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Departments Election Issues Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question E-voting machine disasters Prior to the 2005 election, electronic voting machines from Diebold and other Republican voting machine manufacturers were newly installed in 41 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The Dayton Daily News reported that in Montgomery County, for example, “Some machines began registering votes for the wrong item when voters touched the screen correctly. Those machines had lost their calibration during shipping or installation and had to be recalibrated. . . .” Steve Harsman, the Director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections (BOE), told the Daily News that the recalibration could be done on site, but poll workers had never performed the task before. The city of Carlisle, Ohio announced on November 22 that it is contesting the results of the November 8 general election as a result of Montgomery County vote counting problems. Carlisle Mayor Jerry Ellender told the Middletown Journal that the count on the city’s continuing $3.8 million replacement fire levy is invalid “since they are not sure if Carlisle voters received the right ballots on the new electronic voting machines.” Harsman, according to the Journal, said, “poll workers incorrectly encoded voter cards that are used to bring up the ballots on the electronic machines in precincts in Germantown and Carlisle.” At least 225 votes were registered for the fire levy in precincts with only 148 registered voters, according to the Journal. In addition, 187 voting machine memory cards were lost for most of election night in Montgomery County, according to the Dayton Daily News. In Lucas County, election results appeared more than 13 hours after the close of polls. The Toledo Blade cited “‘frightened’ poll workers,” intimidated by the new “touch-screen voting machines.” The Blade found that despite an $87,568 federal grant to the Lucas County Board of Elections for “voter education and poll worker training . . .” only $1,718.65 was spent from the grant. The Blade also reported that ten days after the 2005 election, “Fourteen touch-screen voting machines have sat unattended in the central hallway at the University of Toledo Scott Park Campus.” The GAO report warned that touch-screen machines are easily hacked and should be kept secure at all times. In Miami County, the Board of Elections fired the Deputy Director, Diane Miley, following a 20-minute closed-door session reviewing the November 8, 2005 general election. The Free Press had reported that in the 2004 presidential election, Miami County was cited in the seminal Moss v. Bush election challenge case. The county was specifically cited for an early morning influx of 19,000 additional votes, mostly for Bush, after 100% of the vote had been reported. The AP reported additional irregularities in the 2005 election in Ohio. In Wood County, election results were not posted until 6:23 a.m. after poll workers at four polling places accidentally selected the wrong option on voting machines preventing the machine memory cards from being automatically uploaded, according to the Board of Elections Deputy Director Debbie Hazard. In five counties – Brown, Crawford, Jackson, Jefferson and Marion – using Diebold machines, there were problems with the counting of absentee ballots as a result of “the width of the ballot,” the AP reported. In Scioto County, the vote count was not finished until 4:30 a.m.. Board of Elections Director Steve Mowery informed the Portsmouth Daily Times that, as a result of machines undergoing insufficient testing and absentee problems, things went “poorly.” Many counties used “roving employees” assigned to pick up memory cards from voting machines. In Lucas County, these “rovers” traveled “to multiple locations before delivering the cards to the election office at Governmental Center.” The polls closed at 7:30 p.m. but, “The final memory cards were delivered to the Board of Elections office just before midnight,” according to WTOL Channel 11 News, Toledo. Toledo’s WTOL Channel 11 News posed the simple question: “Did the delay in returning memory cards to the election office open the door to possible vote fraud?” Amidst these massive glitches, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who personally negotiated the deal for the Diebold machines that he called the “best in the nation,” insisted through his spokesperson Carlo LaParo that “The new touch-screen systems went well.” Odd results for election reform initiatives The Reform Ohio Now (RON) campaign saw polls throughout the state showing two of its four election reform to be passing easily. Both the Columbus Dispatch and University of Akron Bliss Institute polls predicted victories for Issue 2 and Issue 3, only to see them go down to sudden and statistically unexplainable defeat. Issue 2 allowed for early voting in Ohio and Issue 3 reduced the amount of money an individual can give a candidate from $10,000 to $2,000. Both were predicted to pass with 59% and 61% of the vote, respectively. The Bliss Institute of Applied Politics’ survey was completed on October 20 at the University of Akron Survey Research Center, and found that Issue 2 seemed likely to win approval with more than three-fifths of likely voters. The Dispatch mail-in poll was completed on Thursday Nov. 3, just prior to Election Day. The Dispatch poll is so accurate, that at least two academic studies have been published about it in the Public Opinion Quarterly (POQ). The first paper documents that the Dispatch poll between 1980-1984 was far more accurate than telephone polling. The