Election Reform & Related news for Friday, 1-27-06

[FogerRox]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

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.


TO all readers--- Please Recommend these daily news threads-- everyday you are at DU.
These daily threads average about 12 votes for greatest. I implore everyone to PM DUers you know, asking them to recommend each daily thread. 12 votes doesnt get very far on the greatest page.

and dont forget--

[FogerRox]

1. Bush makes the best of ballot box blow

Bush makes the best of ballot box blow
By Alec Russell in Washington
(Filed: 27/01/2006)

President George W Bush insisted yesterday that the triumph of Hamas at the ballot box was not a kick in the teeth for his foreign policy. But it can hardly have been what he was hoping for when he made his searing pledge last January to spread freedom and democracy to the "darkest corners of the world".

>snip<



Even as Hamas supporters were flooding to polling booths on Wednesday, he was in the Oval Office enthusing to reporters from the Wall Street Journal about his policy.
Iran is one of Hamas's closest allies.

>snip<

Believers in the Republican "realpolitik" school of diplomacy are muttering "we told you so" and "be careful what you wish for".

>snip<

Danielle Pletka, of the American Enterprise Institute, a neo-conservative think tank close to the White House, . . . .

>snip<


"Elections are not democracy. A free environment in which political parties can grow and operate and advertise and use the media . . . .



In next Tuesday's State of the Union address it is a safe bet there will be much talk of how American democracy was not built in a day. But adept as the White House is at polishing its policies, and keen as Americans are to think the best of their president, selling the victory of Hamas as a triumph of democracy may be an order too far.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/27/wmid127.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/01/27/ixportaltop.html
Rest of story--

[FogerRox]

2. Ohio- Full ballot, I.D. rule planned for fall

Full ballot, I.D. rule planned for fall
Friday, January 27, 2006
Reginald Fields
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus

-- Ohio's new voter identification requirement, the most controversial piece of an elections bill that could clear the legislature early next week, would get its first real test during this November's busy election.

Also part of about a dozen amendments to House Bill 3 from a joint legislative committee on Thursday was the elimination of a cap on contributions from government workers to their employers running for office.

The bill is expected to be approved by both chambers Tuesday and then immediately signed into law by the governor, making it the state's new authority for all things elections-related. The bill contains provisions on everything from voting machines to ballot counting to rules for who can serve as petition circulators.

With a 90-day period before a bill becomes law, a signature from the governor by Tuesday would leave just enough time to implement some provisions before the May primary, said Rep. Kevin DeWine, the bill's sponsor.

But the I.D. requirement won't be one of them.

>snip<

The bill also offers whistleblower protection to workers who report violations of that law.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[e-mail], 1-800-228-8272

More-

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1138354353287440.xml&coll=2

[FogerRox]

3. Wisconsin towns put war on ballot

Wisconsin towns put war on ballot

By Tim Jones
Tribune national correspondent
Published January 26, 2006


LA CROSSE, Wis. -- At 79, Al Knorr could fill his days in the recliner with televised junk food, watching Oprah Winfrey and Judge Judy and yelling "big money, big money!" when "Wheel of Fortune" comes on.

But twice every weekday, Knorr dons his black snowmobile mittens and insulated shirt and heads to the busiest intersections in town, where he stands as a solitary street-corner sentry against the Iraq war.

Knorr's cardboard "STOP THE WAR" placard on a wooden broomstick draws honks and thumbs-up signals from some rush-hour drivers and abuse from others, such as the guy in the white pickup truck who rolled down his window, flipped Knorr the finger and called him a piece of excrement.

