www.workthevotela.org still needs more volunteers!!

Written by: F. Gluck on Nov 2, 2008 8:56 PM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

This from Sheri Myers:

Folks,

LA County Needs Poll Workers for June 3rd - Please sign up!

Written by: F. Gluck on May 26, 2008 4:08 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

LA County is short 7,000 poll workers for the June 3rd primary election!
Anyone who can possibly be a poll worker should sign up now.  You can sign
up on the lavote.net web site:

http://www.lavote.net/VOTER/POLLWORKER/Default.cfm

And, if you go to your polling place and see that the staff has only 2 or 3
poll workers, you can volunteer at that moment to help and be trained on the
job.  There is a small stipend paid.

Thank you.

Judy Alter

Action Alert: Testify March 7th - LA County Registrar continues to disenfranchise voters!!

Written by: F. Gluck on Mar 1, 2008 4:04 AM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

Please read action alert from Sheri Myers & take action!!

workthevote@gmail.com

http://www.workthevotela.org 

Please DON'T be impressed that Interim Registrar Dean Logan has condescended to (semi)count our ballots. He stalled for four weeks, while he could have hand counted them all. Now, he is scanning and digitizing the ballots and sorting the images inside a computer and counting them inside another computer!

There is ABSOLUTELY NO TRANSPARENCY to this process. Not even the mandatory 1% manual tally!

(Click Read More for the rest of this post)

Read more

LA Elections in Crisis: URGENT - Move NOW to Save YOUR Vote

Written by: F. Gluck on Feb 12, 2008 2:37 PM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

Folks, if ever there was a time to protect YOUR vote in LA, it's NOW. This is very very serious. Thanks!
Sheri Myers, workthevotela.org (Pass this along, please!)

Despite a record-breaking turnout of 189,000 voters registered as "Decline-to-State" (DTS)…
Dean Logan, L.A.'s Registrar of Voters, is still refusing to physically hand-count these ballots, effectively disenfranchising 94,500 -- at least HALF -- of DTS voters… because they didn't fill in an extra bubble before voting for President.

Who’s responsible for the flawed ballot design? Dean Logan!

LOS ANGELES DESERVES BETTER!! Come on, get outraged, and SPEAK UP!!!

10 MINUTES: 4 ACTIONS TO TAKE:
1)Sign the Courage Campaign petition to demand a real count… http://www.couragecampaign.org/

2) IF YOU HAD A PROBLEM VOTING: Fill out the online incident report, that Work the Vote will analyze: http://www.workthevotela.org/incident-report-form.php

3) Call County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's office [(213) 974-3333 and voice your opinion.

Demand that our County Registrar DO HIS JOB!

ALSO Tell Zev it is highly inappropriate for Dean Logan to sign a 6-year contract with SOE SOFTWARE to manage our elections. Here’s one of the many reasons why:

SOE Software Creates Havoc in Palm Beach
4) Cut and Paste: Email or snail mail this letter (below) crafted by the LA California Election Protection Network.
(Did you know the job hunt for a new Registrar was unnecessarily delayed, AND, that the job no longer requires a college degree? That’s to administrate the largest county in the United States!)


*************************************************************************
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012


Dear LA County Supervisor

In the wake of Los Angeles County's Super Tuesday's, February 5, 2008, primary election that resulted in at least 94,000 uncounted ballots, mass confusion over polling place consolidations, and vote caging that purged eligible voters from the voter rolls, I support the demands of the Los Angeles County chapter of the California Election Protection Network (CEPN) that you, a public servant, address this urgent matter:

a) Immediately instruct the Interim Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan to, despite his public pronouncements to the contrary, publicly count all 94,000 uncounted double-bubble ballots given to Declined to States and American Independent Party voters. To do otherwise would constitute a violation of the California Constitution. (We can share with you a process for the count.)

b) Ensure and monitor a nationwide search for an LA County Registrar of Voters with an unblemished professional history, free of conflicts of interests and financial ties to the election system vendors, committed to counting every ballot accurately as cast, and a demonstrated willingness to maintain an open dialogue with election integrity advocates

c) Provide us with an explanation of the nearly-six week delay in the County’s posting of the job for Registrar following the December 11, 2007 Supervisors meeting, at which it was stated that the job bulletin was close to being finalized.

d) Work with the LA County Human Resources Department to follow up on requests that ensure the qualifications for LA Co ROV meet or exceed the college graduation requirements for LA County dog catcher

e) Request the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office investigate criminal activity involving vote caging -- whereby voters are scrubbed from the rolls after failing to respond to voter registration confirmations disguised as innocuous junk mail solicitations

f) Establish a county task force to study the voter suppression effects of polling place consolidations, to consider the implementation of protocols, such as focus groups, to guard against confusing ballot designs, and to recommend systems that will ensure quick and timely dissemination of key instructions to poll supervisors at work during an election

I look forward to your immediate response.

