Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Thursday April 13

[EFerrari]

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.

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

[EFerrari]

1. The Holt Bill (HR 550): Dangerously Undermining Audits of Elections

The Holt Bill (HR 550): Dangerously Undermining Audits of Elections
Tell A Friend

by Paul R. Lehto

http://www.opednews.com

The Holt Bill (HR 550): Dangerously Undermining Audits of Elections
And Other Critiques

By Paul R. Lehto, Attorney at law

The following is why I think the Holt Bill (HR 550) does much more
harm than good. Regardless of whether or not you are a "paper ballot"
person, I think my arguments below apply with equal force. Election
systems act like kaleidoscopes, and amendments turn the kaleidoscope
and force patterns to rearrange. These turns can be very damaging and
unexpected.

Please Understand: I'm not trying to rain on anybody's lobbying
parade and I support election protection completely: But in any case,
I always recommend that we lobby for our VALUES not for specific bill
language subjected to future word-smithing and changes anyway, and may
or may not deliver the result intended....

My attack (if you will) on the Holt bill is on the notion that the
bill accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish, and also whether
"gold standard" is a fair description. The fact that more and more
people are getting involved in the movement and asking for most or all
of the right things does not at all tell us whether a particular bill
actually delivers those promises.

The Holt bill has vetted its 2% audit requirement with "computer
scientists" which is great, but it also needs to be vetted from
statisticians for sure and perhaps even consumer fraud attorneys, and
I think it fails in that regard. (My co-author Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman
concurs as to the 2% opinions below, but isn't involved with the
rest).

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_paul_r___060410_the_holt_bill__28hr_55.htm

[EFerrari]

2. From Election Updates: Tokaji on VVPAT debate

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Tokaji on VVPAT debate
Dan Tokaji has a provocative essay on Equal Vote, "A Remarkable Turn in the Paper Trail Debate." Dan writes about an op-ed recently written by Bev Harris, of Black Box Voting. The bottom line is that in this op-ed, Harris comes out against Congressman Rush Holt's H.B. 550: "Black Box Voting believes that H.B. 550 is unwise. It will not be effective to improve citizen oversight or election integrity. It is dangerous, because the weakness of the antibiotic will create a more resistant strain of election manipulation." She concludes by arguing that " H.B. 550 doesn't do much of anything to get at the core problem, which is secrecy." Holt's bill would require that electronic voting machines produce a paper record that voters could view before casting their ballot.

Importantly, Dan concludes his essay on a pretty optimistic note:


One of the things that's most remarkable to me about Black Box Voting piece is that it suggests some convergence of views among electronic voting skeptics and those of us who've been skeptical of the VVPAT. I've noticed that e-voting skeptics have become increasingly aware of the problems that exist with at least some of the VVPAT devices now being marketed -- and in fact being used in some jurisdictions in this year's election. On the other hand, at least some longtime VVPAT skeptics, myself included, have increasingly come to appreciate the security and transparency concerns that really do exist with the present generation of voting technology.
Although some continue desperately cling to the idea that the VVPAT is the answer, the debate appears to be moving beyond the simplistic "PAPER=SECURITY" slogans that have mostly dominated the public discourse. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I take this to be an encouraging sign.


Perhaps Dan is right, and perhaps the paper trail debate may move beyond the equation of paper and security.

http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2006/04/tokaji-on-vvpat-debate.html

[EFerrari]

3. From Election Law @ Moritz: A Remarkable Turn in the Paper Trail Debate

A Remarkable Turn in the Paper Trail Debate
Black Box Voting has long been one of the most vocal critics of electronic voting technology. Led by Bev Harris, the organization has been sharply critical of the lack of security and transparency that it believes to exist with the present generation of electronic voting equipment. It has also sought to expose and publicize problems with paper-based technology, most recently through the Harri Hursti study of Diebold's optical-scan system.

Now, in this opinion piece, Black Box Voting has announced its opposition to the latest version of the Holt Bill (HB 550), which would mandate a "voter verified paper audit trail" or VVPAT. This would essentially require that electronic voting machines produce a contemporaneous paper record ("CPR") that voters could view before casting their votes. The idea behind it is that, in theory, the paper record could be used in the event of an audit or manual recount. Here are some excerpts from Harris' piece:

Election reform groups are split on whether they support H.B. 550. Black Box Voting normally does not weigh in on legislation, this time we will. Citizens need to be informed of the dangers as well as the benefits when being urged to support legislation.

Like an antibiotic that's too weak, we believe that H.B. 550 will create a more resistant strain of election infection.

