Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, 7/7/ 2006 Edition FOR ANDY

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Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

Today's ERD. I would like to dedicate to Andy Stephenson
In gratitude for all he did and was and teaching us all by example and with his wisdom. Andy, you are missed, and we will pledge to you to continue this fight for the benefit of All.

Photo: © Andy Steere
http://www.souledout.org/nightsky/summertriangle/summertriangle.html

Will Pitt in February 2005:
http://forum.truthout.org/blog/story/2005/2/24/84720/3496

Andy in April 2005
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=351775

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=358113

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=356134

I found an interview with Andy on a Japanese website -no longer there - I wish I had translated it for him
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=338319

Andy on MSNBC - Comments On Gannon -
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3450057


Tanabata, also known as the "star festival", takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, when, according to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and Vega, which are usually separated from each other by the milky way, are able to meet.

Because the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Tanabata is still celebrated on August 7th in some regions of Japan, while it is celebrated on July 7th in other regions.

One popular Tanabata custom is to write one's wishes on a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a specially erected bamboo tree, in the hope that the wishes become true.

Colorful Tanabata festivals are held across Japan in early July and August. Among the biggest and most famous ones are the Tanabata Festivals of Sendai in August and Hiratsuka near Tokyo in July.
http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/orihime.htm

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

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...
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"
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1. On Andy

Please post any thoughts work and links of Andy you wish to post

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38. Remembering Andy - A Tribute

Thanks to WillYourVoteBCounted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=438267&mesg_id=438267

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39. Remembering Andy and Universal Health Care

Thanks to bobbolink

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1581756

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40. Remembering Andy Stephenson, October 14, 1961 - July 7, 2005

Thanks to benburch

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1575175

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41. So, what really happened with Andy Stephenson, PayPal, and Johns Hopkins?

Thanks to benburch

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1575432

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2. A note from Land Shark re new organization

Thanks to eridani

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x438583

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3. Avi Rubin: Don't Blame The Messenger

Thanks to Wilms

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x438765

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4. Greene Co OH '04 Recount Irregularities Detailed Under Oath

Thanks to mod mom

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=438672&mesg_id=438672

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5. It Couldn't Happen Here: By E.J. Dionne (WaPo)

Thanks to kpete

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x438787

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6. AL: Election could be costly

The Times-Journal

By Mark Harrison
Published July 06, 2006

An upcoming runoff election could be expensive for DeKalb County.

The runoff – which will feature only statewide Republican races – will have essentially the same number of vote counting machines and poll workers as the county’s primary elections in June.

DeKalb County Commission Chairman Sid Holcomb said it cost the county about $30,000 to pay the cost of poll workers in the earlier election.

DeKalb County Registrar Joyce Buttram said turnout for the runoff election July 18, is expected to be low. She said that’s typical of elections that don’t feature local races.

Races on the upcoming runoff ballot will decide GOP nominations for lieutenant governor, court of civil appeals judge, court of criminal appeals judge, state auditor and public service commission.

DeKalb Republican Party Chairman Benny West said anyone who wishes to do so can vote in the runoff, regardless of which party’s primary they voted in previously.

http://www.times-journal.com/report.lasso?wcd=5789

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7. OH: Lawsuit challenges voter registration rules

The Mercury-News

Posted on Thu, Jul. 06, 2006

JOE MILICIA
Associated Press
CLEVELAND - A coalition of civic groups on Thursday sued over the state's new voter registration requirements that they say will hinder low income and minority citizens from getting to the polls.

Project Vote and other groups also contend that the threat of being charged with a crime for violating the voter registration policies creates a chilling effect that will deter people from canvassing.

"This is a class issue," said the Rev. Tony Minor, pastor of Communities of Faith Assemblies Church, a party in the federal lawsuit. "It's directed toward hindering poor people."

The lawsuit assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley challenges a law requiring each person who registers voters to return the forms either in person or by mail to the local board of elections. State and local officials are among those listed as defendants.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor this year and a defendant in the case, said there's nothing in the laws that prohibit law-abiding citizens from getting involved in a voter registration campaign.

"This is about establishing accountability in the system so we are guaranteed that legitimate votes cast are not offset or neutralized by fraudulent votes," said Blackwell, campaigning in nearby Strongsville.

He said he expects to win the lawsuit.

"Why in the world would a fellow who gets 40 percent of the African-American vote want to, in fact, repress the African-American vote?" Blackwell said. "This is all about a fear that I, in fact, am going to cut into their traditional base. What they are doing is perpetuating urban myths that have been knocked down by courts, knocked down by law enforcement and election authorities."

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14979918.htm

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8. NC: Tougher N.C. lobbying bill approved

The Sun. Myrtle Beach

Posted on Thu, Jul. 06, 2006

GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. - The House agreed tentatively Thursday to beef up rules for people who lobby the General Assembly or state agencies through a gift-giving ban and by restricting political campaign donations.

