Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Thursday 2/16/06

[Wilms]

[Wilms]

1. Alaska: Division of Elections Delays Release of Election Records

Alaska: Division of Elections Delays Release of Election Records

Democrats Say Further Delay Not Warranted

By Kay Brown, Alaska Democratic Party

February 15, 2006

snip

The Division told the Alaska Democratic Party (ADP) that it has extended the deadline to provide the electronic file that contains the 2004 vote results until Feb. 27.

snip

Under the public records regulations, the Division was supposed to release the data file on Jan. 4. On Jan. 4 the Division extended the deadline until Jan. 19.

In a Jan. 19 letter, the Division asserted that the file was proprietary information belonging to its contractor, Diebold Elections Systems.

In a Feb. 3 letter, the Division advised the Democrats that Diebold had agreed to waive its proprietary rights to the GEMS database files, and said that the records would be provided if it is determined that the integrity of the election system can be protected. In the Feb. 3 letter the Division asked for an additional 10-day extension until Feb. 13, and the Democrats agreed. On Feb. 13, the Division again extended the deadline to Feb. 27, this time without asking the Democrats to agree.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=929&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x412969

[Kurovski]

2. Self-edit...never mind...

Recommended

[Wilms]

3. Excerpt: How to Steal an Election

http://alternet.org/images/managed/Story+Image_thumb_021506_story2.jpg

Excerpt: How to Steal an Election

By Andrew Gumbel, AlterNet. Posted February 15, 2006

Americans cling to an idealized image of our political integrity, but a look at how we run our elections tells a very different tale.

If you do everything, you'll win. -- Lyndon Johnson

A few days before the November 2004 election, Jimmy Carter was asked what would happen if, instead of flying to Zambia or Venezuela or East Timor, his widely respected international election monitoring team was invited to turn its attention to the United States. His answer was stunningly blunt. Not only would the voting system be regarded as a failure, he said, but the shortcomings were so egregious the Carter Center would never agree to monitor an election there in the first place. "We wouldn't think of it," the former president told a radio interviewer. "The American political system wouldn't measure up to any sort of international standards, for several reasons."

What, after all, was to be done with a country whose newest voting machines, unlike Venezuela's, couldn't even perform recounts? A country where candidates, in contrast to the more promising emerging democracies of the Caucasus or the Balkans, were denied equal, unpaid access to the media? There were a number of reasons, in the sharply partisan atmosphere surrounding the Bush-Kerry race, to wonder whether campaign conditions didn't smack more of the Third World than the First. Every day, newspapers recounted stories of registration forms being found in garbage cans, or of voter rolls padded with the names of noncitizens, fictional characters, household pets, and the dearly departed. The Chicago Tribune, a paper that knows its voter fraud, having won a Pulitzer for its work on the infamous Daley machine, found 181,000 dead people on the registration lists of six key battleground states.

Bush opponents were all too inclined to believe, in fact, that the Republicans were about to steal the presidency, just as they believed it had been stolen the last time. The Republicans, for their part, laughed this off as conspiratorial nonsense, but they also weren't shy about announcing how hard or how dirtily they were prepared to fight if it came down to another Florida-style tug-of-war. Long Island's GOP congressman Pete King, caught on camera by the documentary maker Alexandra Pelosi during a White House function on election day, bragged even as the first polls were closing that Bush had already won. When Pelosi asked him how he knew, he answered, perhaps jokingly, perhaps not: "It's all over but the counting. And we'll take care of the counting."

