Surprise Surprise: Voting machine count found erroneous in DC primaries.

[Stevepol]

What an amazing discovery! The machine count was found to be way off in recent primaries in DC. It affected all the parties, and of course the Dems weren't particularly interested in pursuing the problem. Could it be that the machines actually don't count right? What a novel conception! Why would that be? Could it be that these machines are pieces of junk? Nah! Must be we need greater secrecy, better PR.




Voting Irregularities Discovered in Washington, D.C. Primary Election Results
by DC Statehood Green Party- October 23, 2006

DC Statehood Green candidate, in routine review of votes after primary, uncovers discrepancy: only 89 votes recorded for 140 Statehood Green voters, with 51 votes apparently 'lost' - Reliability of certified results in Statehood Green primary for Ward 5 seat on City Council in question - 40% of Republican votes apparently lost from the Ward 5 vote count; Statehood Greens urge investigation by D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics

An investigation of voter rolls and votes in the September 12 primary election in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 5 has revealed unexplained irregularities in the race for the DC Statehood Green Party's nomination for the Ward 5 seat on City Council.

"In an effort to see if I had grounds for a challenge, I began the process of checking the pollbooks to see who actually signed in as a Statehood Green voter on election day," wrote Mr. Blair in an October 13, 2006 letter to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE). Links to Philip Blair's letters to the BOEE are appended below.

Mr. Blair discovered a significant discrepancy between the number of Statehood Green voters who signed in at the polls or submitted absentee ballots and the number of Statehood Green votes that were reported in the primary election results in many Ward 5 precincts.


Link:

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1919&Itemid=113

[acmavm]

1. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Microsoft Access the

database used by Diebold in thier machines? I read a couple of times that was the case. And ever since then I just figured that anyone who isn't familiar with a Microsoft program and just what crap you're dealing with hasn't got a clue.

If I'm wrong, please tell me.

[Kip Humphrey]

2. MS-Access is the database used in GEMS software-driven ES&S and Die-Bold central vote tabulators

The Access database has 3 data tables each of which can be de-linked to carry differing data and vote totals... Reminiscent of a shell game. Why was GEMS designed this way???

[acmavm]

4. This is my point exactly. Microsoft products are junk. In fact,

just hours after the latest version of Internet Explorer was released 'its first vulnerability was disclosed to the public although Microsoft says the problem is in Outlook Express. (Does it matter, Microsoft is junk!)

http://www.scmagazine.com/uk/news/article/599930/microsoft-secunia-clash-reported-vulnerability/

[Wilms]

6. I've never had a problem with Microsoft products.

:puke:

Recommended!

[Spiffarino]

8. No need to blame Micro$oft for this one

I've been working in the computer field for about 20 years and in my opinion the problem isn't MS Access. It's a useful product for small database jobs, especially for non-computer geeks.

The real issue here is computerized voting. Computer software is incredibly easy to manipulate. That is especially true of the ultra-simple software that voting machines require. The source code is probably three lines of kindergarten math. It would take no time to introduce a fix into an election. Testing won't help, either. The software that's on the voting machine, tabulator, etc., is going to be fine at test time, and it would take one person maybe a minute to introduce new code into a networked system, change the results of an election, and have the routine to delete itself once the election is ended.

The problem isn't Microsoft. The problem is using computers to vote.

[slackmaster]

5. Allow me to proffer an informed speculation as to the design of GEMS

Every commercial, production software system that I have ever seen that uses Microsoft Access as its database engine came to be that way through a flawed development process.

Perhaps the most familiar example for people who work in software-related industries is Microsoft Visual Source Safe (VSS), Microsoft's source code repository that provides version control for code development. VSS was created as a toy, a demonstration piece that could be shown off as an example of a useful application that could be developed using Visual Basic and other Microsoft products. VSS is in wide commercial use because it generally works OK and costs practically nothing, but it has serious limits in its ability to handle volumes of data, it slows down when its tables get large, and it crashes from time to time.

It's perfectly reasonable to write a prototype, mock-up, or demonstration piece in Access. But it's weak security and poor ability to handle concurrent access by multiple users render any such application inherently unstable, prone to data corruption during normal use. So if such a prototype is to be made into a robust multi-user system, the correct way to proceed is to go back to business requirements analysis, toss out your source code and start over using a beefier database platform.

But political pressures and influence of sales and marketing people within the organization may put severe time pressure on software development, so the prototype gets some bells and whistles added, plus a token effort to make it handle concurrent access, and suddenly it's on the market and in production.

I've been working in software development and related fields for more than 20 years, and I have seen the very same error made several times.

[Spiffarino]

9. Oh, how sadly, miserably right you are.

Sure, Access is fine for small jobs, but woe unto anyone who gets hoodwinked into buying it for a large database application. Anything over a few thousand records and it goes into convulsions and spits out pea soup.

Any vendor that comes into our shop peddling a large database app based on Access gets a 180 degree trip back through the door. He might as well have "LOSER" written on his forehead in lipstick.

[hughee99]

3. So did someone rig the election

to steal about 35% of the 140 Statehood Green Voters and 40% of the Repuke voters in Ward 5?

[kster]

7. Repub and Dem Politicians, REMAIN SILENT, its all

Microsofts fault. WHAT EVER!!