Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Thursday 2/23/06

[Wilms]

[Wilms]

1. Cobb Demands Reinstatement of Ohio Recount Lawsuit

Cobb Demands Reinstatement of Ohio Recount Lawsuit

By Blair Bobier, Green Party Media Director

February 22, 2006

The Ohio Recount lawsuit, which was dismissed by a federal judge earlier this month, should be re-instated because Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell is still using the same flawed recount procedures he did in 2004, according to a Motion filed Friday by lawyers for 2004 Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb (pictured at right).

"Our suit was dismissed on the basis that Blackwell's obstruction of the 2004 presidential recount is now a moot issue. However, in making his ruling, the judge was unaware that Blackwell issued recount guidelines in 2005 which are identical to the inadequate procedures he used in 2004. Our Motion to the Court asks the judge to take this new information into account and to deny Blackwell's Motion to Dismiss the case," said Blair Bobier, the Media Director for the Green Party's 2004 presidential campaign.

Lawyers representing Cobb and his Libertarian counterpart, Michael Badnarik, filed the Motion to Alter and Amend on February 17, 2006, in the U.S. District Court in Toledo, Ohio.

snip/links

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=962&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=414103&mesg_id=414103

[Wilms]

2. Brad: Why do Diebold's Touch-Screens Have Wireless Data Transfer Ports?

Why do Diebold's Touch-Screen Voting Machines Have Built-In Wireless Infrared Data Transfer Ports?

IrDA Protocol Can 'Totally Compromise System' Without Detection, Warns Federal Voting Standards Website

So far, no state or federal authority -- to our knowledge -- has dealt with this alarming security threat

by Brad

2/22/2006

We hate to pile on... (Or do we?)

But, really, with all the recent discussion of California Sec. of State Bruce McPherson's mind-blowing about-face re-certification of Diebold -- against state law, we hasten to add -- this may be a good time to point out one small item that we've been meaning to mention for a while.

As Jody Holder's recent comment points out, McPherson's silly "conditions" for re-certification of Diebold in California require a few much-less-than-adequate knee-jerk "safe guards" towards protection of the handling of the hackable memory cards in Diebold's voting machines. (Here's McP's full "Certificate of Conditional Certification").

Never mind, as Holder mentions, that the protective seals to be required are easily peeled away without tearing. Or that such voting machines have been stored in poll workers houses for weeks leading up to an election. More to the point, for the moment, there are ways to manipulate the information on those memory cards even without removing them or breaking the seals. This is more of a concern than ever, since it was recently proven, by the now-infamous Harri Hursti hack in Leon County, FL, that changing the information on the memory cards can force election results to be flipped...without a trace being left behind.

On that note, here's the little item we've been meaning to point out. It's a photograph from the side of a Diebold AccuVote TSx touch-screen voting machine:

snip

A few election watchdog groups, including some members of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) who works with the federal authorities on these matters, have issued warnings about the IrDA port and protocols on voting machines. However, little -- if anything -- seems to have been done to mitigate the rather obvious security threat posed, as far as we can tell.

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002458.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x414054

[Wilms]

3. Bowen: Stop the Diebold "Rush Job" -- Protect CA Elections!

Stop the Diebold "rush job" -- protect CA elections!

by Senator Debra Bowen

Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 02:44:16 PM PDT

snip

To rush through this re-certification, the Secretary of State had to go back on his word -- twice -- and violate federal and state law in the process. Compounding this travesty is that the re-certification is based solely on the views and recommendations of people on the Secretary's payroll.

That is completely unacceptable! I urge you to join me in calling on Secretary McPherson to reverse his decision on Diebold by sending him an email now:

snip

The Secretary of State based his decision on what he called an "independent audit" -- which was really a review of the Diebold machines conducted by a board that he appointed himself. The results of this study were kept secret from every California voter until after the Secretary made his decision to give Diebold the green light.

There was absolutely ZERO public review or input before this decision was made. That's not how you restore public confidence in California elections.

snip

And why didn't McPherson allow experts and the general public to review and comment on this latest report BEFORE he decided to flip-flop on the issue and re-certify these Diebold machines?

snip

So, just to recap the facts here:

* The Secretary of State's own rushed secret study points out "serious vulnerabilities... that go beyond what was previously known," yet the Secretary decided to re-certify the machines.

* There has been absolutely no opportunity for public comment or review on these latest findings.

* The Secretary of State told us he would wait for test results from the federal "Independent Testing Authorities" before acting on Diebold's request to re-certify its machines. He didn't do that.