Election day itself, at least in the battleground states, was a deeply jarring experience for America's trusting majority, which had led itself to believe that all was for the best in the best of all possible democracies. Everyone bristled with suspicion and mutual mistrust. The Republicans accused the Democrats of trying to sneak ineligible voters to the polls and threatened to deploy official challengers to sniff out the mischief -- something much discussed ahead of time but that ultimately failed to materialize on any scale, perhaps because of a flurry of negative publicity stirred up on the eve of the election...

http://alternet.org/story/32084


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x412963

[Wilms]

4. Op-Ed: Avi Rubin - Flawed Election Machines Leave Maryland Voters Guessing

op-ed

Flawed Election Machines Leave Maryland Voters Guessing

By AVI RUBIN

February 15, 2006

Maryland has adopted a technology for voting that makes it impossible to audit the results of elections, makes it impossible to perform recounts when races are close or controversial and makes it possible for manufacturers to rig the results without risk of detection.

snip

In an effort to address the outcry over the lack of voter verifiability in Maryland's voting equipment, our state's administrator of elections, Linda H. Lamone, commissioned a study by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This study was carried out very well, but unfortunately, it addressed the wrong questions.

UMBC researchers were asked to study, review and evaluate several potential verification systems that might be added to the existing Diebold machines. Asked to limit their study to the existing machines, the researchers were precluded from examining many systems that would make perfect replacements for the current insecure machines.

At a hearing Feb. 1 before the state House Ways and Means Committee, Ms. Lamone argued that the results of the UMBC study (which concluded that none of the verification technologies was adequate) imply that there is no way to achieve voter verification in Maryland.

snip

As a Maryland poll worker, I acknowledge that adhering to the provisions of the bill would make elections, in some respects, more difficult to manage. That's why this bill faces resistance from some members of the Maryland election community.

snip

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.voting15feb15,0,5769724.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

[Wilms]

5. MD: Governor Ehrlich's Letter To State Board of Elections

Maryland: Governor Ehrlich's Letter To State Board of Elections

By Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich

February 15, 2006

The following letter from Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich to Gilles Burger, Chairman Maryland State Board of Elections was released on February 15, 2006.

Dear Chairman Burger:

As you are aware, there has been widespread national concern about the reliability and security of electronic voting systems. Many states have decertified Diebold voting machines, including those similar to the ones used in Maryland, because certain components were never subjected to federal testing. In light of these recent national decertifications and the Maryland General Assembly’s decision to override my vetoes of bills implementing early voting and allowing voters to cast ballots anywhere in the state, I no longer have confidence in the State Board of Elections’ ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006.

California, Pennsylvania, and dozens of local jurisdictions recently have decertified or denied certification to the Diebold voting machines pending further testing by federal authorities, citing, among other concerns, the potential for manipulation of election results due to the susceptibility to tampering of the vote-counting memory cards. In response, the Independent Testing Authority (ITA) has been reviewing Diebold voting systems and their electronic components for almost two months and has not released any findings. The State Administrator issued a letter to Diebold requesting daily status reports on the testing, but to my knowledge, no information has been shared with the State Board of Elections members, the Administration or the General Assembly about the implications for Maryland with regard to this testing.

It is imperative that I receive accurate information on the potential consequences that these test results may have on Maryland’s ability to conduct fair and accurate elections this year. In discussions with my staff, you have stated that members of the State Board of Elections have not received regular updates on the testing controversy. I believe that it is time for the Board to get aggressive in responding to citizens’ concerns over public confidence in the elections system.

I am also disheartened by the unresponsiveness of the State Administrator to the issue of voter verification. It is my personal belief that the voters of Maryland should be allowed to vote a paper ballot or have a voter verification paper-trail to electronic voting as reassurance to voters that their votes are being accurately cast. Therefore, I had requested that the Commission on the Administration of Elections chaired by George Beall, evaluate the potential for the introduction of this technology in Maryland. The Commission intended to rely on the report commissioned by the State Board of Elections and being compiled by Dr. Donald Norris of UMBC. That report was due to be completed in early December. I am sure that you share my disappointment that Dr. Norris’ report still has not yet been released and that the Beall Commission has been unable to complete its work.

snip/ouch

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=933&Itemid=113

[Wilms]

10. R-Gov.: Maryland Not Ready to Hold Elections

R-Gov.: Maryland Not Ready to Hold Elections

By TOM STUCKEY
The Associated Press

Thursday, February 16, 2006; 12:05 AM

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Gov. Robert Ehrlich, citing concerns over electronic voting machines and a new early voting law passed by Democrats over his veto, said Wednesday that he no longer has confidence in the state's ability to conduct fair and accurate elections this year.

In a letter to the state election board, Ehrlich said he supports a paper ballot or some kind of paper trail that voters could use to verify that their ballots cast on touchscreen machines were recorded and counted accurately.

snip

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Democrat, rejected the governor's complaints, saying, "He's trying to create confusion and chaos" before the election.

Miller said he is confident the election results will be fairly and accurately recorded.

snip

Calls Wednesday to Linda Lamone, state elections administrator, and her deputy, Ross Goldstein, were not immediately returned.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/16/AR2006021600005.html

[Wilms]

11. MD: Illegally Used Uncertified Software in 2004 Election, Misled Media...

Maryland on the Verge of Major Election Reform

By Kevin Zeese

February 16, 2006

Maryland Illegally Used Uncertified Software in 2004 Election, Misled Media and Continues to Cover for Diebold

Maryland, the staunchest hold-out for paperless voting is about to change. Yesterday, Governor Robert Ehrlich joined the leadership of the Democratic Party to support a voter verified paper ballot saying: I no longer have the in the State Board of Elections' ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006.

At the same time new documents revealed in litigation as well as from California and Pennsylvania show that Maryland illegally used uncertified software in a 2004 election. Further, State Election Administrator Linda Lamone misled the media in July 2004 when she denied allegations that uncertified software was illegally used in the March 2004 primary election. In addition, she is failing to address the current serious security problems with Diebold machines.

Maryland is of national interest because Lamone is the President of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and the most vociferous advocate for paperless voting in the United States. John Gideon Information Manager of VoteTrustUSA.org says NASED presently controls all federal voting systems qualifications. They control the panel that reviews the testing results from the Independent Test Authorities and because of that they control who gets qualified and who doesn't. Indeed, unless Maryland passes legislation immediately, it will be the only state to use a statewide paperless Diebold system as Georgia, the other statewide paperless state has announced it is changing its system. The Maryland legislature is currently considering legislation to end paperless voting. Not surprisingly, Lamone is fighting the legislation.

snip

This week when I asked Ms. Lamone and her deputy, Ross Goldstein, whether uncertified software was used in Maryland elections, Mr. Goldstein responded that he could not answer on the advice of counsel. Ms. Lamone remained silent. Governor Ehrlich asked the same question, among others, in his letter yesterday to the Chairman of the Board of Elections and demanded an answer by February 28th.

snip

Brian Hancock, the Independent Testing Authority (ITA) Secretariat at NASED reported that NASED is unaware of any testing of the Maryland TS machines. Calls to Diebold and the ITA Ciber, Inc. went without response.

snip

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5932

[Wilms]

12. MD: Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413053

[Wilms]

13. MD: Republican Governor Issues Devastating Blow to Diebold

Maryland's Republican Governor Issues Devastating Blow to Diebold!

Calls for Paper Ballots, Decries Lack of Security, 1000% Increase in Maintenance Cost for Diebold Voting System!
In Letter to Election Board, Guv of Diebold's Model State Declares He 'No Longer Has Confidence in Their Ability to Conduct Fair and Accurate Elections'

by Brad

2/16/2006

Maryland was the "model state" for Diebold. It was amongst the first to roll out a near state-wide adoption of the new paperless Diebold DRE (touch-screen) voting machines after the 2000 election.

Diebold plowed millions into advertising campaigns across the state in order to declare the dawn of their new electronic voting age. "It's Here!" screamed billboards on buses, billboards, mall kiosks and television commercials -- "Maryland's Better Way to Vote".

Diebold's dream has become a nightmare for the once-great company.

snip

Some Democrats in the Maryland Senate, however, are critical of Ehrlich who, they point out, had previously blocked efforts to include "voter-verified paper trails" on Maryland's paperless touch-screen machines.

