Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Monday 6/6/05

[MelissaB]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

If you can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.


If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391


Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375267

All previous daily threads are available here: http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

(This is a new source. Please check it out.) :hi:

[Wilms]

1. Please Post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Stories On This Thread

[Wilms]

3. .

[Wilms]

2. GOP Worries Ethics Issue May Hurt Party in '06

GOP Worries Ethics Issue May Hurt Party in '06

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, June 6, 2005; A01

ZANESVILLE, Ohio --

-snip-

Nowhere is the impact of the ethics issue clearer than here in the Appalachian hills of eastern Ohio, where a thicket of weekly newspapers now gives regular coverage to revelations about House Administration Committee Chairman Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and his ties to DeLay and Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist now under criminal and congressional investigation for the tens of millions of dollars in fees he and a partner collected from casino-owning Indian tribes.

Ney is known as "the mayor of Capitol Hill," where his committee controls perks that include BlackBerrys, modular furniture and parking spaces. He is a conservative who has thrived in a blue-collar Democratic district, through gestures such as personally giving tours of the Capitol to 5,000 constituents' children each spring. With his warm relations with other lawmakers in both parties and his mastery of the nooks and crannies of the institution, he has been considered a strong contender to move up the House leadership ladder.

Now, all of that is in jeopardy. Ney, 51, has hired a criminal lawyer and is preparing for a grueling inquiry by the House ethics committee. His name also appears frequently in e-mails being studied by investigators at the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which is looking into lobbyists' dealings with gambling-enriched tribes.

-snip-

Another Republican in the Democrats' sights is Rep. Tom Feeney (Fla.), who as a state official was an aggressive advocate for Bush during the presidential election recount fight of 2000, and has been a key DeLay supporter. Like DeLay, Feeney accepted a trip to South Korea from a group that later declared itself a foreign agent, which would have made the group ineligible to fund trips for lawmakers. Like DeLay, Feeney traveled to Scotland and played golf, accompanied by Abramoff.

-snip/more-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR2005060501223_pf.html

[MelissaB]

4. MSNBC: Judge rules "no fraud" in WA Gov. Election - (VIDEO

June 6, 2005

Video - MSNBC: Judge rules "no fraud" in WA Gov. Election

A Washington judge rules against Republican Rossi in his challenge to take the 2004 election away from Democratic Governor Gregoire.



For links to Real Media and Windows video go here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375614

Thanks to Dzika!

[MelissaB]

5. Closed Source -> Charges Dismissed?

Closed Source -> Charges Dismissed?

Posted by Hemos on Monday June 06, @07:17AM
from the your-mileage-may-vary dept.

Snorpus writes "According to the Tampa Tribune, judges in the central Florida county of Seminole are dismissing DUI charges when the defendant asks for information on how the breath test works. Apparently the manufacture of the device is unwilling to release the code to the state, and all four judges in the county have been dismissing DUI cases when the state cannot provide the requested information. Could this apply to other situations where technical means (radar guns, video surveillance, wire-tapping, etc.) are used to gather evidence? " I'd not plan on this as a legal defense, but the question it raises - of public access to information - is an important one.

More: http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/06/06/1028235.shtml?tid=99&tid=17

[MelissaB]

6. All-mail voting bill tabled in Assembly

All-mail voting bill tabled in Assembly

Delay could cost county $12 million
By Nat Friedland
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, June 6, 2005 12:35 AM PDT
E-mail this story | Print this page


REDWOOD CITY — San Mateo County could be forced to spend as much as $12 million in extra election costs, now that the state Assembly Appropriations Committee shelved a bill Wednesday that would have let seven counties test all-mail voting for five years.

"The bill seems to have gotten held up because some legislators in both parties were concerned that all-mail voting would somehow change the predictability of the electorate, a risky unknown for politicians," said county Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum.

All-mail elections are up to 40 percent cheaper than precinct polling booths and have proven to attract a higher turnout. Oregon switched to all-mail voting several years ago and now averages 85 percent voter participation.


While Assembly Bill 867 was not actually killed by the Appropriations Committee, it was put on hold for next year's legislative session. But the delay will itself be sufficient to force San Mateo County to start spending $7 million for federally mandated touch-screen voting machines, which must be in place before the first election of 2006.