* The Secretary of State said any voting machine in California would have to meet all federal laws, rules, and regulations. These Diebold machines fail that test -- especially by using "interpreted code" that is banned by the Election Assistance Commission.

* The Secretary of State said any voting machine in California would have to meet state law. These Diebold machines violate state law because they don't provide an audible "read-back" of the machines' auditable paper trail for blind and visually-impaired voters.

snip

As Chair of the Senate Elections Committee, I'm pursuing many other actions as well, including compelling voting machine vendors and the Secretary of State to appear before the State Senate. But right now it's important for Secretary of State McPherson to hear from all of us directly, since it was his decision on Friday to certify Diebold's machines -- and it is his responsibility to hear the facts and comply with the law.

snip

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/2/21/164416/289


Petition

http://ga3.org/campaign/diebold?qp_source=kos%5fdiebold%5fcert


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x414007

[Wilms]

4. Officials say "Trust Us" When Very Basis of American System is Distrust!!

Officials say "Trust Us" When Very Basis of American System is Distrust!!

Land Shark

Tue Feb-21-06

snip

Are our elections officials, in asking for trust or objecting to the implication that they should not be trusted or are not trusted, really the defenders of democracy, the "sentinels of democracy"? A real sentinel will rise to defend at the instant of a possible threat and summon reinforcements at the moment of a probable threat. In contrast, some elections officials seem to wish to be left alone with the *actual* threat and ability to modify an electronic election, unmolested by any power checking power.

snip

Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413949

[Wilms]

5. Why renew Voting Rights Act? Alabama town provides answer

Why renew Voting Rights Act? Alabama town provides answer

2/22/2006

By DeWayne Wickham

snip

Both President Bush and the Republicans who control Congress support renewal of the Voting Rights Act. But that hasn't stanched the concerns of civil rights activists.

"The president has made a general statement of support for reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act ... (but) the devil is in the details," Theodore Shaw, the president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said during a January conference call with The Trotter Group, an organization of black columnists.

Likewise, Karen Narasaki, executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, told the group that she fears conservatives will weaken the law even as they renew it. "You can reauthorize something, but it does not necessarily mean that it is actually going to be effective and strong" when the process is completed, she said.

And that's what worries me. The renewable sections of the Voting Rights Act are the heart of this important law. They require "preclearance" of voting law changes; they permit the use of federal election monitors and language assistance for voters in jurisdictions that have a history of discriminatory treatment of minority voters.

snip

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-02-22-forum-voting-act_x.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x414147

[Wilms]

6. What's wrong with the Holt Bill?

What's wrong with the Holt Bill?

By ntobi

02/08/2006

The Holt bill has been called "the Gold Standard" by voting rights activists all over the country. It has been co-sponsored by leading political figures, and many voting activist groups are aggressively working towards the passage of this legislation. Now, with the obstructionist Bob Ney gone, proponents of the bill are gearing up to get it a hearing in Ney's former House Administration Committee.

The bill holds promise, but I am hoping that the authors of the bill are willing to give a good hearing to we the people who oppose those elements of the bill that seek to federalize our election systems through broad empowerment of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

This article explains the inherent problems with the Holt bill, and provides reasons why you, dear reader, should do as I have, and contact Holt's office to ask them to address these concerns and revise the language of the bill accordingly.

snip

However, the bill would be strengthened by specifically defining real paper ballots as opposed to allowing for error-prone computer printouts as the vote of record.

snip

HR 550, like several other bills currently supported by senior Dems, supports making the HAVA-created EAC a permanent entity and broadening its powers.

To understand this, please see HR550 Sec. 4 "Permanent Extension of Authorization of Election Assistance Commission." Section 4a gives this Executive entity blanket authority to conduct recounts in any state of their choosing and, "at the option of the State or jurisdiction involved," to conduct recounts of state and local elections!

Think about it. This part of the Holt bill is inviting the Executive branch (the EAC as it is currently structured is an Executive commission) to encroach upon our state and local elections.

snip

http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/2040


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413998

[Wilms]

7. FL: Paper ballots up for council vote -Touch-screen machines reconsidered

Paper ballots up for council vote -Touch-screen machines reconsidered

February 22, 2006

By JOHN BOZZO
Staff Writer

After a deep split over how to help disabled people vote, Volusia County Council members appear more unified than ever -- because they have little choice.

The system they agreed to buy on a 4-3 vote in December -- which promised a paper trail of those electronic votes by the disabled -- has not been certified by the state.

