Voter Technology

The focus on all the voting and elections has led me to post a blog on the current "state-of-the-art" election systems being put into place throughout the U.S.
They all have pluses and minuses so I thought it would be interesting to compare the various technologies in terms for the average person. There are actually very few companies whose technology is used:

Premier Election Solutions - previously known as Diebold Election Systems
Election Systems & Software - a subsidiary of McCarthy Group Inc.
Sequoia Voting Systems - now bought by a group of private investors 11/07
Liberty Election Systems

ESS, Premier, and Sequoia all offer end-to-end tools to support the election process from voter registration to vote counting.

Electronic Poll Systems -
ESS, Premier, Sequoia, and Liberty all offer free-standing electronic polling systems. All systems provide printed record as an option.

Only Premier and Sequoia offer optical scan systems.

The problem that occurs most often in complaints is the lack of a paper trail - however, this is not STANDARD on any of these systems! Counties have choices in many cases as to what options they want to implement - causing a problem in consistency within a given state.
The second problem that occurs is the lack of any backup - so if a machine goes down there is no backup system in-place to accept ballots - like paper ballots.

One of the things that should be considered by the Federal Elections is an overarching set of requirements that must be put into place throughout the states:
- paper trail requirements
- security requirements
- backup procedures required
- ADA compliance
Ability to securely tabulate all ballots electronically - paper versions as well as electronic.

This would reduce the problems and complaints throughout.

Who Should Obama Choose for VP?

This is NOT AN OFFICIAL POLL.
Not intended to hurt Clinton's feelings either.
Results of the vote may be shared but no other information will be shared.

So hey everyone -
I'm not perfect and I can't think of everyone that could be on this list - so leave me your choice for VP if Obama wins in November.

This poll might even be useful if Hillary won. So explain your case and what they do now - We won't revise the list if we can't figure out who they are. ;-)

Bios for people on this list are below the survey in case you don't know them - taken from Wikipedia so no one can complain about bias ;-)

Thanks!

Get the Results

Bill Richardson (D) is currently the Governor of New Mexico (2002). He was a staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, worked on congressional relations for the Henry Kissinger State Department during the Nixon Administration. In 1982, he began his 14+ years in U.S. Representative in Congress where he kept his interest in foreign relations. He visited Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, India, North Korea, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Sudan to represent U.S. interests. He was Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 98th Congress (1983–1985) and Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Native American Affairs in the 103rd Congress (1993–1994). In 1996, he and Peter Bourne engaged in lengthy one-on-one negotiations in Baghdad with Saddam Hussein to secure the release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by the Iraqis after wandering over the Kuwaiti border. In 1997, he served as Ambassador to the United Nations, and from 1998 to 2001 as the U.S. Secretary of Energy under Clinton. Term limits ends his governorship in 2010.

Hillary Clinton (D) is currently a U.S. Senator from NY. She was the first female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979. She was the First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992 and was active in a number of organizations concerned with the welfare of children as well as sitting on the board of Wal-Mart and several other corporate boards. As First Lady of the United States from 1992 to 2000, she played a role in advocating for the establishment of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster Care Independence Act. Her major initiative, the Clinton health care plan, failed to gain approval by the U.S. Congress in 1994.

John Edwards (D) is currently works at the One America Committee, a political action committee he established in 2001, and was appointed director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He was also a consultant for Fortress Investment Group LLC. Starting in 1984 Edwards worked in malpractice law primarily for plaintiffs. In 1993, Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now named Kirby & Holt) with a friend, David Kirby. He became known as the top plaintiffs' attorney in North Carolina. In 1998, he won his one term as democratic U.S. Senator from North Carolina where he co-sponsored over 203 bills. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004 as well as a Presidential Candidate in 2008.

Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius (D) is currently serving as the Governor of Kansas (2002). She is the second female governor of Kansas, the 2008 respondent to the State of the Union address, and chair-emeritus of the Democratic Governors Association. She was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1986. In 1994 she was elected as the state insurance commissioner. Term limits ends her governorship in 2010.

