After reading an article in The New York Times Sunday magazine on the number of unsafe voting machines still being used by many states, I decided to check with Mark Church, the county’s chief elections officer, to see if our county was using any of these machines and what kind of safeguards we had in place. I received the following information from Mr. Church:
“First and foremost, our electronic voting tabulation system is one of the safest and most secure voting tabulation systems produced in the United States. It is manufactured by Hart InterCivic, a company that has been in the voting tabulation system business for over 100 years. Hart InterCivic is a ‘closed’ voting tabulation system that is never connected to the internet or the county network. It is separate and apart from the state of California Voter Registration System (VoteCal) and is never connected by any means. Our voting system has been certified by the California secretary of state and the National Association of State Election Districts (NASED). The system is digitally encrypted to protect data and is designed with secure physical hardware access controls and dual factor authentication.
“We originally deployed the Hart InterCivic voting system in 2006. It is deployed in over 18 states and serves over 2,500 precincts and operates in over 400 countries. The system supports over 30 million registered voters. Not one ballot cast through the Hart InterCivic voting system by those 30 million registered voters has ever been compromised. There has never been a discrepancy in our 1 percent manual tally since its implementation in San Mateo County. Unlike the voting systems that are referenced in The New York Times article, the Hart system produces both a paper and digital audit trail of each ballot. As a result, a strict chain of custody is provided for each ballot.”
***
Since this election is primarily by mail ballots, I was curious as to how these are handled.
“All computers used to scan ballots are password protected and keep audit logs. The software creates a ballot image after ballots are scanned. The databases with the images are backed up daily. All scanned ballots are verified to make sure they were properly scanned. Ballots where voter intention is not clear is flagged in the software. Two staff members work together on the flagged ballots to determine voter intent.”
We are fortunate to have such a system in our county.
***
Those state propositions are a nuisance. Most of the ads for and against are misleading. Best source of impartial review is the League of Women Voters. I always pay attention to their pros and cons and endorsements. No hidden payback or agenda there. The league is recommending a yes vote on propositions 1 and 2; a no vote on propositions 3, 5 and 6; and a yes vote on Proposition 10.
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Hopefully voters will support the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District parcel tax, Measure V. If we want to be proud of our schools and make sure children have an excellent public school education, then we need to support these measures whether or not we have kids in school. And good schools are the best investment in increasing the value of your home.
I am supporting Marshall Tuck for state superintendent of instruction, a non-partisan office. He is not the guy portrayed in some of the opposition ads. He is a public education advocate, a graduate of San Mateo High School and opposes for-profit charters. His mom was a public school teacher and his son attends public schools. In Los Angeles, he was recruited by then mayor Antonio Villaraigosa where he helped create 10 new successful public charter high schools in some of the city’s poorest neighborhood. Eight have been ranked among America’s top high schools by U.S. News & World Report.
***
It’s not surprising that after Trump tried to ignore the outrage over his favorite ally’s beheading and dismemberment of a journalist who criticized the Saudi Arabian regime, that the president’s rhetoric has encouraged his supporters toward violence and hatred.
So far no Trump opponent has met the fate of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi but pipe bombs have been left at those the president attacks at rallies and in tweets. And just as the crown prince is now condemning the atrocity he orchestrated, Trump is decrying these pipe bombs and saying we should all be nice to each other.
Last week, at a rally in Montana, he praised Republican congressman, Greg Gianforte, who, last year, assaulted a reporter for the Guardian. “Any guy that can do a body slam, he’s my kind of-he’s my guy,” Trump said, to loud cheers.
Sue- for someone who is supposed to be looked up to, I can’t believe how irresponsible you are for making the allegation our president is responsible for the recent violence experienced in our country. This article finally showed without question your partisan ignorance and how misguided you are. President Trump did not kill Mr. Khashoggi, someone who lives in Saudi Arabia killed this man like thousands of murders occur in the Middle East every day. As Mexican journalists are killed by the dozens, who are you blaming for that or do you even give it a second thought. Words are not violence and our president has every right to say what he wants and what he thinks. This is America and the 1st Amendment applies to him as well. After reading you for decades Sue, you are simply a partisan Democrat just like every partisan Democrat in the Bay Area. Blaming the president for the violence that took place is your way of trying to shut him up. Here is hoping that Trump changes nothing in his approach in our fight against socialism and liberal progressives. Secondly, vote NO on the parcel tax needed to pay retiree pensions and benefits, it is not going to the children to better their education. If Sue is for it, you know it can’t be good for your wallet.
When have I pointed my finger at someone and said they are to blame for a tragic occurrence. Sue is looked up to in this community and did she take the high road and bring people together with her column today. No, she didn't. She used this opportunity to bash our president and escalate the tension. Yes I am critical of the other side but I don't blame them for the violence of people on the left.
Thank you for putting us at ease re. voting machines here in California, where we are fortunate enough to enjoy honest, progressive leadership. However, we should still be concerned about certain other states, more or less under Republican control! We have seen their blatant attacks on the Constitutionial right to vote by making it as hard as possible, and in many cases impossible, for people to exercise their voting rights. So, being that dishonest, I don’t think they would shy away from tampering with the voting machines either, especially when they, for whatever reason, are using less tamper safe machines than the Hart InterCivic system used here in CA. And, in support of your last paragraph, I’d like to quote Sasha Abramsky in today’s edition of The Nation: “The Pittsburg Synagogue Shooting is the Inevitable Result of Trump’s Vile Nationalism. Shame on all those who have been silent – or, worse, supported the president’s agenda.”
Jorg- I was thinking of you after your beloved Merkle of Germany is leaving her position of leading the country. Seems that the Europe you say is better than America is crumbling. Any comment?
Chris: "your beloved Merkle", - where on Earth did you get that from? I have never even mentioned her by name, or referred to anything she has accomplished. Nor have I referred to "Europe" as an aggregate. No, it is the Scandinavian countries the US could learn from, - specially when it comes to universal health care, education, equality, - and the rare thing that political parties tend to work together towards a common goal: governing for the benefit of all! All those Nordic countries seem to do quite well in that respect, - so what's actually your point? Any? Or just sour grapes as usual?
Surprise! It's another SUE Writing Another Grievance Event, although, I believe I'll change the "GE" portion to "Garbage Episode." It's funny that Sue has memory holed the encouragement from Gun Running Eric Holder's "When they go low, we kick 'em." Or Crooked Hillary's opposition to civility with Republicans. Or the more than 600 media-approved violence and harassment actions against Trump supporters.
Sorry Sue, your attempt to re-write the truth doesn't hold water. Just more Fake News, kind of like the Russian collusion narrative, unless we're talking about collusion by the Democrats. Looking forward to your next Garbage Episode!
Anyone knowing anything about election system security summarily rejects Mark Church's comments about Hart Intercivic providing secure election systems. This is a hoax and a vendor scam. Church and irizarry know it';s a scam and should be ashamed
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(9) comments
Sue- for someone who is supposed to be looked up to, I can’t believe how irresponsible you are for making the allegation our president is responsible for the recent violence experienced in our country. This article finally showed without question your partisan ignorance and how misguided you are. President Trump did not kill Mr. Khashoggi, someone who lives in Saudi Arabia killed this man like thousands of murders occur in the Middle East every day. As Mexican journalists are killed by the dozens, who are you blaming for that or do you even give it a second thought. Words are not violence and our president has every right to say what he wants and what he thinks. This is America and the 1st Amendment applies to him as well. After reading you for decades Sue, you are simply a partisan Democrat just like every partisan Democrat in the Bay Area. Blaming the president for the violence that took place is your way of trying to shut him up. Here is hoping that Trump changes nothing in his approach in our fight against socialism and liberal progressives. Secondly, vote NO on the parcel tax needed to pay retiree pensions and benefits, it is not going to the children to better their education. If Sue is for it, you know it can’t be good for your wallet.
Then you are the pot calling the kettle black...
Your comments are polar opposite, but you always criticize the other side of the coin
Your rants are of no difference...just the other side of the same coin...
When have I pointed my finger at someone and said they are to blame for a tragic occurrence. Sue is looked up to in this community and did she take the high road and bring people together with her column today. No, she didn't. She used this opportunity to bash our president and escalate the tension. Yes I am critical of the other side but I don't blame them for the violence of people on the left.
Thank you for putting us at ease re. voting machines here in California, where we are fortunate enough to enjoy honest, progressive leadership. However, we should still be concerned about certain other states, more or less under Republican control! We have seen their blatant attacks on the Constitutionial right to vote by making it as hard as possible, and in many cases impossible, for people to exercise their voting rights. So, being that dishonest, I don’t think they would shy away from tampering with the voting machines either, especially when they, for whatever reason, are using less tamper safe machines than the Hart InterCivic system used here in CA.
And, in support of your last paragraph, I’d like to quote Sasha Abramsky in today’s edition of The Nation:
“The Pittsburg Synagogue Shooting is the Inevitable Result of Trump’s Vile Nationalism. Shame on all those who have been silent – or, worse, supported the president’s agenda.”
Jorg- I was thinking of you after your beloved Merkle of Germany is leaving her position of leading the country. Seems that the Europe you say is better than America is crumbling. Any comment?
Chris: "your beloved Merkle", - where on Earth did you get that from? I have never even mentioned her by name, or referred to anything she has accomplished. Nor have I referred to "Europe" as an aggregate. No, it is the Scandinavian countries the US could learn from, - specially when it comes to universal health care, education, equality, - and the rare thing that political parties tend to work together towards a common goal: governing for the benefit of all! All those Nordic countries seem to do quite well in that respect, - so what's actually your point? Any? Or just sour grapes as usual?
Surprise! It's another SUE Writing Another Grievance Event, although, I believe I'll change the "GE" portion to "Garbage Episode." It's funny that Sue has memory holed the encouragement from Gun Running Eric Holder's "When they go low, we kick 'em." Or Crooked Hillary's opposition to civility with Republicans. Or the more than 600 media-approved violence and harassment actions against Trump supporters.
Sorry Sue, your attempt to re-write the truth doesn't hold water. Just more Fake News, kind of like the Russian collusion narrative, unless we're talking about collusion by the Democrats. Looking forward to your next Garbage Episode!
President Trump has got to take responsibility, has got to grab hold of the hate he has unleashed and bring it under control.
Anyone knowing anything about election system security summarily rejects Mark Church's comments about Hart Intercivic providing secure election systems. This is a hoax and a vendor scam. Church and irizarry know it';s a scam and should be ashamed
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Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.