More: http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/06/06/peninsula/20050606_pe03_vote.txt

[MelissaB]

7. Voting method under scrutiny

Voting method under scrutiny

West Palm Beach elections chief wants to do away with touch-screens

GEORGE BENNETT

Cox News Service


WEST PALM BEACH - A new South Florida elections chief wants to dump the electronic touch-screen voting system he inherited from a previous administration.

The recommendation isn't from Palm Beach County's Arthur Anderson, who campaigned with much fanfare against paperless voting last year, but from new Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Lester Sola, who was appointed in April.

Coming from a county that has more than 1 million voters and was among the first in the nation to embrace touch-screen technology, Sola's recommendation could have an "absolutely huge" impact on the national debate over voting machines, says Pamela Smith of Verifiedvoting.org, a leading opponent of paperless voting.


...snip

Nationally, about 1.1 percent of all voters skipped the 2004 presidential race, according to a University of Missouri-St. Louis study. The "residual vote" rate was 0.9 percent for voters using touch screens and 0.7 percent for voters using optical-scan ballots at polling places.


More: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/11825519.htm

[MelissaB]

8. Ever wonder why the Pukes were so desperate to win the Governorship?

You need look no further than one of Rossi's biggest campaign contributors, the Builders' Industry Association of Washington.

Why is the Builders' Association so frantically trying to stir up the gubernatorial election pot? Because their profits from the very lucrative business of consolidating, processing and handling workers' comp claims for their members are in danger. See, the BIAW gets 100% of their money from the state - basically, if workers' comp claim amounts are less than premiums, the state refunds the difference to the builders. The BIAW skims 20% of what is refunded to their builder members as their fee, which amounted to $5 million in 2004. They then turned around and spent $1 million of that money - money which is supposed to be promoting workplace safety - on political advertising for Republican candidates. They paid for some really grisly mudslinging ads like the awful, libelous ones they put out late in Geoff Simpson's campaign, essentially trying to claim he was a friend to child molesters. They're basically a Republican front organization.

Governor Locke tried to reduce their fees from 20% to a maximum of 10% by executive fiat, but the courts overturned him, telling him that he didn't have the authority to set those fees, that was the legislature's prerogative. In February, two bills were introduced - House Bill 1875 and Senate Bill 5842 - to restrict how the workers' comp refunds could be spent. The list includes safety education, risk management and legal expenses — but not politics. To enforce the restrictions, the legislation would require the state Department of Labor and Industries to periodically audit association records. The BIAW would still be free to conduct political activities under the auspices of their PAC, to which members contribute voluntarily, but it's very likely they'd have a lot less money to use in their ugly mudslinging campaigning.

Well, guess who's in control of both branches of the legislature now? Democrats now hold both the state House and Senate. The BIAW doesn't have a friendly Governor sitting in Olympia to veto the bill that's going to take their lucrative kickbacks away from them. They are in real danger of losing their gravy train. They want to gut all building restrictions, environmental protections, worker protections. They know a Democratic legislature is never going to permit that, but they had hopes that a Republican Governor would at least veto legislation unfavorable to them (particularly Rossi, who's one of their special pets).

The developers have NEVER come this close to putting one of their own people in the Governor's seat. It's kind of like getting 5 out of 6 numbers on a Lotto ticket. They will probably never come that close to owning the state of Washington again, and it's VERY likely that the legislature will be putting limits on the profits they make at taxpayers' expense in the near future


Thanks to geniph here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=184x4417

[MelissaB]

9. Commissioner wants state to pay for paper ballot study

Commissioner wants state to pay for paper ballot study

BEAVER - Insisting that Beaver County's now-banned electronic voting system was just as accurate as paper ballots, county Commissioner Charlie Camp has asked the state to back a study of paper ballots in Beaver, Greene and Mercer counties.


"The study would monitor and compare 'undervotes' in those counties for the election cycles of both 2005 and 2006," Camp said in a letter last week to Secretary of State Pedro Cortes, who twice revoked the certification of the Patriot touch-screen voting system this year after it failed two examinations.

...snip

Beaver, Greene and Mercer were the only counties in Pennsylvania using the Patriot system. Beaver County spent $1.2 million on the Patriot system in 1998.

In recommending that the state decertify the Patriot system, Carnegie Mellon University computer professor Michael Shamos cited the system's propensity to not register votes, which, he said, could lead to a high undervote rate.

Under the Patriot system, the undervote rate in Beaver County for the 2004 presidential race was 5.25 percent. The average undervote rate in 24 counties surveyed by a Grove City College professor was 1.49 percent.


More: http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14644057&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6

[MelissaB]

10. Judge rejects GOP election challenge

Judge rejects GOP election challenge

01:12 PM PDT on Monday, June 6, 2005
The Associated Press and KING Staff Reports

Governor's election contest
Republican Dino Rossi filed an election challenge seeking to overturn the governor's race after winning the first two counts, only to lose a final, hand recount by 129 votes to Christine O. Gregoire. After months of depositions, the trial began Monday, May 23, 2005.

WENATCHEE, Wash. - After nine days of trial in Wenatchee, Wash., Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges upheld Washington’s 2004 gubernatorial election, rejecting Republicans’ bid to nullify the 129-vote victory of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.

“Unless an election is clearly invalid, when the people have spoken their verdict should not be disturbed by the courts,” said Bridges as he announced the decision from his courtroom.

"The court concludes the election contest petition should be dismissed with prejudice and the certification of Ms. Gregoire as governor confirmed," Bridges concluded after his 57-minute oral ruling.

Bridges denied Republican claims that election errors, illegal voters and fraud stole the election from GOP candidate Dino Rossi. He announced his decision in court, saying the state’s election process was flawed but that he was not the proper person to remedy those flaws.


More: http://www.king5.com/cgi-bin/bi/gold_print.cgi

[MelissaB]

11. Coins, cigars and wine seized from home of Noe's former employee

Article published Monday, June 6, 2005

Coins, cigars and wine seized from home of Noe's former employee

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER


Investigators seized hundreds of rare coins, Cuban cigars, computers, documents, and took custody of 3,500 bottles of wine over the weekend during searches of the home and office of a former employee of Tom Noe, a spokesman for the Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Office said today.

As many as 10 investigators and lab technicians spent 12 hours on Friday scouring the Evergreen, Colorado, home of Michael Storeim, a former manager of Numismatic Professionals, which is a subsidiary of Ohio’s $50 million rare-coin venture.

Investigators then turned their attention to the offices of Michael Storeim Inc., where they spent six hours seizing documents, invoices and computers, said Jacki Tallman, a spokesman for the sheriff.

Ms. Tallman said the items seized might have been purchased with money from the Ohio-funded Numismatic Professionals, and computers, documents, and invoices, might contain information to aid investigators. Colorado authorities are conducting an independent criminal investigation into possible felony theft and forgery, which is separate from efforts by Ohio authorities.


More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050606/DEVELOPINGNEWS/50606010

[MelissaB]

12. Coin scandal intensifies legislative partisanship

Coin scandal intensifies legislative partisanship
Democrats see an issue to break Republican grip on Statehouse in ’06 races

Monday, June 06, 2005
Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

...snip

Members of both parties are in rapidresponse mode as daily front-page headlines expose the escalating coin scandal and its easy-todigest elements of strange investments, political favoritism and possibly millions in lost state money.

The state gave Noe $50 million to invest in rare coins, only to learn recently that the powerful GOP donor cannot account for up to $13 million in assets. State and federal investigators are probing his dealings and connections to numerous state officials.

"I think the public will pay increasingly more attention," said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University.

"Investment of state money in a way that looks very suspicious angers people, particularly because it seems to be indefensible. It has a very immediate understanding on the streets."

The scandal, Beck said, likely has enough legs to carry into 2006, when five statewide offices, half the Senate and the entire House are up for election. Things could heat up even more in coming months if charges are filed from the ongoing investigation of former House Speaker Larry Householder and his top aides.


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/topstory.php?story=dispatch/2005/06/06/20050606-A1-00.html

[jarnocan]

13. Support Verified Voting / Call for investigations

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/907402825 I have sent a copy with a friendly request to present it to him or someone in his office, while I am there for the Verified Voting Lobby. I don't know if I will get a real reply. But I will fax the final copy. I also want to send it to the media, I would like to see this hit the 500 mark- I am a little more than half way there.

Petiton to support Verified Voting Lobby Day on June 9th,the Rush Holt Bill HR-550, and call for meaningful investigations of election fraud, in order to enable meaningful reform.

Support Verified Voting / Call for investigations

We want to feel confidant and proud of our democracy again. Election reform is a high priority, and a valid nonpartisan concern. Meaningful election reforms will not take place, until there is a full and clear understanding of the many reported incidents of unfair treatment of people trying to vote, and complaints of equipment malfunctions and alleged sabotage. We can not fix this, unless we know the hows and why of what went wrong. The verified vote is definitely a step in the right direction, and we urge you to support the RH-550 bill.

However this important step is not enough. We need competent and complete investigations, and as deemed necessary prosecutions and penalties for any crimes against our democracy. Many have fought and even died for our democracy. We must not dishonor them. Our democracy counts! Freedom and justice are essential components to our democracy, and we need you represent us in this just cause. It is our right to demand that you do the right thing.

Please see the below for more information. silent Scream of Numbers- Robert Koehler http://www.commonwonders.com/archives/col290.htm http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19

[MelissaB]

14. Rossi throws in the towel!!!!!

Breaking on NW Cable news, Rossi news conference....

No Supreme Court challenge--can't win.

More as this develops...

Still no link, but the whores are already spinning his concession as "gracious". My achin' butt----6 months of unsupported allegations of fraud against honest elections officials ain't gracious, no way.


Thanks to kurtyboy here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1528009

[MelissaB]

15. Rossi will not appeal election ruling

Rossi will not appeal election ruling

WENATCHEE — Judge John Bridges today upheld the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire, dismissing a Republican lawsuit and so soundly rejecting the party's claims that Dino Rossi said he would not go forward with what had been seen as an inevitable appeal.

Rossi said because the "political makeup of the Washington Supreme Court" makes it "almost impossible to overturn this ruling, I am ending this election contest."

"I don't make this decision lightly, but I don't make it … with bitterness or hard feelings. I continue to believe, as most Washingtonians believe, that mounting this election challenge and shining the light on the various problems in our election system was the right thing to do," Rossi said.

more at link, edited to add the best article quote:
"Unless an election is clearly invalid, when the people have spoken their verdict should not be disturbed by the courts," Bridges said. Nullifying the election, he said, would be "the ultimate act of judicial egotism and judicial activism."


Thanks to uppityperson here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1528009#1528063

(Post #14)

[MelissaB]

16. DUers for electronic voting reform -- Take our new site for a spin!

As a lot of you know, Vote Trust USA is a fairly new non profit organization founded by several of us who have been working on what we used to call BBV issues for the past 2-1/2 years. Our purpose is to support the state and locally-based groups that have been working so hard in the legislative trenches, without a reliable way to connect to each other, much less to form a real alliance.

We've been getting by with a temporary site for the past couple of months until our new database-driven site was completed. It's finally up and running, and ready to go out for a spin.

Please go check it out. Look around, kick the tires, sign up for updates, comment on the articles etc etc etc. Several key reference pieces were developed by Wilms and the DU research team. We think they're the best around!

Please let us know what you think!

www.votetrustusa.org

Thanks

Joan Krawitz aka hedda_foil
Executive Director
Vote Trust USA

It all started here at DU.


Thanks to hedda_foil here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3800513#3800708

[Wilms]

17. Voting Systems and Procedures Panel (“VSPP”) Hearing June 16, 2005

The California Election Protection Network (“CEPN”) invites all citizens to join us in attending the Voting Systems and Procedures Panel (“VSPP”) hearing of June 16, 2005, in Sacramento.

This VSPP hearing will feature Diebold and Election Systems & Software (“ES&S”), voting equipment manufacturers, seeking approval of their wares. We will urge the panel and the State of California to follow the advice of the California Secretary of State’s “Ad Hoc Touch Screen Task Force Report,” when it stated:

“ A system designed to protect the most valuable aspect of our democracy - our voting systems, must be free from any questions over inadequacy, conflicts of interest, or collusion. Transparency is the only method that will ensure the public. . . .”

SChEDuLE
Thursday, June 16, 2005*
9:00 a.m. Convene in front of the Secretary State Bldg.
10:00 a.m. Hearing & upon adjournment receive notices as to the location of a citizen forum with presentations

LOCATION
Office of the Secretary of State
1500 11th Street- 1st Floor (Auditorium)
Sacramento, California 95814

* In the event that this VSPP hearing is postponed or cancelled, we will convene for an impromptu citizen rally to lobby the Legislature.

