Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News 1/8/06

[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.



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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x408144

All previous daily threads are available here:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

[MelissaB]

1. Diebold Lobbyist to be a Dem Senate Nominee??? WTF??

Diebold's Lobbyist: Dem Senate Nominee from Virginia?

By Greg Priddy

Jan 07, 2006

"We oppose the idea of a voter-verified paper trail." -- Harris Miller

Most of you haven't heard of Harris Miller, who departed earlier this week as head of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), a lobbying group for big information technology corporations. But you will certainly hear about him next week, as he is expected to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, as a Democrat from Virginia, running against George Allen. In fact, the media trial balloons this week have treated him as a presumptive nominee, who has the backing of the party leadership, even though they haven't made any formal endorsement.

The quote above, obviously, gets at the reasons why this should concern us, as Democrats.

As head of the ITAA, Miller specifically lobbied Congress against verified voting, on behalf of the interests of Diebold and other manufacturers of paperless e-voting machines -- members of ITAA. From the article in CIO:

"The vendor community doesn't like it. "We oppose the idea of a voter-verified paper trail," says Harris Miller, president of the trade group Information Technology Association of America. Introducing paper into the mix, he says, defeats the improved efficiency and reliability e-voting promises. "There was never a golden age when paper ballots were accurately counted," Miller says. Adding paper to e-voting will only make the process of administering elections more costly and time-consuming without improving accuracy, opponents assert."

snip

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2006/1/6/23532/17147


Thanks to Wilms here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x408225#408262

[MelissaB]

2. Author to speak at Unitarian Church (Fitrakis)

Author to speak at Unitarian Church

EAST LANSING - Bob Fitrakis, co-author of "How the GOP Stole America's 2004 Election and Is Rigging 2008," will speak at 1:30 p.m. today about the Ohio vote in the 2004 election and the Diebold voting machine controversy there.

Some have alleged the voting machine company helped ensure President Bush's victory in Ohio during the 2004 election. Fitrakis, a lawyer, journalist and professor of political science at Columbus State Community College, will speak at the Unitarian Church, 855 Grove St. He also will speak at 7 p.m. at the Pittsfield Township Hall, 6201 W. Michigan Ave., Ann Arbor.


Link: http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/NEWS01/601080630/1001/news

[MelissaB]

3. Arizona: Brewer faces early challenge in race

Brewer faces early challenge in race

Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 8, 2006 12:00 AM

Secretary of State Jan Brewer expected to be challenged at the polls this year, not at the news conference to announce her re-election bid.

But Thursday on the Senate lawn, protesters tried to drown out the first-term Republican with criticism of the state's use of Diebold Elections Systems voting machines.

Brewer later said the protesters had distracted attention from her achievements. advertisement

"The story today was about Jan Brewer running or re-election and accomplishing her goals," Brewer said.


More: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0108brewer08.html

[MelissaB]

4. FL: Bureaucracy shouldn't block voting paper trail

Bureaucracy shouldn't block voting paper trail

Published January 8, 2006


Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes said her office recently conducted a voter survey, and a whopping 70 percent of respondents said they want a paper trail for electronic voting machines.

In election circles, that's known as a landslide.

But ridiculously, even though paper-trail technology has been invented for Broward's iVotronic machines, it might take more than a year before voters see it.

Dawdling bureaucracy stands in the way of printers being used in this year's governor and congressional elections.


More: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-mayocol08jan08,0,4137122.column

[Wilms]

21. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x408245

[MelissaB]

5. Wisconsin: Madison Weekly: A look at what's happening at the State Capitol

Madison Weekly: A look at what's happening at the State Capitol

...snip

Assembly Bill 627 will upgrade and modernize the election system by ensuring that new touch screen voting machines produce a verifiable paper ballot, providing additional requirements necessary to maintain the integrity of Wisconsin elections.

More: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/GPG0101/601080639/1207/GPGnews

[MelissaB]

6. NJ: Deputy elections superintendent chosen for Passaic

Deputy elections superintendent chosen for Passaic

Sunday, January 8, 2006

By KAREN KELLER
HERALD NEWS



After months of political wrangling, a deputy superintendent of elections for Passaic County has been selected.

Democrats and Republicans have said the holdup was largely because of partisan politics.

Paterson lawyer Robert DeMeres, a Republican, was finally tapped by acting Governor Codey, a Democrat, on Dec. 8, and his nomination was cleared in the state Senate on Dec. 15, Kelley Heck, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, confirmed Friday.

The appointment of DeMeres was announced during the Board of Freeholders' annual reorganization meeting Thursday night.

The five-year position has been vacant since May when Laura Freytes, the former deputy superintendent of elections, was tapped to become superintendent. Freytes is a Democrat.

State law stipulates that the deputy superintendent and superintendent of elections should be from different political parties to ensure a line of checks and balances.


More: http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4NTUxMTQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz

[MelissaB]

7. NC: New voting machines likely for CatawbaCatawba Valley

New voting machines likely for CatawbaCatawba Valley

It is looking more likely that Catawba County could have to buy new voting machines after having bought new ones in 2003.The company that sold Catawba its machines has decided not to pursue state certification for the equipment so it can be used in North Carolina.

And county officials said they are less likely now to file an appeal of the state's decertification of Catawba's voting machines, though they have not ruled that out.

Officials are still pursuing other means by which the county could avoid buying new equipment or at least delay replacing machines, said Assistant County Manager Lee Worsley. Those include trying to get state legislators to hold a special session to address concerns with the state's new voting law.

Meanwhile, the county is proceeding as if it will have to buy new machines.

Under the new law, voting machines must produce paper ballots that voters can see before casting their choices. Catawba's machines do not produce a paper trail, but county officials say the equipment can be modified to comply with the law.

More: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/13576491.htm

[MelissaB]

8. CA: Registrar proposes buying new touch screen voting machines for primary

Registrar proposes buying new touch screen voting machines for primary

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer

Riverside County's elections chief Friday proposed buying a new set of touch-screen voting machines, in time for use in the June 6 primary. Riverside is a pioneer of sorts in the voting arena, having been the nation's first large county to trade in its paper ballots for electronic ones six years ago. In March 2000, the county purchased 4,250 electronic voting machines for $14 million, and those machines have been used in more than 30 elections.

In the years since, many other counties in California and around the country have jumped on the electronic-voting bandwagon. But along with the emerging technology's growing popularity has come increased scrutiny, and state lawmakers passed a law requiring California counties with electronic machines to provide a backup paper trail for all 2006 elections.

That has presented a challenge for Riverside County because the paper-trail device that was designed later for the county's older touch-screen model, Edge 1, has yet to be certified by federal and state agencies. And local elections are just around the corner.


Barbara Dunmore, county registrar of voters, said the county will fulfill the law's requirement for the Jan. 17 Riverside city election by borrowing some of San Bernardino County's touch screens. Those are of a later model, which has been certified.

More: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/01/08/news/californian/22_34_191_7_06.txt

[MelissaB]

9. NY: Counties scramble to modernize voting machines

Counties scramble to modernize voting machines

Imagine showing up to vote on Election Day and finding an unfamiliar voting machine and election workers who don't know how to operate it.

Or worse, imagine your usual polling place locked or deserted on Election Day because the inspectors hired by the Board of Elections were never given the keys to open it.

...snip


But the state is still weeks away from telling the counties what machines they will be able to buy. So far, the state has given only general approval to two types of voting machines: optical scan, which uses technology similar to that employed in standardized tests like the SAT, and Direct Recording Electronic, or DRE, which resembles large automated teller machines.

The state Board of Elections is still writing the regulations to govern the certification and purchase of voting machines. The last in a series of public hearings on the agency's draft regulations is planned for Thursday in Carmel.

More: http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/NEWS02/601080311/1019/NEWS03

[MelissaB]

10. Handy dandy chart from the above link:

At a glance

Highlights of the federal and state election reforms being implemented in 2006


• Under the federal Help America Vote Act, all voting machines must be accessible to the disabled, effectively banning the lever machines currently used in New York.

• County boards of elections are now completely responsible for running elections, including hiring and training election inspectors.

• For identification, a new voter must provide a driver's license number or the last four digits of his or her Social Security number when registering to vote, or must present valid state identification when going to vote.

• The minimum training pay of election inspectors has been raised to $25 from $5. Inspectors must now be trained annually instead of once every three years.


What's next

The state Board of Elections will hold a final public hearing on its draft regulations for voting machines at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center, Donald B. Smith Government Campus, 110 Old Route 6, Carmel.
Electronic ballots

New York has given general approval for two types of voting machines

• Optical scan: Voters would fill in ballots much the same way high school students take standardized tests like the SAT. The ballots would be read by a scanner.

• Direct Recording Electronic: People would vote on electronic machines that resemble automated teller machines.
What's next

The state Board of Elections will hold a final public hearing on its draft regulations for voting machines at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center, Donald B. Smith Government Campus, 110 Old Route 6, Carmel.

[MelissaB]

11. FL: Key Cabinet races draw scant notice

Key Cabinet races draw scant notice

BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE - Go ahead, try to name the five candidates for attorney general.
Now try to name the three major candidates for chief financial officer, or, better yet, describe what the CFO does.

Unless politics is your passion, there's a good chance those challenges drew a blank.
Don't feel bad. The race to replace Gov. Jeb Bush, who must leave office because of term limits, and Republican U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' attempt to oust Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson from office have grabbed most of the headlines leading into the 2006 election.

Further down the ballot, though, are some races well worth watching that could have a profound effect on the state.

Four Republicans are running to replace Attorney General Charlie Crist, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor. They are former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, state Rep. Joe Negron of Stuart, state Sen. Burt Saunders of Naples and state Rep. Everett Rice of Pinellas County. The lone Democrat is state Sen. Skip Campbell of Broward County.

...snip

Each also serves on the Cabinet, which makes decisions with the governor on issues like land purchases and deciding whether felons should have voting rights restored or be allowed to own a gun once they've served their sentences. The Cabinet also oversees several state departments, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Revenue and the Office of Insurance Regulation.

If Democrats were to win the governor's office, they would need only one Cabinet seat to control Cabinet decisions. In a 2-2 vote, the side the governor takes prevails.

Politically, the positions are also important. There are only six statewide elected offices - the governor, three Cabinet members and two U.S. Senate seats. The seat holders tend to have a strong say in the direction of the party and are seen as potential candidates for governor or U.S. Senate.


More: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/13575597.htm

[MelissaB]

12. Leaders hope for collegial Assembly session

Leaders hope for collegial Assembly session

By Tom Stuckey
Associated Press Writer


ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland lawmakers begin their session Wednesday with two tasks at hand -- completing the record of their four-year terms in the General Assembly and preparing for the election of a new legislature in November.

With all 188 seats in the House and Senate and the governor's office on the ballot for the November election, the potential is there for 90 days filled with political maneuvering and partisan bickering.

But Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich and leaders of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly say there may be a more collegial, collaborative tone to the session than many observers of the political process expect.

...snip


Most of the attention is focused on three bills that would increase the state minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.15 an hour, allow voting in the five days prior to election day and the "Wal-Mart" bill, which would require the giant retailer to either spend at least 8 percent of its payroll on health care for workers or pay the difference into the state Medicaid fund.

Maryland businesses, large and small, have waged an intensive campaign against the minimum wage and Wal-Mart bills, which were passed with strong support from organized labor and big corporations that already meet the 8 percent standard. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller plan to try to override the vetoes, and Busch said the votes will be close. A three-fifths vote in both houses is needed to overcome a veto.

Democratic leaders also will push for an override of the early voting bill, which they say would increase participation in elections. Ehrlich said allowing early voting is an invitation to voter fraud.

More: http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/NEWS01/601080303/1002

[MelissaB]

13. We must protect our democracy

We must protect our democracy

By: PAUL JACOBS - For The Californian

In a world of wired and wireless technology, it's a relief to learn that our Toyota Prius may get carjacked, but it won't be easily hacked. It's a shame Toyota doesn't make electronic voting equipment.

Researchers with the Finnish computer security firm F-Secure recently made repeated attempts to introduce multiple versions of the Cabir virus into the Prius' operating system using Bluetooth wireless technology. The Prius was immune to the Cabir virus that was originally released in 2004 and designed to attack cell phones and PDAs.

...snip


Back to the issue of technology, I was surprised to learn that Japan has dabbled in electronic voting, but they are keenly aware of the pitfalls of the system. Unlike American election officials who robotically deny anything ever going wrong with our electronic voting machines, Japanese officials give their election system more judicial scrutiny.

In 2005, a judge in Japan nullified the results of a 2003 election, citing "negligence in the administration concerning electronic voting." The ruling supported a local civic group's claim that there were errors in the electronic ballot system. The computerized voting system was shut down for up to 83 minutes at all 29 polling stations during the election because the voting machines overheated, the court said.