"It's a sad day for voters," said Council Chairman Frank Bruno. "No equipment is being certified by the state that provides a paper ballot trail."

The County Council on Thursday will consider voiding a contract with Election Systems and Software Inc. for a new voting system.

snip

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newWEST01022206.htm

[Wilms]

8. NY scraps updating voting machines, now faces scramble to save federal $

A vote for status quo

NY scraps updating voting machines, now faces scramble to save federal funds at risk after deadline passes

BY JAMES T. MADORE
STAFF WRITER

February 22, 2006

State elections officials have scrapped plans to install new voting machines throughout Long Island and New York City in time for this year's contests, forcing a scramble to prevent the loss of $220 million in federal funds for the new technology.

New York State missed the Jan. 1 deadline for complying with a federal election-reform law that was adopted four years ago after Florida's vote-counting debacle cast doubt on the 2000 presidential election.

Wrangling in Albany over how to implement the new law dragged on until last summer - and the state Board of Elections has yet to narrow the choices that counties will have in ordering voting machines.

snip

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-livote214636723feb22,0,7683965.story?coll=ny-linews-print

[autorank]

9. Wash. DC: Republican Media Guy Blasts Mitofsky in “The Hill”

”What’s the frequency Kenneth?” I feel like Dan must have felt when approached by some strange dude in NYC and asked this question. What is the deal here? Didn’t Mitofsky fix the final poll to make it look like Bush won (1:00 p.m. 11/03/04)? Didn’t he have the “Mitofsky Sucks” tour where they had people going around saying that his stats and methods were all wrong, all to help Bush? Wonder what little gem may be coming out form the National and State Exit Polls?

More Mitofsky mischief

DAVID HILL (Republican Media Firm)
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Comment/Pollsters/DavidHill/111704.html

In May 2003, I suggested in this space that the exit polls would need more than a makeover. I also questioned the wisdom of putting veteran exit pollster Warren Mitofsky in charge.

Shortly thereafter, I received a telephone call from Mitofsky, who, naturally, expressed his disagreement with my opinions. Later in the year, I heard from Mitofsky again when I criticized his exit polls in the California gubernatorial recall election.

I’ll say this for him: Mitofsky is a great flack. And he must be a great salesman.

Anyone who can talk the networks into giving him $10 million for the mess he produced is a charmer.

(He goes on to say that Mitofsky and Lenski (the EM principal) do a good cop-bad cop routine on critics of the exit polls. This is no way for Republican political types to treat Mitofsky and Lenski, guys who really came through for them in 2004;)

[Wilms]

10. CA: Sacramento hearing on by-mail voting tomorrow?

Earlyvoting Blog

Sacramento hearing on by-mail voting tomorrow?

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

I was asked some questions pertaining to a hearing in Sacramento, CA tomorrow, I presume relating to the request to move to an all by-mail voting system for some counties.

The pitch seems to be that by-mail voting will increase turnout among lower income and minority voters. My responses are below, for those who are interested. I am not testifying, I am only helping another political science professor who will testify (no, not Mike Alvarez).


Based on what we know to this point (and that's important, since the terrain of early voting and vote by mail is changing so rapidly):


* I have not seen any studies of by mail's impact on primary elections. I have seen research on by mail in low intensity contests (most often, off cycle state and local elections), and the research shows that turnout is higher among regular voters--those who would go to the polls in most circumstances but may not if inconvenienced by the need to go to a precinct place.

There is no evidence of by-mail *expanding* the electorate to otherwise disempowered groups (racial and linguistic minorities).

For citations, Berinky et al. (200x POQ), Oliver (199x AJPS on absentee balloting, not the same as by mail voting), Magleby 199x article on by mail voting.


* I think I have already answered this in my response to 1). No evidence of increased turnout. I should note that there was some evidence of increased turnout in the in-person early voting system in Florida in 2004 (see my most recent APSA paper) and in in-person systems in Texas in some elections (see Leighley and Stein APSA paper), but this is critically dependent upon the mobilization efforts of political parties and other GOTV organizations.

* Yes, this is exactly what happens, but among those who are otherwise predisposed to vote. All-mail does not make voting "convenient" enough, apparently, to overcome the barriers that otherwise stand in the way of higher turnout in minority and disempowered communities.

snip

http://earlyvote.blogspot.com/

[autorank]

11. WaPost: “good reason to fear fraud in the counting of ballots." ....

…referring to Uganda, not the USA. We’re all good according the Post. Glad they care so much about Uganda. That nation deserves some peace and prosperity. It would be just as nice, in a different way, for the Post to acknowledge election fraud here. Don’t hold your breath.