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002431.htm

[Wilms]

16. LBN Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x438754

[Wilms]

17. MD: Held election, primary on uncertified, illegal Diebold voting machines

Documents show Maryland held election, primary on uncertified, illegal Diebold voting machines

Carlos Miller

Published: February 16, 2006

The Maryland State Board of Elections allowed Diebold Election Systems to operate its touch-screen voting machines during the state's 2002 gubernatorial election and the 2004 presidential primaries before the state agency actually certified the controversial machines, according to recently disclosed documents.

That is a violation of state law, according to Linda Schade, executive director of TrueVoteMD.org, an election integrity group.

Schade discovered the document among thousands of others she recently acquired through a lawsuit filed against the Maryland State Board of Elections in 2004. After almost two years of public records requests and attorney wrangling, she received four boxes filled with e-mail conversations, faxes and contracts between the elections office and Diebold.

snip

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=203&topic_id=413031&mesg_id=413037

[Algorem]

20. Maryland voting system defended as best in the country

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-23/114014334816910.xml&storylist=cleveland

2/16/2006, 9:20 p.m. ET
By TOM STUCKEY
The Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The state election administrator and the maker of Maryland's electronic voting machines defended the state's system Thursday as the best in the nation, a day after Gov. Robert Ehrlich said he has lost confidence in the state's ability to conduct fair and accurate elections this year.

"Our system has been very accurate," said Mark Radke, director of North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Election Systems.

Radke met in a closed session with members of a House of Delegates subcommittee to discuss questions raised about whether the Diebold machines are susceptible to fraud. "It's disturbing to see some of the false information that's been distributed," he said.

State election officials all over the country "are very envious of what Maryland and Diebold have done," Radke said...

[Wilms]

6. AZ: State Senator Huppenthal Guts Election Reform Bill

Arizona: State Senator Huppenthal Guts Election Reform Bill

By Warren stewart, VoteTrustUSA

February 15, 2006

On Monday, members of the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman John Huppenthal (pictured at right) gutted SB 1557, the comprehensive election integrity bill, substituting in its place a watered-down version that rendered the bill’s effort to restore confidence in Arizona’s election meaningless.

Huppenthal had initally refused to schedule the bill for the committee. However, after legislators receiving overwhelming citizen input in support of SB 1557 in the form of emails, letters, and phone calls over the past week, Huppenthal grudgingly scheduled a hearing on the bill. Then, with an amendment that drastically reduced the original scope of the bill introduced barely over an hour before a hearing, Huppenthal succeeded in eviscerating it.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=932&Itemid=113




OPINION

Letters to the Editor
Huppenthal gets NFIB endorsement over Mead - what gives?

September 17, 2004

Dear Editor,

I read with shock and confusion the column that appeared in the Aug. 13, 2004, edition of The Business Journal submitted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses announcing its endorsement of state Rep. John Huppenthal over Sen. Slade Mead for the District 20 Republican primary. (Huppenthal beat out Mead in the Sept. 7 primary).

snip

The NFIB was not alone in this mysterious endorsement of Huppenthal. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce not only endorsed Huppenthal but also endorsed several other legislators who sponsored and supported HB2464, one of the most anti-small-business bills in the history of Arizona.

Amazingly, all three of these business groups lobbied very hard against this bill and were successful in eventually defeating it. Yet, these organizations now endorse the very man and others who would have damaged small business?

snip

If you are a member of these organizations, you owe it to yourself and your business to inquire how the NFIB, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Phoenix Chamber arrived at the endorsement of Huppenthal.

It has been suggested that these "business" organizations are Republican Clubs -- endorsing candidates based on ideology instead of good public policy while letting their members' business interests go by the wayside.

snip

These confusing actions by business organizations certainly erode the overall political credibility of the Arizona business community.

David N. Jones
President/CEO, Arizona Contractors Association

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2004/09/20/editorial4.html

[Wilms]

7. NM: Paper Ballot Bill Passes State House

New Mexico: Paper Ballot Bill Passes State House

By Warren Stewart

February 15, 2006

Associated Press is reporting that the New Mexico House stayed past midnight last night to pass Governor Richardson's paper ballot proposal. With the Legislature set to adjourn on Thursday, lawmakers are trying to wrap up work on the paper ballot bill. The House approved the bill on a 38-24 vote and the proposal returns to the Senate for final approval.

