Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, for FRIDAY, 1/20/06

[FogerRox]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Truthseekers, be the media

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

PLEASE, please

will you please:

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=203x397093

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

for MAC users-- IIRC its hold down control- and click on the image to view its source.

[FogerRox]

1. NJ, Newark previews electronic voting machine: Sequoia Advantage

Newark previews electronic voting machine

But city council is looking to buy time to implement the touch-screen device
Thursday, January 19, 2006
BY JEFFERY C. MAYS
Star-Ledger Staff
Essex County Superintendent of Elections Carmine Casciano brought one of the new electronic voting machines to the Newark City Council for a demonstration yesterday. He said that starting Feb. 1 voters in the five municipalities with municipal elections will be trained to use the new machines.

Three of Essex's largest cities, Newark, Irvington and Orange, are looking for a delay on a state law that requires the use of the new electronic voting machines after Jan. 1. Belleville has also passed a supporting resolution. The April school board elections are the first municipal elections of the year, followed by mayoral and city council races in May.

>snip<


A poll worker would be behind the machine viewing a display to make sure the vote is registered before authorizing the next voter. The machine calculates the total number of votes registered after each vote. Data is stored in several places to prevent the loss of information.

>snip<

Members of the Essex County Voting Task Force and other activists opposed the purchase of the Sequoia machines because they said they can be hacked into and are prone to computer glitches. The lack of a certifiable paper trail such as a paper receipt for voters was also raised as an issue.

>snip<


Jeffery C. Mays covers Newark City Hall. He can be reached at [e-mail] or [phone].

rest of story

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1137649305316870.xml?starledger?nex&coll=1&thispage=1

[garybeck]

2. I thought NJ has a paper ballot law now? RogerFox, please chime in?

There's a thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=409212&mesg_id=409565



that says

NJ had passed a VVPB law w/o an audit

how could they be considering DREs if they have a VVPB law?

i'm confused.

[FogerRox]

4. NJ VVPB law goes into effect 2008

Essex County just signed a contract to buy about 700 Sequoia Advanatges w/o a VVPB printer. If that sounds real effin dumb it is. If that sounds like a reason to sue, it is.

[FogerRox]

3. A Trojan Horse unleashes thousands of illegitimate votes and disappears

BLUE MASS GROUP.com

PROBLEM OF ELECTION RIGGING NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY ENOUGH (0.00 / 0)
On the subject of our election system and what has happened to it in recent years, here is a magnificent article by Cheryl Gerber that shows what we are facing:
Arlene Montemarano
Silver Spring, Maryland
===============

Imagine this: A Trojan Horse unleashes thousands of illegitimate votes and disappears without a trace, election commissioners bypass laws, uninvestigated computer glitches and easily picked locks in voting systems, no federal oversight holding e-voting vendors accountable—yes folks, elections can be stolen.
Since the 2000 Presidential election, problems stemming from the use of electronic voting machines have called into question the foundation of American democracy—the US voting system. At the forefront of concerns are security issues surrounding the use of Direct Recording Electronics , better known as touch screen computer voting machines, and their lack of a paper trail in the form of an auditable paper ballot. Widely reported irregularities from voting districts around the US have alarmed many and opened claims of stolen elections. Some even doubt the legitimacy of the outcome of recent US elections. A team of top computer scientists has been working diligently to resolve the many underlying design problems in the e-voting system that leave it open to cheating. Stalled by the federal government, and with doubts about e-voting continuing to spread, these scientists have instead turned to state governments and the National Science Foundation for help.

"Maryland, where I live, uses Diebold DREs, which are an ideal opportunity for cheating," said Dr. Avi Rubin, Technical Director, Information Security Institute, Johns Hopkins University. "In fact, you couldn't come up with a better opportunity for cheating. There's no ability to audit or recount, and the entire process takes place inside the computer, which is not transparent."

