10/27/2008
Widespread Touchscreen Vote Flipping Observed
This is frightening news, via DailyKOS:
"ES&S iVotronics touch screens have already been observed now in four completely separate States, flipping the votes, in the early voting that has taken place to date. Eye-witness reports of repeated, consistent flipping of votes (from Obama to McCain naturally) has already occurred in the States of: West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas that have had early voting. Missouri, of course, is a key background State in McCain's electoral vote math.
These are not "glitches".
This is also not the result of just "one faulty machine".
How about some straight-talk:
Fact: This is not a 'glitch"'.
Fact: This is not a one machine problem.
Fact: This is not a one State problem.
Fact: This is not a one Election problem.
Fact: This is neither a 'theory', nor speculation. It's real.
Fact: The Democratic candidate is getting their (would be) votes systematically stolen."
The Daily Beast posted a story yesterday about Obama's massive legal operation. I hope they are on top of this.
WIDESPREAD TOUCH SCREEN VOTE FLIPPING!! [daily kos]
Posted 8:49 AM EST by Andy Towle in Election 2008, News | Permalink
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Why is it that only HERE do we hear about these issues? I have yet to hear any related story on any of the other media or in print. Why is this matter being ignored?
This is categorically voter fraud. What measures are being made to investigate NOW?
They proved in 2004 that the electronic machines could not be trusted; that the manufacturer could not guarantee that the OS would be secure. And how hard is it to give a voter a printed receipt?
This sickens me.
Posted by: Rad | Oct 27, 2008 9:02:31 AM
I sickens me also. But for another reason. Do you remember when the DNC decided that Florida's Primary would not count. The reason they did this was because we had experienced the stolen elections several times on these e-votronic machines. We had had enough and put legislation forward demanding a paper trail of all votes recorded. It was that very legislation that had a new primary date attached to it. We decided that it was too important that we have fair and accurate elections so we passed the "paper trail" bill with a new primary date. Thats when the DNC disenfranchised our state. Thats when they said that our votes would not count. Thats when I re-registered as an Independent. Why did the DNC punish our state for wanting a record of ALL votes cast. This has been an issue since 2000. We have been trying to warn the country and we did something about it and look what we got in exchange.
Posted by: glennmcgahee | Oct 27, 2008 9:19:52 AM
before everybody goes sounding off and cursing out the evil rebublican plot to steal votes, can we ask and answer a simple question? we have to be bright enough NOT to make ourselves look as foolish as the repugs did with their reporting of the mutilation of the mccain volunteer by the big black boogeyman suporting obama.
the scientific inquiry is this; can this effect be duplicated?. can one or more of these "malfunctioning" machines be located? or are we only dealing with unfounded allegations or anecdotal reportage?
it is not rational or wise to raise public indignation over what is not verifiable data. by all means and any means track down such incidents... and then PROVE them. then we raise hell.
PLEASE... lest we look like fools.
Posted by: jack | Oct 27, 2008 9:30:14 AM
Don't be silly, Republicans would never steal an election:
http://www.votersuppression.net/?t=anon
http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/conason/2004/10/29/injustice/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/opinion/05sun2.html?partner=rssnyt
Posted by: noah | Oct 27, 2008 9:32:42 AM
Over 200,000 voter fraud applications by Obama run ACORN
Posted by: Voter Fraud! | Oct 27, 2008 9:41:46 AM
let me be totally clear, i am a bleeding heart kucinich liberal, and i live in the heart of good ol boy florida. i know what happened here, and i know what happened in ohio, both tates in which the secstate was also the state republican campaign chairperson.
i just don't want to impugn the accusations or legal cases by going off half cocked or plain looking silly.
verify your facts before going viral. that's all i am saying.
Posted by: jack | Oct 27, 2008 9:44:07 AM
sorry friend, we could debate obama's participation in acorn, and whether it is the swindler or the swindlee, but your statement is wrong on its face. voter REGISTRATION fraud does not VOTER fraud make.
registration by its nature is looser, the real check is at the poll. my voter registration card didn't mean diddly until i verified my name and my residency with outside proof.
get you smears straight at least.. oh wait, why should you, fox news doesn't bother.
*sigh*
Posted by: jack | Oct 27, 2008 9:50:29 AM
RAD
CNN reported on it over the weekend, but they played it off as more of voter accident as in the voter's finger wasn't hitting the screen right (this from a repub they interviewed)
So, reported in MSM but very slanted in favor of the repubs
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Oct 27, 2008 10:12:03 AM
Just another reason why i'm skipping the election this year. I don't like either candidate. Neither is for gay marriage and neither one wants to cut government spending or has a clue what to do with the economy.
