If There’s Nothing to Hide
Well, it seems like Sam Brownback has more to worry about than his bully brother in Kansas.
Now he’s got to worry about people who can do math.
Beth Clarkson
Wichita State University’s Beth Clarkson (who is also chief statistician of WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research) discovered “odd patterns” in Kansas electoral voting records, so she requested public docs to help her get to the bottom of things — requests that state officials ignored, dodged, and stalled.
Professor Clarkson is asking to see the paper tapes from the voting machines. They do not tell how someone voted, but “merely timestamped votes with associated metadata.”
No can do, says Kansas. The reason?
Because the software is proprietary, even elections officials can’t examine it and postelection audits can’t be done, according to Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting Foundation, a nonprofit agency whose mission is to safeguard elections in the digital age.
Okay, so we privatize elections and end up with private elections.
And if you didn’t click the link about Brownback’s brother, you missed some of the best purple prose I’ve ever read.
Adversaries say he has woven a liquor-infused tapestry of fear colored by intimidation, abuse and lies. The saga features stalking, death threats, trespassing, drive-by gunfire, massive explosions, cattle theft, loan defaults, hit-and-run driving and marital strife. Linn County Sheriff’s Department files bulge with complaints about him.
That’s not dude you’d want to mess with.
Thanks to Rick and Craig for the heads up.
IOKYAR
1Isn’t there a federal level election commission to take a look at the rigged election in Kansas? Just asking.
2NOW what’s wrong with Kansas?!
3Citizens don’t need no stinking records–just trust Diebold.
4I wouldn’t be surprised if Brownback tries to defund Wichita State University.
5No need to put in all that elbow grease passing voter suppression laws, just to have the pesky Supreme Court stick their nose in your states rights and overturn them.
Instead, just let everyone vote and take care of the problem when you count ’em. Hey Dorthy! Your votes not in Kansas anymore!
6Chas in Kansas – The Brownbackian Circus has wrecked the state – They loaded the Legislature with Super Conservatives, all State Offices – and have declared war on the State Court System; which is our only hope of averting a pluto-therocracy. At least it sunk the Rev Sam’s presidential hopes.
7I suppose the question now is are the election records public records. If so, then anyone has standing to make a request for the records, and of course, pay any costs associated with it. If not public records (which I doubt) then the “standing” issue arises. In other words, who has legal standing to file suit for a mandatory injunction for the records to be provided. (Newspapers and TV networks and even some bloggers, do this all the time.) On that standing issue I would assume that any of the major political parties qualify as each has in interest in the outcome of elections and anything that might effect it. Rest assured, somebody will step up and sue the hell out of the Kansas officials. I do not know whether or not precedent has been established on this issue or not. In other words, has any appellate court anywhere ruled that the records be produced from a same, or similar, situation. If no precedent then it is what called “a case of first impression,” judges hearing the lawsuit will have a little more flexibility in make their decision. Whatever, or whichever, expect the litigation to begin and partisan political issues will be, once again, financed with our tax money.
8The biggest reason election polls aren’t as accurate as they used to be? Diebold.
(Pssst. The polls are accurate. The voting results are not.)
9Their excuse is BS. It just takes a little practice to read a paper tape just by looking at it. I use to do it when younger.
10I was an election judge for a couple of elections. We used Diebold electronic voting machines, and I can tell you every damn one of them have a little ribbon printer in them and those printers are used to print out the hourly summaries of activity on each machine (a copy gets posted at the polling place). But, contrary to Diebold’s insistence, those printers could print out a receipt of each and every vote cast when it’s cast. The voter can keep one copy and the election judge would get the other copy so, in the case a recount is needed, actual votes can be tallied by hand instead of simply pushing a button on the machine to give the same questioned response. If your vote doesn’t have a paper trail, you probably voted for a Republican even when you didn’t want to.
11My husband had lunch with Prof. Clarkson a few weeks ago. She noted a statistical anomaly in more than one state – identical and always favoring the Republicans. She is trying to get data on all of these. She is going at this as a math issue, not a partisan issue. But we can see the partisan results. I wish she would do a Go Fund Me to get the money to pursue the data.
12@Linda Phipps: The FEC has the same number of Rethugs as Dems and the Rethugs have been refusing to show up and the Senate has also refused to approve new members. Ergo=Gridlock. The FEC has been unable for years to do its jobs–thanks the Rethugs who, naturally, don’t want the FEC to to its job.
As JJ says, I them and always will.
13That’s “I HATE them and always will.”
14I doubt if a Brownback would be left alive if people take matters into their own hands. Wingnuts are just begging to be disposed of.Someone should oblige them.
15In so far as the bully brother, does anyone recall a book,”In Broad Daylight? Seems like we may see a sequel in the not too far distant future.
16After the Bundy ranch fizzle, now this group of Brownbacks, makes one wonder if DoJ has any teeth.
17@Nellie, Hope she will find funding to pursue this. My husband the mathematician/computer scientist would definitely contribute if she sets up a GoFundMe. We need to get to the bottom of this.
18I’m having a little problem with their response to Beth Clarkson. She’s not after their software. All she wants is the paper copy of the election results. The software may be proprietary. The election results are not.
19That brother…someday someone’s gonna put one through his pie hole and be out of the country before anyone cares.
As for the response to Clarkson…it’s an excuse. The paper copy should be accessible to a Federal warrant, since it’s fairly clear that election fraud is being covered up. I hate voting machines, especially the electronic ones.
20Brownback’s brother sounds like another Ken McElroy in the making. McElroy got away with very similar things. Right up until he didn’t. And oddly enough none of the townspeople saw a thing. Nope, not one of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy
21The ideal solution for part of the Brownback nastiness in Kansas could come from the group that has proven to be a friend to several people being treated very badly. Of course, I have no idea how to get their attention but don’t you think if the cyber group Anonymous started keeping Everyone named Brownback real busy it would be a wonderful thing? People like this need to be kept very busy and they have a lot less time to bully others. Plus, they would never know where their 24/7 computer problems were coming from. Well, a boy can wish.
22LynnN-High Noon in Skidmore. Carl Navarre wrote the story that was published in Playboy July 1982,Vol 79,No 7. Not that I bothered to look at the centerfold or other pics.
Ken was a bad,bad man who got what he had coming way too late.
23Brownback cut school funding by 2% in January. His reasoning- Brownback argued the school spending is driving the state’s fiscal woes. He made no mention of income tax cuts, which many lawmakers and economic analysts say are driving the state’s budget problems.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article9351788.html#storylink=cpyool funding by 2% in Jan. His reasoning-
24Pity there isn’t a provable federal violation by both these criminal brothers, which would bring in the FBI and undercut Sam’s stranglehold on law enforcement. Hope all those neighbors vote Democrat next time.
25Have no idea why 1.) the FBI hadn’t nabbed him years ago and 2.) why nobody has taken him out permanently. This is a man with capital E enemies.
26Them Brownbacks done got a whole movie script writ up and jist settin’ there waitin’ to be made. Too bad all I have is my old Brownie camera.
27Ashamed of Kansas, my home state.
And why zackly isn’t anyone investigating the Koch brothers who fund(ed) Brownback?
28I doubt the FBI would get involved with wingnuts controlling congress and the purse strings.
29Look what has happened to IRS as an example of the wrath of wingnuts when their constituents cry foul.
30Wow, whooda thunk that Sam would be the Good Brother??
But high-functioning Sociopath beats out raging Psychopath every time, I guess.
Really makes ya wonder what kind of snakes are crawling around in that oh-so-proper, upright family closet.
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