"It's almost always a young kid in a pickup truck," shrugged the World War II veteran and retired clinical social worker.

more-

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0601260067jan26,1,3166367.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[FogerRox]

4. Assorted news links

Voters unite

http://www.votersunite.org/news.asp

ELection Line

http://electionline.org/ElectionlineToday/tabid/84/Default.aspx

Election Law blog

http://electionlawblog.org/

EFF

http://www.eff.org/news/

Conyers blog

http://www.conyersblog.us/

[FogerRox]

5. CA. Yolo County rejects electronic voting machines

Yolo rejects electronic voting machines
Issues of security, accountability are top reasons for concern
By: Justin Malvin
Issue date: 1/24/06


Yolo County has chosen to reject electronic voting machines in favor of a "zero-tech" ballot upgrade for the 2006 elections.


>snip<

Yolo County Clerk Recorder Freddie Oakley said an investigation of electronic machines for the ballot upgrade revealed its shortcomings.

"It is a huge nightmare," Oakley said. "I was in negotiations for about a year before I said 'I'm done.'"

Oakley said problems arose when Elections Systems and Software, the only manufacturer certified to sell electronic voting systems in California, would not allow the county to monitor or investigate its maintenance technicians.

>snip<

more-

http://www.californiaaggie.com/media/paper981/news/2006/01/24/CityNews/Yolo-Rejects.Electronic.Voting.Machines-1502763.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.californiaaggie.com

[Wilms]

10. Vote-PAD Discussions

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

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x410798

[FogerRox]

6. Ohio- bill overhauling elections passes joint legislative committee

Committee sends bill for floor votes

Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A joint legislative committee voted Thursday to send a bill overhauling how Ohio conducts elections on to the Ohio House and Senate for full votes next week.

The bill would require voters to show identification at the polling place, prohibit the Ohio secretary of state from serving on a campaign or issue committee, other than the secretary's own campaign committee, and increase the number of signatures required to initiate a statewide ballot issue from 100 to 1,000, among other changes.
The committee made some minor changes. It took out a cap in the original bill on the money local officials could receive from their employees for political campaigns.
Instead, the committee expanded the prohibition for state and county elected officials from soliciting donations from employees to include local officials, such as mayors.

The issue had held up passage before the Legislature's late-December break. The House and Senate plan to take up the compromise Tuesday.


The committee also took out a provision that would have delayed the counting of absentee ballots. They will continue to be counted on election night.


more-

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/13720291.htm

[Wilms]

12. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x410977

[FogerRox]

7. Paul Hackett: "I said it. I meant it."

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Dear William,

Last week the Columbus Dispatch published a column about my candidacy that said, in part, the following:

"Asked to define being pro-gay rights, Hackett said anybody who tries to deny homosexuals the same rights, including marriage, as every other citizen is un-American. Are you saying, he was asked, that the 62 percent of Ohioans who voted in November 2004 to constitutionally deny same-sex marriages are un-American?

"If what they believe is that we're going to have a scale on judging which Americans have equal rights, yeah, that's un-American. They've got to accept that. It's absolutely un-American."

Columbus Dispatch (01/15/06)

It wasn't long until the Republican attack machine came after me demanding an apology. They called what I said "hate speech." The Republican Party was up to its old tricks again, using fear to silence opposition. They expected me to back down like too many Democrats have in the past.

My response?

I said it. I meant it. I stand behind it. Equal justice under the law for all regardless of who they are and how they were born is fundamental to our American spirit and our American freedoms. Any person or group that argues that the law should not apply equally to all Americans is, frankly, un-American.

The Republican Party has been hijacked by religious fanatics, who are out of touch with mainstream America. Think of the recent comments by Pat Robertson a religious fanatic by any measure - that the United States should assassinate a democratically elected leader in Venezuela, and that Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment because Sharon wished to trade land for peace.

It was about time someone called it like it is.

If there is one thing the Republicans fear it's a fighting Democrat who won't back down when push comes to shove. They rely on fear and intimidation to divide Americans. I believe that those who would use religion and politics to divide rather than unite Americans should be ashamed.

I will continue to stand up to these extremists who have hijacked the Republican Party and want to divide the country, but I need you by my side to do so. Show the Republican Party that you will not tolerate the extremist behavior of the religious right.

