Feinstein seeks probe of Florida voting machines

[Judi Lynn]

Feb. 8, 2007, 12:26AM
Feinstein seeks probe of Florida voting machines
Mcclatchy-tribune

WASHINGTON — A top Senate Democrat said Wednesday that she'd ask federal investigators to look into the voting machines that are at the heart of a disputed congressional race in Florida as the state's checkered voting record once again draws national scrutiny.

The call for a "top to bottom investigation" of the Sarasota County voting machines by the Government Accountability Office and the National Institute of Standards and Technology came from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Fueling the push: More than 18,000 ballots in Sarasota County registered no vote for either congressional candidate to succeed one of the icons of Florida's first election debacle, former Rep. Katherine Harris.
(snip/)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4535383.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Feinstein will pursue paper record at polls

Feinstein will pursue paper record at polls
Bill would also require routine audits of voting systems
Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Thursday, February 8, 2007

(02-08) 04:00 PST Washington -- The new Democratic Congress, concerned about the perils of electronic voting, is moving quickly to require states to keep paper records of every vote cast and conduct regular audits of voting systems.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the new chairwoman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, plans to unveil a bill later this month to set national standards to guard against fraud or manipulation of electronic voting machines.

A similar measure was introduced in the House this week by Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., and has the backing of top House leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco.

"I believe the time has come for Congress to help ensure that we have such a record in all federal elections," Feinstein said at a hearing Wednesday on the security of electronic voting.
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/02/08/MNGN5O0KMJ1.DTL

[Peace Patriot]

6. "...the time has come..."? "THE TIME HAS COME"??!!

Nope. The time has come and GONE, Di! It's long, long past the time you should have DEMANDED "a record" in "all federal elections."

Endless war in place. Federal government thoroughly looted by your war profiteer friends. Precedents set for fascist dictatorship--detention without trail, torture, spying, presidential "signing statements." The lot.

Now you benefit. Ye who were mere millionaires become billionaires. And ye who were mere billionaires--your masters in crime--become Lords of the Earth.

You're so transparent, girl. What you ought to be investigating is the rotten Diebold/ES&S slime in California, and how you and Schwarzenegger got "elected."

--------------------

Legislative note:

Holt's HR 550--IF it survives Feinstein in tact--will leave Diebold/ES&S in secret control of election results, with their "trade secret," proprietary programming code in the central electronic tabulators--and will only give us the merest of chances, against money and media and draconian recount rules, of discovering fraud. A totally inadequate 2% audit (automatic recount) and some sort of "paper trail." The bill will furthermore REWARD these filthy dirtbag corporations, for keeping Bush, Cheney and other Bushites, warmongers and corporatists in power, with billions and billions more of our taxpayer dollars for voting machine "upgrades," printers, "patches," servicing, "testing," and all manner of pigslop at the public trough.

It is the least possible action Congress could take, while still looking like they are doing something. And you can bet that, when Feinstein is finished with it, the public will lose out some more, and Diebold/ES&S and "trade secret" vote counting will gain.

These corporations should be run out of our country on a rail! They are the worst of the worst. They have DIRECT connections to Bush/Cheney money and extremist rightwing 'christian' causes.

2% transparency is NOT transparency. It remains a Stalinist voting system, clouded in secrecy.

In Venezuela, they audit FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT of the ballots, cuz they don't trust the machines. And that's why they have a good, leftist (majorityist) government, of, by and for the people, and we have a fascist dictatorship.

And even if Holt, Feinstein & Co. were to completely repair this outrage NOW--which they are not even close to doing--we STILL have hundreds of fascist judges and fascist laws that have been put in place, 600,000 dead people in Iraq, including thousands of US soldiers, which will never be repaired, hundreds of thousands displaced, sickened or permanently wounded, and trillions of dollars looted from our treasury which we won't likely ever see again.

And NOW she suddenly gets the "election reform" fever! Right.

Beware of corporate tools and warmongers bringing you "election reform."

AND--get busy at the local/state level--where decisions about election systems are still made, and where ordinary people still have some influence--and DEMAND FULLY TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS NOW! A paper BALLOT (none of this "paper trail" crap) and, if they insist on using electronic tabulators, a 100% handcount for say, the next ten years, until we have entirely swept corrupt practices and corporate privateers out of our election system.

One other thing: The Holt bill is a federal power grab, aimed at FURTHER disempowering the states (and the people!) over election systems. It will solidify the use of electronic systems run on "trade secret," proprietary programming code--code that may only be reviewed IN SECRET, by a permanent commission, appointed by the President! It will make this commission and these practices permanent. If you write your Congress critters about this--support a paper ballot and a 100% handcount and posting of the results prior to any electronic tabulation. Period. If we have these two things, whatever system is used, electronic or otherwise, is nearly fraud-proof. This is ALL that Congress has to do--make these two requirements--and the system (state/local purchase and use of voting machines) will fix itself. We DON'T NEED any federal commission to "test" any machines, and lie to us that these machines are secure and hack-proof. We DON'T NEED federal boondoggle funds to corrupt our election system further. All we need is the SIMPLE requirement of 100% transparency, and all these bad guys will go away.

[Alexander]

2. Yet another reason why Feingold should be Gore's VP.

Just when I think I might like somebody like Obama or Clark at the bottom of Gore's ticket, Feingold impresses me for the 1,000th time.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Feingold/Feinstein (Whatever)

They're really both the same person. ;-)

[BayCityProgressive]

5. HAHAHA

people are so used to seeing Feinstein side with Republicans, that when she does something good people look at the beggining of her name and think Feingold. HAHAHAHAH funny and sad.

[barb162]

3. Forget these damned machines already. Paper ballots

are the only way to vote with an undeniable and irrefutable trail