Need your best dirt on ES&S & Sequoia criminal, political, financial ties.

[Amaryllis]

Can you help? My state has paper ballots, but ES&S and Sequoia scanners and tabulators. I've read so much, but if you have sources handy so I don't have to do a big search, please post. I am short on time...Thanks!

[adolfo]

1. An explanation

How about an explanation for the twins their machines gave birth to on 2004 (Florida). Click below to see what I'm talking about.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=353198&mesg_id=353198

[Zan_of_Texas]

2. try these.

The Public Accountability Initiative:
"Partisanship and Conflicts of Interest in the Electronic Voting Industry,"
http://www.publicaccountability.org/election.html

Lynn Landes:
"Voting Systems Organizations and Companies,"
Extensive Notes
http://www.ecotalk.org/VotingMachineCompanies.htm

Voters Unite.org:
"Malfunctions and Miscounts, Sorted by Vendor,"
http://www.votersunite.org/info/messupsbyvendor.asp

One item listed in that last one:

March 2004. The State of Indiana had many problems with ES&S. Indiana ended up requiring ES&S to put up a $10 Million bond to insure against problems and lawsuits.

ES&S
"I just think I was absolutely lied to by your CEO and I'm more than on the slow burn about it. I sat in this room and you all lied to me. You're so derelict in your duties that you can't look at a piece of paper and answer the question? Give me a break." -- Brian Burdick, who serves on the election commission in Indiana

Burdick said this after exasperated Election Commissioner Anthony Long asked ES&S Executive Ken Carbullido "Do you understand that to run an election for something to work, it's gotta count the votes?"

http://www.votersunite.org (Mess ups by Vendor: ES&S Election Commission Bails Out Voting Machine Maker In Time for May Primary. March 11, 2004; http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1706282) March 2004

[Amaryllis]

3. Thanks, Zan. That's some good stuff.

[Amaryllis]

4. Not finding this:

http://www.votersunite.org (Mess ups by Vendor: ES&S Election Commission Bails Out Voting Machine Maker In Time for May Primary. March 11, 2004
link goes to the page with Myth Breakers; not finding the reference to ES & S.

[Zan_of_Texas]

5. Try this.

Use this link:

http://www.votersunite.org/info/messupsbyvendor.asp

If you somehow get on the front page again, go to the very right of the front page, and you'll see Mess-Ups by Vendor.

[Zan_of_Texas]

6. For an article about the dangers of electronic tabulation,

even for optical scan or punch card balloting --

check this out. In Ohio, there is evidence that the tabulator in 41 of 88 counties (Triad) could remotely access the computers.

"Even a Remote Chance?"
Voters Unite
January 10, 2005
http://www.votersunite.org/info/evenaremotechance.htm

[Amaryllis]

9. Great! That does it. Good stuff. I had looked at this awhile back but

couldn't remember where it was.

[garybeck]

7. a request

hey. when you compile all the sh*t on them, can you make sure you put it into a fact sheet, article, or something like that, which we can distribute? You've probably already seen this one, but I want more like it:

http://www.solarbus.org/election/articles/0330-diebold-bush.shtml

g

[Amaryllis]

8. You mean just give you all the links? I don't know what I will do with it

yet. If I do any kind of compilation I will send it but don't know if I will. You could probably just post all the links from Zan.There is a hell of a lot of stuff here.

[Bill Bored]

10. Don't forget this little "gem" (no pun intended):

Actually this isn't a political, criminal or financial tie. Just a major screw up, due to a configuration error no doubt.

http://www.votersunite.org/info/content/newmessup-01.asp

"Medford and Taylor County officials have been told by Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software that the city will be reimbursed for the costs of setting up the vote-counting machine in the fall because the program was faulty. A spokeswoman said the company takes full responsibility for the error."

This is more what you're looking for:
http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24

[Amaryllis]

11. Anyone know any criminal background on programmers for these two

companies? It all seems to be on Diebold.

[Zan_of_Texas]

14. ES&S has a VP who was in a legal situation.

Okay, this is an old snippet from the chief election official of Yolo County, CA. The link appears to be dead now. But, if you want to do a search on Eschberger, maybe you'll find what you're looking for. He is, or was until recently (I think he's still there) at ES&S.

Is there better news about ES&S, the remaining company of the Big Three? Sorry. On February 2, 2002, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported, "Arkansas Secretary of State Bill McCuen pleaded guilty to felony charges that he took bribes, evaded taxes and accepted kickbacks. Part of the case involved Business Records Corp. , a Dallas company that sold Arkansas computerized systems for recording corporate and voter registration records. Arkansas officials said the scheme involved . . . then-BRC employee Tom Eschberger . . . . Eschberger got immunity from prosecution for his cooperation. Today, he's a top executive for ES&S."
Freddie Oakley is the Yolo County, California Clerk/Recorder. John Oakley is a Professor of Law at King Hall School of Law, UC Davis.
LINK SEEMS TO BE DEAD -- <http://www.yoloelections.org/homepage/snews/SD1069109000>
ELECTRONIC VOTING - CAN WE TRUST IT?
by Freddie Oakley & John Oakley


Bear in mind that ES&S and Diebold have brothers in common at high positions -- the Urosevich brothers. Although Diebold's Urosevich seems to have stepped down or back or out of the spotlight since the uproar in CA.

