Democrats Beware of Absentee Voting – Especially Where Verified by Diebold

[Time for change]

Almost all DUers recognize that election fraud currently poses a grave threat to our democracy, given the abundant evidence for the stealing of the 2004 Presidential election and the fact that electronic voting machines use secret code for counting our votes, usually without recourse to a paper trail to verify the accuracy of the vote count. And though our opinions differ on the extent of the vote stealing capabilities and the preferred methods of the Republican Party’s plans for vote stealing, few of us have any doubt that voters will be suppressed and votes will be stolen on Election Day 2006.

Most of us also recognize that, despite our great concern with the secret vote counting of DRE (direct recording electronic) machines, there are also many other ways that Republicans have used to steal elections in recent years, including voter suppression, illegal purging of registered voters targeted at Democrats, and electronic manipulation of central tabulators. A few months ago I posted a review of several means of preventing election fraud (to the best of my ability, though admittedly far from complete), along with specific evidence for various different types of election fraud in 2004, which suggested that vote switching on individual DRE machines was not the principal means of election fraud in 2004. Unfortunately, nobody knows what will be the principal mechanism for election fraud in 2006.

One means of preventing election fraud that has been advocated by many is to vote absentee, since that bypasses the counting of votes by DRE machines. I did not address that issue in my election fraud prevention post, either to advocate it or to warn against it, except to note that in the Ohio Presidential election of 2004 Kenneth Blackwell failed to provide absentee ballots in response to numerous Democratic requests for them, and then those same voters were denied the opportunity to vote on Election Day. This issue is discussed in John Conyers’ famous report, “Preserving Democracy – What Went Wrong in Ohio”.

In the past few days I have received e-mails from credible sources suggesting that absentee ballot manipulation may be a major means of election fraud by the Republican Party this November, especially in Ohio. Obviously neither I nor anyone else can predict the relative importance of this means of fraud for the upcoming elections, but I do feel that we should be aware of this possibility or likelihood:


Message from Bruce O’Dell

Most important is a message from Bruce O’Dell, former Vice President and co-founder of U.S. Count Votes, who has 25 years of experience as an information technology consultant. To summarize his message: There are many jurisdictions in our country where verification of the legitimacy of absentee ballots will be made by Diebold software. If the Diebold machines determine that a vote is not legitimate it will not be counted, and nobody will ever know which votes were counted and which weren’t.

And incidentally (not noted in O’Dell’s message), the purging of around two hundred thousand legitimate Ohio voters in 2004 by Diebold machines was probably the major reason that George Bush was awarded Ohio’s electoral votes and proclaimed president in 2004.

Here is what O’Dell has to say about absentee voting (See “Bruce O’Dell Says RUN from Absentee Ballots”!):

There is another serious problem with absentee voting: many jurisdictions now use electronic signature verification software, in some cases provided by ... our friends at Diebold.

The Diebold "VoteRemote" application uses optical image recognition technology to check a paper signature against a digitized reference signature on file (say, a voter registration or a photo ID database).

In case enough alarm bells have not already gone off for you, let me add one or two of my own.

The VoteRemote software obviously can be interfaced with computerized voter registration databases; such a product is, conveniently enough, also sold by Diebold. Signature verification software also has a setting which controls how precise the match needs to be with the signature sample held in the voter registration database in order for the ballot to be accepted as genuine.

In those states with partisan registration, it's not difficult to imagine covertly programming such a machine for very forgiving tolerances for verification of signatures of voters in one party ... and much tougher standards for verifying the signatures of voters of another party.

Did I mention that since absentee ballot signature verification software does not actually tally votes (it only disqualifies them) it is exempt even from the ludicrously lax testing and certification protocol applied to vote tallying software?

Did I mention that according to witness testimony published on Black Box Voting's web site a rather well known individual named Jeffrey Dean was involved with development of VoteRemote?

My advice: in 2006, run as far away from an absentee ballot as fast as you can.

Message from Mark Crispin Miller

Here are some thoughts on this issue from Mark Crispin Miller, author of “Fooled Again – How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They’ll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)”:

Absentee ballots are very easy to toss out. Historically, they've been the first to go into the trash when fraudsters run the show. Moreover, those voting absentee can't know if they've been quietly taken off the books, as countless would-be voters were two years
ago….