Use the link below to sign a pledge of support. I need to know that you stand with me. I need to know that I can count on you to amplify our message of change. Let the Republican attack machine know you've had enough and refuse to be beaten into submission this time.

http://www.hackettforohio.com/page/petition/istand

I hope I can count on your continued support. Together, we can fight back AND win in 2006.

Sincerely,

Paul Hackett

Paid for by Hackett for Senate
430 Reading Road, #201
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
[phone] office
[phone] fax
www.HackettForOhio.com


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x245992

[Wilms]

8. A Brookings-AEI Election Reform Project Briefing

A Brookings-AEI Election Reform Project Briefing
Brookings and the American Enterprise Institute Launch Joint Election Reform Project

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

The Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) are launching a joint effort to monitor the implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and encourage constructive changes to the law. The Brookings-AEI Election Reform Project will synthesize election-related research and strengthen the link between the research and policy communities by improving the basic understanding of the law and informing additional policy-making. To emphasize the importance of this partnership and its impact on HAVA, Sen. Barack Obama will open the discussion with a keynote address.

Introduced in the wake of the contested 2000 presidential election, HAVA was passed by Congress in 2002. The law provides funds to the states to enable them to replace punch-card voting systems. It has also created an Election Assistance Commission to help administer federal election laws, and has set standards for the administration of federal elections by states and local governments.

The Election Reform Project will track action on amendments to the legislation considered by Congress, and make election-related research widely available to policy-makers at the local, state and federal level. The project's website, www.electionreformproject.org, will include information on voter registration, technology, access, early and absentee voting, provisional balloting, election administration and voting integrity issues.

The launch will include two panels: one on HAVA and its progress since implementation and the other on election reform and what barriers, and successes, lay ahead. Panelists will take questions from the audience at the close of each panel.

Keynote Address:

The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator, Illinois

Panel One: HAVA – How Is It Working?

Moderator:

Norm Ornstein, Resident Scholar, AEI

Panelists:

Paul DeGregorio, Chair, Election Assistance Committee
Doug Chapin, Director, electiononline.org
Honorable Deborah Markowitz, Vermont Secretary of State

Panel Two: Election Reform – Looking Ahead

Moderator:

Thomas Mann, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Panelists:

Michael Alvarez, Professor and Director of the Cal Tech-MIT Voting Technology Project
Rick Hasen, the William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law, Loyola University Law School
Robert Pastor, Executive Director, Carter-Baker Commission
Paul Vinovich, Committee on House Administration Staff

snip

http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20060208.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x410901

[Wilms]

9. Cartoon: Touchscreen Voting - by PotatoStew

http://www.pleadthefirst.com/2006/01/23/cartoon-touchscreen-voting

[Wilms]

11. Progress Report on CA Unity Campaign

Progress Report on CA Unity Campaign

Thursday, January 26, 2006

About six weeks ago, GuvWurld launched a campaign to unite California election reformers. Earlier this week, VelvetRevolution.us posted this endorsement of the effort. I've also teamed up with VR co-founder Brad Friedman at BradBlog.com to present this exclusive footage (Video in Windows Media format...) of a press conference held this past Monday when CA Secretary of State Bruce McPherson visited the office of Humboldt County Clerk/Recorder Carolyn Crnich. McPherson's appearance walked, smelled and shat like a re-appointment campaign, despite assertions to the contrary by his handlers.

There are no major revelations in the video though we did get confirmation that the hack test tentatively scheduled last month did NOT actually take place. This lays to rest a controversy spurred by this erroneous Wired article. According to McPherson, the hack test was not performed because Diebold's equipment was instead referred back to the federal testing labs. That referral came in this letter from McPherson to Diebold citing the presence of interpreter code.

If there is anything worth seeing in this video it may just be McPherson's eyes as I asked him how previously certified machines could still be usable if we now know they contain the interpreter code forbidden by the 2002 Voting System Standards/Guidelines. McPherson easily squirmed out of the obviously loaded question leaving me wishing I had asked it differently.

snip

As a result of my complaint, the Humboldt Grand Jury interviewed me earlier this week. I am not permitted to discuss or write about the meeting but I want to encourage you to submit your own complaint in your county on these same grounds. Is it possible Diebold installed uncertified software in your county's election machines without the knowledge of anyone in your election department? Was there complicity or negligence or what?

snip

http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/2006/01/progress-report-on-ca-unity-campaign.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x410894

[Algorem]

13. Ohio- "IRS vs. Parsley? Not bloody likely. "

http://www.theotherpaper.com/substory1.html

By Erik Johns / January 26, 2006

...Despite the threat of an IRS investigation that could jeopardize his church's tax-exempt status, Pastor Rod Parsley is probably sleeping pretty easy these days.

Richard Wood, a law professor at Capital University and former IRS lawyer, could recall only one case in U.S. history when a church was stripped of its exempt status—and that was for making racially discriminatory remarks during services...

Even if Parsley's accusers make a strong case at the IRS, punishing him would require the approval of an appointee of President Bush, who won re-election in 2004 with considerable help from World Harvest Church...

And as long as Parsley doesn't say "Vote for Ken Blackwell," odds are good he'll continue to piss off liberals from his tax-exempt pulpit.

[Wilms]

14. OpEdNews.Com/Zogby People's Poll Results on Voting Technology

January 27, 2006

OpEdNews.Com/Zogby People's Poll

by Rob Kall

snip

The HAVA-required switch to new voting technology is a hot issue nationwide. In PA, 11.6 of respondents supported electronic only voting and record keeping. 85% supported the requirement of paper ballots-- 73% supporting Electronic voting with paper records and 12% supporting paper ballots or lever machines only. Here is how we phrased the question:


Following are three statements about electronic voting. Please tell me which statement comes closest to your point of view – A, B, or C?

Statement A: Electronic voting is efficient and trustworthy. It will make voting easier, count ballots quicker, and avoid the problems associated with counting paper ballots.

Statement B: Electronic voting is okay only if there is a paper trail, much like ATM machines which provide you with a printed receipt. That way voters can verify that their vote is recorded correctly and there is no risk of the electronic records being lost, hacked or manipulated with no verifiable record.

Statement C: There should be no electronic voting. We should only use voting machines which use paper ballots or old, reliable lever machines.

1. A 11.6% 2. B 73% 3.C 11.6 4. None/other 1.3 5. Not sure 2.5


67% supported government ownership of voting technology and software as opposed to 21% supporting ownership by private corporations.

80% support government ownership and maintenance of voter records and determination of voter eligibility, compared to 13% supporting allowing privately held corporations to perform such "outsourced" work.

snip

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_rob_kall_060127_opednews_com_2f_zogby_.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411013

[Wilms]

15. Merging polling places - acclaimed in CO – sparks opposition elsewhere

electionline Weekly – January 26, 2006

Bigger is Not Always Better: Vote Centers, Consolidation Draw Complaints

Merging polling places - acclaimed in Colorado – sparks opposition elsewhere

By M. Mindy Moretti
electionline.org

Shortly after word got out that Peggy Carrico, Cascade County, Mont. clerk and recorder was considering consolidating some polling places, the angry phone calls and emails started pouring in.

“We got an awful lot of feedback that was negative,” Carrico said. “People here are just not ready to do that. They still want to keep their own neighborhood polling place.”

Like many election officials throughout the country, Carrico was trying to consolidate polling places, instead offering “super precincts” where voters from any part of a jurisdiction could get their specific ballot at a centralized location. However, while “vote centers” or consolidated polling places are successful in some places such as Larimer County, Colo., they are met with resistance in places where voters want to keep voting local.

