Ventura County, Ca, to Buy E-Vote Equipment-Need People to Fight this

As per an article in the 2/3/05 issue of the the Ventura County Star, the Ventura County Clerk announced his plans to purchase Electronic Voting Equipment.
Combined with today's announcement of the resignation of Kevin Shelley, whereby Governor Ahnold the Rethuganator will be able to select Shelley's replacement, this foretells serious problems for the preservation of the sanctity of American Democracy in Ventura county. Further compounding the problem, we have an embryonically developing Progressive Group in Ventura County, "led" at present by an Obstructionist Mainstream Dem who doesn't believe that there is a security/integrity issue with E-Voting Machines and that there was no manipulation problems in the 2004 election (I will post more on this in a few days).

Consequently, I need to recruit DU/MoveOn type People to help in this fight, who live in Ventura County, Calif.
source:
http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_3519806,00.html

"The money comes from a $1.9 million grant from the federal Help America Vote Act. Some of the money also will be used to purchase voting machines for visually impaired citizens, which must be in place by January 2006, Schmit said. Grant dollars will also be used to research a new countywide voting system, Schmit said.
As of Tuesday, there were 404,439 registered voters in Ventura County. ...
"It's still unclear what voting system the county will purchase. But it must replace the current Datavote lever-operated, punch-card system to keep the $1.9 million grant, Schmit said.
For visually impaired voters, the county might consider an optical-scanning machine on which voters use a pen to fill in a bubble or draw a line. The county also might decide to use that system for other voters.
"It could be the same system for both populations," Schmit said. "We don't know yet. We haven't had enough time to evaluate them."
County officials will also look at touch-screen systems. Critics say such systems are subject to election fraud. Schmit doesn't buy that argument. "It would take a tremendous conspiracy to fix an election, to program all those computers to fix a vote," he said"...

"It would take a tremendous conspiracy to fix an election, to program all those computers to fix a vote," he said

There is no conspiracy required for software to simply fail, as Windows software does EVERY day on practicaly every computer in the world.

David Allen
www.blackboxvoting.com
www.thoughtcrimes.org

It mandates paper on these machines.

Not that you shouln't fight it face-on, but having a sniper off to the side doesn't hurt either. They will look silly for trying to buy equipment that doesn't have a Voter Verified Paper Ballot when a bill is currently proposed that would cost the county X number of millions to add the functionality. Fill in the X with something reasonable but dramatic.

Ventura County?

I will contact you.
Our problem , here in Ventura County, now is two fold.
1. Obviously, is the planned purchase of E-Voting Equipment by a Government Careerist Hack who has no knowledge and/or interest in E-Vote Integrity.
2. The second is, we are having to fight "Our Own" to fight problem no. 1. There is a "Progressive" group which has been formed in Ventura County, 2 meetings so far. Well, the organizers are mainstream Dems who do not want anything to do with fighting E-Vote Machines, who do not believe that there was any E-Vote Manipulation
in the 2004 election, who do not believe the E-vote equipment can
be manipulated, and will not permit this "Progressive" group to do anything to fight this issue AND the planned attempt by a Religious Extremist Member of the County Board of Education to introduce "Creationism" into the school curiculum.
3. I will get the addresses (E-Mail, Fax, Reg Mail) for this County clerk, on Monday, and DU can inundate him with FACTS and data.
One way or another, I am going to present a Package to this guy of Factual Information. I have contacted people in VC who will help me.
This could be a good project for DU members to work on. Maybe we could make it a model of action for counties which do not yet have E-Voting Equipment. Especially in California. Especially since Shelley resigned.

...absolutely right that this is related to the attack on Kevin Shelley, and to Democrats' cluelessness. Boy, are THEY going to be shocked when they start losing elections! Bush Cartel in full assault mode in CA. Ah, me. But onward...

unless more redisticting takes place. It is already set up so that there is only a single district in CA where there is a contest. Otherwise, Republicans and Dems already agreed on set districts that guarantee each party's victory. That may be why the Dems here are so complacent about voting rights. That and percs from vendors.

most widely read newspaper in the county?

And who is the Prog Group?

Thanks,
Beth

Ventura Star Free Press and L.A. Times

scope out the opportunities to get some coverage.

Fyi, if you want your letter to the eds to be published, sent it into them by 10:30 in the morning, make it under 200 words, write directly into the hot story of the day (above the fold) or in response to the editorial.

Thanks,
Beth

:shrug: