This week's election in Venezuela offers a preview of what will happen in the US on November 2. President Hugo Chavez won his recall election 58%-42%, but his opponents are now crying massive fraud - citing touchscreen machines. In this case, Venezuela bought touchscreens that DO produce paper trails, so a recount is possible. But the opposition says the paper ballots were altered after Election Day by the military. Plus they believe the software was rigged to cap the total number of anti-Chavez votes. Isn't electronic voting simply wonderful? Not!

NY Times reports, "Almost all the electronic records from the first widespread use of touch-screen voting in Miami-Dade County have been lost, stoking concerns that the machines are unreliable as the presidential election draws near. The records disappeared after two computer system crashes last year, county elections officials said, leaving no audit trail for the 2002 gubernatorial primary. A citizens group uncovered the loss this month after requesting all audit data from that election... Voters in 15 Florida counties - covering more than half the state's electorate - will use the machines in November, but reports of mishaps and lost votes in smaller elections over the last two years have cast doubt on their reliability... The elections office first noticed the problem in spring 2003, but did not publicly discuss it until this past May... A new state rule prohibits manual recounts in counties that use touch-screen voting machines except in the event of a natural disaster."

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is holding a public meeting at 1:00pm Tuesday (7/13/04) at 1225 New York Ave, N.W., Suite 1100 in Washington, D.C. Go to the meeting and tell the Bush administration to preserve American democracy, require paper trails for touchscreen machines, and back off its plan to hijack the election for its own political gain. If you're not in Washington, e-mail them at this address: HAVAinfo@eac.gov

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel analyzed the results of Florida's Democratic Presidential primary in March. They focused on districts where there was only one race on the ballot - the Presidential race. Undervotes occurred 1.09% of the time in counties with touchscreen machines and 0.12% of the time in counties that use optical scanning - 9 TIMES WORSE. Pinellas County registered the highest undervote rate, at 2.87%, among touch-screen counties, with 756 undervotes. Only three of the 39 counties using optical scanners performed worse than the best of the touch-screen counties. Broward County showed a 0.9% undervote rate among 18,766 voters, while Palm Beach showed a 0.54% undervote rate among 53,059 ballots reviewed, with a combination of 458 undervotes in precincts where there was only once choice on the ballot. Touchscreen systems are 4 times more expensive than optiscan. Touchscreens should be banned until printers are added and proprietary software is replaced with open source code.

Anyone who has read the reams of material written on the electronic voting issue will recognize the name of Mischelle Townsend--the Riverside County (CA) Registrar of Voters. Townsend is among the most widely quoted of the pro-touch screen/paperless voting advocates, and was suing California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley for his rejection of paperless electronic voting. However, Townsend abruptly retired last week to help her father-in-law go through knee surgery after facing increasing scrutiny during an investigation into the stoppage of the March 2, 2004 Riverside County primary election vote count. During the almost hour-long stoppage, witnesses said Townsend allowed two unauthorized officials from Sequoia Voting Systems to type in instructions into one of the computers used to electronically tabulate the Riverside County votes.

We're just 132 days from Stolen Election 2004. This week, Jeb Bush will get $47 million from the Feds under HAVA to improve election technology. But Jeb has decided not to spend the money until AFTER the 2004 election - despite the numerous documented problems with Florida's new touchscreen machines. Impeach Jeb Now!

"The League of Women Voters rescinded its support of paperLESS voting machines on Monday after hundreds of angry members voiced concern that paper ballots were the only way to safeguard elections from fraud, hackers or computer malfunctions. About 800 delegates who attended the nonpartisan league's biennial convention in Washington voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that supports 'voting systems and procedures that are secure, accurate, RECOUNTABLE and accessible.' That relatively neutral stance was a sharp change from last year, when league leaders endorsed paperless terminals as reliable alternatives to antiquated punch card and lever systems. About 30 percent of the electorate will use touchscreen voting machines in the November election, and hardly any of the machines provide paper records that could be used in case of a contested election." Congratulations to Bev Harris, Barbara Simons, Genevieve Katz, and all the dedicated activists who changed the LWV!

Secretaries of state have the duty to ensure that state elections are conducted properly and the votes are counted accurately. So why is Cathy Cox, Georgia's secretary of state, acting like a Diebold lobbyist instead of a servant of the people? She has ignored the evidence that paperless touchscreen voting machines are unreliable and unsecure. She has ignored the evidence that Georgia's voting machines were tampered with before the 2002 elections. She has provided inaccurate information about her office's handling of the voting machines, and resisted every attempt to have a public discussion of the vital issue of voting security. Every voter in Georgia should be demanding accountability -- or her resignation.

