Lee Nelson running for Supervisor of Elections, Hillsborough County

Most weeks Shirley and I attend the gathering of our local Drinking Liberally chapter. This past Thursday we were visited by Mr Lee Nelson, candidate for Supervisor of Elections, Hillsborough County (click on the thumbnail image to see larger pic; Lee is second from the left).

I know that several of us were impressed that Lee took the time to visit our little group. We typically have 10-15 folks on a Thursday night, so this is not a large forum by any stretch. But we DO all vote, and we DO all follow current events and of course - politics!

Well anyway... we talked with Lee about a number of things, why HE should be Supervisor of Elections, his background, his thoughts on electronic voting (with and without paper trail) versus other systems, etc. I'll make sure that Lee sees this post so he can correct anything I report incorrectly. With that, here's my version of Lee's comments:

Lee believes he's more qualified than Buddy Johnson. Lee has an undergrad degree in IT (Information Technology) and as of this writing has just completed - or is about to complete - his MBA (Masters of Business Administration). He currently works in high tech, and ran as the Democratic challenger for Florida House, District 56 in this last election cycle (lost the election, getting 42% of the vote).

Lee feels that Buddy Johnson (current Supervisor of Elections) has been unresponsive to local voters needs. Lee feels that his high tech experience and Business Administration education position him well to manage the elections systems in Hillsborough County.

I asked about our current electronic voting machines versus ones with a paper trail versus optical scan machines versus other systems. Lee said that he really doesn't think a paper trail will help that much. There are 2 reasons for this: [1] one can program a computer to print anything, not necessarily matching the vote that was recorded inside the machine; [2] if people are issued 'receipts' for their votes, then there could well develop scenarios whereby votes are purchased, with a voter simply showing their 'receipt' to the briber in order to collect the fee. Lee did suggest that we all sign up to vote absentee for now (do so - as I did - at this site), and mentioned that even though an absentee ballot can be rejected if it is felt that the signature on the ballot does not match the voter's signature on file, if we contact the Supervisor of Elections office after voting, they are required to inform us if our ballot has been rejected. My assumption is that if a ballot is rejected, then one can still follow some procedure to get one's vote counted.

Lee said he will be attending some training about the various voting systems and so will be able to offer more detail about possible solutions to the current problems. Personally, I do agree that a paper trail is not necessarily required ...as long as independent audit entities (perhaps one selected by each party?) can have access to a random sample of voting machines to test and verify as accurate. I also believe that the source code (the computer programming) should be ideally open source (where anyone can inspect the programming), but at a minimum should be held in escrow so that the programming is available even if the provider company fails, and the programming should be available for inspection and verification by audit entities.

This will be an interesting election! And I hope we can get several more candidates to come visit us!

Hurricane prep: securing pool cage

Around this time of year in Florida (the June through November hurricane season), Shirley and I try to do something each week to increase our level of preparedness. Many months ago, we applied for a free home inspection through the My Safe Florida Home program, and we finally did get the inspection. In general, we're in pretty good shape (we've already installed tracks for metal storm panels to cover all doors and windows, done a lot of caulking around windows and other penetrations in the exterior wall, laid in spare supplies, etc.) One thing the gent did mention (off the record) while doing the inspection was that he used to install pool cages -- for those outside of Florida, that refers to a screened enclosure over the pool area to keep debris and bugs out. He suggested a couple of reinforcements for us to add. The first pic here (click on the thumbnail to see larger image) shows the small "L" brackets we've now installed at the bottom of each vertical post. We used a hammer drill to drill a couple of holes down into the concrete decking to then fasten the bracket with tapcon screws, and we fastened to the vertical post with sheet metal screws. I don't know just how much this will help in a true hurricane, but the parts were inexpensive and it only took an hour to install all the brackets.

The other suggestion the gent offered was for us to add some cables down the sides of the pool cage. We installed some extra cables along the back of the pool cage last year, and Volker had suggested that we might want to add some cables in other directions as well. So now, a year later, we're doing that. Shirley knew a fellow at a place she used to work, and through his side business (installing pool cages) we had purchased several sets of brackets, cables, and screws. The triangle bracket attaches at the top with 10 or so sheet metal screws, and the cable is strung to a metal strip at the bottom which attaches to the side of the pool's concrete base -- again using the hammer drill (a wonderful tool!) to bore the holes, and tapcon screws to fasten into the concrete.

There's still plenty more we can do, but we're getting there -- a little at a time, we get there :)

A Symphony of Lies (Bush, et al)

IMPEACH!

Dick Cheney on why we should NOT be in Iraq

From 1994. He made some very good points ...back then.

The Plot to Bury Progress

Priceless!