Tagg Romney Invested in Ohio Electronic Voting Machines

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Oct. 18, 2012 If the Romney's can't win legally, they'll take over Ohio's electronic voting machines through investments, a direct conflict of interest in a contentious state in this election.

The new owners of Ohio's voting machines under the brand name HART Intercivic is none other than Tagg Romney the son of one of the candidates Mitt Romney. In recent weeks Tagg has taken a more "active role in his father's campaign management" but when you look further, he also has a major problem with that role.

By virtue of conflict of interest alone, this role should be investigated by the DOJ preferably involving the addition of the FBI, Homeland Security and the CIA to ensure this connection will not endanger the vote in Ohio and other states.

After all isn't the security of an election both state and federal authorities responsibility to ensure the election is not stolen, tampered, or results altered?

Tagg Romney the heir to the Romney fortunes (through Vulture Capitalism) is a chip off the old block and his dad scored big destroying American jobs through leveraging profitable US companies. Unfortunately for the employees of these companies they lost their jobs to cheaper labor in China sweat factories.

In 2008, after Romney lost the 2008 bid for President, it was all clear for Mitt Romney's son Tagg Romney to invest in a company called Solamere Capital which is a direct subsidiary of Allen Stanford's Bank and investment companies.

Solamere Capital

Allen Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in jail for one of the biggest 8 billion dollar ponzi scheme. The funds were never recovered for investors, and the SEC has never said Tagg Romney was not under investigation for his investments thereafter.

Tagg Romney tapped into Mitt Romney's Rolodex of wealthy associates, political donors, wealthy investors and in particular Mitt Romney's campaign fundraiser: Spencer Zwick.

Think Progress- Romney Family Investment -Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford

The 10 million seed funds funds were said to have come from one of Ann Romney's Blind Family Trust accounts which aren't so blind after all. That seed money was also in the name of Mitt Romney and profits were made through this investment when Mitt partnered with his number one son.

The Voting Machine Connection to Ohio and Romney Family Investments

Bain Capital, Solamere Capital both of which are major investments for both Mitt and Tagg Romney are connected to many private equity investments.

As Lee Fang points out in his detailed analysis of the Romney investments

"Many of these private equity–owned companies rely on federal and state contracts, from HIG Capital's Hart Intercivic, a voting machine company, to EnviroFoam Technologies, a biological and chemical decontamination firm that does business with the US military and is owned by Peterson Partners, a private equity firm listed in the Solamere prospectus."

Solarmere's tangled web of investments now includes Hart Intercivic voting machines which will be used in Cincinnati Ohio says Truth Out which could guarantee Mitt Romney the White House.

Read more: http://www.politicol.../#ixzz29mCUecJ2

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

By virtue of conflict of interest alone, this role should be investigated by the DOJ preferably involving the addition of the FBI, Homeland Security and the CIA to ensure this connection will not endanger the vote in Ohio and other states.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Talk about a mentally disturbed leftwing moonbat article! Whoever wrote that is a piece of work.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

You should know this forum only likes and believes in conspiracy theories if it negatively impacts their candidate. Not the other way around. Silly.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Ah, nah. There's nothing peculiar about Romney's company, which is now run by his son, investing in voting machines in a crucial state which by most expert predictions, will determine who the next president will be. No worries - they're electronic machines. What could possibly go wrong?

........

"According to a study, Diebold voting machines can easily be hacked and could alter the outcome of an election. So what can we do to stop this from happening? Roger Johnston, a member of the vulnerability asset team for Argonne National Lab and Howard University Professor, Wilmer J. Leon, give us there take on the issue."

Edited October 19, 2012 by Commie Appeaser

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Oct. 18, 2012 If the Romney's can't win legally, they'll take over Ohio's electronic voting machines through investments, a direct conflict of interest in a contentious state in this election.

The new owners of Ohio's voting machines under the brand name HART Intercivic is none other than Tagg Romney the son of one of the candidates Mitt Romney. In recent weeks Tagg has taken a more "active role in his father's campaign management" but when you look further, he also has a major problem with that role.

