when ahhhnold used terminator imagry to campaign for governor, who knew he meant it literally!?
link
On Monday, November 21st, California's Voting System Panel (VSP) was slated to hold public hearings on whether to recertify Diebold TSX touchscreen machines. The California Election Protection Network (CEPN) issued a press release inviting concerned citizens to speak at the 10 a.m. hearing and attend a rally at Secretary of State Bruce McPherson's office to encourage state officials to "send Diebold packing before Turkey Day."
But when CEPN spokesperson Sherry Healy called to verify the hearing date and time, she received startling news.
"I asked Bruce McDannold in the Secretary of State's office if the hearing is still on for Monday," she told Raw Story. "He said, 'You're half right. The VSP has been disbanded.' I asked why. He said, 'I can't speak for the Secretary of State.'"
more on the flip
According to Healy, McDannold stated that a stenographer and recording device would be on hand to record any public comments.
CEPN issued a blistering press release criticizing the Republican Secretary of State, for the last-minute change in procedures. The release questioned the sincerity of those in government to publicly discuss issues with their constituents. "Is this the new government trend for public hearings - just give the people a room and a tape recorder?" the release asked.
Healy expressed concern over a "secret" test done recently on Diebold TSX systems, without the public present. That test found only a 2% error rate, Healy said.
According to an analysis done in July of this year by Dr. David Jefferson of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California, however, the error rates were much higher.
Jefferson, who is also a member of California's VSP, found that software crashes and printer jams totally ten times higher than permitted by federal standards.
"They're trying to slam dunk this hearing, the certification. They're just going to ram it through," Healy fretted. "The prize is 2006. We don't trust this manufacturer. They are the worst in class. They are the Enron of voting systems."
Dan Ashby of the Voting Rights Force in Alameda County cites serious security breeches with Diebold GEMS tabulator software used to count votes, including the, "GEMS defect which allows VBA (visual basic script) to rewrite the access database containing the vote count without a trace... Dr. Hugh Thompson of Black Box Voting brought it to the attention of the VSPP in July 2003. Nothing has been done... The Secretary of State's office has been made fully aware of the unsecured GEMS vote database and has refused to acknowledge they know."