Tressler said she didn’t expect the results to be different Tuesday, she just wanted to verify them.

“I got into the race kind of late and I spent a lot of time thinking where I could have gotten 30 more votes,” she said. “Of course, it’s disappointing to come that close.

“It is hard because I feel like I didn’t lose, I feel like I ran out of time.”

Julie Tressler's impression of Jack Bauer, who always says "we are running out of time!".

Whose to say that if there was more time... Julie would have won? Jim would have won by more? Jim would have won by less?

I believe I remember reading Ms. Tressler said she would spend the next 4 years wondering where she could have gotten 29 more votes. She doesn't need to wait that long. I can tell her where they went! Ms. Tressler's 30 votes went up in smoke with her negative campaign fliers. If she had released her campaign contribution disclosure forms BEFORE the run-off I think Jim would have won by a larger margin. Instead she released them the day AFTER the run-off. In my opinion that gives us a pretty clear picture of the way she would have treated the citizens of Forsyth county as a county commissioner. With little respect! We dodged a big one here, folks.

Congrats to Jim Boff

Now we have to worry who will get those screwed up machines that were swapping votes and crashing at Concorde District and the other polls. Good luck in November folks as it's musical chairs on who gets them. Possible it will be your vote that is ripped off.

David, you mentioned the machines were acting weird. I assume the voter was smart enough to alert poll workers there was a problem and they had them move to another machine. If that's how it happened I believe their vote was counted.

I personally have never had a problem with any of the machines and have never seen anyone having a problem when I was voting. These machines are computers and sometimes, just like our home computers, can crash. And sometimes, just like our home computers, it's user error.

I'm not defending or condemning the machines. But Georgia does not have verified paper trails to computer voting machines and that needs to change. Our state is letting us down on this issue.

The poll wprkers were notified and no they didn't get to use other machines. In fact you could be using one of those very same machines in November unrepaired! Links below for your reading pleasure.

http://www.aboutforsyth.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4322

http://www.aboutforsyth.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4359

http://www.aboutforsyth.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4376

Why didn't they use another machine? I find that hard to believe. Did they refuse to use another machine or were they denied the chance to use another machine?

What is the state policy about this type of situation?

Don't you think it is odd that the only person in the county that witnessed this was Milum and his neighbors? Talk about conspiracy theories!

Yeah, oddone, I thought the same thing. I'm not sure he's the "only" one. Things do happen sometimes. What I do find odd is that Mr. Milum says the voters were not given the opportunity to cast their votes on another machine. I'm having some difficulty with that. Did they refuse to use another machine? He says the poll workers where notified but did they actually see what the machine was doing as it was 'malfunctioning'? These are some questions I would like answered before I take this accusation seriously. If they were not allowed to use another machine I would think an investigation would be requested by Mr. Milum especially since he said his wife was one of the voters that had a problem.

david you have gone past the point of being the lauhing stock of forsyth county. get a live

oddone Aug 20, 2008 11:05am [ 9 ] Don't you think it is odd that the only person in the county that witnessed this was Milum and his neighbors? Talk about conspiracy theories!

Only person? Let me see, there was the guy who lives six or eight miles from me Mr. S, my next door neighbor a minster's wife, those complainers in South Forsyth, past county administrator Donald Majors working the exit at the Concord poll, and two more poll workers to boot who were helping Mr. S as I left the building.

My machine worked great....I think. Don't believe a word I say just ask them if you are so interested. In fact, take this as a dare if you aren't a big ole chicken. Pachock!

Jan Aug 20, 2008 1:41pm [ 10 ]

Yeah, oddone, I thought the same thing. I'm not sure he's the "only" one. Things do happen sometimes. What I do find odd is that Mr. Milum says the voters were not given the opportunity to cast their votes on another machine. I'm having some difficulty with that. Did they refuse to use another machine? He says the poll workers where notified but did they actually see what the machine was doing as it was 'malfunctioning'? These are some questions I would like answered before I take this accusation seriously. If they were not allowed to use another machine I would think an investigation would be requested by Mr. Milum especially since he said his wife was one of the voters that had a problem.

Jan Aug 20, 2008 1:41pm [ 10 ] Yeah, oddone, I thought the same thing. I'm not sure he's the "only" one. Things do happen sometimes. What I do find odd is that Mr. Milum says the voters were not given the opportunity to cast their votes on another machine. I'm having some difficulty with that. Did they refuse to use another machine? He says the poll workers where notified but did they actually see what the machine was doing as it was 'malfunctioning'? These are some questions I would like answered before I take this accusation seriously. If they were not allowed to use another machine I would think an investigation would be requested by Mr. Milum especially since he said his wife was one of the voters that had a problem.

