Clinton "Clint" Curtis
Born	1958
Occupation	computer programmer

Clinton Eugene "Clint" Curtis (born 1958 near Salem, Illinois) is a United States computer programmer^[1], ex employee of NASA, ExxonMobil, etc. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the city named Salem in Illinois For other places containing the same term see Salem or New Salem. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D , currently living in Tallahassee, Florida, who worked for Yang Enterprises (YEI) in Oviedo, Florida until February 2001. Oviedo is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 26316 at the 2000 census Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the He is notable chiefly for making a series of "whistleblower" allegations about his former employer and about Republican Congressman Tom Feeney, including an allegation that in 2000, Feeney and Yang Enterprises requested Curtis's assistance in a scheme to steal votes by inserting fraudulent code into touch screen voting systems. This is an article about a term For the 2008 RTÉ drama see Whistleblower (TV series. Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III usually known as Tom Feeney (born May 21 1958) is a Republican politician from the state of

In 2006, Curtis ran unsuccessfully against Feeney for the United States congressional seat in Florida's 24th congressional district. Florida's 24rd congressional district is a Congressional district in Florida. ^[2] He has announced he will run again in 2008.

In 2007, Curtis enrolled as a student at the Barry University School of Law in Orlando, Florida. Barry University is a private Catholic university which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores Florida, a suburb northeast of Miami Florida. Orlando is a major City in central Florida, USA and is the County seat of Orange County Florida.

Contents 1 Initial allegations against Yang Enterprises and Tom Feeney 2 Vote-rigging allegations 3 Feeney's response to allegations 4 Investigations 5 Congressional campaign 6 Media coverage 6.1 Orlando Sentinel 6.2 Wired News 6.3 Other media coverage 7 References 8 Sources

Initial allegations against Yang Enterprises and Tom Feeney

In 2001, Curtis first achieved public attention for a series of allegations against his former employer, Yang Enterprises, and against Tom Feeney, who was at that time serving as a Florida state legislator and as Yang's attorney and as Yang's lobbyist for local governments. Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III usually known as Tom Feeney (born May 21 1958) is a Republican politician from the state of Lobbying includes all attempts to influence Legislators and officials whether by other legislators constituents or organized groups

On May 10, 2001, shortly after leaving Yang and accepting a job with the Florida Department of Transportation, Curtis reported that Yang had overbilled the FDOT and hired an illegal alien. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment maintenance and regulation of public transportation in the state of ^[3] Approximately a year later, on April 1, 2002, Curtis and his supervisor were both fired, allegedly for violated FDOT policies. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[4] (Although Curtis's supervisor later settled a retailiation lawsuit brought relating to her firing, Curtis reports that he did not sue because he "missed the filing deadline. ")^[5] During that same year, Curtis's accusations against Yang were the subject of a series of articles in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The Daytona Beach News-Journal is a Florida daily Newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler counties ^[6]

Yang Enterprises denied Curtis's allegations, and alleged that Curtis was a disgruntled former employee. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Curtis made his initial accusations against Yang one day after attorneys for Yang Enterprises questioned whether Curtis' employment with the FDOT violated a non-compete agreement and whether Curtis had taken a confidential computer program with him when he left Yang. The St Petersburg Times is a daily Newspaper based in St Petersburg Florida, that serves the larger Tampa Bay area A non-compete clause or covenant not to compete ( CNC) is a term used in Contract law under which one party (usually an employee agrees to not pursue According to the St. Petersburg Times, "Curtis said he would not have filed complaints about Yang if the company had not harassed him. "^[3] Curtis denies that he stole any software from Yang Enterprises, and as of August 10, 2006, a lawsuit between Yang and Curtis was ongoing in Leon County, Florida. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Leon County is a County located in the state of Florida. In 2000 its population was 239452 ^[5]

Ultimately, Curtis' initial allegations led to mixed results:

• After investigation, the Florida Department of Transportation demanded that Yang repay $97,000 in "questionable charges," but was unable to conclude whether Yang had engaged in intentional misconduct, largely because of poor recordkeeping and Yang's refusal to permit the FDOT to audit Yang's files directly during the course of litigation.