In May 2004, Rubin co-authored an analysis of electronic voting systems, raising concerns about lack of security, for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional organization for technical standards. He also served in 2004 as a poll worker and election judge in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he lives. These and other experiences have only served to raise his concerns about the possibility for cheating via the use of electronic voting machines.


more-

http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showComment.do?commentId=4357

[FogerRox]

5. Glenview Il., New equipment to aid disabled in voting booth

New equipment to aid disabled in voting booth

BY JOHN ROSZKOWSKI
STAFF WRITER

Krista Erickson of Mundelein is blind and has always needed help voting on Election Day.

>snip<
Lake County

Lake County purchased 300 new ES&S AutoMark voting machines for each of the county's polling places at a cost of $2.2 million, most of which will be paid for by a federal grant.

>snip<

Cook County

Cook County Clerk David Orr said the county received about $24 million in federal grant money to replace the outdated punch card voting system with optical scan technology, as well as purchase touch screen equipment with the latest features for voters with disabilities. All of the new equipment was purchased from Sequoia Voting Systems of Oakland, Calif.

>snip<

McHenry County

McHenry County has entered into a contract with Fidlar Election Co. of Rock Island to purchase 170 touch screen voting machines to meet the Help America Vote Act requirements, said McHenry County Clerk Kathy Schultz. She said machines will be located at each of the county's 142 polling places, as well as at off-site early voting locations.

>snip<


rest of story-

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/wi/01-19-06-806077.html

[FogerRox]

6. Oregon ballot issue pushes biofuels

Oregon ballot issue pushes biofuels

The Associated Press

PORTLAND — A fourth of the gasoline sold in Oregon by the year 2025 would have to be biofuels under a ballot measure filed Thursday with the state Elections Division.

The initiative is sponsored by former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber and Sen. Ben Westlund, R-Tumalo.

Westlund is considering a run for governor as an independent.

The measure is based on a biofuels bill that failed in the Legislature last year.

That bill would have provided tax incentives for producing biofuels, which are renewable, plant-based motor-vehicle fuels.

The measure got bogged down in the 2005 session's final hours during disputes over new auto-emission standards and pollution-control tax breaks.

Supporters of the initiative need to collect 75,000 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002750606_biodiesel20m.html

[FogerRox]

7. COLUMBUS, Ohio, Legislature looking at ballot issue to redraw districts

Associated Press

Legislature looking at ballot issue to redraw districtsAssociated PressCOLUMBUS, Ohio - The Legislature is exploring a way to get an issue that would redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries for the 2012 elections on the ballot in November, House Speaker Jon Husted said Thursday.

Legislative leaders said they wanted to change the rules after a ballot issue that would have authorized it was soundly defeated last November. Currently, a board of the governor, auditor and secretary of state draw legislative districts, while the Legislature draws congressional districts.

Husted said he's concerned that which ever party has control after this year's election will not want to relinquish power. Republicans currently control both the board and the Legislature.
"I believe we have to do this this year or it's lost for another decade," Husted, a suburban Dayton Republican, said.

more-

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/13665848.htm

[FogerRox]

8. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Judge Upholds Stem Cell Ballot Measure

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Cole County judge on Thursday upheld the language of a ballot proposal to protect stem cell research and treatments in Missouri, rejecting a claim that the measure's stated ban on human cloning is misleading.


Supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment, who have already raised more than $4 million toward the effort, immediately said they would start gathering the petition signatures needed to get it on the November ballot.

The ballot measure, entitled the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, includes language that would "ban human cloning."


But opponents, including a University of Utah neurobiologist and the Roman Catholic bishop for Kansas City, argued in court that the title and ballot language are deceptive for failing to classify a certain form of stem cell research, known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, as the scientific equivalent of human cloning.

>snip<

more-

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/6249611/detail.html

[FogerRox]

9. Texas, Hopkins' Last Chance For Ballot Lies With Texas Supreme Court

by Bob Dunn, Jan 19, 10:15 am


An appeals court’s denial of Fort Bend County District Clerk Glory Hopkins’ attempt to get on the ballot ran “against the uncontroverted evidence,” Hopkins’ attorney states in a petition filed Thursday with the Texas Supreme Court.

The petition before the high court, seeking a writ of mandamus directing Fort Bend County Republican Party Chairman Eric Thode to place her name on the ballot, represents Hopkins’ last chance to run again for the position she’s held for nearly 20 years.

