Maryland's Republican Governor Issues Devastating Blow to Diebold!

[BradBlog]

Maryland's Republican Governor Issues Devastating Blow to Diebold!
Calls for Paper Ballots, Decries Lack of Security, 1000% Increase in Maintenance Cost for Diebold Voting System!
In Letter to Election Board, Guv of Diebold's Model State Declares He 'No Longer Has Confidence in Their Ability to Conduct Fair and Accurate Elections'


Maryland was the "model state" for Diebold. It was amongst the first to roll out a near state-wide adoption of the new paperless Diebold DRE (touch-screen) voting machines after the 2000 election.

Diebold plowed millions into advertising campaigns across the state in order to declare the dawn of their new electronic voting age. "It's Here!" screamed billboards on buses, billboards, mall kiosks and television commercials -- "Maryland's Better Way to Vote".

Diebold's dream has become a nightmare for the once-great company.

As of yesterday, and a letter from the Governor of the state obtained by The BRAD BLOG, indications are that the dream may soon be on the way towards a crashing and fitting end.

In the letter sent by Maryland's Republican governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. to the State Board of Elections on Wednesday, he declares that he "no longer confidence in the State Board of Elections’ ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006"...

FULL STORY & COMPLETE STUNNING LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002431.htm

---
Brad Friedman
THE BRAD BLOG - The uprising continues...
http://www.BradBlog.com
VELVET REVOLUTION - The revolution has begun...
http://www.VelvetRevolution.us

[Stevepol]

1. Great news. Let the avalanche begin that will bury Diebold.

[Texacrat]

2. How is he going to win the election now?

:D

[NMMNG]

4. To be fair, Erlich was winning elections long before Diebold

He may be Republican, but he's not a total prat.

[druidity33]

6. prat...

been ages since i heard that word... only my English friends used it. Is it short for something? You're a veggie? Hey, me too! Rock on! DOWN WITH DIEBOLD!!!



near Snowdon...

[NMMNG]

7. As far as I know it's not short for anything

It's merely another term for an arse. I picked it up from another message board where there were a number of English members.

I've been a veggie for nearly a year now, and I'll never go back. I've discovered all kinds of new dishes I never knew existed before and I love it.

I'm with you--DOWN WITH DIEBOLD!!!

[druidity33]

12. 14 years here...

A little Tofu trick for you. Freeze Extra Firm Tofu in the package until it is a solid block. Take it out to thaw fully. Squeeze all the water out of thee block... cube it and let soak in your favorite marinade for a while. Bake on oiled pan at 350for 15-25 minutes depending on marinade. You'll be amazed at the difference in texture between formerly frozen tofu and from fridge tofu. Peace to you!

[Ignis]

53. Prat = less an arse, more an idiot

The word has strong connotations with bumblers and wankers, but it doesn't necessarily imply that a prat is totally incompetent. It is a great word, though, and I use it with alarming frequency. :)

Here's a shout-out to the whole DU Veggie Crew! :woohoo:

[qanda]

16. Are we talking about the same Governor Ehrlich?

He won in 2002, I believe that's the first year Diebold was used in Maryland. And Erhlich is about as partisan as any Republican I have ever seen.

[bluethruandthru]

20. This shocks me too!

Maybe he got religion! Ha!

[TygrBright]

49. Au contraire, he's a veritable archetype of prattery....

Gov. Hairspray is one of the things I don't miss about MD (I do miss a lot... ::sniff::)

He's just not smart enough to get away with Grand Theft Election, and his GOPpie stringpullers have reluctantly conceded that it's better he not be the test case, especially with Duncan and O'Malley snapping at his heels.

I will concede, though, that even though a prat of Biblical proportions, in person he's actually a decent guy.

contrarily,
Bright

(edited to remove inappropriate smiley... dang those things annoy me...)

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

64. Right. I backed him in 2002, mainly because Townsend was so lousy.

The fact is, Ehrlich's been pretty good.

