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Black Box Voting Video's From NH

by: CTpeon

Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 10:24:30 AM EDT

I was glad to receive the links for these videos, but the whole handling of the recounts in the US today still remains a disheveled mess, with no regard to ethics or the value of the sanctity of ballots. Again, a very sad statement on the state of our Republic.

Will your vote in November really be cast properly, and if a recount is required will it be handled responsibly and accurately?

Subject: LATEST: Two new BBV YouTube Videos, THE CHASE BEGINS

Please share widely, embed, blog, digg, comment, pass these along:

1a: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

1b: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

CTpeon :: Black Box Voting Video's From NH

WHAT'S IN THE VIDEOS:

1. Election Reality TV - BUTCH & HOPPY CHASE Part I (split into two parts
for YouTube length limits), The Butch & Hoppy Chase begins with Susan
Pynchon and Bev Harris's initial foray into the field following a ballot
transport van. This video raises questions, many of which will be answered
in subsequent Election Reality TV videos. Some answers will be troubling and
will spur reforms.

2. Election Reality TV - PROCEDURAL FAILURES

Black Box Voting is focusing on a nationwide "election chain of custody"
project thoughout 2008. We have adjusted communications format to focus on
video, because it is getting more 15-30 year old citizens involved.

Collection of evidence through video, ESPECIALLY WHEN SEVERAL CITIZENS FAN
OUT WITH CAMERAS TO WATCHDOG A SINGLE ELECTION EVENT AND SHARE FOOTAGE, will
be of crucial importance in election 2008. Take note and follow suit.

Click the links below for the new videos. Most of the issues being uncovered
our "ELECTION REALITY TV" series apply to MANY STATES, not just the state
used to illustrate.

Higher quality versions are posted on Black Box Voting -
http://www.blackboxvoting.org (click "Forums, choose "Document Archive"
scroll to "Videos") if you need to download for meetings. Please be
considerate of our bandwidth. Please download ONLY when needed and use
YouTube links for casual viewing and sharing.

WHAT'S TO COME:

An analysis of blow-ups of these video shots, examined frame by frame, has
revealed new information that we believe will be highly significant for
fraud prevention, particularly in an environment of paper ballots with
manual spot checks. Findings originating from these videos will prove to be
critically important to any new audit bill legislation, which MUST include
rigorous chain of custody controls.

The information in these videos has led us to a "theory of the crime"
scenario for New Hampshire. This doesn't prove there was a crime, but
(pending completion of our current testing) will show that the New Hampshire
presidential primary could have been stolen, even on a large scale.

New Hampshire is currently the most auditable state in the nation, with 100
percent hand recounts available for any candidate, at reasonable prices, as
well as good observation and videotaping rights for chain of custody
examinations. THIS TRANSPARENCY SHOULD BE RETAINED!

However, there were breaks in the chain of custody in New Hampshire, such
that there is no reason to believe that the ballots counted in the recount
were the same as the ballots cast by the voters.

And as for the many locations that still use paperless DREs or fail to audit
chain of custody and procedural safeguards, as they say in New York,
"fahgeddaboudit." There is no reason whatsoever to trust those elections.

Our work continues on chain of custody in several states.

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Black Box Voting Video's From NH | 1 comments

Biggest Single Way to Make a Difference (0.00 / 0)

When you see the examples of single citizens' work on election integrity and see what a difference it can make, what comes home to me is that the common factor across many, many of these cases of election irregularities is citizens' lack of involvement, knowledge, and oversight.

I recently read a post after one of the primaries (in another state) where the poster was indignant that on the ballot, there were uncontested races. How unAmerican, he said. Further more, what had happened to the caucus for his (minority) party? Turns out that this overwhelmingly one party town had had the elderly town party chair die recently. He was quite upset about no caucus -- it didn't occur to him that for these things to exist, somebody has to step up to the plate.

It was pointed out to him that real people have to run for these offices, or there is no contest. Would he run, or would he encourage someone else to run?

In the area of elections, there are widespread comments among Registrars about how hard it is to get good help these days (pollworkers), and among voters about how pollworkers are not well trained, or don't understand the new technology, or give wrong answers. We can be pollworkers -- call your local Registrars for details.

BlastfromGlast has done a yeoman's job of organizing citizen participation in the post election audits that the legislature passed into law last year. Have you been an observer yet? It's possible to participate as part of the group and file a report, or simply attend as a citizen who wants to observe.

I think the most important take home message is that if we don't do it, it's entirely possible that no one else will, either. This is an area where there are many stories about one person making a difference (because participation is so minimal, it's shockingly easy to be a force for constructive change -- maybe not to make things perfect, but to be clear you made a contribution.)

Southington has a website that will let you look up the Registrar's contact info.

There is an incredible expectation that the same hardworking, decades-serving people are just going to keep on producing elections while the rest of us have other fish to fry.

Well, we can't expect that benign neglect and flag waving will protect our election system. From the looks of primary season, it may well be that the fish are frying, all right, and some things are better cooked than others.

If everyone who participates in supporting a candidate would also spend just a half day on election observation or post election audit observation, we'd be in infinitely better position to understand our successes and challenges in CT than we as citizens are now.

If you say, "Oh, but it's really hard to get people involved in campaigns," I would opine, "EXACTLY. I rest my case. The lack of citizen involvement and attrition from the electin process is that bad."

by: greenpeas @ Sat Mar 15, 2008 at 18:04:26 PM UTC