Dm: Where did I say that the “voters weren’t given an opportunity to use other machines”? This is new to me. Yes, I have a problem with that too since that was never an issue as far as I know. Maybe the odd part is all in your noggin’. I do know that Mr. S did call over poll workers and one was standing there with him as he was describing what his machine was doing. Donald Majors, a poll worker witnessed that too. These recollections are not accusations they are witnessed accounts.

My wife’s problems were localized only to the next button not working correctly. After several attempts it did finally advance to the next page. Her problems didn’t bother me all that much but the other two Voter’s problems, that should scare any Voter. Voting machines swapping candidates names.....well you get it right? This is the issue. The computer investigator from Kennesaw State College checked those same machines and blessed them as perfect to put back on the line in November. Tell me what is wrong with this picture.

I did make complaints to the SOS hence the guy checking the machines several days later. I didn't trust those machines nor Voter Registrar Gary Smith before but I dang sure don't now!

Uh, David?

Your complaint to the SOS went NOWHERE. The guy from Kennesaw State coming out is the same procedure followed when ANYONE notices a problem with a machine in any county and just takes a call from the local voter registrar. You're a victim of standard operating procedure - nothing more.

Don't continue to exaggerate your importance to anyone else other than your wife.

My importance has nothing to do with this cowardly Dave. It’s about the security of our votes. That should also be your principle worry too but apparently you put your trust in folks who misuse our tax money and present themselves in a light less trustworthy. Be happy with your choice to also trust voting machines that couldn’t be trusted to figure up a grocery bill much less decisions that will affect this community for decades to come.

Me? I’ll continue to question those who lie and set up innocent Forsyth County families...those just like you David W. Richard.

Has tressler finally conceded?

And gee, Mr. Milum, when the machines you so distrust come up with the same exact numbers from one election to a recount, what is your basis for not trusting the machines?

Maybe your understanding of these machines equals your lack of understanding of the english language, which is why you remain an 0-fer everything in your life.

Mr. Richard,

An electronic recount matching the numbers from the first election count proves nothing. If a voting machine records your vote incorrectly, it's going to count it the same way every time. If you enter bad data in a program and run it, you'll get the same answer every time you run it. It doesn’t mean that it's the correct answer.

Spend 5 mins with Google and you will see how easy it is to rig or "reconfigure" these electronic voting machines. The issues with these machines are not new and not going away. Diebold spun off their voting machine division and changed the name due to the image hit the company was taking with these machines. Paper verification is the ONLY way to have a trustworthy electronic vote.

Also, I don’t know what the beef is between yourself and Mr. Milum, but calling someone an "0-fer everything in your life" is beyond unnecessary. Nothing can be accomplished this way. Try making your point and keep the name calling out of it.

Having the count the same from the election to the recount shows that the machines do not change votes fom one election to the next, so it does prove something very important.

Ask Florida how paper ballots provide verification, Scott.

And by the way, you had no such thing as paper verification when you cast your old punch card vote, either, yet you had no more idea if your vote was cast correctly with them as you do electronic machines. The 5 minutes on Google simply shows the moonbats out there who make all sorts of wild claims about things that cannot happen with properly secured, maintained and operated voting machines, which is what we have in Forsyth County.

And Mr. Milum has no idea what he is talking about, which is his normal mode of operation. Thus, his 0-fer moniker.

I'm not defending punch cards, just as I sure you wouldn't defend wax cylinders. If we are to use the most current methods of voting, which electronic voting machines are, we want it to be the best and most accurate method, which includes an auditable paper trail.

The issue with changing votes is more important at the time the vote is recorded, not at count and recount. If you vote for A but the machine records it as a vote for B, doesn't matter how many times you "run" a recount you will get the same numbers.

The mere fact that you have to mention that

"(it) cannot happen with properly secured, maintained and operated voting machines, which is what we have in Forsyth County"

...means that you also realize that these machines could be hacked to produce results that are contrary to the actual vote totals. Why not plan for that possibility?

Look my brother is a political reporter for Cherokee County and loves the electronic machines because he's not up til 2 or 3 in the morning waiting for results, but I think if you talk to IT professionals who deal with hardware (like myself), they will tell you that paper verification is needed with these machines. If it is a computer... it can be hacked.

There was an interesting documentary from a few years ago called "Hacking Democracy" that is worth checking out. Look past all the Florida stuff and just focus on the technology of these machines.

By the way, they say that name calling is the last act of a desperate man...

Please be civil.