The scenario in Japan is eerily similar to what has reportedly occurred twice with Riverside County's electronic voting system. During the 2000 and 2004 elections, witnesses claim the tallying machine halted for close to an hour and when the counting of the votes resumed, there appeared to be an alteration of how the votes were trending before the shutdown. One of those contests has generated litigation against the county, but our courts and the American public appear eagerly ignorant regarding the sanctity of electronic voting.

Unlike the Prius, our voting machines use proprietary software that incorporates Microsoft products in some applications. The proprietary status prohibits election officials and the public from examining the computer codes that determine the future of our democracy. Even as Microsoft products are notorious for vulnerability to hacking, manipulation and various forms of attack, independent verification that software security patches have been installed or validating the use of certified version of election software is lacking.

Insurance can compensate and replace a stolen vehicle, but very few remedies can bring back a stolen democracy.

Link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/01/08/opinion/jacobs/20_40_061_7_06.txt

Paul Jacobs of Temecula is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail [e-mail].

:patriot:

[MelissaB]

14. GD link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x80938

[MelissaB]

15. Abramoff money = election fraud

Abramoff money = election fraud

From Anonymous:

I was thrilled to see someone write about the Ney-HAVA connection. We need a journalist to pick up this story. Here is my synopsis of the events:

The real story behind Abramoff is that it is not simply about "influencepeddling." It is in fact influence peddling to affect election outcomes.

In the equation of Abramoff Money Laundering the following holds true:

Input = Abramoff money
Output = Election fraud

Follow the story below from the first small potatoes case to the final mother-of-all-election-fraud cases in US history:

*Small potatoes: *The first players in the Abramoff drama to be sent to jail were former New Hampshire GOP Chair Chuck McGee and his boss former Bush New England Campaign Manager Jim Tobin. In 2002 the NH GOP paid $15,600 to a firm that jammed the NH Dem get-out-the-vote phone lines.

Days before the payment was made, the NH GOP accepted 3 payments of $5000 each from the following sources: 1) Abramoff client the Mississippi Choctow Tribe 2) Abramoff client the California Aqua Tigua Caliente Tribe 3) Tom Delay's ARMPAC.

Input: Abramoff money --> Output: Election fraud

*Mother-of-all-election-fraud: *In 2002 House Administration Chair Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio was a prime sponsor of the (sic) "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA). In fact, HAVA was actually written in Bob Ney's office. HAVA, under the guise of resolving the 2000 election fraud issues, was actually written to promote the distribution of computerized voting systems across the nation. The bill was designed to send $3.8 billion taxpayer dollars straight into the pockets of corporations like Diebold, whose voting equipment has now been unequivacolly proven to provide an open door to election rigging. Diebold, one of the prime lobbyists for HAVA, was at the time a client of Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's firm.

I have compiled plenty of information on this issue, which I am ready to provide in order to get this story out. I have access to eye witnesses and players who were physically present and participating in Bob Ney's office when HAVA was written. As sexy as congressional scandal is, it pales in comparison to the real story behind the Abramoff affair: the theft of our democracy.

posted by MCM at 5:33 PM



Link: http://markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/2006/01/abramoff-money-election-fraud.html



Thanks to IanDB1 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2355902

[DemReadingDU]

20. Just wow!

This would be fantastical if this story got out that Abramoff money linked to Election fraud.

Yay, Mark Crispin Miller!

[MelissaB]

16. ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES FAIL

ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES FAIL

Saturday, January 07, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com

by staff reports

Did you know ABC News posted "....results and predictions...” on their website in the early evening of Nov. 2, 1998 - 12 hours before any polls opened in the United States? They did--and do you know how accurate they were? How come, with no votes counted, only precincts “reporting,” the media can call the results of more than 165,000 precincts nationwide within minutes, and with such uncanny accuracy? Was Florida an anomaly or was something else going on behind the scenes during the November 2000 “elections?” Did you know that voting machine manufacturers admit the failure rates of electronic machines range from 16 to 28 percent? Why the drive to force all Americans into voting with electronic touch-screen machines that have no paper trail and no accountability? Why the push to eliminate all paper ballots?