Hopkins’ candidate application and filing fee, sent by certified mail, didn’t arrive at Thode’s Houston work office by the 6 p.m. Jan. 2 filing deadline. That’s because, Hopkins has argued, she relied on an email message Thode sent to candidates on Dec. 5 that provided his work address – with an incorrect zip code – as a place to mail applications.

Attorney Dick Tate twice petitioned the 14th District Court of Appeals in Houston on Hopkins’ behalf – on Jan. 6 and again Jan. 13 – seeking to get on the Republican ballot.


more-

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/611/hopkins-last-chance-for-ballot-slot-lies-with-texas-supreme-court

[FogerRox]

10. Assitant Sec., Treasury for Reagan: Paul Roberts, on Mark Crispin Miller

Thanks to Bradblog for this story

http://www.bradblog.com

Republican and true Conservative (as opposed to today's majority of phony "conservatives"), Paul Craig Roberts, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and National Review, as well Ronald Reagan's one-time Assistant Sec. of the U.S. Treasury, discusses "Evidence of a Stolen Election" in his latest column out today.

Unlike the bulk of his media and political brethren, clearly Roberts "gets it" as he writes, in review of Mark Crispin Miller's landmark election theft tome, FOOLED AGAIN, "now that Republicans have learned that they can use the electronic machines to control election outcomes, the disenfranchisement of Democrats is likely to be a permanent feature of American 'democracy.'"

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.

>snip<

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.

>snip<

Some of Miller’s evidence is circumstantial. However, he documents widespread Republican dirty tricks and foul play. The media’s indifference to a stolen election burns Miller as much as the stolen election itself.

Miller is not alone in his concerns. The non-partisan US Government Accountability Office (GAO) in response to congressional request investigated a number of complaints regarding the electronic voting machines.

more-

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

[Wilms]

11. NM: Judge releases county clerks from voting-machine case

Judge releases county clerks from voting-machine case

By Julie Ann Grimm The New Mexican

January 19, 2006

A lawsuit filed on behalf of voters who claim touch-screen voting machines are unreliable will go forward following a state District Court judge’s denial of several motions from the defendants, including the secretary of state and several county clerks.

However, Las Vegas state District Judge Eugenio Mathis released the county clerks from the case during a Wednesday hearing, said John Boyd, the plaintiffs’ attorney. Boyd said the clerks agreed to abide by the outcome of the case against the secretary of state, who oversees all elections.

Mathis also 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 voters, who cast ballots on touch-screen voting machines during the 2004 general election, said the machines shouldn’t be used in the state’s elections because their results are not verifiable. Some voters have said the machines appeared to have malfunctioned by recording votes for a candidate for which they did not cast a vote.

snip

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/38113.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409928#top

[Wilms]

12. The Crisis Papers: The Gulliberal Problem

The Gulliberal Problem

Ernest Partridge, Co-Editor

The Crisis Papers

January 17, 2006

snip

Surely one of the most amazing aspects of the election fraud issue is how so many otherwise smart liberals and progressives fail to see what is right in front of their faces; namely that the key Congressional races in 2002 were stolen, that the 2004 Presidential election was stolen, and that, if business as usual prevails, the elections of 2006 and 2008 will be stolen. The voting machines are built by major Bush contributors, his “pioneers,” and their employees write the secret software and count the votes. When asked to provide proof that the vote totals are accurate, they can supply no proof, simply because that’s the way the machines are built and the software is written. “Trust us!” is the only “proof” that they can offer.

snip

Meet the “gulliberals” (pronounced GULlibruls): prominent Democrats, liberals, and progressives who have ears to hear but hear not, eyes to see but see not, and brains to understand but will not. Included among the gulliberals are Al Franken, Paul Begalla, Arianna Huffington, David Corn, Bernie Sanders, some writers for Salon.com and Mother Jones; admirable individuals all, who are laboring valiantly to overthrow the GOP in the next (alleged) election. Yet they are also unwitting allies with the Republican National Committee, as they say, with the GOP, “the elections were honest, so get over it!”