One of the excuses for buying unauditable touchscreen voting machines is that they include features to enable people with visual impairments to cast their ballots without assistance. In California's primary election last March, however, the audio feature that's supposed to guide blind voters through the ballot and the machine's functions just plain didn't work. California has done the sensible thing and decertified these machines. The other 49 states need to follow suit.

"Voters can run, but they can't hide from these guys. Meet the Urosevich brothers, Bob and Todd. Their respective companies, Diebold and ES&S, will count (using BOTH computerized ballot scanners and touchscreen machines) about 80% of all votes cast in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Both ES&S and Diebold have been caught installing uncertified software in their machines. The ability to rig an election is well within easy reach of voting machine companies. And it does not matter if the machines are scanners or touchscreens, or are networked or hooked up to modems."

Kos writes, "Isn't this lovely? It's a bill in the Florida Senate amending how the state handles its recounts. Republican backed, of course. (It's in section 30, Line 19): 'A manual recount may not be conducted of undervotes on touchscreen machines.' The irony is that recounts aren't a partisan affair -- they merely confirm the intent of the voter, and in theory, should benefit both parties equally. That is, unless Republicans are very, very confident as to the results they'll get on touchscreen machines. And for the record, I'm less Diebold-obsessed than many people, and I'm clearly not a conspiracy tin-foil-type. But things like this really make me wonder."

"It was the first time a Florida election using touch screens has been decided by less than 0.25%. When an election is that close, Florida law requires a 'manual recount' of all under-votes and over-votes. But Broward and Palm Beach county elections officials were not sure how to follow the law since most of the voting was done on touch-screen machines, which leave behind no ballots to manually count... While its guidelines are 'not presently definitive,' [the Secretary of State] will probably end up with a rule stating that votes cast on electronic voting machines will not be subject to a manual recount." This is a RED ALERT for everyone concerned about Florida's vote-counting!!! We DEMAND that Florida's legislature pass a law requiring VVPB and manual recounts!

Here is a PERFECT example of the need for voter-verified paper ballots - from FLORIDA. "Ellyn Bogdanoff's 12-vote victory margin over Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Mayor Oliver Parker ultimately held up in the House District 91 race, but controversy swirled after 137 voters in parts of Boca Raton and coastal Broward County went to the polls but didn't cast a vote for any candidate [in an election where this was the ONLY race!] The result raises suspicions about the accuracy of the electronic equipment. But the absence of a paper trail means there's nothing that can be done to verify the results shown by the electronic devices... 'If I lost the election by 12 votes and I found out 134 people [in Broward County] came to vote and somehow didn't vote, I'd be apoplectic,' [State Rep. Joe] Negron said. 'I'm not buying for one minute that 134 people went in to vote and showed their ID and got into the booth, and did everything they needed to do, and then didn't [vote].'"

"An Illinois company is touting a new voting machine that may allay fears in the ballot booth - a touchscreen machine that creates an accompanying paper ballot recording every vote... The company, Populex, will show off its equipment at the state Democratic meeting in Orlando, making the machines available for delegates in a mock election on various questions on issues the party's interested in... 'One thing is for sure, people across the state of Florida do not have confidence in the electoral process,' Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox said Wednesday, touting the Populex system. Elections supervisors dispute that, saying the current systems - which some counties spent millions on - work just fine. 'We don't think it's necessary to have that kind of paper receipt,' said Ron Labasky, a lobbyist for the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections. 'We don't think they really serve any purpose other than eliminate people's paranoia.'" Hey Ron - wanna debate Election 2000?

From Mark Crispin Miller's weblog: "Rebecca Mercuri has analyzed California's recall ballot data and reports that it confirms numerous doubts about election systems. Her results demonstrate that the style of voting system in use (punchcard, optically scanned, or touchscreen) cannot be generically considered either 'good or bad'. She asserts that the particular model of the system, as well as the procedural controls in place in each county, along with the ballot layout, may have considerably more impact on the reliability of the election results than the type of system deployed. The analysis revealed some shocking details. Of the 8,359,168 votes cast statewide, some 384,427 (nearly 4.6%) were not recorded for the recall question. Almost half of these missing votes (over 175,000) were in Los Angeles, nearly 9% for that county [that is rife with Democrats]."

