Brad Friedman

Last updated
Brad Friedman
Brad Friedman on the Big Picture with Thom Hartmann.jpg
Friedman 2012
Born
Bradley Louis Friedman

(1966-07-19) July 19, 1966 (age 56)
NationalityAmerican
Education Interlochen Center for the Arts
New York University (BFA)
Tisch School of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation(s)Blogger, journalist, actor, radio broadcaster, director, and software programmer

Bradley Louis Friedman (born July 19, 1966) [1] [2] [ non-primary source needed ] is an American blogger, journalist, actor, radio broadcaster, director and software programmer, most known for his criticism of election integrity issues in the United States. Friedman graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in 1983 and received a BFA from New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts in 1988. [3]

Contents

The BRAD BLOG

Friedman's blog covers voting rights and election integrity issues in the US, [4] [5] and a number of other subjects related to media reform and political corruption from a progressive standpoint.

His blog site is generally critical of Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems), [6] ES&S, Sequoia Voting Systems and electronic voting in general.

Based on his advocacy at The BRAD BLOG and in other publications, he was invited to testify at the Election Assistance Commission's Voting Advocate Roundtable Discussion. [7] Friedman is a noted advocate of a return to paper balloting [8] and of the role of bloggers as journalists. [9] He has been described in The New York Times as "perhaps the most dogged critic of electronic voting machine technology in the blogosphere". [10]

Other work

Friedman is the host of the internationally syndicated daily radio show, The BradCast produced at Pacifica Radio's Los Angeles affiliate station KPFK 90.7FM, and the long time regular guest host of the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show . This show is also aired on AM950 Minnesota.

He is featured in numerous documentary films, interviewed as an investigative journalist, and expert in issues of election integrity and voting systems. Among the films in which he appears: Phil Donahue & Ellen Spiro's Body of War, David Earnhardt's Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections, Dorothy Fadiman's Stealing America: Vote by Vote [11] and Patty Sharaf's Murder, Spies & Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story. [12]

In July 2006, Hustler magazine featured an article in which Friedman discussed the alleged suicide of Raymond Lemme, an investigator tracking down claims of vote-rigging by Congressman Tom Feeney, as alleged by Florida software programmer Clint Curtis in a story Friedman broke in late 2004 and has covered in great detail [ non-primary source needed ] ever since.

Friedman reported on suspicions that the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic primary was rigged. [13]

He has also extensively covered the case of Ann Coulter's voter fraud issues in Florida. [14] [ non-primary source needed ]

In 2008 Friedman reported critically on the FBI investigation into the suspected involvement of Bruce Ivins in the 2001 anthrax attacks. [15]

An exclusive interview Friedman conducted with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, just prior to the 2008 general election, was published in two parts; one part in Computerworld , [16] noted Brunner's memorable thought upon reviewing the "awful" findings of the state's report on the security of electronic voting systems in Ohio ("I thought I was going to throw up"), and the other in Alternet [17] quoting the Secretary as stating "we will be ready" for the 2008 election.

Friedman contributed a chapter on Nevada's "illegally certified" electronic voting machines to Loser Take All, a collection of essays on America's voting system, published by Ig Publishing in 2008, as edited by NYU media professor, author and outspoken election integrity advocate Mark Crispin Miller. The investigative essay, titled "The Selling of the Touch-Screen 'Paper-Trail': From Nevada to the EAC" was co-authored with Michael Richardson, and described by Miller in the book's introduction as "the harrowing pre-history of the 2004 election in Nevada, whose voting system had long since been hijacked by Secretary of State Dean Heller".

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich's "35 Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush" refers to several reports by Friedman in its published footnotes for Article XXIX, "Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965". Friedman was tapped by Kucinich [ non-primary source needed ] as one of several experts who helped to compile two (Article 28, "Tampering with Free and Fair Elections" and Article 29, "Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965") of the 35 articles of impeachment as introduced in Congress in 2008.

In February 2011, Friedman and his family were discovered to have been named as targets of a proposed $12 million smear campaign being created for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by three government-contracted cyber intelligence firms. In an interview with David Dayen at Firedoglake, [18] Friedman decried the plot, called it a "new era of dirty tricks" and said "We’re fighting against how our own tax dollars are being spent against us."

Recognition

Buffalo's independent newspaper The Beast describes him as "perhaps the most diligent and unassailable election integrity advocate in America." [19]

He is the creator and publisher of The BRAD BLOG, which the Los Angeles Times has described as California's "most persistent blogger-watchdog on the dangers of voting technology". [20]

"If you want to learn about the state of our election process, I urge you to visit BradBlog.com. Brad Friedman has worked doggedly on this issue, amassing tons of valuable news and information on this subject." - Catherine Crier, Crier Live, Court TV, July 11, 2006. [21] [ non-primary source needed ] Friedman would later appear [22] [ non-primary source needed ] along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. live on Crier's program, on July 20, 2006, to discuss concerns about voting systems to be used in that year's upcoming general election.

