We have been asserting for years that Diebold (now Premier Elections
Systems) makes voting machines that don’t work, are unreliable and
that have flipped elections. Just last week, Diebold was forced to
admit that software in its machines has for a decade been dropping
votes. These machines are being used in 34 states in the upcoming
election.
Two years ago, The Brad Blog broke the Pentagon Papers of E-Voting
stories about the SAIC report on the vast problems with Diebold vote
machines. In short, Diebold had issued a 40 page redacted version of
the SAIC report which whitewashed the problems. Computer cyber
security expert Stephen Spoonamore got a copy of the 197-page
unredacted report which listed hundreds of serious problems, and he
released that report to us.
Well, Spoonamore did more than that – he took the report to the
Maryland Board of Elections and confronted them with it at a public
meeting. He told them that if he were handed such a report in the
private sector, he would “shut down the system and open a fraud
investigation.” The elections officials expressed shock that they
had not ever seen the same unredacted report. And when the meeting
was over, Spoonamore, with a concealed microphone, personally
confronted the officials. And what did one of them say to him –that
him having the report was “a security risk.” Following the
confrontation, Spoonamore was contacted by law enforcement officials
who demanded to know how he got the report. We can say now that the
report came from a high official in the Executive Branch who wanted
to expose Diebold.
We have this all in an exclusive video now posted on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8EeaFyY4y4 This exclusive report was
prepared for a major news program but was killed prior to the
mid-term elections. Why was it killed, and why did we have to wait
another two years before Diebold was forced to admit that its voting
machines are unreliable?
There must be transparency in the election process and this report
underscores why these machines should be investigated from top to
bottom by independent investigators before even being considered for
use in an election. The lesson is clear – we cannot trust the vote
machine companies and we need paper ballots for all votes cast.