[formernaderite]

28. have you not noticed that democratic controlled counties and states

seem to be in love with these electronic voting machines? In Maryland it was the dems who installed them....not repubs. In many repub counties they still use all paper. I've noticed this time and time again...with all the so-called vote fraud stories. It was democratically controlled counties who bought the machines, and democrats in charge of the voting process. I have zero pity for them when they later whined. Elections are controlled at the local level...to assume some conspiracy would mean that these issues would have occurred in republican counties. They didn't. Someone tell me why democrats keep buying this technology?

[Merlot]

44. Here in CA our Dem Sec. of State tried to get rid of diebold

and he no longer has a job. He was run out of office on trumped up charges, but after he left there was no investigation.

Am not sure where you're getting your info that dems love electronic voting machines. I'd love to see statistics on that.

[cyclezealot]

54. In San Diego we voted on a Diebold machine.

And the new Repug. Secretary of State favors Diebold. Can it be fought now that Arnie and McPhearson run the elections. How about a refenderum on the subject to stop Diebold from taking hold , before it is too late. A refenderum demanding a paper trail.

[Hekate]

66. For a referendum you have to circulate petitions everywhere...

...and get a bazillion valid signatures (that's only a little less than a brazillion) in order to get it on the ballot. Then you have to advertise so people will know what it is.

Good luck with that!

Seriously, start forming a relationship with the election official in your own county government, start making presentations to your Board of Supervisors, form a committee to educate these folks so when it comes time to buy these abominations (if they haven't already) they won't be dazzled by the Diebold dog and pony show. And if they already have purchased them, becoming knowledgable will help them decide to get rid of them.

People think that electronics and computers are the whiz-bang emblems of technological modernity -- after all, politicians and educators are always going on about getting computers into every classroom, computers power spaceships, everyone has a PC or a Mac at home.

Politicians are just people, most of them without any technological expertise at all. Most of them really do not know what the pitfalls are. I only know as much as I do because I have been married to a systems analyst/programmer for 20 years and I have listened to him curse secret source codes and so on. Our local college got into a contract with a company that shall remain nameless, and has poured millions down a money-hole for a system that will always have bugs.

It's up to us to buttonhole our local politicians, most of whom mean well, and educate them.

Hekate

[FreedomAngel82]

70. Right

I think the only way right now we could get rid of these machines is at the local level. If we do win back the House in the midterms can we ban these machines across the country?

[cyclezealot]

72. Is that not what Californians' are good at.

The problem is Arni and McPhearson are in charge of our electoral systems. Once they get them into effect, control likely will be lost forever from public control. Now that refenderum would be cast on more reliable , honest voting systems. Once the petitions are gathered they can't use these systems to rig the vote.
To me. A fight that has to be fought. Once we loose, control likely will be gone forever.
Simple proposition. Will public figures count our votes or private corporations without public scrutiny. I say it is a fight that would be won .

[FreedomAngel82]

69. I have no idea

:shrug:

[NMMNG]

3. Woo hoo!

Let the demise of Diebold begin!

[Surya Gayatri]

5. Kick this far & wide--spread it thoughout

the blogosphere and especially the Corp. Media. Must have 'e-voting' come to equal 'FRAUD' in the public's mind. SG

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. Paper, pen and hand counts

The only way to vote!

Who cares if it takes 1000's of people 2 weeks to count all the votes, it would still be cheaper and more accurate then these stupid machines.

[zalinda]

31. This says it doesn't need to take that long

http://www.washburnresearch.org/HandCountingPaperBallots.htm

zalinda

[Che_Nuevara]

42. Every large grocery store in the country has one of these

and uses it dozens of times a day to count their money. They're incredibly easy to use, totally fool-proof, and accurate far past the weight of a dollar bill (so much so, actually, that if a bill with a piece ripped off is in the stack, the machine reports a "suspect weight").

[mithnanthy]

38. Get High School and College students...

involved in the COUNTING! Great lessons to be learned and it get them involved in the voting process.