Link: http://www.freemarketnews.com/Feedback.asp?nid=3040

[MelissaB]

17. GAO Report Confirms 2004 Vote Was Flawed

GAO Report Confirms 2004 Vote Was Flawed

Chicago, IL 60638 January 7 2006

By Gigi Wasz
Gazette Magazine, Chicago

Ron Baiman, professor and senior research specialist for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, cited a recent Government Accountability Office Report as a step forward in addressing the country's flawed election process. "I am glad for the report," Baiman said. "It basically confirms what we have been reporting for years: that the electronic voting machines are not secure."

Baiman and colleagues issued a report earlier in the year calling into question the result of the 2004 Presidential election, in which final vote tallies did not match those of various exit polls-statistically almost an impossibility, according to Baiman and his group. Exit polls had predicted a John Kerry victory.

In response to mounting concern across the country with the election process, the GAO issued a 107-page report at the end of October that examines the country's election procedures. Specifically, according to the GAO findings, "some electronic voting systems did not encrypt cast ballots or system audit logs, making it possible to alter both without detection." The report also revealed the possibility of adjusting the file of the actual ballot, thereby increasing the potential for inaccurate votes. In addition, researchers found the software used for voting systems at local levels "was not verified."

After the flawed 2000 Presidential election, Congress passed the Help Americans Vote Act (HAVA), which authorized funding for local and state governments to improve election administration, for example, by upgrading outdated voting machines. According to Baiman, however, while the legislation sounds useful, it seemingly opened a "Pandora's box," as new electronic voting machines were rushed into service with questions about their security remaining. "We still need a secure system to ensure every ballot is verified," he said. "Now with more and more states using electronic voting systems there is an even greater opportunity for error."

More: http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=11291

[MelissaB]

18. Voting officials want timely count

Voting officials want timely count
Boulder County plans to give potential vendors time limit for ballot equipment

By Brad Turner
The Daily Times-Call

BOULDER — Election officials will demand that Boulder County’s new voting equipment be able to tally election results substantially faster than the machines used in the sloppy November 2004 contest, elections coordinator Josh Liss said Thursday.

Potential vendors will be told their equipment must count most ballots in a certain number of hours, though that period has not yet been established, Liss said.

...snip


Prospective vendors will be required to build machines that allow for manual audits that can confirm election results, Liss said.

Several commentators unsuccessfully lobbied the elections office to require that vendors make their software coding available to the public so voters can be confident the system is not prone to fraud.

“The more eyes on the source code, the better,” Boulder software developer Nick Jancewicz wrote.

But asking for vendors to share their proprietary source code would scare off most potential manufacturers and could make the county’s equipment more vulnerable to fraud, Liss said.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “For the source code to voting systems to be open completely, not only to review but to changes, opens the door for someone to manipulate the code.”

More: http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=5565

[MelissaB]

19. Ohio ‘Christocrat’ stirs up critics

Ohio ‘Christocrat’ stirs up critics

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS; The Associated Press
Published: January 7th, 2006 02:30 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Evangelist Rod Parsley wants to gather voters as he wins souls, a mixture that’s causing a stir in the state that put President Bush back in the White House.
The televangelist opposed to gay marriage and critical of Islam hopes the effort he calls Reformation Ohio will convert 1 million people to Christianity, help the poor and register 400,000 people to vote.

“We just seek to be a voice in the public arena,” said Parsley, 48, who has a TV ministry seen around the country and a 12,000-member church. “For some reason, it has become chic to say that everybody should have a voice in that public square, but when born-again or evangelical Christians begin to lift up their voice, everyone gets nervous.”

While ministers of all stripes have long taken stands on social issues and registered voters, Parsley’s political activities worry Democrats and liberal churches.

His critics say it’s impossible to separate the goals of Reformation Ohio from Parsley’s work on a successful election campaign to ban gay marriage and his ties to Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a conservative leading many polls in his bid for the GOP governor’s nomination next year.

Parsley says it’s easy to separate his views on moral issues and the goals of Reformation Ohio.

“I am neither Republican nor Democrat – I’m a Christocrat,” he said. “I love a Democratic republic, and I want to be right in the middle of that process.”


More: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/religion/story/5442845p-4914172c.html

[Wilms]

22. NH: Phone jamming: GOP fires back

Phone jamming: GOP fires back

By JOHN DISTASO

Senior Political Reporter

The state Republican Party is charging that a Democratic lawsuit against it for an illegal phone jamming operation in 2002 was actually part of a national Democratic plan to “advance their political agenda” in the 2004 general election.

