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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
U.S. elections still vulnerable to rigging, disruption
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
and FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Jill Stein’s
bid to recount votes in Pennsylvania
was in trouble even before a federal
judge shot it down Dec. 12. That’s
because the Green Party candidate’s
effort stood little chance of detecting
potential fraud or error in the vote
— there was basically nothing to
recount.
Pennsylvania is one of 11 states
where the majority of voters use
antiquated machines that store votes
electronically, without printed ballots
or other paper-based backups that
could be used to double-check the
balloting. There’s almost no way to
know if they’ve accurately recorded
individual votes — or if anyone
tampered with the count.
More than 80 percent of Penn-
sylvanians who voted Nov. 8 cast
their ballots on such machines,
according to VotePA, a nonprofit
seeking their replacement. VotePA’s
Marybeth Kuznik described the
proposed recount this way: “You go
to the computer and you say, ‘OK,
computer, you counted this a week-
and-a-half ago. Were you right the
first time?”’
These paperless digital voting
machines, used by roughly 1 in 5
U.S. voters last month, present one
of the most glaring dangers to the
security of the rickety, underfunded
U.S. election system. Like many
electronic voting machines, they
are vulnerable to hacking. But other
machines typically leave a paper trail
that could be manually checked. The
paperless digital machines open the
door to potential election rigging that
might not ever be detected.
Their prevalence also magnifies
other risks in the election system,
simply because error or fraud is
harder to catch when vote counts
can’t be verified. And like other
voting machines adopted since the
2000 election, the paperless systems
are nearing the end of their useful
life — yet there is no comprehensive
plan to replace them.
“If I were going to hack this
election, I would go for the paperless
machines because they are so hard
to check,” said Barbara Simons,
the co-author of “Broken Ballots,”
a study of flawed U.S. voting tech-
nology.
Stein described her recount effort
as a way to ensure that the 2016
election wasn’t tainted by hacking or
fraud. There’s no evidence of either
so far — a fact federal judge Paul
Diamond cited prominently in his
decision halting the Pennsylvania
recount .
Stein pursued similar recounts
in Wisconsin and Michigan, to little
avail. Those states use more reliable
paper-based voting technologies.
(The Electoral College certified
Donald Trump’s presidential victory
last week.)
But a cadre of computer scientists
from major universities backed
Stein’s recounts to underscore the
vulnerability of U.S. elections. These
researchers have successfully hacked
e-voting machines for more than a
decade in tests commissioned by
New York, California, Ohio and
other states.
Stein and her witnesses said
worries about fraud were justified
given U.S. charges that Russia
meddled in the 2016 presidential
campaign. Emails of top Democrats
were hacked and leaked. Over the
summer, hackers also tried to breach
the voter registration databases of
Arizona and Illinois using Russia-
based servers, U.S. officials said.
Election networks in at least 20 states
were probed for vulnerabilities.
“It’s a target-rich environment,”
said Rice University computer scien-
tist Dan Wallach. Researchers would
like to see the U.S. move entirely to
computer-scannable paper ballots,
because paper can’t be hacked.
The U.S. voting system — a
loosely regulated, locally managed
patchwork of more than 3,000 juris-
dictions overseen by the states —
employs more than two dozen types
of machinery from 15 manufacturers.
Elections officials across the nation
say they take great care to secure
their machines from tampering. They
are locked away when not in use and
sealed to prevent tampering.
All of that makes national elec-
tions very difficult to steal without
getting caught.
But difficult is not impossible.
Wallach and his colleagues believe a
crafty team of pros could strike surgi-
cally, focusing on select counties in
a few battleground states where “a
small nudge might be decisive,” he
said.
Most voting machines in the
U.S. are at or near the end of their
expected lifespans . Forty-three states
use machines more than a decade
old. Most run on vintage operating
systems such as Windows 2000 that
pre-date the iPhone and are no longer
updated with security patches.
On Nov. 8, election officials
across the U.S. handled numerous
complaints of aging touchscreens
losing calibration and casting votes
for the wrong candidate.
But while many experts agree the
U.S. voting system needs an upgrade,
no one wants to pay to fix it.
Money flowed after the 2000
Florida recount debacle, when
punch-card technology was discred-
ited by hanging chads. Congress
appropriated $4 billion for election
upgrades; states raced to replace
punch cards and lever machines with
digital technology.
