Review of "HACKED: High Tech Election Theft in America"
by Christine R. Cox
Rarely does one review a book, and then immediately begin extolling it as a read belonging on the shelves of everyone's home library, in the classrooms of every high school senior government class, made required reading for every college and every Political Science and U.S. History major on college and university campuses. Herein lies the exception.
Not for light reading, "Hacked! High Tech Election Theft in America" is a compilation of eleven essays meticulously gathered by two Austin, Texas activists, Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vicky Karp, and originally inspired by another equally zealous and politically erudite Texan, Bev Harris. It begins with prologues by these two evidently committed women, succinctly explaining their decision to take on the protracted task of gathering information on a controversial subject that by some will initially be seen as an attack on the foundation of our government system and on its leaders, but by others, possibly most, will be seen as a truly valiant act of patriotic dedication and an exhaustive effort to advocate for our country's lately tenuous constitutional rights, the most sacred and essential being the right of every citizens vote to be counted.
Since it is undeniable that if we are to believe in this somewhat fledgling, experimental system of democracy, putting aside its many extraordinary struggles, without fear of it becoming a plutocracy or an imperialistic union, then every dutiful citizen of this country must at the very least believe in our individual voice and the core belief that each voice can and will be heard through the power of one vote. "Hacked" exposes the muffling, even silencing, of that most poignant voice, and then kicks the reader in the gut with its methodical one-two punches as it diligently reveals the dirty, unsettling truths about our flawed and corrupt electoral system, the partners in crime who are corrupting and digging all its many gaping apertures, and the plain and simple way that each reader's vote is being stolen right out from under his unsuspecting nose.
That these imperfections in our centuries old system are mostly, and not accidentally, manmade and manipulated is something that leaves the reader's stomach more than a bit queasy throughout. And just as the book begins to become somewhat murky, getting bogged down in a textbookish fog of statistical detail, heartfelt stories like one by Kathleen Wynne, the founder of the organization Black Box Voting, of after hours dumpster diving for paper counted votes tossed in back street trash barrels wake the reader up to what the writers want him to see. The crude, plain truth, reveals "Hacked", is that if every vote IS to count, then every vote will need to be counted by humans - yes, hiccup - our own, slow, tediously repetitive counting by hand will be all in the end that which saves our system, and makes our government truly representative of the entreaty of its populous.
The array of writers represented in the thick of this must-have offering is impressive, though slightly biased, since many hold a reputation as a liberal-leaner, like Ohio attorney and outspoken journalist and activist Bob Fitrakis and Victoria Collier of the historically famous Collier brothers family. Nevertheless, as the reader becomes more engrossed in the "conspiracy theory" offered within, there begins to emerge a pattern. The theories presented, some by election officials and judges themselves, and scrupulously backed up with well researched and footnoted facts and numbers, may seem outrageous at first, since the bulk of the electronic vote high-jacking is orchestrated at the hands of corporate America and then left unexposed by what some call the "fourth hand of the government", the media. But it isn't long before such a convincing case is made that even the most centrist, or even right-winged critic will become an outraged believer and want to see something change immediately. If this book has the impact that its authors and essayists hope it will have in mobilizing a grassroots movement to begin fighting against the vote-stealing powers at be and demanding a fair, systematic, and nationally uniform system for vote counting, the next presidential election could be markedly different than the last few. And not only nationally, but locally, people will begin to feel the impact of change as the outcomes of some, perhaps many, elections become true indications of what voters really want.