The bill, HB 430 was amended by the House Appropriations Committee to match SB 295, which was passed by the Senate on Monday. The amended bill (which can be viewed here) includes an amendment in the second paragraph that calls for "competitive bidding".

snip

It remains to be seen how this provision, insisted on by the legislation's opponents in the Senate, and inserted into SB 295 by Dianna J. Duran, will play out. Currently only one of the systems certified by the state will allow an all paper ballot system. The legislation does not requires counties to move to paper ballot voting systems until December, 2007.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=928&Itemid=113

[Wilms]

8. FL: Sancho May Buy VVPAT-less TouchScreens

Sancho blasted for lost grant

By Jeff Burlew
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho got a grilling Tuesday from Leon County commissioners, who are upset over the loss of $564,421 in grant money because he didn't buy voting equipment for the disabled by a January deadline.

snip

Grippa said he worried that the lack of equipment could prompt the U.S. Department of Justice to run fall elections in Leon County. But other commissioners praised Sancho for trying to make sure that all voting systems have verifiable paper trails. Commissioner Bob Rackleff called criticism of him "shameless."

Florida Secretary of State Sue Cobb wrote Sancho on Feb. 2, stating that he must return the grant money by Thursday because he failed to purchase the equipment, which allows disabled people to cast votes without assistance.

snip

Now, Sancho is negotiating with Diebold again, although it means he may be forced to buy equipment he feels will not leave a verifiable paper trail. Diebold sells touch-screen devices with an audio component that can be used by the blind and other disabled people.
snip/:nuke:

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060215/NEWS01/602150323/1010/NEWS01

Florida county loses $564,000 federal elections grant

News Story by Marc L. Songini

FEBRUARY 15, 2006

snip

At the same time, Sancho said the county will get the gear whether or not the grant is reapproved. "We still have the necessary funds. We have over $1 million in the elections budget for new equipment. Money is not the issue in this debate," he said.

snip

Sancho said the county is once again in talks with Diebold as well as with Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia Voting Systems to buy handicapped-accessible touch-screen systems. The county hopes to have compliant systems installed by May 1.

In the meantime, neighboring counties have promised to supply Leon County with the necessary equipment for emergency elections.

Because both Diebold and Sequoia are offering only touch-screen gear, Sancho said he intends to make his staff experts in the use of touch-screen systems. He also said there is a chance Leon County could reapply for the lost grant money.
snip/:nuke:

http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/0,10801,108724,00.html

[Wilms]

9. John Gideon: Daily Voting News for February 15, 2006

'Daily Voting News' For February 15, 2006

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

Today has been another busy day.

There has been a lot of fallout from the court decision in Pennsylvania and that has caused a lot of counties to question what they can or cannot do as far as buying new machines. Some are just ignoring everything and they plan on continuing to sign contracts. There is also talk of an appeal to the courts ruling by the state.

In Alaska the state is delaying releasing any election records to the state Democrat party.

In New Mexico a paper ballot bill has passed the House and is near to going for a signature and to becoming state law.

And Utah has turned their back on 'Early Voting'.

And late breaking from Maryland is news that the Governor has joined Reps and Dems in the state legislature who are all asking for a voter verified paper ballot....

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002430.htm

[Algorem]

14. OH-Democrats use Columbus visit as platform to link President, Noe

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/NEWS09/602160374/-1/NEWS

COLUMBUS - The Democratic National Committee used President Bush's visit to a Columbus suburb yesterday to try to link his administration to the problems of one of its biggest Ohio fund-raisers, embattled coin dealer Tom Noe.

The DNC pointed out contacts between Mr. Noe and the President, his former campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, and political strategist Karl Rove.

"Thomas Noe, a prominent Bush fund-raiser who was publicly thanked by the President at an event in Ohio in 2004, is unlikely to receive the same praise today after being hit with a 53-count indictment," the DNC said in a statement.