A November 2008 interview by BuzzFlash.com describes Friedman as a "Champion of Fair Elections and Challenger of Election Theft," and notes "Brad has been unrelenting in documenting the details of the dark side of our voting system."

The Chicago Sun-Times' Beacon News profiled Friedman in April 2008. [23]

McClatchy-owned Kansas City Star cited Friedman's "rare" radio interview with Missouri Sec. of State Robin Carnahan in May 2008, concerning the controversial issue of voter Photo ID restrictions at polling places in the state, as a bill to require it in Missouri was being debated in the state legislature. The paper describes Friedman as a "well-known voting machine critic and blogger". [24]

Friedman is a 2010 Project Censored award winner for "Excellence in Investigative Journalism" in recognition of his coverage of "The Mysterious Death of Mike Connell—Karl Rove’s Election Thief". [25] He also contributed a chapter to the organization's Censored 2010: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2008-09 book, on voting problems and fraud in the 2008 Elections.

On September 30, 2010, CNN's Senior National Editor Dave Schecter wrote "One of the squeakiest wheels on the subject of voting is Brad Friedman, of 'The Brad Blog'" [26] and cited his coverage of Pac-Man being hacked onto an electronic voting system made by Sequoia Voting Systems.

Related Research Articles

Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold Election Systems, Inc. (DESI), was a subsidiary of Diebold that made and sold voting machines.

Electronic voting is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or take care of casting and counting ballots.

Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of rival candidates, or both. It differs from but often goes hand-in-hand with voter suppression. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country.

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Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system. A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results. It contains the name of the candidate and symbol of the party/individual candidate. While it has gained in use in the United States compared with ballotless voting systems without it, it looks unlikely to overtake hand-marked ballots.

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References

  1. ↑ US Chamber Watch Archived August 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , p. 6.
  2. ↑ Friedman, Brad (July 19, 2012). "Please Support The BRAD BLOG in This Election Year (Or Just For My Birthday!)". Brad Blog. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  3. ↑ Brad Friedman writer resume.
  4. ↑ Glater, Jonathan (2005-03-14). "Liberal Bloggers Reaching Out To Major Media". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  5. ↑ Cardinale, Matthew (2008-11-03). "POLITICS-US: Vote-Flipping Reported on E-Voting Machines". www.ipsnews.net. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  6. ↑ Dickinson, Tim (2006-07-14). "DNC Demands "Swift and Verifiable" Recount in Race Marred by Diebold Machine "Sleepovers" : Rolling Stone: National Affairs Daily". www.rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2009-03-08.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ Friedman Testimony to U.S. EAC Archived December 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine - 24 April 2008
  8. ↑ Mieszkowski, Katharine (2006-11-22). "Did voting machines steal a Democratic victory?". Salon. Archived from the original on 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  9. ↑ Glater, Jonathan (2005-03-07). "At a Suit's Core: Are Bloggers Reporters, Too?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  10. ↑ Zeller, Tom (2006-11-08). "Blogs Take Lead in Reporting Polling Problems, With Supporting Evidence on YouTube". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  11. ↑ Ordoña, Michael (2008-08-31). "'Stealing America': Voting-fraud documentary". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. N-24. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  12. ↑ Butler, Robert W. (2008-09-17). "Must-see movies at Kansas International Film Festival". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  13. ↑ "How did pollsters blow it in Clinton-Obama race?". The Seattle Times. 2008-01-10. Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  14. ↑ Friedman, Brad. "The BRAD BLOG : SPECIAL COVERAGE: Ann Coulter's Voter Fraud Felony Felonies in Florida & Connecticut" . Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  15. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (2008-08-05). "The FBI's emerging, leaking case against Ivins - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com". www.salon.com. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  16. ↑ Friedman, Brad (2008-10-08). "Q&A: E-voting security results 'awful,' says Ohio secretary of state". Computer World. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  17. ↑ Friedman, Brad (2008-10-22). "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner: 'We Will Be Ready.'". Alternet. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  18. ↑ Dayen, David (2011-02-11). "Brad Friedman on ChamberLeaks: "We're fighting against how our own tax dollars are being spent against us."". www.firedoglake.com. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  19. ↑ Crock the Vote, The Beast, November 2008, Edition #132 Archived January 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ LATimes, Robert Salladay - 1/9/2007
  21. ↑ Catherine Crier, Crier Live, Court TV - 7/11/2006
  22. ↑ Friedman, Brad. "The BRAD BLOG : VIDEO - Brad Friedman and RFK on Court TV's Catherine Crier Live!" . Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "The little blog that did", Dan Campana, Beacon News, 4/14/08 - Copy of original article, which is now only available in pay archives.
  24. ↑ Helling, Dan (2009-05-09). "Kodachrome". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  25. ↑ "The Mysterious Death of Mike Connell—Karl Rove’s Election Thief", co-editors Peter Phillips & Mickey Huff, Censored 2010: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2008-09, Sonoma State University/Seven Stories Press Archived October 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ Schechter, Dave (2010-09-30). "Analysis: Our votes are counted accurately -- aren't they?". CNN . Retrieved 2016-07-16.
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