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/2006/04/remarkable-turn-in-paper-trail-debate.html

[EFerrari]

4. Electoral College Reform is Heating Up, and Posing Some Tough Choices

Electoral College Reform is Heating Up, and Posing Some Tough Choices

ROBERT BENNETT
Northwestern University Law School February 24, 2006

Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 886777


Abstract:
Electoral College reform is beginning to get some attention, with two different emphases: a move to institute a nationwide popular vote without a constitutional amendment, and a move to forbid faithless electoral votes. There is no logical incompatibility between the two, but in political and public policy terms, there are tensions between them. This paper evaluates the relative merits and importance of the two efforts and explores the tensions in simultaneous pursuit of the two.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=886777

[EFerrari]

5. CA: Voting forum yields calls for reform

Voting forum yields calls for reform
James Faulk The Times-Standard

ARCATA -- “It all comes down to the vote.”

So declared a sign above the heads of the speakers Tuesday at a forum held at Humboldt State University to discuss perceived problems with national and local democracies.

Roughly 20 people attended the event, where former Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb; retired professor and NAACP official Nate Smith; Measure T campaign manager Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap; and voting advocate Dave Berman spoke on what they believe are the problems with the current system for electing governments.

Smith, soft-spoken and offering a historical perspective on the struggle for voting rights, recalled the long and sometimes brutal battle for blacks and others to gain the right to vote.

He drew connections between the disenfranchising of blacks in the South post-reconstruction and the problems that plagued blacks and other minorities in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004.

http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_3701936

[EFerrari]

6. IN: Election officials see trouble ahead

Election officials see trouble ahead
New ballot errors raise fears about May 2 voting

By Brendan O'Shaughnessy
[e-mail]

A new round of mistakes in Marion County's primary ballots led voting officials to admit deep doubts Tuesday that the May 2 election could come off without problems.

With the primary approaching and absentee voting already begun, the Marion County Election Board held its second emergency meeting in a week about the ongoing errors.
Board members chastised representatives of the company that is providing the computer files used to print the ballots.
Election Systems & Software, the Nebraska company that provides the ballot files, discovered an error Monday that would make it impossible for counting machines to read the nonpartisan school board ballots. The company provides ballots for 27 Indiana counties, including Johnson, Marion and Hancock.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060412/NEWS02/604120475/1006/NEWS01

[EFerrari]

7. TN: Offer heard to study election system

Offer heard to study election system

April 11, 2006
The Shelby County Commission heard details Monday of a proposed $156,560 contract to study the county's election system following allegations of fraud in the District 29 state Senate race.

Ernest Hawkins, board chairman of the non-profit Election Center, said that if hired, four consultants would be sent to Shelby County to study the election system and make recommendations for improvements. His group would scrutinize voter rolls and the recruitment and training of poll workers, among other things.

"We have a broad, national scope. We look at election processes all over the country," Hawkins said.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local/article/0,2845,MCA_25340_4611596,00.html

[EFerrari]

8. FL State audits Pinellas elections

State audits Pinellas elections

A two-hour delay in tallying results on March 7 prompts the review.

By WILL VAN SANT, Times Staff Writer
Published April 11, 2006

CLEARWATER - In the first such audit ever conducted in Florida, state elections officials Tuesday began examining the results of three Pinellas County municipal election held early last month.

The state previously has examined individual precincts or machines, but never a full election.

With no guidelines, the head of the Bureau of Voting Systems Certification devised his own.

"There are no auditing standards for Florida elections," said David Drury. "We are on a learning curve here."

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/04/11/Northpinellas/State_audits_Pinellas.shtml

[EFerrari]

9. OH: Viewpoint: Ohio vote counts reek of corruption

Viewpoint: Ohio vote counts reek of corruption

By Joe Baker, Senior Editor Print this page

If you still doubt there was any vote rigging in the 2004 presidential election, all you need do is take a hard look at the revelations coming out of Ohio.

A large amount of excellent work has been done on this story by reporters Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman.

They say Ohioans are both angry and amused at the latest disclosure that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell owns stock in the Diebold company, makers of the voting machines used in Ohio in the 2004 election, which Blackwell oversaw.

Worse than that, Blackwell tried to award no-bid contracts to Diebold that were worth millions of dollars. He also turned a blind eye to any manipulations by Diebold to steer the election to George W. Bush. Diebold’s CEO, Wally O’Dell, had pledged to deliver the state to Bush in that year.

http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.pl?cmd=viewstory&cat=4&id=12899

[EFerrari]

10. TruthOut: Does HAVA Solve Voter Purging?

Does HAVA Solve Voter Purging?
By Sari Gelzer
t r u t h o u t | Report

Monday 10 April 2006

Behind the popular controversy of Electronic Voting Machines lies a second and equally vexing requirement of The Help America Vote Act (HAVA): the Voter Registration Database.