Mike Easley (D) is currently serving as Governor of North Carolina (2000). Easley was elected District Attorney, one of the youngest ever in the state, in 1982. Easley was elected North Carolina Attorney General in 1992, serving during the administration of Governor Jim Hunt. Term limits ends his governorship in 2008.

Michael Bloomburg (R/D/I) is currently serving as Mayor of New York City, NY. As mayor of New York, Bloomberg declines to receive a city salary, accepting remuneration of $1.00 annually for his services. Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers, where he headed equity trading, sales and, systems development. He made his fortune with his own financial software service company, Bloomberg L.P., which he founded in 1981 to sell financial information terminals to Wall Street firms. His company also began a radio network. Bloomburg does not reside in the mayor’s mansion, Gracie Mansion, but at his own home at 17 East 79th Street on the Upper East Side, between Madison and Fifth Avenues. He maintains his home address in the White Pages and rides the subway to his office at City Hall. Bloomberg also owns homes in Britain and in the British territory of Bermuda. He is listed as one of the world’s richest persons.

Tim Kaine (D) is currently serving as Governor of Virginia (2006). Kaine practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, representing people denied housing because of race or disability. He was recognized by local, state and national organizations for his fair housing advocacy. He also taught legal ethics for six years at the University of Richmond Law School. In 1994, he was elected to the city council of Richmond. Later he was “elected”/appointed mayor of Richmond by the city council. In 2002, Kaine was elected Lt. Governor of VA. As Governor he is a member of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors' Association, and the Democratic Governors Association. On January 31, 2006, he gave the Democratic response to President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address. In his response, he claimed the Republicans failed to support bipartisanship in Washington.

Other suggestions not on the list so far but I've added below in the comments - leave a comment to these post threads if you want one of these.

Dennis John Kucinich (D) is an Ohio member of the United States House of Representatives and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2004 and 2008.

Gen (4 star retired) Wesley Clark (D) who is currently leads a political action committee, "WesPAC: Securing America," that supported numerous Democratic Party candidates in the mid-term elections.

Janet Napolitano (D) is currently governor of the Arizona, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. She is Arizona's third female governor, and the first female to win re-election. Term limits ends her governorship in 2010.

Presidential Election and Technology

So one week ago I started working for the Barack Obama campaign. This 45+ year old had NEVER done anything like this before in my life. I looked at the issues and I looked at the candidates. I have been inspired by this man - he makes me weep with joy at the thought how WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. Join the movement - join history in the making!

If you click on the link from this header, you can look at his position on technology and the investments he wants to make.

You can go to www.barackobama.com to look at all the information regarding this candidate.

Kelley

You Want To Sell To The Government

I wrote a book "Why Don't You Just Shoot the Moose?" that is available on Amazon that talks about many of my experiences in selling to the government.
I'm in the process of writing a new one about exactly how to manuver through as a small business to sell to the government.

Anyway, if you have something you might want to sell to the government and it might be useful, let me know.

I have led a lot of technology investment decisions in my life - so I've seen a lot of technology. You never know - you might just be the next Raytheon, Hughes, Boeing, or Lockheed Martin. The hoops you have to jump through make it difficult at best to sell. For people from the commercial sector - you might want to slit your wrists! Women are significantly under represented in sales to the government. So we can discuss what it takes to get there. Where YOU CAN GET HELP to take the idea to the next level.

Currently I am helping a small business sell their technology to the government. I took a look at this and new it would revolutionize the way our radar and communications systems work! It was absolutely cool. Imagine a world where my cellphone did not interfere with my network ever. Imagine a world where radars used less power and had better resolution than they ever realized. This technology takes us into a new world - www.s2corporation.com

This optical signal processor has 20GHz in its first version that just completed a spectacular operational test on TWO completely different radars within two weeks! One radar operated at C band which is at the lower end of the spectrum and the other operated at Ku band which is above X. So very cool. They also have a 250GHz Spectrum Analyzer in the lab they are working on ... What amazing technology! Check them out.

Kelley