New Research Project: 2004 Electronic Voting Issues

2004 Electronic Voting Fraud?

We're in the early stages of putting together a team of ATS staff and members to begin an in-depth research project on the issues surrounding the electronic and computer voting systems used in the 2004 U.S. Presidential election. I want to stress that this research effort is not intended to be an effort to provide evidence for overturning any result in any state, but instead, as a non-biased factual examination of the problems, errors, concerns, and fraud potential related to an non-auditable voting process. We're putting together a few staff to help organize the effort, and need members throughout the U.S. to help with research, fact gathering, writing, and related efforts. Please discuss this idea here in this thread, but if you're interested, send me a brief U2U with your interests, qualifications that help the effort, and available time commitment. Our research czar, ADVISOR, will play a role in helping to organize this project, but the team should be self-sustaining once selected.

while I would love to, circumstances prevent me from volunteering, however I do want to drop this link, in case it got missed. there are issues in florida whether anyone wants to admit to it or not.

Gambling vote glitch mars tally
Broward County corrected a computer glitch Thursday that had miscounted thousands of absentee votes, instantly turning a slot-machine measure from loser to winner and reinforcing concerns about the accuracy of electronic election returns.

The bug, discovered two years ago but never fixed, began subtracting votes after the absentee tally hit 32,500 -- a ceiling put in place by the software makers.

''Clearly it's a concern about the integrity of the voting system,'' said Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman, a canvassing board member who was overseeing the count. ``This glitch needs to be fixed immediately.''

The problem, which resulted in the shocking discovery of about 70,000 votes for Amendment 4, a measure allowing a referendum on Las Vegas-style slots at parimutuels in Miami-Dade and Broward, came to light just after midnight Wednesday when Broward's canvassing board shut down

I've never been on a research project so I'm not really sure how much help I would be of. Still I wouldn't mind helping out if anybody would like me to.

Excellent material in this saved Boolean Search on some of the previous threads we've had on this topic: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Well I'm doing what I can sitting up here in Montreal. I've started a couple of threads:

The Diebold Factor

and

Rise of the Reconstructionists

Sorry I can't jump into something more official (my schedule is filling up fast with a new job).

Anyway I think this matter is in good hands and that it belongs mainly in American hands (supported by other net researchers) because it is your country you are fighting for.

.

I don't want to cast a dark light on the ATS board but wouldn't discussing this open a pandoras box?

I can already picture some of GW's boys taking a visit down to the RackShack and snipping a few optics. Especially if not in his favor.

Am I making sense?

I'm very busy these days with studies and work, but count me in... This is very important for my island's elections next year.

Yes, this is too much of an important topic to be left alone. I'm not sure how much help I can be but count me in.

if theres anything a nyc senior in highschool can do, i offer up my (humble) services.

(it shud be mentioned, the school is stuyvesant. im NOT your avg nyc kid)

I just thought that my section entitled "It's not who votes that counts. It's who counts the votes." -- Joseph Stalin is very relevant, because from the station of a political scientist and future studies advocate, the notion ties together a most important concept.

Freedom verses tyranny is the issue, not left verses right. When we do not have the right to vote we are too easily in the position of slaves, and we have not recourse for policies that are ostensibly bad for the common good.

A thought experiment. All the analyists are amazed at how off were the exit polling. Everyone who knows the business, knows that those thing are fairly dead on or within an acceptable margin of error. However, this time they were not only off, but way off, shockingly enough to everyone. After all these years of a consistancy in the science of polling, what if the expected is true. The exit polls are correct. If there are two predictors here of someone's vote, the exit polling and the election results, why is it automatically assumed that the election results were the accurate of the two? Which one has been proven and analyzed time and again with multiple points of competitation and verification, and which is using new closed technology?

www.buzzflash.com... is reporting a lot of these. What we MIGHT do when the research is finished, is put it up there.

inn.globalfreepress.com...

Some intresting Links

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

We're in the early stages of putting together a team of ATS staff and members to begin an in-depth research project on the issues surrounding the electronic and computer voting systems used in the 2004 U.S. Presidential election.

I think this would be a more effective project if you didn't limit it to the new electronic voting systems. From my experience I would wager that the problems with the new systems are only compunding existing problems that previously existed in older systems. I think there are serious flaws with anything used to count paper ballots where they still exist, and the old mechanical machines that are still being used.

I would like to see an analysis and audit of all systems currently in use to address voting problems nationwide and hopefully lead to a solution for the future via the discovery of something that actually works.

It starts with a simple analysis based on logical accounting. The audit trail is as follows:

1) The total number of voters is stated.

2) Each race must include a count of votes cast for each candidate, votes not cast, number of write ins, or invalidated, etc.

3) If the total of the votes accounted for one way or another in each race do not equal the total number of people who voted you have a problem.

I suspect if you use this criteria, you will find the math doesn't add up anywhere. I have never seen a printout of a mechanical machine where the numbers do add up to the total number of voters that went into the booth, even though they list the totals of all the possibilities of what may have occurred. In addition, any system that does not use this criteria is obviously fatally flawed.

a problem that i see is that the number of ballots cast will not likely ever
match the total number of votes cast. unless an added choice is provided.
I cannot be the only voter in the country who when faced with the choices
of a fundie, a lieing CS , and someone that has no possible chance , chose
simply not to cast a vote in that race. perhaps a choice of none of the above
would help in the accounting.

Originally posted by stalkingwolf
a problem that i see is that the number of ballots cast will not likely ever
match the total number of votes cast. unless an added choice is provided.
I cannot be the only voter in the country who when faced with the choices
of a fundie, a lieing CS , and someone that has no possible chance , chose
simply not to cast a vote in that race. perhaps a choice of none of the above
would help in the accounting.

I think you didn't understand, the machines are suppossed to also tally "votes not cast" - it IS one of the categories tracked.

This is why it is so disturbing the numbers don't add up.

--I'm not sure if I would be much help, but I would be willing to give it a try. I have found some mention of it on this site, I know it is not always taken to be a legit, serious forum, but they always cite their sources, so might provide a 'lead' to useful info. (plus they liked neither candidate, so would not be partisan)

Just a quick question, WHAT exactly are you trying to achieve??

GW won and thats that, if kerry had won , would you still be doing this? or is it just a conspiracy when GW wins! the question shouldnt be about counting votes , it should be WHY america with one of the largest populationss on the planet can only muster 2 (1 including current president) yes TWO candidates for presidency , hmmm big choice there people , oh dont forget nader , you know the guy with half the cashflow and half the marketing bush and kerry got, case closed

What are you doing here MindSmog? This is a conspiracy site, that's why they are doing this.

I am very glad their is finally a thread dedicated to gathering all info related to this! All politics aside, this is a serious threat to Democracy and I can't believe more people in ATS aren't taking it seriously, unless if I just haven't seen the thread. I've been looking into it very extensively and have loads of info, charts, graphs, etc. on all voter turnout, voting methods by location, trends, expected turnout, etc. (And sources) Everything I've seen, as I will show, suggests manipulation. A lot of the official vote counts for the candidates just simply don't occur and several are literally impossible. All irregularities are related to the machines that do not leave a paper trail as well. I'll start posting what I've got.