The Ballot Box is in the Distressed state it is in Today because of a Wrong Reaction to a Systemic Electoral Breakdown, the 2000 Presidential Election Fiasco in Florida.

Everyone remembers the Dangling Chads that led to a Landmark Supreme Court decision and a Nation divided over who won. But another Election mishap occurred that Night that got less attention, despite the fact that it played a significant role in pushing the Presidential Race into the hands of the Justices. This one involved a Memory Card in Volusia county.

Deborah Tannenbaum had a front-row seat for what occurred that Night. A Democratic Party Field Director in Florida, she refreshed Her web browser frequently as Returns came in from around the county. At 10pm, Al Gore was ahead in Volusia, with 83,000 Votes to George W. Bush's 63,000. Things were going well for Gore across the State, and Exit Polls projected a Six-Point Lead for Him.

But then something changed. I had stepped out, and one of the assistants came, and he's says, 'I need you to come here and verify the numbers,' Tannenbaum recalled. When She looked at the County website, Gore's Total had dropped 16,000 Votes. Tannenbaum called the County Election Office, Alarmed. I don't know what's going on down there, but you can't take away votes! She said.

The mysterious Drop would later be Traced to Precinct 216, a Community Center in Deland, where Gore's Total was showing a Negative 16,022 Votes. It wasn't the only mathematical absurdity in the Tally. A Socialist Workers Party (SWP) Candidate named James Harris had 9,888 Votes. But the Deland Precinct had only 585 Registered SWP Voters, and only 219 of them cast Ballots at the Center that day.

Unfortunately for Gore, Reporters were focused on Overall State Returns and didn't notice the Funny Numbers. At 7:52pm Voter News Service, a Consortium of Media Outlets reporting Election Results, projected Gore the Florida Winner based on Exit Polls. But when the Volusia County numbers changed at 10:00pm, and Brevard County Posted Results missing 4,000 Votes for Gore, Bush shot into the Lead and News Outlets Retracted their call for Gore and called the State for Bush. Gore was on his way to make a Concession Speech at 3:00am, when He learned the numbers were Wrong.

Volusia Officials blamed the mishap on a Faulty Memory Card. The County used Optical-Scan machines made by Global Election Systems, a Canadian Company later acquired by Diebold and renamed Diebold Election Systems, which the County had used since 1996. When the Election ended, Poll Workers were supposed to Transmit Results to the County Election Office via Modem. But the Transmission Failed, so a Worker drove the Memory Card to the Office, where Officials inserted it directly into the Election-Management system to Tally Results. Logs for that Computer, however, showed Two Memory Cards for Precinct 216 were inserted, an Hour apart. The Vote Totals went Haywire after the Second Card was Loaded.

Beyond the Mystery of the Two Cards, there was another Problem with the Explanation. A Faulty Memory Card should produce an On-Screen Error Message or cause a Computer Lock-Up, not Alter Votes in One Race while leaving Others Untouched. And what kind of Faulty Card Deleted Votes Only for Gore, while Adding Votes to Other Candidates?

Ultimately, the Phantom Card was forgotten in the Battle that ensued over Dangling Chads in other Counties. Gore's Team requested Manual Recounts in Four Counties including Volusia. But a Supreme Court Ruling on December 12th halted the Counts, though not before Volusia completed its Recount. The Manual Tally of Optical-Scan Ballots in Precinct 216 gave Gore 193 Votes, Bush 22 Votes, and Harris 0 votes. Bush Won Florida and the Presidency by just 537 Votes.

To this day, questions about the Volusia Card remain unanswered. Internet emails from global Election Systems later leaked to Bev Harris, an Election Integrity Activist, show that the Manufacturer itself remained unsure about what happened. When a Volusia County Elections Worker named Lana Hires requested an explanation from Global, the response was vague. Talbot Iredale, a Global Developer, responded that a Corrupt Memory Card remained the most likely explanation for the problem but since I know nothing about the 'second' memory card I have no ability to confirm the probability of this. He then suggested a more Ominous Explanation. There is always the possibility that the 'second memory card' or 'second upload' came from an unauthorized source.

The Memory Card in Volusia vividly demonstrated the kind of Problems that could occur if States expand their use of Electronic Voting machines without proper Safeguards. But even as Security Experts showed how Malicious Insiders and Outsiders could subvert the machines, the Warnings were Ignored.

As I am writing this post, I was watching a Cybersecurity Forum with current and former Government Cyber Experts. They all agreed, o ur Voting systems need Protection of: The Voting Tabulating Equipment were Totals can be Changed and Voter Roll Databases and Ebooks, were Voters Party Affiliation or Voting District can be Changed.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker