FL Fair Election Center disputes GAO findings on many counts.

[Stevepol]

GAO Report on Sarasota Lost Votes "Fatally Flawed," According to Researchers

by Susan Pynchon

“Our year-long investigation into the CD-13 race contradicts the GAO’s findings. The GAO ignored serious, documented voting system failures that indisputably contributed to the high undervotes in the CD-13 race,” said Susan Pynchon, FFEC executive director. “Our two reports, Sarasota’s Vanished Votes and Lost Votes in Florida in the November 2006 Election may be viewed on line at www.FloridaFairElections.org.”
~
Pynchon said that the researchers have the maintenance and repair records to prove that the voting machines failed all across the county.
“Half of Sarasota’s precincts reported machine problems so severe that they required machines to be repaired or taken out of service, she explained. “We have 455 reports of machine problems during this election.”
~
Supporting those records, she noted, were personal accounts and affidavits from individuals who complained about problems getting the machines to register their votes in the CD-13 race.

snip . . .

~
One of the most serious shortcomings of the GAO testing, they said, was the failure to use sequestered machines—that is, voting machines with high undervotes that were locked away after the election for use in future testing to determine the cause of the problems. Yet, half of the 114 machines used for the GAO’s firmware testing had not been sequestered. Three of the ten machines used in the ballot testing were not sequestered, and neither of the two machines used for calibration testing had been sequestered!
~
“That was the point of sequestering the machines—to put together all the machines that were suspect and make sure that everyone knew that they couldn’t be altered.” Pynchon asked. ”Why would you choose machines that didn’t have high undervotes and weren’t carefully preserved for testing? Any of the components that failed during the election could have been replaced or repaired without leaving any trace on the audit logs checked by the GAO investigators.”

snip . . .

Many other salient points are made in the article about the GAO report's deficiencies.

Link:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_susan_py_080213_gao_report_on_saraso.htm

[Speciesamused]

1. My son will not bother to vote

any longer. We live in Florida and he is
just disgusted with the corruption here.
He is 21. What do you say to a young man
disillusioned with Florida and their ability
to honestly count his vote?

[Peace Patriot]

2. Kudos and laurel wreaths for Florida Fair Elections, Susan Pynchon and all involved!

I figured something was smelly about this GAO report. Now we know. And so, the next question is: WHO pressured the GAO to launder its report and rig it in favor of ES&S? My bet is on our Democratic leaders in Congress, who have been so corrupt--or, in some cases, fearful and silent--on this critically important matter.

I expect Bushites and Bushite election theft corporations to steal elections. That's what the system was designed for. What is so shocking is our party leadership's collusion in putting this egregiously non-transparent election system in place all over the country. To me, it is the scandal of all scandals. The Dems colluding on war? I lived through the 1960s. I know what the Dems are capable of, as to unjust war. Not much surprise for me there. But this beats all--the fundamental betrayal of our democracy by our own party. It a terrible and sickening realization--although once you get it through your head, it is clarifying--it explains much--and it produces the most effective strategy for getting our country back: transparent vote counting, which is only achievable, at this point, through grass roots effort at the state/local level.

Our so-called Democratic Congress had this matter before it for more than a year, with the power to call for a new election in FL-13. It is the most egregious case of a miscount perhaps in election history. Some 18,000 votes for Congress 'disappeared' by ES&S voting machines in Democratic areas, in an election that the Bushite 'won' by only 369 votes. But they TABLED it. They did not nothing. They let the unelected Puke sit in Congress, in clear violation of the will of the people in this Congressional district. Then they bumped it over to the GAO, just before the primaries started. This smells to high heaven. I think our party leaders are protecting this corporation--ES&S, brethren to Diebold (close ties between them)--and its easy capability of election theft, out of corruption or fear. And it's time we knew who, what, where and how.

[kster]

3. Only one way to take the vote count back for our kids

[Peace Patriot]

4. Stevepol, did you see that GAO chief Walker just resigned, due to Congressional

pressure making his job impossible. (Reading between the lines--he didn't put it quite that way, but close.)

I suspect it's the FL-13 whitewash. Here's the thread on his resignation...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3183631

I discuss it more there. We need to find out WHO pressured him.

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

Read his quote (with the FL-13 Report in mind): "...there are real limitations on what I can do and say in connection with key public policy issues, especially issues that directly relate to GAO's client -- the Congress." (my emphasis)

What "key public issue" would especially relate to his client, Congress, more than HOW THEY WERE ALL ELECTED--how the votes of the people that legitimize Congress' power are counted (or not counted), and why Congress supports this egregiously non-transparent voting system run by rightwing Bushite corporations with "trade secret" code?

[Stevepol]

5. I hadn't seen that but it makes sense as you say.

Sometimes the decisions that are made about this issue just seem so completely irrational there has to be a lot of corruption somewhere and as you say it's probably bi-partisan.