Florida numbers cruncher has a new volunteer project - KEEP KICKED PLEASE!

[helderheid]

From: [email protected]
Date: 12/16/04 14:26:13
To: [email protected]
Subject: New Volunteer Scientific Project for Dectection of Vote-Counting Errors


NEW VOLUNTEER SCIENTIFIC PROJECT FOR DETECTION OF VOTE COUNTING ERRORS
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In recent years the integrity and accuracy of the voting process in
America have been a continuing source of controversy.

The integrity of the election process is the cornerstone of democracy; and
open investigation of alleged vote counting irregularities is a matter of
vital civic importance.

In order to objectively investigate the accuracy of elections in America,
a group of independent mathematicians, statisticians and computer
professionals has formed a new, volunteer scientific research project: US
Count Votes. We have just Launched our new web site at
http://USCountVotes.org

We propose to create and analyze - for the first time - a single database
containing precinct-level election results for the entire United States.
This rich mine of data will be analyzed by our project's affiliated
mathematicians, computer programmers, pollsters and statisticians, as well
as by independent peer-reviewers.

Our goal is to use this data to develop and test mathematical techniques
to reliably detect precinct-level vote counting errors worthy of
investigation.

What you can do:

If you agree with us that restoring public trust in the voting process is
a worthwhile goal, consider joining our group of sustainers, who are
willing to donate $10 per month to help underwrite our expenses.

http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=40

As a newly-formed non-profit we are currently seeking 501c(3) tax-exempt
status, and will adhere to the highest standards of fiscal responsibility
- including conducting and publicly publishing the results of independent
financial audits, on a quarterly basis. Please consider helping with this
vital civic project.

Thanks to the 40 persons from many states across America who have already
contributed a total of $2,000, USCountVotes has made excellent progress
designing a public archival system and database, purchased and set up a
150 GB database server, and set up the content management system for our
web site http://uscountvotes.org Our database design will handle
redistricting and presidential to city-wide races.

We rely on volunteers in every state to gather the data we need.
USCountVotes has created an email list for each state’s volunteers. If
you are already helping investigate a particular state and would like to
connect with others who would like to investigate the same state, please
visit our state email list sign up page.

http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=70

If you can donate $10/month or any one-time amount, and you give us your
name and address, we will add your name to our public contributors page:
http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=46

http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=40

We are close to having the election document archival system up and
running, but we need support to get it done quickly. USCountVotes needs
$4,000+/month to hire a talented technical person full-time so that we can
make timely progress on the archival, database, database programming, and
statistical content management systems. If half of the people receiving
this email were to become sustaining members, that would do it. Restoring
democratic elections for your children and their children to enjoy is
worth $10/month.

What is the problem with voting in America?

More than 27,000 anecdotal reports of irregularities in the 2004 election
were submitted to the independent "Election Incident Reporting System". A
pattern of discrepancies between exit poll results and final tallies in
several key states is still regarded with suspicion by many observers. The
General Accounting Office plans to launch an investigation into the
security and accuracy of voting technologies, distribution and allocation
of voting machines, and counting of provisional ballots.

It is currently extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming to reliably
detect where errors may have occurred - and precisely where a recount
should be performed.

Concerns about potential problems with un-auditable electronic voting
machines are widespread in the computer science community. In a recent
survey of US members of the ACM – the world's oldest and largest computer
society - 95% of respondents opposed deployment of un-auditable voting
machines.

What do we propose to do about it?

Our goal is to develop reliable mathematical indicators of all probable
vote count error incidents, regardless of the parties involved. We will
publish our data and analyses, and will provide public archives to allow
anyone to perform and replicate our work.

We encourage robust scientific debate and criticism, and some of our early
critics have since agreed to participate in our peer review process.

If the analyses of the 2004 election can be completed and the database and
analytic tools can be put in place by the national election in November
2006, for the first time ever, it could be possible for candidates to be
reliably warned of indications of machine or human-caused vote count
errors, in time to challenge the results.

With a sound scientific approach and methodology, it may be possible for
our project staff to serve as expert witnesses, or to help develop
statistical evidence in support of legal filings.

Please visit http://www.uscountvotes.org for additional information, and
consider contributing to our project.

http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=40

Whether you can donate or not, you can help:

Sign up now on any state’s individual email list to begin collaborating w/
other people who are working to gather election data or investigate the
elections in any state.

http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=70

Please ask your friends to join us [email protected]

Thank you very much. With your help, we will win our battle to restore
the public faith in democratic elections by 2006.

Sincerely,

Kathy Dopp, Park City, UT, President, USCountVotes
Bruce O’Dell, Minneapolis, MN, VP, USCountVotes
Jim Druffner, Park City, UT, Treasurer, USCountVotes

Read more about the founders of USCountVotes on http://uscountvotes.org in
the "About Us" section.

"The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all
other rights are protected. To take away that right is to reduce man to
slavery." – Thomas Paine