Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Saturday, July 8, 2006

[livvy]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.



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.

Yesterday's ERD was outstanding. If you haven't read it yet, you really should. The threads about Andy really touched me in many ways. Some made me very sad, others angry, and others reminded me about the days filled with hope for Andy's recovery. But most of all they reminded me how important passion and compassion, empathy, friendship, and love are to keep the spirit whole and healthy.
Here's to Andy's friends, an amazing group with the wholest and healthiest spirits anyone could ever hope to have in their circle of life.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=438798&mesg_id=438798

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

[livvy]

1. Opinion: Mexico's Election Lesson to U.S.

Mexico's election lesson to U.S.
The country's democracy looks messy on the outside, but its transparent system could teach us a few things.
By Robert A. Pastor
ROBERT A. PASTOR is a professor at American University in Washington and director of its Center for Democracy and Election Management. He is also director of the Jimmy Carter-James Baker Commission on

July 8, 2006

IN 1986, I OBSERVED an election in Mexico's northern state of Chihuahua and learned almost everything I would ever need to know about election fraud. Last week, I observed elections again in Mexico, but this time, I concluded that the United States and the world could learn much from Mexico about how to conduct and judge a free and fair election.

This might come as a shock. After all, the election looked messy from the outside. It took four days before Mexico's Federal Election Institute, or IFE, announced a winner — Felipe Calderon, the leader of the conservative National Action Party — by the slimmest of margins (0.58%, or about 244,000 votes out of 41 million). Calderon did not bother to wait for the announcement to proclaim his triumph, and his main rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, also announced victory and quickly challenged the IFE's conclusion.

Close elections are always dangerous. Even in long-standing democracies like the U.S., a close election (like in 2000) often leaves the losing party resentful and angry. In new democracies, political suspicions often collide with administrative incapacity during close elections, leading to unrest or violence.

It is too soon to know whether Mexico will avoid these pitfalls. But its chances of doing so are greater because, in the last decade, it has constructed some of the most sophisticated electoral institutions and procedures in the democratic world. I compared the electoral systems of North America, and the good news is that the U.S. came in third. The bad news is that there are only three countries in North America.

It is hard for most Americans to accept that Mexico has overtaken us in electoral administration, but let me count the ways.

>more

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-pastor8jul08,0,51027.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

[livvy]

2. In Mexico, Courts Decide If Calderon Becomes President

In Mexico, courts decide if Calderón becomes president

By David Koop
ASSOCIATED PRESS

5:44 p.m. July 7, 2006

MEXICO CITY – The ballots have been cast and counted. But Felipe Calderón isn't Mexico's president-elect until the nation's highest electoral court says so.

The independent agency that ran Sunday's election added up more than 41 million votes and declared that Calderón won the most: 240,000 more than rival Andres Manuel López Obrador.

But this agency has no legal authority to declare a winner.

Under Mexico's complex election laws, Calderón won't have won until the Federal Electoral Tribunal certifies the count. And that's not a sure thing: the widely respected tribunal has overturned two gubernatorial races in recent years, both for meddling by the ruling party.

>more

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060707-1744-mexico-victorydelayed.html

[livvy]

3. Mexico: Previous Rulings May Serve As A Clue

Previous rulings may serve as a clue

UNION-TRIBUNE

July 8, 2006

On what grounds could the Mexican election results be changed or overturned?

Cases involving the 2004 mayor's race in Mexicali and the 2000 Tabasco governor's race could provide some clues.

The election is now in the hands of Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal, or TRIFE. Its decision is due by Sept. 6.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, said this week that he will challenge the results to the TRIFE and ask for a recount.

>more

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060708-9999-1n8appeal.html

[livvy]

4. Mexico's Fixed Election by Stephen Lendman

ZNet | Mexico

Mexico's Fixed Election
by Stephen Lendman; July 07, 2006

What do these presidential elections all have in common: Mexico, 1988, US, 2000, US, 2004, Colombia and Peru, 2006 and the just concluded Mexican election on July 2? In each case, the outcome was "arranged" and known in advance before voters went to the polls. They're what economist and media and social critic Edward Herman calls "Demonstration Elections" - the characterization and title he gave his 1980s book analyzing and documenting sham elections in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Vietnam. Professor Herman is an expert, and although his book was written over 20 years ago, it's clear little has changed except for the added sophistication gained since then in the ability of officials to make elections turn out the way they wish. The same fraud occurs in many countries, and Professor Herman might have included many others besides the ones he chose but had he done so he'd have had to have written a book with no end.

Elections that only appear democratic happen throughout the developing world wherever the US has a strategic interest, which these days means everywhere. But they also happen in at least some developed countries, most notably the last two US presidential elections. We know it thanks to the superb investigative work of UK based journalist Greg Palast who analyzed those elections and documented how each was stolen in his important new book Armed Madhouse. Palast went on to state his belief that based on information he's uncovered the plans are now in place to steal the 2008 US presidential election, and he explains how it'll be done. It's in his new book, reviewed in detail and can be read at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

With this sort of "democracy" in America, what could we expect south of the border where longtime Mexico observer and writer John Ross says the fine art of election theft was perfected. It certainly was in evidence on July 2 as that election just completed and final results announced on July 6 looked just like the one held there in 1988 when Cuauhtemoc Cardinas (son of the country's last leftist president from 1932 - 38) ran against the US choice Carlos Salinas of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that dominated Mexican politics as a virtual dictatorship for over 70 years until it lost the 2000 presidential election to current President Vincente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN). Both those parties represent wealth and power so it was of little concern to the US which of them runs the Mexican political system.

In 1988, Salinas was declared the winner with 51% of the vote in an election Cardinas clearly won. To achieve victory, the PRI never counted the votes from thousands of voting stations, stole and burned the contents of selected ballot boxes, falsified voter tally sheets and falsely claimed computers tabulating votes had crashed and couldn't be restored for 10 days following the election by which time Salinas was declared the winner. Following the announcement, few people believed it, and hundreds of Cardenas' supporters were killed in political violence opposing it in street protests over the next few years.

>more

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=59&ItemID=10540

[livvy]

5. Mexico Braces For Street Protests

Mexico braces for street protests

Saturday, July 8, 2006; Posted: 6:51 a.m. EDT (10:51 GMT)

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged his supporters to take to the streets Saturday, claiming the governing party stole his victory in Mexico's extremely narrow elections.

Lopez Obrador asked protesters to be peaceful during a demonstration Saturday afternoon, but warned the government would be responsible for any angry flare-ups because officials rejected his demand for a manual recount of Sunday's vote.

His conservative rival, Felipe Calderon, meanwhile, acted as if his presidential victory was secure and took a congratulatory call from President Bush on Friday.

Mexico's top election court has yet to name a president-elect because it must first weigh complaints of illegal campaign practices and certify the vote count.

>more

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/08/mexico.elex.ap/

[livvy]

6. Mexico's Bush v. Gore (Some helpful hints from Ginsberg...grrrrr)

I almost didn't post this, because it ticked me off so much, but then I figured I should anyway. (Hate to feel ticked off all alone!)



MEXICO'S BUSH V. GORE

By Benjamin L. Ginsberg
Sunday, July 9, 2006; B01

I still remember the shock I felt -- that mix of abject fear and utter disbelief -- when I realized we would be in a recount after the 2000 presidential vote. Now, following their own ferociously contested election, our friends in Mexico may be joining us in that memorable (but not necessarily desirable) experience.

So, after living though the 2000 Florida recount as national counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign, I offer here are a few tips for Felipe Calder?n, Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador and those who will handle the recount for them in the coming days and weeks:

First, get the right people. It makes all the difference. Recruit the smartest, ablest, toughest ones you can find. We immediately started lining up former Supreme Court clerks, red-meat litigators, wily political operatives and top communicators. Be sure they're committed to your candidate -- that commitment makes it possible to manage all that talent.

Second, organize. Former secretary of state James A. Baker III led our recount effort. He brought a career's worth of assets to the endeavor, including vast experience in complex missions. His first charge was the creation of a detailed organizational chart, which paid dividends throughout. The effort had structure and people had defined responsibilities in what was otherwise the most unpredictable, fast-paced and high stakes time of our professional lives.

>more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070701153.html

[BeFree]

20. I see what you mean (grrrrrrr)

"I don't belong to an organized political party. I am a democrat". Still true today.

Livvy, thanks for all your work, and thanks to all yall that do what you do posting up the Daily News.

A suggestion, if I may? How 'bout a "Good News" section. It's not all bad anymore.

Peace, Love, and argue the dopes away, eh?

[livvy]

23. See #22 below. Found some good news for you!

I enjoy this weekly task, and I learn so much. Thanks for reading!

