Hacking Away at Voters' Rights
"It's not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes." -- Joseph Stalin
The Brad Blog covered a great story yesterday: Florida's Ion Sancho, Election Supervisor of Leon County, is suing Diebold. It seems that after Sancho had Diebold optical scanning voting machines (the ones that were the source of so much speculation when traditionally Democratic/Independent voters turned out in droves for Bush in the 2004 election) tested for their 'hackability,' the results were impressive. It was found "that election results could be completely flipped on Diebold's optical-scan system without a trace of the hack being left behind." Wow.
Since that discovery, Sancho has diligently done his best to ensure the Diebold machines are either fixed or replaced. But he's not having much luck. After giving Diebold the required 30-day notice to report back regarding their progress in repairing the machine (the deadline is March 21) Sancho attempted to find a replacement vendor. He worked out deals with the only two other companies that provide voting equipment: ES&S and Sequoia Voting Systems. Both companies promised to deliver voting machines to Sancho and both, at the last minute, backed out of their agreements. What's more, with Diebold failing to fix their problems, Sancho is in a very awkward position: if he fails to provide his county with a voting machine contract, he can be fired. Apparently, this is exactly what Diebold (one of Bush's largest corporate supporters) wants.
In fact, the Brad Blog is reporting that on February 28 there was a secret meeting during which Diebold's General Counsel actually stated that Diebold would not sell its machines to Leon County unless Ion Sancho is removed from office first. Unfortunately, that's just what might happen. With all three voting machine vendors refusing to do business with Sancho, Sancho's May 1 deadline for signing a voting machine deal that will provide a disabled-accessible system may come and go without a deal--in which case Florida law will allow Sancho to be suspended by the Governor (Jeb Bush) or even fired, if the state Senate so wishes.
So Sancho is fighting back. He is suing Diebold. It will be interesting to see what happens. Here in California, our own Secretary of State, Bruce McPherson, confirmed the findings of Sancho's Diebold hack test--yet he still recertified Diebold in the state. That might be worth looking into.
As for Sancho, he does have at least one vocal supporter, a member of the team that took part in the hack test analysis. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, this particular supporter (who has apparently chosen to remain anonymous) sent a letter in support of Sancho. It reads, in part:
I think very highly of your contributions, and I am puzzled why others fail to recognize just how much you have done for the voters of Florida. I find it unconscionable what some of the vendors seem to be doing to make life difficult for a supervisor of elections who would put the public interest first and foremost.
Indeed.
The Brad Blog covered a great story yesterday: Florida's Ion Sancho, Election Supervisor of Leon County, is suing Diebold. It seems that after Sancho had Diebold optical scanning voting machines (the ones that were the source of so much speculation when traditionally Democratic/Independent voters turned out in droves for Bush in the 2004 election) tested for their 'hackability,' the results were impressive. It was found "that election results could be completely flipped on Diebold's optical-scan system without a trace of the hack being left behind." Wow.
Since that discovery, Sancho has diligently done his best to ensure the Diebold machines are either fixed or replaced. But he's not having much luck. After giving Diebold the required 30-day notice to report back regarding their progress in repairing the machine (the deadline is March 21) Sancho attempted to find a replacement vendor. He worked out deals with the only two other companies that provide voting equipment: ES&S and Sequoia Voting Systems. Both companies promised to deliver voting machines to Sancho and both, at the last minute, backed out of their agreements. What's more, with Diebold failing to fix their problems, Sancho is in a very awkward position: if he fails to provide his county with a voting machine contract, he can be fired. Apparently, this is exactly what Diebold (one of Bush's largest corporate supporters) wants.
In fact, the Brad Blog is reporting that on February 28 there was a secret meeting during which Diebold's General Counsel actually stated that Diebold would not sell its machines to Leon County unless Ion Sancho is removed from office first. Unfortunately, that's just what might happen. With all three voting machine vendors refusing to do business with Sancho, Sancho's May 1 deadline for signing a voting machine deal that will provide a disabled-accessible system may come and go without a deal--in which case Florida law will allow Sancho to be suspended by the Governor (Jeb Bush) or even fired, if the state Senate so wishes.
So Sancho is fighting back. He is suing Diebold. It will be interesting to see what happens. Here in California, our own Secretary of State, Bruce McPherson, confirmed the findings of Sancho's Diebold hack test--yet he still recertified Diebold in the state. That might be worth looking into.
As for Sancho, he does have at least one vocal supporter, a member of the team that took part in the hack test analysis. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, this particular supporter (who has apparently chosen to remain anonymous) sent a letter in support of Sancho. It reads, in part:
I think very highly of your contributions, and I am puzzled why others fail to recognize just how much you have done for the voters of Florida. I find it unconscionable what some of the vendors seem to be doing to make life difficult for a supervisor of elections who would put the public interest first and foremost.
Indeed.
posted by LA Fosner at 4:54 PM
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