Election Fraud & Reform News. TUESDAY 01/03/2006

[autorank]

”Hey kids, it’s the DU Top 10 Election Fraud
Stories of 2006!” (The Big Dog reviews our list
on Letterman. Dave is pleased and honored to
have him there!)

TOP 10 ELECTION FRAUD STORIES OF 2005, NOMINATED BY DUers

Compiled by that great DUer FogerRox

Never forget the pursuit of Truth.
Only the deluded & complicit accept election results on blind faith.

Election Fraud & Reform News. TUESDAY 01/03/2006

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.
Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

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



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

Please

"Recommend"

for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[autorank]

1. Number 1: Diebold Hacked !! Nominated by Liberty Belle

Diebold Hacked !! Nominated by Liberty Belle

Brought to you by TALLAHASSEE channel 10.
Elections Supervisor: Some Diebold Voting Machines Can Be Hacked
POSTED: 11:31 am EST December 15, 2005
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Leon County's elections supervisor says some Diebold voting machines used in Florida can be hacked.

Ion Sancho said tests show an insider could secretly change election results and the number of ballots cast on Diebold's optical-scan machines.

The Miami Herald reports that Sancho is scrapping Leon's Diebold machines for a system made by Election Systems and Software.

Diebold, which has been criticized for its connections to President George W. Bush, has disputed the test results.

Diebold spokesman David Bear hasn't returned a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.


More-
http://www.local10.com/news/5542614/detail.html

[autorank]

2. Number 2: The Boxer Rebellion, Nominated by Autorank & Time for Change

The Boxer Rebellion, Nominated by Autorank & Time for Change.

Barbara Boxer formally objecting to the Ohio vote- JAN. 6TH

http://www.alternet.org/story/20920

Keep Objecting

By John Nichols, The Nation. Posted January 7, 2005.
The brief debate over certification of the Ohio results cannot be the end of the process. Democrats and Republicans need to continue to feel the heat if election reform is to be a reality.

The decision of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), to sign on to the objection raised Thursday by U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. and other House Democrats to the counting of Ohio's electoral votes from the 2004 presidential election sent a powerful signal that at least some – though certainly not most – Washington Democrats are listening to the grassroots of the party.

The challenge to the Ohio count, while it was based on legitimate concerns about voter disenfranchisement before, during and after the Nov. 2 election, never had a chance to block the ultimate assignment of that state's electoral votes to President Bush. After a short debate, Republican majorities in the House and Senate were always expected to dismiss any objections and assure that President Bush would have a second term. And they moved quickly on Thursday to do precisely that – with the support of most Democrats. The vote in the House was 267 to 31 to reject the challenge; in the Senate only Boxer voted in favor, with 74 other Senators voting against.

PICTURES—01/06/2004 Rally to Support a Senate Challenge
Lafayette Park (WH)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=255393
…and outside the Senate—the Rally--the crowds
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=272275

[Febble]

8. seconded n/t

[autorank]

3. Number 3: Conyers report, Nominated by FogerRox.

“What Went Wrong In Ohio:
The Conyers Report on the 2004 Presidential Election”Nominated by FogerRox

.
Someplace in this treasure trove of info—


http://johnconyers.com
Status Report
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohiostatusrept1505.pdf
Full Report—Get one today!
http://www.academychicago.com/conyers.html

[Febble]

9. Can I second this one too?

[autorank]

4. Number 4: High Quality Exit Poll Analysis by TIA, Nominated by Autorank

High Quality Exit Poll Analysis by TIA, Nominated by Autorank

http://www.truthisall.net /

The Unanswered Question: Who Really Won In 2004?

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0507/S00238.htm
http://www.truthisall.net /
By DU Poster Autorank

Posted at Democratic Underground
See also... this annotated thread. It’s all in the numbers
According to the vote tabulators, in the 2004 presidential election George W. Bush won a stunning victory that defied all odds, particularly those applied by unbiased statisticians. He won despite trailing in most state and national polls. He won despite an approval rating of less than 50%, usually the death knell for an incumbent presidential candidate. He won despite trailing in the three National Exit Polls three timelines from 4pm to 12:22 am (13047 respondents) by a steady 48%-51%, miraculously winning the final exit poll (with only 613 additional respondents, totaling 13,660). This poll was “weighted” (altered) to meet the reported election result on the assumption that the reported result was accurate -- quite an assumption. The final poll showed a stunning reversal of the Kerry 51%-48% poll margin, which had been measured consistently all day by the same polling group: major news/networks and polling firm Edison-Mitofsky.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Febble]

17. Apologies, auto

I didn't understand it wasn't a discussion thread. Too late to edit. Will ask mods to delete.

[autorank]

5. Number 5: Washington state lawyers sue Sequoia Voting systems

Washington state lawyers sue Sequoia Voting systems-

Nominated by FogerRox.

Brought to you by DUer Land Shark, reported by Brad Blog-
An electronic voting machine maker is battling a voter rights advocate in Washington state who wants to force the company to reveal the machines' software blueprint.

Paul Lehto, an Everett, Washington, lawyer has filed suit against Sequoia Voting Systems Inc., a privately held company based in Oakland, California, and Snohomish County, where his practice is located, arguing Sequoia's contract should be voided.

The lawsuit, filed last week in King County Superior Court, pits the right of a company to guard proprietary information against the public's need to know how elections are tabulated, Lehto said.

''These are entities that are providing the most central governmental function that we have, the counting of the vote,'' Lehto said Tuesday. ''If they are not only controlling that process but purporting to own it, then that is a serious problem.'

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001319.htm
Here’s the Lehto (Land Shark) Law Suit, what an act of patriotism:
http://www.votersunite.org/info/MotionRemandJoinderSnohomish.pdf

[autorank]

6. Number 6: Diebold driven out of North Carolina by NC voter.

Diebold driven out of North Carolina by NC voter.

RALEIGH — Voting machine maker Diebold has told the State Board of Elections that it will not sell its equipment in North Carolina, at least for the time being.

The move leaves one company, ES&S of Omaha, Neb., eligible to sell voting equipment in the state with tight deadlines looming in advance of primary elections scheduled for May.

Election officials said they will have to wait until next week to figure out how severe the impact of Diebold’s withdrawal will be on the state’s ability to conduct elections. But under the state’s current timetable, counties have until Jan. 20 to sign a contract to buy new voting machines.

“There’s good and bad things about both (Diebold and ES&S), and I’m not sure which of the two systems we would have recommended,” said Guilford County Elections Director George Gilbert. Instead of choosing which system to use, counties are now forced to buy systems built by ES&S if they want to have a legal election.


More-

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/NEWSREC0101/512230306/1010/NEWSREC020107

[autorank]

7. Number 7: Andy Stephenson- Nominated by demodonkey.

Andy Stephenson- Nominated by demodonkey.

Andy sent me a PM, asking me to call him, back on may 23rd. He wanted to talk to me about the voting machines proposed for my county in NJ. To make sure I was headed in the right direction. IIRC, the next night he went in for surgery. I still have his number asved on my cell. About a month later Andy passed. Complications from his surgery.

Andy had run for Secretary of State in Washington, and lost. He also worked with Bev Harris. Here is what may be his last post at DU:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=263266

[PeterPan]

22. I'll second this

Andy Stephenson was definitely one of the 10 most important voting Stories of 2005.

[autorank]

10. Number 8: National Summit to Save US Elections, Nominated by Autorank.

Summit to Save US Elections, Nominated by Autorank in honor of those who presented and attended

Portland Oregon : National Summit to Save US Elections

This grew from just a little get together, to a 3 day affair. I know somebody here in NJ that flew to Oregon just to attend.

Portland Oregon : National Summit to Save US Elections
Day one- http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0510/S00003.htm
Days 2 & 3- http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0510/S00082.htm

[autorank]

11. Number 9: CA Activists Call the Cops on Diebold, Nominated by LibertyBell

California Activists Call the Cops on Diebold, Nominated by Autorank & Liberty Bell

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00246.htm

California Activists Call the Cops on Diebold:
The Campaign to Unite California Election Reformers

Movement for legal action against officials who allowed unauthorized software changes to voting machines starts in Northern California. Strong local support.

Special Report by for "Scoop" Michael Collins
December, 2005

Humboldt Co., CA. A major challenge to election equipment maker Diebold Corporation began in California last week. Dave Berman is a nationally known internet activist who blogs under the name GuvWurld. He is calling on all Californians to ensure election integrity by holding public officials accountable for what he argues are gaping security holes and illegal alterations of Diebold voting machines. One part of the plan asks local activists to demand investigations of unauthorized changes to voting machines by the beleaguered election systems company. The plan has strong local support in a major Diebold territory, Humboldt County. Humboldt County includes Eureka, Arcata and Humboldt State University and is at the very top of the California coastline.
Concerns about Diebold practices in California

[autorank]

12. Number 10: Hackett loses a squeaker in Ohio, Nominated by Autorank.

Hackett loses a squeaker in Ohio, Nominated by Autorank.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0508/S00186.htm

DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN?
DEMOCRAT HACKETT LOSES A SQUEAKER IN
OHIO’S 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:
THE NEW VOTING RIGHTS STRUGGLE 2004-2005

by autorank
DemocraticUnderground.Com
2004 Elections Results and Discussion Forum
(permmission to quote extensively from the author)

ATLANTA, August 6 - Thousands of people marched down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, in an event organized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and attended by lawmakers and celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson and Harry Belafonte.
New York Times, August 7, 2005


The Selma, Alabama Voting Rights March, 1965. Approaching the William J. Pettis Bridge.

The historic celebration of the Voting Rights Act occurred in a mood the Times described as “more cautionary than celebratory.” As they marched, participants knew that the Republican-dominated House and Senate were showing reluctance to fully renew the act.
The old and new voting right struggles merge.

Many marchers also knew that they are involved in a new voting rights struggle, one that involves blacks, whites, and any citizen voting for Democratic candidates. The struggle came into clear focus in Florida 2000 but in truth has been carried forth ever since the full implementation of the Voting Rights Act. While the act pushed forward the voting franchise to all Americans regardless of race, it was not able to ensure that all votes would be counted, particularly in predominantly black precincts, due to “spoilage” – ballots that are not marked clearly enough to be counted. A Washington Post study (12/3/04) after Florida 2000 showed that spoilage occurred at exceptionally high rates in precincts with greater than 70% black population. The total spoiled votes in just black precincts in Florida 2000 would have given Gore a comfortable victory margin without any reference to “hanging chads” and “butterfly ballots,” under the reasonable assumption that most of the discarded ballots were marked for Gore.

<snip>

Election Day.

Election Day was a tense event for both candidates and their supporters. Turnout reached 25%, considered respectable for a special election. There were some changes in voting locations in Clermont County and a reduction in precincts in Hamilton County, a populous Cincinnati suburb. There were few if any major incidents reported by those attempting to vote. There were reports of Jean Schmidt campaigning within the 100-foot perimeter candidates must recognize around the precincts. Until mid evening, this encroachment charge was the only event to remotely qualify as an election irregularity.

The humidity crisis.

Then it happened: the “humidity” crisis. For pure drama, it could not have occurred at a more dramatic point in the vote tabulation. Of Clermont County’s 191 precincts, 100 had been counted. Then the Board of Elections announced that excessive humidity had caused ballots to swell, making them difficult to count. As a result, there would be a delay in the count. At this point, the election was dead even statistically, at 50% for each candidate. The 91 precincts in Clermont represented about 12% of the remaining vote. When the crisis was resolved, the 50-50% tie changed into a 52% to 48% victory for Schmidt.

[autorank]

13. Number 11 Diebold sued by stockholders, Nominated by Liberty Bell.

Diebold sued by stockholders, Nominated by Liberty Bell.

Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Two law firms representing investors are suing Diebold Inc., claiming the Ohio company made misleading comments about its electronic voting machine business that led to artificially high share prices. The firms, respectively, represent individual Diebold shareholders and people whose employers bought Diebold stock for their retirement accounts.

The lawsuits, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, claim Diebold was "unable to assure the quality and working order of its voting machine products." It further claims the company tried to conceal the problems from investors and that Diebold lacked the internal controls necessary to accurately monitor its financial performance.
Both lawsuits seek class-action status.

The North Canton-based company on Friday denied the allegations.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--diebold-investorl1216dec16,0,1567211.story?coll=ny-region-apconnecticut

[Wilms]

16. Number 12: Programming Error Nabbed, Recount Overturns Election

Nominated by Wilms and probably BillBored.



Keating concedes election

By Eric Harkreader, December 13, 2005

snip

Early results wrong

The recount is the latest chapter in a race that seemed to end quietly on election night, when Keating was named the unofficial winner by nearly 200 votes.

However, a programming error by the county’s ES&S voting machines awarded all votes by Democrats casting a straight-ticket ballot to Keating. The problem involved a software coding error in which Keating’s political affiliation was mislabeled as Democrat.

snip

http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/12/13/news/news06.txt

Also

Recount

By John Hilton, Nov 10, 2005

snip

“As they were getting the counts in on election night, we had a couple people watching the monitors and somebody noticed Kathy Keating coming in as a ‘D,’” Eichelberger says. “We knew right away that we needed to be looking at something there.”

snip

http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/11/10/news/news02.txt


Discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=401378

[autorank]

18. "Early Results Wrong" -- a True Story (from Wilms) #13 Bakers Dozen

From the best online searcher in the biz



Keating concedes election

By Eric Harkreader, December 13, 2005

snip

Early results wrong

The recount is the latest chapter in a race that seemed to end quietly on election night, when Keating was named the unofficial winner by nearly 200 votes.

However, a programming error by the county’s ES&S voting machines awarded all votes by Democrats casting a straight-ticket ballot to Keating. The problem involved a software coding error in which Keating’s political affiliation was mislabeled as Democrat.

snip

http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/12/13/news/news06.txt
Also

Recount

By John Hilton, Nov 10, 2005

snip

“As they were getting the counts in on election night, we had a couple people watching the monitors and somebody noticed Kathy Keating coming in as a ‘D,’” Eichelberger says. “We knew right away that we needed to be looking at something there.”

snip

http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/11/10/news/news02.txt

[rumpel]

19. Voting system Issue finally makes front page: LA Times! Print version

Voting System Results Still Out

Questions about the reliability of electronic ballots combine with changing regulations to fuel confusion and debate over technology.

By Noam N. Levey, Times Staff Writer

Five years after the vote-counting debacle in Florida suspended the election of a new U.S. president, California and other states are embroiled in a contentious debate over how voters should cast their ballots.

The maligned punch cards that snarled the 2000 count are all but gone. But with electronic machines under attack as unreliable and vulnerable to hackers, there is little consensus about what the new technology should look like.

4 web pages long at:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-voting3jan03,0,457648.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews

[Wilms]

21. Discussions

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407503

LBN
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2017834

[Wilms]

24. VotersUnite has an archived version of the article.

http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6518

[EFerrari]

20. Is this in GD yet?

:evilgrin:

[GuvWurld]

23. Number 14: Arcata, CA Adopts Voter Confidence Resolution

Arcata, The Voter Confidence Resolution, and the Importance of Paying Attention

This article from VoteTrustUSA refers to Arcata, CA becoming the first city in the country to adopt the landmark Voter Confidence Resolution. The article also cites an interview transcript originally published in the Lone Star Iconoclast which describes the resolution and its intentions in great detail: Arcata City, Calif. Establishes Model Voter Confidence Resolution For Nation's Cities to Follow.


This is an ongoing effort that is trying to spread to other towns. Visit the GuvWurld Blog or PM me to find out more.