And, most important, a high turn-out on Election Day will help immensely to pre-empt, or at least complicate, another theft by the Republicans, whose fraud will be much harder to explain if millions have showed up to vote. This is why the GOP in Maryland and Colorado (and elsewhere) is pushing people to vote absentee.

Message from an Ohio voter

And here is an e-mail that Dr. Miller received from a voter in Ohio:

I live in Ohio, and last night I received a robo-call from the Republican party urging me to vote absentee. The message said it was bipartisan but paid for by the Republican party. Why would they target registered Democrats with this message? Do you think they plan on throwing away our ballots?

Conclusion

I don’t know exactly what to advise with respect to this information. But one thing I can say for sure – Wherever Diebold machines are being used to verify absentee votes, I would NOT recommend voting absentee.

[AtomicKitten]

1. the optical scanners in 2004

were the EVMs of 2002 - tricky bastards

[flobee1]

3. So what the hell do Ohioans do?

I have my absentee app in the envelope and stamped.
Cant vote absentee because they'll toss them in the trash
cant vote at the polls because the machines are rigged

I dont know of a third option

[1932]

7. You can take your absentee ballot in person to the registrar on election

day (or to your precinct).

Check the rules today to make sure you can do that.

[OzarkDem]

11. I don't think that's an option

got anything else?

Frankly, I'd like to see some proof that Ohio has these Diebold scanning machines for absentee ballots.

[1932]

12. I've done it in my district.

Tell my your district and I'll look up their rules for you.

[Time for change]

26. You may need to check with Ohio election officials

I have tried to search for proof and can't find it. It may be that there is no official record of what systems are being used where.

Here is an article by BBV, where they surmise that it being widely used, but they don't seem to be able to verify it for sure:
http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/8542.html

My belief is that it's highly likely it is being used widely in Ohio for this election. I say this because Blackwell obviously has strong ties with Diebold, and he did something very similar with voter registration in 2004. In 2004 Diebold was used to purge around 165,000 legal voters in Cuyahoga County alone (See OP). Multitudes of voters showed up at the polls to find that they were not registered and could not vote. This could have theoretically been prevented had the voters checked ahead of time to see if they had been purged, but who could have predicted that that would happen? Hopefully there is a push to prevent this from happening this time.

But with absentee voting I don't know precisely when the decision is made to reject a vote, and I doubt that the voters will be notified when this occurs.

Please check with your Ohio election officials (or the Democratic Party in Ohio - though I understand that they weren't very reliable in 2004) to see if absentee ballots will be verified by Diebold machines. Hopefully they can tell you.

[Time for change]

28. I have never heard of voting absentee on Election Day in person

Do you have a reference for that? I would be interested in seeing it.

If that is an option it may improve one's chances of having the vote accepted, so it might be a good idea.

PS -- All the Shah's Men is a very good book IMO. That issue should be discussed in history courses in high school and college, but I doubt that it is brought up very much.

[mod mom]

36. SOS site says can be done in person at BOE -by the day before.

[Time for change]

37. So would that make it safe?

Would the voter then be able to verify that his/her vote was counted?

[1932]

44. You can always check to make sure your vote was registered.

In fact, it's a public record and anyone can confirm that you voted.

I have also called my BoE and asked if my vote was counted, and they check the roll and they have confirmed that, yes, my vote has been counted.

Obviously, they can't confirm for whom you voted.

[Time for change]

8. What should Ohioans do

My opinion is that if the choice is between voting on a DRE machine vs. voting absentee in a situation where the vote will NOT be verified by a Diebold machine, the it may be better to vote absentee. But you should be aware that in 2004 Blackwell failed to send the ballots out to many potential voters who requested absentee ballots. They then came to the polls expecting to vote, but they were not allowed to vote, with the excuse that they were sent an absentee ballot. I don't know how many votes were lost that way, but I believe it was thousands, and targeted at Democrats. It is discussed in Conyers' report.

