Orlando Sentinel today: "Volusia Ballots May Get Second Look"

[flpoljunkie]

(Much more thorough article than the one in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-locblackbox18x111804nov18,1,7680542.story?coll=orl-news-headlines

Volusia ballots may get 2nd look


A group asks to review some of the county's votes for a nationwide election audit.
By Kevin P. Connolly
Sentinel Staff Writer

November 18, 2004

DELAND -- Black Box Voting, a Seattle-based group fighting for improved voting systems, wants to inspect paper ballots from more than 25 percent of Volusia's precincts as part of its nationwide audit of the Nov. 2 presidential election.

It is also raising the prospect of a lawsuit to contest the results of the election in Volusia County, though the group's executive director said Black Box Voting isn't trying to overturn the outcome of the presidential election. The group's goal is to ensure "integrity in the system" nationwide, said executive director Bev Harris.

<>The group suspects security vulnerabilities in voting equipment and software from Diebold Election Systems, a leading vendor of such equipment across the country. Diebold couldn't immediately be reached for comment, but Volusia officials say their system, which uses optical scanners to read paper ballots, isn't vulnerable. State records show Diebold as the vendor for 30 of Florida's 67 counties. In Central Florida, Diebold counties include Volusia, Seminole and Brevard.

<>Harris, whose meeting with Volusia officials Tuesday was recorded by videographers working on a documentary called Votergate, wouldn't reveal the names of all the counties her group is focusing on first, though she confirmed she is scheduled to get information from St. Lucie County today. The filmmakers also taped Harris' supporters finding documents from Election Supervisor Deanie Lowe's office in the trash. Lowe said the documents were duplicates of precinct-based reports poll workers printed after the polls closed on Election Day.

Lowe said she's not required by law to keep the duplicates and that she has the originals.

In Volusia, Harris is citing apparent discrepancies such as precinct-based Election Day results that differ from last week's final tally as reasons to scrutinize the county's ballots and voting equipment. But Lowe said it's not logical to expect those sets of numbers to add up because the final tally includes such categories of ballots as absentee and provisional.

"You've got to compare apples to apples if you expect to come up with a bushel of apples," Lowe said. County Judge Steven deLaroche, a member of Volusia's elections canvassing board, said it seems Black Box Voting is on a fishing expedition in the wrong county. After all, Volusia had to count its ballots twice -- once on Election Day, and then a close judicial race prompted an automatic recount. They checked out.

___________________________

The questions is are these numbers (provisional votes and absentees) added to each individual precinct's final tally or rather just included in the final tally?

Here is a link to the final report submitted to Tallahassee. Of 309,930 voters, 229,580 cast ballots, a 74.07% turnout. It lists Absentees as 43,934, Unscanned 23, Provisional 630, and Early Voting Totals across the county listed separately that total 40,166.

Why are these votes listed separately at the bottom of the long list of precinct vote count totals?

http://www.volusia.org/elections/110204results.htm

[NamVetsWeeLass]

1. OOOOH looky at Bev Harris!!!!

...."but Volusia officials say their system, which uses optical scanners to read paper ballots, isn't vulnerable." ...
yeah, right, and I am a Natural Blonde (Since my hair is almost black I think not)

Methinks Our friend Bev is rattling some cages!

[Vidar]

2. Bev Harris for Times' Person of the Year!

[sandnsea]

3. "isn't trying to overturn the outcome"

Is Bev a sell-out too because she isn't screaming the election was stolen?

Anybody notice those words being repeated over and over. This is the right approach to take if we ever want to figure out what's going on with these machines.

Glitchgate, way too many unexplained 'glitches'.

[smartvoter]

4. If Fraud is Uncovered, the Outcome Takes Care of Itself

My view is that BBV is taking the smart approach.  If fraud is
exposed to the public, the rest (e.g., overturning outcome)
happens automatically.  If you run around claiming you're
trying to overturn it, you destroy cooperation and your own
credibility from square one.  At least, that's how I see it.  

In fact, I would think that this entire effort would be more
successful if the approach was to say we don't know what
happened, but there are mathematically impossible and
statistically improbably irregularities that need to be
resolved, and leave the "stolen election" portion
between the lines until there is some form of tangible proof
of fraud, not error.

[sandnsea]

6. I agree n/t

[regularjoe]

5. If she wants any eventual credibility from MSM or courts or

others than she had better not say "my goal is make sure Kerry is the next president." She may believe Kerry won but her goal is to make sure the next president is elected because more people voted for him and not because of fraud/error. By saying that her goal is to protect the vote she partially disarms attacks from people saying she just wants Kerry to win and will do anything to make it appear that he won. It just needs to be that way. If you want to bring about real change you have to act with an understanding of what others will think about you and say about you.

regularjoe

[masshole1979]

7. The real reason she has to be careful about "overturning the election"

She could be deemed a political organization, rather than merely a voting rights advocacy/public interest research group, and lose her nonprofit status.

And don't think the repigs won't try it anyway.

[badc0der]

8. She's right

Guaranteed honest elections in the future are more important than if this on was or not.