While the measure passed by a near-unanimous margin, a majority declined to expand the length of time ex-legislators would have to wait before lobbying their old chambers from six months to one year.

Lawmakers supporting the shorter "cooling-off" period said they shouldn't be punished for using their skills to make a living for a year after they leave office.

"I believe that the bill treats a legislator as dirt," said Rep. Drew Saunders, D-Mecklenburg, who prefers no waiting period but successfully pushed the six-month window. "There's a punishment here for being a legislator and that's wrong."

The bill builds upon a 2005 lobbying reform package scheduled to take effect in January and designed to make lobbying activities more transparent. But state investigations involving the legislative activities of three workers for lottery vendor Scientific Games International last year also prompted the call for even tougher rules.

Instead of full disclosure of gifts and expenses scheduled to take effect next year, lobbyists or their principals largely would be barred from giving gifts to legislators, the governor, Council of State members and their top assistants. Exemptions would be made for meals and drinks at public events such as receptions and trinkets worth less than $10.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/14981189.htm

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9. OpEdNews: Salt Lake Tribune article on "vote counts and recounts"

and commentary

July 6, 2006 at 16:29:30

by Kathy Dopp, National Election Data Archive

Highly recommended article in today's SL Tribune by Andy Warchol.

Thad Hall, of the University of Utah Political Science Department, has been contracted by the US EAC to study "vote counts & recounts". This means that Thad Hall is compiling all 50 states' laws for counting and recounting votes and becoming an expert in state count and recount law. Unfortunately this EAC job also means that Thad Hall is going to make recommendations for "best practices" for counts and recounts for the entire country - despite his lack of expertise in math or computer science and his past incompetent efforts to push for the adoption of unauditable paperless voting systems that are easily hacked. The US EAC continues to hire people, like Hall and Glen Newkirk, who are not qualified to do the job.

However, Hall is becoming an expert in existing state count and recount laws and Hall is correct when he says that HAVA requires Utah to have a uniform state-wide standard for what a ballot is.

The best standards for defining when the electronic or paper ballot should be the official ballot are given by the recent Brennan Center report. The Brennan Center provides best practice recommendations for resolving issues of when the paper ballot record or the electronic record should be used. See http://brennancenter.org

Utah's Election Director, Michael Cragun, advises Utah counties that:

'a recount would consist of reconciling the polling place records, "re-accumulating the memory cards" and recounting the absentee ballots. "The permanent paper record comes into play only in an extreme situation," he said.'

Sherry Swensen, Salt Lake County Clerk, agrees with Cragun that we'll simply add up the memory card counts again, but do nothing to make sure that they're accurate.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_kathy_do_060706_salt_lake_tribune_ar.htm

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10. OH: Candidate criticizes Blackwell's conduct

Published: Friday, July 7, 2006

Vindy.com

A Blackwell spokesman called the candidate a 'walking conspiracy theory.'

THE VINDICATOR

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Jennifer Brunner, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, says the actions of the current occupant of that post, Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, "does real damage to the office."

In an interview Thursday with The Vindicator, Brunner sharply criticized the way Blackwell, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, runs the secretary of state's office.

"I'm questioning how Ken Blackwell is doing his job," she said. "There's too much politics in his office."

Brunner said it wasn't appropriate for Blackwell to serve in 2004 as a co-chairman of President Bush's Ohio campaign while being the state's top election official.

"That puts into question the objectivity of the election," she said. "People think you're doing something wrong by being so involved. He should have never put himself in a position where people are questioning him."

Brunner, who resigned as a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge to run for secretary of state, also said Blackwell's interpretations of new state elections laws "suppress the vote."

http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/315293282264367.php

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11. TX: Why’re We Shocked? The Voting Rights Act Has Always Been Under Fire

Black America Web


The Hutchinson Report:
Date: Friday, July 07, 2006
By: Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com

Many continue to be shocked, surprised and puzzled over Congress’ foot-drag over renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The assumption was that Congress would quickly renew it, and that President Bush, as promised, would just as quickly sign the renewal. In the weeks before House Republicans dashed that hope, Senate and House Republicans publicly gushed over the act and practically consecrated it as an untouchable civil rights symbol.

Renewal was thought to be such a lock that a mysterious email that was circulated a couple of years ago that claimed that Congress would torpedo the Voting Rights Act and that blacks would be again summarily kicked out the Voting booth was branded race paranoia run amok and laughed away. The warning that blacks would be stripped of the vote deserves laughter. The warning that the Voting Rights Act might be in trouble is no laughing matter.

The Voting Rights Act has always been more controversial than many have believed. The popular myth is that Congressional leaders were so appalled and enraged at the shocking TV clips of Alabama state troopers battering civil rights marchers in Selma in April 1965 that they promptly passed the landmark act that restored voting rights to Southern blacks. What’s forgotten is that the marchers were there in the first place because the bill was badly stalled in the Senate and the House. It took nearly five months to get the bill passed.