But when that money ran out,
so did the ability of many states
to address security concerns over-
looked in their initial rush. Four in
5 U.S. election officials polled by
New York University’s Brennan
Center last year said they are
desperate to replace equipment but
lack the cash.
FIRE: House built around 1914 in colonial revival style
Continued from 1A
AP Photo/Marco Garcia
Japan PM to visit Pearl Harbor
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second from
left bows at the Ehime Maru Memorial at Kakaako
Waterfront Park, Monday in Honolulu. The memorial
is dedicated to the victims of a 2001 collision off the
coast of Hawaii between the Ehime Maru, a fisher-
ies training vessel, and a U.S. naval submarine. On
Tuesday, Abe wil become the first Japanese prime
minister to visit the memorial that honors sailors
and Marines killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
POLL: Republicans optimistic
Continued from 1A
expressed some of that opti-
mism.
“Next year will be better
than this year, because
people will have more jobs
and they’ll have more money
to spend,” said Bourema
Tamboura, a Harlem resident
behind the wheel of a New
York car service.
“I’m hoping 2017 will
be better,” added Elizabeth
Flynn, 62, an elementary
schoolteacher from Peabody,
Massachusetts. “You’ve got
to be optimistic, and I’m
going to try.”
Democrats are more likely
than Republicans to say 2016
was worse for the country
than 2015. And Republicans
are especially likely to feel
that 2017 will be even better
for them personally.
University of Miami
professor Benjamin Alsup
said he needed only three
words to explain why 2016
felt worse for him: “Trump,
Trump, Trump!”
Robert Greenstone, a
New York commercial
real estate broker, said the
political discourse leading
up to Republican Donald
Trump’s election as president
played havoc with people’s
emotions.
“The amount of disinfor-
mation made people suspect
of everything and everyone,
even their neighbors,” he said.
Election leads news events
The
U.S.
elections
top Americans’ list of 10
top news events in 2016.
Three-quarters called the
presidential election and
Trump’s victory very or
extremely important.
Sixty-three percent ranked
mass shootings and bomb-
ings in Orlando, Florida, and
in Belgium, Turkey, Pakistan
and France as personally
important news stories of the
year.
Fifty-one percent said
they found news stories about
the deaths of people at the
hands of police officers, or
news about ambush attacks
on police in three states, to
be among the year’s most
important news events.
Fourth on the list are 43
percent who described the
spread of the Zika virus as
important.
The
three
events
described by the largest
percentages of Americans as
not too important included
the death of Muhammad Ali
(50 percent), approval of
recreational marijuana use in
four states (43 percent), and
the death of Fidel Castro (40
percent).
Top moments in pop
culture and sports
A majority of Americans,
including 7 in 10 Midwest-
erners, called November’s
World Series win for the
Chicago Cubs to end their
108-year drought memorable.
Of nine other pop-culture
items tested, two were called
memorable by about half
of Americans: the death of
Prince, David Bowie and
Leonard Cohen; and the
Olympic victories of the U.S.
women’s gymnastics team.
The two least-notable
events for Americans, of the
10 possible choices in the
poll, were the Angelina Jolie-
Brad Pitt divorce filing and
the “Pokemon Go” app game
phenomenon, each described
by most as forgettable.
Ringing in the new year
About half of Americans
plan to celebrate the New
Year at home. About 2 in 10
plan to go out to a friend or
family member’s home, and
1 in 10 to a bar or restaurant.
About a quarter don’t plan to
celebrate at all.
About 6 in 10 plan to
watch the Times Square ball
drop, nearly all of whom will
watch on TV.
———
The AP-Times Square
Alliance Poll of 1,007 adults
was conducted online Dec.
9-11, using a sample drawn
from GfK’s probability-based
KnowledgePanel, which is
designed to be representative
of the U.S. population.
“Everyone’s safe and
everyone’s OK,” she said.
Ciraulo said the state
and city fire marshals deter-
mined a space heater caused
the fire. He said the third
floor was a total loss and
the second floor sustained
heavy water damage and
light fire damage. Sections
of the third floor façade
were heavily charred.
According to a city data-
base of historic buildings,
the house was built circa
1914 in the colonial revival
style. The home, known
as the Rice House after its
first owner G.M. Rice, has
a wood frame and concrete
foundation.
While
three
local
departments helped Pend-
leton, Ciraulo said more
personnel would have
made for a more effective
and safer attack on the fire.
The city, though, cannot
afford to pay for shifts of
15 firefighters, and most
of the fire agencies near
Pendleton are volunteer.
The local need for more
firefighters, Ciraulo said,
reflects a national trend.
The National Fire Protec-
tion Association reported
there are 1,134,400 career
and volunteer firefighters
in the United States. The
number of career fire-
fighters per 1,000 popula-
tion has been constant since
1986; however, the number
of volunteer firefighters
per 1,000 population has
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Fire charred this window at the home of Carter and
Nancy Kerns to do an investigation of a during a
Christmas night fire that did extensive damage to the
three-story home.
decreased.
Ciraulo and Stanton
said the requirements and
standards for volunteer fire-
fighters are essentially the
same for career firefighters,
and most folks cannot make
that kind of commitment.
And Pendleton, Ciraulo
added, lacks housing at
its fire station for as many
volunteers as it could use.
“We had to turn some
away before because we
don’t have the room,” he
said.
The city hopes to address
at least the housing issue
with a $10 million bond
option it will put to voters
in May. If approved, the
fire station will be moved
to a larger building at the
old St. Anthony Hospital
site.
The Pendleton Fire
Department fought 278 fires
from 2013-2015, according
to the department’s national
reporting data. Brush fires
topped the list at 47, grass
fires were second with 42,
and building fires accounted
for 41. Passenger vehicle
fires came in at No. 4 with
21, and outside rubbish fire
and the like rounded out the
top five with 20.
The data also shows
Pendleton fire, like so
many agencies, continues
to see an increase in calls
for service. The department
had 2,922 in 2013, and two
years later had 3,184. Most
of those were for emergency
medical services, which
rose about 11.5 percent in
the period.
Ciraulo said the basis
of being in emergency
response is being ready
for anything at any time.
Achieving that readiness,
though, is challenging for
rural departments.
BAIRS: Jerry quickly acquainted with local sports teams
Continued from 1A
said he would rather drive
a school bus than his Jeep
through the snow.
“They don’t do too bad in
the snow, actually,” he said.
“Just don’t get in too much
of a hurry or try to stop too
quick.”
The job can be long hours
— when he first started he
was driving in Heppner a
lot, and said on those days
he would leave the house at
3:30 a.m. and not get home
until 7:30 at night. He also
drives sports teams to over-
night tournaments.
Driving teams to games
gives Jerry plenty of
time sitting in the stands
watching
everything
from Irrigon volleyball to
Boardman basketball, so
he can talk knowledgeably
about which games local
teams pulled off a lucky
victory, got a well-deserved
win or let what should have
been a triumph slip through
their fingers.
Some teams are cheerful
whether they win or lose, he
said, while in other cases if
they lose “it’s going to be a
long ride home.”
After completing her first
year of college at Brigham
Young University Idaho,
Breilynn currently works
for Java Junkies. She just
sent in an application to
serve an 18-month mission
for The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,
however, so she is waiting
on pins and needles for a fat
white envelope to arrive in
the mail, detailing where in
the world she will serve and
what language she will be
speaking.
“I’m excited,” she said.
“I know wherever I’ll go, I’ll
be able to serve people, so
that helps the anxiety a bit.”
Tammy says her mom
intuition is telling her Brei-
lynn will go to Thailand,
but she could just as easily
get sent to Germany or
Tennessee. She said she’s
nervous about sending
her oldest off into parts
unknown but she’s proud of
Breilynn for going.
For now, however, they
family is enjoying the
holiday break together and
said they hope to continue to
make new friends in the area
in 2017.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
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FREE class to work on balance, strengthen muscles,
improve posture and core strength. Great for all ages!
Monday & Wednesday Starting January 16th
Basic/Beginners class: 9-10am
Advanced Class: 10-11am
GSMC Wellness Center (behind the hospital)
Call 541-567-2185 or 541-667-3509 to register
BODY & BALANCE
FREE class using the Bal-A-Vis-X approach to
safely improve balance, movement, and strengthen
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LICKFORK SALOON
starting at 9 PM
COURT & MAIN, PENDLETON
Large Party Dinner Reservations Available - Call 541-278-1100
Call 541-567-2185 or 541-667-3509 to register
BEGINNER & INTERMEDIATE
BANDS CLASSES:
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Tuesday & Thursdays Starting January 3rd
Beginners class: 8:15-8:45am
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GSMC Wellness Center (behind the hospital)
Call Kathy Thomas, 541-667-3400 x3050
Information or to register
call (541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org