BBV, Judge Speeds Case on E-Voting Company's Threats Against Critics

[ParanoidPat]

Just received this in an e-mail from EFF. :evilgrin:
Thought I'd share it!

Judge Speeds Case on E-Voting Company's Threats Against Critics

May Prevent Diebold From Suppressing Evidence of Voting Machine Flaws

San Jose, CA - A federal district court judge last week set an accelerated schedule for consideration of a request to halt legal harassment of Internet publishers. The lawsuit, brought by a nonprofit Internet Service Provider (ISP) and two Swarthmore college students, seeks to bar electronic voting machine manufacturer Diebold Systems, Inc., from issuing further legal threats against ISPs.

Diebold has been issuing cease-and-desist letters to ISPs that host websites that either publish or link to a corporate email archive indicating flaws in the company's voting machines. The archive includes email messages written by Diebold employees discussing how to resolve, or in some cases, obfuscate these problems.

EFF and the Center for Internet and Society Cyberlaw Clinic at Stanford Law School are providing legal representation in this important case to prevent abusive copyright claims from silencing public debate about voting, the very foundation of our democratic process.

"We are pleased that the court has recognized the urgency of our case against Diebold with an expedited schedule," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "Diebold must not be permitted to use unfounded copyright claims to stifle public debate over the accuracy of electronic voting machines."

Judge Jeremy Fogel of the federal district court in San Jose, California will hear Online Policy Group v. Diebold, Inc. (Case Number C-03-04913 JF) on November 17, 2003.

For the full press release:
http://www.eff.org/Legal/ISP_liability/OPG_v_Diebold/20031104_eff_pr.php

Online Policy Group v. Diebold case archive:
http://www.eff.org/Legal/ISP_liability/OPG_v_Diebold/

EFF media release: "Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-voting System":
http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/20030723_eff_pr.php

Media coverage:

Machine Politics in the Digital Age
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/business/yourmoney/09vote.htm
(Registration required.)

Diebold Voting Case Tests DMCA
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113273,00.asp

Diebold Threatens Publishers of Leaked Electronic-voting Documents
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7117340.htm

Students Fight E-Vote Firm
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,60927,00.html

:kick:

[papau]

1. Great news! :-)

:-)

[dusty64]

15. Lets hope something good

comes out of this.

[lysergik]

2. Great news, they also gave a shove to HR2239

From the EFFector 16:31 -

* Verify the Vote: Tell Congress to Fight for Secure Elections!

The 2004 presidential election might not be flawed like the last one was; it
might be even worse. Communities across America are purchasing electronic
voting (e-voting) machines, but the technology has serious security problems
that need to be addressed. Most of the machines use "black box" software that
hasn't been publicly reviewed for security. Almost none provide
voter-verifiable paper ballots to detect fraud. And despite the efforts of one
voting technology company to silence its critics, the public has become
increasingly aware of the problems with e-voting. The bill has momentum with 62
sponsors, but we need your help. Send your representative a letter supporting
the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 (HR 2239), which
would require openly reviewed software and voter-verifiable paper audit trails
for all new e-voting machines.

Make your voice heard with the EFF Action Center:
<http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2821>

[ParanoidPat]

3. Thanks for posting this!

I figured someone would! :evilgrin: :toast:

:kick:

[Floradora]

10. Yes and amen! Is there some way we could combine forces?

Amen! We need to get HR 2239 passed soonest. Is there some way all the DU posters who feel this way could get together and combine forces? We need a senator who will craft a similar bill for the Senate. We need to get Gephardt to sign on to HR 2239--Kucinich is already a co-signer. (There are 66 now.) All the DNC has done is pass a resolution saying they "demand" audit trails. Right. If you demand something you need to do more than pass a resolution to get it. The DNC (and most State Parties) seem impervious to information from the grassroots. Any ideas? My email is [e-mail]

[lysergik]

11. Volunteer at VerifiedVoting.org and help the cause for HR2239!

There is also a great movement out there called the Open Voting Consortium who is developing a voting system that is Open Source AND it prints a Voter Verified Paper Ballot!

Give them a look too. http://www.openvoting.org

[Bushfire]

16. Does anybody know what committee would handle this in the Senate?

aides to Kohl & Feingold indicated they would seriously consider signing it if it came from the committee that handles voting issues. Those committee members should be targeted to introduce the legislation ASAP. As Feingold is running for Senate in 2004, it could look like he has a good reason not to introduce it on his own. Kohl has never been much of a leader though in the senate.

[Stephanie]

19. That link isn't working for me -

is there another one?

[gristy]

4. Nov 17 - That's next Monday!

Great news. And thanks for all the links, PP.

[kimchi]

5. WOW!

Democracy can't be killed, after all.

[ParanoidPat]

8. Not if we don't let it!

To an honest win in 2004! :toast:

:kick:

[shirlden]

6. Thanks, PP, for keeping us informed

Now, we need to keep our fingers crossed and hold a good thought for the judge. This has huge implications, not only for voting but for the DMCA.

:kick:

[ParanoidPat]

7. Now if we could just keep the important posts.....

.....kicked for as long as the "How long will this post last (poll) in the lounge we just might make a difference next year! :evilgrin:

:kick:

[bearfan454]

9. kick

[rasputin1952]

12. Sending E-mail to my pinhead Rep,...

Thanks for the heads up!

:kick:

[hunter]

13. I will watch this with keen interest...

You never know where that email archive will turn up next, do you?

[BigLed]

14. a gentle nudge

:kick::kick:

[RedEagle]

17. Back Up!

Kick!

[Stephanie]

18. I want to copy this post to the EV Links Archive in Activism -

If you don't mind.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=3390&mesg_id=3390

Thanks for including all the background links - very helpful when forwarding this info to others.

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. Thank You!

Great news!

[hang a left]

21. Thank you again, Pat.

[MrPrax]

22. kicked...

for democracy...good sources and a good cause...

[Stephanie]

23. I had missed that Sunday NY Times article - thanks for posting

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/business/yourmoney/09vote.htm

November 9, 2003
Machine Politics in the Digital Age
By MELANIE WARNER

IN mid-August, Walden W. O'Dell, the chief executive of Diebold Inc., sat down at his computer to compose a letter inviting 100 wealthy and politically inclined friends to a Republican Party fund-raiser, to be held at his home in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year," wrote Mr. O'Dell, whose company is based in Canton, Ohio.

That is hardly unusual for Mr. O'Dell. A longtime Republican, he is a member of President Bush's "Rangers and Pioneers,'' an elite group of loyalists who have raised at least $100,000 each for the 2004 race.

But it is not the only way that Mr. O'Dell is involved in the election process. Through Diebold Election Systems, a subsidiary in McKinney, Tex., his company is among the country's biggest suppliers of paperless, touch-screen voting machines.

Judging from Federal Election Commission data, at least eight million people will cast their ballots using Diebold machines next November. That is 8 percent of the number of people who voted in 2000, and includes all voters in the states of Georgia and Maryland and those in various counties of California, Virginia, Texas, Indiana, Arizona and Kansas.

Some people find Mr. O'Dell's pairing of interests - as voting-machine magnate and devoted Republican fund-raiser - troubling. To skeptics, including more than a few Democrats, it raises at least the appearance of an ethical problem. Some of the chatter on the Internet goes so far as to suggest that he could use his own machines to sway the election.<more>