[Cooley Hurd]

9. Great snag, Brad! K&R

The great thing about Maryland's problems coming to light is that it should dissuade other states from buying Diebold BBV's in the future.

Spread it far and wide: DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINES CANNOT BE TRUSTED!:thumbsup:

[Donailin]

10. Oh Sweet Jesus

I hate Erlich -- the ICC will be in my front fucking yard -- but if he forces Diebolds hand here I will happily make the sacrifice!

[justice1]

13. He needs our support

Definitely need to write him a letter to thank him, and let him know of your party affiliations. The same thing with the media, in his state.

It's important to support leaders that are willing to take a stand on issues, even if they are not in the same party as you.

If he gets an overwhelming positive response, it could snowball, especially now, with the scandals plaguing the Republican party.

[freedomfries]

17. 1,000 Valentine hearts to Brad!

"I do not want to repeat the mistakes made in 2001 when Maryland adopted emerging technologies without fully understanding the potential consequences of a new era of electronics in election administration."
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, State of Maryland, February 15, 2006


http://www.bradblog.com/docs/EhrlichLetter_021506.pdf

Ehrlich's letter is pure gold!
Thousand thankful Valentine hearts to Brad!
:loveya:

[LiberalEsto]

39. Keep this in mind about Ehrlich

He is a protege of B*sh and is extremely Machiavellian and partisan. Once he took office, he launched a major witch hunt to get rid of Democrats in state government, even when they were professionals and experts, not party hacks. He sacked a lot of good people whose expertise was sorely needed by the state, just because they were Democrats.
He is doing this to slap back at Linda Lamone, the state elections commissioner, who is a Dem and a big Diebold supporter.

[FreedomAngel82]

71. Oh wow

But either way he's doing it! I'll take anything at this point!

[LionInWinter]

19. Don't give Ehrlich too much credit ...

He's using this as an excuse to try to kill the early-voting bill which is moving through the legislature right now. He knows that the more people who vote this November, the less likely he is to be re-elected (or for Steele to win, for that matter).

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a wonderful opportunity to get those black box vote stealers out of our state, but it isn't Ehrlich's pure soul which motivates it.

"Gov.: Maryland Not Ready to Hold Elections"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/16/AR2006021600005.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

45. Kerry won the Early Voting in FL in 2004

So apparently DEMS do better in EV then the REPUGS. That's why they want to kill EV. Plus it's much easier to 'fix' absentee ballots.

[freefall]

30. That is truly a major sacrifice and I applaud your willingness to make it.

Let's hope it won't be necessary. I no longer live in the area. Is the ICC a done deal? Is it possible that you can get rid of the ICC and Diebold too?

Peace

freefall

[Peace Patriot]

11. Weird. Apparently it's the Democrats who were shilling for Diebold.

Kind of fits with my theory about the part played by our Dem Party leadership, and by local/state Dem election officials, like Connie McCormack in Los Angeles (and Republicans, too, of course) in selling away our right to vote. The Dem Party silence on Bushite corporations tabulating our votes with "trade secret" formulae has struck me as...well, flabbergasting. But maybe our Dem leaders--or too many of them--are just too in the pocket of these corrrupt corporations, and Bush's war is just too profitable, for them to give a hoot about democracy any more. Ehrlich is smart to get out ahead on the issue--although he, too, is tainted. He apparently vetoed a voter verified paper trail. Now he's all for democracy. Hm-m-m. I guess it's got him worried that the Dems are the ones in control of the black boxes in Maryland. I can't help but smile. Bunch of crooks, the lot of them.

But anyway, a letter from a governor condemning Diebold is what it is: a usable item.

Mustn't forget ES&S, though--the one with the backdoor connection to the Chalcedon Foundation (which advocates capital punishment for homosexuals, among other things). Spawn of Diebold.

