Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Thursday 1/19/06

[Wilms]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

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 new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

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.

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

[Wilms]

1. PA: Concerns aired over paperless voting - County urged to not rush

Wed, Jan. 18, 2006

Concerns aired over paperless voting
County urged to not rush into electronic system

By Lara Brenckle
[e-mail]

BELLEFONTE -- A group of people that included elected officials, a poll worker and a member of the League of Women Voters called on county commissioners Tuesday to resist pressure to rush to buy electronic voting machines.

They asked the county not to buy an electronic voting system unless it would provide a paper trail that would allow votes to be audited.

The problem is that Pennsylvania rules won't allow counties to use electronic machines that leave a paper trail. And the county has only a little time left to choose a new voting system if it is to comply with a federal law that aims to eliminate punch card ballots by the May 16 primary.

Commissioners Chairman Chris Exarchos said the county is investigating the possibility of leasing optical scan equipment, an older technology but the only one certified by the state that permits a paper trail, as a stopgap measure.

snip

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/13649656.htm

[Wilms]

2. PA: Lawsuit aimed at electronic voting

Wed, Jan. 18, 2006

Lawsuit aimed at electronic voting

By Nancy Petersen
Inquirer Staff Writer

A citizens group in Bucks County filed a lawsuit yesterday in Commonwealth Court hoping to throw a wrench into the county's plans to replace its lever voting machines in time for the May 16 primary.

The action, filed by the Coalition for Voting alleges that the state is using inconsistent standards to certify which new computerized voting systems can be purchased by local counties. The suit claims the inconsistency is unconstitutional.

The group is essentially asking the court to waive the May deadline for getting a new voting system in operation, the group's Doylestown attorney, Lawrence Otter, said.

"We want the status quo preserved for the May 16 primary," Otter said. "I don't want to see the county get rushed into switching to a new system that is unreliable, and that is the most charitable description I have." The lawsuit could affect 23 other counties in the state that use lever voting systems.

snip

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/philadelphia_county/philadelphia/13648939.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409809

[Wilms]

3. AZ: Senate ethics panel clears Harper in vote recount case

Senate ethics panel clears Harper in vote recount case

Chip Scutari
The Arizona Republic

Jan. 17, 2006 12:00 AM

A Republican-controlled Senate Ethics Committee dismissed a complaint against GOP Sen. Jack Harper on Monday, quashing a potential inquiry into his investigation of a legislative recount in a 2004 primary race.

Harper's critics had said that it appeared he let a local newspaper get a scoop because it paid for the investigation.

Harper, of Surprise, has been trying to investigate the recount in the District 20 primary contest. New Times, a weekly newspaper, agreed to pay up to $3,000 for a University of Iowa computer-science expert to examine voting machines used in the race. The expert, Douglas W. Jones, was allowed to inspect the machines last month as a result of Harper's subpoenas. The results of Jones' examination were first published Wednesday on the New Times Web site, about eight hours before senators received a copy of Jones' work.

snip

Harper has said the U.S. Justice Department should investigate the disputed election, in which John McComish defeated Anton Orlich after a recount found more than 400 new votes and reversed the initial outcome. Harper said he was disturbed by the possibility that someone tampered with ballots cast in the GOP primary.

snip

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0117harper17.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409640

[Wilms]

9. AZ: Harper, Thomas spar over election

Harper, Thomas spar over election

Senate hearing ends peevishly between officials

Jan. 19, 2006

Just because it's called a "hearing" doesn't mean they plan on listening . . .

The enmity between state Sen. Jack Harper and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas reached new heights Wednesday at a hearing on voting-machine irregularities.

Harper, who had called Thomas to testify about the September 2004 District 20 primary, wound up adjourning the meeting as Thomas was in mid-sentence.

It was the officials' first public meeting since they began clashing last year over access to ballots from the disputed Republican primary between John McComish and Anton Orlich. McComish won after a recount found nearly 500 new votes and reversed the initial outcome.

Harper, R-Surprise, wants to see the ballots to rule out fraud as an explanation for all the new votes. Thomas has blasted Harper's methodology, which has included handwritten subpoenas and funding from New Times, the weekly newspaper.

snip

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0119political-insider19.html

[Wilms]

4. DNA testing planned for absentee ballot

DNA testing planned for absentee ballot

An Appalachia resident said she was offered cigarettes and fried pork skins for her vote.