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/stateof/hutchinsonreport707

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12. DE: '00, '04 elections prove reform needed, prof says

Delaware Online

By GINGER GIBSON
The News Journal
07/07/2006
NEWARK -- Halfway between the presidential elections of 2004 and 2008, some local residents say they fear problems that affected the outcome of the last vote could recur in two years.

In particular, they cite problems in Ohio in 2004 and Florida in 2000 that they believe propelled George W. Bush into the White House when the job should have gone to his opponent.

Steven Freeman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed his new book challenging the results of the 2004 elections with about 25 area residents Thursday night. He said he found discrepancies between exit polls and actual results that point to fraud.

The discussion at the University of Delaware, was sponsored by the Newark chapter of the Delaware Green Party.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060707/NEWS/607070352/1006

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13. NM: National Association of Secretaries of State to congregate in NM

Las Cruces Sun-News

By Walter Rubel Santa Fe Bureau Chief

SANTA FE — Top election officials from 30 states will confer on issues such as increasing voter turnout and ensuring compliance with federal voting laws when they meet in New Mexico next week for the annual convention of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

The convention opens with social events Sunday, then begins in earnest Monday in Santa Fe. It ends Thursday morning with a public hearing of the Election Assistance Commission on ballot design and effective voter information.

New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, who is wrapping up her second and final term in office, said that by having the convention in Santa Fe, more members of her staff will be able to participate and learn from the best practices of those in other states.

Vigil-Giron said she is interested in hearing from other states that have already gone to a paper-ballot system. The New Mexico Legislature passed an election-reform bill this past session mandating paper ballots here.

"I like to see what other states are doing," Vigil-Giron said. "I'm interested in the design for New Mexico. Can it be made better or not?"

http://lcsun-news.com/news/ci_4021739

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14. RI: Ethics Commission investigates secretary of state candidate

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The state Ethics Commission is investigating fundraising by North Providence Mayor Ralph Mollis, a candidate for secretary of state.

Mollis' campaign sent a fundraising letter to some North Providence town employees. The state ethics code says candidates should not seek donations from people who work for them.

The commission is responding to a complaint filed by Newport resident Guillaume de Ramel. De Ramel and Mollis face each other in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary.

Mollis said his campaign manager sent the fundraising letter to people who have contributed to his campaigns in the past. Some were town workers.

http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5123506&nav=F2DO

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15. FL: Voter registration deadline approaches

The Daily Sun

By DAILY SUN STAFF

THE VILLAGES — The clock is ticking for would-be voters who want to cast their ballots this fall but have yet to register.

Floridians must register within 29 days of the upcoming elections. Aug. 7 is the deadline to vote in the Sept. 5 primary, while Oct. 10 is the cutoff date for the Nov. 7 general election.

More than 10.5 million people statewide were registered to vote as of June 2005, according to the office of Dawn Kimmel Roberts, director of Florida’s Division of Elections. Registered voters in the tri-county area as of this month total 196,794 in Marion, 174,797 in Lake and 48,799 in Sumter.

Recent Florida transplants, or those who may have relocated to a new home within the state, must file or update their voter information before the deadline. To be eligible to vote, one must be a U.S. citizen, a Florida resident, a legal resident of the county he or she will vote in, be at least 18 years old, and may not claim the right to vote in another state.

http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2006/07/07/news/news01.txt

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16. MI: Voter registration for primary ends Monday

The State News
MSU's Independent Voice

By REBECCA MCNULTY

The State News

Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Aug. 8 primary election.
Registering to vote can be done at a Secretary of State office, including the one in East Lansing, located at the corner of Albert Avenue and Charles Street. Registration can also be done at the East Lansing City Clerk's Office at City Hall, 410 Abbott Road.

Monday is also the last day to change an address on the voter registration card. The address must match the one on a driver's license.

Some of the offices people will be able to vote for include a seat in the U.S. Senate, seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and candidates for the 68th and 69th District seats in the state House of Representatives.

http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=36810

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17. AL: Voter Registration Deadline

WTVY Channel 4 News

If you're planning to vote in the July 18 Primary runoff in Coffee County, time is running out to get registered. Friday afternoon at 4:30 is the deadline.

You may register at the coffee county board of registrars. The requirements to register are:

You must be at least 18 years old and a United States citizen.

http://www.wtvynews4.com/news/headlines/3290326.html

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18. MEXICO: Mexico Votes for Stability

TIME

The populist runner-up vows a challenge, but an election crisis appears averted as Calderón ekes out a victory
By TIM PADGETT

Posted Thursday, Jul. 06, 2006
Four days after the polls had closed, Mexican election authorities on Thursday evening finally declared Felipe Calderón the top vote-getter in the tightest presidential election in Mexico's history. But, like a hot jalapeño pepper on the tongue, the dispute over the results could linger a while longer than expected.