Book Review by Joan Brunwasser
September 15, 2006
9/11, Jury Duty, and What America is Demanding of Us Right Now
By Joan Brunwasser
Hacked! High Tech Election Theft in America, 11 Experts Expose the Truth! Edited by Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp, Truth Enterprises Publishing, August 2006
Joan Brunwasser, Voting Integrity Editor, OpEdNews September 11, 2006
I got up very early today and headed downtown for my annual jury duty assignment. It seemed somehow appropriate for 9/11. Because I like to be prepared, I packed a raincoat, snacks, a water bottle, blank note cards, my Filofax, paper, and two books. I'm sure I looked like a bag lady, but you never know what you're going to need. Once a hoarder, always a hoarder. I'm in the middle of a disturbing novel, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and also packed Hacked! by Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp. I got it in the mail over the weekend and thought that the waiting game at the courthouse would be an ideal time to crack it open.
The introductory video at the Daley Center Courthouse echoed with patriotic refrains that could so easily be applied to the issue of voting integrity. The narrating judge talked about "fulfilling the duty and obligation as an American citizen" and the "diligence and sacrifice" of each of us that allows the justice system to work. He also talked about the juror's responsibility to make a final determination about what happened, weighing the "credibility of the testimony of the witness," keeping in mind that the witness may or may not be reliable and may or may not be telling the whole story. I looked around, trying to discern on the faces surrounding me if anyone else was struck by the themes of election reform.
As I sat there - doing my patriotic duty with my fellow citizens, together, yet alone - I attacked the book with my yellow marker. I highlighted so many passages that the pages seemed to glow. I'm sure I looked like an overgrown student on a rampage. It's so hard to read this material and stay calm. I found myself pulling on my hair from frustration and anguish. I wanted to go screaming down the hallway. I probably would have if I thought it would help, but rationally decided against it. Maybe my morning yoga is paying off.
The electronic voting machine vendors and their proponents have done a terrific job of framing the issue so that the onus always seems to be on the well-meaning, concerned citizens and/or voting activists. In the same way that Clean Skies, the Patriot Act, and Help America Vote have taken on Orwellian overtones, the presumption of innocence and home court advantage have been awarded to the vendors. We need to constantly remind ourselves that it's the voters, not the machines, who are to be protected. Anything that does not directly contribute to furthering voting integrity should be discarded. We needn't apologize about it. That's simply the way it's supposed to be.
Karp and DeLozier's book traces the history of our surrendered elections. While 2000 and 2004 are strong in our recent memories, corrupted elections stretch back much farther. It is a sad story full of defeats, large and small. Historically, there was a much more direct connection between the voter and the vote. As more layers have been added, each has stripped away transparency and made oversight more difficult. With the insertion of electronic voting, secret software, and technicians who work on the machines (even in the midst of an election with no one able to understand or verify exactly what has been done), transparency is nothing more than a fond memory. These changes have not benefited the American people or the democratic process. The infamous hanging chads of the 2000 election became the pretext for adopting wholesale electronic voting at the expense of the voter. HAVA, which purports to "help" Americans vote, is ironically, a much bigger threat to voters' intentions than the system it has replaced.
DeLozier posts:
Why is our government allowing its citizens to vote on privately owned machines, without citizen oversight, using secret programming, without proper testing or certification, and looking the other way every time a machine miscounts an election? (xxvi)
Bev Harris asks, "If an elections official ruins an election - loses votes forever, or mishandles the voting so badly that no one can repair the error - we can fire that person. If an election's machine ruins an election, shouldn't we fire that voting system?" (Hacked, 18)
The entire rationale for electronic voting machines seems to be built on sand. (Readers, imagine that the following paragraph is written in 20-point font, bold, italicized, and underlined!) HAVA does not actually require the use of DREs, although it has been interpreted that way often enough that everyone thinks that it does. Section 301-303 actually says (emphasis mine), "At least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities" (163). Another case of repeating a lie over and over until it sounds true. This often-willful misinterpretation has led to almost four billion of our tax dollars being spent on this insecure, unreliable, expensive system, which is actually antithetical to democratic principles.
Here are some more lies and distortions.