The California Election Protection Network (CEPN) has information in pdf form at:

snip/more--pdf:
http://www.dfa-marin.org/June16HearingPressRelease.pdf

Thanks to Peace Patriot for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375744

[Wilms]

18. (TX) Official charged in voter fraud

By Stacy Horany/Times Record News

June 4, 2005

Hardeman County Precinct 1 Commissioner Johnny Akers was indicted late Thursday on six counts of election fraud, according to a news release from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office.

The indictment was one of the first in alleged voter fraud in Texas.

Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said Akers violated a portion of the Texas Election Code which makes it illegal for a person to knowingly possess an official ballot or an official carrier envelope provided to another.

The release said the violation is punishable by a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to $2,000 for each count of election fraud.

snip/more-

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/trn/local_news/article/0,1891,TRN_5784_3829970,00.html

Thanks to Freddie Stubbs for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375802

[Wilms]

19. Vote in a French village not unlike election Nashville-style

Sunday, 06/05/05

Vote in a French village not unlike election Nashville-style

By BILL HAYMES

Last Sunday night, I was sitting in a polling place in the village of Villeneuve-le-Roi, France. My friend, Jay, and I had been invited there by Laurent Gerome, a local resident and election observer for "Les Verts" (the Greens).

Through the large windows, I could see the rain falling sporadically outside and the branches of the trees waving, whipped about by blustery winds. Trite as it may be, I couldn't prevent the phrase "the winds of change" from running through my mind. All 25 countries of the European Union had to ratify the new constitution for it to take effect, and the polls predicted a "no" vote in France.

In most ways, this polling place was similar to many I've seen in Nashville.

It was a converted schoolroom with four voting booths against one wall, brown curtains partially covering their entrances. There were four long tables and folding chairs around the room's perimeter.

-snip/more-

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050605/OPINION03/506050374/1054

Thanks to Fly by Night for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375727

[Wilms]

20. Miami-Dade's elections chief wants to boot touch-screen system

Miami-Dade's elections chief wants to boot touch-screen system
By George Bennett

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, June 06, 2005

A new South Florida elections chief wants to dump the electronic touch-screen voting system he inherited from a previous administration.

The recommendation isn't from Palm Beach County's Arthur Anderson, who campaigned with much fanfare against paperless voting last year, but from new Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Lester Sola, who was appointed in April.

Coming from a county that has more than 1 million voters and was among the first in the nation to embrace touch-screen technology, Sola's recommendation could have an "absolutely huge" impact on the national debate over voting machines, says Pamela Smith of Verifiedvoting.org, a leading opponent of paperless voting.

But whether Sola's proposal will have much of an effect in Florida is uncertain.

-snip/more-

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/state/epaper/2005/06/06/m1a_voting_0606.html

Thanks to rainbow4321 for posting the GDP Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1834090

[Wilms]

21. Concerns expressed on voter database

Saturday, June 4, 2005

Concerns expressed on voter database

By GORDON FRASER Staff Writer
[e-mail]

PLYMOUTH — Several residents expressed concern about the state's move to compile voter information into a computer database — which can be checked against other state databases to prevent voter fraud — at a public hearing on upcoming changes in New Hampshire's voting procedure at Plymouth State University Thursday.

Representatives from the Attorney General's office and the N.H. Department of State delivered a presentation to residents and voting officials, updating them about the process the state has followed to comply with the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA.

HAVA was adopted into federal law in October of 2002. The goal of the legislation was to improve voting infrastructure, provide greater access to voting by persons with disabilities, and provide election officials with an information "clearinghouse."

-snip/more-

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050604/CITIZEN0104/106040057/-1/CITIZEN

[Wilms]

22. (OH) Blackwell asks for release of federal money

Blackwell asks for release of federal money

Associated Press. 06 June, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Counties eager to get going with new voting-machine systems should be able to begin their work soon.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's office was to ask the state Controlling Board on Monday to release $115 million in federal money for counties to purchase the new systems mandated by federal law.

The Help America Vote Act authorizes the payments to replace punch-card ballots that came under scrutiny in the presidential election fiasco in Florida in 2000.

Fifty-six counties have chosen a system. Three are available: electronic touch-screen machines made by Diebold Election Systems and optical scan systems made by Diebold and Election Systems & Software. Optical scan machines read pencil marks made by voters to signify their choices.

-snip/more-

http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=5508

[Wilms]

23. .

[Wilms]

24. .