay, Andy!

He's getting to be a great campaign speaker. You shoulda' seen him Saturday night!

Bev

[ParanoidPat]

2. Can you say RICO boys and girls?

GOOD! I knew you could! :evilgrin:

R. Doug Lewis and Shawn Southworth, you're next! :hi:

[RedEagle]

5. Maybe nostamj can come up with the "Rico Tango"

Hard to be poetically fluid with names like Diebole, ES&S, Sequoia, AVS, and HartIntercivic though.....

Hey, I barnstormed thought opensecrets.org last night, on the principal authors/sponsors of the Help America Vote Act. (HAVA)

Dodd
McConnell
Hoyer
Ney

What might be the significance of the fact that in at least 3 out of 4, the leading contributions (contributions by sector or even PAC) come from Finance/Insur/RealEst? And in one of them, it's #2?

If you look up Waters, for example, others lead in contributions.

[onehandle]

4. FYI: Lou Dobbs said last week....

That he had invited Diebold's CEO on the the show twice. He turned Dobbs down both times. Dobbs said this with the slight smile he gives when he knows someone is wrong or has something to hide.

The context of the inquiry was the technology behind the systems, and the possibility of hacking.

[BevHarris]

7. National TV exposure last week: 10 times

I'm going on Canadian national TV Wednesday.

Last week:
CNN -- six coverages of the electronic voting/security issue
ABC -- two coverages. By the way, Demactivist/Roxanne did a great job, and Rob Behler was on Nightline also. Very good story.
FOX -- two coverages.

I was called by NBC but Vanity Fair had arranged an exclusive with ABC so that didn't pan out. Dan Rather with CBS is working on stories too.

TV TV TV.

That's what is required for this to penetrate the national consciousness. Only after a truly mammoth grass roots swell will our public officials realize that they are RISKING THEIR JOBS when they say no to clean voting security procedures.

Bev

[Stephanie]

16. Great job, Bev!

You're doing great!

[nostamj]

6. Paula Zahn is doing electronic voting tonight

did they contact you?

[harmonyguy]

8. Looks like they think that Martha's broker is more newsworthy!

http://www.cnn.com/now

HG

[nostamj]

9. well damn!

they were promoting the vote story all day yesterday!

Martha! (slowly I turn, step by step....

[BevHarris]

10. If it makes you feel any better -- Diebold's lawyers called ABC

shortly after the piece aired. Apparently they didn't like watching a demonstration of altering the vote totals in their GEMS program on national TV.

Avi Rubin did a demo of hacking a touch screen on Wolf Blitzer.

Andy and I taught a nine-year-old how to bypass the supervisor password, during a shoot for Austrian TV.

And on BBC, Diebold exec David Bear apparently told journalist Russell Michaels that they'd never had a touch screen freeze up, and then Michaels cut to a clip of a county official describing the Diebold touch-screens freezing up, and when he cut back and asked David Bear about this, he told me that David Bear's face froze up. On camera.

Bev

[Andy_Stephenson]

11. Hi Bev!

thanks for that information I am fixin to use it on the radio show.

[RedEagle]

12. The makings of an out-take reel

Diebold statements-

cut to-

Facts


Geeeze, there's a :30sec video montage there.

[BevHarris]

15. MSNBC covers the issue tomorrow morning

(early)

[rasputin1952]

18. Bev...

I saw the take on CNN this evening, it was fun and informing.

As long as this stuff gets out to the public, we're on a roll.

Maybe those e-mails to the media are waking some of these somnambulists awake!

You are doing us all a great service. Now that the primaries are pretty well over, I expect to see more of this on TV, hear it on the radio and see it in print!

O8)

[JohnOneillsMemory]

20. Video: add Greg Palast with Clayton Roberts, FL Dir. of Elections when

Palast confronted him with the Choicepoint contract to purge the voting rolls in Florida for the 2000 election.

Clayton balked and stopped the interview, called in state troopers. Looked great on the BBC as "Theft of the Presidency."

I'll bet Palast and the BBC would let you carry that clip to bolster awareness of the BBV crisis.

http://gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=29&row=2

[In Truth We Trust]

22. That tag should read "losing democracy"

[nostamj]

13. Randi Rhodes is ranting on Diebold!

Wally O'Dell, repukes targeting Ohio... only radio of course, but great radio...

[RedEagle]

14. Back up with the other good news today!

Kick!

[Andy_Stephenson]

17. Right Wing Radio in Arizona was

ranting today as well. This story has legs.

[Stephanie]

19. Kerry in Florida - questioned about BBV by woman in audience

I transcribed this part:

Announcer: Kerry wanted to know if the ethnically and generationally diverse crowd had any questions for him. A woman stood up and seemed to speak for many in the crowd.

Woman: My concern is when we go to the polls, with these electronic voting machines, with George Bush's friends running that, and gee, call me cynical, but what can we do to prevent them from stealing the election again?

<huge cheer from the crowd!>

Announcer: Kerry said he thought no votes should be cast that cannot be traced and properly recounted.


Scroll down to listen:

http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=08-Mar-2004&prgId=2

[BevHarris]

21. Kerry has been working up to some pretty strong statements

I hope and expect to see pre-emptive litigation from him.

Andy's litigation had an interesting and surprising development today, but it is up to him to decide when it is most strategic to disclose what happened.

We are considering filing another injunction in California, to block certification in a couple counties. You ain't heard the half of what happened there. And next we have perennial bad-boys, Florida and Louisiana, to look forward to.

Bev

[In Truth We Trust]

23. Thank You Bev ..... Can I suggest a high profile march on every

state capitol in protest of BBV perhaps on the first Sunday of May for more public awareness.

Where is the bandwagon effect that could be generated with a "rock the Vote" type concert or high profile progressives generating awareness.

I agree with an earlier comment that the most effective voice right now would be from the Kerry campaign and Mr. Kerry himself hammering this point.

Bev.. you are a true patriot!!

[Andy_Stephenson]

24. If he started hammering the subject...

It would go a long to restoring my faith in him.

[dusty64]

25. Kick!

:kick:

[priller]

26. Bev, heard you on a San Antonio AM station on Friday

I believe the host's name is Brad Messer? Something like that. Anyway, it was a good interview with you, and he spent a nice long time on the subject. I was driving north towards Waco, and fortunately the signal held on until the interview was over. Just wanted you to know you did a great job.