'Daily Voting News' For March 03, 2009
Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
Yesterday the California Secretary of State released a letter to the Election Assistance Commission and a report of
their findings with regards to the problem discovered in early December in Humboldt Co. with Diebold GEMS v. 1.18.19.
The letter actually challenges the EAC to take action in “requiring that, for every voting system certified by the EAC,
the voting system vendor report any and all flaws and problems with the system to the EAC and to the elections officials
in the states where the system is used when such flaws are discovered”. And Secretary Bowen has taken the action herself
by sponsoring legislation in California that will do what she has challenged the EAC to do. The report is an amazing
report that tells why our voting systems are failing. The issues with the GEMS software go much deeper than just the
fact that the system may lose votes. The state also found readily apparent violations of the voting system standards.
These violations seem to have been ignored by the test labs, by NASED and their consultants who qualified the voting
system, and by past CA Secretaries of State and their consultants. The big question, is will the EAC, staffed by people
who were involved in the NASED “rubber-stamp” of GEMS 1.18.19 take any action? Will they post the letter and report in
their “clearinghouse”? We certainly hope so. The present Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, and her staff deserve
congratulations and appreciation for a job well done so far. It will be interesting to hear what follow-up actions will
now be taken on the federal and state levels....
National: The Perils of Internet Voting LINK
California: Letter to Election Assistance Commission Chairwoman Gineen Beach – March 2, 2009 LINK
California: California Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s Report to the Election Assistance Commission Concerning Errors
and Deficiencies in Diebold/Premier GEMS Version 1.18.19 LINK
California: Los Angeles - City Forgets to Send Secretary of State her Vote-By-Mail Ballot? LINK
California: Riverside County - Independent audit: County elections flawed, but fair LINK
California: San Benito County - County considers extra voting machine after delays LINK
Colorado: Coffman loses bid to block ethics hearing LINK
Minnesota: Coleman camp asks that election result be 'set aside' LINK
Minnesota: Coleman Continues To Cast Doubt On Election Result LINK
Minnesota: Franken Lawyers To Court: Throwing Out The Election Is Not A Legal Option LINK
Missouri: Boone County's vote counting system is a model for other governments LINK
Mississippi: Voter ID bills die in Mississippi Legislature LINK
South Carolina: Much ado about photo ID LINK
Tennessee: Bill will prevent vote manipulation LINK
Tennessee: Bill would require photo ID to vote LINK
Utah: Identification may become required to vote in Utah LINK
Germany: German Court Rules E-Voting Unconstitutional LINK
Germany: German court rules against voting machines LINK
Germany: Voting machines outlawed in Germany LINK
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**"Daily Voting News" is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and
voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in "Daily Voting News"
may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or Scoop.**
--
John Gideon
Co-Executive Director
VotersUnite.Org
www.votersunite.org
"To encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory
democracy." The Creekside Declaration March 22, 2008