Deborah Bowen (CA Dem4SoS) throws down gauntlet on secret vote counting!

[Peace Patriot]

(I've cross-posted in GD: politics and Election forums.)

"California shouldn't be relying on proprietary software
that uses secret code to count ballots."
--Deborah Bowen, candidate for California Secretary of State (Dem)

Gauntlet thrown!

In a letter to Californians and others who oppose re-certification of Diebold touchscreen voting machines--and on her web page--Democratic candidate for Secretary of State Deborah Bowen states the following:

"California shouldn't be relying on proprietary software
that uses secret code to count ballots. If we want to ensure
we have voting systems that are reliable and secure -- and
that voters have confidence in -- we need to be moving
toward an open source software structure."

http://www.debrabowen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=30

The California legislature (2 to 1 Dem) previously APPROVED the "trade secret," proprietary source code that Bushite* corporations such as Diebold and ES&S demanded in their contracts for the new electronic voting systems. So this statement by Bowen is a significant departure--and vast improvement upon--Dem Party policy on this all important matter.

This IS the HEART of the matter--corporate privatization of our elections with secret vote tabulation. Our votes should not be subject to TRADE rules--written of, by and for corporations, who are, by their nature, hostile to transparency. What the hell are we doing letting our vote counting be the proprietary TRADE SECRETS of big business?

Bowen also writes on her web page:

“The Help American Vote Act was intended to make it easier
for people to vote and to improve the accuracy of the vote
count....If ...there’s no guarantee those votes will be counted
accurately, California will have wasted millions of taxpayer
dollars and pulled the rug out from under our democracy
in the process.”

Them's fightin' words! Money is at the root of this serious messing around with our democracy. Not just millions, but billions have poured into the pockets of Bushite* corporations for election systems with secret components!

WE NEED TO SUPPORT DEMOCRATS WHO TAKE THIS COURAGEOUS STAND AGAINST CORPORATE CONTROL OF OUR ELECTIONS! If we are to recover our right to vote, we must have help from our Democratic Party leaders!

*(Note: Diebold is blatantly partisan. Its CEO was the Bush/Cheney campaign chair in Ohio--the most corrupt Republican regime in the country. ES&S, a spinoff of Diebold, may be even worse--it was funded by a major supporter of far rightwing "think tanks" like the Chalcedon Foundation--reclusive billionaire Howard Ahmanson. These two corporations 'counted' 80% of our votes in 2004--with secret programming!)

Bowen calls for letters to CA Sec of State (and Schwarzenegger appointee) Bruce McPherson on the Diebold re-certification. Go to
http://ga3.org/campaign/diebold_test?rk=U1AIG%5f41MX4OE

Deborah Bowen's campaign is endorsed by Emily's List.
http://www.debrabowen.com/

____________________________________

Bowen's letter to those who wrote to McPherson opposing Diebold touchscreen re-certification:

-------------------------------

December 21, 2005

The Diebold "decision" -- now what?

Dear _______:

It looks like Secretary of State Bruce McPherson must have already left for his holiday vacation. Either that or he's just not willing to step up and make a decision when it counts.

How else do you explain the letter that the Secretary of State's office sent to Diebold yesterday? Instead of making a final decision on whether or not to re-certify Diebold's electronic voting machines for use here in California, the Secretary of State effectively punted the decision to the federal government and "independent" testing authorities.

One thing's for sure: your personal lobbying efforts have made a huge difference. More than 2,000 people -- including you -- have already visited my campaign website to email Secretary of State McPherson, urging thorough testing of Diebold machines before they're recertified.

But we've still got a lot of work to do. Yesterday's "decision" doesn't move us closer to a final resolution, and it doesn't meet the objective, public testing standards we're asking for.

Invite your friends & family to urge Secretary of State McPherson to require Diebold to satisfy rigorous, objective testing requirements -- here in California!
http://ga3.org/campaign/diebold_test?rk=U1AIG%5f41MX4OE

The problems with Diebold's electronic voting machines continue to mount. Just last week, two Florida counties decided to eliminate Diebold voting machines from all their polling places due to security concerns. Diebold has a long history of problems here in California as well, from the thousands of voters who couldn't cast their ballots during the March 2004 election, to the discovery that Diebold illegally installed uncertified software on their machines before the election, and the 30% failure rate on Diebold's touch-screen machines during certification testing this past summer.

Given Diebold's history in this state, the bar for certification has to be higher. Simply punting the decision to the federal government and the vendor community lowers that bar, it doesn't raise it.

There are a lot of problems with the path that the Secretary of State has chosen, sending Diebold to the federal government and the Independent Testing Authorities for more information before deciding whether to re-certify the company's touch-screen machines for use here in California.

For one thing, the federal testing process is notoriously weak and it's done in secret. Plus, these supposedly "independent testing authorities" the Secretary of State wants to rely on are financed by the voting machine industry and conduct their tests in secret as well.

That's why California shouldn't be relying on proprietary software that uses secret code to count ballots. If we want to ensure we have voting systems that are reliable and secure -- and that voters have confidence in -- we need to be moving toward an open source software structure.

Urge everyone you know to forward an email to Secretary of State McPherson today!
http://ga3.org/campaign/diebold_test?rk=U1AIG%5f41MX4OE

Yesterday's "decision" from the Secretary of State simply postpones a final resolution on the Diebold question. I'm certainly glad he didn't decide to re-certify these Diebold electronic voting machines outright -- but at some point, he's going to have to make a final decision.

It's a decision that should be made after a rigorous testing process, using objective standards, here in California.

Invite your friends & family to tell Secretary of State McPherson to schedule a series of rigorous, objective, public tests for Diebold here in California!

Thanks for your continued help and support on this critical issue. I wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season!

Peace, freedom, and democracy for all,

Debra Bowen
California State Senator

Paid for by Debra Bowen for Secretary of State
578 Washington Blvd. #409, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
http://www.debrabowen.com/

----------------------------------------------

Russ Holt's HR 550 also strikes at the heart of the problem, and would effectively stop this corporate privatization of our elections, by, among other things, banning undisclosed software. Sign the petition at: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html

[bemildred]

1. She just got my vote. nt

[EFerrari]

2. Has she said anything about voter verified paper ballots?

I'll work my remote off for her if she has or does or will.

Thank you for the heads up!

[roody]

3. Go Debra!

This is important.

[ecoalex]

4. How about hackable tabulation, County and State?

How about Tabulation Debra? Ask Bev Harris how easy it is to hack into county and state computers and swap votes, Oh it's just about the diebold machines. Alrighty then.