On the other hand, if you live in a jurisdiction that either does NOT use DRE machines to count votes OR Diebold machines will be used to verify absentee ballots or votes, I would definitely NOT vote absentee. I would go to the polls on election day and vote, as recommended in this post.

Most people believe that, although Diebold machines can and do steal votes, the capacity to do that without being caught is finite, not infinite, and therefore if the Dems win by a good enough margin Diebold won't be able to steal it. What margin they need to win by nobody knows, but Blackwell is way behind in the governor's race, and I suspect that the margin is too big to steal IF Dems come out in large numbers. Alternatively, Blackwell may be so desperate to win that he get careless and gets caught -- which may be even better than winning outright.

Also, though I am no expert on the mechanics of how to prevent the stealing of votes, there are certain standard procedures that must be used to exert some control over the process, and Dems must make sure that those are followed. For example, you are probably aware that prior to the Busby/Billbray election in California, election officials took many machines home for a "sleep over". A big deal was rightly made out of that, and it is currently being challenged in court, but why was it allowed to happen in the first place? Why didn't Dems cry bloody murder when that happened, BEFORE the actual election? I can't answer that. But I think it's fair to say that Democrats ought to be watching Ohio (and other close elections as well) very very carefully on election day and prior to election day to make sure all the rules are followed.

Another thing that can be done is exit polling. In 2004 we relied on exit polling of others, but in 2004 I believe that there are plans by voting activist groups to do their own exit polling. This can be very important in identifying problems -- though it may be too late by then.

But whatever else happens, get out and vote!

[kster]

10. Well how do you want to have your vote stolen?

if there is no third plan, then the only thing to do is read around the DU and make a choice, do you send it or take it in to be stolen, with them two choices, the only reason to vote one way or the other is up to you, The push on absentee voting is not that it will BE SAFE or that it will not be STOLEN, but as a PROTEST against the secret vote counting machines.

Mark. C. Miller may be giving us that third option please read his articles, because to date there have only been two options.

From Mark C. Miller's article

SNIP...In the next issue of the Spectator, I'll elaborate on the GOP's two likeliest moves in November's mid-term elections. For now, we must do all we can to make everyone aware of what's been going down—and, most important, what is now at stake. As the press and the Democrats have failed to call for any actual reform of the election system, Bush and Co. are now in a superb position to retain their legislative power, regardless of how people vote (or try to vote).


SNIP...If we get millions out to vote, without informing them they may well "lose" anyway, the blow will devastate them, just as Kerry's abrupt concession did in 2004. It took two years to get Americans mobilized again. If Bush and his allies steal the next election, we won't have years to start resisting. The resistance must start on Day One, just as in Ukraine and Mexico; and so the people must be ready for the fight—and so they need to know enough to wage it, and to win it.

http://www.washingtonspectator.com/

[Time for change]

20. What do you mean by a third option

I hope you're not talking about not voting.

MCM would NEVER recommend not voting. If we don't vote we won't even have anything to protest.

Be prepared to lose, sure. Be prepared to protest if there's evidence of cheating, sure.

But most of all, do everything we can to prevent cheating, and get out and vote!!

[kster]

35. I'm not sure where Mark may be going

with this, but it doesn't look like he is going to be suggesting, not voting.

[texpatriot2004]

2. Also beware of straight ticket voting electronically nm

[EFerrari]

14. Also beware of straight ticket voting electronically, for sure. nt

[B Calm]

4. Someone needs to tell Jay Marvin about this! He's been telling

everyone to vote absentee ballot!

[EST]

5. I have caught a lot of grief on these fora for pointing out the

obvious (to me) shortcomings of absentee, early and virtually any vote-by-mail scheme. Far too many ways of tricking the count.

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. Agreed

[1932]

6. Put American Blackout in your Netflix queue (and vote absentee)

Watch carefully the part about how Ohio took a voting machine out of all the heavily black and democratic precincts and put them out in the suburbs. Watch the part where they show that counties didn't even use all the machines they had even though they knew registration was very high. Watch the part where they show footage of election day: long lines in black precincts; no lines in white suburbs.