• A Florida state investigation concluded that the employee Curtis accused of being an illegal alien was in fact in the country legally. However, as a result of an unrelated 1999 federal investigation, that employee pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of shipping anti-tank missile technology to China without proper records and received a fine of $100 and probation. ^[5]

• Curtis's charges that then-state representative Tom Feeney improperly lobbied the Florida Department of Transportion on behalf of Yang, were considered, but ultimately rejected by the Florida State Commission on Ethics. Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III usually known as Tom Feeney (born May 21 1958) is a Republican politician from the state of ^[7]

In September 2004, Curtis self-published Just a fly on the wall, a book critical of the George W. Bush administration, Yang Enterprises, and Tom Feeney. Events in September It is the start of the academic year in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Self-publishing is the Publishing of Books and other media by the Authors of those works rather than by established Third-party The Presidency of George W Bush began on his inauguration on January 20, 2001 as the 43rd and current President of the United States of America ^[8],^[5] In the edition of that book published before the 2004 election, Curtis focused on his earlier accusations against Yang, as well as accusations that Feeney used his influence with the Florida State government to Yang's benefit. ^[3], ^[5]

Vote-rigging allegations

Curtis specifically alleged that:

At the behest of Rep. Tom Feeney, in September 2000, he was asked to write a program for a touchscreen voting machine that would make it possible to change the results of an election undetectably. A Touch Screen is a display which can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area Voting machines are the total combination of mechanical electromechanical or electronic equipment (including Software, Firmware, and documentation required to program This technology, Curtis explained, could also be used in any electronic tabulation machine or scanner. Curtis assumed initially that this effort was aimed at detecting Democratic fraud, but later learned that it was intended to benefit the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party.

West Palm Beach was named as an intended target, but used punched card ballots in the 2000 elections. West Palm Beach, also known as West Palm, is the most populous city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA. Indeed, West Palm Beach was famous for the "hanging chad" recounts of that election.

Curtis explained that the software could be used in any electronic tabulation machine or scanner. He spoke about this to the Conyers Voting Forum, after Conyers left the forum and turned over the dais on December 13, 2004[1]. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

Feeney's response to allegations

In 2005, Feeney responded to Curtis's allegations in a news article posted in the St. Petersburg Times. The St Petersburg Times is a daily Newspaper based in St Petersburg Florida, that serves the larger Tampa Bay area According to the newspaper, Feeney stated:

• that he had no recollection of ever meeting Curtis or of discussing vote fraud with anyone;
• that he could not have discussed a plan to commit fraud in touch screen voting machines in September or October 2000, as alleged by Curtis, because, "touch screen voting machines were not even contemplated until November 2000"; and
• that although Curtis accused Feeney of a wide variety of misconduct in a 2004 book, Curtis never mentioned the alleged vote fraud scheme. ^[3]

Investigations

On March 3, 2005, Curtis passed a polygraph test given by Tim Robinson, the retired chief polygraph operator and 20-year veteran of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A polygraph (popularly referred to as a Lie detector) is an instrument that measures and records several physiological responses such as Blood pressure The Government of the State of Florida is established and operated according to the Florida Constitution The polygraph was paid for by Kevin Walsh, a private investigator from Washington, D.C., who told the St. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Petersburg Times that he had been hired to prove election fraud. Walsh refused to identify the client. ^[3] Curtis has stated that the test was based on all the allegations in the affidavit that was provided to Conyers' Voting Forum. An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant or deponent) and witnessed (as to the veracity of the

Congressional campaign

Main article: Florida U.S. House election, 2006

In 2006, Curtis ran a campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Tom Feeney, the former attorney for Yang Enterprises and the person who Curtis had accused, since 2004, of soliciting Curtis to assist in attempted vote fraud in the 2000 election. The 2006 Florida US House elections took place on November 7, 2006. Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III usually known as Tom Feeney (born May 21 1958) is a Republican politician from the state of

Although Curtis won the Democratic primary, he lost the general election, garnering 42 percent to Feeney's 58 percent of the vote, or 89,863 votes to Feeney's 123,795.

Curtis' accusations that Feeney solicited him to commit vote fraud played a central role in the campaign, with Curtis challenging Feeney to take a polygraph test to prove that Feeney did not commit vote fraud and Feeney engaging in a campaign to trivialize Curtis, including a website that called Curtis "crazy" and featured photos of Curtis altered to include a tin-foil hat,^[2] and a controversial flier with Curtis's head superimposed on what appeared to be Hugh Hefner's body. A tin foil hat is a piece of Headgear made from one or more sheets of Tin foil, Aluminium foil or similar material Hugh Marston Hefner (born April 9 1926 is an American Magazine Publisher, and best known as the editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine ^[9]. Feeney refused to debate Curtis, arguing that any debate would be a "disservice" to voters. ^[10]