[livvy]

7. State Voting Machines To Go To West Africa

Posted on Sat, Jul. 08, 2006


State voting machines to go to West Africa

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Hundreds of Indiana voting machines that otherwise might have ended up in landfills instead will go to the West African nation of Benin to try to promote the integrity of elections in the developing democracy.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita hopes to spread the idea of using old voting machines from around the United States to help nurture democracy in the Third World.

Rokita, who announced the plan Friday at a news conference in Muncie, said he intends to present the idea at the National Association of Secretaries of State convention next week in Santa Fe, N.M.

Under the plan, voting machines from Indiana counties will be gathered and shipped to Benin, which has used paper ballots since 1991, when a democratic system was formed.

>more

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/14995031.htm

[livvy]

8. Speakout: Denver Election Woes Solution?

Speakout: Denver election woes solution? A lone, full-time commissioner

By Susan Rogers
July 8, 2006

There are a few missing pieces in the movement to change Denver's Election Commission ("Panel, public talks to assess problems with election board/Hick, councilwomen say reform needed in wake of foul-ups," Rocky Mountain News, June 22).

Comparisons to other counties do not hold up to scrutiny because Denver, as a city and county, runs differently. In addition to his duties as county clerk, our clerk is also the city clerk and public trustee. Putting elections wholly under this heavily burdened position will not solve the problems, it will compound them.

Elections require full-time focus (currently achieved by an executive director); other important functions might be diminished. In the recent past Denver's deed recording fell behind by several months, putting title companies and homebuyers at risk of losing millions of dollars through an inability to track ownership of property in a timely manner. Currently, foreclosures are at a record high, requiring much energy of the clerk in his role of public trustee. All of these important priorities must be balanced.

Compounding the issue, elections have become more and more complex since the passing of the Help America Vote Act in 2002. The legislature took steps not only to conform to the requirements of HAVA, but also to make many changes to the way we vote in Colorado. The requirement of IDs from all voters in the polling place is one change. Expanded use of provisional ballots and a requirement to contact voters who fail to sign their mail ballots help more people to have their vote counted.

>more

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/speak_out/article/0,2777,DRMN_23970_4829443,00.html

[livvy]

9. UT: County Clerks Will Do Vote Recounts

Deseret Morning News, Saturday, July 08, 2006

County clerks will do vote recounts

Statewide procedures are suggested, not mandated

By Josh Loftin
Deseret Morning News

Any potential vote recounts will be left in the hands of county clerks but only for this year's primary elections, state officials said.

Three races currently fall within the required vote differential of one vote or less per precinct to qualify for a recount, including the tight contest for the Republican nomination in House District 42. In that race, Jim Bird defeated Rep. Peggy Wallace, R-West Jordan, by 24 votes, pending certification of the vote next week.

Although a standard, statewide recount procedure has not been implemented by Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, who oversees elections in the state, state elections officials did release a suggested recount method. That includes a memory check of the machines, a comparison of the vote rolls to the ballots cast at the precinct level, and a hand count of the paper provisional and absentee ballots, said Joe Demma, chief of staff for Herbert.

The recommendations are only temporary, however, as Demma said the state elections office will issue standard recount procedures by the end of the month. Unless those checks reveal discrepancies, the printed ballot receipt within each machine will not be counted by hand to verify the accuracy of the vote.

>more

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640193222,00.html

[livvy]

10. TX: Electronic Voting Lawsuit May Be Decided Soon

Electronic voting lawsuit may be decided soon
Judge may rule next week on motion to force paper backups.

By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, July 07, 2006

Even if a judge ordered Travis County to retrofit its electronic voting equipment to create a paper ballot with each vote, that update wouldn't be ready for the November elections.

And the county couldn't return to its former optical scan ballot system because the equipment is obsolete.

State and county lawyers argued those points and others in state District Court on Thursday in making a case against a motion by the Texas Civil Rights Project, which wants a judge to issue an injunction forcing the county to produce a paper ballot copy at its polls so voters can verify their choices.

A visiting state district judge adjourned the hearing until Tuesday, when she said she might rule or might ask for more evidence.

>more

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/7evoting.html

[livvy]

11. Civil Rights Groups To Hold Vigil-Urge Quick Passage of VRAReauthorization

Saturday, July 8, 2006

Civil Rights Groups to Hold Vigil Urge Quick Passage of Voting Rights Act Reauthorization
Posted Friday, July 07, 2006 :: infoZine Staff

A coalition of civil rights groups will converge upon the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, July 12 to hold a vigil urging prompt passage, without amendment, of the Voting Rights Act reauthorization, otherwise known as H.R. 9.

