Houston Voting Machine Fire Update and Shouting 'Voter Fraud' in a Crowded Midterm Election

[BradBlog]

Houston Voting Machine Fire Update and Shouting 'Voter Fraud' in a Crowded Midterm Election

Thousands of borrowed e-voting machines made by Austin-based Hart Intercivic have begun arriving in Harris County (Houston), TX this week in the wake of last month's massive warehouse fire which destroyed all 10,000 of the county's 100% unverifiable Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems in advance of early voting for the mid-term elections.

Some 3,000 machines are being loaned to Harris County from 15 different counties around Texas and one in Colorado. Paper ballots are also being printed up, thankfully, to help in an emergency pinch, though it's clear that Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, a long-time fan of unverifiable electronic voting systems, hopes voters will use them, rather than paper. Most precincts, she says, will have just one less machine than they normally would for an election of the size expected this November.

Arson has not yet been ruled out as the cause of the overnight blaze which remains a mystery nearly three weeks after it destroyed some $40 million worth of voting equipment. While an official finding may still be months away, according to Houston's KPRC TV no accelerants have yet been found, and arson investigators seem to be focusing on "evidence that the fire started accidentally in the building's electrical system."

But before the ashes had finished smoldering, literally, partisans from both the Right and Left had already begun to speculate on what the fire might mean for the mid-term elections and who, if anybody, might have had a motive to touch off such a blaze.

As long-time readers of The BRAD BLOG may have guessed, some of the allegations had more basis in reality than others, as Republican activists, like clockwork, have begun their loud, if still-unsubstantiated, cries of "massive Democratic voter fraud" soon to "steal an election" near you.

The effort in Houston which, coincidentally or not, kicked off at almost the exact same moment as the voting machine fire, is particularly egregious and irresponsible in its effort to scare voters with unsubstantiated and hyperbolic charges of "voter fraud"...

FULL STORY, REMARKABLE VIDEO FROM RIGHTWING GROUP: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8082

[Gold Metal Flake]

1. Unrecced already?

Only a Republican would unrec this thread. They might also start a fire.

[IDemo]

2. I just countered it with my electronic vote

[OnyxCollie]

7. I dunno.

The Democratic powers that be don't seem particularly interested in secure, accurate voting, either. Nor are they interested in restoring FISA, stopping torture, ending wars, prosecuting bushcheney, etc.

So many ponies, so much bullshit.

[jotsy]

3. Curiouser and curiouser.

Where ever these machines are, one doesn't half to look far to fear dirty fingers.

Hey ya! I rec'd your post.

[3waygeek]

4. Stupid questions...

are the borrowed replacement machines the same type as the ones that got burned? If not, are the new machines easier to hack than the old ones?

[BradBlog]

6. Not stupid answers...

"are the borrowed replacement machines the same type as the ones that got burned?"

Yes.

(There are no "stupid questions", particular on this topic about which there is so much disinfo and misinfo out there. So happy to help! And thanks for asking.)

[Doctor_J]

5. This November's election will be the most corrupt yet

And still we the people do nothing about it. Amazing. I think we can safely say that Bill White doesn't have a snowball's change in the Diebold boiler room of pulling this out.

[blogslut]

9. I disagree

Bill White has a very good chance. Rick Perry squeaked by with a lousy 39% of the vote the last time he ran. Texans were sick of him then and they're even sicker now. White is running a smart campaign - he's covering the whole state. Governor Goodhair has worn out his welcome with just about everyone and not just the people in one lower-income precinct in Houston.

[Tx4obama]

11. Bill White would win if we had all paper ballots. But with those electronic paper-less machines ....

there is too much room for fraud ;(

[OnyxCollie]

8. K&R. nt

[lonestarnot]

10. Coinkydinky smell to hell!

[tanyev]

12. I wonder if the GOP might use this to challenge results from Houston.

Which would presumably be a Bill White stronghold.

[Aaria]

13. The Dems and Reps are pointing the finger at each other, it may have been a true Patriot....

that burned the frigging pieces of shit. How else are we going to get rid of them? The people elected won't do it, so it's going to be up to us.