by Bev Harris, Founder Blackboxvoting.org
It's been a while since we've done this, maybe too long for people to jump in and roll up their sleeves again for one of these "open source" public investigations, but let's see about that. I'm requesting a little help chasing down some names. If you like doing a little online research or know the terrain in Pennsylvania, and can supply any further information on the situation I outline below, I would appreciate it very much!
You can e-mail me directly (
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) or you can share anything you find publicly here:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/166/82399.html
I am interested in finding out who the vendor was for the system that produced the problem below. I have learned that CIBER, a company with connections to the electronic voting industry, also had some deep involvement with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation's technology.
I have a reason for asking this, as it relates to a broader investigation I am working on regarding CIBER and its subcontractors.
A synopsis of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation problem is this: During 2012, when people in Pennsylvania moved and went to get an updated driver's license, they had the option to update their voter registration. When these people went to vote, however, due to a "glitch" in the system, many learned that this "glitch" caused the system to actually perform the updated registration on only one person in the household.
What I find interesting about this "glitch" is that it seems almost unbelievable. I really don't care what the excuse or the reason is; if this "glitch" caused only one member of households with a husband and wife to get registered, how the h--- could that happen? No testing at all, even with one household?
I'd like to pin down who the vendor was and also, whether that vendor used subcontractors to perform the work. As mentioned before, there are potential intersects with another investigation I'm working on right now.
Here are excerpts from a news article about the above-referenced problem:
Patch.com - November 7, 2012, by Jessica Sinichak
Cranberry Man Says Glitch in System Left Him Unable to Vote
http://cranberry.patch.com/articles/cranberry-man-says-glitch-in-system-left-him-unable-to-vote
After moving earlier this year from eastern Pennsylvania to Cranberry Township, Scott Schawalder said he received a new voter card but was not listed as a registered voter.
Although he possesses a valid voter registration card, Scott Schawalder said he was barred from voting and turned away from his Cranberry polling location Tuesday because his name did not show up as a registered voter.
....Along with his wife, Schawalder moved to Cranberry from the Philadelphia area early in 2012, he said. When they registered their new address to update their driver's licenses with the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Schawalder said he and his wife, Kathleen, also registered for new voter cards at their driver's license center.
That's where the trouble began.
Schawalder said he and his wife were given voter registration receipts, and they later received new voter ID cards in the mail.
During Tuesday's election, Kathleen Schawalder said she voted as planned when she arrived at Christ Bible Church on Rochester Road.
Her husband did not.
Schawalder said he spoke to the judge of elections at the church, who placed a call to the Butler County Elections Bureau.
Schawalder said the judge advised him of a glitch in the state's computer system, causing only one person per household to be transferred into the registration system after a family's address change. Schawalder said the judge of elections also said he had addressed more than a dozen similar incidents that day.
..."
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Reprinted with permission from Blackboxvoting.com