The official count shows Calderón, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), on top by a mere 243,934 votes, only .58% ahead of the runner-up, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). Calderón received 35.89% of the almost 42 million votes cast, to López Obrador's 35.31%. Still, López Obrador says he's not buying the official tally. Before Mexico's electoral tribunal definitively declares Calderón the winner early next week, López Obrador is calling on his supporters to gather by the tens of thousands on Saturday in Mexico City's main square, the Zócalo, to challenge what he called the election's "many irregularities." While demanding that officials conduct a new vote-by-vote count, López Obrador insisted that "we can't accept or recognize these results."

By law, López Obrador and the PRD can take their challenge to the tribunal before it anoints Calderón the victor. But unless they present concrete proof of 244,000 votes' worth of errors or fraud, it's doubtful Calderón's victory will be reversed before the Dec. 1 inauguration. At this point, said an election observer from the European Union, "any other decision is a fairy tale."

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1211067,00.html

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19. IN: NWI expatriates see reform in election outcome

July 7, 2006


Post-Tribune staff and wire reports

The outcome of Thursday’s Mexican presidential election is drawing interest in Northwest Indiana, with potential implications for both immigration and trade.

The ruling party’s Felipe Calderon won the official count by a 200,000 votes, but his leftist rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, refuses to concede and said he will fight the results in court.

Calderon, a conservative who supported free-market values and financial stability during the campaign wants to rely on Mexico’s many free-trade accords to create jobs and crack down on rising crime, and said he’ll work to smooth U.S. relations without letting Washington dominate.

In Northwest Indiana, home to the largest Mexican community in the state, interest has been high throughout the heated campaign.

This was the first time Mexico has allowed citizens to cast absentee ballots.

Ramon Valladolid of East Chicago was one 5,000 who registered in the Chicago area.

Valladolid, 67, was too young to vote when he left Mexico 50 years ago, but said he was proud to cast an absentee ballot in the hotly contested Mexican presidential race.

“I’m very proud,” said Valladolid, who has dual citizenship. “It’s been the first time that I voted for a Mexican president. I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity to do that.”

http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/07-07-06_z1_news_06.html

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20. CA: For Calderon, winning was the easy part

OC Register

Friday, July 7, 2006

The apparent president-elect faces an uphill fight to improve the Mexican economy

It seems likely that Felipe Calderon of the center-right, relatively pro-business National Action Party (PAN) will become the next president of Mexico, although the outcome is still mildly uncertain. Being able to govern effectively, let alone institute the kinds of reforms that could start to reduce poverty and improve competitiveness, will be even more difficult than squeaking through an uncommonly close electoral struggle.

The vote was so close that it is almost certain to be contested by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the leftist/populist candidate of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), in the courts and elsewhere. Assuming Mexico's election commission has made Mr. Calderon's election official, it is likely that Mr. Lopez Obrador will call for massive demonstrations in Mexico City, the country's political and media capital, amplifying charges of election fraud.

Such charges are likely to be baseless. Almost everybody, including international observers from the United Nations and elsewhere, agree that this has been as clean and transparent an electoral process as Mexico has seen in recent history. But when an election is decided by fractions of a percentage point, it suggests deep political divisions in the country. Given the differences between the two major candidates, not only in style but in the programs they offered Mexican voters, those differences are so deep as to be seriously polarizing, Alvaro Vargas-Llosa, director of the Center for Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute, told us.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/homepage/article_1204960.php

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21. NY: Friday Forum: Voter registration seeks common good, expresses

baptismal covenant



From the Episcopal Public Policy Network

Friday, July 07, 2006
"As Episcopalians we must also be mindful that our response to the promise we made at baptism to 'strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being' is lived out through our participation in our nation's political process and civic life." -- Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold
Voting is one of the most important rights and responsibilities granted to all Americans. As the Presiding Bishop points out, Episcopalians have a specific responsibility set forth in their baptismal covenant. Voting is an opportunity for Episcopalians to exercise both our right to vote and our baptismal promise by electing officials who will seek peace and justice for the common good.

There have been federal, state, and local primary elections going on all around the country and there are still more to come, not to mention the November 7 General Election. There is still time to register to vote – to visit the National Voter Registration Page go to http://www.eac.gov/register_vote.asp.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_76537_ENG_HTM.htm

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22. NY: DON'T DISMANTLE THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT

Amherst Times

Written by LUCI BAINES JOHNSON and LYNDA JOHNSON ROBB
Friday, 07 July 2006
THE Voting Rights Act, signed into law on Aug. 6, 1965, by our father, President Lyndon Johnson, opened the political process to millions of Americans. The law was born amid the struggle for voting rights in Selma and Montgomery, Ala., which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called "a shining moment in the conscience of man." By eliminating barriers, including poll taxes and literacy tests, that had long prevented members of minority groups from voting, the act became a keystone of civil rights in the United States.

Now, crucial provisions of this legislation are in jeopardy. Last month, Congress seemed set to renew expiring sections intended to prevent voter discrimination based on race or language proficiency. Instead, a group of House lawmakers opposed to those sections succeeded in derailing their consideration.

