Lawsuit leveled at electronic voting/Group wants voting machines on ballot

[Wilms]

Lawsuit leveled at electronic voting
Group wants voting machines on ballot

Saturday, January 07, 2006
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State Sen. Jim Ferlo has joined a group of voting rights activists in a lawsuit aimed at forcing Westmoreland County to seek more public input before it purchases a new generation of touch-screen voting machines for the upcoming May primary election.

The lawsuit, filed yesterday, could have statewide implications. It argues that, under the Pennsylvania Constitution, all 67 counties must let voters pick their preferred model of electronic machines through ballot questions.

"This goes to the issue of having fair and accurate elections," said Mr. Ferlo, D-Highland Park, whose district covers a portion of Westmoreland County. "I really think there are serious concerns about this technology."

But Mark Gesalman, county solicitor, said a four-year-old federal law takes precedence over the state Constitution.

snip

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06007/634104.stm

[Peace Patriot]

1. Oh, boy, the issue is joined! Fed law vs. states rights. That's what...

...it's all about. The Feds' (Bush junta's) power to force state/local jurisdictions to adopt insecure, hackable electronic voting systems, controlled by Bushite corporations with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, and virtually no audit/recount controls, and to pay these Bush buds lots and lots of money for them, vs. the states' CONSTITUTIONAL right to control its own election system, the state being an entity that is closer to the people, and where ordinary people have more potential influence (than they do in far away DC.

Bush junta Fed power vs. people power. I knew it would come to this. They are effectively federalizing elections. HOWEVER, the "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA) does *NOT* mandate electronic voting, as some believe, and the states can go back to paper ballots, hand counted at the precinct level, if it doesn't trust any of these machines (as it most surely should not).

See "MythBreakers" at www.votersunite.org

Other resources:
www.verfiedvoting.org
www.UScountvotes.org
www.TruthIsAll.net
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml

Also of interest - Bob Koehler article on four recent Ohio ELECTION REFORM initiatives, which were predicted to win by 60/40 majorities, but which got flipped over into 60/40 LOSSES (!) on election day, BY THE MACHINES. The machines and their masters are now dictating election policy and preventing reform!
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

[Yellow Horse]

2. Better Article Here: MACHINE SUIT FILED

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/westmoreland/s_411247.html


Machine Suit Filed

By Paul Peirce
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 7, 2006

Ten Westmoreland County residents and state Sen. Jim Ferlo filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block the county's recent purchase of 750 computerized voting machines.

The lawsuit, the first in Pennsylvania, alleges county commissioners and the board of elections violated the state constitution by approving the $3 million purchase of the touch-screen machines without first receiving approval from county voters via referendum to switch from the current manual, levered-voting system.

The lawsuit claims the elections board was required by state law to "submit a question to the voters at any primary or election asking shall an electronic voting system be used in the (county or municipality), and that such a question be approved by voters, prior to the use of said electronic voting system by the board of elections and the county."

"Therefore, to commit public funds to the purchase of electronic voting system machines, and/or to enter a contract to do so, prior to approval of the same by the voters is in violation of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Election Code," the lawsuit states.


MORE:
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/westmoreland/s_411247.html

[nicknameless]

3. They're going to vote on it?

Using what kind of machines -- lever?

If they're going to put that choice to the other 66 Counties, I hope the voters won't have to do their choosing on Diebold, etc.

[kster]

4. K&R...nt

[Tigress DEM]

5. HAVA is SUPPOSED to PROTECT Voter's Rights!

How can they use it AGAINST establishing FAIR VOTING Process? We NEED National Vote Reform. It HAS to be THE ISSUE for the 2006 elections and the 2008 Presidental Race. NO CANDIDATE AT ALL SHOULD BE ELECTED if they fail to back a NATIONAL Vote Reform agenda to the end result of transparrent elections from 2006 onward. THIS is UNBELIEVABLE!



There was a crooked pRes who walked a crooked path.
He found a crooked party upon a crooked PAC,
To buy his crooked election and then a crooked House.
Battled in the Senate, but couldn't kill DEM mouse.

Surprise. Surprise. Just like in MouseHunt the use of overkill isn't going to save them, only bite them in the a**.