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ALERT - Sequoia DREs allow unlimited votes/person!
'Just Push the Yellow Button and Vote as Many Times as You Want' on Sequoia Touch-Screen Voting Machines![IMAGE]
ALERT about MAJOR security flaw in Sequoia Voting Machines.
Actual instructions on how anyone can cheat at end of email.
from: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3714#more-3714
"I can do it in 18 seconds," ... "I can train you to do it in 3 minutes.
New Vulnerability Discovered on Touch-Screen Systems Made by One of Country's Largest Voting Machine Companies Will
Affect Elections in Dozens of States! ...
"Just push the yellow button and you can vote as many times as you want," Tom Courbat, an Election Integrity advocate
from Riverside County, California informed The BRAD BLOG tonight. Not that we're in any mood to report more such stories,
but this seems to be a big one. A very big one.
It seems there's a little yellow button on the back of every touch-screen computer made by Sequoia Voting Systems, that
allows any voter, or poll worker, or precinct inspector to set the system into "Manual Mode" allowing them to cast as
many votes as they want.
...Sequoia technicians had been in the SoS office and had confirmed the vulnerability. (A complete transcript of
McDannold's Monday phone message left on Courbat's cell phone, confirming the security issue and describing the actions -
or lack thereof - being taken, is at end of this article.)
...
Thanks to the diligence of Watt and Courbat, it is now confirmed that all such systems are completely vulnerable to
virtually anyone who wishes to cast as many votes as they please.
"I can do it in 18 seconds," says Watt. "I can train you to do it in 3 minutes. Just push the yellow button, wait 3
seconds and it chimes. Push the yellow button again, wait 3 seconds and it chimes again. Then it's all on the screen
prompts. You're asked 'Do you want to enter manual mode?' and you push 'Yes'...And then you're on your way."
"You can then vote as many times as you want. You won't ever have to stop until someone physically restrains you from
voting," he explained.
"But wouldn't someone hear the chime?" we asked...
"No, it's barely audible. Quieter than the beep on your computer when it boots up. The systems are usually kept up
against the wall to be near a power outlet and away from the poll workers for privacy. Plus, if you really wanted to pull
it off, just come in with a friend and have them talk to the poll workers to distract them. Nobody would ever know."
McDannold's message left on Courbat's cell phone Monday confirming the issue. "Sequoia was actually in here this morning
giving us a demonstration of the feature and how it works and how you would set it up and put it into that mode," said
McDannold.
...
###
The transcript of the phone message left by Bruce McDannold on Tom Courbat's cell phone follows in full...
T-R-A-N-S-C-R-I-P-T
10-30-06 Voice Mail Message from Bruce McDannold - CA Secretary of State's Office, 4:34 p.m. [2 minutes, 40 seconds
duration] left on cell phone of Tom Courbat.
Yes, Mr. Courbat. Bruce McDannold from the uh Secretary of State's office. We spoke Friday night and I just
wanted to get back in touch with you.
Since we spoke, we have ah reviewed the information. Sequoia was actually in here this morning giving us a
demonstration uh of the feature and how it works and how you would set it up and put it into that mode [the
manual mode that allows continuous voting on any Sequoia Edge I or Edge II machine]. We've reviewed it with
them and I have to at least notice or note that that's not an easy thing to reach around and go through that
sequence unobserved.
We've also spoken with all the counties ah that are Sequoia users today and verified they were all aware of
that as a feature for the backup purposes, of course, that we discussed and why that feature was put in. Uh,
they're all aware of it, they have all of them been training their staff and are continuing to train their
staff and their poll workers on observing that and watching the equipment um during the day for uh any use of
that system or people reaching around certainly or too long in the voting booth or the audio beep that it
automatically emits every time you try to put it in that mode there's also an audio warning that goes with
that so, you know, it's an important kind of mitigation being aware.
They are all doing poll worker training ah they're all putting signs up to warn people about the severe
penalties for tampering with voting equipment uh which is would fall under-- most of them are putting signs
actually on the machines. They are also being very conscious of the placement of the equipment so that they
can observe, actually many of them are - have already planned to assign staff members to do nothing but just
watch the machines for that purpose to make sure ah nobody is reaching around or doing anything.
And then of course, um a final important component is, they're all required to do balloting accounting
afterwards to verify and demonstrate that no one has ah tampered with the machines or put any extra votes on
it. So ah we're confident at this point that there are effective mitigation strategies out there -
everybody's clear that the essential [potential?] danger and alert to it, confident that it won't be
affecting the election. Hopefully that answers your questions and puts you at a little more at ease. If you
have any further questions or want to get back in touch with me, my number of course is 916-653-7244.
Thanks
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/44823.html
Here is how the "Yellow Button Hack" is done:
1. Go to the back of the voting machine. Press and hold the yellow activate button (about 3 seconds). Release when the
screen says "waiting for next voter".
2. Press and hold the yellow button again until the screen says "change to manual activation?"
3. Touch the "Yes" button on the screen.
4. At that point there will be a message on the screen that says "Manual activate voting enabled" (this is just displayed
briefly)
5. Next message will read "Waiting for the next voter" When you see that you touch the message that says "start voting"
or "resume voting" located in the lower right of the screen The AVC Edge is now set up for poll worker activation mode.
Here is the sequence:
If it's regular voting (as opposed to provisional)
a. Once you've touched the start or resume the "waiting for next voter" appears
b. Activate the ballot by pressing and releasing the yellow activate button
c. Activate the correct party for the voter AND press the yellow activate button using the keypad on the display screen
d. Select the voter's language if appropriate
e. Vote. (Once the voter has completed voting and cast their ballot. Prepare the Edge for the next voter. If the next
voter is a regular voter repeat step B and D above.
You can now vote as many times as you want to.
This information was obtained in a public records request
You will find it in the AVC Edge with VeriVote Printer Poll Worker's Guide Booklet 5 Troubleshooting Document version
2.01 with date Dec. 29 2005.
application/pdf Sequoia troubleshooters guide booklet pp 5-6
Sequoia EDGE w-VeriVote-Troubleshooting guide - booklet 5-6pp.pdf (528.8 k)
application/pdf Sequoia troubleshooters guide booklet 5
Sequoia EDGE w-VeriVote-Troubleshooting guide - booklet 5.pdf (38.1 k)
