more on Election Day Offer

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jonathan Goldstein <JGoldstein () urbantechgroup com>
Date: August 29, 2004 12:32:59 AM EDT
To: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>, dave () farber net
Subject: Re: Election Day Offer





Lauren,

The voters rolls are a mess and they're a mess everywhere.  It hurts
different parties in different states.  Since 2002, people who have been
erroneously purged from state voter rolls can rely on HAVA (the federal
Help America Vote Act of 2002, http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm).  HAVA 
has
elements such as provisional ballots which allow people to cast votes 
when
they think they are registered to vote but can't prove it at a polling
place where their name has been purged from the voter rolls.  HAVA also
contains some provisions (though they are unclear) offering guidance to
states about how to evaluate and count ballots so cast.

If you think erroneous purging of voter rolls is a big issue, however, 
you
should come to Philadelphia on Election Day and see what happens when
voters are not properly purged.  We know that votes are cast by people 
who
are registered to vacant lots, commercial buildings and abandoned 
houses.
We know that prominent, well known suburban business people with City of
Philadelphia business contracts vote in neighborhoods where they haven't
lived for 10 years.  We have 2 story, 3 bedroom row houses with 10 or 15
people registered to vote.   Few, if any, are questioned.  None are
prosecuted.

You may also consider going through the boxes upon boxes of first hand
witness accounts we have from ordinary citizens reporting systematic 
fraud
that they witnessed with their own eyes.  You should come see 100-ish
polling places that are in handicapped inaccessible buildings, abandoned
buildings and personal residences, including the personal residences of
people who are involved in local partisan politics.

You should come talk to the poll watchers who hold government issued
certificates permitting them to monitor Election Day activities in the
polling place, who are intimidated out of polling places by threats of
violence.    You should come talk to those same poll watchers who have
found dozens of votes already cast on some voting machines when a 
polling
place opens first thing in the morning.  You should talk to the 
University
of Pennsylvania physician who was punched in the face by an elected
Democratic ward leader for posting a sign for a Republican politician
outside a polling place on the University of Pennsylvania's campus.  You
should talk to the countless election workers who have been 
systematically
intimidated by roving bands of organized, well-directed union thugs 
(many
of whom don't live in Philadelphia but who benefit from city contracts).

Finally, you might also want to come see the reports we have from last
Election Day, several from attorneys who were registered Democrats 
working
for our Republican mayoral candidate, of election officials ignoring 
court
orders to stop committing fraud.

If you want to see real on-the-ground problems my offer still stands to 
you
or anyone else on the IP list.

--
Jonathan Goldstein
c: 215-266-5948



             Lauren Weinstein
             <lauren () vortex co
             m>                                                         
To
                                       JGoldstein () urbantechgroup com
             08/28/2004 09:53                                           
cc
             PM                        dave () farber net, 
lauren () vortex com
                                                                   
Subject
                                       Re: Election Day Offer
              Please respond









Jonathan,

For technologists to concentrate on the failures in electronic voting,
particularly relating to a lack of useful paper records for recounts,
is not to suggest that there aren't many other failures in the
election process that may fall outside of our area of expertise.

For example, I agree with you 100% about mishandling of voting rolls.
It was such mishandling (incorrectly dropping legit voters from the
voting lists), sanctioned by the State of Florida, that may well have
resulted in the outcome of the 2000 Presidential Election, G.W.
Bush's Iraq war, and all of its attendant death, destruction, and
injuries.

So yes, a lot does matter beyond electronic voting.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () privacyforum org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - 
http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
                     Cooperation and Analysis - http://www.uriica.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy



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