Vote machine maker settles over her whistle-blower suit
By MICHELLE NICOLOSI
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/209250_diebold25.html
Renton elections activist Bev Harris has been called a fruitcake and a muckraker. Her book and Web site about the hidden evils of modern election equipment have drawn the ire of a number of officials around the country, who say there is nothing to Harris' claims that elections systems are profoundly vulnerable to hackers and other tampering.
"Dean Logan is not fond of me," Harris says of King County's director of elections.
But not everyone thinks all of Harris' claims are "a bunch of poppycock," as she puts it: The attorney general of California recently took up a whistle-blower claim filed by Harris against Diebold Election Systems and settled with the company for $2.6 million in December.
Diebold provides the systems used to tally votes and register voters in King County and in many other counties around the country.
The whistle-blower lawsuit, filed by Harris in November 2003 and taken up by the California attorney general in September, said Diebold engaged in unfair business practices and made false claims about its product.
It alleged that Diebold used uncertified software in elections in California. The settlement requires the company to pay millions back to a number of counties and replace some equipment, among other things.
Harris said the settlement "is a good sign. It certainly vindicated that our criticisms had validity."
Harris said many of the allegations she made in her suit were not included in the complaint filed by the attorney general. She said she has filed another lawsuit to address those issues.
Harris, author of "Black Box Voting: Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century," said her research shows that the elections systems used here in King County and around the country could easily have been hacked -- and that King County's system might have been hacked during the recent primary election.
Logan said in an earlier interview that he disagreed with Harris' allegations about the primary.
"The observations and linkages she makes don't add up. We feel very confident that the outcome of the primary was proper, and the data we have backs up the results for that election," he said.
Harris' research and theories are popular: Her Web site -- www.blackboxvoting.org -- gets millions of visitors every week; her book quickly sold out of its first printing of 5,000 and is on back order now.
Harris said she discovered a hoard of internal Diebold memos and some Diebold source code while clicking around on the Internet a few years ago. She went from anonymous activist to media darling soon after posting the documents online.
Harris is waiting to hear what part of the California settlement she will net as one of two whistle-blowers who originally filed the suit.
She says she's hoping to receive about $75,000, which she says she will put into a dedicated fund to bankroll more legal action relating to the use of elections equipment.
Harris said she has plans to continue her research into the insecurity of modern election systems.
P-I reporter Michelle Nicolosi can be reached at 206-448-8217 or michellenicolosi@seattlepi.com
Full Version: Vote machine maker settles over her whistle-blower
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > Civil Rights and Civil Liberties > Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Archive
While I applaud Ms. Harris's tenacity to uncover corruption, there is still 1 factor that disturbs me about election fraud.
The American people have had their right to vote taken away.
All of the settlements in the world, all the posturing by both sides and the dog and pony shows trotted out by Attornies General do not speak to the direct issue.
The person sitting in the White House was put there by fraud
What will be done to address THAT issue? There are times when winning little battles is fine BUT in this case, given the chance to chose a battle....I choose to correct the wrong done in the 04 Election.
The American people have had their right to vote taken away.
All of the settlements in the world, all the posturing by both sides and the dog and pony shows trotted out by Attornies General do not speak to the direct issue.
The person sitting in the White House was put there by fraud
What will be done to address THAT issue? There are times when winning little battles is fine BUT in this case, given the chance to chose a battle....I choose to correct the wrong done in the 04 Election.
QUOTE(shawneedaughter @ Jan 26 2005, 01:32 PM)
While I applaud Ms. Harris's tenacity to uncover corrupption, there is still 1 factor that disturbs me about election fraud.
The American peole have had their right to vote taken away.
All of the settlements in the world, all the posturing by both sides and the dog and pony shows strutted out by Attornies General do not speak to the direct issue.
The person sitting in the White House was put there by fraud
What will be done to address THAT issue. There are times when winning little battles is fine BUT in this case, given the chance to chose a battle....I choose to correct the wrong done in the 04 Election.
The American peole have had their right to vote taken away.
All of the settlements in the world, all the posturing by both sides and the dog and pony shows strutted out by Attornies General do not speak to the direct issue.
The person sitting in the White House was put there by fraud
What will be done to address THAT issue. There are times when winning little battles is fine BUT in this case, given the chance to chose a battle....I choose to correct the wrong done in the 04 Election.
Berkeley, Alameda County, San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Los Angeles County...
we all stand 100% behind you every step of the way.
this issue should NOT be about what money goes where....the crux of the matter is that the ACCURATE vote count should be shown
QUOTE(shawneedaughter @ Jan 26 2005, 02:32 PM)
While I applaud Ms. Harris's tenacity to uncover corruption, there is still 1 factor that disturbs me about election fraud.
The American people have had their right to vote taken away.
All of the settlements in the world, all the posturing by both sides and the dog and pony shows trotted out by Attornies General do not speak to the direct issue.
The person sitting in the White House was put there by fraud
What will be done to address THAT issue? There are times when winning little battles is fine BUT in this case, given the chance to chose a battle....I choose to correct the wrong done in the 04 Election.
The American people have had their right to vote taken away.
All of the settlements in the world, all the posturing by both sides and the dog and pony shows trotted out by Attornies General do not speak to the direct issue.
The person sitting in the White House was put there by fraud
What will be done to address THAT issue? There are times when winning little battles is fine BUT in this case, given the chance to chose a battle....I choose to correct the wrong done in the 04 Election.
You are certainly correct. It is like this Fraud is going to just die being paid off or settlements. We cannot let that happen.
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