Clint Curtis
Encyclopedia
Clinton Eugene "Clint" Curtis (born 1958 near Salem, Illinois
) is a United States
computer programmer and ex employee of NASA
and ExxonMobil
, currently living in Northern California
, who worked for Yang Enterprises (YEI) in Oviedo
, Florida
until February 2001. 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.
In 2006, Curtis ran unsuccessfully against Feeney for the United States congressional seat in Florida's 24th congressional district
. He ran again in 2008, losing in the Democratic primary to eventual winner of the seat, Suzanne Kosmas
.
In 2007, Curtis enrolled as a student at the Barry University
School of Law in Orlando, Florida
.
In 2010, Clint Curtis was the Democratic nominee for Congress in California's 4th district, ultimately losing to incumbent Representative Tom McClintock
.
, who was at that time serving as a Florida state legislator and as Yang's attorney and as Yang's lobbyist
for local governments.
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. Approximately a year later, on April 1, 2002, Curtis and his supervisor were both fired, allegedly for violating FDOT policies. (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.") During that same year, Curtis's accusations against Yang were the subject of a series of articles in the Daytona Beach News-Journal
.
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. According to the St. Petersburg Times, "Curtis said he would not have filed complaints about Yang if the company had not harassed him." 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
.
Ultimately, Curtis' initial allegations led to mixed results:
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., 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.,
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. 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.
West Palm Beach was named as an intended target, but infamously used punched card
ballots in the 2000 elections.
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.
. According to the newspaper, Feeney stated:
test given by Tim Robinson, the retired chief polygraph operator and 20-year veteran of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
. The polygraph was paid for by Kevin Walsh, a private investigator from Washington, D.C.
, who told the St. Petersburg Times that he had been hired to prove election fraud. Walsh refused to identify the client. Curtis has stated that the test was based on all the allegations in the affidavit
that was provided to Conyers' Voting Forum.
, 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.
Curtis won the Democratic primary.
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
, and a controversial flier with Curtis's head superimposed on what appeared to be Hugh Hefner's
body. Feeney refused to debate Curtis, arguing that any debate would be a "disservice" to voters.
On October 26, 2006, The Orlando Sentinel reported on the status of Curtis's race against Tom Feeney
. According to the Sentinel, although both Curtis and Feeney had reported that their internal polling showed them to be leading in the polls, a Zogby
poll showed the race to be extremely close, with Feeney leading Curtis by 45 percent to 43 percent, with a 5 percent margin of error.
The Sentinel reported that "local political observers" attributed the tight race to several factors, including:
Curtis lost the general election, garnering 42 percent to Feeney's 58 percent of the vote, or 89,863 votes to Feeney's 123,795.
reported on Curtis's allegations. 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:
Salem, Illinois
Salem is a city located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Marion County. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census.Salem is the birthplace of William Jennings Bryan and his brother vice presidential candidate Charles W. Bryan, the G. I. Bill of Rights, and Miracle Whip salad...
) is a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer programmer and ex employee of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, currently living in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, who worked for Yang Enterprises (YEI) in Oviedo
Oviedo, Florida
Oviedo is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,316 as of the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 32,961...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
until February 2001. He is notable chiefly for making a series of "whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
" allegations about his former employer and about Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Congressman Tom Feeney
Tom Feeney
Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
, 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.
In 2006, Curtis ran unsuccessfully against Feeney for the United States congressional seat in Florida's 24th congressional district
Florida's 24th congressional district
Florida's 24th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. Created after the 2000 U.S. Census, the district includes portions of Brevard County and parts of Orange, Seminole, and Volusia counties...
. He ran again in 2008, losing in the Democratic primary to eventual winner of the seat, Suzanne Kosmas
Suzanne Kosmas
Suzanne M. Kosmas is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
.
In 2007, Curtis enrolled as a student at the Barry University
Barry University
Barry University is a private, Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, a suburb north of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami....
School of Law in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
.
In 2010, Clint Curtis was the Democratic nominee for Congress in California's 4th district, ultimately losing to incumbent Representative Tom McClintock
Tom McClintock
Thomas Miller McClintock II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former Assemblyman and state Senator...
.
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 FeeneyTom Feeney
Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
, who was at that time serving as a Florida state legislator and as Yang's attorney and as Yang's lobbyist
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
for local governments.
On May 10, 2001, shortly after leaving Yang and accepting a job with the Florida Department of Transportation
Florida Department of Transportation
The Florida Department of Transportation is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the Florida State Road Department...
, Curtis reported that Yang had overbilled the FDOT and hired an illegal alien. Approximately a year later, on April 1, 2002, Curtis and his supervisor were both fired, allegedly for violating FDOT policies. (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.") During that same year, Curtis's accusations against Yang were the subject of a series of articles in the Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona Beach News-Journal
The Daytona Beach News-Journal is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler counties.It grew from the Halifax Journal which was started in 1883. The Davidson family purchased the newspaper in 1928 and retained control until bankruptcy in 2009. In 1986, The Morning Journal and Evening...
.