Mr. Noe, who earned the status of a Bush "Pioneer" for raising more than $100,000 for the President's re-election campaign, was indicted this week on charges he stole more than $1 million from a rare-coin fund he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Separately, he was indicted last year on charges he laundered campaign contributions into the President's campaign. The DNC this week reiterated calls for Mr. Bush to return the money Mr. Noe raised for his campaign...




Bush takes health-care plan to Ohio
President cites Wendy's workers' insurance accounts as a model

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/NEWS09/602160367/-1/NEWS

DUBLIN, Ohio - ...

"It's hogwash," said Cathy Levine, policy director for the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio. "An individual patient is not going to have more bargaining power than a huge pool of employees or insured people."

An estimated 45 million Americans have no health coverage, more than 1 million of them Ohioans...

The visit to Ohio marked the President's fifth since the 2004 battleground state kept him in the White House by a narrow margin. The state is considered to be a 2006 mid-term bellwether as Democrats hope to take advantage of federal and state scandals to unseat Sen. Mike DeWine, win the governor's office, and lay claim to a few competitive congressional seats...

Even as he praised the nation's overall economic performance, Mr. Bush noted that Ohio's economy continues to lag. Its unemployment rate of 5.9 percent eclipses the 4.7 percent national average...


Article published Thursday, February 16, 2006

COIN SCANDAL
Not all Noe deals involved criminals; indictment names unwitting partners

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/NEWS02/602160391/-1/NEWS

In its indictment of Tom Noe, a Lucas County grand jury identified a business network that it felt had participated in Mr. Noe's alleged crimes.

It listed the obvious: Mr. Noe's main business in Monclova Township, the two coin funds he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and most of the funds' subsidiaries.

But the grand jury also listed another group never mentioned before that collectively has done millions of dollars in coin business with Mr. Noe and the state-financed funds, with some buying and selling coins and others borrowing money.

The coin dealers, coin collectors, and the bureau itself were identified as "unwitting participants" in the "ongoing criminal enterprise."...

[Algorem]

15. OH-Blackwell says opponent 'asleep' when millions lost

Petro defends state's efforts in pursuing Noe

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060216/NEWS09/602160379/-1/NEWS

COLUMBUS - Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell yesterday called Attorney General Jim Petro, his opponent in the Republican primary for governor, a "watchdog asleep at the switch."

In a speech to Ohio Farm Bureau members, Mr. Blackwell charged that Mr. Petro has a "disturbing pattern when it comes to watching over taxpayers' funds."

He pointed out that Mr. Petro was a Cuyahoga County commissioner in 1994 when the county treasurer lost more than $100 million in a failed investment fund, a member of the State Teachers Retirement System board when its director was snared in an ethics scandal, and he reacted sluggishly to problems with the investment practices of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, including the $50 million rare-coin investment that GOP fund-raiser Tom Noe controlled.

"You can't profess to be the state's most competent manager when there are so many examples of being asleep at the switch, when millions of dollars have been lost," Mr. Blackwell said...


Political fur flies among officials
Gubernatorial candidate Blackwell blasts Petro for inaction

2-14-06

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060214/SRRARECOINS/302140007&SearchID=73235827334178

COLUMBUS — For months, Democrats used the Tom Noe rare-coin scandal to attack Republicans. Yesterday, Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell used Mr. Noe’s indictment to attack Attorney General Jim Petro, questioning the integrity of his opponent in the Republican primary for governor.

“Where was Jim Petro while Tom Noe allegedly pilfered millions of Ohio taxpayer dollars?” asked Mike Hernon, Mr. Blackwell’s campaign manager.

Mr. Hernon went on to accuse Mr. Petro of ignoring warnings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and special counsels to investigate the investment practices of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, which gave Mr. Noe $50 million to invest in rare coins.

“On top of that, while Tom Noe was alleged to be defrauding Ohioans, Jim Petro was giving taxpayer-funded special counsel work to Tom Noe’s wife. That might be called the ultimate ‘double dip,’” Mr. Hernon added...