"Scoop has obtained internal mail messages from Diebold Election Systems which clearly and explicitly confirm security problems in the GEMS vote counting software that were highlighted in reports published in July.... Diebold Election Systems technical writer R&D Nel Finberg wrote to the 'support' list on 10-16-01: 'Jennifer Price at Metamor (about to be Ciber) [this is the certification lab responsible for certifying all US voting software] has indicated that she can access the GEMS Access database and alter the Audit log without entering a password. What is the position of our development staff on this issue? Can we justify this? Or should this be anathema?' The 'GEMS Access database'...is responsible for tallying votes from county precinct voting booths, these results are typically modemed into the central computer. Significantly this software is responsible for tallying all votes, optical scan, touchscreen and absentee ballots." Read on for more shocking revelations.

Bev Harris writes: "Now, think of it like this: You want the report to add up ONLY the ACTUAL votes. But, unbeknownst to the election supervisor, votes can be added and subtracted from vote ledger 2, so that it may or may not match vote ledger 1. Her official report comes from vote ledger 2, which has been disengaged from vote ledger 1 [that originally received the incoming votes]... From a programming standpoint, there might be reasons to have a special vote ledger that disengages from the real one. From an accounting standpoint, using multiple sets of books is NOT OKAY. From an accounting standpoint, the ONLY thing the totals report should add up is the original votes in vote ledger 1. Proper bookkeeping NEVER allows an extra ledger that can be used to just erase the original information and add your own. And certainly, it is improper to have the official reports come from the second ledger, the one which may or may not have information erased or added."

From WorkingForChange.com: "Today, there is a new and real threat to voters, this time coming from touchscreen voting machines with no paper trails and the computerized purges of voter rolls. You can join SCLC President Martin Luther King III and investigative reporter Greg Palast in opposing the 'Florida-tion' of the 2004 Presidential election by signing this petition. A complete copy of the petition will be delivered by Working Assets to Attorney General John Ashcroft." Sign the petition!

Last year, Bexar County TX (San Antonio) purchased 2,233 of the computerized balloting machines and other equipment for $8.1 million from Elections Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb - the company controlled by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and his campaign treasurer, Michael McCarthy. But the county doesn't want to use the machines until a "software upgrade" speeds the printing of a paper audit trail, which takes up to 30 hours AFTER the polls close. This post-election printing system is WRONG - the machines should print an IMMEDIATE confirmation like an ATM machine so the voter can make sure his/her vote was accurately recorded. Explain this issue to County Judge Nelson Wolff and the 4 county commissioners: kmireles@co.bexar.tx.us, rrodriguez@co.bexar.tx.us, lalcocer@co.bexar.tx.us, llarson@co.bexar.tx.us, mllano@bexar.org

BlackBoxVoting.com has been investigating tampering with Diebold's 22,000 new touchscreen voting machines in Georgia, where Republicans swept Senate and Governor's races despite polls predicting Democratic wins. They previously reported that a security-compromised software patch was applied to every machine before the election; but suddenly Diebold denies it ever happened. Who's lying? We don't know, but getting testimony under oath would sure help. Happily, BlackBoxVoting.com is working on a lawsuit, but they need help. If you're concerned about Republican voting machine fraud, see how you can get involved.

Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) is the former President of McCarthy Group Inc., which owns ES&S, one of only 3 manufacturers of touchscreen voting machines. Chairman Michael McCarthy was Treasurer of Hagel's campaign until December 2002. Amazingly, ES&S machines tallied 85% of the votes in Hagel's 1996 and 2002 elections. Hagel still owns $1-5 million worth of the McCarthy Group, but Hagel refuses to disclose this fact to the Senate Ethics Committee. He even forced the committee to change its rules to give him an utterly Bushit exemption. The staff director, Victor Baird, resigned Monday after 16 years, apparently outraged over this manipulation. Hagel and McCarthy stand to get rich from election "reform" - but they could also rig the electronic machines to steal more elections for Republicans. This is a huge scandal - we demand a criminal investigation!

Peter Neumann of Stanford Research Institute's Computer Science Laboratory... Stephen Ansolabahere, co-director of the Caltech-MIT Voting Technology Project... Rebecca Mercuri, a voting technology expert and computer science professor at Bryn Mawr College... these are a few experts who criticize touchscreen voting machines for lacking paper trails and open-source software. With a Presidential election less than two years away, it's time for Congress to enact laws preventing the manipulation of electronic voting machines.