Posted by: Matt | Oct 27, 2008 10:36:01 AM
@Matt
You're going to wait forever if you're going to wait for a candidate that you agree with on everything. The fact is that I don't agree with Obama on FISA, or gay marriage, but he will be much better to handle the economy than McCain/Palin, and better for the country, and world, in every way imaginable, and thus be better for gays.
You remind me of the undecided voters Sedaris addresses here:
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/10/27/081027sh_shouts_sedaris
Only instead of asking how the chicken is cooked when offered the choice of chicken or shit with broken glass, your not going to accept a parachute as the plane is going down because your afraid of heights.
Quit being a big baby because you aren't going to get everything your way, right now, and be an adult that knows how to pick the better of two alternatives.
Fuck.
Posted by: Mike | Oct 27, 2008 10:59:37 AM
Mike, you are wasting your time, the dimwits who don't get the importance of this election will never get it and will be the rist ones sceeching when Mcain/Palin with all the hate they have for the glbt citizens keep the tide of laws to make it illegal to have a gay thought are enacted by right wing judges.
As far as the crooked election officials, of course they are going to rig this election, again. I heard about it last week with some elderly guy in West Virginia who said he kept pressing the button for the Democratic and the machine kept telling him he was voting for the Repugnant's. 2000 all over again, but, I think the GOP is going to find out this time that the public isn't going to take it like they did then.
Posted by: Sebastian | Oct 27, 2008 11:10:54 AM
glennmcgahee, you have your history wrong. The reason why Florida was "punished" was very simple; the primary board (local Democrat committee) broke the primary rules by holding their primary vote early. They were forbidden to hold theirs as one of the first, but they did it anyway to gain some attention. The DNC punished them and Illinois for the exact same reason and both candidates agreed at the time that it was a just punishment.
Posted by: what | Oct 27, 2008 11:13:37 AM
Since 2000 it should have been a national high priority to standardize and ensure that every vote is counted - including audit trails for recounts, etc ...
Voting - another failed American ideal.
Posted by: chapeau | Oct 27, 2008 11:21:03 AM
Since the election is not going their way, I'm sure the Republicans will be aiming to cheat however possible. I hope someone gets to the bottom of this, but I also hope a clear cut Democratic victory will most effectively settle the matter.
What: Thanks for offering that correct correction.
Matt: Anyone who doesn't bother to vote has no right to complain about anything in this country, ever.
Posted by: Ernie | Oct 27, 2008 11:26:34 AM
You are right Mike. I'm going with something different. A 3rd party candidate perhaps.
Posted by: Matt | Oct 27, 2008 11:29:12 AM
i'm with JACK on this. i do not doubt that the repugs will do and have done whatever it takes to win (the "shrub" is proof positive), but i need to know more about this before i get outraged.
what is outrageous, however, is that the usa is the only democratic country that does not have secure, verifiable elections. according to the author of "loser takes all", our votes are less secure now than in 2000. voting machines are more subject today to repug shenanigans than ever before. it is a crying shame that citizens cannot be confident that their votes will be counted correctly if at all.
we need to vote democratic because, goodness knows, the dems have nothing to gain from voter suppression or fraud. once they are in power, i am hopeful that they will take measures to fix this obscenity.
on a different topic, why is it taking so long to load ANDY's blog?
Posted by: nic | Oct 27, 2008 11:37:45 AM
@Matt, if you are voting Nader or some other 3rd party you might as well not even bother voting.
Posted by: FernLaPlante | Oct 27, 2008 12:10:16 PM
Your post reads votes are switching from McCain to Obama. The report states people are witnessing votes switch from Democratic to Republican. Please clarify your post!
Posted by: Victor | Oct 27, 2008 12:29:57 PM
Disregard last comment... I was intending to post it in another blog with the noted mistake. Sorry.
Posted by: Victor | Oct 27, 2008 12:31:22 PM
Sign - DailyKos once again blows something out of proportion. These machines aren't "flipping" votes. The fact in these machines are poorly designed and the touchscreens are sensitive. Its very easy to choose a wrong candidate especially if you are elderly.
I can think of a dozen different ways to steal an election via changing the firmware of these devices - physically showing the user the vote flipping is not one of them.
Also - both Democrats and Republicans are playing dirty tricks in this campaign - and every election going back to Adams/Jefferson has issues with elections. To pretend that it was magically invented in 2000 is to be completely ignorant of history.
Posted by: yoshi | Oct 27, 2008 12:44:37 PM
Can't be a totally accurate story. Missouri does NOT have early voting; only voting for absentee voters.
Posted by: Jim | Oct 27, 2008 1:21:47 PM
Here's an idea:
Anyone who has a cell phone that can record video should have it ready to record any instances of vote-flipping. If this is actually occurring, then evidence is paramount.
Without evidence, nothing will happen.
Posted by: PatrickPatrick | Oct 27, 2008 2:22:53 PM