'Incredibly alarming': Republican poll worker in Michigan charged with tampering voting equipment
Source: Raw Story
A Michigan poll worker has been charged after a witness saw him inserting a USB drive into an electronic poll book after the Aug. 2 statewide primary, the Detroit Free Press reports.
James Holkeboer, an election inspector at the Gaines Township 8th Precinct, has been charged with falsifying records under election law and using a computer to commit a crime.
As Detroit Free Press points out, poll books contain voter registration data that includes personal and confidential information that election workers use to oversee elections at their precincts.
Holkeboer registered with the county as a Republican, according to Michigan Radio. Detroit Free Press reported that "an individual with the same name served as an alternate delegate for the 3rd Congressional District at the Michigan Republican Party's State Endorsement Convention earlier this year."
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/amp/james-holkeboer-charged-2658360472?fbclid=IwAR3U7DU_AcRc50c3vdmJJ2uP7rPOOSrbcdsyl_kwUJ6qXcpkftgrnlG9hnM
Voter fraud? Republican.
onecaliberal
(32,489 posts)Last edited Thu Sep 29, 2022, 11:26 PM - Edit history (1)
Kablooie
(18,572 posts)The proof that Democrats rig all the elections is that no Democrats have ever been indicted, they get away with it. Only Republicans are arrested. How much more proof do you need?
(Republican logic for you)
onecaliberal
(32,489 posts)The vast right wing conspiracy tried to overthrow the United States government. That is why dump lost his shit when the SS wouldnt take him to the Capitol. They were going to murder a lot of people.
SoCalDavidS
(9,998 posts)I'm sure the repub party will hire him back once he gets out of prison. Assuming he even goes there.
erronis
(14,955 posts)The perpetrator does not even need to type any commands on a console.
Unless the equipment has been locked down more than is usual, the USB device can actually start infiltrating commands into the equipment, acting like a live operator.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BadUSB
https://hackaday.com/2019/02/18/wifi-hides-inside-a-usb-cable/
reACTIONary
(5,749 posts)mahina
(17,506 posts)erronis
(14,955 posts)And many anti-virus products are made in Russia...
I'm feeling very vulnerable.
I'm religious about backups (and nothing else) but the evil-doers actually try to make backups unusable.
I'm not sure how to be 100% protected. Or even 80%.
TheRealNorth
(9,435 posts)To monitor and verify the votes in some of these rural counties.
Last edited Thu Sep 29, 2022, 08:38 PM - Edit history (1)
Detroit Free Press has a longer article:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/09/29/james-holkeboer-charged-falsifying-records-election-usb/69525987007/
Its always Republican trash.
Evolve Dammit
(16,632 posts)TheRealNorth
(9,435 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(101,158 posts)"with falsifying records under election law, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $1,000 fine, and using a computer to commit a crime, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine".
Evolve Dammit
(16,632 posts)pecosbob
(7,511 posts)Two different crimes...
bluestarone
(16,722 posts)The MSM should be SHOUTING this EVERY fn day! VOTER FRAUD by RETHUGLICONS. Show names every day!!
Roy Rolling
(6,856 posts)Democrats arent election hackers. Nevertheless, that voter data is usually available for purchase by political candidates.
I campaigned once and had a legally-purchased (expansive) list. I dont know whats in that particular Michigan poll database, but its a crime nonetheless.
Also, there should be some security features that notify authorities if the system is used to access data. It shouldnt rely on someone catching a person in-the-act inserting a USB drive.
sybylla
(8,464 posts)Election data is always public info in Wisconsin. I don't know about Michigan.
That said, Poll books are used to note who voted that day. Insertion of a usb device into an electronic poll book could have been used to change who voted or add voters so that ballot boxes/machines could be "stuffed" - meaning the ballot tally would match the voter tally in the poll book. Or it might have allowed someone who voted already to come back for a second vote after their first vote was reassigned to another registered voter who did not show - probably someone who is a registered Democrat.
This is absolutely election fraud.
JohnnyRingo
(18,581 posts)What was on the flash drive? He shouldn't be allowed to answer "nothing" or it was an "accident". Neither excuse is a valid reason. There are no valid reasons.
sybylla
(8,464 posts)I was in no way arguing against that. I was clarifying the purpose of voter rolls, whether they are on paper or are electronic.
JohnnyRingo
(18,581 posts)I knew what you meant. Just elaborating
BadgerMom
(2,766 posts)I read it and knew the perpetrator had to be Republican. What a crappy political party.
Puppyjive
(484 posts)Last edited Thu Sep 29, 2022, 08:49 PM - Edit history (1)
If I was a betting person, I was say yes. We can't go back that far.