Add to the roster of the gulliberals, every Democrat in the Senate, and with the honorable exception of Rush Holt, John Conyers, the Congressional Black Caucus, and a very few others, virtually every Democrat in the House. Also such allied organizations such as People for the American Way and Move-On. All these prattle on about how we must all work together to take over the Congress "next time," as if they were preparing for and facing a fair contest.

So once again, Lucy props up the football, and says, "c'mon, Charlie Brown, let's see if you can kick it this time."

What's wrong with these people?!

snip

http://www.crisispapers.org/essays6p/gulliberal.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409929

[Wilms]

13. Election Officials in Arizona Refuse to Answer Senate Questions

Election Officials in Arizona Refuse to Answer Senate Questions

By Michael Shelby, Arizona Citizens for Election Reform

January 19, 2006

snip

The hearing, scheduled by Senator Jack Harper (R) Chairman of the Senate Committee On Government Accountability And Reform, sought to clarify election integrity issues (see, Election Integrity in Arizona is a Bi-Partisan Reform) involving mysteriously appearing votes in a 2004 Republican primary election. Chairman Harper’s subpoena overcame a questionable refusal to appear by County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Defying the subpoena issued by Chairman Harper could have brought contempt charges against Thomas and Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell and Elections Director Karen Osborne whom Thomas had earlier enjoined not to appear.

snip

Why did three senior Maricopa County elections officials, one elected and two appointed, refuse to answer the essential questions of a Senate Committee On Governmental Accountability And Reform? What are they trying to hide, here? During the questioning, the requirements on how long ballots must be retained were discussed. For county elections the law states that the ballots must be saved for six-months, for federal elections, 22 months. So, the ballots are still available … or are they? No one is allowed to inspect them, to see if they are in the vault (which they aren’t) or in a secret secure location with Vice-President Cheney or where the Hell they are! Does the fact that there are other more significant candidates and offices on the ballot than a little ole’ Republican primary in a largely yuppie filled district have any sinister significance? Could other races be thrown into suspicion? Why is newly elected Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas willing to undergo closer and closer scrutiny and put his reputation on the line to block a puny primary recount? Why didn’t Senate President Bennet just pony up for the project in the first place since it was clearly a good governance issue that could be politically advantageous and available on the cheap? We are not much closer to answers to those questions, but we may be uncovering a larger truth as we step back to “see the whole board!”

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=806&Itemid=113





Ballot Boxing

GOP honchos keep hiding the truth about election foul-ups, as it's learned that local ballots may be stored illegally

By John Dougherty

Published: Thursday, January 19, 2006

snip

It's difficult to say which would be worse news for Maricopa County and the state of Arizona. Although the results of the election cannot be overturned, because they have been certified, voting machine failure might signal that an overhaul of voting machinery is warranted. As for ballot tampering, it is an illegal act that should land whoever is responsible in jail.

But possibly the most distressing aspect of Senator Harper's quest to find out what went wrong in a local election is that certain Republican political leaders have done everything in their power to keep the public from finding out what happened.

snip

Senate President Ken Bennett and Speaker of the House Jim Weiers have repeatedly tried to derail Senator Harper's investigation into District 20. Sources told New Times that Weiers may have offered Harper a favor last June to back off from his investigation. Weiers denies making the offer, but Harper tells me he's willing to swear under oath that it occurred.

snip

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has taken extraordinary steps to hide the underlying causes of the District 20 fiasco. Thomas conducted a "preliminary" investigation into District 20 last spring at the request of Maricopa County Republican party leaders. His investigators discovered extremely damaging evidence of problems inside the county elections department. They found that the county's voting machines may have failed during the 2004 primary, and they discovered evidence of witness tampering ("All Bark and No Bite," July 14).

snip

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2006-01-19/news/dougherty.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409924

[Wilms]

15. Election Fraud Cover-Up/Mystery/Circus with Potential National Ramificatio

Election Fraud Cover-Up/Mystery/Circus with Potential National Ramifications, Continues to Unravel in Arizona

439 Ballots Appear Out of Nowhere during 2004 Republican Primary State Senate Recount, Incident Explodes into Bizarre Public Spectacle of Alleged Election Fraud, Failed Electronic Voting Machines and Elected State Officials All Twisting in the Wind...

