PROOF of machine tampering in NY recount (via Kineta)

[Cronus Protagonist]

This is a courtesty thread-starting repost on behalf of a new user, kineta. It appears to be important, so I accepted the request. Post taken from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=36262&mesg_id=36570&page= follows:
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PROOF of machine tampering in NY recount

Hi there. I hope this isn't presumptuous to ask - but could someone start a new thread posting this link?

http://www.wnbc.com/politics/3902820/detail.html

It seems very important. It's an AP article about the recount going on in the New York senate race. The democrat was losing but they had found votes for the repub candidate before the election, so the democrat was able to get the machines and records impounded for a recount. They found that a bunch of the machines had their seals broken or removed and when they did the recount, most of the machines had more votes for the democrat than had been recorded and now she's winning.

What bothers me is that besides this article which is a few days old, newer stories aren't mentioning the reason why her votes are now coming out higher - it seems they're deliberately skirting the voting machine issue.
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Exerpt from the article:
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As Voting Machines Are Checked, Spano's Lead Shrinks

POSTED: 10:42 am EST November 9, 2004
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- After the first hours of a two-week vote recount, Democrats claimed Monday that their candidate for the state Senate from Yonkers had wiped out almost all of her unofficial deficit and moved within 288 votes of the powerful Republican incumbent, Nicholas Spano.

The GOP's election lawyer, John Ciampoli, acknowledged some gains for Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins but said, "None of this means anything until all the recanvass of the machines is done, over and finished."

The count was partial, with just 15 percent of the machine vote checked by late afternoon. But the quick recovery buoyed the forces of Stewart-Cousins, a Westchester County legislator who took on the Senate's assistant majority leader and a nine-term veteran.

"If this trend holds, we are confident that Andrea Stewart-Cousins will be the next state senator from the 35th Senate District," said the Democrats' election lawyer, Henry Berger, who was at the recount in a machine storage warehouse in Yonkers.

-snip-

The county Board of Elections disclosed Friday that seals on 22 machines were damaged or missing.

[Straight Shooter]

1. And the logical question is: Who is responsible for those seals?

And when were they last checked and what was their status?

[Mabus]

2. Those nagging seals

First at Al-qaqaa and now on voting machines. Don't they know enough to bring extra seals with them?

[txindy]

3. They're either awfully short-sighted or incredibly arrogant

Too arrogant to believe they'll be caught.

Of course, there's always the chance that they're just that dumb.

Hmmm. What to choose? What to choose? ;)

[Mabus]

6. They aren't mutually exclusive choices

They are arrogant because they are just that dumb. They are dumb because they are too arrogant to know better.

[txindy]

7. Good point. They never do let facts come between them & an opinion

So why would they let ignorance keep them from acting? It's their 'right' after all. :eyes:

Good point, Mabus. :toast:

[Mabus]

8. I think their motto is actually

"it seemed like a good idea at the time." I know I've used it to try to explain what just happened, especially when things don't go well.

I mean, it would explain Watergate, Iran-Contra and a whole host of things. Unfortunately they get away with using it. I don't.

[tarheel_voter]

4. Who seals the machines?

Maybe someone can educate us on the voting machine certification process... need some doc on this. Why would the seals be damaged/missing?

Sounds like a nicer way to say someone intentially broke the seals.

[Matariki]

5. 2 threads on this already

thanks Cronus for posting this, but it might be better to post to one of these on this topic. It seems like a significant issue to me, but it seems there won't be much more news on it, at least til the court date?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=37127&mesg_id=37127

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=36777&mesg_id=36777