Election law violation in MD...

[Epoch]

Greetings,
I just had a 20 min conversation with State Sen. Andrew Harris (R, state minority whip) about the Diebold machines. He told me that in 2001, the assembly passed his amendment that required MD to have a paper trail. He also said that when the state bought the machines, they broke the law since they didn't have a paper receipt. They are going to contact Attorney Gen. Joseph Curran about it. I'm planning on doing the same. Marylanders, call Curran and tell him to support Harris's Amendment. he's a republican, but he's right about this issue.

This is the Amendment to HB 1457-2001 Regular session:
AMENDMENT NO. 4
On page 5, in line 20, strike And@; and in line 21, after Candidates;@ insert AND

(VI) BE CAPABLE OF CREATING A PAPER RECORD OF ALL VOTES CAST IN ORDER THAT AN AUDIT TRAIL IS AVAILABLE IN THE EVENT OF A RECOUNT;@.

The bill passed with all the amendments..

-Epoch

[Occulus]

1. How did he react

to the various Diebold information you spoke of to him?

Of course, I'm assuming you went into detail if he didn't already know about it :)

[Epoch]

2. rxn:

harris knew all about it and was up in arms. He is filing a reccomendation with Joe Curran, our AG, and is sending me a copy of it as well. He said that a petition to federal and state representatives would be very effective and they definitly listen when 500 signatures arrive from their district.

Harris knew all about the Diebold systems and the Hopkins report. The bill was in responce to the Florida debacle, and passed so that we would use computer screens. Although he was against the new systems, he got his amendment passed (since it is his committee). He is angry about his amendment being ignored, and is planning on filing a complaint.

He said there is good news if Diebold can include a paper receipt on the machines, but as long as it does not cost millions of dollars. If it costs more money, then MD will do nothing since we have no money in the first place.

[gristy]

4. ask Sen. Harris what the cost is to service their new machines

Compare that to what it would cost to put an optical-scanner in each precinct (this would be 1/10 to 1/20 the number of touch-screen voting machines they have), and to service thoses machines.

[Born_a_Democrat]

3. How can I find out about this in Florida?

Last year's congressional/gubernatorial elections were done on these machines and God were they disastrous...I don't even know if my vote was counted....

any way I can find out if this is the case in Florida also or how I can get something started?

[Epoch]

5. sleuthing..

This bill is Maryland specific. My first guess is to start from the top. Go to my post called "new and final letter" under the activism part of DU (I think that's what I called it). Tweek it so it is state-specific for Florida and fire off an e-mail or letter or phone call to each of your state reps and delegates, senators, and federal representatives. Give yourself a few hours one day to do that. Then get signatures from your local district and surronding areas and mail them into your representatives (federal and state)with about 500 signatures or so.

Then see which reps. respond and harass them until they do something..

As far as this specific amendment, a good way to check is by calling your AG, or by searching your state assembly's web site. Good luck and get going!!
Epoch

[Epoch]

6. We have a new problem...

I called the AG. The very unpleasant, condecending, and worthless Hank Greenburg referred me to the State's Board of Elections. They message on their website says this:

Reactions to Recent Criticism of Voting Equipment - July 25, 2003
Linda H. Lamone, Administrator
Maryland State Board of Elections

Linda H. Lamone, Maryland's chief election official, expressed her, "absolute confidence in the Diebold election system" despite criticisms in a recent report issued by Aviel Rubin, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Lamone points out that, "not only did the Diebold system pass a strict State and federal certification process, but it also passed the one certification process that matters most -- an election. The system performed flawlessly and earned the trust of Maryland's election officials and voters, particularly the visually impaired and blind voters."

The report contains several significant flaws that make its conclusions unreliable and certainly overstated. Ms. Lamone addressed one significant flaw by noting that, "the report only focuses on the technological aspects of the voting system and fails to take into consideration any of the legal or procedural checks and balances that Maryland has in place to safeguard elections. I am disappointed that Professor Rubin never sought the input of this office or Diebold when doing his analysis." Diebold has issued an extensive report finding flaws with the methodology and conclusions of the report.

Ms. Lamone also noted that the Diebold system has many advantages over other voting equipment including:
It is compliant with State and Federal law;


OK, there are more but since I can only post 4 paragraphs (i think) here is the link: http://www.elections.state.md.us/about_SBE/press_07252003.html

First of all it does not comply with state law!!
This is ridiculous.

Time to kick their butt's as well!!

Epoch

[On the Road]

7. If the AG is Intransient, Will a Lawsuit be Necessary?