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Newswire - infoZine - Last month, the legislation was abruptly taken off the House calendar the morning of a scheduled vote after a small group of southern lawmakers voiced objections to key provisions.

The bill, entitled The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, will renew provisions of the 1965 historic act that are set to expire in 2007.

The Black Leadership Forum and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation will lead the vigil, which will begin at 6 p.m. in front of the Longworth House Office Building, at the corner of New Jersey Avenue and South Capitol Street.

Originally enacted in 1965, the Voting Rights Act has enfranchised millions of African American citizens by eliminating discriminatory practices, such as literacy tests, poll taxes and other means that discourage political participation.

>more

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/16268/

[livvy]

12. Judge Blocks Requirement in Georgia For Voter ID

July 8, 2006
Judge Blocks Requirement in Georgia for Voter ID
By BRENDA GOODMAN

ATLANTA, July 7 — For the second time, a judge has blocked a Republican-sponsored effort to require Georgia voters to present government-issued photo identification cards before they can cast a ballot.

The judge, Melvin K. Westmoreland of Fulton County Superior Court, said the requirement violated the State Constitution by placing an undue burden on the fundamental right to vote.

Although the legislature passed the requirement, Judge Westmoreland said, such a change would require citizens to approve an amendment to the State Constitution, which now says only that voters must be 18 years old, mentally competent and state residents.

The judge's temporary restraining order was in response to a legal challenge against the requirement filed by former Gov. Roy E. Barnes, a Democrat. Mr. Barnes argued that the requirement would make it harder for minorities, the elderly and the poor to vote.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/us/08voter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[livvy]

13. Democracy Tide Has Turned

democracy tide has turned

The Economist

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Two years ago, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president, told fellow Arab leaders to reform, or risk being swept away in a global tide of democratization. "Trim your hair now," he warned them, "or someone will shave it for you."

Turning words into deeds, Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, promised to retire at the end of his current term. Last week he changed his mind. Bowing to what he called "the people's pressure," orchestrated in nationwide mass rallies, he declared his candidacy for elections in September that are likely to prolong his tenure until the end of 2013.

Saleh has a better flair for theatrics than most of the region's other rulers-for-life, but their survival instincts are just as keen.

A few years back, and especially in the wake of America's invasion of Iraq, many of them also found it politic to sound responsive to mounting pressure for reform. It was partly internal, inspired by factors such as demography, the fading potency of long-ruling ideologies and the impact of harder-to-control new media such as satellite television.

>big snip

But now the tide appears to have turned.

>more

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=77615781-55dc-4825-9ecb-2d24162d1c57

[livvy]

14. Column: The Do-Nothing Good Congress

Published: Jul 08, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: Jul 08, 2006 02:53 AM

The do-nothing good Congress

Tom Teepen, Cox News Service
ATLANTA - In his uphill election campaign in 1948, President Harry Truman not only ran against Republican nominee Thomas Dewey but against, as Give-'em-Hell Harry had it, that "do-nothing, good-for-nothing Congress." In fact, the 80th Congress had been about ordinarily productive. No matter. Truman won.

Imagine the mincemeat Truman would make of this year's outfit.

While the neglected national job jar fills up with real chores, the current Congress, like a dog chasing a car, has been hounding after irrelevancies that it can't catch and wouldn't know what to do with if it could.

Congress wasted time trying again to hammer an amendment into the Constitution against gay and lesbian marriage. It wasted more time kiting still another constitutional amendment against flag desecration. Happily, both came up short. The Constitution deserves better than to be made to bear such passing fancies.

>more

http://www.newsobserver.com/559/story/458453.html

[livvy]

15. Sadly, Country Still Needs 1965 VRA: Editorial by LBJ Daughters

July 7, 2006, 8:23PM

Sadly, country still needs 1965 Voting Rights Act
Crucial provisions of this vital legislation stand at risk
By LUCI BAINES JOHNSON and LYNDA JOHNSON ROBB
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

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.

>more

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4032105.html

[livvy]

16. A Fight Over Voting- Opinion

Saturday, July 8, 2006

A fight over voting

WASHINGTON - Some Republicans in Congress may look at the Voting Rights Act as a relic from the nation's shameful past, something historically significant but no longer necessary.