L.A. County (largest county in USA) vote system vulnerable to hackers

Written by: F. Gluck on Nov 25, 2007 12:43 AM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

With the CA SoS decertifying DRE Touchscreens & now finding vulnerability with the InkaVote Plus Precinct Ballot Recorder, and a new study by studycaliforniaballots.org which has found that the old MicroTallySystem central tabulator to be unacceptably inaccurate, it is time to retrieve elections from the corporations and from computer technology and return them to the citizens gy reinstituting old fashioned Hand Counted Paper Ballots at the Precinct Level!

L.A. County vote system vulnerable to hackers
Secretary of state's report also finds potential for fraud with InkaVote Plus system.
By Harrison Sheppard, From our Sacramento Bureau
Article Launched: 11/23/2007 09:44:54 PM PST
http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_7544866

SACRAMENTO - Consultants for Secretary of State Debra Bowen said Friday they found several flaws in Los Angeles County's voting system that could leave it vulnerable to fraud or electronic hacking.

The report found that seals on boxes used to carry the system hardware could be reopened and then resealed without detection, allowing the machinery open to tampering, and that some password-protected systems could be hacked with available cracker programs. There were also cases where encrypted files containing sensitive data could be decrypted.

The study was performed as part of Bowen's "top-to-bottom" review of voting systems throughout the state. Los Angeles County's InkaVote Plus system is the last to be studied, because vendor Election Systems & Software failed to provide information to Bowen's consulting team on time earlier this year.

In August,

Read more

Action Alert: Demand Net Neutrality!! 48 hrs. left to comment!!

Written by: F. Gluck on Jun 14, 2007 9:00 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

From Common Cause: http://www.commoncause.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=2805365&aid=8802 Please visit link posted above to sign petition!!!! Keep the Internet Open to All: Protect Net Neutrality Major telephone and cable companies have a plan to control the Internet. They want their content and services – and those of companies that pay steep fees – to travel quickly along a “fast lane.” Everything else, from personal blogs to nonprofit and small business websites – would be stuck in a “slow lane.” If the FCC doesn’t act now to protect Net Neutrality, the freedom and innovation of the Internet will be lost forever. Send a message to the FCC before the public comment period on Net Neutrality closes on June 15th, 2007!

The GOP's cyber election hit squad/ plus questions

Written by: F. Gluck on Apr 26, 2007 11:00 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

This astounding article about Election Night 2004 in Ohio makes me wonder about the fact that in Los Angeles County, the central tabulators are in rooms with internet connectivity and it has been difficult for citizens to get straight answers about the voting system in place. http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2553

The GOP's cyber election hit squad

by Steven Rosenfeld and Bob Fitrakis

April 22, 2007

Did the most powerful Republicans in America have the computer capacity, software skills and electronic infrastructure in place on Election Night 2004 to tamper with the Ohio results to ensure George W. Bush's re-election? The answer appears to be yes.

There is more than ample documentation to show that on Election Night 2004, Ohio's "official" Secretary of State website – which gave the world the presidential election results – was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s firing of eight federal prosecutors.

Recent revelations have documented that the Republican National Committee (RNC) ran a secret White House e-mail system for Karl Rove and dozens of White House staffers. This high-tech system used to count and report the 2004 presidential vote– from server-hosting contracts, to software-writing services, to remote-access capability, to the actual server usage logs themselves – must be added to the growing congressional investigations.

Action Alert: Demand Santa Monica Mayor put Impeachment Resolution on Agenda

Written by: F. Gluck on Mar 22, 2007 3:57 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

                                                                    **Action Alert** 
Demand Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom put an impeachment resolution
on the Santa Monica City Council Agenda.

Email Bloom & Council: richard@bloomlaw.net

                                   council@smgov.net

FAX: 310-458-1621

Phone: 310-458-8201

Background:  Local anti-war activist Jerry Rubin had previously submitted an impeachment resolution, which Bloom (the agenda decider) had refused to put on the Santa Monica City Council agenda, arguing it was not in the purview of the local city council to weigh in on impeachment.  Rubin has since revised the agenda submission, rewriting it as a resolution to urge local Congressman Henry Waxman to pursue impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.  Let's support Jerry's efforts and contact Bloom and the council.

 

Thanks,
Marcy Winograd
--------------------------------------------------

richard@bloom.net, council@smgov.net

Dear Mayor Bloom & Council:

I am a member of the Santa Monica Democratic Club, managed the 2004 Democratic Club headquarters in Santa Monica, and work with many Santa Monica residents involved in Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles.  Recently, I organized a slate of progressive candidates, many from Santa Monica, who were elected as delegates to the California Democratic Party.   Therefore, even though I do not live in Santa Monica (Pacific Palisades resident), I am attuned to and vitally interested in the political discourse in Santa Monica.

 

As President of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, I am asking you, Mayor Bloom, to kindly put Jerry Rubin's revised impeachment resolution on the Santa Monica City Council agenda.  Jerry's revised resolution urges the Council to support a letter calling on Congressman Waxman to pursue impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.  It's imperative that cities across the nation clamor for oversight and accountability, lest we see this imperial Presidency further emboldened or set a dangerous precedent for a future Executive bent on abusing power and launching wars based on lies.

To those who argue federal matters are not our concern, let us remind them the future of the planet is most definitely our concern and that all of us have a responsibility to hold our elected officials accountable.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this agenda item.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Marcy Winograd

Executive Board Member, California Democratic Party, 41st AD

President, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles

Recent Congressional Candidate, 36th CD

winogradcoach@aol.com

What A Fellow Activist Has Learned about L.A.'s Voting System (not good)

Written by: F. Gluck on Jan 29, 2007 4:15 AM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

I received this from a fellow election integrity activist in L.A. County:

January 2007

What I've learned about L.A.'s voting system

1. L.A. county scanners are not very accurate, but I'm not sure to what degree. As I recall, optical scanners typically have an error rate of 1 to 2%. Analysis of a couple 1% mandatory manual tallies showed that most of the time the machine and hand counts do not agree.

2. The 1% mandatory manual tally is still being done in a suspect manner. First I found out the selection of precincts for the recount was NOT being done in a random manner, because a truly random selection might result in many more precincts to count. This is due to CA election code which uses the word "random" when describing how precincts are selected. I prefer not to go into a lengthy explanation of why a truly random selection could result in many more precincts to be hand counted. Eventually we seem to have gotten the attention of the registrar by raising public awareness of this issue. After that she said it was a sort of random selection, but did not describe the process. Then at a recent election there was a meeting open to the public where a supposedly random list was presented to be used for the selection of precincts. A list printed up before the meeting may or may not be entirely random. I'd much prefer the use of dice at the meeting to select the precincts over any random list produced by a computer, especially one programmed by a staff that formerly did not want to do a random selection. An alternative would be a book of random numbers.

3. The necessity of installing a new tabulating computer system is suspect. The old one, developed by county personnel, still works and can still be programmed. Diebold said they could build a new tabulator (GEMS2), but despite a rich contract still
haven't finished it yet. The staff says Diebold was the only vendor who had the ability and willingness to build a new tabulator, and thus was the only choice. With all the computer
science departments at major universities here in L.A. the registrar could have asked for expert help and probably received it. This is not rocket science. We could have built our own
new tabulator, but the staff says that would have cost more. I seriously doubt that.

4. Finding out how the election system works is very difficult. You have to ask a lot of questions and be persistent. I've never seen a flow chart of how ballots are handled and tabulated. Yes, there is a thick book of procedures, but in all my talks with the staff nobody has told me where I can get a copy of this book.

5. Citizens cannot learn much about the computer system that actually tabulates the votes. In a request for information on the computer file system the registrar said giving out that information would endanger the voting system, and then denied the request. The only possible threat would be her own staff members. We've been told that the tabulator computers are not connected to the Internet and are only accessed by the staff.
The tabulating computer is programmed by 5 staff members. We haven't met them yet. If revealing how the computer system works is a threat, then our voting system must be really vulnerable to insiders. The implication of the registrar's response to this request means that we have faith based voting in L.A. We have to have faith in the registrar and her staff, since it's all so secret what they do with the computers. We can't really know what is going on, even though the software is not proprietary to any corporation. Citizens paid to develop the software, but citizens cannot examine or look at the software in any manner. If we persist, I think observers with special status may someday have access to the software.

6. The registrar has decided to keep things even more secret from the public. For 2 years I did videotaping of logic and accuracy tests and a 1% hand count without any problem. But now there is a new policy. Now nobody can do video or audio taping of these events or any other public election events inside the Norwalk office. Yes, I can stand out in the hallway of
the MTS room on election night and shoot through a glass window with my camera. They didn't stop that, even though it's technically against their new rules. I can't hear what's
going on inside and most of what goes on is distant and blocked by workers. There is no point in videotaping that.

During past logic and accuracy test observers were allowed inside the scanner room. That's how we discovered new Dell PCs in each scanner cabinet. The Dell PCs are part of the new GEMS2 tabulation system that is not yet certified. We asked to have them removed on election night and I believe they were. Now there is a new policy. Observers at logic and accuracy tests are kept outside in the hallway and have to observe by looking
through a glass window. You can't hear much and you can't see very well because the computer screens are a distance away from the window. If this policy was in place in the past we never would have discovered Dell PCs in the scanner cabinets.

7. L.A. County apparently uses software that was never certified. I asked to see certification documents a few years ago and got the brush off from the staff member who supposedly maintains these records. More recently, other people have asked to
see the documents, but they didn't get to see them either. There may not be any documents. The certification system is so muddled that verbal and letter written "OKs" from the
secretary of state may be the way software is "certified."

The registrar' staff has told me that sometimes last minute software changes are made and there is no time to get approval from the secretary of state. This happens when a judge makes a last minute ruling demanding changes be made on the ballot.

8. We discovered that a computer in the MTS area is connected to the Internet, and is used on election night because election workers want to see election results while they are working on the election. We asked to have that computer removed on election night but were denied. We were told this particular computer is not part of the election system.

I've been a poll worker in L.A. for many years. I do give the registrar and her staff credit for improving the precinct level polling operations during the years I've been involved. The training is pretty good.

When I started asking questions a few years ago it was easier to talk to staff members. Now, with the number of activists increasing, I get the impression from some the staff that they feel harrased and that this is a big headache for them. I get the impression that they don't see the need for so much citizen involvement and questions. They do have a difficult job to do with constantly changing regulations, and they put trust and faith in Diebold and their computer election systems to help them do the work.

Debra Bowen to be sworn in as CA's 30th Sec'y of State this MONDAY!!

Written by: F. Gluck on Jan 6, 2007 2:07 PM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Santa Monica

Congrats to Debra Bowen and many thanks to all who helped get her elected!!!

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Evan Goldberg
January 5, 2007 (916) 215-2747

DEBRA BOWEN TO BE SWORN IN

AS CALIFORNIA'S 30TH SECRETARY OF STATE

SACRAMENTO Debra Bowen will be sworn in as California's 30th Secretary of State on Monday, January 8, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. in the Secretary of State's auditorium, which is located at 1500 11th Street in Sacramento.

The event is open to the public and will be broadcast live over the Internet. People can view it by going to the Secretary of State's web page at www.sos.ca.gov and clicking on the link titled "View Debra Bowen's Inauguration."

Bowen is only the sixth woman in California history to be elected to statewide constitutional office and only the seventh woman to hold such an office.

Born in Rockford, Illinois, Bowen graduated from Michigan State University in 1976 and earned her law degree from the University of Virginia in 1979. In 1984, she started her own California law firm specializing in small business start-ups, tax law, land use, and environmental issues. Her long history of community activism began in the 1980's when she became involved with her local Neighborhood Watch program. Bowen represented the 53rd Assembly District for three terms (1992-1998) in the Legislature, then represented the 28th Senate District for two terms (1998-2006) before she was elected California's 30th Secretary of State on November 7, 2006.

Bowen is married to Mark Nechodom, a research scientist with the U.S. Forest Service.

The women who have held statewide constitutional office in California are:

o Ivy Baker Priest (Treasurer), 1967-75

o March Fong Eu (Secretary of State), 1975-1994

o Elizabeth Whitney (Treasurer), 1987-1989 [appointed]

o Kathleen Brown (Treasurer), 1991-1995

o Kathleen Connell (Controller) , 1995-2003

o Delaine Eastin (Superintendent of Public Instruction) , 1995-2003

o Debra Bowen (Secretary of State), 2007-