Millions of registered voters could be disenfranchised in this year's coming elections due to improper implementation of voter registration databases.

In an attempt to streamline voter registration information, HAVA requires that all states create and maintain a state-wide database.

The provision of a state-wide voter registration database was created in response to the widespread rejection of voters on election day in November 2000.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041006R.shtml

[EFerrari]

11. WV: Many will use paper ballots

Many will use paper ballots -- Not all machines will be ready for May primary vote

By Phil Kabler
Staff writer

When early “no excuse” absentee voting for the May 9 primary begins next Wednesday, many counties won’t have their new electronic voting machines up and running, Secretary of State Betty Ireland’s office announced Tuesday.

The machines’ vendor, Election Systems and Software of Omaha, Neb., has been overwhelmed preparing computerized ballots for the 34 counties using the touch-screen technology, as well as for other states holding primary elections this spring.

“The vendor is obviously overwhelmed, and they’re preparing ballots as we speak,” said Ben Beakes, Ireland’s chief of staff.

http://wvgazette.com/section/News/2006041122

[EFerrari]

12. TX: Paper ballots linger: County offers locals a choice

Paper ballots linger

County offers locals a choice

By ERIC FINLEY, [e-mail] or 659-8262
April 11, 2006

Before they cast a single vote today, Tom Green County voters have a choice to make first - paper or silicon?

Unlike some places in Texas, including Taylor County, Tom Green County offers voters a choice between paper ballots or electronic, computerized voting.

While the future may be all electronic, local elections officials say neither system is perfect right now. Hard-to-scan paper ballots were blamed for the hours-long delay in election returns in the March 7 primary.

Voting count discrepancies with the electronic voting machines delayed a recount two weeks later.

[paineinthearse]

13. MA: A PANEL DISCUSSION ON VOTING RIGHTS, APATHY AND CHANGE

Suffolk Civil Rights Project
Cordially Invites You to The Second Installment of Our Lecture Series:

MAKE MY VOTE COUNT!
A PANEL DISCUSSION ON VOTING RIGHTS, APATHY AND CHANGE

Key Note Address by
Representative Alicia Morgan
of the Georgia House of Delegates

Suffolk University Law School
120 Tremont Street
Boston
Thursday, April 13, 2006
4:45pm-7:30pm

PANEL SPEAKERS:

John Bonifaz, Founder National Voting Rights Institute

James Fleischmann , Mass Ballot Freedom Campaign

Atiya Dangleben , Mass VOTE

We look forward to your honored presence. Hors d'oeuvres will be served.

[EFerrari]

14. PA: No glitches are evident in test of Montco's voting machines

No glitches are evident in test of Montco's voting machines
By Nancy Petersen
Inquirer Staff Writer

Montgomery County officials are breathing easier today after a successful test of the county's Sequoia voting machines yesterday in Harrisburg.

"The machines worked beautifully," said Joe Passarella, the county's director of voter services. He said that the machines recorded votes exactly the way they were entered, and that the votes could not be manipulated "in any way, shape or form."

The tests were conducted by Michael Shamos, a computer scientist and voting machine expert from Carnegie Mellon University who has been hired by Pennsylvania to certify voting equipment. Shamos will issue a final report on yesterday's tests of the Sequoia machines within a few days, Passarella said.

"There was nothing today that would lead me or anybody else to believe they would not pass certification," he said.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/bucks_county/14320526.htm

[EFerrari]

15. Hand Counted Paper Ballots in 2008

Hand Counted Paper Ballots in 2008


Sheila Parks

The right to vote, as well as the principle of “one person, one vote,” are cornerstones of our democracy. The anti-slavery, women’s suffrage, and civil rights movements as well as the expansion of voting to young people are all part of the history of electoral reform in this country. Equally fundamental is the assurance that each voter knows that her or his vote counts and is counted as intended. At this time in our history, many have lost confidence in our voting system.

The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, and at least six contests in the mid-term elections of 2002, raised many questions about fraud and electronic voting machines. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) established by HAVA, and the Carter-Baker National Commission on Federal Election Reform were all created after the 2000 election to improve the electoral process. All of these efforts, however, have been detrimental to the prevention and detection of election fraud and error due to their advocacy of the use of electronic voting machines. One election reform advocate, Bev Harris of Black Box Voting, provides a particularly vivid glimpse into the scope of the problems associated with electronic voting machines. She notes that, at a special Texas meeting of the Carter-Baker Commission, “I asked a member of the Panel why they had not asked a single question about how hacks can be done. He said it is not necessary to understand how the system can be compromised in order to protect it.”