Media coverage

Orlando Sentinel

On October 26, 2006, The Orlando Sentinel reported on the status of Curtis's race against Tom Feeney. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Orlando Sentinel is the primary Newspaper of the Orlando Florida region Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III usually known as Tom Feeney (born May 21 1958) is a Republican politician from the state of According to the Sentinel, although both Curtis and Feeney report that their internal polling shows them to be leading in the polls, a recent Zogby poll shows the race to be extremely close, with Feeney leading Curtis by 45 percent to 43 percent, with a 5 percent margin of error. John Zogby (born 1948) is an American political pollster and first senior fellow at The Catholic University of America 's Life Cycle Institute

The Sentinel reported that "local political observers" attributed the tight race to several factors, including:

• recent Feeney scandals such as his accepting an overseas golf trip from Jack Abramoff;
• the growing influence of non-party-aligned voters;
• Feeney's strategy of trivializing Curtis rather than confronting him directly; and
• general voter disenchantment with the Republican party. Jack Abramoff (born February 28 1959 is a former Lobbyist, and a businessman who was a central figure in a series of high-profile political scandals. ^[11]

Wired News

On December 13, 2004, Wired News reported on Curtis's allegations. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Wired News is an online technology news Website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the After repeating Curtis's allegations, summarized above, and Yang Enterprises' denial of those allegations, Wired concluded that "it remains to be seen if any new investigations can uncover the truth". In particular:

• Curtis originally stated that his employer, Yang Enterprises, specifically told him that he had been asked to develop code not to test voting security, but in order to commit vote fraud. "Her words were that it was needed to control the vote in West Palm Beach, Florida," Curtis said. "Once she said, 'We need to steal an election,' that put me back. I made it clear that I could not produce code that could do that and no one else should. "

• "[Curtis] claims he did later tell the CIA, the FBI, an investigator for Florida's Department of Transportation and a reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal about the voting issues when he gave them other information about Yang and Feeney. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all But so far this has not been corroborated. The FBI did not return calls for comment. The Department of Transportation investigator is dead. "

• Wired also reported that "some details of Curtis' statements don't check out. " For example, although Curtis originally stated that he was specifically informed that his code was to be used to falsify touch screen voting results in West Palm Beach in 2000 even though West Palm Beach did not use touch-screen voting machines at that time. Curtis responded that his code could have been used in other voting machines or in 2002.

• Adam Stubblefield, a computer science graduate student who wrote a paper about Diebold's voting machines, told Wired that Curtis's code would not have been used in any voting machine, even assuming fraud, because (1) Curtis did not have access to any original voting machine source code, and (2) the code that Curtis claims to have written was "so trivial" that it would be easier to write new code than to try to incorporate Curtis's code into the actual voting machine. Diebold Inc ( (ˈdiːboʊld is a United States -based security systems Corporation that is engaged primarily in the sale manufacture installation and service

• Laura Zuckerman, a former reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, told Wired that she worked closely with Curtis in 2002 to write several stories regarding Curtis's various charges against Yang Enterprises at the time, but that Curtis never discussed any alleged conspiracy to commit vote fraud. The Daytona Beach News-Journal is a Florida daily Newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler counties

• However, Wired also noted that other accusations made by Curtis are "somewhat corroborated. " For example, Wired was able to find a Florida Department of Transportation employee to support other charges made by Curtis against his former employer, Yang Enterprises, although most of those allegations have not led to formal charges. (Curtis alleges that Feeney has "squelched" the investigations). Wired also noted Curtis's willingness to make his allegations in a sworn affidavit and his offer to take a polygraph test "is what makes some believe him" ^[6].

Other media coverage

• On April 9, 2005, the St. Petersburg Times published an article about Curtis's charges and potential Senate campaign, including a confirmation that Curtis had taken and passed a polygraph test regarding his charges. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The St Petersburg Times is a daily Newspaper based in St Petersburg Florida, that serves the larger Tampa Bay area ^[3]

• On August 10, 2006, the Orlando Weekly published an article surveying Curtis's charges, Feeney and Yang's responses, and the surrounding publicity. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Orlando Weekly is a weekly independent paper distributed in the Greater Orlando area of Florida. ^[5]

References

Sources

• Streaming Video
• Wired News
• Yang Enterprises
• Online Journal
• Brad Blog
• 43rd State Blues
• Shakespeare's Sister
• St. Petersburg Times 2005-04-09 Blogs spin tale of computers, conspiracies
• Brad Blog 2005-04-08 CLINT CURTIS PASSES POLYGRAPH EXAM!
• http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001243.htm
• http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/ClintCurtis/LemmePhotos.htm
• PDF file - Original Affidavit
• Clint Curtis Interview by The Political News Center
• [2]
• [3]

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