Were 2006 Election Audits “Good News”?

If the auditors were employed by or under the control of the SOS[Secretary of the state], such factors might include the perception that “good news” should be the primary object in the audit report. (emboldening added) – Candice Hoke, Testimony to U.S. House, March 20, 2007 We have very good news to report today, because […]

[read post] | By on August 29, 2007 - CT, CT Skulduggery and Errors, Post-Election Audits

Wed 8/29 5:00 PM – Dori Smith Interview with LHS President – Don’t Miss It

Dori Smith, Producer of TalkNationRadion will air an interview with LHS President John Silvestro, Wednesday August 29th, at 5:00pm on the air and online at WUHS. She has also provided a preview and extensive background. LHS is the distributor of Diebold Premier election equipment and services to Connecticut. Once again, hats off to Dori for […]

[read post] | By on August 28, 2007 - CT, CT Skulduggery and Errors, Electronic Vulnerability, National, Skulduggery and Errors

Record Journal: New voting machines could be vulnerable

Differing levels of trust in the technology are apparent in statements from TrueVoteCT, the Secretary of The State’s Office, and a Uconn Scientist: “How do we know the card was programmed correctly in the first place?” [Dr. Michael Fischer, computer science professor at Yale University and president of True Vote Connecticut] asked. “Up until that […]

[read post] | By on August 26, 2007 - CT, Electronic Vulnerability

The Day: Elections Panel Finalizes Norwich Registrars’ Fines

Two recent articles of interest in The Day: From Friday, two Norwich Registrars were fined for election day errors in judgement. No matter how one feels about the appropriateness of the fine, it is good to see the Election Enforcement Commission demonstrating seriousness. Another from Saturday showing that a “Software error” lost record of 911 […]

[read post] | By on August 26, 2007 - CT, CT Skulduggery and Errors

Statistics Can Help Ensure Accurate Elections

The American Statistical Association’s Science and Public Affairs Advisory Committee has recommended that post election audits have at least a 90% level of confidence. Election officials need to make sure the person elected winner is the person the most voters want..Election results are most trustworthy when the entire election process can be audited, not just […]

[read post] | By on August 24, 2007 - Post-Election Audits, Reports

Bradblog: Diebold Insider Trading

All told, The BRAD BLOG has found the insider sales totaled $665,512 in the week before the value of the company’s stock price would plunge in a massive sell-off triggered by a top financial analyst who had lowered the company’s rating from “buy” to “hold.” Read the whole story, so far.

[read post] | By on August 21, 2007 - National, Skulduggery and Errors

Brennan Center: The Machinery Of Democracy

On August 1st the Brannan Center released a report Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections which has been covered on CTVotersCount.org. Today we will look at the security portion of an earlier report The Machinery Of Democracy: Accessibility, Usability, and Cost and its implications for Connecticut. The tone of the report is serious. The conclusions […]

[read post] | By on August 21, 2007 - National, Post-Election Audits, Reports

FAQ: We all trust ATM’s. Why don’t you trust voting machines?

This is a very understandable and legitimate question that must be answered. If there were significant problems with ATM’s we would know about them because banks or consumers would be losing money, it would be reported all over the news, and there would be investigations by regulators. The guilty would be punished, the losses restored, […]

[read post] | By on August 19, 2007 - Electronic Vulnerability, FAQ

A Rose By Any Other Name Could Be Just As Thorny

Diebold Election Systems, Inc. is now Premier Election Solutions, Inc. The <press release> emphasizes continuity with increased independence from the parent, Diebold. Yet, at the same time the release indicates that Election Systems has always been relatively independent. Reuters article emphasizes that Diebold had failed to sell the Election Systems unit which has been a […]

[read post] | By on August 17, 2007 - National

Dan Rather Reports – The Trouble With Our Fear Of Facing The Facts

On Tuesday night Dan Rather Reports on HDTV presented “The Trouble With Touch Screens”. It is well worth watching in its 64 minute entirety. Dan Rather deserves credit for this important and detailed report, however, there are inadequacies in the report that must be acknowledged as well – it is chilling, and devastating, yet mistitled, […]

[read post] | By on August 16, 2007 - Electronic Vulnerability, National, Skulduggery and Errors