But not Steve Chabot.

Sure, the country has made a lot of progress in the 40 years since the law was first enacted to protect the voting rights of minorities. But the principle behind that law - that every American has the right to participate in the political process - is just as relevant today as it was back then, Chabot said.

"There's no more fundamental right than the right to vote,'' the Cincinnati congressman said. "And really, the Voting Rights Act has been a key to making sure that we continue to protect the rights of all people to vote.''

>more

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/EDIT/607080304/1003

[livvy]

17. Pilot Program Could Change How Voters Vote

Pilot program could change how voters vote
By KRYSTAL DE LOS SANTOS McKinney Courier-Gazette
(Created: Saturday, July 8, 2006 12:42 AM CDT)

A pilot program that may allow Collin County voters to cast Election Day ballots at places other than their precinct polling place will be the subject of a Collin County Commissioners Court public hearing on Tuesday.

The Texas Legislature last year ordered the Texas secretary of state to study the merits of countywide “super polling places” to see if a new system - similar to that used in early voting -- would be more convenient for voters and increase Election Day turnout. The pilot program in Collin County would reduce the number of polling places in the Nov. 7 election from about 135 to about 30 and allow voters to cast their ballots anywhere in the county.

The legislation requires counties participating in the pilot program to have computerized election equipment that would allow any precinct's ballot to appear at any location.

“It's not to make our lives easier. It's to make the voters' life easier,” said Vicki Self, senior secretary at the Collin County Elections Office.

>more

http://www.courier-gazette.com/articles/2006/07/08/mckinney_courier-gazette/news/news04.txt

[livvy]

18. Blackwell Must Rule On Issue He Once Won

Blackwell must rule on issue he once won
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Ted Wendling
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus - Twenty-two years ago, then-Secretary of State Sherrod Brown broke a tie that allowed an up-and-coming Cincinnati politician who had voted as a Democrat to switch parties and run in the Republican primary for Congress.

The candidate was a city councilman named Ken Blackwell. As Ohio's current secretary of state, he's about to cast another tie- breaking vote that will test both his memory and his party loyalty.

Blackwell, the Republican nominee for governor, must decide whether Madison County businessman Charlie Morrison - who ran as a Republican in the 2000, 2002 and 2004 elections - can run as an independent in November in the 15th Congressional District. The race pits the GOP incumbent, Rep. Deborah Pryce, against Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, a Democrat.

Blackwell's decision is critical to the hotly contested race because Morrison is far more conservative than Pryce and would certainly take votes from her. Although Pryce trounced Morrison in the 2002 and 2004 GOP primaries, he drew 6,216 and 7,254 votes in the respective races.

>more

http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/ispol/1152361812285550.xml&coll=2

[livvy]

19. Harris Returns to Hometown Hurrah

Saturday, July 8, 2006

Harris Returns to Hometown Hurrah

By Bill Rufty

The Ledger

LAKELAND -- U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris returned to her home county Friday to cheers from old-time friends and new supporters in her back-on-track race for the U.S. Senate.

"If we turn out our base, I will win the general election with 53 percent of the vote," she told a cheering crowd of more than 60 people at a continental breakfast reception at Cleveland Heights Golf Course.

The event had been arranged by longtime Lakeland supporters Gene Roberts and Ron Parks and was intended to make a point that although she may be challenged by three opponents in the Republican primary, she still has most of the grassroots party activists behind her. Well wishes were relayed from state Sen. Paula Dockery and state Rep. Dennis Ross, both R-Lakeland, who were unable to attend.

Not present, of course, was state Rep. John Stargel, R-Lakeland, who withdrew a previous endorsement of Harris to support childhood friend and Orlando lawyer Will McBride, who is one of the challengers in the Republican primary.

>more

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/NEWS/607080369/1134

[livvy]

21. Brad Blog: Manual Hand Count Requested in Busby/Bilbray Race

BLOGGED BY Brad ON 7/7/2006 6:04AM
EXCLUSIVE: Manual Hand Count Requested in Busby/Bilbray Race! Registrar Quotes Fees for Count as High as $130,000!

A 'Buck a Vote' for Hand Count of Paper Ballots, Trails in U.S. House Election Which Used Uncertified Voting Machines…
Fees Far Exceed Those Charged by Other Counties, Request Filed by Election Integrity Advocate 'on Behalf of Candidate Brian Bilbray'

Late Wednesday afternoon, a "Manual Hand Count Request under the Election Recount Provision" was filed at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office by CA-50 voter Barbara Gail Jacobson. The request is for a full manual hand count of all paper ballots and paper trails in the recent June 6th Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House election in which programmed, election-ready Diebold voting machines were sent home with poll workers for days prior to the election in apparent violation of new laws and provisions by both state and federal authorities.

As California state election code requires that a candidate be named on whose behalf such hand count requests are filed, Jacobson named Republican Brian Bilbray in her filing. Bilbray is the candidate who was announced as the winner in the race by SD County Registrar Mikel Haas.

Jacobson's manual hand count request, as filed, is posted in full here.

>more

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3036

[livvy]

22. Election Money: Free Speech or Free Ride (some good news for Be Free!)

I thought this was some good news...found it just for you! Small victories, but victories none the less!


Devil's Advocate

By Editorial Staff
07/06/2006

Election money: free speech or free ride?


Hannah Hayes' view:
Government exists to provide opportunities, and reflects our level of involvement. As Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address, government is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Bona fide campaign finance reform will allow greater action by the people. It will move us beyond monetary considerations, making elections more about issues and less about spin.

The midterm legislative season is here, and that means politicians are ramping up to compete in the best government that money can buy. Never mind that incumbents have a 98 percent re-election rate. Candidates won’t have time to evaluate their own work, and issues won’t be explored for the voters’ benefit. Instead, we’ll go on with compulsory money being spent to attack opponents in free-for-all smear campaigns. Let the expensive TV ads roll. PACs pay up.

Surprisingly, Arizona and Maine have accomplished clean elections featuring 1) a set number of small contributions within districts; 2) voluntary spending limits; 3) no money from private donors; and 4) no money from the candidate’s own pocket. These two states saw more diverse people running for office and able to focus more on the issues. In Arizona, nine out of 11 statewide candidates won clean elections, took special interests out of the elections, and owe no favors. Public financing is also being tried in Massachusetts and Vermont, although the Supreme Court just struck down limits in Vermont. Leveling playing fields is literally hard to do in the Colorado foothills, but let’s strive to make our elections on the level.

A recent national survey on campaign finance reform conducted June 21 by Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research shows a significant majority support publicly funded, clean elections. Although some reforms have been put in place, most voters know that it’s large donors who drive the political system.

>more

http://www.canyoncourier.com/story_display.php?sid=3346

[autorank]

24. Excellent, K&R. !!!!

[rumpel]

25. Guam: Yona mayor to resign Dec. 31 (+ candidates information)

Pacific Daily News

Saturday, July 8, 2006
By Steve Limtiaco
Pacific Daily News
[e-mail]

Yona resident Josephine Blas, 34, said she believes village Mayor Jose "Pedo" Terlaje should complete the last two years of his mayoral term before running for the Legislature.

"He's done all right. So far, he's been helping the people," she said. "You made a commitment to be mayor, you should just finish off your term."

Terlaje on Wednesday submitted resignation letters to the Guam Election Commission and to the governor, announcing his resignation, effective Dec. 31. The Election Commission's legal counsel currently is determining whether Terlaje has to resign sooner or if the December date is acceptable.

Attorney Cesar Cabot yesterday said his unofficial findings show that a Dec. 31 resignation date appears to follow the law, since Terlaje would be ending his term as mayor before the term of the Legislature begins. Terlaje has not returned calls to his office during the past several days and a message left on the answering machine at his home.
By resigning, Terlaje, a Democrat, has set in motion a process for Republican Gov. Felix Camacho to appoint his replacement for the next two years.

http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/NEWS01/607080305/1002

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26. OH: Voters Rights Groups File Suit to Overturn Restrictive Registration

Rules in Ohio

Common Dreams -Newswire

NEW YORK - July 7 - A group of civic organizations filed a lawsuit today seeking to overturn restrictions on voter registration in the state of Ohio. The requirements laid out by the state drastically limit the ability of civic groups to register new voters and threaten individual registration workers with felony charges for minor mistakes handling forms. The rules will limit voter registration, unnecessarily exclude eligible voters from the election process, and suppress the vote in Ohio.

The complaint filed today in United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, raises several concerns with House Bill 3 and the rules and procedures set forth by the Secretary of State, including:

In the past, citizens working to register voters were able to turn in the completed forms to a civic group or church that would review the forms for accuracy, turn them into the registrar, and follow up later to make sure the voter was actually registered. Now, workers collecting voter registration forms would be forbidden from doing that and would be subject to felony charges if the forms were to be handed in late or not directly to registrars' offices.

Rules that require online training discriminate against low income citizens who don’t have computers and some voter registration groups and churches which may have extremely limited access to computers.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0707-14.htm

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27. Documentary Film - American Blackout: Voting Rights in Danger

By AFL-CIO

7-07-06,9:45am


In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed to protect the basic rights of minorities to vote.

Now, it’s up for renewal in Congress, but two Georgia Republicans—Reps. Lynn Westmoreland and Charles Norwood—are leading a group of Southern Republicans from Georgia, Texas and other states in efforts to hijack the renewal of the Voting Rights Act.

Many members of Congress opposing the bill represent states with some of the most egregious records of discrimination in voting, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), which includes the AFL-CIO and several affiliated unions.

But the attack on voting rights didn’t begin with attempts to block renewal of the Voting Rights Act. A timely new film documentary, “American Blackout,” examines the role of race in the legal decisions that resulted in George W. Bush winning the presidential election and explores how African American voters have been disenfranchised in the nation’s electoral process.

Filmmaker Ian Inaba investigates the 2000 election debacle in Florida and also explores the 2002 election that resulted in defeat for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.). McKinney pushed for an investigation of the firm that created Florida voter lists and incorrectly purged the list of thousands of African Americans from the rolls.

“American Blackout,” which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, won awards at Sundance and at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It will be shown July 8 and July 13 in Atlanta. For more information on screenings, click here.

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/3776/1/196/

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28. Smartmatic entering the Phillipines?

Foreign automated poll supplier offers lease option to RP gov't

The Manila Bulltin Online

By MELVIN G. CALIMAG

A Florida-based supplier of automated election solutions said it is ready to offer a lease option to the Philippine government in order for the country to implement a computerized election in 2007.

Executives from Smartmatic, a seven-year-old company which used to be the research and development division of Panagroup in Venezuela, said renting may be a viable alternative if the current administration finds it impractical to buy and maintain the equipment.

"We’re aware that the governments around the world are not good in operating and maintaining these types of technology-centric solutions. That’s why we are providing the option to lease for our solution. All the government has to do is call us on election day and we’ll take care of the rest," said Robert "Bob" Cook, president for international elections division at Smartmatic.

Cook admitted it will be expensive for the government to acquire their election machines, which ranges from ,200 to ,600 (about R11,000 to R13,000) per unit, if it will only be used sparingly.

"If, on the other hand, elections will be held frequently, then it makes more sense to buy the solutions upfront than just renting it," the American executive said.

The initial investment involved in acquiring its solution, the company added, would lessen the expenses of subsequent elections. "It will allow a reduction of costs needed in printing, transporting, distributing, and safeguarding tons of paper ballots across the country."

As for its technological competence, the company said its Smartmatic Automated Election System (SAES) has been certified as user-friendly and fool-proof solution that can cater to all types of voters even in the most remote places of the country.

http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2006/07/07/INFO2006070768777.html

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29. IN: Wanted: Voters - dead or alive! (7/6/06)

By ROY CHURCH
Thursday, July 6, 2006 10:58 PM EDT

Lori Draper, clerk of the Wabash Circuit Court and the county's top elections official, has a dilemma.

State election officials are providing the county reports with names of voters “who may be deceased.” Mrs. Draper said those lists are being provided to voter registration officials at the state level by the Indiana Department of Health.

The first list was pulled off the Internet Monday, July 3, with 94 names on it. Another list became available Wednesday, July 5, with 34 names.

The dilemma is that when one of Mrs. Draper deputies checked over the lists she came up with seven names of people she knew were not dead on Monday's list and 15 “bad” names on Wednesday's list.

The immediate question was “Now what do we do?” And can the county refuse to “cancel” these names on its voter registration rolls as instructed by the state in a memo dated June 23.

Not having answers to those questions, the deputy put in a call to the state voter registration office. The answer was “No, the county does not have to cancel the ‘may-be-deceased' voter if it knows the person is not deceased.”

http://www.wabashplaindealer.com/articles/2006/07/07/local_news/local1.txt

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30. NV: Petition moves step closer to qualifying for Nevada ballot

Las Vegas Sun
July 07, 2006

By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS


LAS VEGAS (AP) - As opponents of a government spending cap plan raised new claims of fraud and signature forgeries, a Clark County election official said Friday the proposal seems to have enough verified signatures to qualify for Nevada's November ballot.