study showed the Dispatch error rate at only 1.6 percentage points versus phone error rates of 5%. A companion study published in POQ in 2000 dealt specifically with the question of statewide referenda. A quote from the study: "The average error for the Dispatch forecast of these referenda was 5.4 percentage points, compared to 7.2 percentage points for the telephone surveys." The academic study concluded that the Dispatch's mail survey outperformed telephone surveys for both referenda and candidate's races. The fact that the Dispatch was nearly 30 points off in predicting the "YES" vote on Issue 3 should raise concerns. Dispatch Associate Publisher Mike Curtin shrugged off the worst polling performance since the infamous Literary Digest predicted that Alf Landon would beat FDR in 1936. In an email obtained by the Free Press, Curtin told California voting rights activist Sheri Myers, “There is no evidence of any irregularities in Ohio’s 2005 voting results.” Curtin, according to election attorney Cliff Arnebeck, had also dismissed anyone who raises issues about Ohio’s 2004 presidential election results as “conspiracy theorists.” Curtin co-authored the scholarly papers on the Dispatch’s legendary polling accuracy. Editorially, the Dispatch has not endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Curtin pleaded with the voting rights activists, “Please don’t buy into the conspiracy theories without any shred of evidence.” Curtin did not deal with the specifics about how the polling, which he was so proud of, was up to 40 points off on certain issues for the first time ever. In another email explaining the unprecedented Dispatch polling debacle, Dispatch Editor Darrel Rowland told a Tribune Media Services columnist that, “I also can’t imagine voting technology is to blame, when both Democrats and Republicans are involved in every crucial step of the way.” Under oath testimony at public hearings sponsored by the Free Press after the 2004 presidential election revealed that election workers admit that they have little or no knowledge of how e-voting technology works and are totally reliant on private vendors for vote counting inside the “black box.” Ohio’s other major newspapers routinely suggest what Rowland “can’t imagine.” Rowland did note that despite the Dispatch’s recent embracing of its unprecedented incompetence at polling that, “Over the years we have found that the people who return our mail poll are likely voters – the holy grail in political polls. Our track record in gauging public opinion in this state regarded as a national political bellwether is unparalleled. Don McTigue, the attorney for RON, told the Free Press that Blackwell had issued a ruling barring RON volunteers from the county vote counting rooms on election eve. McTigue and the RON volunteers had filled out a request form to view the counting eleven days prior to Election Day, but Blackwell had added a new form to verify which group was representing the issues. This new form was not filled out, McTigue admits. Matt Damschroder, the Franklin County Board of Elections Director, allowed the RON observers in anyway, despite their being barred from the vote counting rooms in other counties. This is the second straight election in which the polling organizations were spectacularly wrong in Ohio. In the 2004 election, the media consortium exit polls, as well as the Harris and Zogby polls, all declared Kerry the winner on Election Day. Democracy in jeopardy One of the first times electronic voting machines were used, in the 1988 New Hampshire presidential primary, former CIA director George Herbert Walker Bush pulled off a stunning and unpredicted upset. The last poll before that primary showed Senator Bob Dole winning with 8 percentage points. Bush won by 9 points, a startling 17-point shift. Bush’s e-voting victory allowed him to claim the White House and paved the way for his son to become the United States’ chief executive. Diebold electronic voting machines use non-transparent, proprietary software to count the votes. Diebold’s CEO Wally O’Dell is one of President Bush’s major donors and fundraisers. Election Day news coverage from the 41 counties that adopted Diebold touch-screen machines makes it clear that poll worker ignorance about how to use the high-tech equipment and machine glitches were widespread problems in 2005. Diebold technicians in many areas were key in producing the final vote results. Use of e-voting machines has resulted in two elections with improbable results in Ohio, with potentially catastrophic outcomes for American democracy – especially if they are ignored. -- Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman are co-authors of HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA’S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008, available at www.freepress.org and at www.harveywasserman.com, and, with Steve Rosenfeld, of WHAT HAPPENED IN OHIO?, to be published by the New Press in 2006. |
