This is where the president is supposed to get fed up and ask Congress to pass a bill demanding hand-counted paper ballots to resolve all the issues.

Thank you, Bill Bradbury. I'm sending him this blog to let him know that there is a lot more wrong with ES&S than just breaching a contract of sale. Bill ... we already have all paper ballots, just call for all hand counting ... NOW. Some statute or other won't let us? The legislature just came into special session today .... give them a bill! Bill.

From a constituent in Clackamas County OR where the Elections Director doesn't have a clue even though I wrote and told her optical scan is an optical illusion.

agent99

ROFLMAO - Ya sure, like that's going to happen!

While one train is heading towards disaster, it looks like another train is starting to pick up speed toward ridding us of these machines! More and More people with influence are starting to wake up.

Oregon is vote-by-mail. What the heck are the ESS machines for? Please clarify.

Those mail in ballots, like absenttee ballots in every state are counted by optical scanners. Additionally, to meet requirements for disability access mandated by HAVA, several Oregon counties signed contracts with ES&S to provide AutoMark ballot-marking devices to be available clerk's offices for disbled voters. For background see this article:
http://votetrustusa.org/...p;id=1121&Itemid=113

"...massive electile dysfunctions..."

So, it's a software problem?

The Republican party, which is the party of utter disaster, unleashed this mess on us, as well as the disaster known as George W. Bush. And the chaos in Iraq. And the un-Constitutional Patriot Act. And job outsourcing. And Katrina. And Kyoto. And staggering budget deficits. And massive loans from China. And bird-flipping Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. And the cocaine for weapons Iran-Contra scandal. And, without a doubt, 9/11. The whole point of the e-voting debacle from their perspective appears to be either lowering voter enthusiasm and turnout (a plus for Republicans), or outright fraud - enabling insiders to manipulate vote counts to ensure Republicans maintain control of the House, Senate, White House, federal judiciary and soon the Supreme Court of the United States (a bigger plus). Our national treasures are being plundered before our eyes to support a "neocon" agenda more suited to Mussolini's Italy or Hitler's Germany than America. Our rights, our Constitution and our nation's storied past mean nothing to these traitors whose only loyalty is to their collective greed. And their greed is apparently boundless. Watching this happen is like watching a grand piano slowly tumble down a mountainside, or the proverbial train wreck in slow motion, but on a planetary scale. Yet, it feels much worse than that, especially to the thousands of families both here and abroad affected adversely by the hubris and insanity emanating from this Republican administration of con-men, religious hucksters and crooks.

I pray the Republican party goes the way of the Whigs and the Tories - with all of the love and affection associated with the death of Hitler. And why not? Their evil and megalomania is one and the same as the lunatic leaders of WWII. Republicans just haven't incinerated anyone in gas chambers, that we know of. They outsource such trivialities to other fascist states. It's called rendering. It's immoral. It's illegal. It's abhorrent. It's today's Republican party. Thanks, Newt. The revolution's been swell. I mean, swill.

Think, people. This Republican leadership has now conquered and occupied two nations, deposing their leaders and installing puppet governments. Now they are aiming their sights at Iran, while saber-rattling at Syria and placating Korea (an apparent actual possessor of nuclear weapons technology with unpredictable leadership that has recently threatened to annihilate Seoul). Ask yourselves: How many nations in a single region of the world has the United States ever conquered and occupied in one administration without so much as a world war ongoing? How many nations did Hitler conquer and occupy before the nations of Europe and the United States ganged up to defeat him? How many has Bush already conquered in his first 5 years in office, and what are his plans for the next 3?

May everyone voting for Republicans forevermore feel the blood of the dead of WWII, the dead of Afghanistan, the dead of Iraq, the dead of New York, Washington and Pennsylvania from the orchestrated carnage of 9/11, as well as the blood of those yet to die in more pointless, indefensible wars Republicans will most certainly instigate in the future, on their hands. Republican voters must all sincerely despise America and everything it once stood for to elect this human refuse into power. Put down the I-Pod, turn off Rush Limbaugh and wake up! Demand paper ballots! Don't be conned by the neocons! It's not worth dying for Diebold.

Truthfully, now. Is it?

Polls are showing that the people favor democrats taking over majority party status in congress in November. It is by average about 47% to 33% and growing (link here).

However, the way congressional districts are drawn (link to your district map here) raises the very serious spectre that gerrymandering may thwart the will of the people.

The way districts are drawn can change everything (link here).

The reason that is wrong is because it is anti-voter and even when the voters overwhelmingly favor a particular outcome, this can be thwarted and republicans could hold the majority.

In other words, the design of the districts is such that it thwarts and is contrary to the will of the people at large. It is designed to preserve incumbency and thwart the political notion of accountability.

The effect is that the people cannot replace members of congress unless and until the kool aid drinking devotees of that congress member revolt. Districts are carved out in strange shapes that result in districts passing thru many counties instead of being defined and bounded by one or more counties.

The map link above shows how true this is. Look at the 25th and 28th districts of Texas, Tom DeLay constructs, to see what I mean.

We have a dictatorial situation anytime the will of the people is thwarted by its government. There is no other name for it.

Some dictatorships are less vile than others, but calling a spade a spade is what I am talking about.

We have a dictatorship if the people cannot express their will by their vote. If the government allows us to vote but that vote is meaningless, the fact is that it is a dictatorship because the people cannot change the government.

The Texas gerrymandering case has been put on the fast track by the US Supreme Court (link here).

This is unusual under normal circumstances, but is all the more unusual since the cases have been stalled and have therefore been on the slow track in the US Supreme Court until now.

The case it now seems that will be reversed is Henderson v Perry (link here).

The issue of gerrymandering is equal to the problem with voting machines. Because even if we perfect the voting machines, the gerrymandering issue is just as much a threat.

Both evils ... gerrymandering and fraudulent and junky electronic voting machines ... are destroying American democracy.

And if the judicial goes down the tubes too (link here), and does not stop gerrymandering, I am sorry to say that democracy will be gone from American soil for a long time.

Wake up America...you need paper ballots, hand counted providing employment instead of your $$ going to these corrupt voting machine companies. Demand it NOW. Just think...employment and fair voting!!