Vote Machine Malfunction in Iowa Straw Poll Raise Hackle

The Iowa Independent blog carried the news after 9PM EST, as follows: “The Iowa GOP just confirmed that one voting machine malfunctioned during today's Straw Poll, and some 1,500 ballots must be recounted by hand. We will keep you up to date with information as it comes in. As yet, the GOP has not released an estimate of how much longer we will have to wait for results.”

The malfunction may well give rise to suspicions in the following days – that the vote was somehow “rigged,” or that certain votes were not counted properly. The Ron Paul campaign, suspicious of the Republican establishment that runs the vote, made its concerns about the Diebold machines known before the vote, as did Ron Paul supporters.

FMNN has carried several articles on the use of Diebold vote machines for the Iowa Straw Poll. Details are not available as of this report, but apparently one of the controversial machines malfunctioned, causing a hand recount of some 1,500 votes.

There have been suspicions in the past over the Iowa Straw Poll. An FMNN feedbacker writes:

“I was there (at a previous Iowa Straw Poll) supporting Pat Buchanan. Let me tell you something, we had the Teamsters bus in support for the campaign. I worked in the food tent, and the line literally never receded for the Buchanan camp. However, Elizabeth Dole had virtually no supporters whatsoever. Magically, she came in like second or third. I remember thinking to myself back then that it was like we were competing against ghosts.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=47145&fb=1#19659

Supporters of Ron Paul issued the following letter before the Straw Poll, August 11.

Everything we are all doing is going to be brought to NAUGHT if the Diebold computers - being used to 'count' the votes at the Iowa Straw Poll - are used to STEAL the Straw Poll Election … Diebold computers [are] easily hacked, easily rigged, -- and totally unreliable for conducting elections. And this is old news, several authoritative studies have already shown this from MIT, Cal Tech, Princeton University, and numerous other sources. Search "Diebold Princeton University" on YOUTUBE - and you can see a 9 minute demonstration. Add "FOX News" to the search - and there is another 3 minute demonstration by these scientists on FOX News. Citizens for a Fair Vote Count and allies are conducting a verification EXIT POLL at the Ames Straw Poll. We're asking all Ron Paul people who vote in the Ames Straw Poll in the official election on the easily rigged Diebold Machines - to cast a second "ballot" in our exit poll. IF WE COME UP with 5000 Ron Paul exit poll ballots - the Iowa GOP better not say he only got 2000 votes! Get the point?

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=46721

Alternative news site Rense carried several articles about the machines that included this excerpt:

...Intrepid activist and radio talk show host Ernest Hancock of Arizona has flushed out the FINAL PIECE OF TREACHERY planned by the Iowa GOP - IF they continue on their present anti-American course with regard to "counting" the ballots in the 2007 Iowa Straw Poll. We have already explained in the above article that they plan to have voters feed their ballots into the Diebold compartments - most of which ballots will never be seen again! Then - at the end of voting at 6 PM on this Saturday, August 7, at the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, -- the GOP designated officials make each of the sixty Diebold machines produce a paper receipt - which has the name of each candidate - and the alleged totals from that machine. (All ballots stay TIGHTLY locked in the black box inside the Diebold computers.) And then an Iowa GOP spokesman would announce the "results" on stage at the Hilton Coliseum at the Iowa State University - with all the ballots still locked away from news media, candidates, the public. And then the national newsmedia, as they like to call themselves -- is supposed to announce these computer-generated "results" to the nation. -Rense

The Iowa Independent blog carried the following article defending the process just before the results were announced.

Steve King On Now

Congressman Steve King says results will come in the next few minutes. Steve King says the State Auditor has gone over the results of the Straw Poll and that "this is the best system that's out there; it has a tremendous amount of integrity.... So you know that when you get these results, they're the ones that you can count on."

"We've raised the standards as high as they can be for a Straw Poll," he continues. Results will be announced from last place to first place. "Some people will leave this city a little sad, but they can't be sad about the effort," King concluded. … And he appears to just have contradicted the Republican Party of Iowa by claiming that there wasn't a problem "with the computers or anything."

http://www.iowaindependent.com/frontPage.do