The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in voting everywhere in the country. But it has a special provision, Section 5, intended for regions with persistent histories of discrimination. These states and localities must have their election plans approved by the Justice Department.

Since the act was last renewed, in 1982, the federal government has objected to hundreds of proposed changes in state and local voting laws on the basis of their discriminatory impact. In recent years, proposed election changes in Georgia, Texas and other states were blocked because they violated the act.

Yet states and localities are not subject to Section 5 forever. In order to gain exemption, they need only meet a set of clear standards proving that they have been in compliance with the law for 10 years and have not tried to discriminate against minority voters. In Virginia, for example, eight counties and three cities have been exempted from Section 5.

http://www.amhersttimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2090&Itemid=27

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23. NY: NEW MACHINES MAKE VOTING EASY

Friday, July 07, 2006
By ADELE DELSAVIO, Staff Writer
Oswego County just brought home four new machines to make voting easier for people with disabilities.

The machines can talk to a voter with a hearing impairment or enlarge type for one with a visual impairment. For someone who is totally blind, there is a keypad.

There is a thick stylus for those with dexterity problems, and a “sip and puff” feature for people who cannot use their hands at all.

Voters can “sip and puff” using a headset and a thin tube like those used by quadriplegics to operate a wheelchair.

Help America Vote Act

The machines bring the county into compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed in 2002 to improve the administration of elections for federal office.

Section 301 of the act states that voting systems used in an election for federal office must provide accessibility for voters with disabilities.

This accessibility must provide the same opportunity for access and participation - including privacy and independence - as it does for other voters.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of New York for not meeting compliance deadlines - hence, the new machines.

Oswego County spent $21,000 to get one machine for each of the county's four assembly districts. They will be placed at the Oswego County Board of Elections, the Oswego Town municipal building, Sandy Creek and Hastings.

Each machine cost $2,895; the rest of the cost went for supplies and laptops.

http://www.pall-times.com/articles/2006/07/07/news/news2.txt

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24. AZ: Winner, loser must work to unite people of Mexico

The Arizona Republic

Jul. 7, 2006 12:00 AM
Mexican voters chose stability.

Just barely. And not without bitterness.

The victory of pro-business candidate Felipe Calderón may reflect a desire to continue with the policies championed by current President Vicente Fox, who belongs to the same party. But the razor-thin margin of Calderón's win shows a deep discontent with Fox's failure to move meaningful energy, tax and judicial reforms through a divided Congress.

Given the closeness of recent U.S. elections that pitted political opposites against one another, there may be a larger lesson in this close race about the need for leaders who can bring people together.

No doubt, that's what Mexico needs now.

The candidate who kept Calderón's victory too close to call for days is leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He may get an emotional charge out of pursuing his protests over what appears to have been a clean election. He says he'll take his supporters to the streets in a sour-grapes pique that could undermine public confidence in Calderón's administration before it even begins.

The loser could ensure that the congressional stalemates that dogged the Fox administration continue for another six years.

That would be a disaster for Mexico.

Calderón has a better option. He offered López Obrador a Cabinet position. From inside the administration, López Obrador could try to affect policies and use his party's clout in Congress to move reform into reality. That would take a statesman. López Obrador, who has a reputation as a fighter, would have to rise to the occasion.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0707fri1-07.html

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25. NICARAGUA: In Nicaragua, old US foe rises again

CS Monitor

World>Americas
from the July 07, 2006 edition
Daniel Ortega may further his lead in upcoming vote, after death of opponent.

By Tim Rogers | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA – The sudden death Sunday of Nicaraguan presidential candidate Herty Lewites could open the door for yet another leftist leader to win election in Latin America. But in this case, the leader is one the US spent millions combating in the 1980s.
Daniel Ortega is a well-known figure in Washington, which funded contra rebels to battle his Sandinista government.

Democracy has since ushered in a number of leaders since Mr. Ortega last held power in 1990, but he has remained a key power-broker and a perennial presidential candidate.

This time around, Ortega is leading in the polls, yet currently without enough support to win outright in the first round. However, if now he can pick up an additional eight or 10 percentage points from Sandinista voters who were supporting Mr. Lewites' reform candidacy, it could be just enough to push Ortega over the top in the Nov. 5 elections.

Analysts say that if returned to power, Ortega, a fiery leader of Latin America's old-guard left, would act in concert with other regional critics of the United States including Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, Bolivia's Evo Morales, and Cuba's Fidel Castro.

"An Ortega win at the ballot box in November would be a humiliating setback for the Bush administration," says Michael Shifter, a Nicaragua expert at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. "Unlike in other Latin American elections, where Washington has shown admirable neutrality, in Nicaragua it has not concealed its intense desire to keep Ortega from returning to power."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0707/p07s02-woam.html

[rumpel]

26. IRELAND: Irish Citizens for Trustworthy E-voting (ICTE)

electricnews.net

Irish Citizens for Trustworthy E-voting (ICTE) has welcomed the release of the Commission on Electronic Voting's second report on the accuracy of the Nedap/Powervote e-voting system. ICTE is an independent group of concerned citizens, IT & security practitioners, and legal professionals which is calling for the introduction of a voter verified audit trail with any e-voting system used in Ireland. "We are satisfied that this report vindicates our concerns about this e-voting system, particularly the need for a voter verified paper audit trail and the need to entirely replace the vote-management section of the system," said Margaret McGaley, a spokesperson for ICTE. The pressure group also took issue with Minister Dick Roche's plan to proceed with the e-voting system. It said that the Government should not decide to use the system without doing a full cost-benefit analysis.

