[Iowa-dx] Fwd: From Atlanta Progressive News

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http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0093.html

EXCLUSIVE: McKinney Condemns E-Voting, Keeps Options Open
Bev Harris, Activists Fault ?Diebold Democracy,? Say "Count the Vote, or Die=
"

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and National Correspondent, Atlanta
Progressive News (September 30, 2006)

Photographs by Jonathan Springston, Staff Writer

(APN) DECATUR ? US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) is keeping her options
open, and is reviewing public records concerning her 2006 Primary and
Run-off Elections with Bev Harris of BlackBoxVoting and others while
deciding whether to legally challenge the election, The Atlanta
Progressive News has learned in an exclusive interview with the
Congresswoman.

Harris spoke with APN about their research shortly after the Run-off
Election. They have made numerous public records requests. ?We know
what we?re looking for,? Harris said.

?Diebold Democracy? was the topic discussed, as US Rep. McKinney
convened a comprehensive press conference today at the Omega Center.
It was the third major press conference the Congresswoman has had on
elections integrity. The Congresswoman told the present writer back in
2005, she resolved to hold the series of conferences after viewing a
hack of Diebold machines in Leon County, Florida.

Nationally renowned advocate Bev Harris of BlackBoxVoting joined local
advocates including US Congressional Candidate Donzella James;
McKinney Lead Poll Watcher Karon Edge-Fitzpatrick, VoterGA lawsuit
plaintiff Garland Favorito; Nan Garrett of the Georgia Green Party;
and others in describing electronic voting systems today as an urgent,
tremendous threat to the legitimacy of ?one person, one vote,? the
fundamental principle of our Democracy.

?As Bev Harris mentioned at the press conference today, evidence on
the 2006 election is being collected and will be posted on her
website, www.blackboxvoting.org. As is the case with all
investigations, no decisions will be made until all the facts are
known,? US Rep. McKinney told Atlanta Progressive News in an exclusive
interview by way of email.

?Without election integrity, we lose our right to vote and our right
to representation. We have no choice but to demand that our country do
better. The election protection issue is not obvious because the
American people still don't realize that their precious right to vote
is endangered. If they did, there would be more outrage,? US Rep.
McKinney told Atlanta Progressive News.

US Rep. McKinney did not disclose whether she may run again in 2008
for Congresswoman, or any other office, or whether she may create new
advocacy venues for herself on a national platform. One source told
Atlanta Progressive News the Congresswoman is receiving a lot of offers.

Several sources are telling Atlanta Progressive News the Congresswoman
is being wooed by the Green Party of Georgia to possibly pursue
various offices including President of the United States on the Green
ticket.

DIEBOLD DEMOCRACY

?We received complaints all over Metro Atlanta of citizens who feel
they were deprived their right to vote, either because their vote was
not counted, or they were unable to vote,? US Rep. McKinney said
during today?s press conference.

?The Diebold systems are seriously flawed... a position I have long
held. There is no paper trail. No way to verify the data coming out of
the machine is the same as what?s going in,? US Rep. McKinney said.

E-voting technologies ?should be made public, because they are bought
with public money. They use national security as an excuse,? US Rep.
McKinney said.

?Diebold used uncertified software and untested hardware in Georgia?s
2002 Election,? US Rep. McKinney said, referring to the whistleblower
allegations recently reported in Atlanta Progressive News and Rolling
Stone Magazine.

?I co-sponsored emergency legislation requiring paper ballots for any
person wishing one,? US Rep. McKinney said.

?We must not have another election where voters learn they can?t
trust,? their Democracy, US Rep McKinney said.

?I call on [Georgia] Secretary of State Cathy Cox to give voters a
choice to refuse to vote on the machines she purchased. I call on a
100% paper ballot standard. And I call on the country to get rid of
Diebold and ES&S voting machines,? US Rep. McKinney said.

When asked by Atlanta Progressive News during the question and answer
session of the press conference whether the Congresswoman thought it
is misleading the corporate media use the word ?results? to describe
any elections where unverifiable E-voting machines are used, ?That?s a
cute question,? she replied.

?Citizens for Legitimate Government, whenever they discuss the
President, put in brackets the [P], so it is the resident. So I?ve
adopted that as my own standard,? the Congresswoman continued.

?The testimony of folks here makes it clear we have severe problems
including [the testimony regarding] the Princeton study,? she said.

BEV HARRIS?S TESTIMONY

Congresswoman McKinney ?stands alone in the US Congress. This is a
subject that takes courage to look at because we?re told we?re the
greatest Democracy,? Bev Harris said in the press conference.

Harris traveled from Washington State to attend the press conference
today, after stopping in Ohio to attend the ?We Count 2006" national
conference.

?The citizens of Georgia are very lucky to have someone willing to
look at this,? Harris said.

While it is important to look at voters? testimony, public records
requests are crucial in looking for election fraud, Harris said.

?The McKinney Campaign got a lot of evidence,? Harris said.

Much of this evidence has been discussed in previous exclusive
articles by Atlanta Progressive News. Please see ?APN?s Essential
Elections Integrity in Georgia- Reading List 2006? at the bottom of
this article.

?We need to remove the word glitch from the elections vocabulary,?
Harris said.

?Dekalb County?s problems are going to be listed on Black Box Voting,?
Harris said.

Recently, the problems with Diebold?s electronic poll books in
Maryland grabbed headlines there. ?That was happening all over
Georgia,? Harris said.

Indeed, Georgia?s problems got reported in Maryland media, but were
missing in action in Georgia media [APN not included]. Even the fact
that the problems happened in Georgia had to be reported in Maryland
media in order for the public to have any awareness.

The pollbooks interact with the state database, Harris said.

After selecting ballots, ?an awful lot of people were not getting the
right candidates on the touch screen,? Harris said.

?People age 75 and up were showing up as if they already voted
absentee,? Harris said.

Democrats got Republican ballots in many cases. ?Most noticed; a few
were disenfranschised,? Harris said. ?But what happens if just a
percent of people got the wrong ballot??

?Congresswoman McKinney was getting reports of people voting for her,
not even in her District,? Harris said.

?They [the State] say, it?s ridiculous. It doesn?t work that way. But
it?s a secret how it does work,? Harris said.

Harris was shocked when she learned more about Georgia?s Elections Officials=
.

She asked them to explain what happens if a number on a seal sticker
on the machine is different than it's supposed to be, or if a seal is
broken.

?They write it down,? Harris said of their reply. ?It should be a
problem if it has a broken seal. Dekalb says they run a new zero
report. It happens all the time [seals breaking], in transportation,?
Harris said.

?It means the press isn?t digging deep enough,? Harris said. ?They get
a press release from Diebold and Cathy Cox, and they never do a public
records request.?

?Good luck in Georgia, gang!? Harris concluded.

ANOTHER VOTER?S STORY

One voter from Georgia?s 5th District told another story corroborating
many more stories indicating systemic failure in the recent Elections.

?When I got ready to vote, I saw Cynthia [McKinney] and Hank Johnson?s
name on the ballot. I voted for Cynthia McKinney, and [US Rep.] John
Lewis also,? Alison Holmes Rucker said.

The problem is, Rep. McKinney was up for reelection in the 4th
District. This voter says she voted in two Congressional District
races out of her polling place in the 5th District.

She said she only got the Lieutenant Governor?s race on her ballot in
the Runoff Election.

BLIND RADIO HOST STATES CONCERNS

Adam Shapiro, host of WRFG Thursday?s ?Current Events? Show, which
features the APN News Team, among other guests, each week, wanted to
set the record straight.

?As I understand, Diebold is saying you cannot have a paper trail to
have a secret ballot for the blind population. They?re bringing up a
red herring,? Shapiro, who is blind, said in the press conference.

Shapiro stated his support for a paper trail and said he did not want
the blind and visually impaired community seen as opposing a paper
trail. Shapiro is also a plaintiff in the VoterGA lawsuit.

AN INEXPENSIVE PAPER TRAIL

As Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox cites the cost of millions of
dollars to add printers to the current Diebold machines?saying the
cost should be weighed against the benefit of ?increased voter
confidence??one vendor says his company?s voting machines can give
Georgia voters what they want for much less money.

Roger Perez, the Senior Chairman of the IBS Corporation, said his
system was selected among 20 other vendors in Nigeria.

?In the US you have to spend thousands of dollars before you get
certified. I went to Nigeria. There were twenty vendors who
participated, including Diebold and ES&S. We got the contract,? Perez
said.

The IBS system works on an image based system, Perez said.

?You got a paper ballot for every vote. If there are 20 million votes,
I would be happy to print 20 million ballots,? Perez said.

APN?s ESSENTIAL ELECTIONS INTEGRITY IN GEORGIA 2006 READING LIST

Diebold Used Secret Patches in Georgia in 2002, Whistleblowers Say

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0091.html

McKinney Pursuing Legal Challenges to Election in Georgia

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0077.html

Donzella James Contesting Primary in Georgia

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0076.html

Machine Vote-Flipping Claimed in McKinney Primary

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0072.html

VoterGA Lawsuit Filed over E-Voting Questionability

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0070.html

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor and National Correspondent for
Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at
matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

Syndication policy:

This article may be reprinted in full at no cost where Atlanta
Progressive News is credited.