By virtue of conflict of interest alone, this role should be investigated by the DOJ preferably involving the addition of the FBI, Homeland Security and the CIA to ensure this connection will not endanger the vote in Ohio and other states.

After all isn't the security of an election both state and federal authorities responsibility to ensure the election is not stolen, tampered, or results altered?

Tagg Romney the heir to the Romney fortunes (through Vulture Capitalism) is a chip off the old block and his dad scored big destroying American jobs through leveraging profitable US companies. Unfortunately for the employees of these companies they lost their jobs to cheaper labor in China sweat factories.

In 2008, after Romney lost the 2008 bid for President, it was all clear for Mitt Romney's son Tagg Romney to invest in a company called Solamere Capital which is a direct subsidiary of Allen Stanford's Bank and investment companies.

Solamere Capital

Allen Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in jail for one of the biggest 8 billion dollar ponzi scheme. The funds were never recovered for investors, and the SEC has never said Tagg Romney was not under investigation for his investments thereafter.

Tagg Romney tapped into Mitt Romney's Rolodex of wealthy associates, political donors, wealthy investors and in particular Mitt Romney's campaign fundraiser: Spencer Zwick.

Think Progress- Romney Family Investment -Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford

The 10 million seed funds funds were said to have come from one of Ann Romney's Blind Family Trust accounts which aren't so blind after all. That seed money was also in the name of Mitt Romney and profits were made through this investment when Mitt partnered with his number one son.

The Voting Machine Connection to Ohio and Romney Family Investments

Bain Capital, Solamere Capital both of which are major investments for both Mitt and Tagg Romney are connected to many private equity investments.

As Lee Fang points out in his detailed analysis of the Romney investments

"Many of these private equity–owned companies rely on federal and state contracts, from HIG Capital's Hart Intercivic, a voting machine company, to EnviroFoam Technologies, a biological and chemical decontamination firm that does business with the US military and is owned by Peterson Partners, a private equity firm listed in the Solamere prospectus."

Solarmere's tangled web of investments now includes Hart Intercivic voting machines which will be used in Cincinnati Ohio says Truth Out which could guarantee Mitt Romney the White House.

Read more: http://www.politicol.../#ixzz29mCUecJ2

Usually the bat shat crazy as hades tree hugging psychopaths wait until after the a Conservative overcomes Voter fraud, Acorn, Media Bias, and liberal courts, to win before the cry Cheater. I guess they are getting an early start.

Sounds like to me the libs think the Fat Lady is warming up.. I think it's far from over

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Ah, nah. There's nothing peculiar about Romney's company, which is now run by his son, investing in voting machines in a crucial state which by most expert predictions, will determine who the next president will be. No worries - they're electronic machines. What could possibly go wrong?

........

"According to a study, Diebold voting machines can easily be hacked and could alter the outcome of an election. So what can we do to stop this from happening? Roger Johnston, a member of the vulnerability asset team for Argonne National Lab and Howard University Professor, Wilmer J. Leon, give us there take on the issue."

Howard University. No bias there.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

The results will match the day-before polls and exactly match the exit polls and no doubt it will still be called fraud. Why? Because Bain capitol invested in another company that was a subsidiary of a company investing in the company the makes a voting machine that has a voter verifiable paper trail audit - assuming Ohio decided to spring for that option.

OH MY GOD HE IS STEALING THE ELECTION!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Yeah, it's all just 'theory.' No evidence of fraud....oh, wait. What's this?

Diebold-SEC Fraud Settlement Reached: Former Voting Machine Maker To Pay $25 Million

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing fraud charges against three former executives of ATM maker Diebold Inc. after reaching a $25 million settlement with the company on Wednesday.

The SEC filed civil charges against former Diebold executives Gregory Geswein, Kevin Krakora and Sandra Miller, alleging they manipulated the company's books to meet earnings forecasts from 2002 through 2007. Geswein was a chief financial officer, Krakora was a controller and finance chief, and Miller was director of corporate accounting.

Through their attorneys, Geswein, Krakora and Miller disputed the SEC's charges.

