Illinois 2004 revisited (No, they wouldn't try to do something like that)

[RaulVB]

I really regret the fact that some people here is always ready to blast and give misleading information about any topic that talks even remotely of fraud.

Is unfortunate, indeed.

My point in the original tread was to show how is possible and feasible to tamper a central vote tabulation system and do "vote padding" to, later, claim a "mandate."

I gave the rationale and it is very easy to do, indeed.

A minor note on it, the Illinois based "Fidlar Voting company", is the one that fabricated voting machines for Indiana state, involved in several incidents where the Democratic vote doesn't register and counts instead as Libertarian.

A "programming error" has been diagnosed as the cause of the "error."

And concerning "optical scan voting machine tampering", well, this piece speaks for itself:

"DuPage County Optical Scan Voting Machines (AccuVote)

DuPage County uses the AccuVote Optical Scan Voting System. Voters mark their choices on the ballot using a marker, typically a #2 pencil. After completing the ballot, the voter feeds the ballot into an AccuVote Tabulator, which scans and tallies the votes cast. The machine notifies the voter if there is a problem with the ballot, such as an over vote (choosing more than one candidate in a contest) or an under vote (failing to make a selection in a contest). The voter then has the option of correcting the ballot or overriding the vote, in which case the vote will not count. A voter choosing to correct the ballot must request a new ballot from an election judge. The ballots are preserved in a ballot box located underneath the AccuVote Tabulator. Ballots are used if a recount is necessary, and serve as paper record of all votes cast. After the polls close, votes are tallied at each precinct and transmitted to the Election Commission. Results are either transmitted via modem or the Tabulator's memory card is read by a central computer when the equipment is returned.

Optical scan voting machines are considered safe and do not pose many security concerns. Most run on batteries or have an electrical cord and a battery backup. The paper ballot serves as a safeguard in case of computer malfunction. However, precinct count optical scan voting machines that transmit election results to a central counting location via modem have been subject to criticism because of the increased risk of tampering. Approximately 50% of precincts report final results to the DuPage County Election Commission via modem."

Here is the link and there you have my point.

I know, I know, they wouldn't do that!

http://www.citizenadvocacycenter.org/electioncommission.htm#hava

[RaulVB]

1. Some people blasting a similar tread did not give me all the facts...

Why?

"ES&S also defends its technology, saying in statements on its Web site that it has "successfully supported over 30,000 elections worldwide during the past decade" and that in the March 2004 presidential primary in Florida, "no major problems were reported" with the 5,000 machines it operated in Broward County.

But a survey by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found that in that March vote, the percentage of votes not recorded by touchcreen machines (made by both ES&S and Sequoia Voting Systems) was eight times higher than when paper ballots were used with optical scanners. In other studies, estimates of the undervote rate on different voting machines vary."

What I copied above is an excerpt of a piece that was written in the CBS news website in October 2004.

The ES&S Voting Machines company is IN CHARGE OF THE WHOLE PROCESS of voting in COOK County Illinois, from the reception of the vote to the "secret" tabulation of it.

In the future, I would appreciate if the people challenging the content of my notes gives some more background information before doing so.

Thanks!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/22/politics/main650884.shtml