By Laurence Hammack

Thursday, January 19, 2006

In a town election where some votes were reportedly bought and others were stolen, whoever licked the envelope containing a disputed absentee ballot might also have sealed his own fate.

Authorities have obtained a saliva sample from a supporter of one of the candidates for Appalachia Town Council in May 2004. They hope to use DNA testing to determine whether the man sealed an absentee ballot that was reportedly taken from a voter's mailbox, filled out and fraudulently submitted in her name.

The sample was taken from the man late last year, according to a search warrant filed in Wise County Circuit Court.

The warrant details an encounter between the man and Christina McKinney, the resident of a government-subsidized apartment complex whose allegations of vote buying and ballot theft launched a state police investigation nearly two years ago.

snip

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-48796

[Wilms]

5. Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio, 2004 : A Partial List

January 18, 2006

Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio, 2004 : A Partial List

This post is intended as a resource for those doing factual research on the Ohio election 2004, specifically relating to issues of (a) fraud, (b) disenfranchisment, (c) voter suppression, (d) recount obstruction, and (e) vote machine tampering. It makes no pretense at comprehensiveness, but is merely an attempt to compile links which have been posted on this site which either (1) are themselves primary sources of evidence, or (2) summarize, analyze, or point to, such sources.

The links are listed in reverse chronological order of posting.

They are numbered in reverse numerical order; the first 2 digits of each link refer to the year of posting. (I.e. “0410" is the 10th post in 2004).

A link to this post is at the bottom and can be ascertained by right-clicking the phrase "Permanent Link to this Post". (But please note that it is not "permanent": each time the post is updated in a new month, the 2-digit number for the month changes, and when it is updated in a new year, the 4-digit number for the year changes as well).

For a permanent link that will not change each month, use http://ohioelection2004.com/evidence.htm, which is the identical compilation posted on my web site http://ohioelection2004.com

http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2006/01/evidence-of-fraud-and.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409816

[Wilms]

6. Florida county e-voting system deal nixed

Florida county e-voting system deal nixed

ES&S has decided not to work with elections officials in Leon County

by Marc L. Songini

JANUARY 18, 2006 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Elections officials in Leon County, Fla., are scrambling to find a way to comply with state and federal voting laws now that the vendor from which they had planned to buy handicapped-accessible optical scan election equipment is walking away from the deal.

snip

ES&S's explanation of its decision offered few details. Toward the end of last year, we were presented with the possibility of entering into a long-term relationship with the county, an ES&S spokesman said via e-mail. After a great deal of careful consideration, we made the decision not to enter into an agreement to provide equipment and services to the county. After evaluating all of the information available to us at the time, we determined that we were unlikely to have an effective partnership with the county.

snip

Meanwhile, California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson's office has told all e-voting hardware vendors seeking certification in time for their equipment to be used in the June 2006 elections to have their applications in by the end of this week. The reason is that we have teams standing by, at the ready, but we cannot review or certify any systems which have not been submitted to our office, said a spokeswoman for McPherson. It is one more proactive measure the secretary is taking to get as many systems through the process as possible.

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,107845,00.html

[Wilms]

7. CA Report: Conny McCormack at Valley Grassroots Meeting

Report: Conny McCormack (Registrar/Recorder/County Clerk of Los Angeles County) at Valley Grassroots Meeting

News Story by Sheldon Kadish, member of Valley Grassroots for Democracy

Conny McCormack was a special guest at the Valley Grassroots For Democracy meeting on December 7, 2005 at the Van Nuys state office building. Ms. McCormack is the Registrar/Recorder/County Clerk of Los Angeles County. More than one hundred members and guests attended the meeting.


snip

Michael Jay moderated the Question and Answer part of the program after McCormack made her presentation. The initial group of questions had been prepared in advance based on questions submitted my VGFD members. These were followed by questions asked by people from the audience. The questions revealed much doubt about electronic voting systems and the proprietary software that runs the systems. McCormack said that she is not a technical expert, and she evaded answering several questions. She claimed that she does not favor one voting system over another, but she defended Diebold whenever comments about this vendor were made.