(entire comment)

http://www.enn.ie/news.html?code=9728251

[rumpel]

27. Lobby groups hail e-voting report

siliconrepublic.com

07.07.2006 - Two independent groups that had been critical of the Government’s move to introduce e-voting have welcomed the latest report of the Commission on Electronic Voting (CEV).

In statements released yesterday, the Irish Computer Society (ICS) and Irish Citizens for Trustworthy E-voting (ICTE) welcomed the publication of the report which concluded that the Nedap/Powervote voting machines were broadly acceptable but declared that the associated counting software and PCs need to be improved.

The ICS had supported the introduction of electronic voting in principle but had highlighted specific failings of the proposed system that was due to have been introduced countrywide in 2004. ICTE, a lobby group of concerned citizens and academics, had been calling for a voter-verified audit trail as a way to reassure the public that the e-voting systems were recording votes accurately – a stance backed by the ICS.

The ICS claimed that some of its recommendations were endorsed by the CEV, including better provision for disabled voters and the addition of facility to abstain or spoil one’s vote in secret. ICS chief executive Jim Friars commented: “The Commission have taken the correct approach in their thorough analysis of the e-voting system and the ICS is in agreement with their resulting recommendations. I would propose that any future work of this Commission should continue to use consultation, particularly with specialist bodies like the ICS, in order to maximise its effectiveness.”

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6705

[rumpel]

28. Bangladesh: New EC Secy to recommend voter roll acceptable to all

By Staff Reporter
Thu, 6 Jul 2006, 11:15:00


Newly appointed Election Commission (EC) Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarker yesterday hinted that the voters’ list may now be updated by house-to-house visits.

Talking to journalists after a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner Justice MA Aziz, he said that he would recommend the EC to formulate a realistic voters’ roll acceptable to all.

Asked whether the EC would take measures to update the voters’ list by house-to-house visit in accordance with the demand of major political parties, Sarker said, “Only the CEC and the Election Commissioners have the power to bring any change to it and I can only put forward my recommendations to them.”

“Let me first join the Election Commission and then we will discuss the matter,” he said.

Abdur Rashid said, "I have said it before and I am saying it now that updating the voters’ list is possible in both ways—either at offices or by house-to-house visits—if people, political parties, professionals and journalists can be involved in the process.”

http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_28967.shtml

[rumpel]

29. Calderon Prevails In Mexico; Rival Will Challenge

KTLA-News

From the Los Angeles Times

ELECTION IN MEXICO

A recount gives the presidency to the conservative, who wins by less than a percentage point. Lopez Obrador plans to go to court.

By Héctor Tobar and Richard Boudreaux, Times Staff Writers

July 7, 2006, 5:51 AM PDT

MEXICO CITY — Conservative Felipe Calderon was officially declared the winner of Mexico's presidential election Thursday, outpolling leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by less than a percentage point after more than three days of vote counting.

Lopez Obrador immediately denounced irregularities in the official count and said he would launch an effort to overturn Calderon's victory before Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal. Legal analysts believe the seven-judge panel, which has exercised its power to overturn gubernatorial elections and order new votes, is likely to consider the case.

Lopez Obrador, formerly mayor of Mexico City, urged his followers to attend a massive rally Saturday in the capital's central square, the Zocalo, to protest the election result. Calderon called on his followers to make their own voices heard so their votes "are not thrown into the trash bin."

http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-mexicoel,0,7505155.story?coll=ktla-news-1

Calderon promised to work to unite Mexicans divided by one of the most bitter campaigns in the nation's political history, and said he would fight any court challenge to his victory.

[rumpel]

30. Fitrakis: The Democrats must now say "We Do Not Concede"

in the U.S. as it's being said in Mexico

The Free Press

by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
July 7, 2006

Lopez Obrador is saying in Mexico what the Democratic Party should have been saying in the United States since November 2000: WE DO NOT CONCEDE. And no Democrat should ever again be nominated for any public office without first pledging to guarantee a full and thorough recount, as is being attempted in Mexico.

We do not yet know the final official outcome of the Mexican presidential election. We do know the vote casting and counting have been plagued with some of the same kinds of intimidation, theft, fraud and electronic manipulation that have become the staples of Rove-run elections here in the United States.

The Mexican outcome is hugely important for a wide range of reasons. The Mexican presidency in the hands of a leftist like Lopez Obrador would have a major effect on the immigration issue currently being used by the Bush/Rove Republicans to whip up racist division and diversion. A leftist victory would also underscore the sea change in Latin American politics being led by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and other populists rising from the southern grassroots.

The pattern in the Mexican election is all too familiar to those of us who've seen GOP thefts in Ohio 2004 and elsewhere. The left/liberal candidate is ahead in the polls going into the election. But at the last minute, there's a shift. The exit polls still show the left/liberal victory. But somehow there are "computer glitches" and other "problems" that miraculously shift the final vote to the right, as with George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, both of which were decided by fraud, theft and manipulation.

Mexico would seem to be headed down the same dismal path, with one world-class difference: THE LEFT ACTUALLY STOOD UP!

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2006/2064

[rumpel]

31. TX: E-Slate voting machines under scrutiny

News 8 Austin

7/6/2006 6:19 PM
By: Allie Rasmus

Two Austin organizations want to change what happens when Travis County voters cast their ballot this November.

The NAACP of Austin and the Texas Civil Rights project sued the state and Travis County over electronic voting machines.

The groups filed a request for a temporary injunction to make changes to the voting machines by the November elections.

E-Slate machines violate the state election code because they don't produce individual paper records of vote transactions, Texas Civil Rights Project Director Jim Harrington said.

"Twenty-seven states require there be a paper trail and Texas needs to do it," Harrington said.

Harrington argued his case with an analogy. If people can get a paper receipt for ATM transactions, voters should be able to do the same thing with their ballots, he said. During the last regular legislative session in 2005, members filed two House Bills and one Senate Bill to require a paper trail. None of the bills came up for a vote.

"The legislature did not do it. Last session they had the chance to do it, but a few people who didn't like it, killed it. And that's why we're in court. We're trying to get the judge to speed up this process," Harrington said.

Harrington's organization sued the Texas Secretary of State's office and Travis County to make alterations to the E-Slate voting machines in time for the November elections. The groups want the county to add mechanisms to allow for paper receipts.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=166043&SecID=2

[rumpel]

32. NY: Lifton will run for third term

The Ithaca Journal.com

By Yuval Shavit
Special to the Journal

ITHACA — Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, D-125th District, announced Thursday that she would seek a third term with the New York State Assembly.

Stressing her accomplishments over the last four years, Lifton said she has fought for the environment, election procedures, economic development and helping “the most vulnerable among us,” including working mothers and the elderly.

That work has taken form on statewide and local levels, she said. Frustrated with the slow cleanup of the Emerson site on South Hill, Lifton said she asked for the help of Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation, in holding an official hearing on trichloroethene contamination at the site.

“Because of this work, and the excellent organizing and work of the South Hill residents, the cleanup of this site, with very difficult geology, is now proceeding at a faster pace and in a more thorough way,” Lifton said. She also criticized the federal Help America Vote Act, passed in 2002, focusing specifically on the electronic voting machines it calls for and saying that they “don't work and have no paper trail for an accurate re-count.”
Instead, Lifton wants optical scanning machines, in which voters fill out a paper form which is then read by a computer. She said she wrote a letter to the Assembly urging them to adopt these as the uniform voting machines for New York state, and as a result was appointed to serve on the Election Law Committee and Citizens' Election Modernization Advisory Committee.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060707/NEWS01/607070338/1002

[rumpel]

33. OH: GOP secretary of state candidate backs voter registration rules

Posted on Fri, Jul. 07, 2006
JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Republican nominee for secretary of state said Friday he backs new state rules for registering voters that prompted a coalition of civic groups to sue the state earlier this week.

"Providing accountability to those who register voters in Ohio is a good thing," said Greg Hartmann, clerk of courts in Hamilton County.

The coalition, including Project Vote and others, sued Thursday over requirements penned by Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell that they say will discourage low-income and minority citizens from getting to the polls.

It also contends the threat of being charged with a crime for violating the voter registration policies creates a chilling effect that will deter people from canvassing.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/14988405.htm

[rumpel]

34. IL: Daniels aide says bosses ordered him to use taxpayer money for

campaigns

The Daily Herald

By Associated Press
Posted Friday, July 07, 2006

A former top aide to Illinois House Republicans says he was following orders from his bosses when he illegally assigned legislative staffers to do campaign work on state time, according to a court filing.

In papers filed Thursday, Michael Tristano, who was chief of staff to former House Minority Leader Lee Daniels, says he "had the authority with Leader Daniels agreement" to dole out employee assignments.

Tristano pleaded guilty to mail fraud in March, admitting that he steered up to $200,000 in taxpayer funds to political campaigns between 1998 and 2001. He has asked to receive a year and a day in prison when he is sentenced.

Daniels, a state representative, has not been charged with any wrongdoing. His legislative office in Elmhurst referred questions to Daniels' attorney, Tom Breen. A message left for Breen was not immediately returned Friday.

In November, Daniels announced that he would not run for re-election this year, ending his three-decade political career.

Tristano has admitted that he camouflaged the use of state workers on campaigns by giving them compensatory leave and payments from the House Republican Campaign Committee. But he acknowledged that neither the time off nor the payments covered all the campaign work.

Tristano was executive director of the campaign committee, which Daniels headed.

According to court papers, Tristano said he "answered to Lee Daniels and the Republican leadership" and was instructed to subsidize campaign work using state resources.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=206088

[rumpel]

35. Zapatistas Finger Election Fraud

Mexico, Jul 7 (Prensa Latina) The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) has joined denunciations of vote rigging in Mexico's Sunday elections to favor governing candidate Felipe Calderon.

"There is something fishy here," asserted Subcommander Marcos, leader of the EZLN, in a news conference published by La Jornada on Friday, condemning President Vicente Fox's maneuvers to benefit Calderon.

Marcos assured nearly five million citizens -including some dead and immigrants- appeared on registers, and their "votes" were counted in favor of Calderon, of the National Action Party.

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BA861449F-4DD1-4693-B7BF-54ACCC4AA080%7D)&language=EN

[rumpel]

36. TX: DeLay Loses in Texas Ballot Battle

CNS News Service

By Kate Monaghan
CNSNews.com Correspondent
July 07, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A federal judge has made it easier for the Democratic Party to pick up the Texas U.S. House seat formerly occupied by Tom DeLay. U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks ruled Thursday that the Republican Party cannot replace DeLay - the former House majority leader who resigned in April - on the November ballot with another GOP candidate.

If DeLay's name remains on the ballot and he wins, Democrats will attempt to declare him "ineligible and unable to serve," Texas Republican Party Chairman Tina Benkiser said, since DeLay changed his residency to Virginia after resigning his congressional seat.

However, Sparks wrote in his ruling that to allow the GOP to replace DeLay on the ballot would amount to a "serious abuse of the election system and a fraud on the voters."

DeLay won the Republican primary for Texas' 22nd District seat in March before deciding that the criminal case against him involving alleged money laundering and campaign finance violations was too much of a distraction for him to continue his campaign.

DeLay and his supporters say they are confident that Sparks' decision will be overturned. Dani DeLay Ferro, the former congressman's daughter, said it was "unfortunate that the voters of the 22nd District of Texas are the ones who bear the brunt of Judge Spark's ill-advised decision."

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=%5CPolitics%5Carchive%5C200607%5CPOL20060707a.html

[rumpel]

37. Decision Support’s Electronic Voter Identification systems purchased by

26 Florida counties
Carolina Newswire
(press release) (as per google subheading)

07-07-2006

CHARLOTTE – More than two dozen Florida counties have purchased Electronic Voter Identification (EViD) systems that automate the voter check-in process, increase speed and accuracy, and result in a more consistent process across election precincts. EViD electronic poll books will be introduced across the state during elections in 2006. For more information, visit www.evidusa.com

Designed by Matthews-based Decision Support Inc. (www.decisionsupport.com) and VR Systems of Tallahassee, Florida, EViD utilizes a patent pending set of processes and technology that makes the voter check-in process during elections easier, more reliable, and more consistent.

“With the Help America Vote Act putting so much pressure on state and county elections officials to upgrade their technology and improve the elections process, we think EViD will be widely accepted,” stated Bruce Wilkinson, CEO of Decision Support Inc.

EViD check-in technology and design standards prevent voter fraud by alerting the poll worker that the voter has previously checked in, even during the early voting cycle, where the risk of voter fraud is perhaps the greatest.

http://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=headlines.db&command=viewone&id=10258&op=t

I have to comment: The site does not state it is a Press Release - It refers to this as "article"

[rumpel]

42. Legal Funds Needed by 7/10 for "Voting Machine Sleepover" Debacle!

emlev

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1586986&mesg_id=1586986

[rumpel]

43. "Senor Blank-o" Wins In Mexico! by Greg Palast

Thanks to IndyOp

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x438838

[EFerrari]

44. Archived thread: The Stalking of Andy Stephenson

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=383284

[autorank]

45. Awesome Rumpel, you are a true STAR n/t

[KaryninMiami]

46. To Andy

Hello my friend,
I think about you every day, even now. I think about you whenever a new story breaks that shows the progress of your (our) passionate work to make a difference in our lives and to restore election credibility.
I think about you when I open my desktop and see the photo of you (and the one of us) in Nashville.
I think about how you you called me so soon after your surgey and how shocked I was to hear your voice on the line and I remember clearly hearing your voice, the first time my cell phone rang after my surgery last summer.
I think about you when I am tired of this fight and am ready to throw it all in and move to Costa Rica (or Mexico or Rome or anywhere but here) and I know it's you pushing me along so that I won't quit and won't stop until we've accomplished this monumental task
I think about you smiling down at us, knowing that your work is continuing by this army of patriots that you know will never, ever let you down.

Sending you a huge hug, sending you a smile, sending you thanks for how much you made a difference in our lives (and in mine) and I send you my love.

K.