In order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and save a bit of money, Carrico had proposed moving most voting within the city limits of Great Falls to the Montana ExpoPark because the fairgrounds are accessible and because the county owns the property.

snip

http://www.electionline.org/Newsletters/tabid/87/ctl/Detail/mid/643/xmid/172/xmfid/3/Default.aspx

[Wilms]

16. VR Offers Michael Scanlon $100k for Info Concerning 2K4 Election Tampering

1/26/06

VR Offers Michael Scanlon $100k for Information Concerning the Tampering of Election 2004!

Republican lobbyist Michael Scanlon, partner of Jack Abramoff, started cooperating with DoJ attorneys last month to implicate scores of corrupt officials in Republican criminal activity. The first result of Scanlon's cooperation was the quick plea by Abramoff, which included his agreement to also cooperate with the DoJ. The probe is expected to be extremely wide-reaching, beyond the already well reported connections Scanlon/Abramoff had with the indicted former House majority leader Tom Delay (R-TX) and Rep. Robert Ney (R-OH).

In light of these events, VR, on Janurary 2nd, offered to pay $100,000 toward Abramoff's legal bills if he provides both us and the Dept. of Justice with conclusive evidence (a smoking gun) of Republican rigging of the 2004 Presidential Election. We now make that same offer to Mr. Scanlon. Of course, we will compare the information we receive from both to see if they match and we urge each man to come clean, as required by their plea agreements.

snip

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/#012606

[Wilms]

17. MD: State Elections Chief Questions Voting Machine Operator

State Elections Chief Questions Voting Machine Operator

By JARED S. HOPKINS
Capital News Service

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

WASHINGTON - Maryland's chief elections administrator has put the company that produces the state's voting machines on notice that it must provide full information and daily briefings on testing required after another state experienced security problems with the devices.

In a Dec. 23 letter to Diebold Inc., State Elections Administrator Linda Lamone asked for all pertinent information and any reviews by the Independent Testing Authority related to Diebold electronic voting machines. She also asked for detailed information regarding the memory cards that store voter information and Diebold's plans for addressing concerns raised in other states.

Lamone said Wednesday her letter to Diebold CEO Thomas Swidarski was prompted by a December incident in Florida, when an election supervisor allowed individuals to hack into the voting system and successfully alter results.

snip

"I just want to make sure that Diebold knows that I am aware of what's going on, especially with the incident in Florida," she said.

snip

http://www.journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/060125-Wednesday/LamoneLetter_CNS-UMCP.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x410604

[Wilms]

18. PA: 3 Stories

Allegheny County decision on voting machines delayed
County wavering as deadline looms

Saturday, January 28, 2006

By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County has until Tuesday to place an order for 5,600 touch-screen voting machines or it risks forfeiting a deeply discounted purchase price, the county Board of Elections was told yesterday.

But the three-member board, which includes county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, put off a final decision because of concerns that the machines won't come equipped with paper printouts that voters can use to check their choices.

snip

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06028/645866.stm




County frustrated by voting machines

By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 28, 2006

Allegheny County officials expressed frustration Friday over options for replacement voting machines that don't include a built-in paper trail for verifying results.

snip

"I don't know why we're in this position and I'd like to tell Harrisburg to: 'Go to hell. We're not going to do it,' " said County Councilman Dave Fawcett, R-Oakmont, a member of the three-person elections board. "I don't mean to raise my voice on this, but it just infuriates me."

"We're going to spend millions of dollars on something that doesn't necessarily make elections more credible," he said.

snip

Allison Hrestak, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, said the state is not opposed to paper-trail verification equipment as a concept, but those on the market violate state law as "it pertains to secrecy of the ballot."

snip

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_418060.html



Machine test possible

By David Hunt
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Westmoreland County residents may be using touch-screen voting machines at the polls for the May 16 primary, even if a lawsuit delaying the purchase of machines remains undecided.

County Solicitor R. Mark Gesalman said the county could set up the machines under a provision in state law, which allows counties to test electronic-voting equipment without approval by voters.

By leasing the equipment, the county could bypass the issue that led a grassroots organization and state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, to sue, Gesalman said.

snip

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/westmoreland/s_418077.html