Florida Clerk Notes Election Irregularities In Broward County, Florida
Florida Clerk Notes Election Irregularities In Broward County, FloridaReproduced under the Fair Use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use.
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Sunday, November 10, 2002 — I was a clerk in precinct 12f in Broward County. I was very strict to count the number of people that actually voted against the machine count on the totals tape. The number of people who precisely voted in my precinct was 713. The machine count was 749. You don't have to be a computer scientist to know that it doesn't add up and the many possibilities as to how those votes were distributed.
As we know in the touchscreen machines there is no way to store or recreate a ballot, so no manual recount is possible. When I returned to the dropoff point to return my clerk supplies I pointed this out to the officials about the discrepancy between actual voters and machine count. They were jubilant! They told me that if the difference between the actual voters and machine count is plus or minus 10% then they had a successful election. I immediately pointed out if you have 1 million voters then you have 100 thousand possible votes that are added or deleted that you the public have no way of knowing who they voted for! But did you know that the touchscreen companies have the law setup so that it is a felony for anyone, county, person, etc., to do an independent audit of the election results.
Then I heard on the news that 104 thousand votes turned up after the election, how did they vote???? People across Broward were touching the McBride selection and it kept on checking Bush. Repeatedly, this happened and they could not vote for their candidate. So it seems to me that the default on these touchscreen machines might have been set for Bush. This might explain a possibility that the difference between Dyer and Crist and other candidates might have been tampered with or not reflecting the voter intent.
I suggest we look into all touchscreen machines and elections where they were used and demand an audit even if it was not a close election. Because you could press a selection for one candidate or issue you think you are voting for that and the machines could be tabulating for someone or something else. I know that Georgia used touchscreen machines. I think we should look at these results as well.
It could very well be that candidates that people thought they were voting for did not register for that candidate. I think we should investigate and sue everyone involved in purchasing these touchscreen machines that offer the public no paper trail or public scrutiny. There seems to be rush to embrace new technology without analyzing if it is truly the best way to achieve accurate elections devoid of political tampering.
I might add, this issue must be addressed immediately by our representatives as our democratic survival as a country depends on it.
I'm a computer engineer and political activist who has long opposed electronic voting in the absence of a paper audit trail.
First of all, I'd like to confirm that you actually authored the email above. Then, if so, I'd like your permission to forward it (or better yet, have you forward it) to experts in the field and to state Senator Rod Smith who, last week (before the election) expressed to me his concern of the touch-screen systems and his desire to eliminate them.
I'm happy to write in much more detail, but am inclined to make a terse initial contact to verify authenticity and to ensure I'm not inappropriately contacting you.
Email: Vince@Lipsio.com
Date: Monday, 11 November 2002 01:18:56 -0500
From: Ellen H Brodsky <ehbrod@gate.net>
To: Vincent J Lipsio <Vince@lipsio.com>
Subject: Re: Reply to: Counting Votes.
Yes, I am Ellen H. Brodsky and yes I was a clerk in Precinct 12F in Broward. Everything I have said is true and the totals were public in my precinct as I showed everyone and announced the results to all my pollworkers and technician. Everyone signed the totals tape. My assistant clerk and I collected all authorization slips and checked the people that voted totals against the machine totals. I have lots of information and experience that I would be glad to gather and share with you from over the last year. It seems that the touchscreen elections machines that the state of Florida has offered the counties not only are from companies with terrible elections history, but they cannot store or recreate ballots, just tally their own tally.
I just recently filed a notice in Alachua County on Sept. 27, 2002 in the public records of the clerk to warn the voters in touchscreen counties to vote absentee in order to have a paper trail and have their votes counted. (My son goes to University of Florida)
I am convinced that every election across the country that used touchscreen equipment be revisited now as many races could be challenged. Unfortunately, you can't do a manual recount with these machines. But some of the totals could be so flawed as to demand a new election.
Email: ehbrod@gate.net
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