A Big Man's Election

Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A18
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202147.html

UGANDAN PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni was once seen as an antidote to the corrupt, authoritarian "Big Men" who ruled his country, and much of the rest of Africa, in the first decades after independence. Now he is becoming one himself. Mr. Museveni, who once said a president should serve no longer than 10 years, is favored to win election to a third term today -- meaning his 20 years in office would be extended for five more years. Discarding a formal promise not to run again, he pressured Uganda's Congress for a constitutional amendment last year removing term limits. Since then his principal opponent has been subjected to criminal charges, while his critics in the media have been persecuted. There is good reason to fear fraud in the counting of ballots.

The good news in this depressing picture is that Mr. Museveni's triumph is not entirely guaranteed. Under pressure from Western donors, who supply more than 40 percent of the government budget, the president finally allowed the creation of opposition parties last year, after two decades of insisting that Uganda was somehow unsuited to multiparty democracy. The opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, has been drawing big crowds despite (and maybe because of) his persecution: Some preelection polls show him preventing Mr. Museveni from obtaining the 50 percent of the vote necessary to avoid a runoff. Even if Mr. Besigye loses, his new Forum for Democratic Change party should pick up some seats in Congress.

Mr. Museveni's entrenchment in office nevertheless sets a bad example for the generation of African leaders who came to power in recent years and who raised hope for a renaissance of government in the region. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo also pledged to leave office after their present terms; if Mr. Museveni succeeds in staying on and retaining the support of international donors and investors, they may waver as well. Mr. Obasanjo's supporters are already seeking a constitutional change that would allow him to run for reelection next year, despite his denials of interest. All of these leaders are far superior to the Big Men they replaced, who were more inclined to genocide than to democracy. But as Mr. Museveni's tenure has demonstrated, even relatively good rulers breed corruption and thuggishness if they remain in office too long.

<snip>

[Wilms]

12. PROTECTING MINORITY VOTERS: THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AT WORK, 1982-2005

PROTECTING MINORITY VOTERS:
THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AT WORK, 1982-2005

A Report By the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act

February 2006

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, in conjunction with other leading civil rights organizations, has created the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act to conduct regional hearings across the country. The goal of the National Commission is to write a comprehensive report detailing discrimination in voting since 1982, the last major reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. This report will be used to educate the public, advocates, and policymakers on this record of discrimination and its relationship to the upcoming reauthorization.

From March to October 2005, the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act held hearings across the country on the state of discrimination in voting and the impact of the Voting Rights Act. During this time, the Commission heard from voting activists, election administrators, attorneys with experience in voting rights—whether in private practice or with the Justice Department—academic experts, representatives of minority groups, and interested citizens who had knowledge of voting discrimination. After examining testimony from these hearings, as well as documents entered into the record and information obtained from governmental, legal, media and scholarly sources, the Commission prepared the following report of its findings.

http://www.votingrightsact.org

[Wilms]

13. Fraud Reform? How efforts to ID voting problems have become partisan mess

Fraud Reform? How efforts to ID voting problems have become a partisan mess.

By Richard L. Hasen

Feb. 22, 2006

With a meltdown in our election system in 2000 and a near meltdown again in 2004, one might think states would use the off-season to get their electoral rules in order. Many of the legal problems in 2004 emerged from areas of uncertainty in the law. (Remember the disputes before the November 2004 election over whether officials would count "provisional ballots" cast in the wrong precinct?) It seems to be in everyone's interest for states to enact clear and fair rules so problems do not arise again during the 2006 midterm elections—or worse, during the 2008 presidential election. Make the rules clear and fair now, so the armies of lawyers won't have much ammunition even in close elections.

Unfortunately, election reform is becoming mired in partisan politics, and the resulting rules changes are increasing, rather than decreasing, the chances of future litigation and election meltdown. Case in point: voter-identification laws.

In looking at what is on the agenda in Republican-controlled legislatures, you'd think that voter fraud is rampant: Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Mississippi. In each of these states, Republicans have passed or proposed legislation requiring voters to show identification at the polls or risk casting a vote that will not count. In Arizona, Republicans backed an initiative denying public benefits to illegal immigrants that also included a voter-identification requirement.