FBI probes Petro contract charges

Lawyers: No campaign aid, no work

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

http://www.cleveland.com/politics/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/113999621068420.xml&coll=2

-- The FBI has opened an inquiry into a report that Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro took lucrative state legal work away from two Akron law firms after their principals refused to contribute to his campaign.

Akron lawyers Jack Morrison and Ray Weber said they have been contacted by FBI agents and the Summit County prosecutor's office as a result of comments they made in a Jan. 29 Plain Dealer story.

Both lawyers said Petro punished them in 2002 for not supporting his campaign by withdrawing special-counsel contracts they had received from former Attorney General Betty Montgomery to handle patent and intellectual- property mat ters.

Weber said two FBI agents interviewed him for two hours on Thursday. Morrison said he agreed to meet with agents today...

[Algorem]

18. Blackwell, Petro in primary race for governor

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-23/1140113654289310.xml&storylist=cleveland

2/16/2006, 1:06 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After months of speculation and talk of how to avoid a Republican primary for governor, Jim Petro and Kenneth Blackwell on Thursday filed candidate petitions for the May 2 primary.

The winner will face Democrat Ted Strickland, who has token opposition in the primary, after a GOP primary campaign that will flood the airwaves with millions of dollars in TV ads. Strickland turned in petitions needed to get on the ballot on Tuesday.

Ohio's race for governor has drawn national attention since the state gave President Bush the 2004 election with a slim victory over Democrat John Kerry. Both parties see Ohio as crucial in 2008 and whoever wins the governor's office will give his party an advantage in the next election for president.

Blackwell ended 2005 with $1.5 million in his campaign bank while Petro had $2 million after spending a like amount on ads late last year to boost his candidacy. Strickland will be able to save the $2.1 million he has for the November general election...

[Algorem]

21. Democratic candidate for key U.S. House race faces filing questions

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-23/114014544681010.xml&storylist=cleveland

2/16/2006, 9:57 p.m. ET
By DAVID HAMMER
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The only Democratic hopeful in a key U.S. House race submitted a revised petition for candidacy with more signatures Thursday in a move the Ohio secretary of state's office called "problematic."

Ohio state Sen. Charlie Wilson withdrew a batch of signatures he filed Monday because he thought he could gather more signatures and resubmit them to the county election board before Thursday's deadline, said his son and campaign manager, Jason Wilson.

But a state law changed in December 2002 states: "No petition may be withdrawn after it is filed in a public office."

A spokesman for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell suggested the maneuver could jeopardize Wilson's candidacy...

[Wilms]

19. Roy G. Saltman: How much do localities spend on elections?

How much do localities spend on elections?

February 16, 2006

Estimated costs: $10 per voter (in year 2000); of every dollar 35 cents is for voter registration, 35 cents for equipment, and 30 cents for administration.

By Roy G. Saltman

The analysis of election costs is a difficult process because the information needed is not readily available. The Voting Technology Project (VTP) of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) undertook a study of election costs and provided information about what they found in their 2001 report Voting: What Is, What Could Be (pages 48-54).

They stated that “there is no ready answer” to the question of how much elections cost in this country. The reason is that “election expenditures are sufficiently small that they do not make the list of important activities… in the annual report by the about what state and local governments spend on their functions.” The smallest expenditure reported in 2000 was $14 billion for solid waste management.

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There has been some analyses (not done by the VTP) comparing costs between the use of paperless direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting systems and ballot-using optical-scan voting systems. These analyses purport to demonstrate that while DRE systems are more expensive initially, in the long-run they are less expensive because the use of paper with optical scan equipment must be paid with each election. However, in the view of this author, the real question is the achievement of public confidence in the system being used. If a slightly more expensive system (including maintenance and reliability considerations) will generate considerably more public confidence without disadvantaging minorities, then that psychic benefit must be included in the cost trade-off. Hopefully, procurement decisions that must satisfy requirements as being “least costly” can accommodate qualitative features that are intangible but otherwise necessary for public acceptance and confidence.

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22. HACKETT was betrayed in his first entry into politics: TruthIsAll, Rosebud

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