Calling for Ballot Reform - One Hunger Striker and a Chimpanzee
Sunday, September 26, 2004 :: posted by infoZine Staff :: views

by Rebecca Trela - If Congress doesn't pass the Federal Paper Ballot Emergency Act, and soon, John Kenney might die.

Washington, D.C. - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - Kenney, 44, is on a hunger strike seeking reform of what he believes are critical flaws in the use of electronic voting machines. He wants Congress to require paper ballots for the November election and improved methods for counting punch cards and other machine-read ballots.

Since Sept. 7, the former real estate agent and overseas school principal from western New York State, has drunk only water, coffee and juice with electrolytes. He is prepared to continue with his effort until the Nov. 2 election - a total of 55 days.

"I really do feel that they will steal my vote," Kenney said. "That's the end of democracy as far as I'm concerned. That's fascism."

Kenney is part of the National Ballot Integrity Project and founder of Hunger for Democracy, two organizations raising awareness of the increasing computerization of the electoral process. He attended a news conference with other voting reform advocates Wednesday.

He said his concern is that the majority of electronic voting machines are governed by flawed programming and leave no paper trails to verify an accurate count. As a solution, the two groups have drafted the Federal Paper Ballot Emergency Act. It has no congressional sponsors.

Another group using unusual tactics to argue for voting reform is the nonprofit Black Box Voting. According to Bev Harris, the group's founder, hacking into a voting machine or vote tabulator is so easy that even a chimpanzee could do it.

In fact, she demonstrated exactly that during the news conference. Reporters and activists watched a homemade movie featuring Baxter, a chimpanzee, working in Diebold's GEMS program to erase false election totals.

"Well, obviously we had to open the file for him," Harris admitted. She explained that the movie poked fun at a Diebold press release that claimed no human could alter the vote auditing system.

Diebold, an Ohio-based voting machine manufacturer, has come under the greatest scrutiny of watchdog groups. It is the largest maker of electronic voting equipment and vote-tabulation systems.

"In the case of the Diebold GEMS system," said Harris, "it has an inexplicable design with a double set of books, and the problem is that there is more than one way to get into the program. They've done several upgrades to the program and have never removed that feature. I find that unacceptable."

Diebold spokesman David Bear said it is impossible to subvert the company's voting system.

"What you saw with our system was a magic show," he said of Harris' video. "It's not only not easy; it's not possible."

"All touchscreens produce a paper audit trail," Bear said. "I don't think it would be a technological hurdle to provide a paper receipt."

The voter never sees the paper Diebold's machines produce. Election officials keep them.

Congress is considering a proposal that sponsors say would help solve some of the problems that forced the 2000 election into the Supreme Court.

The Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2004 would require that voters be able to review paper versions of their ballots, eliminating any fear of "hanging chads." In the event of a recount, a paper receipt would be the official record.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a cosponsor of the bill, said paper verification is important security.

"Our entire state will use electronic voting machines with a paper trail," he said. "That's what we need all over the country. I think it's tremendously unlikely that something will go wrong, but this makes it foolproof."

Reid is certain that no legislation will be passed before Nov. 2, however - which makes Kenney a little nervous.

"I'm not doing this for fun or to lose weight," said Kenney.

Reid, who had not been aware of Kenney's hunger strike until a reporter told him about it called his protest "very admirable."