Liberty Bell Still Ringing
Pennsylvania can yet again rise to defend the democratic ideals of the founders of the USA.
(PRWEB) June 17, 2005 -- Concerned voting citizens have petitioned the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to re-examine the Danaher voting system which was
associated with election failures in Berks and other counties in the May 2005
primary election.
Hundreds of people in multiple precincts had their
votes discarded, and a number of races remain undecided. The vendors will blame
the locals, but good systems are usable without such problems. Computer
scientists are adamant about the security issues, and banks and merchants would
never use a computer system so grossly inadequate that no paper records could be
produced for transaction confirmation.
The system in use was incapable of
producing the basic essential of a voter-verified paper ballot. Not only is
there no way to prove that the votes 'counted' were accurate, there is no
possibility for any form of independent audit or recount. The components will be
faulty, the firmware/software flawed, the failure rates astronomical, the
'results' entirely unreliable, and there's no way to know, because these cheat
machines are manufactured, programmed, tested, and operated in total secrecy by
nonlocal parties not known and not sworn to guard elections, irresponsibly
outsourcing critical public work. The vendors are not even bonded or insured,
and use of their products has caused millions of dollars of taxpayer
losses.
Electronic systems are not invulnerable. They require
recordkeeping independent of the circuitry and software. They are not required
by HAVA 2002 (Help America Vote Act). They are not required for the optimal
accommodation of disabled voters. They fail due to poor design, electromagnetic
anomalies, and poor management.
They are horrifically more expensive to
buy and maintain.
They don't work.
Other groups from other
counties had previously requested a similar re-examination of the defective
UniLect Patriot DRE system. It was found to have caused undervote rates to soar
to rates many times higher than the national norms. The state protected the
rights of the voters in Pennsylvania by decertifying the UniLect. Other problems
can be even more significant than undervotes, and the voters’ rights to polling
accuracy require protection from all such flaws.
Danaher systems provide
for no auditability. They allow no recounts. Danaher systems have frozen up.
Danaher systems have produced fake votes: the only county in Ohio using the
Danaher system was Franklin, in which a precinct with 638 voters produced 4,258
votes for one candidate in the 2004 general election. Danaher systems have
discarded votes to an astonishing extent in New Mexico. Entire nations produce
valid vote counts with hand-counted paper ballots in only a few hours. While
rapid tabulation is advantageous, official counts should only be based on direct
counts and recounts.
Pennsylvania has a rich tradition of hosting the
efforts of our great nation’s founders, and today it is a critical force in the
preservation of their ideal of representation in government.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb251958.htm