What are Election Officials in Maricopa County, AZ Hiding and Why Will They Not Allow the Inspection of Ballots Stored (illegally, secretly and mysteriously) in an Unguarded, Non-Air Conditioned Cement Blockhouse Near the Airport?

by Brad

1/20/2006

Election Reform advocates have been turning out in droves at several recent public hearings in State Senates around the country. This week, official hearings were held in both California and...

Election Reform advocates have been turning out in droves at several recent public hearings in State Senates around the country. This week, official hearings were held in both California and Arizona concerning the unparralleled mess each state now finds itself in regarding Elections and Electronic Voting.

We'll cover the hearings in California shortly, where, as in Arizona, Election Reform advocates (read: citizens who have little to gain other than the hope for the ultimate restoration of integrity to this nation's democracy) filled the galleries to capacity in order to witness the public spectacle of public election officials sputtering, spewing and admitting to all in attendance that they haven't a clue how to manage the mess that is referred to as "democracy" in America.

(On a side note: One can't help but wonder if we'd even be in the predicament we're in today, were it not for the complete abdication of duty by the majority of the mainstream media who has all but ignored virtually every facet of this issue -- beyond the cursory and insulting smears to marginalize such issues as little more than "conspiracy theory". There is no longer any doubt that those of us who understood the issues at stake here long ago were 100% right it. As well, those who marginalized and dismissed us and the matter were 100% wrong. In the bargain, the delinquency in reporting on these matters in any substantial way has resulted in an unprecedented confidence crisis in our democracy by the electorate. Such a crisis threatens our way of governance in ways that Osama bin Laden could never have conceived of, much less found a way to cause himself.)

Anyway, onto the most recent revealing and remarkable chapter in Arizona's Shameful Republican vs. Republican Primary Electoral Fraud Circus in Maricopa County's, Legislative District 20...

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002307.htm#More


GD Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x194501

[Wilms]

14. Thoughts and coverage on yesterday's voting systems Senate hearing

Kim Alexander's Weblog

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Thoughts and coverage on yesterday's voting systems Senate hearing

Yesterday I, along with about 100 other folks attended a hearing at the Capitol chaired by State Senator Debra Bowen to examine the status of counties' compliance with state security and federal accessibility laws.

The first part of the hearing consisted primarily of Senator Bowen asking very specific questions of the Secretary of State's key staff people working on voting system certification. One important exchange was over the security of the systems. Senator Bowen asked Bill Wood, Undersecretary of State, what methods, besides testing and certification, the state has to ensure the security of voting systems? Sen. Bowen and Mr. Wood discussed the state's manual audit requirement, and Mr. Wood assured the senator that Secretary of State Bruce McPherson was a supporter of the paper trail and does not oppose using the paper trail as the audit document (Bowen was the author of the bill enacted last year, SB 370, that mandates the paper trail be used to publicly audit software vote counts).

Senator Bowen also asked about the status of the hack test that had been previously reported would take place with Harri Hursti. The Secretary of State is no longer pursuing this test and instead has sent the Diebold code in question back to the Independent Testing Authorities for further review. The Secretary of State's staff also reported that their own team of independent computer scientists, including professors at UC Davis and UC Berkeley and CVF Board member David Jefferson, would be reviewing the Diebold code as well, and recently published a series of documents explaining the certification process and timeline. http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_vs.htm

The most troubling news coming out of yesterday's hearing was that some county registrars are considering seeking a delay in implementing the state's voter verified paper audit trail law. Elaine Ginnold, acting registrar of voters for Alameda county, said if they fail to get the Legislature to approve an all vote-by-mail election for June, the county would consider seeking "judicial or admininstrative relief" to avoid complying with the paper trail requirement. Ira Rosenthal, registrar for Solano county, echoed this sentiment. Senator Bowen indicated she didn't think this was likely to happen, but as is well known, many registrars are not supportive of the paper trail requirement and it's not surprising that the resistance continues.

snip/links

http://calvoter.org/news/blog/index.html


Discussion/other articles

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x409912

[FogerRox]

16. wilms-- havin my back again-- thanks for the help

[Wilms]

17. .

:patriot: