America needs every citizen to stand up on that day… Voting is just one half… The other half is being on the lookout for voter fraud… If “We The People” are going to run this country, our vote needs to matter… If someone can make up vote totals, then what’s the point… we might as well live in Myanmar….
The potential to steal the election is huge, because of our reliance upon electronics…..The potential to keep it honest and above board… is also huge…again because of electronics….
Manipulating votes is illegal… People serve time in jail for doing so… Therefore it must take place where there is no public scrutiny… Just like roaches, vote manipulation takes place in the dark… or in black boxes…
Here are steps all geeks should take to monitor those who monitor elections…
First… use your camera phone to record your voting experience… if you have data that is even something slightly suspicious… YouTube it… email others to the link…. Some things you should be aware of… someone setting the machine before you vote… whether your vote is totaled in the counter, whether the vote you push is the one you want…(especially on miscalibrated machines), whether election officials arrive to “check” the machines and replace cartridges, record anyone who is challenged in front or behind you (it could be legit, record it and post it)…
There is great fear among extremists that they will lose all links to representation… Some may believe they are doing their patriotic duty to throw the election….. But Americans have the right to elect who they wish… Violating that principle goes against the basis of freedom itself… That is why it is against the law…
Being caught is their greatest fear….A lengthy trial, and prison term will decimate their finances, basically ruin any good that would have come from the election’s changed outcome….. With electronic data on file in every voters cell phone, if something were to be investigated at a later date…(five years from now even.)….a wealth of evidence could be solicited…. and with certainty, they could serve their sentence….
Small digital Cameras, with video functions, are also a great asset… Make sure you have a spare set of batteries if your lines are long….
Special attention needs to be paid to districts with low turnout… That is where manipulation will occur due to the few number of witnesses..
No election official has the right to take your camera… if someone is filming you to intimidate you, (you can tell by their demeanor) that too is illegal.. Film him doing so and report that act of intimidation to an official of the Department of Elections… That intimidator can serve jail time too.
Finally after all voting is over…. fight “black box control”. Remember that everywhere across this great nation, our elections are staffed and run by citizen volunteers… People for whatever reason gave up one day of their lives to insure that we all get the opportunity to do our civic duty… Of course some of those can be plants, but on a national scale, the number of those that get through… will be small at best… As we saw in Ohio 04, the election will be stolen from where the totals accumulate… Geeks everywhere need to monitor pivotal states… No matter from which partisan side you are monitoring… If the server address changes…. record it… report it on a live forum.. Allow others to witness it in real time… (Some may remember that Ohio’s Department of Elections header switched to SmartTechCorp.net during tabulations of Ohio’s Kerry votes, and SmartTechcorp.net held the servers for the White House email account of gwb43.com as well as the RNC files of Ohio, New Hampshire, and several other closely contested states…)
Watch for it, record it, post it…
Electronic monitoring is a voter’s best defense… As long as the law is still on our side, we can prosecute those who wrongfully violate the principles of America’s freedom….
So as a citizen of this great nation…. do you duty…. give them nowhere to hide……
kavips 
4 comments
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November 3, 2008 at 12:01 am
kavips
1 866 OUR VOTE take the number with you….
http://www.866ourvote.org/
November 3, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Duffy
Is it legal to take photographs inside a polling place?
Also remember that you cannot wear any shirts or buttons that favor one candidate as that is considered “electioneering”.
November 3, 2008 at 11:09 pm
kavips
Duffy, good points… Photographs are not a good idea… But video streaming is, if your phone or camera came with equipment that does not need Kleig lights to illuminate subject… lol.
When I posted this on a famous national forum, I got some feedback that it may not be allowed in some states or some localities.. Remember this is a series of volunteers, and we, as a nation, DO NOT HAVE A NATIONAL SYSTEM that determines who wins and who loses… ( I for one feel safer that way).. However just perusing through Pennsylvania’s Department of Elections, and how it takes you to each Townships local board, underscores the point that a lot of little things all have to come together to make our election process what it is… flawed to be sure, but it gets the job done…
Watching a green crew close down the machines during the Sept 2 primary, was like watching a father put together a doll house…. Seeing that made one understand the fragile nature of how many of those are volunteering for the first time… and all sorts of faux paux take place to get the vote in…
The problem in the truthfulness of the vote totals, will either be very, very small, ie an overly ambitious party boss bucking for the next promotion, tries to throw his ward…. or very, very large… whole state totals get hacked and misappropriated…
The vast middle is too complex and too big to allow for any concerted effort in vote manipulation….
We will hear of it, of course… But a lot of it can be a misunderstanding or a miss communication of behavior standards… For instance a poll worker could be concerned with rowdiness, getting out of control, and come down with a brusque statement that may be interpreted by antsy line-waiters, as a remark of intimidation…..
But in any regard… back to your original question…
Delaware Department of Elections said that unobtrusive camera’s and cell phones (ON VIBRATE: P L E A S E) are not illegal…. So as advice… take them and use them only if you see suspicious activity… Remember as long as citizens are watching and can electronically prove miss deeds, the penalties for doing so are so severe, that little tampering or intimidation will occur…..
November 4, 2008 at 12:38 am
Duffy
Indeed monitoring is crucial. Not that there’s much of a chance that DE votes for Democrats solidly from top to bottom. (Mike Castle is an aberration).
Hey we (re)elected Minner so we’ll elect anyone.