Yang Enterprises denied Curtis's allegations, and alleged that Curtis was a disgruntled former employee. According to the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, 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
Non-compete clause
A non-compete clause , or covenant not to compete , is a term used in contract law under which one party agrees not to pursue a similar profession or trade in competition against another party . As a contract provision, a CNC is bound by traditional contract requirements including the...
and whether Curtis had taken a confidential computer program with him when he left Yang. According to the St. Petersburg Times, "Curtis said he would not have filed complaints about Yang if the company had not harassed him." 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
Leon County, Florida
Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487. The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major...
.
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.
- Curtis's charges that then-state representative Tom FeeneyTom FeeneyThomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
improperly lobbied the Florida Department of Transportation on behalf of Yang, were considered, but ultimately rejected by the Florida State Commission on Ethics.
In September 2004, Curtis self-published Just A Fly On The Wall, a book critical of the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
, Yang Enterprises, and Tom Feeney., 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.,
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
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
voting machine
Voting machine
Voting machines are the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment , that is used to define ballots; to cast and count votes; to report or display election results; and to maintain and produce any audit trail information...
that would make it possible to change the results of an election undetectably. 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
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
fraud, but later learned that it was intended to benefit the Republican Party.
West Palm Beach was named as an intended target, but infamously used punched card
Punched card
A punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
ballots in the 2000 elections.
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.
Feeney's response to allegations
In 2005, Feeney responded to Curtis's allegations in a news article posted in the St. Petersburg TimesSt. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
. 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 his 2004 book, Just A Fly On The Wall, Curtis never mentioned the alleged vote fraud scheme.
Investigations
On March 3, 2005, Curtis passed a polygraphPolygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
test given by Tim Robinson, the retired chief polygraph operator and 20-year veteran of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a Florida government agency. FDLE is composed of five programs: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism, and the Florida Capitol Police...
. The polygraph was paid for by Kevin Walsh, a private investigator from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, who told the St. Petersburg Times that he had been hired to prove election fraud. Walsh refused to identify the client. Curtis has stated that the test was based on all the allegations in the affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
that was provided to Conyers' Voting Forum.
Congressional campaign
In 2006, Curtis ran a campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Tom FeeneyTom Feeney
Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
, 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.
Curtis won the Democratic primary.
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
Tin-foil hat
A tin foil hat is a piece of headgear made from one or more sheets of aluminum foil or similar material. Alternatively it may be a conventional hat lined with foil...
, and a controversial flier with Curtis's head superimposed on what appeared to be Hugh Hefner's
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
body. Feeney refused to debate Curtis, arguing that any debate would be a "disservice" to voters.
On October 26, 2006, The Orlando Sentinel reported on the status of Curtis's race against Tom Feeney
Tom Feeney
Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
. According to the Sentinel, although both Curtis and Feeney had reported that their internal polling showed them to be leading in the polls, a Zogby
Zogby International
IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...
poll showed the race to be extremely close, with Feeney leading Curtis by 45 percent to 43 percent, with a 5 percent margin of error.
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 AbramoffJack AbramoffJack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
; - 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.
Curtis lost the general election, garnering 42 percent to Feeney's 58 percent of the vote, or 89,863 votes to Feeney's 123,795.
Wired News
On December 13, 2004, Wired NewsWired News
Wired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
reported on Curtis's allegations. 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 (Raymond Lemme), and a reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal about the voting issues when he gave them other information about Yang and Feeney. But so far this has not been corroborated. The FBI did not return calls for comment. The Department of Transportation investigator is dead" (Raymond Lemme was found dead. It was ruled a suicide. Curtis and Lemme's brother, among others, are convinced that it was murder).
- 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 DieboldDieboldDiebold, Inc. is a United States-based security systems corporation that is engaged primarily in the sale, manufacture, installation and service of self-service transaction systems , electronic and physical security products , and software and integrated systems for global financial and...
'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.
- Laura Zuckerman, a former reporter for the Daytona Beach News-JournalDaytona Beach News-JournalThe Daytona Beach News-Journal is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler counties.It grew from the Halifax Journal which was started in 1883. The Davidson family purchased the newspaper in 1928 and retained control until bankruptcy in 2009. In 1986, The Morning Journal and Evening...
, 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.
- 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".
Other media coverage
- On April 9, 2005, the St. Petersburg TimesSt. Petersburg TimesThe St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
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.
- On August 10, 2006, the Orlando WeeklyOrlando WeeklyThe Orlando Weekly is an alternative newsweekly distributed in the Greater Orlando area of Florida. It features local news, views, arts, entertainment, local music coverage, an events calendar and classifieds...
published an article surveying Curtis's charges, Feeney and Yang's responses, and the surrounding publicity.
- The documentary "Murder, Spies & Voting Lies" chronicled Clint Curtis's story was released in 2008 and won a number of awards, including best documentary at the New Jersey Film FestivalNew Jersey Film FestivalThe New Jersey Film Festival is New Jersey's largest continuing public film series devoted to "experimental, offbeat and influential cinema". It is held in New Brunswick, New Jersey.-History:...
.