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its nonpartisan September 2005 report on elections states in its conclusions: “Numerous recent studies and reports have highlighted problems with the security and reliability of electronic voting systems…the concerns they raise have the potential to affect election outcomes.”

http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/specials/article.2006-04-10.1693298872

[EFerrari]

16. PA: Voting-machine demonstration causes flap

Voting-machine demonstration causes flap
By JOHN LATIMER
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News

A decision to put Lebanon County’s new electronic-voting system on display at a Republican political gathering this weekend has some candidates crying foul.

County officials, however, are defending the display on the grounds that it is important to get the new machines in front of as many voters as possible before the May 16 primary.

The iVotronic touch-screen voting system will be available to see and touch Saturday at Hebron Fire Co. during a candidate meet-and-greet breakfast sponsored by the Lebanon County Republican Committee. Scheduled to appear are the GOP’s endorsed candidates, state Sen. David Brightbill and state Reps. Peter Zug and Mauree Gingrich.

Elaine Ludwig, the county’s chief clerk of elections, said she was approached a couple of weeks ago by Brightbill’s chief of staff, Erik Arneson, about the possibility of having a machine at the event.

http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_3706657

:eyes:

[EFerrari]

17. PA: Coalition of residents files lawsuit

Coalition of residents files lawsuit over new county voting machines

By PATRICK CLOONAN, Daily News Staff Writer
04/13/2006

Another court battle is under way over voting machines purchased with federal funds to comply with the Help America Vote Act, this time involving Allegheny County.

A coalition of county residents was joined by People for the American Way in filing a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.

Advertisement
"Voting machines selected just days ago ... violate clear provisions of HAVA," plaintiffs claimed. "(The machines) use complex technologies entirely new to the voters and election officials of Allegheny County; are inaccessible to many persons with disabilities; have failed repeatedly in other jurisdictions (and) are impossible to audit meaningfully."

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16475137&BRD=1282&PAG=461&dept_id=182121&rfi=6

:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

[EFerrari]

18. OH: Voters fear for privacy

Voters fear for privacy

Thursday, April 13, 2006
Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The voting booth is history.

For the first time in 54 years, Franklin County residents are about to cast their ballots without curtains to pull for privacy, a change that election officials fear will draw more complaints during the May 2 rollout of new voting machines than any of the electronic gadgetry inside them.

The new machines have built-in features that keep voting private, they say, but nearly half of the voters who used them in a February special election in New Albany said they were concerned others could see how they voted.

"The lack of privacy was very disquieting," one person wrote in a survey that otherwise found eight in 10 voters receptive to the machines. "This should be a secret ballot."

"I had concerns about being viewed by the person behind me," another complained.

http://www.dispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/04/13/20060413-B1-01.html

[EFerrari]

19. CA: Voting Coercion Charges Fly in Calif. City

Voting Coercion Charges Fly in Calif. City

Last Updated:
04-13-06 at 8:05AM

It took a judge's order to force the first local election in 25 years in this industrial city, and it was a contest filled with allegations of intimidation, harassment and undercover surveillance.

And it wasn't over when the polls closed, either.

On Tuesday night, a clerk promptly carried a metal ballot box into the City Council chamber and announced he would not count the votes.

The bizarre, and some say illegal, decision was just the latest eyebrow-raising political turn in Vernon, a city on the edge of Los Angeles where the mayor and council members have served for decades without opposition and most of the voters hold municipal jobs while living in city-owned houses.

http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.46374.html

[EFerrari]

20. LISTEN: Thurs 7:30pm PT, GuvWurld on KHSU.org

LISTEN: Thurs 7:30pm PT, GuvWurld on KHSU.org; Parallel Election Plans Announced

I will be interviewed Thursday night (4/13) at 7:30pm PT on "Thursday Night Talk." This radio show airs in Arcata, CA at 90.5 KHSU and streams online at www.khsu.org.

We will be discussing my new book We Do Not Consent (.pdf), including the Voter Confidence Resolution and Blueprint For Peaceful Revolution (.pdf), and the Voter Confidence Committee (VCC), which is planning to do another parallel election for the June 6 CA primary. Please call in to the show, especially if you have participated in a parallel election anywhere else. Studio phone: [phone] or toll-free 1-800-640-5911.

http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/2006/04/listen-thurs-730pm-pt-guvwurld-on.html

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[Kurovski]

21. Kick(nt)

[Kurovski]

22. Kick to the top.

:kick:

[Kurovski]

23. And one more kick to the top.

[Kurovski]

24. Kicking again.

[bleever]

25. K&R

:patriot:

[FogerRox]

26. just got back from work, I believe I will recommend & kick this here

thread

[FogerRox]

27. Locals try hand at new voting machines

Locals try hand at new voting machines
The Evening Sun





John Mort of Penn Township checks out the new electronic voting machines Tuesday evening at South Western High School. (Evening Sun photo by James Robinson)
By SEAN HILLIARD

Evening Sun Reporter

Benjamin Bollinger, 70, of Hanover, carefully approached the touch screen on the new electronic voting machine he examined at South Western High School.

His finger shook as he started to press the box for an imaginary candidate for borough council, but all of a sudden, he pulled back.

"Do I touch the person's name or the circle?" he asked Frank Prato, an elections judge for York County.

"Either," Prato responded, as he came over to help Bollinger.

The new voting machines here and nationwide grew out of the controversy in Florida during the 2000 presidential election, said Dale Dalton, technology coordinator for York County's board of elections. The federal government passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, which says that lever voting machines can't be used anymore. It was also a measure to keep the country voting the same way – all sorts of different voting machines and processes were used in the past.

The new voting machines also have the ability to reconstruct the voting process of each individual machine and be used by the blind. They are simple but secure, officials said.

Before voters get to the machine, a card programmed to their party is given to them. The card can only be used once per voter, Dalton said, and has to be reprogrammed after every use.

"It's like an ATM," Prato said. "When you put your card in, it stays until the vote is recorded."

The voter then slides the card into a slot in front of the machine. Instantly, the option to vote along individual party lines comes up – all Democrat or all Republican.

The boxes then come up with each candidate for every race. After the voter selects candidates in a particular race, no more can be selected unless one is unmarked first.

When selections are complete, a review page comes up. If the voter selected the maximum number of candidates for each race, the summary box will be blue. If they only selected one candidate for a race where they could vote for more, the box will be red, and if they didn't vote for a candidate in a race, it will be yellow.

http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_3707111#

[3ringcircus]

28. kick!

I said I would!

[FogerRox]

29. I am goin easy on ya, cause your new, good job recruit.

25 votes, thats only 1/2 way to fifty

[FogerRox]

30. DO IT

[3ringcircus]

31. I need 50?

[FogerRox]

32. the ERD needs 50 votes, last I looked it waas only 25,

work to do-- Pm somebody,

recommend the ERD NOW . . here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=nominate&forum=203&thread=422803

[3ringcircus]

33. where are you now?

[Land Shark]

34. We are at 27 recommends now....

[3ringcircus]

35. kick

[3ringcircus]

36. another kick!

[FogerRox]

37. stalled - @ 30 votes for 20 minutes.------- PM somebody-- your uncle

nobody goes to sleep until we get 50 votes------

RIGHT?

recommend the ERD NOW . . here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=nominate&forum=203&thread=422803

[FogerRox]

38. yes-- 32 votes WOOT WOOT WOOT

recommend the ERD NOW . . here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=nominate&forum=203&thread=422803

[Crazy Guggenheim]

39. K&R

[Kurovski]

40. Thanks, crazy!

:hi:

[EFerrari]

41. Thank you! We need to pacify Foger or away we go!

:)

[autorank]

42. Al right guys and gals, I want one of these Rec parties for my next news

post. I did this sucker for four days a week for about, oh,, like 15 years. MelissaB sweet talked me (not really but it's a "story") and before I knew it I was stuck.

So I'll post Monday's thread Sunday around 9:00 and Tuesday's on Monday about the same time.

As for pacifying FogerRox, beware he's been designated a "free fire zone" :evilgrin:
Do NOT bring it on;)

[EFerrari]

43. I don't know how you all have kept it going.

Can only bow down. And pitch in.

:)

[Kurovski]

51. Heck, woman...you're the one who put the thread up!

:applause:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

44. Kick! nt

[Kurovski]

52. What's a gal like you doin' in a joint like this?

:smoke: Come by more often, baby!

[EFerrari]

45. Geeze, he's going to do it!

:wow:

[understandinglife]

46. Thank you!

Peace.

[Patsy Stone]

47. Good morning K&R!

And now it's time to start over and log today's lies. :)

[FogerRox]

48. ONE MORE to hit 50 VOTES COME ON . . .. .

[demodonkey]

49. Done and Kick!

:kick:

[FogerRox]

50. demodonkey, looks like you put us across the finish line, thanks