… on the Peter B. Collins Radio Show, broadcast live on KRXA 540-AM in Monterey, to talk about the Secretary of State’s latest “decision” to punt re-certification of Diebold to the federal government and “independent testing authorities” financed by the voting machine industry.

You can also tune in online — click here.

And please call in at 1-888-KRXA-540 to join the discussion.

– Debra

Senator Bowen will be a guest on the Mark Martinez Radio Show this Saturday between noon and 2pm. Mark’s show is broadcast on KGET 970 AM in Bakersfield.

Ask Debra a question! To call in to the program, dial 661-716-KGET (5438).

– Brent

On Thursday, Debra will be a guest on the Thom Hartmann Radio Show, broadcast on Air America Radio at 10:30am Pacific Time. She’ll join Thom to discuss voting machines, Diebold, and more.

Tune in to your local Air America station to hear Debra, or listen online at www.airamericaradio.com/thomhartmannpage. Then discuss her appearance here on the Bowen blog!

UPDATE: You can check out an archive recording of the December 8th program here.

– Brent

It’s time to restore the public’s trust in how our votes are counted here in California. But, if Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has his way, that may not happen.

With a January 1, 2006 deadline looming, Secretary of State McPherson is considering recertification of Diebold electronic voting machines for use in California elections — even though recent studies have shown failure rates of up to 20% on some Diebold systems.

That’s outrageous! The very integrity of our elections is on the line — and the people of California deserve a thorough, rigorous testing of these Diebold voting machines before they’re used in our state ever again.

I hope you’ll help me speak out on this by emailing Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, urging him to thoroughly test the Diebold electronic voting machines before even considering using them in the next California election!

And tune in to www.krxa540.com today (Friday) at 3:30pm as we talk about electronic voting on KRXA Radio in Monterey. This is too critical an issue for any of us to remain silent.

Unfortunately, these Diebold electronic voting machines have shown themselves to be extremely vulnerable to hacking. Last May, computer expert Harri Hursti from Finland successfully hacked into a Diebold machine in Florida, flashing a message that read “Are we having fun yet?” across the screen.

And apparently, it wasn’t too hard to do. In fact, Hursti used a scanner that measures the moisture content in corn — a device that uses the same kind of memory cards as Diebold’s electronic voting machines — to program his own Diebold memory card, which enabled him to hack into the Florida system.

If it’s possible to use a $300 corn scanner to hack into a supposedly secure voting system in Florida, then clearly these Diebold electronic voting machines warrant further testing before they’re re-certified for use here in California.

17 counties across California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Alameda, are currently equipped with these Diebold machines. Significant numbers of votes in the 2006 election are slated to be processed with these electronic systems.

For the sake of the integrity of our elections system, and to guarantee that every Californian’s vote is counted accurately in the next election, these Diebold machines must pass the hack test.

It’s the responsibility of the Secretary of State to thoroughly test these Diebold machines before they’re used in any future elections. Anything less is absolutely unacceptable.

Tell Secretary of State Bruce McPherson to refuse to certify these Diebold electronic voting machines until they pass the hack test!

Thanks for your help!

Debra

Debra Bowen is racking up endorsement after endorsement in her campaign for Secretary of State. Debra’s most recent elected official endorsement (#57) came from Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco).

Other recent endorsements include Congressman Mike Honda, Congresswoman Hilda Solis, LA County Sheriff Lee Baca, and former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson.

You can see the full endorsement list here.

Who’s next?

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of cyberspace! I look forward to having a valuable discussion with you throughout my campaign for Secretary of State.

From cleaning up our elections system, to providing greater visibility into campaign financing, to restoring the people’s trust in their elected government, we have an ambitious — and important — agenda for the people of California.

I look forward to working on these issues and many others in the coming weeks and months. Thanks for stopping by my new blog. If you have a moment, I invite you to introduce yourself and let me know what’s on your mind.

Much more to come. Thanks again for dropping by!

Debra