AND Sequoia. A little known story: Our former Sec of State, Repug Bill Jones (prior to Dem Kevin Shelley) is the one who introduced election theft machines to California--with Sequoia one of the chief vendors. Jones and his aide Alfie Charles then left the SoS office and went right to work for Sequoia. Very bold corruption. When Shelley got elected, he banned "revolving door" employment in his office--he also sued Diebold, and decertified the worst of their election theft machines (the touchscreens, or DREs), prior to the 2004 election, and got driven from office on bogus corruption charges as a result, with the Dem Party in Calif lifting not one finger to watch the back of this very good public servant. Disgusting. (--partly fear, partly ignorance, partly corruption).

We now have a really good Dem running for Sec of State--something of a miracle. Debra Bowen. (See www.debrabowen.com.) Who we have for Sec of State right now is Schwarzenegger appointee (and Diebold shill) Repug Bruce McPherson. A citizen uprising is tying his hands, though. He can't recertify Diebold touchscreens, like he was told to--the citizenry won't let him--and he had to bump the matter up to Bush appointees on the Fed Election 'Assistance' Commission (EAC), where they will be "tested" by industry operatives.

But, as with so many other situations, Diebold's notoriety overshadows more fundamental issues: such as "trade secret," proprietary programming code--owned and controlled by Bushites--in ALL of the electronic voting machines and central tabulators. It's just so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o corrupt, you can hardly believe it. I mean, come on. SECRET tabulation of all our votes by Bush/Cheney campaign chairs and "Pioneer" donors? Na-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-w. How could that happen? Or, as a friend of mine recently said (after I described the voting system to her), "Surely the Democrats wouldn't let that happen, would they?" (Yeah, they DID.)

Another story that isn't well known is that there was a very strange anomaly in the Calif numbers for president in 2004. It looks like the Repugs shaved some votes from Kerry and gave them to Bush, to help pad Bush's manufactured national popular majority. Kerry won the state by a 10% margin; but Barbara Boxer won by 20%; the difference between them is entirely to be found in Repug-controlled counties--which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, politically. The upshot is that Kerry was probably equally as popular Boxer in Repub counties, but some of his margin got stolen. (An interesting sidelight is that Boxer's opponent was the very same Bill Jones who brought the fraud machines to Calif. My guess is that Diebold didn't want Schwarz to have a viable Repub rival, in Jones--so didn't help him out in the Senate election. Boxer trounced him.) (Diebold controls the central tabulators, and likely counted on Repug county election officials looking the other way--is how I figure it happened.)

[Bushfire]

15. Ask Feingold or Sen Kohl what they've done to protect voter integrity

and they'll probably spout their support for HAVA, despite evidence of software tampering in Georgia when Sonny Perdue was installed as Governor not to mentioning the deep sixing of Senatorial candidate Max Cleland despite overwhelming pre election polls favoring the Dems. Two of the most established Democratic Senators don't want to get their hands dirty fighting for clean elections, and dumping e-voting. Optical scan is no quick solution either if mandatory audits aren't in place to thwart insider tampering. Paper ballots, plus vigorous audits regardless of how close the election was is the only solution. Our democracy depends on it. My former Congressman Jerry Kleczka refused to support the Rush Holt legislation depspite my weekly faxing of voter fraud articles from Salon.com , and Scoop.co.nz . Luckily my current congresswoman Gwen Moore is on the right side of the issue.

[hvn_nbr_2]

41. Thanks for all that background info. I didn't know a lot of it...

even tho I live in Calif too.

It is mighty suspicious to me that so many Dem election officials around the country have been so complicit. I frequently suspect that many of them are moles/double agents. I've thought that about Teresa La Pore ever since I heard about her background with that arms dealer Khosshogy (I know that's not spelled right but I don't remember his name accurately).

[Wilms]

57. PP. Please provide us more info/links for the following

1. ES&S's backdoor connection to the Chalcedon Foundation

2. Who told Bruce McPherson that he has to recertify Diebold touchscreens

3. What has he done that shows he's a Diebold "schill"

[mzmolly]

14. This is so huge.

Marvelous marvelous news. And, it's only the beginning.