The county is still faced with the problem of selecting a new voting system that will comply with HAVA requirements. There have been several Requests For Proposals and several vendors have submitted proposals. Everything is on hold for now. When requirements are formalized, vendor proposals will be reviewed by technical people from the county Internal Services Department and Ms. McCormack's staff. She does make recommendations, but she stressed that she is only a county employee and that all decisions are made by the supervisors.

snip/transcript

http://www.dpsfv.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=82


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=409746&mesg_id=409746

[Wilms]

8. 'Daily Voting News' For January 18, 2006

January 18, 2006

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002298.htm

[Algorem]

10. OH-Petro wants inquiry into Blackwell campaign tactics

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1137663331189680.xml&coll=2

Thursday, January 19, 2006

-- For the second time in a week, someone is asking for an inquiry into Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's campaign tactics in the race for governor.

Blackwell rival Jim Petro, the Republican attorney general, asked the Ohio Elections Commission in a Wednesday letter whether it is a violation of state election laws for an issue campaign chaired by one gubernatorial candidate to sponsor negative telephone advertising about another.

Without naming Blackwell or the committee he spearheads, Citizens for Tax Reform, Petro campaign manager Bob Paduchik sought advice on the legality of recent phone polling by the anti-tax group that called Petro "part of the problem in Columbus."

Among his concerns was that Citizens for Tax Reform, as an issue-advocacy group, can take large individual and corporate donations that a gubernatorial candidate cannot...

[Wilms]

11. Paul Craig Roberts: Evidence of a Stolen Election

Evidence of a Stolen Election

by Paul Craig Roberts

January 19, 2006

As coincidence would have it, Mark Crispin Miller’s new book, Fooled Again (Basic Books), documenting the Republican theft of the 2004 presidential election, arrived in the same mail delivery with the January 12 edition of the Defuniak Springs Herald, the locally owned weekly newspaper in a Florida panhandle county seat.

The Florida panhandle is thorough-going Republican. Even Democrats run as Republicans. Nevertheless, the newspaper’s editor, Ron Kelley, believes that American political life is measured by something larger than party affiliation. In his editorial, "The shepherds and the sheep," Kelley reports that two Florida counties have banned any further use of Diebold voting machines after witnessing a professional demonstration that the machines, contrary to Diebold’s claim, are easily hacked to record votes differently from the way in which they are cast by voters.

The pre-election statement by Diebold’s CEO that he would work to deliver the election to Bush was apparently no idle boast. In five states where the new "foolproof" electronic voting machines were used, the vote tallies differed substantially from the exit polls. Such a disparity is unusual. The chances of exit polls in five states being wrong are no more than one in one million.

Miller describes considerably more election fraud than voting machines programmed to count a proportion of Kerry votes as Bush votes. Voters were disenfranchised in a number of ways. Miller reports incidences of intimidation of, and reduced voting opportunities for, poorer voters who tend to vote Democrat.

snip

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts140.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409837

[Wilms]

12. Vote-PAD Rocks the Disabled Vote

By Kim Zetter

Touch-screen ballot machines billed as the ideal solution for disabled voters are facing unexpected competition from a newly designed system using inexpensive plastic sleeves and paper.

Called the Voting-on-Paper Assistive Device, or Vote-PAD, the device has won high marks from some advocates for the disabled, and has already been selected for use in California's Yolo County in order to meet federal voting-accessibility requirements.

With Vote-PAD, poll workers fit specially designed sleeves over paper ballots. Audio instructions guide visually impaired voters to bumps on the plastic next to each race. Holes in the sleeve corresponding to ovals on the ballot allow voters to mark the ballot with a pencil or pen without going outside the oval. Afterward, voters can run a specially designed LED wand over the ovals to verify their choices.

"This is a very generic, very simple solution," said Freddie Oakley, Yolo County's registrar of voters. "We don't have to train poll workers to do anything complicated."

snip

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70036-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_4


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409849

[Wilms]

16. Minnesota: Voting Devices Tested

Minnesota: Voting Devices Tested

By Chuck Campbell, Access Press

January 19, 2006

This article appeared in Access World on January 10, 2006. It is reposted here with permission of Access Press and the author.


A mock election testing the Vote-PAD Voting-on-Paper Assistive Device was held December 15, 2005 at the Minnesota State Office Building. Vote-PADs brochure touts its ability to facilitate “Independent Voting for People with Disabilities,” describing the system as: “(A)n inexpensive, non-electronic, voter assist alternative that helps most people with visual or dexterity impairments to vote independently.” The brochure’s background section states: “Some people with visual or dexterity impairments cannot mark a paper ballot without assistance. The Federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) requires that every polling place must offer a method by which people with disabilities can vote independently.” Vote-PAD’s owner, Ellen Theisen, said she “invented the system with input and cooperation from people with disabilities and people interested in transparent elections.”

Rick Cardenas, a person with quadriplegia who has limited use of his hands, was one of the first to try the Vote-PAD system. As co-director of Advocating Change Together (ACT), which facilitates self-advocacy with others who have disabilities, Cardenas has both a personal and professional interest in accessible voting systems.

“Make sure the holes are open —some of them weren’t open,” said Cardenas, referring to the Vote-PADs transparent ballot sleeve, which is designed to protect the ballot from stray marks and has holes where a voter can mark choices. Other than the closed holes, Cardenas said the system worked well. “The desk level is a good height; a lot of times election judges push you over to the accessible voting booth, which is too low. The guide makes it much easier than free handing.”

“It’s a really good idea to test run the Vote-PAD system,” Cardenas said. “I’ve been able to vote independently by marking the circles, but the Vote-PAD is quicker and easier. We’ll see if it works and elects the people I want to elect,” Cardenas added with a smile.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=751&Itemid=26

[Algorem]

13. OH-New Zogby Poll Shows Blackwell Beats Strickland

http://www.kenblackwell.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=306

Zogby Poll Shows Blackwell Beats Strickland

“Conclusive Evidence” Blackwell is the Best for GOP in November

(Columbus, January 19, 2006) In dramatic results that could settle the Ohio GOP primary, the Wall Street Journal’s Zogby Poll today showed Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell leading Democrat Congressman Ted Strickland in a head to head general election survey by 4.5% (45.9% to 41.4%). The poll showed Attorney General Jim Petro trailing Strickland by 7.5% (41.8% to 34.3%) with the third GOP candidate, Auditor Betty Montgomery, trailing Strickland by more than 10% (42.8% to 32.5%). The survey had a margin of error of 2.8% (plus or minus) and was conducted January 6-12, 2006.

“This is conclusive evidence that Ken Blackwell is the best candidate to represent the GOP in the fall. It’s time to clear the field and prepare for November,” said Blackwell campaign manager Mike Hernon.

“Ken’s strong positions have clearly won over Ohio Republicans, with 85% of GOP support in the head to head with Strickland compared to Petro’s weak 67% and Montgomery’s paltry 61% support among GOP rank and file,” Hernon added.

“This survey also confirms the Rasmussen Report of January 3 that Blackwell is the strongest Republican candidate, and that Petro’s tv campaign bounce has already faded,” Hernon concluded...


Ohio forum-

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=172x11036


http://www.ohioccw.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3571

"The results of the latest Zogby poll, released today, showed Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell leading Democrat Congressman Ted Strickland in a head to head general election survey by 4.5% (45.9% to 41.4%).

The poll showed Attorney General Jim Petro trailing Strickland by 7.5% (41.8% to 34.3%) with the third GOP candidate, Auditor Betty Montgomery, trailing Strickland by more than 10% (42.8% to 32.5%). The survey had a margin of error of 2.8% (plus or minus) and was conducted January 6-12, 2006.

Blackwell also did the best of the GOP candidates against all other potential Democratic candidates, including State Senator Eric Fingerhut. Blackwell beat Fingerhut by 7.6% (47.3% to 39.7%).

After a flurry of recent television advertising, Petro had pulled into a statistical tie for the GOP nomination with Blackwell in some polls, but that effect may be waning. There are, however, many months of campaiging still ahead. "

[Wilms]

14. The Harri Hursti Hack and its Importance to our Nation

The Harri Hursti Hack and its Importance to our Nation

By Susan Pynchon, Florida Coalition for Fair Elections

January 19, 2006

I was one of ten people present at the "hack" of the Leon County, Florida voting system, which took place on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 around 4:30 in the afternoon at the county elections warehouse. Leon County's voting system is the Diebold Accu-Vote OS 1.94w (optical scan).

The Leon County Supervisor of Elections, Ion Sancho, authorized a "test" of his Diebold voting system to see if election results could be altered using only a memory card. Harri Hursti, a computer programmer from Finland facilitated the test and it has come to be known as the "Harri Hursti Hack."

Following is a description of that hack and its significance for our nation, which I hope will correct much of the misinformation circulating regarding this event.

snip

Beyond this, however, what is the real significance of the "Harri Hursti hack?" There are several answers to that question.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=798&Itemid=51


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409859

[Wilms]

15. New Mexico Lawsuit Moves Forward

New Mexico Lawsuit Moves Forward

By Warren Stewart, director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA

January 19, 2006

Plaintiffs in the Lopategui lawsuit seeking to bar the state of New Mexico from using Sequoia Edge touchscreen machines scored a significant victory yesterday. District Judge Eugenio Mathis denied a motion for summary judgment from the Secretary of State’s Office that sought to dismiss the complaint brought by a dozen individual New Mexico voters, Voter Action New Mexico and the Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment.

The Santa Fe New Mexican quoted John Boyd, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs explaining that “it means we will have the chance to prove that those machines are unreliable, and we believe we can do that”.

Mathis granted twin motions to dismiss filed by attorneys representing county clerks in Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera and nearly a dozen others. In granting those motions, the judge stipulated that counties are bound by any actions that may be taken regarding the secretary of state, who oversees elections in New Mexico. This ruling is more complex, but just as positive according to the lawyers for the plaintiffs. In ruling in favor of the county clerks’ request he has shifted the responsibility entirely to Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.

At a press conference last week, Governor Bill Richardson called on the state legislature to mandate a uniform paper based optical scan voting system statewide. Vigil-Giron reportedly supports this move by Richardson, and her State Election Director Ernest Marquez, who represented her at the press conference, said that if the legislature moves quickly, such a system could be in place in time for the November elections.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=793&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409865

[Wilms]

17. VoteTrustUSA: Chaos in Connecticut

Chaos in Connecticut

By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA

January 19, 2006

State Back To Square One But this Time They Have Technology Board's Recommendations For Guidance

Just what’s going on in Connecticut?

Last week, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz announced that that the machines the state was intending to use in this year’s election are not qualified to the federal standards that Connecticut requires. The Attorney General is investigating the possibility of suing the vendor, Connecticut-based Danaher Corporation, and in the meantime the state has announced its intention to use its ancient lever machines for this year’s elections while they start the entire procurement process over again.

So here we are, back at square one - just months before the primary elections.

The state had experienced difficulty in finding a vendor who could satisfy both the state’s requirement for a full-face ballot and Bysiewicz dogged determination to purchase direct record electronic machines. And then there was that new state law requiring a voter verified paper record of every vote that Bysiewicz had fought relentlessly – well, until it became clear that the proposal was headed for unanimous approval in the state legislature.

(Of course, as TrueVoteCT has pointed out relentlessly, a paper ballot optical scan system would easily meet all these requirements and cost a lot less too but until last November, she wouldn’t even allow townships to consider a paper based system.)

State officials maintain that a letter from the Department of Justice assured them that the Department would overlook the fact that Connecticut had already accepted federal funds earmarked for machine upgrades, with the stipulation that the new systems had to be in place in time for the 2006 elections.

The letter actually said nothing of the sort.

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=792&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409869

[Wilms]

18. NASDAQ Computer Error Screws Up Stock Price Listings

NASDAQ Computer Error Screws Up Stock Price Listings

Contributed by Carlo on Thursday, January 19th, 2006 @ 02:50PM

from the you-still-can't-afford-google dept.

Computer problems at the Nasdaq led to incorrect stock quotes being displayed on major financial news sites, after a glitch caused the wrong closing prices to be posted for a number of NYSE-listed stocks on Wednesday.

This means that investors may have seen quotes showing certain stock prices to be up, when they were actually down, and vice versa.

This isn't the first time computer problems at the Nasdaq have caused problems. There's growing interest among major stock traders in developing alternative trading platforms to hedge against the Nasdaq and the NYSE raising fees as the market shrinks into a duopoly following buyouts by the two of electronic trading networks; more technology problems at the two giants could hasten moves away from them.

http://techdirt.com/articles/20060119/1357237_F.shtml