FakeNoose
(32,356 posts)That's why we need to be ever-vigilant. We have to catch them breaking the law.
Otherwise they get bolder each election.
AverageOldGuy
(1,464 posts)Last edited Thu Sep 29, 2022, 10:26 PM - Edit history (1)
I'm a long-time member of the three-member electoral board in my Virginia county -- rural, red county.
The pollbook is the paper book, paper computer print-out, the notebook computer, or the specially configured iPad that contains registration info on all voters in your area. When a voter comes to vote, the voter states name and address and shows ID. The Officer of Election looks up the voter, reads name, address back, makes certain this is the correct person, checks the voter in the pollbook as having voted, and gives the voter a ballot.
Because a USB drive was used, I assume they are using notebook computers as their pollbooks.
We replaced our clunky notebook computers with the PollPad -- it's a nifty pollbook -- check out this link:
[link:https://knowink.com/|https://knowink.com/
]
Inserting a drive into the notebook pollbook would allow the person to make a copy of all data in the notebook -- name, address, date of birth, social security number, party registration (if the state registers by party), and possibly all or part of the voters record (not for whom they voted, that's not in the pollbook, but the record of the elections in which the voter has voted).
When we had notebook computer pollbooks, we put a tamper-proof seal over the USB ports and our tech people configured the notebook to not recognize the USB port. With our new PollPads from KnowINK, we disable the wireless and have the PollPad and its companion printer configured to recognize only each other by MAC address.
FakeNoose
(32,356 posts)Thanks for this info!
LeftInTX
(24,560 posts)So his friends can vote twice
This is the same thought I had.
Novara
(5,754 posts)If this person copied voter information onto a USB drive, then changed some of the information for reliably Democratic voters (such as in a black precinct), such as a digit on their street number or identification number, then uploaded it back and that person votes, then the information they attest to on election day - their real address and ID - doesn't match the poll book and their vote is then rendered invalid, is that correct? The voter would never know their vote was tossed and entire elections could be determined with this sort of election fraud.
See, I have a theory about the 2016 election when reports said the Russians accessed some 39 states' voter information electronically. Forensic investigations were not done, yet they said the Russians didn't do anything; they just accessed the voter rolls. Well, why the hell would you go to all the trouble to hack into a system, then back out and walk away? My theory is that they changed little things, like the spelling of a name or a street number or an ID number, so that certain voter's votes were deemed invalid. That voter would never know the vote didn't count. Remember how the experts broke down the voting after the 2016 election and some of it made absolutely no sense? Like solid blue areas suddenly voting for the orange asshole? Forensic investigations were not done so we have no idea what the Russians did when they breached systems in 39 states. They may have tossed in some changes like tossing a few tacks across a road, and just enough tires were pierced and just enough votes were deemed invalid to swing the election in PA, MI, and WI. I remember how close these states were, and it didn't make sense.
And please, people, let's call it what it is: ELECTION FRAUD. This is not voter fraud.
Lonestarblue
(9,880 posts)for president. Why take the time to vote and then fail to vote for president? Erasing a few thousand of these votes and adding a few thousand more for Stein would have easily switched the election to Trump. I have never understood why no forensic study was done of at least a sampling of records in key states.
Novara
(5,754 posts)... all the assertions that yeah, Russia hacked into voter rolls in 39 states but they didn't touch the data, and no, we didn't do a forensic investigation to actually verify that they didn't touch the data. Then how can they assert that the data wasn't compromised?? The actual election didn't need to be hacked, but insert enough landmines in the voter rolls, and votes don't count. Nobody tried to find out.
Right, in the first election where a woman was on the presidential ballot, people didn't cast a vote for president but they did for others downballot? Maybe a few people did that. I remember people saying they couldn't vote for either one. But significant numbers?
Is this surprising?
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,112 posts)NullTuples
(6,017 posts)Now, if I was the paranoid type I'd say that when the Arizona audit happened and Republicans made off essentially with the entire voting system and took it up to Montana, maybe they did so to work on exploits. And maybe this guy was part of a wave of early users of the tool they created. Good thing I'm not paranoid though, 'cause that would be exhausting.
Someone is going to do full forensics on that thumb drive...right? Like, before they do anything else with it?
AZLD4Candidate
(5,568 posts)myohmy2
(3,118 posts)...fix it...
...if people lose faith in the validity and sanctity of their elections all bets are off...
...republicans...
DownriverDem
(6,206 posts)by party. Not sure what this means.
jmowreader
(50,453 posts)During the Cyber Ninja Fiasco there were instances when Repukes would knock on peoples doors and demand to know how they voted. Having a poll book would sure make voter intimidation of that nature easier.