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Frequently Asked QuestionsThe following are some of the frequently asked questions. If you send me a question, expect that I may post it here and respond. Want to send me a question? Email: gentry@gentrylange.com |
The Most Frequently Asked Questions What is wrong with outsourcing voting tasks to experts?
When you hand over your absentee ballots to a private company for "sorting", there is no longer any way to actually audit the system. Imagine if this were a bank, I as the bank teller, get lots of deposits, and before counting the till out at the end of my shift, instead I dump all the money, deposit slips, and receipts into a bag and give it away to another private company that sorts it into 10s 20s, 100s, and puts the receipts in order, and credit card slips in order, because for some reason they have, "sorting" expertise. After they "sort" the money, receipts, etc., at this point the company gives it back to me. Should I just trust that this private company didn't pocket some of the money? What if there were no deposit slips, or receipts? What if what just money? So then what I do as the bank teller, is I put it in a bill counter. The bill counter counts the money, says there's 10 thousand dollars. Then when "audited", I run it back through the machines, and low and behold the machines worked perfectly. Right? However, the audit was a sham wasn't it? Because before the first ballot was counted, the chain of custody of the bag was broken, and so I don't know if I gave that company 10k or 20k or 100k, do I? No, I don't. I just have to trust this company, right? But then a customer comes to me and says, "Your auditing procedure invites corruption, and your recount is a total smoke and mirrors show to convince me that the machines are working." To which I reply, "But when I hand count the money the machines are correct." See the logical problem here? The problem is that everyone seems to think I am simply calling for publicly owned open source software, but that's just an aside. I am saying the whole system has problems, and King County is a poster child for these problems. Ron Sims is the person in King County most responsible for these problems, as he has the most power to change this situation. But he doesn't, and repeats the mantra that "The machines are just fine". It's a joke. Absentee ballots are totally insecure, hand counts don't matter, and the machines themselves, in addition, are totally easy to manipulate. Depositing your vote into the mail, without record, and multiple points of vulnerability that undermine both the secrecy of your vote, and the security of your vote is not a good system. We don't trust sending money through the mail? Why do people care so much less about the security of their vote? So this is not just outsourcing the system to "experts" , it's removing the system from public scrutiny. Next, you must ask yourself, if unscrupulous individuals had access to the system, what would they look like? Well they'd look very much like Jeffrey Dean and John Elders. Two felons put to work in the system, one to program a voter registration database, and one to print ballots. I'm originally from outside of Chicago. Chicago is where they get the term, "Democratic Machine" . We are named the Windy City, not for the natural breezes that blow, but for the political wind coming from that political machine. And putting felons to work on sensitive areas of auditing procedures is classic big city politics. Jeffrey Dean was in jail for 5 years for, um... 23 counts of embezzlement from Preston Gates and Ellis. Bill Gates, Sr.'s law practice. His skill? Installing back doors into computer systems. So the answer to the originally question is that these company's, Diebold, and PSI are in control of key parts of our Democracy. The expertise of these company's, "sorting" , is not something that is so difficult that it takes "experts" . Ever file anything numerically? Sorting by precinct is not that much more difficult. Look at the zipcode, find the precinct, put it in a batch. Government is not a job, by and for the corporations, it's by and for the people. Giving away key aspects of Democracy is simply not acceptable. Why are you running? To establish a dialogue with my neighbors, to question the status quo, and because without change, the Northwest will continue to face traffic nightmares, political discord, and inevitably, we will fall economically behind. I am running to bring back debate. Let's talk about our problems. Let's talk about the solutions. Who are you? I am a passionate citizen of the Northwest. In essence I have a firm belief that people will listen when you speak the truth. The problem is asking the right questions. Currently I work as a real estate agent and live in Shoreline. I drive a lot. I can't understand why the simple things are never done to alleviate traffic problems caused by poor signage, badly painted highways, or a lack of planning and public education. I am also someone who is tired of the political parties not providing a clear vision or path to follow. Where is their vision of the future? Fiscally I believe our problems can be addressed wisely in a much more cost effective manner than it may first appear. Basically I am one man who feels called to service in the political realm. Through vision and understanding, it is possible to lead the world into the next millennium. Solving problems locally can lead to national and global change as well. What is your experience? I am not a career politician but I am a political activist. I have worked on several political campaigns, and I have written and volunteered for Seattle's Independent Media Center and Real Change, Puget Sound's Homeless Advocacy Newspaper. For the year prior to last November's elections I ran Andy Stephenson's campaign for Washington's Secretary of State. I graduated with Honors form the University of Washington where I studied Political Science. |
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