Election Justice News
The fight for democracy in America continues...
Friends of Democracy,
There's so much going on relating to election issues, it's hard to figure out where to start. At the top of the news is Diebold, the infamous company that counts more votes in our country than any other company; the same company with known felons on their staff and direct ties to the Republican Party. Things are not looking too good for Diebold lately. In the last week, the President of Diebold resigned amidst an evolving scandal relating to securities fraud. The CA Secretary of State decided not to recertify their voting machines. Leon County Florida has decertified the Diebold machines due to lack of security. A wonderful new book by NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller exposes what really happened in the last election (and what will happen again if we don't stop them). And a new documentary film was released on the same subject. WOW! But the news is not all good. In Ohio, the "powers to be" are ignoring the pleas of the public and instituting efforts to put more Diebold machines in place, even as the scandal unravels. If Robin were here, he'd surely say, "HOLY DEMOCRACY, BATMAN!"
The Election Justice Center would like to recognize Brad Friedman for his unparalleled investigative reporting on this subject. You will notice that many of our news stories come from Brad's reports. Please visit Brad's website http://bradblog.com as another way to stay informed on the fight for democracy.
Please stay informed. Please get involved. Please help spread the word. Your democracy needs you!
IMPORTANT Recent Headlines................................
Diebold CEO resigns
Amidst several emerging scandals including lawsuits and investigations, the controversial head of Diebold, Walden O'Dell has resigned. O'Dell gained notoriety in 2004 when he wrote in a fundraising letter that he would help get Bush re-elected. The statement was controversial because his company makes the voting machines.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175001748
Diebold faces stockholder suit
Lawsuit alleges insider trading
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-13-2005/0004233556&EDATE=
Electronic Frontier Foundation suing Diebold for evading transparency law in NC
Diebold is facing a lawsuit regarding a transparency law in North Carolina. A court was requiring Diebold to open the source code for their voting machines so that it could be reviewed by experts. The law applied to all similar companies that supply software to the state. Diebold then attempted to go around the ruling and get their voting machines approved through the legislature. The lawsuit alleges they illegally evaded the court ruling.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/1118-04.htm
http://techdirt.com/articles/20051118/1648200_F.shtml
New documentary film on 2004 election released
The long awaited film "Electile Dysfunction" has been released and is available in the Solar Bus store. This excellent film covers many of the problems with electronic voting, with a focus on what happened in the 2004 election. This documentary mixes a unique blend of humor, music, satire, and hard facts that will keep the viewer engaged and interested in this extremely important subject. Featured in Electile Dysfunction are: Greg Palast, Danny Schechter, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Victor Navasky, Jim Hightower, William Rivers Pitt, David Dill, the US Congressional Representative John Conyers and his Team, prominent computer scientists, celebrities, journalists, civil rights organizations, voting rights watchdogs, international poll watchers, election officials and everyday voters.
http://www.solarbus.org/store/election.shtml#ed
Free CD-ROM exposes problems with US Election systems, now updated!
The Election Justice Center has produced a free CD-ROM that contains over 2 hours of videos and hundreds of pages of documents relating to the stolen election of 2004 and the need for election reform. If you don't have a copy, you must get one. They're free! If you already have a copy, you need to get a newly updated version, which now includes a 40 minute interview with Mark Crispin Miller, who authored the new book "Fooled Again," exposing how the Republicans stole the '04 election. Download or request a free copy by mail:
http://solarbus.org/election/cd
Diebold machines fail all 10 security tests in CA; Sec. of State refuses to certify
In a startling game of push and pull with Diebold in California, the Secretary of State has refused to recertify the machines. He has asked that Diebold open their source code for inspection.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/12/20/state/n174200S20.DTL
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002183.htm
Leon County FL bans Diebold machines because of security problems
In another setback for Diebold, a courageous election official in Leon County, Florida has decided to decertify their machines. After performing security tests on the machines, Leon County supervisor of elections Ion Sancho told Black Box Voting that he will 'never use Diebold in an election again.' Kudos to Black Box Voting (http://blackboxvoting.org) for demonstrating to Mr. Sancho that the systems are hackable and insecure.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002156.htm
http://www.wesh.com/news/5542983/detail.html
Fraudbuster Bob Fitrakis Announces Bid for Ohio Governorship
Well-known Columbus attorney, author, and radio host Dr. Bob Fitrakis announced his bid to be the next Governor of the State of Ohio. Fitrakis has written several books and numerous newspaper columns on the irregularities and outright fraud that were rife during the last few elections in Ohio. Winner of many community and journalism awards, he has been endorsed by the Green Party of Ohio and will be seeking the party's nomination as candidate for Governor next spring. "The goal of my campaign will be to win the Governor's mansion back for the People of Ohio," said Fitrakis. "Both the Republican and Democratic parties have brought dishonor to our great state with their cronyism and insider dealing. We need to clean house and end this culture of corruption." The Solar Bus Election Justice Center would like to emphatically endorse Bob Fitrakis' run for Ohio Governor.
http://www.bobforohio.com/press/2005/nov/pr2005-11-29.php
Law Firm announces investigation into Diebold security fraud
It's hard to keep up with all the investigations and lawsuits against Diebold lately. This one is in regards to violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, in which the company 'negligently failed to disclose material facts to the Plan and the Plan participants,' and 'negligently permitted the Plan to purchase and hold Diebold stock when it was imprudent to do so.'
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/prn/texas/3537479.html
New book by NYU professor examines fraud in 2004 election
Mark Crispin Miller, NY Professor and renowned author, has written a very thorough book on the facts surrounding the stolen election of 2004. He methodically covers every tactic used, including the electronic voting machines fraud, scare tactics at the polls, and illegal campaign tactics used in Ohio, Florida, and other states. As the title states, they will do it again unless we do something about it. This book is a MUST READ for anyone who cares about our democracy and it makes a great gift!
http://solarbus.org/store/election.shtml#fooledagain
"Election Justice Kits" now available
The Election Justice Center has put together 3 kits that include books, videos, stickers and other materials relating to election issues. The kits are designed for different levels of interest and provide significant savings over purchasing the items individually.
http://www.solarbus.org/store/election.shtml#kits
The Dirty Little Secrets of Voting System Testing Labs
One of the foremost experts on computerized voting security is Dr. Avi Ruben. He is Professor of Computer Science and Technical Director of the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He is one of the outspoken critics of the current systems in use today, mainly because of their lack of security. In this article he examines the "testing" (or lack thereof) that is performed on the systems currently.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avi-rubin/the-dirty-little-secrets-_b_12354.html
Bi-Partisan Co-Sponsors of Election Reform Bill Cite GAO Report on E-Voting Security in Letter to House Colleagues
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002037.htm
Election Day 'Meltdown' Reported in Lucas County, OH
Investigative Reporter Brad Friedman reports on the myraid of things that went wrong on election day '05 in Lucas County OH.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002049.htm
Election Reform Activists Locked Out of California SoS Summit on Electronic Voting
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002104.htm
Thanks for tuning in to Election Justice News. Please spread the word by forwarding this newsletter to your friends and relatives. The "media" is not reporting on this subject, although it is perhaps the most important subject of our time. So we must "be the media." Please do your part and pass this on.
Peaceout,
Gary Beckwith
Driver of Solar Bus
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