- Diebold has failed every test put to it by computer experts, yet it insists that its machines do what they're advertised to do. Worse yet, its and other vendors' wares are routinely certified. So then what does certification actually mean? And what kind of certifying body is the ITA when it is vendor-funded, and reports only to the vendors, who can choose to rectify the problems (or not) without voters being notified? The law asks: cui bono? Who benefits from such a system? Surely not the voters. (Please see the postscript about the just released Princeton's Center for IT Policy Report.)
- What about the many reports issued after the 2004 election? Conyers' report, the GAO Report, Carter-Baker, the Harri Hursti/Black Box Voting Leon County hack, the Diebold security advisory alert, the California task force report commissioned by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, the Brennan Center Report. Each was scathing regarding the gaping holes in the security of the poorly written software. Do we really need more proof that this is not working? What other system would get so many chances?
- No background checks on company ownership or employees means that many of the companies change hands, involve foreign ownership, and employ known felons.
- Why are public officials, who are paid with tax dollars, defending vendors at the expense of citizens and our elections? Why are former elections officials now lobbying (often those who once worked for them) for electronic voting machine vendor contracts?
- Why would we want defense industry figures, former CIA bigwigs, right-wing extremists, or Venezuelan interests to control our voting? What about senators (formerly "long shot" candidates) with presidential aspirations? Why have we privatized this ultimate American institution? What have we gained, and more importantly, what have we lost?
May Schmidt, the election judge says:
I want a system that is easy, can be executed with minimal equipment and that the voters can understand easily. For me, the answer is hand-counted paper ballots. This system is cheaper, efficient and more transparent for the voter and election workers. I think voters trust paper ballots more. In my opinion if someone wanted to throw an election, one would have to have a group of complicit people in several precincts. With electronic voting it only takes one hacker to tamper with an election. It is the difference between NFL football and a pickup soccer game! (Hacked!, p. 56)
We are urged to educate ourselves. This book has a bountiful bibliography full of everything anyone needs to know to get plenty alarmed. The authors welcome your scrutiny. Once you're mad about what's going on, they recommend getting active. Educate yourself. Support voting integrity organizations. Pick up a camcorder and observe and record. Sometimes, a video is worth a thousand words. It has been proven useful in providing evidence for lawsuits.
Karp and DeLozier bring together a stellar group: Bev Harris, Lynn Landes, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, and others, including an election judge with 35 years of experience. Each of the contributors seems to conclude that hand-counted paper ballots are the only way to secure elections. But even that is not enough. They must also be "hand counted in public view, with vote totals posted at the precinct level."
Here, the authors effectively offer point and counterpoint for the traditional arguments brought by proponents of electronic voting.
Many say that it's too late; electronic voting machines have been purchased all across the county, and now we have to use them.
We say: Citizens get what they settle for. We refuse to settle for electronic voting machines or optical scan counters. Period.
Many say it's the computer age, that's how we have to conduct elections.
We say: Computers have their place, and they have no place running the elections.
Many say it takes too long to hand count paper ballots.
We say: In certain cases, it can even be faster to hand count paper ballots than to wait days for uncertain results from highly suspect electronic voting machines. But even if it did take longer, what is more important? Speed? Or accuracy?
Many say we will not be able to win the battle of trashing these machines and going back to hand-counted paper ballots without incremental victories. Thus, amendments such as HR 550 and the other proposed legislative "solutions" covered in Rep. McKinney's chapter have value.
We say: How many more years, how many more elections will we allow to be compromised or stolen before we say, conclusively: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! NO MORE COMPUTERS! NO MORE MACHINES RUNNING OUR ELECTIONS! We will settle for no less than elections held with hand-counted paper ballots! (Hacked!, pp. 192-3)
I didn't need to be convinced. Now, I'm throwing the question back to you. Read the book and judge for yourself. Kathleen Wynne gave up her job to become a full-time voting activist. That's a lot to expect from any "normal" person. Realistically speaking, what can you do? What will you do?