Kim Alexander writes, "Voters could cast ballots on computers that also print a paper version of the ballot that a voter can verify before it goes into a locked box to be counted alongside the digital ballots...The way touchscreens are currently used is fundamentally different from ATMs in several ways. Yes, the voting transaction is supposed to be secret, but your bank transaction - usually a very private matter - is known to your bank. The voting transaction gives nothing of record or value back at the end of the process, while the ATM transaction gives you money and/or a paper receipt that can be used to verify your transaction if needed. The ATM transaction, because it is not secret and because it is backed up both by a paper trail and a printed statement, can be recovered if lost; digital ballots cannot...Most touchscreen manufacturers say they can produce a paper trail but this feature is not fully developed on most systems and typically is not requested by election officials."

John Kaminski writes, "What really determines elections is who counts the votes, and who counts the votes is somebody you probably didn't know, and if you did know them, you surely wouldn't trust them to count the votes. No government agency counts the votes. And the people who count the votes, who tell you who your next president is, have no government oversight, no audit, no official you have elected watching over them. The people who really count the votes are the media, more specifically a politically influenced cabal of minions bought and paid for by corporate tycoons who own the nation's major media outlets. These are the same people who don't think peace demonstrations are worthy of coverage, and who in the year 2000 got together and reviewed the data from Florida and then really wouldn't tell us what they found out. They'd only say ... 'Bush won,' just like the Supreme Court."

We all know of many problems in the Florida Voting System, but here is a new one. According to the Palm Beach Post, "Broward has 5,265 touchscreen voting machines for its more than 978,000 registered voters. With every voter in the county expected to take 15 minutes using the machines, voters will likely be accepted for hours past the 7 p.m. scheduled closing time." Now look at this mathematically. 15 minutes per voter per machine equates to 4 voters per hour per machine. 5265 voting machines x 4 votes per hour = 21,060 votes per hour. The polling place is open for 12 hours, which totals 252,720 votes, using the state election's voting time estimates. This allows for only 26% of the 978,000 registered voters! This is pure voter disenfranchisement, but Republicans refuse to permit paper ballots so voters aren't forced to wait for hours. Get ready for Stolen Election 2002!

Reports the Dallas Morning News: "Dallas County Democrats asked a state district court judge to shut down early voting Tuesday because some touch-screen ballot machines hadn't accurately recorded votes... The Democrats said they received several dozen complaints Monday and Tuesday from people who said that they selected a Democratic candidate but that their vote appeared beside the name of a Republican on the screen... 'We don't know if we lost 10 votes, 100 votes, 1,000 or 10,000,' said Susan Hays, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party... The touch-screen machines - made by Election Systems & Software - have been used in more than 90 Dallas County elections in the past four years and have an outstanding record overall, [county elections administrator Bruce] Sherbet said. But the Dallas News also notes that last year, 'about 5,000 of nearly 18,000 ballots cast during the early voting period [an astonishing 28%!] were not properly assigned to candidates.'"

Talion.com reports, "The story is not about allegations of fraud - it's about an appearance of impropriety that is stunning in its magnitude. Unfettered by any disclosure regulations about ownership or political affiliations, just a few companies create and control almost all the voting machines in the U.S. Election Systems & Software, the firm whose machines were involved in the 2002 flubbed Florida primary election - and the company that now makes the voting machines for most of America - is a private company that does not like to tell the public who owns it. But at least one major shareholder is Michael R. McCarthy, who runs the McCarthy Group [and] is the current campaign Treasurer for Republican senator Chuck Hagel. Prior to his election, Republican Senator Hagel was president of McCarthy & Company. In fact, he was first elected while his own company was making the vote-counting machines!" We demand an investigation!

The pundits who believe new voting machines are a panacea for election-day problems in Florida - and around the country - got a rude wake-up call today as Florida voters went to the polls for their primary. With brand new (and hence unfamiliar) touchscreen machines, and newly assigned voting places, Florida was once again a disaster waiting to happen. And it happened...

Katherine Harris is pushing for $200 million to move to electronic voting systems in Florida. Will Harris' proposed touchscreen systems provide a new way for the Bushies and the Republicans to electronically rig elections? Florida House Speaker Tom Feeney, who distinguished himself with rabble rousing during the Florida election theft, opposes an upgrade because he blames all of the election problems on the voters. Feeney sure does like to blame everyone except his fellow Republicans who stole the election.