Voting Officials to mingle with Voting Machine Vendors-Indianapolis Motor Speedway 7/8/17 5:15pm

National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)
As happens twice a year, the Secretaries of State of the 50 states of the USA convene at posh corporate sponsored conferences. Secretaries of State in charge of elections rubbing shoulders with the voting machine vendors, data mining corporations with huge military contracts, etc.

so for their Summer Conference July 7-10, 2017 Indianapolis, they will be including posh partying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

These are the people who certify the results of elections, certify voting equipment for use, including the software, certify ballots, etc.

All CORPORATE affiliates receive the following benefits:
• Free registration options for NASS conferences
• Free or discounted exhibit space at NASS conferences
• Complimentary exhibit space at the NASS winter conference
• Recognition on conference signs and other related meetings materials
• Participation in the NASS Corporate Affiliate Showcase
• White papers distributed to members during conferences
• Featured company contact profile on the NASS website Corporate Affiliates page

Corporations which have Platinum ($20K) or Gold Level ($10K) additionally have the following:

• Invitations to Secretaries/Corporate Affiliates Only events at NASS conferences
• Listing in the Corporate Affiliate Roster on the NASS website, along with contact information and links to the company website

http://www.nass.org/index.php/corpaffiliates/about-corp-affiliate-program/

That means private access to Secretaries of State at posh events which they sponsor as well.

Here is a link to the Corporate Affiliates currently listed on NASS website:
http://www.nass.org/index.php/contact/corp-affiliates/

A global data mining corp. with huge contracts with government - GSA, military, Dun & Bradstreet, has a Platinum membership.

ES&S, which provides the majority of voting machines and central tabulators around the country, has a Gold membership.

Other big voting machine company corporate affiliates are Hart Intercivic, Unisyn Voting Solutions, Inc.

NASS has a constitution; and Article III - Statement of Ethics is as follows:

ARTICLE III -  STATEMENT OF ETHICS

The role of Secretary of State is a noble calling, and carries a high ethical mandate and a conscientious duty to our democracy.  Accordingly, Association members commit to the following:
1. Adhering to the highest standards of excellence that will nurture and maintain the public trust;
2. Placing loyalty to state and federal constitutions, the law, and ethical principles above private or political gain; and
3. For those Secretaries of State who serve as their state's chief elections official, practicing fair and unbiased election administration that recognizes each eligible citizen's right to cast his or her vote, and for that vote to be counted with the highest regard to constitutional foundations.

---The SOS’s sound like they’re for integrity in elections, however, upon closer inspection of their Resolutions, they leave the field wide open to elections that completely lack integrity. For example:

NASS Resolution Affirming the Conduct of Elections in a Nonpartisan Manner
Approved on February 7th, 2005 Reaffirmed on February 1st, 2010; February 13, 2015
…snip…
WHEREAS, to better ensure the perception of impartiality, many states allow observers from the major political parties to watch the votes being cast and counted;

---notice how they fail to acknowledge that the software/hardware is proprietary, and who can "observe" what's going on inside a computer during the election anyway?

snip…WHEREAS, to avoid any perceived conflicts of interest, many Secretaries of State take additional steps to remain neutral and do not accept campaign roles or actively campaign for any candidates or for or against ballot issues;…snip

---notice how they say “many” instead of ALL secretaries of state should be neutral — it’s the ones in the critical swing states — like Katherine Harris in FL or Kenneth Blackwell in Ohio who make this resolution worthless — I realize that neither of them hold office any longer, but now we have people such as Kemp in Georgia. Also, they are all constantly surrounded by voting machine corporation reps — mostly ES&S which is Republican owned and mysteriously, close elections seem to always end up going to Republican candidates. Now ES&S owns what was formerly Diebold/Premier — the corporation whose CEO promised deliver Ohio to the Republicans
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/03/diebolds-political-machine

WHEREAS, the public has the ability to determine by election most state leaders who supervise the conduct of elections, and therefore, we must honor this public trust and carry out our duties with the utmost integrity avoiding even the appearance of impropriety;

---Why does NASS not censure Secretaries of State who fail to conduct elections with integrity? Because the majority of our elections are run with corporate proprietary equipment — computerized voting machines and central tabulators, optical scanners that are not even available for inspection by SOS’s themselves, let alone the voters who wish to observe elections. It is impossible to “observe” elections. You cannot know what the software/hardware is doing. Audits can be rigged, recounts can be rigged. (see article about Ohio recount link mentioned above). We have to return to hand counted paper ballots at the precinct level.]

NOW BE IT RESOLVED that, in accordance with federal and state law, NASS is dedicated to ensuring the conduct of elections in a fair and neutral manner.
EXPIRES: Winter 2020

---It would be nice to somehow get word to these SOS's and press them for comment on their failure to provide us with legitimate elections.