Computer Voting Expert, Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, Ousted From Elections Conference

[Adam Shostack]

Well, if you can't win on the truth, win on the procedures.

At least Dr. Mercuri is in fine company there, ranging all the way
back to Socrates and Galileo.  Little consolation, I know, as our
democracy gets replaced by a kleptocracy, but what can you do?

Maybe she should set up stealdemocracy.com, a new voting machine
company.  Sell machines that explicitly let you steal elections.  Get
some press.

Adam


On Wed, Aug 06, 2003 at 11:08:38AM -0400, R. A. Hettinga wrote:
| Notice they did this to Chaum, too...
| 
| Cheers,
| RAH
| 
| --- begin forwarded text
| 
| 
| Status:  U
| To: "johnmac's living room" <johnmacsgroup at yahoogroups.com>
| Cc: Dave Farber <farber at cis.upenn.edu>
| From: "John F. McMullen" <observer at westnet.com>
| Mailing-List: list johnmacsgroup at yahoogroups.com; contact johnmacsgroup-owner at yahoogroups.com
| Delivered-To: mailing list johnmacsgroup at yahoogroups.com
| Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 23:31:49 -0400 (EDT)
| Subject: [johnmacsgroup] Computer Voting Expert, Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, Ousted From Elections
|  Conference
| 
| Computer Voting Expert Ousted From Elections Conference
| 
| Lynn Landes
| freelance journalist
| www.EcoTalk.org
| 
| Denver CO Aug 1 - Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, a leading expert in voting machine
| security, had her conference credentials revoked by the president of the
| International Association of Clerks, Records, Election Officials, and
| Treasurers (IACREOT), Marianne Rickenbach. The annual IACREOT Conference
| and Trade Show, which showcases election systems to elections officials,
| is being held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Denver all this week.
| 
| Mercuri believes that her credentials were revoked because of her position
| in favor of voter-verified paper ballots for computerized election
| systems. "I guess in a very troubling way it makes sense that an
| organization like IACREOT, that supports paperless computerized voting
| systems, which are secret by their very design, would not want computer
| experts who disagree with that position at their meetings."
| 
| Dr. Mercuri said that her credentials were approved for the first three
| days of the conference. She attended meetings of other groups and visited
| the exhibitors hall. But it was only on Thursday as she sat down to attend
| her first meeting at the IACREOT that President Marianne Rickenbach took
| Mercuri out of the room and told her that her credentials were being
| revoked. Rickenbach said that Mercuri had not filled out the forms
| correctly. Mercuri protested, but was refused reinstatement.
| 
| David Chaum, the inventor of eCash and a member of Mercuri's
| 'voter-verified paper ballot' group, had his credentials revoked on the
| first day of the conference. On the second day his credentials were
| partially restored. Chaum was allowed to visit the exhibitors hall, but
| not attend the IACREOT meetings.
| 
| Rickenbach was unavailable for comment as of this report. Mercuri can be
| reached at the Adam's Mark Hotel through Saturday.
| 
| ---------------------------
| 
| 
|   "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" - L.P. Berra
|   "Always make new mistakes" -- Esther Dyson
|   "Be precise in the use of words and expect precision from others" -
|    Pierre Abelard
|   "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
|    -- Arthur C. Clarke
|   "Bobby Layne never lost a game. Time just ran out." -- Doak Walker
| 
|                          John F. McMullen
|   johnmac at acm.org ICQ: 4368412 Fax: (603) 288-8440 johnmac at cyberspace.org
|                  http://www.westnet.com/~observer
|                              NOYFB,P
| 
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| -- 
| -----------------
| R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
| The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
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-- 
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."
					               -Hume



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