Republicans defend voter-identification laws as necessary to combat voter fraud. But Democrats and civil rights organizations see these laws as a way of gaining partisan advantage—because it's the poor who will have a more difficult time securing voter identification. Poor people tend to drive less (meaning they won't have a driver's license, which is the most common form of ID), and they may not have the money to secure certified copies of documents, such as the birth certificates necessary to obtain a state-issued voter identification. The poor also happen to be more likely to vote Democratic.

snip

http://www.slate.com/id/2136776

[autorank]

14. WA: Prove You’re a Citizen! … or don’t vote: New Reich Initiative

Well, we expected this one too. Maybe they’ll give exemptions to those who plan to vote for their 50 state anti-gay marriage amendment. Non citizens, just show up with a special tee shirt with “Pro Life” and anti gay marriage slogans on it like “I may be an Alien but I’m not too spaced out to vote the Reich way;)” Well that’s a bit long but you get the idea.

Group to file initiative that would require all voters to reregister

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002820464_webvote21.html

By RACHEL LA CORTE
The Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Voters would have to prove they are U.S. citizens and reregister to vote under an initiative that supporters said they will file this week.

Conservative think-tank Evergreen Freedom Foundation has formed Grassroots Washington, which is backing the initiative that was expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon.

The group takes issue with the state's new $6 million voter registration database, which has been checking for duplicate and dead voters since last month.

<snio>

The initiative would make all voter registrations inactive until people proved their citizenship and reregistered. Voters who show up at the polls and find they are inactive can vote by provisional ballot until their registration is verified, he said.


(PS. Wilms, really like the new minimalist style of the OP)

[autorank]

15. Evergreen Freedom Foundation in the News (sponsor of Vote ID Leg).

Well, read what the judge has to say. If that's a felony, maybe everyone at Evergreen should pre-emptively give up the right to vote.

Thurston County, Washington, Judge Imposes Sanctions On Evergreen Freedom Foundation

http://www.nea.org/nr/nr020920.html

Washington, D.C. - A Thurston County, Washington, judge imposed sanctions on the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) for its bad faith in using the judicial process for an improper purpose. The National Education Association (NEA) brought the motion against EFF after the organization obtained a default judgment against NEA, despite NEA's active participation in defense of an EFF lawsuit. The default judgment was overturned in mid-July and the lawsuit dismissed in August.

"Our purpose in bringing this action was to see that the Evergreen Freedom Foundation acts responsibly," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "All we ask of others - even our opponents - is that they are honest and respectful to us, to our members, to the public, and to others, including the court."

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Daniel Berschauer agreed that EFF should compensate NEA for the costs of representing itself in overturning the default judgment, issued in July. Normally, a default judgment is issued when a party to a lawsuit has been unresponsive.

"This view of litigation as a game in which whatever one can get past the Court is permissible is at war with the fundamental principle that attorneys are officers of the Court and have a responsibility not just to their clients but also to the Court and to the system of justice," NEA contended in a brief on the motion for sanctions.

[sadjonny]

16. The War On Election Fraud - Update

Sacxtra

You want to be popular?
Do you want a Constitutional Republic?

Then the next time that the United States Of America, it's districts and it's territories vote, in each local precinct.

YOU MUST


Remove the electricity
Stop creating digitized data
Stop sending digitized data across networks

The physics behind electronics are by their very nature INSECURE.

ALL THE FUCKING CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS ARE BECAUSE OF THIS SHIT!

Now go on, stock my profile, google me, microwave me whatever... I had it with this crap.
http://sacxtremetv.com/mbs/blog/1

[Wilms]

17. John Gideon: Daily Voting News for February 22, 2006

'Daily Voting News' For February 22, 2006

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

From Alabama comes a report that ES&S had an internal communications problem and they provide the optical scan machines used in Belforest in their elections. "The company delivered "data packs" -- the electronic devices in which the voters' selections are stored -- programmed for absentee voting, causing the two machines to reject the ballots, Johns said. The situation did not affect the voting, as voters filled out their ballots and slipped them in an emergency bin used for occasions such as this one, he said."

Imagine if that had been DREs instead of optical-scan. Just why is there an IrDA port on those Diebold machines?

snip/links to lots of articles

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002459.htm

[Wilms]

18. Voting Machine Investigation: (Vendor) Background Checks

Voting Machine Investigation: (Vendor) Background Checks

The new electronic machines rely on software. So voters need to trust the companies that write that software. The state examines the machines, but what about the companies that build them?

"A background check? No, I wouldn't say we conduct a thorough background check," Vansickle said.

So, 8 On Your Side did do a background check. It turned up problems in the past with just about every big player in electronic voting machines.

