Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 6/17/05

[MelissaB]

Everyone is 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.



Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x378415


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


Note: I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on this thread today. Any help would be appreciated.

[MelissaB]

1. RI: State board to discuss Jamestown election Tuesday

State board to discuss Jamestown election Tuesday

By Kate I. Howard/Daily News staff

The state Board of Elections will meet Tuesday to determine what action to take in Jamestown's Town Council election.

Unsuccessful Republican candidate Daniel J. Capuano Jr. requested the board conduct a second recount, since in this week's recount involving two candidates, a total of 12 fewer ballots were counted than on election night.

The election was approved by the board and certified Tuesday by the town's Board of Canvassers, but questions remain about the missing ballots.

George Bowen, acting director of the state Board of Elections, said the board will look at everything that transpired during the election. The board could open the sealed envelopes containing the ballots and inspect them, he said. This would not involve a re-tallying of votes, but might be done to ensure no ballots were inadvertently placed in the wrong envelope, Bowen said.


More: http://www.newportdailynews.com/articles/2005/06/17/news/news5.txt

[MelissaB]

2. CA: Activists rip Diebold voting units

Activists rip Diebold voting units

By Bill Ainsworth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 17, 2005

SACRAMENTO – Scores of activists urged a state advisory panel yesterday to reject a bid by Diebold Elections Systems Inc. to win approval for use of voting machines that were decertified last year.

Diebold is the maker of a $31 million touch screen voting system that malfunctioned in San Diego County during the March 2004 primary, causing more than one-third of polling places to open late.

"Diebold has a checkered past in this state, and that alarms many activists," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. "That's why this room is packed today."

Activists testified yesterday at an informational meeting of the Voting Systems and Procedures Panel at the Secretary of State's headquarters office, frequently booing, clapping and cheering various speakers.

More: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050617-9999-7m17vote.html

WTG California! :woohoo:

[MelissaB]

3. Momentum Builds For Election Reform

Momentum Builds For Election Reform

By ANN McFEATTERS
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jun 17, 2005, 04:49

Nearly five years after the chaos of Election 2000, angry citizens still storm Capitol Hill and statehouses to demand investigations and changes to the electoral process while task forces continue to churn out recommendations for reform.
Congress did pass the Help America Vote Act in 2002, and it did appropriate $3 billion to improve the system.

Then came Election 2004, which was marred by delays, discarded ballots, mixed up identifications, allegations of electronic voting machine chicanery and other problems, all of which have spawned an industry of election-reform experts and lobbying groups.

Dozens of states have approved or are considering proposals for change. But some independent experts complain that many proposals are driven by a desire for partisan advantage, and they fear that nothing significant will be accomplished without mandating nonpartisan election administration.

At the federal level, there remains disagreement, and reform advocates argue that if nothing is done this year, next year's congressional elections, with one-third of the Senate and the entire House up for re-election, could take place in an atmosphere of suspicion and a worrisome lack of voter participation.

..snip


In mid-September a national commission headed by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker is to offer its suggestions.


More: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_6889.shtml

[MelissaB]

4. Activists: Vote 'no' on voting system

Activists: Vote 'no' on voting system
In unusual move, panel does not make recommendation after facing angry crowd

By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER


SACRAMENTO — As California rolls toward a train wreck with federal and state laws, voting activists told state elections officials that Diebold and its voting machines aren't welcome along for the ride.
Witness after witness — Bay Area liberals seasoned with a few Libertarians and Republicans — called on state officials Thursday to block Diebold's voting machines from the nation's largest elections market, casting the firm as synonymous with lost trust and vote "theft" in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

In a jam-packed hearing punctuated by chanting, activists demanded paper ballots be counted by hand, by computers running open-source software if absolutely necessary, but never by secret software closely held by a company known for executive support of Republicans up to the president.

"If you value democracy you will not certify these hackable machines with secret mechanisms that are considered proprietary," said Berkeley's Phoebe Anne Sorgen. "You will dump Diebold Elections Systems and software."

"If you throw them out of this state, they're dead. Their backs are up against the wall," said Jim March, a Sacramento Republican and activist for BlackBoxVoting.org.

More: http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_2807963

[MelissaB]

5. UT: Legislators consider allowing early voting

Friday, June 17, 2005 - 12:00 AM |

Legislators consider allowing early voting

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


SALT LAKE CITY -- Legislators are considering allowing early voting up to two weeks before Election Day, and also may allow voting at grocery stores and malls.

One proposal would allow county clerks to consolidate dozens of voting precincts into one or more large central voting areas, such as at malls or sporting event halls.

The changes would be more convenient for voters, Michael Cragun, state elections director, told a legislative committee Wednesday.

The changes also are seen as a way to save money.

More: http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=57565&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

[MelissaB]

6. Liberty Bell Still Ringing

Liberty Bell Still Ringing

Pennsylvania can yet again rise to defend the democratic ideals of the founders of the USA.

(PRWEB) June 17, 2005 -- Concerned voting citizens have petitioned the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to re-examine the Danaher voting system which was associated with election failures in Berks and other counties in the May 2005 primary election.

Hundreds of people in multiple precincts had their votes discarded, and a number of races remain undecided. The vendors will blame the locals, but good systems are usable without such problems. Computer scientists are adamant about the security issues, and banks and merchants would never use a computer system so grossly inadequate that no paper records could be produced for transaction confirmation.

The system in use was incapable of producing the basic essential of a voter-verified paper ballot. Not only is there no way to prove that the votes 'counted' were accurate, there is no possibility for any form of independent audit or recount. The components will be faulty, the firmware/software flawed, the failure rates astronomical, the 'results' entirely unreliable, and there's no way to know, because these cheat machines are manufactured, programmed, tested, and operated in total secrecy by nonlocal parties not known and not sworn to guard elections, irresponsibly outsourcing critical public work. The vendors are not even bonded or insured, and use of their products has caused millions of dollars of taxpayer losses.

Electronic systems are not invulnerable. They require recordkeeping independent of the circuitry and software. They are not required by HAVA 2002 (Help America Vote Act). They are not required for the optimal accommodation of disabled voters. They fail due to poor design, electromagnetic anomalies, and poor management.


More: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb251958.htm

[Imagevision]

7. And then there's Tom Feeney's election software to change the results

These guys are out of control.
http://www.bradblog.com/ClintCurtis.htm

But you know, were you the least bit disappointed about Kerry not following thru on his; "every vote will be counted" statement? I was.