Diebold's former chief executive, Walden O'Dell, agreed to pay back about $470,000 in cash, plus stock and options. He was not charged with fraud or other violations of securities laws, but the government was allowed to recapture his compensation under the so-called "clawback" provision of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley anti-fraud law. The "clawback" calls for executives to repay compensation they received while their companies misled shareholders, even when they aren't personally accused of participating in the violations.

"We are pleased that the settlement with the SEC is final," Thomas Swidarski, Diebold's CEO, said in a statement.

The SEC lodged the charges in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington. The agency alleged that Diebold manipulated its earnings from at least 2002 through 2007 to meet financial forecasts and that it made misstatements to investors in dozens of regulatory filings and news releases. The improper accounting practices inflated Diebold's reported earnings by at least $127 million, the SEC said.

http://www.huffingto...e_n_598627.html

............

and then this....

National Security Lab Hacks Diebold Touch-Screen Voting Machine by Remote Control With $26 in Computer Parts

The Vulnerability Assessment Team (VAT) at the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois has managed to hack a Diebold Accuvote touch-screen voting machine in what I describe at my exclusive today at Salon as perhaps "one of the most disturbing e-voting machine hacks to date."

As noted by the computer scientists and security experts at Argonne's VAT, largely all that's needed to accomplish this hack is about $26 and an 8th grade science education.

"This is a national security issue," VAT team leader Dr. Roger Johnston told me, echoing what I've been reporting other computer scientists and security experts telling me for years. "It should really be handled by the Department of Homeland Security."

Johnston should know. While the VAT folks have been dabbling in the security (or lack thereof) of e-voting systems in their spare time of late, most of the work they do is related to issues like nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation.

What makes this hack so troubling --- and different from those which have come before it --- is that it doesn't require any actual changes to, or even knowledge of, the voting system software or its memory card programming. It's not a cyberattack. It's a "Man-in-the-middle" attack where a tiny, $10.50 piece of electronics is inserted into the system between the voter and the main circuit board of the voting system allowing for complete control over the touch-screen system and the entire voting process along with it.

Add an optional $15 radio frequency remote control device, and votes can be changed, without the knowledge of the voter, from up to half a mile away. Without the remote, the attack can be turned on and off at certain times, or by other triggers. The voter would have no idea that their votes have been changed after they've already approved them as "correct" on the various confirmation screens, and even on the so-called "paper-trail" (on e-voting machines which offer them --- though VAT has learned how to manipulate those as well, see photo at right.)

The inserted chip can later be removed after the election without there being any way to ever know that someone had completely manipulated the system. But since election officials rarely --- if ever --- examine the inside of their voting machines, it doesn't much matter, in truth.

"The level of sophistication it took to develop the circuit board" used in the attack "was that of basically an 8th grade science shop," says Argonne's John Warner. "Anybody with an electronics workbench could put this together."

The team, he says, had no knowledge of the voting machine's computer circuit diagram or owner's manual when they devised the attack. Moreover, VAT team leader Roger Johnston told me they believe they "can do similar things on pretty much every electronic voting machine." Indeed, in 2009, with little fanfare, they were able to carry out a similar manipulation of a Seqouia AVC Advantage e-voting system (as used across most of the state of New Jersey, for example). You can see

.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8785

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's peculiar that Right Wingers are so concerned about voter fraud as in people who ineligible to vote, but seem uninterested in the mountain of evidence that these electronic voting machines are susceptible to fraud. This shouldn't be a partisan issue. This is about the threat of our democracy.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Yeah, it's all just 'theory.' No evidence of fraud....oh, wait. What's this?

First off wrong company

Second off the fraud (from the wrong company) was on the companies financials, not the machines. What is the point? A company that's not this one lied on its balance sheet that has nothing to do with the product it sales.. What does this prove to you?

Third the hacking (again, wrong machine, wrong company) involved making a user interface and placing it over the machine so that the voter was not interacting with the voting machine but with another machine that would then enter in information into the other machine as if it was the person. This was addressed in the next generation of machines by adding a paper audit trail and encryption to inputs to the machines. You would know this if you read the article instead of cut and pasting the best headlines you could find.

