Dan Spillane's evaluation of Black Box Voting info

[BevHarris]

He just e-mailed this to me and has distributed to others:

=========================
From: Dan Spillane
7/8/2003

I was presented with an initial report on this software several days ago, with the claim (more or less) that this was a back door. Specifically, Bev Harris called me.

Based on that initial report, I then tried to reconcile what was observed therein with what is supposed to be in place for such a voting system component (which I determined, to the best of my knowledge is a "central system count" program), applying the relevant certification requirements.

A central count program being--that software which collects and presents votes from optical scan and/or DRE, such as would be used in Washington State, or any state, which uses Diebold optical scan or DRE machines.

On that basis, I concluded the following:

This software violates normal or best practices and the certification guidelines in the following areas:

1) General - Data path verifiability ("integrity", "accuracy"); cannot prove votes are those of the voters as cast.

2) General - Security and Access control; cannot prove vote count was safe from fraud.

3) Specific - Component in question (as identified by me) is explicitly prohibited from allowing data modifications, yet, given the tests illustrated, allows them. (An area for more exploration, given subsequent non-published information).

4) Incidental - there is a question of whether MS Access should be used at all in this context, given it is insecure, and due to loopholes in the guidelines and lax application of them, a data management layer such as Access may never be reviewed at all, yet hold all the votes.

Now, the code is assumed to be genuine, and if the detailed analysis is correct...and this is actually the code used in various elections, this is a big problem. The second report below seems to include confirmations which allay my earlier questions as to whether or not this is a genuine problem.

So, it appears that it is a genuine problem. Moreover, it seems to show, once again, a severe breakdown in the application of the certification process, which hundreds of millions of our tax dollars are bound to. In fact, the defects in question directly parallel key
issues in my legal case.

Dan S.

Re:

Click here: Scoop: Inside A U.S. Election Vote Counting Program

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0307/S00065.htm

[midnitemoleman]

1. Wow Bev, look's like you were right huh!

Awsome job lady! I am glad you are on our side.

[Paschall]

2. Thanks, Bev

Can you tell me who Dan Spillane is, please? (Sorry, I haven't been following developments.)

[Bushfire]

3. Wired Story should explain Dan S.

In a case calling into question the thoroughness of the certification process for touch-screen voting systems, a former engineer for an election software company has filed a lawsuit against his ex-employer, claiming executives ignored his warnings of potential defects.

In the suit, filed in superior court in King County, Washington, software engineer Dan Spillane claims that his ex-employer, voting software developer VoteHere, wrongfully fired him after less than seven months on the job.

The suit claims the termination occurred shortly before Spillane had planned to meet with officials of the independent testing authority responsible for certifying voting machines and the U.S. General Accounting Office. He claims the firing was "clearly in retaliation for whistleblowing."

more...

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,57831,00.html

[RichM]

4. Who is Dan Spillane, exactly?

This sounds pretty promising! Kudos!

[Rose Siding]

10. see post #3

[Caution]

5. This voting system uses Access?!?!

Are you serious? Please tell me that the electoral process of the future does not hinge on MS Access? As a long time user of MS Access, I can assure anyone out there that this alone convinces me that there is a serious problem.

On a side note, how come no one has mentioned the connection between Microsoft's sudden "consideration" of a stock dividend that will pay out nearly $10 billion in cash shortly after the passing of the new tax laws? They've been sitting on $40 billion in "excess" cash for years now.

[Generic Other]

9. Like your mom's quote!

Welcome to DU.

[sendero]

28. you noticed that too :)

I have a real hard time understanding why a voting machine would use Access. On some level, Access is complete overkill for the amounts and kinds of data a voting machine would need to store. Also, it is inherently insecure since anyone can bypass the voting machine and go straight to the Access tables to do whatever they want.

Not to mention just the integrity of the underlying technology to being with :)

Based on what I've seen so far - I wouldn't hire these people to develop a computerized tic-tac-toe game :)

[ParanoidPat]

6. I don't see how anyone who has looked at the code....

.....could see it any other way! Thanks Dan! :hi:

Next up, How our laws protect the security of the MACHINES rather than the security of the voting process! Who wrote the laws and who advised them to write them that way? :shrug:

(Hint, R. Doug Lewis, you're about to become a household name! Better brush up on that resume. We can't seem to find your old one! )

If you're interested, check out Election Center.org. :)

[BevHarris]

7. Regarding R. Doug Lewis:

Several election officials are trying to explain this by saying they need to have the ability to overwrite vote results, for the sake of expediency, when things don't "match."

Who developed the training program for them?

You guessed it. Let's make sure that any attempt to pass the buck down the ladder to the local officials takes that buck and passes it right back to the top, where it should stop.

Bev

[papau]

8. Story in getting out - but not in US Media - Vote fraud by GOP to

steal elections is just not something our honest ethical media folks see as being of interest to citizens - the editors do not see it as having legs - and elections should be about the future.

But at least the rest of the world, as their media laughs at those in the media in the US, will know that while Bush and GOP may "win" elections - it does not mean that a majority of Americans, in any given election, actually voted as the media reported the vote - and indeed the world will know that in many cases the Dem won.

Indeed the Carter election observer team - with some Russian folks on board as well as EU folks - should monitor our voting - but for more subtle theft than in other 3rd world countries. We are high tech, and use RW control of media, plus changed votes counts as we eliminate voter audit trails, and in some states even remove the right to a recount (as in Alabama)so as to respect the privacy rights of the GOP fraud squad.

[Generic Other]

11. This is scary

Having looked at the link that Bev posted, I suddenly wondered if the government will accuse Bev, et al. of being terroristic hackers or somesuch? Bev, you've proven the system is flawed at the very least, downright criminally treasonous at the worst. Wow.

[DEMActivist]

12. No doubt they will try...

Security in the Georgia Voting System
Britain J. Williams, Ph.D.
April 23, 2003

Types of Threats to an Election System: There are two reasons why a person might launch an attack against an election system: to disrupt the election or to commit election fraud. In the first instance, the intent of the perpetrator is simply to disrupt the election, an act of terrorism. Although a terrorist act against an election is disruptive, it is not a threat to the integrity of the election. On September 11, when the twin towers in New York were attacked, there was an election in progress in New York City. One of the precincts was in the shadow of 'ground zero'. The election was completely disrupted. New York election officials re-conducted this election with such quiet professionalism that very few people outside New York are even aware that an election was in progress on that fateful day. No matter how severe, an act of terrorism against an election is disruptive and expensive but it is no threat to the electoral process.

Election fraud is an attempt to alter the outcome of an election. In order to be successful election fraud must go undetected. Once detected election fraud is simply another form of terrorism and can be dealt with accordingly.

[BevHarris]

13. Context of above: Dr. Britain Williams will be the subject of

one of the next reports in the series. We will compare his public statements with the facts.

[Eloriel]

14. Fabulous

I LOVE what he's got to say about certification!

Eloriel

[DEMActivist]

15. Yeah, it's the certifiers

who must answer the initial questions.

How could they have certified such obvious lapses in security????

[dmr]

16. That's a question I'd like to see answered

.

[Eloriel]

17. Mistress of the understatement! "Lapses in security" -- LOL

So when are we going down there?

Eloriel

[DEMActivist]

18. ROFL, what can I say?

I'm trying NOT to hype it. The facts are enough hype.

I'm ready when you are. Have you heard from our friends? Any reactions?

[Eloriel]

31. I sent the link

She replied that she'd just gotten back in town and would check them tomorrow. I replied with the WhatReallyHappened link.

Eloriel

[Jackpine Radical]

19. An interesting silence on this thread

and the Black Box "First Volley" one as well, at least from certain quarters that are usually pretty vocal about the "non-story" here. No hot chocolate, no fruit of the mountain vine, if you catch my drift.

[DEMActivist]

23. Yeah, the silence is deafening isn't it? n/t

.

[Cocoa]

26. this is about more than petty squabbles

isn't it?

[DEMActivist]

27. It most certainly is....

and it's a shame some of you tried to make it petty and personal.

on edit:
Georgians alone (like myself) have 54 million (and counting) reasons why it's important.

[hedda_foil]

20. Has anybody gotten this information to Jimmy Carter yet?

I have a feeling he'd be mightily interested in this.

[DEMActivist]

24. Yes, it's been delivered to him

at The Carter Center.

[hedda_foil]

30. Thanks, DA.

This should interest our very own Nobel Laureate immensely. I hope MLK III will be speaking with him about the BBV issue soonest.

edited to correct a really stupid mistake.

[DoYouEverWonder]

21. How many millions did the states spend

For programs that are coded in Access? Give me a break. I know 10 year olds who could code something adequate for a lot less. Heck, we could probably get a few DUers to come up with something for free. I mean we've only got 10 - 20 data fields and a couple of simple addition formulas, to do the whole thing. How did the repugs turn voting into such a major production where it's virtually impossible to get the same answer twice. This is like calling IRS and trying to tell them 'Gee, I can't balance my books could you cut me some slack on my tax bill'.

The whole mess boggles the mind. This is one of the reasons Bu$hCo wants to give away billions of dollars, to their corporate buddies with no oversight or accountability. It makes it so much easier to cheat, because they know they can't win any other way.

[DEMActivist]

22. 1st round in Georgia = $54 million

and that's just the beginning. The budget for maintenance and pollworker training is $550,000.00/year.

[hunter]

25. Time to dump these machines...

How long before they show up in the computer liquidation catalogs for ten dollars plus shipping?

( I can dream, can't I? )

[Pale_Rider]

34. Or show up in your local tavern as a beaten up ...

... video poker machine. House still always win ...

[PretzelWarrior]

29. anything that uses MS Access should NOT be taken seriously.

what a joke. that is a piece of crap with little to no security provisions that are worth much.

GREAT TO HEAR this is getting some headway.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

32. Y'all do me a favor

and "rate" this a 5...?

and....High 5's Bev! :)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

33. "software violates normal or best practices and certification guidelines"

say no more. Lest anyone be deluded into thinking Republicans have the best interests of democracy at heart.