By David Robb ——Bio and Archives--March 4, 2024

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There is an enormous and growing amount of evidence that the 2020 election was manipulated to give false results. The 2021 recall election for the governor of California had numerous improper results certified. The 2022 election also appears to have been manipulated, although not so obviously as in 2020. All these elections and more involved the use of hardware and software systems collectively known as "machines".

Election Series

When we talk of machines in elections we generally think of the tabulator systems that interpret the marks on ballots and accumulate totals for each candidate and initiative on a ballot. The machinery of elections is far more extensive and powerful than the simple tabulator. Scanners, tabulators, voter roll databases, high speed printers, network servers, routers, poll pads, a multitude of computers large and small, and many other components work together in current election systems and comprise the "machines" of elections.

As but one small example, in the 2021 attempt to remove Gavin Newsom as governor of California, one area in the state had its voter rolls inflated to where the number of registered voters was over three times the total population of the area. One could register every man, woman, child, cat, dog, and duck (and probably gerbils) in the area and the total would still fall short of the number of "voters" registered. But, you may say, gerbils don't vote! Don't be too sure, because over twice the total population of that area subsequently voted, likely including the gerbils. And that election was certified. And counted. And Newsom is still governor. And the rolls were deflated back to reasonable levels for the next election.

Why do I write of machines, and then relate an incident of inflated voter rolls? Because voter rolls are simply data in a database that exists in a computer system which is itself yet another machine.

1993 was a watershed year for our elections. That was when the National Voter Registration Act was passed. It did not specifically require machines in our elections, but many of its provisions were most easily implemented in computer hardware and software. Voter roll systems in particular were prime examples.

Prior to that Act, election officials used paper based record keeping........

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