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Recent Election Issues Articles An open letter to the Election Assistance Commission Diebold hack proven in county test! Diebold Inc. in a tailspin after resignation of CEO and filing of a class action fraud lawsuit Orr thinks machines make voting simpler, more secure Diebold "hack test" - Sec. State / Black Box Lawyer square off With new legislation, Ohio Republicans plan holiday burial for American Democracy Important daily voting news Poll shock Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question Diebold attempts to evade election transparency laws Supreme Court stabs another GOP knife into US democracy by upholding ex-felon vote ban Has American Democracy died an electronic death in Ohio 2005's referenda defeats? What John Kerry definitely said about 2004’s stolen election and why it's killing American democracy Scrap the "secret" ballot - return to open voting Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper Watergate-style money laundering indictments stoke Ohio's stolen election fires Powerful Government Accountability Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings Did you erase your own vote? Why can't the left face the Stolen Elections of 2004 & 2008? Carter/Baker Report can't face how the GOP stole America's 2004 election & is rigging 2008 Two Steps Forward, One Step Back FEMA Chief Brown Paid Millions in False Claims to Help Bush Win Fla. Votes Ohio recount lawsuit set for trial; election workers indicted Ohio Governor's ethics violations expose money trail to stolen 2004 election Diebold's failure in California Did the GOP steal another Ohio Election? Conyers-Kaptur seek special counsel for Noe probe Dramatic new charges deepen link between Ohio's "Coingate," Voinovich mob connections, and the theft of the 2004 election None dare call it stolen - Ohio, the election, and America's servile press Civic Engagement and the Restoration of Community from a voter activist’s view My report from Hocking County, July 5, 2005: An update on Sherole Eaton's unfolding Story Handbook for Ohio Voter Activists, Version 2.0 Direct testimony: Presented to Election Assessment Hearing Log Cabin Republicans in Ohio With a limp election theft report, Dems prove why they're unworthy Voting problems and uncounted votes in Lucas County, Ohio The DNC 2004 Election Report: An indictment of incompetence Corporate control of the election process Introduction: Did George W. Bush steal America's 2004 election? Voter Confidence Committee Calls For Rejection of CA Special Election Activists from 25 states lobby for paper ballots on June 9 and 10 Fear of riffraff Electoral Politics and the War: Lessons from 2004 and What the Anti-War Movement Should do in 2006 Optical scan machines hacked in Florida Does ES&S really want to sell the Automark machines? Attack on election board whistleblower and leaked Blackwell threats re-fire Ohio's election theft scandal Franklin County, Ohio Election Procedures – April and May 2005 Carter Gets It – But Will His Electoral Commission? Voter Perceptions and Political Deceptions: Federal, Ohio and Knox Electoral reform groups call for James Baker's resignation from electoral reform commission National Conference on Election Reform Opens with Civil Rights Panel View from Another Planet Democrats! Paper “Trails” Aren’t Good Enough. Count The Damn Ballots! Democrats, Paper ‘Trails’ Aren’t Good Enough; Count The Damn Ballots! Scientific Analysis Suggests Presidential Vote Counts May Have Been Altered As Blackwell Says, Ohio’s in 2004 was a National Model Understanding the difference between paper ballots and paper audit trails Save Our Democracy Republicans maneuvering to get Voting Rights Act killed Legal filing highlights Blackwell's hypocrisy in Ohio recount case Selma 40 Years Later Exit Poll Madness - Analyst Steve Freeman & Company Offer False Choice Libertarians To Testify in Ohio House: Modernize Ohio's Election Laws The New Voting Rights Movement Begins Here Today Voting in America The Mighty Texas Strike Force Blackwell presidential election sanctions briefs Representative Conyers and others file amicus brief in Ohio Supreme Court Congresswoman Tubbs Jones Outraged at Blackwell's Failure to Appear During House Administration Hearing Ohio Attorney-General's attack on election protection attorneys draws mountain of documentation on state's stolen election, including new study on exit polls Prominent Statisticians Refute 'Explanation' of 2004 U.S. Exit Poll Discrepancies in New Edison/Mitofsky Report and Urge Investigation of U.S. Presidential Election Results The last man to concede... Report on Washington DC, January 6, 2005 Arkansas in 2004: Did Bush Really Win? New links Voting Problems and Uncounted Votes in Lucas County, Ohio Plan B: Parallel Elections & Signed Ballots Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from Representative John Conyers, Jr. Open Letter to Warren Mitofsky and Larry Rosin from Representative John Conyers, Jr. Ohio's GOP Attorney General launches revenge attack on Election Protection legal team What are they hiding in New Mexico? In the Shadow of Dr. King, counting the vote remains a civil rights issue Did the “Liberal Media” Get the 2004 Election All Wrong?
'COUNT EVERY VOTE. EVERY VOTE COUNTS' Moss v. Bush moves on and movement continues Rally Continues Drive for Democracy Estimated vote count in Ohio January 6 Washington, D.C. rally report Together, we moved three mountains What the election challenge means Progressive Democrats lead historic voting rights protest as Congress ratifies flawed 2004 Electoral College tally Arnebeck letter to Congress re Presidential Electoral Challenge Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-OH contested the election The "Crime of November 2": The human side of how Bush stole Ohio, and why Congress must investigate rather than ratify the Electoral College (Part Two of Two) Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff Seven key reasons why the vote must be challenged at the electoral college Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two) Verified election contest petitions and documents in Ohio Supreme Court Distribution of voting machines by county in Ohio Did We Bounce An Election? Presidential election congressional hearing transcript Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
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