From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ion Sancho
Ion Sancho
Ion Sancho Leon County, Florida. He ran and was re-elected in 1992,
1996, 2000, and 2004, serving his fifth term as of January
2, 2005. He was unopposed in each election since 1992.
National recognition
In the 2000 presidential recount, Sancho (No Party Affil-
iation) was chosen to lead the Florida hand count of bal-
lots in dispute in Miami-Dade County. The U.S. Supreme
Court stopped the hand count in a 5-4 ruling just as it got
Born December 6, 1950
underway.
New York City
(Most voters (99%) in Leon County use the opti-scan equip-
Nationality American ment, but federal law requires one electronic machine per
Alma mater Florida State University precinct for visually impaired voters).
Stetson University
Occupation Supervisor of Elections Hacking a Diebold machine
for Leon County
In 2005, Sancho invited Bev Harris, founder of Black Box
Voting, Kathleen Wynne, Black Box Voting Associate
Ion Voltaire Sancho (born December 6, 1950 in New York
Director, Harri Hursti, computer programmer and secu-
City) is an elected public official serving Leon County,
rity expert, Dr. Hugh Thompson, application security ex-
Florida, USA as Supervisor of Elections. His family first
pert and Ph.D. in math, Susan Bernecker, former Repub-
moved to Louisiana and then to Columbus, Ohio. As the
lican candidate for New Orleans city council and Susan
eldest child, he cared for his younger siblings. He moved
Pynchon, Director of Florida Fair Elections Coalition to
to Florida after high school. Sancho resides in northeast-
Tallahassee. There, they performed what is now known
ern Leon County 2 miles west of Lake Miccosukee.
as the Hursti Hack which became the center piece of an
HBO documentary titled Hacking Democracy.
Background Main article: Hursti Hack
Sancho received his A.A. degree from Valencia Commu-
nity College in 1973. He then received his B.A. in Social
Results of Sancho’s actions
Science from Stetson University in 1978. Sancho com- As a result, Diebold, Election Systems & Software and Se-
pleted his education with a J.D. from Florida State quoia Voting Systems, the only 3 companies certified to
University College of Law in 1987.[1] do business in Florida would not sell Sancho voting ma-
In 1984 Sancho, a Democrat, was the Leon County chines. Automark was contacted by Sancho but the Sec-
leader for Presidential candidate Gary Hart. Sancho is a retary of State would not certify their voting equipment.
State Certified Supervisor of Elections and nationally cer- ES&S said, "did not believe it could have a smooth work-
tified by the Elections Center as a Certified Elections/ ing relationship with Sancho".[citation needed]
Registration Administrator (CERA). He’s a former staff In Florida, Volusia County joined Leon County in
member of the Florida House of Representatives, Correc- dumping Diebold. Elections officials in the states of Mary-
tions, Probation & Parole Committee. He is a member land, North Carolina, Texas, and California have called in-
of the Center for Policy Alternatives, Voter Participation to question the security and accuracy of new voting ma-
Advisory Board and member of The Elections Center.[1] chines.
"I’m very troubled by this, to be honest—I can’t be-
Supervisor of Elections lieve the way he’s being treated. What kind of mes-
After a bid as county commissioner in 1986 Sancho took sage is this sending to elections supervisors? "The
courses in election machine management and became federal certification process for voting machines is
certified in their use. In November 1988, Sancho was broken, sadly, when it comes to security. It was de-
elected to his first term as the Supervisor of Elections for signed for the era of mechanical machines, and it
hasn’t kept up."
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ion Sancho
— David Wagner, computer scientist, the Petersburg Times[8] and appears in the 2006 HBO docu-
University of California[2] mentary "Hacking Democracy."[9]
Opposition See also
After the test election, Secretary of State Sue Cobb (R) • Voting system
accused Sancho of "undermining voter confidence" and • Elections
the Federal Government and demanded the return of a • Black Box Voting
$564,000 in grant money given to Sancho through the • Leon County political representation
state to purchase voting machines that would comply
with ADA standards as mandated in the Help America
Vote Act Pub.L. 107-252 (HAVA), a United States federal
Sources
law passed on October 29, 2002.[3] [1] ^ Leon County Supervisor of Elections
At Leon County Commission meetings on February 14 [2] Whoriskey, Peter (March 25, 2006). "Election
and February 28, 2006 the only two Republicans in the lo- Whistle-Blower Stymied by Vendors". Washington
cal governments of either the city of Tallahassee or Leon Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
County government, Tony Grippa and Ed Depuy of Leon content/article/2006/03/25/
County’s seven-member county commission blasted San- AR2006032500805_pf.html.
cho for failing to provide Leon County with accessible [3] Florida Trend, Law and Government
voting machines in attacks that Sancho believes were po- [4] Minutes of the Leon County Commission - February
litically motivated.[4] 14, 2006
At a Leon County Commission meeting on February [5] Minutes of the Leon County Commission - February
28, 2006, county staff revealed that Chuck Owen, Division 28, 3006
Counsel for Diebold Election Systems, met with county [6] Minutes of the Leon County Commission, February
staff behind closed doors on February 27. According to 28, 2006
staff, Owen stated that Diebold would sell its touch- [7] Peer Review Florida
screen voting machines to the county if, and only if, the [8] Ulferts, Alisa (October 31, 2006). "Activist inside
county removed Supervisor Sancho from office.[5] That and atop the elections machine". St. Petersburg
same day, Commissioner DePuy offered a motion, sec- Times. http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/31/
onded by Commissioner Grippa to request the State At- State/Activist_inside_and_a.shtml. Retrieved
torney to convene a grand jury to investigate why Leon 2009-05-01.
County is not in compliance with the voting regula- [9] Internet Movie Database - Hacking Democracy
tions.[6] Persondata
Tony Grippa left the Leon County Commission in Name Sancho, Ion
April 2006.[7] Ed DePuy was defeated in 2008 by Democrat
Akin Akinyemi. Alternative names
Short description
Legal action Date of birth December 6, 1950
Place of birth New York City
On March 8, 2006 Sancho initiated legal proceedings
against Diebold Election Systems for breach of contract. Date of death
Attorney Lida Rodriguez Taseff with Duane Morris in Mi- Place of death
ami filed the suit. Diebold refused to return phone calls
to Sancho and staff, refused to honor its existing contract
with Leon County for the maintenance and upgrades of
its voting system. Further, Diebold refused to sell Leon
County touch-screen voting machines to meet state and
federal requirements for disabled accessibility.[citation
needed]
In the media
Sancho has been on National Public Radio and is familiar
to readers of the New York Times, the Washington Post, St.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ion_Sancho&oldid=408446590"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ion Sancho
Categories:
• Leon County, Florida
• Florida State University alumni
• People from Tallahassee, Florida
• Florida local politicians
• 1950 births
• Living people
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