I'll come to the point quickly. Commissioner David W. Richard incessantly defends the DieBold voting machines. He has some training in computers and Xerox machines by way of his prior occupation. He tried to start his own business here in Forsyth County in computers but failed. No crime or disgrace in that, as many new businesses fail within the first couple of years. Been there done that years ago myself. I’m sure his next business adventure will fare much better. Perhaps Mr. Richard’s problems stemmed from a lack of understanding of complicated machinery or simply a lack of business itself. No harm in trying. Caulk one up for little Dave for his effort.

OK, now that we acknowledged that Mr. Richard has some assumed basic knowledge of computerized machines we’ll go forward with the premise that any person with half a brain should know that machines break down and machines are not infallible. To a sane person that should be a given but in Mr. Richard’s case his defense goes way past common sense. In my opinion it goes to the ultimate of idiotic extremes. Not once have we heard Mr. Richard utter that a paper trail would be a better way to insure the reliability of our votes. Ask yourself why.

Now consider this as a hypothetical question only; if you, as a soon to be out of work, dejected political hack with at least one business failure on your resume, were considering asking for a job or had been offered a job with Diebold Election Systems, Inc. or it’s alias, Premier Election Solutions, since they changed the name because of all the bad press, would you A: Suggest publicly a paper trail need or B: defend the lousy machines until your last breath so as not to jeopardize a job future with this company? Using two of Mr. Richard’s own words; why be so “deathly serious” to defend the indefensible if either A. or B. is not an issue?

Let's put this little smear attempt to rest, 0-fer.

I have never talked to any representative of any voting machine company regarding any employment opportunity. Nor do I have any intention to do so. It is not a field I wish to pursue. Pathetic try from you again. Are we clear on that?

Scott,

The Hacking Democracy "documentary" was nothing but another blatant attempt by the media to hype something that wasn't there. People have been finding ways to rig elections since elections have taken place. Not trying to find, but finding them. The FACT remains that any machine of this type, properly maintained, setup and secured will provide you with the types of elections we have had in Forsyth County since we began using those machines. In short, virtually flawless - despite Mr. Milum's questionable observations.

Now if you want to pay another $3 million to replace machines with paper verification abilities to fix a problem that doesn't actually exist, and won't actually show you anything different than what you suspect, that is YOUR issue. I don't wish to pay extra for something that hasn't been proven by responsible people in an environment that doesn't exist in this county.

Jan wrote Aug 20, 2008 9:33am
David, you mentioned the machines were acting weird. I assume the voter was smart enough to alert poll workers there was a problem and they had them move to another machine. If that's how it happened I believe their vote was counted.

David Milum wrote Aug 20, 2008 9:43am
The poll wprkers were notified and no they didn't get to use other machines. In fact you could be using one of those very same machines in November unrepaired! Links below for your reading pleasure

David Milum wrote Aug 21, 2008 11:39pm Dm: Where did I say that the “voters weren’t given an opportunity to use other machines”? This is new to me. Yes, I have a problem with that too since that was never an issue as far as I know. Maybe the odd part is all in your noggin’. I do know that Mr. S did call over poll workers and one was standing there with him as he was describing what his machine was doing. Donald Majors, a poll worker witnessed that too. These recollections are not accusations they are witnessed accounts

You said it right here on August 20, 2008 at 9:43 am.
Let me quote you again: " The poll wprkers were notified and no they didn't get to use other machines." Yep, there's something odd with a noggin', but it's not mine.

Your question; Jan wrote Aug 20, 2008 9:33am David, you mentioned the machines were acting weird. I assume the voter was smart enough to alert poll workers there was a problem and they had them move to another machine.

DM: “The poll workers were notified and no they [didn't] get to use other machines.” You asked the question and I answered it as well as I could.

David Milum later wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:39pm Dm: “Where did I say that the “voters [weren’t] given an opportunity to use other machines”?

Here is the technical part so hang in there. Not that big of a deal but I will politely accommodate your enquiry. The poll workers [never offered] other machines to use while I was standing there. I would hesitate to believe that this would ever take place but it might Jan. My neighbor was finished voting and she removed her card. My old friend was still standing there having trouble when I left, but while I was still there no [offers of other machines] were made. After I left the possibility of an offer for another machine might have materialized without me witnessing it. I hope this clears up our misunderstanding of word play. Sorry bout’ that.

So, in your opinion, the properly maintained, setup and secured electronic voting machines have eliminated the ability for people to rig elections?

I am saying that properly maintained, set up and secured electronic voting machines are far superior to any other form of voting we have today or have had in the past. And I am also saying that a paper verification will do nothing to make that process any better than what we have.

Clear enough for ya?

Crystal.

I guess we'll call this an "agree to disagree" situation.