So yeah... BS,

[mawilson 2,133]

If Mittens gets Ohio, this election is over. For his sake, I hope Tagg can do something about it.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

First off wrong company

Second off the fraud (from the wrong company) was on the companies financials, not the machines. What is the point? A company that's not this one lied on its balance sheet that has nothing to do with the product it sales.. What does this prove to you?

Third the hacking (again, wrong machine, wrong company) involved making a user interface and placing it over the machine so that the voter was not interacting with the voting machine but with another machine that would then enter in information into the other machine as if it was the person. This was addressed in the next generation of machines by adding a paper audit trail and encryption to inputs to the machines. You would know this if you read the article instead of cut and pasting the best headlines you could find.

So yeah... BS,

You missed the points made. For one, the Republican Party is heavily connected financially to these electronic voting machines - doesn't matter which company Second, it's been proven that these machines by design, are susceptible to fraud. And if you're wondering whether HART machines are immune to such hacking...

from PC World (hardly a left wing conspiracy site):

U.S. Presidential Election Can Be Hacked

The California audit examined systems from Diebold Elections Systems, Hart InterCivic and Sequoia Voting Systems, ultimately permitting their use in 2008, but only under certain conditions. In testing, Wagner and his team found that they could introduce a computer virus to any of the three systems, which would then spread throughout the county and ultimately skew the vote count.

.....

About a quarter of the votes cast in the upcoming election will be on electronic voting equipment with no paper trail, Wagner said. And even the states that keep paper records are not necessarily checking their results. Only about a third of all states have records that are regularly audited.

......

Recently, Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten was threatened with legal action after New Jersey counties asked him to review Sequoia AVC Advantage voting machines.

There is so much mistrust between the two communities, it is hard for them to communicate, said Alec Yasinsac, an associate professor at Florida State University. "It's very hard for the academics to approach the vendors," he said. Vendors worry that if they talk to security researchers, it might be tantamount to admitting that they have bugs.

"I think voting system vendors today are where Microsoft was 10 years ago," Wagner said.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/144431/article.html

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hopefully this will make the difference in Ohio. There will be rioting though.

You missed the points made. For one, the Republican Party is heavily connected financially to these electronic voting machines - doesn't matter which company Second, it's been proven that these machines by design, are susceptible to fraud. And if you're wondering whether HART machines are immune to such hacking...

from PC World (hardly a left wing conspiracy site):

U.S. Presidential Election Can Be Hacked

The California audit examined systems from Diebold Elections Systems, Hart InterCivic and Sequoia Voting Systems, ultimately permitting their use in 2008, but only under certain conditions. In testing, Wagner and his team found that they could introduce a computer virus to any of the three systems, which would then spread throughout the county and ultimately skew the vote count.

.....

About a quarter of the votes cast in the upcoming election will be on electronic voting equipment with no paper trail, Wagner said. And even the states that keep paper records are not necessarily checking their results. Only about a third of all states have records that are regularly audited.

......

Recently, Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten was threatened with legal action after New Jersey counties asked him to review Sequoia AVC Advantage voting machines.

There is so much mistrust between the two communities, it is hard for them to communicate, said Alec Yasinsac, an associate professor at Florida State University. "It's very hard for the academics to approach the vendors," he said. Vendors worry that if they talk to security researchers, it might be tantamount to admitting that they have bugs.

"I think voting system vendors today are where Microsoft was 10 years ago," Wagner said.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/144431/article.html

All good news.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

It's peculiar that Right Wingers are so concerned about voter fraud as in people who ineligible to vote, but seem uninterested in the mountain of evidence that these electronic voting machines are susceptible to fraud. This shouldn't be a partisan issue. This is about the threat of our democracy.

#1 I voted for Obama in the last election

#2 I am interested that those who vote are actually eligible to vote. We actually do have known fraud here, lots of it... Why is this a partisan issue to you?

#3 You were not concerned about the voting machines until someone was able to draw a line to someone with whom you disagree. I had concerns the last election with them, they added safeguards and more oversight, the source code for these machines is controlled by third parties. Nothing is 100% secure otherwise banks would never be robbed.. Want to get rid of them? Fine by me.. If your guy loses no doubt we will here about human error and hanging chads and people hanging around the polls intimidating people and everything else that no doubt was done to make your guy not win the election.