[mattclearing]

18. Wow. Ehrlich????

This is shocking.

[undergroundpanther]

21. Wow

Ok, Erlich he has done a very good thing here.

Thank you. Gov. Erlich! !

[understandinglife]

22. K&R!!!

Peace.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

23. We should redouble efforts....

...to get Dem leadership to start hammering on this issue. Time's running out.

[Debbi801]

24. While it hurts me to say it, "Yay for my Gov!".....

But I'm still not voting for him in 2006.

For once, I hope he gets his way.

[aintitfunny]

25. It is an election Year ploy

He vetoed a bill last year that would have started the ball rolling, potentially to have verified voting in place for the '06 election. It is of course too late now. Should he get re-elected, and I will work very hard to see that he does not, this will disappear into the wind like so much vapor. It will be the Democrats in the legislature that will do something about this. They have been lax, they have been slow about it, but they tried to do something sooner and Ehrlich shot it down.

He has been shouting from the mountains all the "moderate" actions he is going to take now that the election is upon us. This is just another. That being said it is a good thing he has spoken out on this subject because it makes people aware, across party and ideological lines that there votes are at stake. There is no more important issue so I will take support wherever we can get it, even from a right wing Republican hypocrite. However, I will not give Bobby Haircut credit for anything but hustling for his re-election in this oh so blue state.

[CanOfWhoopAss]

56. Yeah I think he's up to something too. Like chess 3+ moves ahead nt.

[Plaid Adder]

26. So...are they still going to use the machines?

Does the governor have the power to order a reinstatement of the old system, or are they going to have to run the election with the Diebold machines? The letter doesn't say anything about that.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[savemefromdumbya]

35. He knows there is no time probably

[onehandle]

27. Georgia was the first state to go 100% Diebold.

Of course a Republican Theocracy providing welfare for the rich and no one else is fine with our poor white trash, so no complaints here.

[CottonBear]

33. Correct. GA was the first 100% Diebold. Our 2002 elections were Diebolded

and thus Saxby "Sack of Shit" Cahmbliss stole the lection form Max Cleland. We got Diebolded thanks to our Democratic Sec. of State, Cathy Cox (not to be confused with fundy, anti-evolution Sec. of Education Kathy Cox). Cathy is running for Gov.

I shall never forgive Ms. Cox (whom I have met and formerly supported.) I shall not vote for her for Gov. I shall vote for Mark Taylor, our current Lt. Gov.

[onehandle]

55. Ironically, Maryland is our destination of choice when we leave Georgia.

My wife and I are losing our jobs to India shortly.

I was born here. I'm done.

Good luck with Lt. Governor Reed.

[CottonBear]

61. Sorry about your jobs. Mr. CB & I are lucky to have good jobs here

which cannot possibly be outsourced.

Please, NO Lt. GOv. Reed (or Casy Cagle). :( :scared:

Here in NE GA, our (voting activists) current plan is to register as many Democratic voters as possible. We have lsits of 1,000s of unregistered people of voting age. We'll get them registered and then urge everyone to vote absentee: No voter ID needed! We're going to have as many people as possible vote absentee (some people will even get stamped envelopes to mail in their ballot) and the rest are urged to vote in the early voting (you can vote in person up to one week in advance of the voting day.)

Wish us luck! Godd luck in Maryland

[texpatriot2004]

29. Thank you Brad for your devotion to the issue of election fraud

thanks a million

[drm604]

32. K&R This is big.

:kick:

[savemefromdumbya]

34. Erhlich speak with forked tongue!

Democrats criticized Ehrlich's apparent shift on the paper-receipt issue, noting that he vetoed a bill last year that would have studied the option.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Democrat and Lamone supporter, rejected Ehrlich's concerns as election-year politics, saying the governor is trying to sow doubt about the process in hopes of bolstering his prospects in November.

He and other Democratic leaders said they see no reason to push back the implementation of the plan to open some polls days early, saying early voting would be a convenience for those who can't easily get to the polls.