Let's begin with ES&S, the company that's making voting machines for Cumberland and Lebanon counties. In 2002, a senior ES&S official received immunity from prosecution for cooperating in a kickback and bribery investigation involving the Arkansas Secretary of State, who was convicted. That executive still works for ES&S as an independent contractor.

snip

http://www.wgal.com/8onyourside/7335515/detail.html

[Algorem]

19. NPR- Study: Voting Rights Violations Still Occurring-on this hour

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5229719

Audio for this story will be available at approx. 4:00 p.m. ET


News & Notes with Ed Gordon, February 23, 2006 · Discrimination at America's polls continues today, says a new study released by the Washington D.C.-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The report urges President Bush and Congress to re-authorize several provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that are set to expire next year.

[Wilms]

21. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x414147

[Algorem]

20. OH- Election machines for sale

Lake County commissioners on Tuesday said they would use their county's Web site - www.lakecountyohio.org - to try to sell their 550 election machines, now obsolete in Ohio because they do not provide a paper record. Elections board Director Janet Clair said the county still owes $906,000 to the California company that sold it the machines in 1999. She is entertaining an $838,000 offer from a county in a state where the machines remain legal. Lake County in late 2005 bought 860 new touch-screen voting machines from a Nebraska company for about $2.75 million. About $2.33 million of that was paid for by the federal Help America Vote Act, leaving the county with a bill of $418,000 for the new machines in addition to the debt on the old units.


http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/114060074562100.xml?nxcnb&coll=2


I heard Dem. Lake County Commissioner Dan Troy on radio a coupla months ago blaming activists who want a paper trail for them having to get new machines.
he thinks it's soooo stupid.

http://www.lakecountyohio.org/commweb/comish4.htm

http://www.lakecountyohio.org.nyud.net:8090/commweb/images/troycolor.jpg

[Wilms]

22. Vote fraud rarely occurs, officials say - Some question need to require ID

Voter fraud rarely occurs, officials say
Some question need to require identification

Friday, February 17, 2006

BY JACK SHERZER
Of The Patriot-News

With all the debate over whether voters should show identification when they come to the polls, some might think the courts are clogged with ballot-casting miscreants after every election.

Nope.

Local election and law enforcement officials said they can count on one hand, with fingers left over, prosecutions against people who tried to vote twice or pretended to be someone else to cast a ballot.

snip

"We get complaints just about everything else relating to voting except voter fraud at the polls," Freed said. "Pure voter fraud, somebody trying to vote with a fake ID or doing it in an intentional fashion, trying to defraud the election board, the complaints are extremely rare."

"I've been in this business 26 years and I don't remember one case that we ever had to take to the district attorney," said Elaine F. Ludwig, Lebanon County's chief clerk of elections.

snip

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1140171842186690.xml&coll=1

[Trevelyan]

23. K&R

[bonito]

24. K&R

[BillORightsMan]

25. WA: REPOST -Conservatives want complete re-registration

Another effort by the regressives...


Seattle PI
By RACHEL LA CORTE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 · Last updated 7:25 p.m. PT
Group to file initiative that would require all voters to reregister

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Voters would have to prove they are U.S. citizens and reregister to vote under an initiative that supporters said they will file this week.

Conservative think-tank Evergreen Freedom Foundation has formed Grassroots Washington, which is backing the initiative that was expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon.

~Similar measures introduced by Republican lawmakers have not gone anywhere in the Democrat-controlled Legislature. Grassroots Washington must collect nearly 225,000 valid voter signatures by July 7 to qualify for the November ballot.

~Secretary of State Steve Excell said it's a wrong move. "Just because we don't happen to think that every voter record is perfect we can't wholesale disenfranchise everybody."

~...more than 27,000 registrations are still being investigated by county elections officials who are comparing signatures, names, birth dates and most recently cast ballots to determine whether duplicated registrations belong to the same or different people.

~The state's database, paid for by federal money, replaces 39 separate county lists. Counties will now be able to review their portion of the state's voters in the database, which was developed by software experts from the state and Microsoft Corp.
(Hmmmm. Didn't Diebold say they couldn't disclose their software in the NC case because they run Windows and was not licensed to disclose microsoft source code? Hmmmmmmmm....-Ed.)
Felon checks, to be conducted four times a year, will start in March. Death-and-duplicate checks will be done monthly.

:patriot:
Get busy Washington...

SAVE OHIO - Fitrakis for Ohio Governor