If you live in a heavily democratic precinct and your county electioin board is run by Republicans, you are better off if you vote absentee so that you keep the lines short and allow others to vote. If you live in a heavily Republican district, by all means, go and vote in person, take a long time, ask a lot of questions, and enjoy yourself.

[Time for change]

22. That's a good point

In 2004 Bush probably netted around 10,000 extra votes because of the shortage of machines in Democratic areas of Franklyn County.

This problem drew so much attention in 2004 that I would hope that the Democrats would be watching out for it and wouldn't let it happen again. But I don't really know if Blackwell will be able to get away with that again.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1231113

[OzarkDem]

9. So what do Ohio Dem voters do?

You're basically saying we have no real options left to vote, correct? Should we just forget about voting this year?

[Time for change]

24. I'm absolutely NOT saying to forget about voting

Please see my post # 8 from this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2328220&mesg_id=2329467

[ComerPerro]

13. Hell, after people like Harris and Blackwell, I am starting to think

that paper ballots and paper trails aren't really much of a step in the right direction.

After all, couldn't a crooked Sec of State or election supervisor make certain votes disappear if they wanted?

[Time for change]

42. It's possible, but

It's a lot easier to steal massive numbers of votes electronically than by paper. Especially when secret code is used to count the votes.

I'm just hoping that between the Democrats and the voting rights activists (usually one and the same) they have a good plan worked out this time to keep the cheating to a reasonable level.

But I really don't know what their plan is.

[TahitiNut]

15. How I'll Submit My Absentee Ballot and See It Was Accepted

I vote for an "unusual" write-in candidate in a race where I'm either (1) not concerned about the outcome or (2) protesting the choice.

After the election, I'll request a tally of ALL votes for that position, including write-in candidates. If the write-in I included is tallied, I'll know my ballot was accepted.

While I cannot be certain my votes were tallied accurately, at least I'll know one was.

Does this make any sense? Is there a hole?

[Time for change]

27. That may work IF

they respond to your tally request and IF
nobody else voted for that candidate.

But even if it works, if they didn't accept your vote it will be too late to do anything about it.

[IDemo]

45. I like this idea. Guy Fawkes may get a vote from me...

[ISUGRADIA]

51. Many states do not require a tally for a write in candidate unles the

write-ins reach a certain percentage. Vote is then listed as "scattered" as in Iowa for instance.

Yours may be one of them.

[gulfcoastliberal]

16. Hmm. Here in FL I just requested an absentee ballot via the registrar site

Just had to type in my name, address, voter reg#,, and click a button that said "other" for my reason for requestng an absentee. In the polling place during the primary it was either optiscan or digifraudbox.

[Time for change]

29. I don't think that just because the application process was easy

that that necessarily means that you will get your absentee ballot or that your vote will count. I'm not saying that it won't, just that I don't see what the fact that the application process was easy has to do with the likelihood that your vote will count.

Anyhow, it may very well be that the good majority of absentee votes WILL count and that the fraud will be restricted to certain jurisdictions. OR it is possible that there won't be any absentee ballot fraud. We just don't know.

But knowing what Diebold did with their purging of Ohio registered voters in 2004 (which is probably why George Bush is pResident now), and knowing that the potential exists to do this with absentee ballots, the situation seems very worrisome.

[gulfcoastliberal]

34. Guess my main question is :are they sending m an optiscan ballot?

If so, then I should just go to the polling place and watch them feed it into the machine.

[Time for change]

39. Sorry, you lost me

I may be missing something, but I don't see how I could know that.

[kentuck]

17. i agree...

How easy would it be to forge names? And how many pieces of ID do you have to have for absentee voting?? It's secret, so how would anyone know if you voted or not if someone signs your name on an absentee ballot? The Repubs sent all their voters absentee ballots, it seems to me? This is where the Democrats will get robbed this time if we lose.

[Time for change]

31. I think that's the main point -- it's secret

The Diebold machines determine which a absentee ballots to count, and they discard the rest. Bruce O'Dell says that it is unlikely that voters whose absentee votes are not counted would ever even know.

Diebold did something similar in 2004, by deciding (electronically) that around two hundred thousand voters (or more) in Ohio were not eligible to vote, and they purged them from the voting roles. At least in that case many of the voters found out, because when 'they came to the polls to vote they were told, too bad, you're not registered. But if their absentee vote wasn't counted, who would know? Would Diebold or Blackwell notify them somehow?

[Wilms]

18. Thanks, TFC. n/t

[diva77]

19. Have observers at election hq at all times

the very least you can do is watch what's going on; shine the light

it has helped in my neck of the woods

if you act interested, the staff can be cordial and answer questions and even correct mistakes if you catch them politely

not to say that the bad stuff won't happen anyway, but the more you make your presence known and witness all aspects of elections, the better your chances of effecting change

[Time for change]

43. And we need to have an observer at each precinct to get the final count

after the polls close -- so that the counts aren't changed by the central tabulator, or if they are we'll know right away.

[bobbieinok]

21. absentee problems in IA and FL in 2004 ... + overseas + military ballots

I read on DU that many absentee ballots were mailed in FL and then 'lost in the mail.'

I heard from family and read on DU that there were rules about how the IA absentee ballots were supposed to be filled out and that these rules were publicized only after many had already sent the ballots in. I heard that if the ballot was not properly filled out it was not counted.

From many previous elections I had heard that absentee ballots were only counted if the counting of the ballots cast on election day show that the race is close. This would be illegal, I think, but I had heard for years that this was a common practice.

In addition, for many years in many states you could only vote absentee if you could prove that you could not physically show up at your precinct on election day (b/c you would be out of town or were physically disabled). These rules may have changed.

In 2004, early voting (days early) was possible in many states. I remember reading at DU that there were documented reports of many problems (I remember reading at DU about problems in TX and FL).

If there is no verifiable, reliable oversight of the vote count of absentee ballots or early ballots, how can we be sure they were accurately counted or even counted at all??

Furthermore, remember the problems with the Americans Abroad ballots. There were reports at DU of problems with applying for the ballots, with receiving them, and with verifying that they had been properly delivered.

And remember all the hoopla about the military vote?? At first it was suggested by Rumsfeld et al that all the military ballots should be sent to the DoD who would then send them to the proper city/state. Just imagine the opportunities for creative counting!!

[emmadoggy]

50. Great. I just mailed in my ballot two days ago. PHHHHTT!

I received a whole voting information sheet from Chet Culver here in Iowa which included a request form for an absentee ballot. I voted absentee in the last election, so I decided to go ahead and do it again.

My ballot came probably within a week of sending the request and I sent it in on thursday. I find it to be pretty simple - but you do have to read and follow the instructions carefully. But it's not complicated at all. Just have to make sure you write your address on the inner envelope and sign it. I have never done a straight party vote before (even though I always vote all Dem.) but I did this time.

Anyway, I just wish there was SOME way to make sure that there won't be dirty tricks or stealing of our votes. This is the foundation of our democracy and now millions of people don't trust it!!! WTF!! The whole system is FUBAR. I pray that we can somehow overwhelm the election with Dem voting next month to make it too hard and too obvious for them to steal it - and then I hope that the Dems do a major overhaul of the election system (among a million other things that need to be fixed, overhauled, and over-turned!)

:banghead:

[Judi Lynn]

23. Thanks for the helpful post, Time for change. n/t

[Justice Is Comin]

25. I got my notification to request an absentee ballot direct from the

Arizona Democratic Party.

I called their office to see if there was any possibility my ballot would not be counted by mailing it back to them as pre-addressed. Or not sending it certified. The guy said no chance, just put it in the mail.

I even made sure I was calling the Democratic Party Headquarters by getting the number from an independent source.

So I think Arizona is safe to mail absentee ballots.

[Time for change]

41. Yes, I think you're probably right

[Marnieworld]

32. Good to know but

is there a way to make sure your vote counts at all if you either vote on Diebold or have your ballot approved by Diebold?

[Time for change]

33. There is no way to know for sure

That's why there are so many election activists in our country now, who are so concerned about this. Here was my attempt to provide a more complete answer to this question, from another post on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2328220&mesg_id=2329467

[Time for change]

38. Comments on this issue from flyarm on another thread:

We lost so many votes in FL in 2004 by absentee ballots..dems were told for almost a year before 2004 election to vote absentee..and yet no one reported how many were detroyed, lost , or just not counted!

we had a SOE in Pinellas Fl...who lost boxes of Asentee ballots...in her own office under desks!!

not only were those votes not counted or certified..our soe just happened to find enough votes in our county to overturn the rest of the state's failure of the gambling inititive..by approx 7000 votes....funny how she found those votes, but lost absentee ballets in boxes {b]IN HER OWN OFFICE!!

AND GEE THEY WERE NOT FOUND IN TIME TO BE CERTIFIED!

Orlando had boxes and boxes of absentee ballots come to their SOE..soaking wet..so wet they could not be read or counted, in very African American voting district.
well it never rained that day..in fact we were under a very dry time,..

andi have said this till i am blue in the face..we had such an influx of people asking for absentee ballots..it gave the stealers of our votes an heads up of how much they had to steal the election by..a total heads up..because by registration..they knew at Soe offices how many people were dem and how many were rethug..

and i think i know this ..as i housed the Kerry field rep for the counties of Pinellas , Sarasota, and Bradenton, i worked on the absentee ballots on the Kerry computers for months in our headquarters, many times 15 hours a day...


now i see the same misatakes being made ..dems being advised to vote absentee..

well Kerry had an incredible set up of field people doing absentee ballots in Fla..
we had cell phone groups calling voters..we had rooms filled with computers and volunteers who just worked on absentee ballots...

it was an incredible set up...

HP gave us stacks of new copy machines...and people's info was documented ..and tracked...

and yet Kerry lost ..in our county..and boxes of absentee ballots were never counted..and "LOST" ..UNDER DESKS IN THE SOE OFFICE!

i was also a poll watcher for 2 primaries that year and 2 weeks of early vote , and for the general election...

dems were also told ..vote early vote...

another in "my opinion" mistake...because in early vote..the kerry voters were 8 out of 10 voters...

how do i know..well there were no rules to keep back away from voters in 2004..

Kerry paid for water, fans, buttons,t-shirts..we had people handing this stuff out to people who were in lines to vote..it was very easy to tell who was voting kerry..they were covered with the kerry stuff...and W voters would not take any of the Kerry stuff...

and i counted voters with the kerry stuff and those without..it was very visually obvious...
and i had an identification saying i was a Kerry poll watcher..and people voting for kerry kept giving me "THUMBS up"

and then on general election day..the vast majority of voters were there for W...overwhelmingly

so between early vote and absentee ..the stealers of our votes ..had a total heads up how many they had to steal the election by!

my feeling is..people take the day off election day..and vote in the general...

screw giving these crooks a heads up..

unfortuantely i will be out of state on election day..so i have to vote absentee..but if i was not out of state..i would never vote absentee again..until we get credible elections again.

[Imagevision]

40. The only hope the GOP has on 11/07/06 is to spark up the Diebold's...

seriously, too much has been documented of election fraud in Ohio -- The GOP will fo whatever is necessary to keep their power, this is what makess them smarter then the Dems, the Dems expect values & honesty to prevail?!! Sometimes one must fight fire with a flame thrower...!

[WHAT]

46. Thank You!...for saying this

so much more clearly than I could.

It is not even so much that "I" (my party) wins; rather, I trust consensus for better decisions of governance. I'm old enough to know that I'm strong in some things and weak in others...and, where I fall down, I want others to pick-up and vise-versa. Election theft is like making-up consensus, a form of propaganda, also. But, it's like a lower level way of doing things and will lead to crappy results (as already witnessed).

Anyway, I'm really worried about this and glad you brought it up.

True elections, just for the fitness, the quality of governess...

[Time for change]

48. Well said WHAT

Actually, it wasn't I who was saying these things in this post. I was just showing the opinions of some people who know a lot more about this than I do.

[BillORightsMan]

47. FUBAR Election 2006

Quite few good ideas on this thread, but the consensus for Ohio voters is:

WE'RE FUBAR:
a) Vote Absentee and pray your ballot is really counted
b) Vote on a DRE and pray your ballot is really counted

iirc, The majority of Ohio counties went with DIEBOLD DRE machines, the rest using ES&S and a few using Hart-Intercivic. The Diebold DREs are equipped with a paper trail that is hard to read and difficult to read for any possible recount. Plus they use THERMAL PAPER, just like those reciepts you get at the grocery store (to test how well these can make your vote disappear, leave one of your grocery store reciepts on your stove or dashboard). So, if you fill out a REAL PAPER absentee, it will not magically erase itself. It may be "spoiled" or hidden under a desk but YOUR VOTES will still be on it.

Let's not forget the Howard Dean Demo documented by Jim March: "...election tampering is possible with dishonest software such as the Diebold GEMS product - the central vote tabulator software in any Diebold voting system configuration (touchscreen or optical scan)."

The best suggestion so far has been by TahitiNut who suggests "I vote for an "unusual" write-in candidate in a race where I'm either (1) not concerned about the outcome or (2) protesting the choice. After the election, I'll request a tally of ALL votes for that position, including write-in candidates. If the write-in I included is tallied, I'll know my ballot was accepted." In fact, the more I think about this option, the more I like it, kind of like a checksum for your ballot. I'm voting for ME! Perhaps a school board race. Or a local judge's race. HA! Judge Bill O'Rightsman! :rofl:

I explained one scenario where using the US Mail for your absentee ballot may be a very bad idea: Massive absentee voting: a conundrum in autorank's We Count 2006 live blog. My best suggestion is to go to your county BoE, fill out the correct absentee ballot request form (or print directly from the SoS site HERE and fill out beforehand) and then get your absentee ballot. Mark your choices, follow ALL directions VERY CAREFULLY and make a photocopy of your ballot with your ID and other ID, and return the entire package to your BoE before election day.

I encourage you to sign up to be a poll worker or poll observer while at the BoE. Alternately, sign up with Election Protection at www.ep365.org. They are working in several target states, based on where problems occurred in 2004 and 2005 and the 2006 primaries. They will certainly be in Ohio, like Franklin, Cuyahoga, Mahoning counties and several others. Training, I understand, will take place in the next couple of weeks, so SIGN UP NOW! The more people that sign up, the more areas we can cover (Akron, Canton, Dayton, Toldeo, etc). If you have a video camera, even better.

One thing to watch happens at the close of voting, 7:30 PM in Ohio. The chain of custody is important. One Dem and One GOP from each precinct are SUPPOSED to BOTH deliver the precinct's ballots, memory cards, provisionals (or whatever they use to talley votes on) back to the county BoE. Make sure they go DIRECTLY to the BoE and film/detail if they vary from this. In training, EP365 will tell you to go in and introduce yourself (be friendly). Make sure you find out NAMES of who is WORKING OFFICIALLY in the precinct you are assigned, so you know who's who (precinct captain, observers, etc.) and can identify who delivers the ballots.

If you have enough people, try running a parallel election or your own exit poll. You may do this in combination, by asking every 7th voter to fill out your "poll questionairre". You will have to print these out on your own dime (DON'T use an inkjet!) or have them made up at a printer. Include ALL statewide races, since some of the "irregularities" have come from down-ticket races.

HB3 really made voting in Ohio FUBAR. We have to make lemonade out of lemons. Gather as much EVIDENCE as you can. Be vigilant. Assist voters. But be prepared to "GO MEXICO" on Election Night.

:patriot:

[Time for change]

49. Lots of good points - thank you

One thing I would add to making sure that the election judges go directly to the BoE to deliver the results.

Also, make sure that we get the final counts from each precinct before the results leave. If we fail to do that, even if the election judges deliver the material straight to the BoE, we have no certainty that the central tabulators won't change the restults. That appears to have happened in 2004 in Ohio. And then, when those of us who were trying to analyze the results tried to figure out whether or not the final precinct counts matched the counts of the central tabulators we could not ascertain what the final precinct counts were. With those counts, central tabulator fraud can be identified almost immediately after the final election results are posted, if not before.