Victoria Collier puts it well: "Do you support democracy?... If you do, then you must believe in the vote and you have the responsibility to fight for it right now. You have no right to turn away from that fight, or expect someone else to fight it for you" (70). That's it, in a nutshell.
Five years ago today, when the planes struck the World Trade Center, I was getting a massage, an unusual treat. We sat and watched the television in stunned silence. I felt like I was suddenly speaking a foreign language. I just didn't get it. It didn't sink in. It was too weird. It was too new and raw.
It's been a long five years. I'm a lot older now. Another dubious election and its aftermath have aged me. But, I know what I know. I'm not so nave anymore. What I now know is that we're under attack, only it's from the inside, and it's striking at the core of who we are and what we'll be in an even more fundamental way than 9/11 did. My challenge is to wake people up, without burning out or going mad in the interim. I'd like to keep my hair. I could use some help. Won't you join me?
***
Get a copy and share it with your friends!
Authors Website: www.CountEveryVote.BlogSpot.com
Authors Bio: Joan Brunwasser of Citizens for Election Reform is a citizen activist working hard to restore and preserve free and fair elections. Her main focus is distributing "Invisible Ballots" through her lending library project. Since mid September, she has loaned the DVD to 'borrowers' in 37 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Canada, Holland, England, Ireland and Japan. She has now enlisted 2,048 individuals and groups in her project and is always looking for new contacts. Her latest target is the local press, local elected officials and other community movers and shakers. She is the Voting Integrity Editor for Op Ed News.
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS: Hacked! High Tech Election Theft in America
The greatest threat to our election process is theft.
We all know about the GOP re-emergence of Jim Crow voter suppression laws and dirty tricks like not putting enough polling booths in Democratic (particularly minority) precincts.
But most of the progressive community has a hard time fathoming the intricacies that make up the most dangerous threat of a massive voting fraud: electronic voting machines. Not only are they privately owned, but their software is patented and not available to the public.
In short, America has subcontracted the counting of its votes to primarily Republican affiliated electronic voting machine companies. They have control over how the votes are processed. Vote counters in polling places rely on what the machines tell them.
Many progressives regard the idea that an election would be stolen through the manipulation of electornic voting machine software as a "dreaded conspiracy" theory. But the facts indicate that it is not a theory; it is a distinct possiblity.
"Hacked! High Tech Election Theft in America" is an excellent primer on the threat to democracy posed by electronic voting. It is not some crazed theory. It is just common sense, once you understand the issues at hand.
"Hacked" includes explanations by some of the leading activists in the area of exposing the truth about electronic voting machines.
Don't be intimidated by the technology of the problem. Because then you've given up on understanding a grave threat to our democracy.
The Supreme Court may have stolen the election for Bush in 2000, but more ominously elections can now be stolen with a slight change in vote counting software -- and no one would be the wiser.
It's like carbon dioxide. You won't even smell it.
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS http://buzzflash.com
Book Review - by Pat Shannan
HACKED - High Tech Election Theft in America
Abbe Waldman DeLozier and Vickie Karp have given new definition to "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." The 1697 poem tied the phrase to lost love, but HACKED is a compilation of evidence from eleven experts - almost exclusively women - who are raging against the crooked system of computer vote fraud in America, and their scorn is far greater than any one of them could ever level against a mere former lover.
Some are better known than others, such as Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and Bev Harris, an early voice of the vote fraud whistle blowers, to whom the book is dedicated, but the eventual message of each - following another new and outrageous vote fraud example - is the same: the practice must be stopped. It has destroyed the citizen's confidence in the democratic system of selecting by majority rule at the ballot box.
The two Austin, Texas women became enamored with this project after hearing Bev Harris on the car radio explain the fraud in the 2000 presidential election and how the computers can be and are errantly programmed and corrupted and easily hacked. They have compiled remarkable evidence from around the country and have assembled a group of writers that will convince the greatest of skeptics.
"It's secret vote counting," says Karp, "and the result is no different than someone taking the ballot box in a back room and returning later to tell us what the vote count was."
Kathleen Wynne tells of a midnight dumpster dive outside the Diebold Election Systems offices in McKinney, Texas in search of incriminating evidence. She and Bev Harris separated from the stinking garbage in their motel room what they deemed valuable, then bravely went back at 3:00 a.m. for another dive. Wynne tossed while Harris caught and stashed the smelly bags in the trunk and backseat of their car, and they escaped a second time before the cops could swing by on routine patrol. This after-hours hunting trip yielded a bonanza that Diebold would have a hard time explaining.
Victoria Collier, daughter and niece of the real pioneers of the vote fraud expose', says the Collier brothers expected to win a Pulitizer Prize for their research and book, VoteScam, and should have but were instead vilified as conspiracy theorists and that their groundbreaking investigation is still carefully ignored by the media and many vote reform leaders who are afraid of being labeled the same way themselves.
But election fraud is a conspiracy, Victoria says. It's a treasonous, tragic and extremely effective conspiracy to undermine, control and destroy democracy. We cannot win this fight by pretending that vote fraud began yesterday - or even worse, pretending that it has not yet begun.
Jim and Ken Collier documented massive "vote scamming" as early as 1970 in Dade County, Florida. Over a period of years they were able to discover not only how widespread the practice was (is) but also how fully protected by all the major corporate news networks it remains. They spent over twenty years of investigation before releasing VoteScam in 1992.
Bev Harris shocks us once again with the little known story of Sen. Chuck Hagel's stunning success in Nebraska by making lightning strike twice, according to CNN, when he won the 1996 Republican Primary, defeating a much better known attorney general of the state, and then bombing Democratic Governor Ben Nelson in the general election. Nelson had led in the polls since day one.
The Washington Post called Hagel's victory the major Republican upset in the nation as he became the first Republican to win a U. S. Senate seat in Nebraska in 24 years.
But the reporters missed the real news scoop and "this time not because they intentionally ignored it," reports Harris. Chuck Hagel had been no less than CEO of the voting machine company that would count his votes - American Information Systems - up until only two weeks before announcing his run for the senate. However, reporters didn't report it because they didn't know about it. Hagel had omitted this little gem on his disclosure documents.
When asked to describe every position he had held, paid or unpaid, he mentioned his work as a banker and even listed his volunteer positions with the Mid-America chapter of the American Red Cross, but what he never disclosed was his salary from, or stock holdings in, the voting machine company whose results sent him to the U. S. Senate.
After Hagel claimed publicly in 2002 that he had sold his stock in the company, it was discovered that he had not, but not before he had already been re-elected by his same vote-counting system controlled exclusively by his company.
"This is not a gray area," says Bev Harris. "This is lying."
On Super Tuesday, 2008, no less than New Jersey's governor himself was forced to wait 45 minutes before he could cast his vote, due to some computer malfunction. Then it gave his vote to someone other than that of his choice. He found this disconcerting enough to appoint a couple of Princeton University computer science professors, Ed Felton and Andrew Appel, to investigate Sequoia Voting Systems and its failing machines, which later misreported voter turnouts.
In March, Sequoia, which is one of the largest e-voting machine manufacturers in the United States, retaliated by threatening to sue Felten if he didn't back off. They claimed that an inspection of their product - the software being a "trade secret" - would violate their agreement with the counties.
Then in April, the courts ordered the questionable voting machines impounded. Subpoenas were issued in six New Jersey counties demanding that officials turn over for testing all voting machines where discrepancies were found in the presidential primary tallies.
So with so much said over the years, yet so little done about it, maybe the truth-seekers are finally starting to make some progress. This coming eight years after a man who couldn't have been elected president of the Midland, Texas Rotary Club was somehow elected president of the United States.
If you can read HACKED without getting "hacked off," you are farther down the road to docility than I ever intend to be. I've been steaming over it for three weeks.
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