The state Democratic chairman calls the claim baseless and “pretty sad.”

The conviction last month of a former high-ranking Republican official for conspiring to jam state Democratic Party and firefighters union get-out-the-vote telephone banks on Election Day 2002 has re-focused attention on an 18-month-old civil suit filed by the Democrats seeking damages for the illegal GOP operation.

The case is expected to go to trial later this year, and a series of motions have been recently filed.

The Republican State Committee’s attorney, Ovide Lamontagne, contends in court papers that the state Democratic Party filed its civil suit against the Republicans “in attempt to use the court system to interfere with the (GOP’s) constitutionally protected election activities.”

snip

http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Phone+jamming%3A+GOP+fires+back&articleId=c2ca1af0-f665-435f-92bc-ea12dafb1d56

LBN Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2028513

[Wilms]

23. Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of A Class Action Suit Against Diebold

Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of A Class Action Suit Against Diebold, Inc. And Certain Of Its Officers and Directors On Behalf of Investors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Jan. 6, 2006

The law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP announces that a class action lawsuit was filed on January 6, 2005, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Diebold, Inc. ("Diebold" or the "Company") (NYSE: DBD) between October 22, 2003 and September 20, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").

The action, is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, against defendants Diebold, Walden W. O'Dell (former CEO, Chairman), Eric C. Evans (former President and COO) and Gregory T. Geswein (former CFO). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on Milberg Weiss's website at: http://www.milbergweiss.com

If you bought the securities of Diebold between October 22, 2003 and September 20, 2005, inclusive, and sustained damages, you may, no later than February 13, 2006, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants represented that the Company was effectively growing its business and that the growth would continue. Such statements presented the Company's historical results, and its prospects, in a very favorable light, causing the Company's stock to trade at inflated levels. Such statements, which are particularized in the complaint, were materially false and misleading because, contrary to the picture painted by defendants, the Company was suffering from severe operational and manufacturing deficiencies and lacked the systems and processes necessary to issue accurate and reliable financial forecasts.

snip

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060106005625&newsLang=en

Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x408124

[Wilms]

24. Bureaucracy shouldn't block voting paper trail

Bureaucracy shouldn't block voting paper trail

Michael Mayo

Published January 8, 2006

Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes said her office recently conducted a voter survey, and a whopping 70 percent of respondents said they want a paper trail for electronic voting machines.

In election circles, that's known as a landslide.

snip

Cobb, a major Republican donor who appears to be the latest in Bush's line of partisan picks for what should be a neutral office, declined an interview request on Friday. When Cobb was introduced as Glenda Hood's replacement last month, she sidestepped the paper trail issue, saying she needed more time to study it.

What's to study? It's pretty simple: If the technology exists, use it.

Without a paper trail, our voting process becomes another faith-based initiative. And an election without cynicism or suspicion of chicanery doesn't have a prayer.

snip

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-mayocol08jan08,0,4137122.column

Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x408245

[Wilms]

25. Commentary: Hanging chads were better than this

Commentary: Hanging chads were better than this

Friday, January 6, 2006 12:49 PM PST

Tom Elias

There's no longer any doubt about it: Hanging chads were far, far better than what could ensue if California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson this spring certifies the two most common brands of electronic voting machines for use in this year's elections and many more to come.

Hanging chads, of course, were the tiny pieces of cardboard that sometimes refused to drop off when voters used punch cards to express electoral choices. There were common everywhere in America until the aftermath of the 2000 election, when enough chads were left hanging in Florida to determine the outcome of a presidential election.

Since that time, chads and the cards from which they can hang have become dinosaurs. Electronic machines from optical scans to touch screens have superceded punch-card voting. For all the new machines, state rules now require a paper record of each vote which can be checked by the voter, but is kept by county officials for use in case of a recount.

In the changeover to more sophisticated machines, two brands became dominant, both through marketing and competitive bidding. Those brands are Diebold, whose machines are now used in 17 California counties - even though the Diebold TSx, one of the firm's most popular and cost-effective models, still awaits California's certification - and Elections Systems & Software (ES&S).

snip

http://www.ridgecrestca.com/articles/2006/01/06/news/columnists/colo01.txt

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