[Wilms]

19. I googled the title and found it.

http://www.yoloelections.org/news/snews/SD1069109000

[Amaryllis]

20. Good stuff; exactly the kind of thing I need! Sequoia software has been

out on the net too, not just Diebold. And more on Eschberger...

"Sequoia Voting Systems' computer code popped up on the Internet, too. The company blamed one of their subcontractors for putting it there, but there it was. This is particularly interesting, given Sequoia's claim in its advertisements that its system is "tamperproof." The code reveals something else: It relies heavily on Microsoft components. And in case you hadn't noticed from the recent worldwide assaults of various viruses and worms, Microsoft programming code is particularly vulnerable to hacking.

Is there better news about ES&S, the remaining company of the Big Three? Sorry. On Feb. 2, 2002, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported, "Arkansas Secretary of State Bill McCuen pleaded guilty to felony charges that he took bribes, evaded taxes and accepted kickbacks. Part of the case involved Business Records Corp. , a Dallas company that sold Arkansas computerized systems for recording corporate and voter registration records. Arkansas officials said the scheme involved ... then-BRC employee Tom Eschberger .... Eschberger got immunity from prosecution for his cooperation. Today, he's a top executive for ES&S."

[Einsteinia]

12. Lawsuit filed today 4/7/05

Washington State:
Lehto v. Sequoia
http://washblog.typepad.com/  

[Al-CIAda]

13. Investigative reporter Daniel Hopsicker -Companies & connections....

Daniel Hopsicker- Must listen , IMO -Companies & connections discussed

December 7, 2004:
An Interview with Daniel Hopsicker about the 2004 Electoral Coup, Funny Money, Covert Operations and Electoral Fraud. | Listen
http://www.wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=13398
--
January 11, 2005:
Interview w/Daniel Hopsicker about Electoral Fraud | Listen
http://www.wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=13858
--
January 18, 2005
"Another Interview with Daniel Hopsicker about Electoral Fraud" | Listen
http://www.wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=13923
----
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/DX
====

More Daniel Hopsicker...
The Big Fix
Windows media-
http://www.madcowprod.com/bigfixwmv.html
Quicktime-
http://www.madcowprod.com/bigfixqt.html

====
Articles-
>> Election Official Thwarts Recount Using Phony Vote Totals
>> CIA Helpful in Florida, Ukraine Elections
>> Election Company has Long Criminal History
>> How to Fix a Presidential Election

http://www.madcowprod.com/

====



Pt. I: Convicted Felons, ‘Shadowy Financiers' Own Companies Counting Votes
 
November 15 2004-Venice,FL. 
by Daniel Hopsicker
 
An investigation into the surprisingly-sordid history of America’s “election services industry” has revealed that executives and owners of the two largest companies, E S & S and Sequoia Pacific, have been convicted of bribery and suborning public officials in more than a dozen states.
And while a felony conviction may be enough to prevent you from voting in Florida, convicted felons can take heart in the fact that the “blemish” on their record in no way disqualifies them from owning companies counting the votes.
In fact, the word ‘coverup’ itself was invented to describe the activities of the original owner of Sequoia Pacific, "shadowy financier" Lewis Wolfson, who got caught bribing no less a personage than a Supreme Court Justice of the United States of America.
While Abe Fortas was forced to resign in disgrace, no such harsh fate befell Wolfson.  When you own a company that counts the votes, politicians smile more kindly on you than they might otherwise... and for good reason.
"Somebody Blinked"
Continuing this dubious 'tradition,' the owner of Sequoia Pacific until recently was also accused of bribing public officials, in this case the Prime Minister of Ireland.
While the name Dr. Michael Smurfit is not well-known to Americans, his company manufactures the software used to compile more than two-thirds of the nation's electronically-counted votes.
Perhaps this may help explain why, for the second Presidential election in a row, a Democratic bandwagon was derailed early on Election Night by an unusual television appearance by the Bush Family, after exit polls showed them losing in key battleground states.
While what transpired remains closely guarded, whatever went on behind the scenes was clearly decisive: Bush took the lead in the election, and John Kerry suffered the same fate as Al Gore had four years earlier...perhaps even in the same way.

(continued below)
http://www.madcowprod.com/mc6912004.html

[Amaryllis]

15. Thank you SO much! This is extremely helpful. Much appreciated.

[Amaryllis]

16. Thank you, everyone who has contributed to this. I will be able to put

this information to good use.

[garybeck]

17. have you seen Wayne Madesen's talk from the CA teachin?

very good and it speaks to your question

[Amaryllis]

18. No. Do you have a link?

[garybeck]

21. no but

i have the video. email me if you still want it.

[Amaryllis]

22. Yes, I'd like it.