(Fla) Secretary of state tries to calm voters

[Mika]

Secretary of state tries to calm voters
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8779323.htm

But Hood acknowledged her office is investigating a voting machine glitch in Miami-Dade County, which she said was not properly reported to the state.

A spokesman for Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Constance Kaplan noted it was the county that detected the problem and said that Kaplan had sought to balance the need to report potential problems against unnecessarily alarming the public.

-

''I have absolutely no authority over the running of elections in this state,'' said Hood, a former Orlando mayor who was appointed to the job by Gov. Jeb Bush. She said the department's responsibilities include certifying voting equipment, ensuring that supervisors follow state law and verifying election results.

The new machines have come under scrutiny for the lack of a paper trail, but Hood defended the touch-screen machines and likened some of the criticism -- that the machines could be tampered with -- to conspiracy theories.

Gotta just love the accuracy and honesty of Jeb's appointees....

''The touch-screen machines are not computers,'' she said. ``You'd have to go machine by machine, all over the state.''

:crazy:


Feeling confident?

[hayu_lol]

1. Even worse...

On Buzzflash this morning: Jeb Bush Finds Another Way To Steal Florida Vote(absentee ballot law change)

[UpInArms]

2. this woman is absolutely incredible!

Hood, grilled by league members with serious reservations about the county's voting equipment, repeatedly sought to distance her office from election operations.

and her title one more time is: Secretary of State and one of her duties is to "certify" voting machines.

http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/PubInf/News_Room/02-04/02-10-04_screens.htm

On February 3rd, the Board of County Commissioners voted to pay for ballot printers compatible with the present electronic voting equipment if the Florida Secretary of State certifies the additional equipment. Our County’s Supervisor of Elections now has 5,400 machines and the printers are projected to cost approximately $3.2 million. The funds could come from federal election aid approved for Florida.

[mom cat]

12. hey don't want a paper trail.

[Bushfire]

3. More info in this article posted yesterday in LBN

Law.com
New Questions Arise About Touch-Screen Voting Machines

Thursday May 27, 3:02 am ET
Matthew Haggman, Miami Daily Business Review

For the second time in two weeks, an internal memo from a Miami-Dade County election official in Florida has exposed a new round of auditing flaws that have plagued the iVotronic touch-screen voting machines used in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The memo also indicates that the problem had been brought to the attention of Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Constance A. Kaplan two months earlier than she had said she first had learned of it. Its disclosure has prompted charges that Kaplan violated state open records laws by failing to disclose the memo sooner.

snip

Previously, opponents of a paper backup system -- including Gov. Jeb Bush and Hood -- have argued that a paper trail is unnecessary because of the presence of the audit logs. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn in West Palm Beach dismissed (U.S. Rep. Robert) Wexler's (D-Fla) lawsuit demanding installation of a paper backup system on the grounds that Wexler also has a state suit pending on the issue.

But the latest memo could increase pressure on state and county officials to address the growing criticisms of the electronic voting systems as the November presidential election approaches.

much more...

http://biz.yahoo.com/law/040527/1565be517d523bd66706bfaed4394357_1.html

[UpInArms]

4. great example of the circular logic

Previously, opponents of a paper backup system -- including Gov. Jeb Bush and Hood -- have argued that a paper trail is unnecessary because of the presence of the audit logs. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn in West Palm Beach dismissed (U.S. Rep. Robert) Wexler's (D-Fla) lawsuit demanding installation of a paper backup system on the grounds that Wexler also has a state suit pending on the issue.

and since the "audit" part of the machine doesn't work correctly, there's no one "responsible" for the machinery!

No paper trail needed, no audit trail working, no problem!

[AP]

6. Here's yesterday's four-post thread on this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=586582

(notice the change in the quote)

[AP]

5. The Miami Herald changed her quote. In yesterday's Yahoo article, she

said "neccessarily alarming the public."

The meaning is very different. In the original version, she was saying that there was something serious that the public should worry about, but she didn't want them to know about it.

Hmmm. Wonder who got it wrong. My money is on the Miami Herald reading the post on this in LBN yesterday pointing out the quote, and correcting it to protect this woman and the electronic voting machines.

[ParanoidPat]

7. Those statements may be grounds to seek her removal from office.....

.....From the page titled Secretary of State, Description on the Florida SoS web site, "The Secretary of State is head of the Department of State and is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the State's Chief Election Officer and is second in line to succession to the Office of the Governor.

This woman is either totally inept or lying her ass off. Either way the people of Florida should mount a legal challenge to have her removed from office citing her own words and all of the evidence to the contrary. :crazy:

Anyone who wishes to contact her and 'correct' her misinterpretations of her job and the equipment that is used to conduct elections in Florida may do so at the following. :evilgrin:

FLORIDA

Secretary of State - Glenda E. Hood
Florida Department of State
R. A. Gray Building
500 S. Bronough
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250

Phone: [phone]

Division of Elections, Director's Office
The Collins Building, Room 100
107 West Gains Street
Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-0250

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Toll Free: 1 866 308 6739
TDD: 1 800 955 8771
Voter Fraud Hotline, Toll Free 1 877 868 3737
E-Mail: [email protected]
Contact: http://election.dos.state.fl.us/contactus/emailForm.shtml

Department of State, Division of Elections
Bureau of Voting Systems Certification
Room 231, The Collins Building
107 W. Gaines Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [email protected]

Bureau of Election Records
Room 316, R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-0250

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [email protected]

Elections Division Home
County Elections Supervisors
State Election Code
Voter Registration Information
Absentee Voting Information
Voting Equipment Page
Election Results Page (Historical)

:kick:

[Bandit]

8. If you believe machines could be tampered with then I bet you believe

in UFOs and Elvis still alive and Easter Bunny. Machines are infallible. Everyone knows that. Our Chosen one stated that fact in 2000 when he said only machines can be trusted as they are objective where as people can not be trusted as they are subjective After running on the theme of "I Trust the People" So that should settle that argument. Machines are infallible.

[aquart]

9. And Windows never crashes.

[ParanoidPat]

10. The 'blue screen of death' is proof that the system works!

:evilgrin::kick:

...and Bill Gates has no authority over the Windows operating system!;-)

[gratuitous]

11. Please do NOT be alarmed

The vote of the people of Florida will indeed count this election cycle. In fact, the Secretary of State is even now certifying the count, a full five months before any ballots are cast. How's that for government efficiency?