"Up until yesterday, he never indicated any support for a paper trail," Miller said. "A lot of us, including myself, thought it's a laudable goal. He only said he favors a paper trail after experts testified it's impossible before November."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.elect16feb16,0,4246329.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Beware - Erlhich has been saving this up just before the elections pulling rabbits out of hats increasing education funding suddenly.

[LiberalEsto]

36. Diebold was brought in by a Democrat

Linda Lamone, a state elections commissioner who is a Democrat, was a big promoter of Diebold in Maryland.

I believe Diebold wined and dined Maryland officials on a Potomac River cruise to woo their support, although I can't recall whether or not Lamone was one of the participants.

This is one reason Marylanders have had problems getting rid of Diebold - because it had bipartisan support and the Dems didn't want to diss their own.

I strongly suspect one reason Ehrlich is doing this is to slap back at Lamone and her supporters, to make Maryland's Democrats look bad.

[savemefromdumbya]

37. One has to be suspicious of his motives

since he vetoed paper trails last year!

[hunter]

40. Diebold is not the only problem.

Let Diebold be the poster child for the hazards of electronic voting, especially paperless DRE voting, but don't forget that these hazards extend to the other electronic voting machine vendors.

By its very nature, electronic voting is less secure than old fashioned paper ballots.

[Che_Nuevara]

43. Just for kicks,

I would like to point out that "Ehrlich" means "honorable" in German.

:rofl:

[Up2Late]

46. If Maryland was the "model state," what does that make Georgia?

Just Screwed, I guess.

Thanks Brad Blog! (now please tell me things are improving in Georgia, where I live).:(

[Dees]

47. I don't trust Governor Goodhair at all. He's a tricky bastard.

The Sun will pick this apart in no time flat.

[Kaylee]

48. Amen...it just turns my stomach watching him leap to the middle.

[savemefromdumbya]

52. He had abnormally high votes in odd places in the state

[marions ghost]

50. kick for

something resembling fair and transparent elections in this country...someday....

:kick:

[Roland99]

51. And a kick for this RawStory FLASH

FLASH: Documents show Maryland held 2002 governor's election, presidential primary on
illegal, uncertified Diebold machines: Soon...

[rd_kent]

58. Fantastic!!! Now they will have trouble stealing another election.

We just need to keep our eyes open for other methods they are going to use!

[Wilms]

59. Kick

[happydreams]

60. This is how to stop the theft of our elections. Keep a focus on

the issue.

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

62. So, maybe it wasn't a bad idea idea voting for him after all!

Nice work, Governor.

[Nothing Without Hope]

63. A 2005 report demonstrated that e-voting raised costs by an estimated 40%

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396623
Thread title (Oct 10, 2005): Touchscreen Voting Increases Annual Election Costs by 40%

Looks like it's even worse. But then, saving money or increasing effectiveness/accuracy or promoting the convenience of the voter were never priorities in pushing electronic voting, were they?

K & R. Thanks, Brad, for all you do. :patriot: :loveya:

[Hekate]

65. Hallelujah. I just hope the word gets out here to the Governator...

...and our elections officials.

Hekate

[Nothing Without Hope]

67. ***RELATED THREAD on the illegal use of UNCERTIFIED Diebold machines

in MD in 2002 and 2004:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413104
thread title (2-16-06 Election Reform): UNCERTIFIED!
Comment/excerpt: Raw story report. “The Maryland State Board of Elections allowed Diebold Election Systems to operate its touch-screen voting machines during the state's 2002 gubernatorial election and the 2004 presidential primaries before the state agency actually certified the controversial machines, according to recently disclosed documents. That is a violation of state law, according to Linda Schade, executive director of TrueVoteMD.org, an election integrity group….‘I no longer have confidence in the State Board of Elections' ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006," the Republican governor stated in the four-page letter.’”

[FreedomAngel82]

68. Oh wow!

Are we being punk'd? Is this for real? Does the governor say why? Good for him! Oh thank goodness!!