Clark County Registrar Larry Lomax said his office's signature verification sampling showed 98,675 valid signatures on the bitterly contested Tax and Spending Control initiative.

That's about 80 percent of the signatures submitted to the county and 15,400 more than needed to put the proposal before state voters in November. The tally in Washoe County was not available.

The constitutional amendment championed by state Sen. Bob Beers, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, would restrict local and state government spending by tying budget increase to the percentage increase of population and the Consumer Price Index.

Arguing the proposal would hamstring governments and force cuts in local services, a labor-led coalition has mounted a campaign to block the petition from qualifying for the ballot.

The Nevadans for Nevada group has filed a complaint claiming the petition should be disqualified because professional signatures-gatherers circulated a version that differed from the one filed with Secretary of State Dean Heller. Heller has not made a decision on the matter.

Nevadans for Nevada launched a second attack Friday, calling a news conference to highlight what the group called rampant irregularities, false information and forgeries in about 40 percent of the petitions turned in to county registrars and clerks on June 20.

"If you look at this (petition) in person you can tell that it's obvious fraud," said Danny Thompson, secretary-treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO and a leader of the group.

After about two weeks of combing through the roughly 156,000 signatures submitted, Thompson's group pointed to several cases of duplicated signatures, instances where petitions weren't properly notarized and one case where the petition was notarized before the signatures on it were gathered.

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31. CO:Speakout: Denver election woes solution? A lone, full-time commissioner

By Susan Rogers
July 8, 2006
There are a few missing pieces in the movement to change Denver's Election Commission ("Panel, public talks to assess problems with election board/Hick, councilwomen say reform needed in wake of foul-ups," Rocky Mountain News, June 22).
Comparisons to other counties do not hold up to scrutiny because Denver, as a city and county, runs differently. In addition to his duties as county clerk, our clerk is also the city clerk and public trustee. Putting elections wholly under this heavily burdened position will not solve the problems, it will compound them.

Elections require full-time focus (currently achieved by an executive director); other important functions might be diminished. In the recent past Denver's deed recording fell behind by several months, putting title companies and homebuyers at risk of losing millions of dollars through an inability to track ownership of property in a timely manner. Currently, foreclosures are at a record high, requiring much energy of the clerk in his role of public trustee. All of these important priorities must be balanced.

Compounding the issue, elections have become more and more complex since the passing of the Help America Vote Act in 2002. The legislature took steps not only to conform to the requirements of HAVA, but also to make many changes to the way we vote in Colorado. The requirement of IDs from all voters in the polling place is one change. Expanded use of provisional ballots and a requirement to contact voters who fail to sign their mail ballots help more people to have their vote counted.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/speak_out/article/0,2777,DRMN_23970_4829443,00.html

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32. TX: Pilot program could change how voters vote

McKinney Courier Gazette

(Created: Saturday, July 8, 2006 12:42 AM CDT)
By KRYSTAL DE LOS SANTOS McKinney Courier-Gazette

A pilot program that may allow Collin County voters to cast Election Day ballots at places other than their precinct polling place will be the subject of a Collin County Commissioners Court public hearing on Tuesday.

The Texas Legislature last year ordered the Texas secretary of state to study the merits of countywide “super polling places” to see if a new system - similar to that used in early voting -- would be more convenient for voters and increase Election Day turnout. The pilot program in Collin County would reduce the number of polling places in the Nov. 7 election from about 135 to about 30 and allow voters to cast their ballots anywhere in the county.

The legislation requires counties participating in the pilot program to have computerized election equipment that would allow any precinct's ballot to appear at any location.

“It's not to make our lives easier. It's to make the voters' life easier,” said Vicki Self, senior secretary at the Collin County Elections Office.

http://www.courier-gazette.com/mckinney_courier-gazette/news/

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33. CA: Bowen to Chair New Senate Select Committee on California Election

Integrity

California Progress Report

July 8, 2006

From the Office of State Senator Debra Bowen
“During the June primary, we had polling places that didn’t open until several hours after they were supposed to, voting machines that didn’t work at all, and thousands of voters who were told to ‘come back later’ once the problems had been sorted out. Ensuring the integrity of our electoral process isn’t solely about making sure electronic voting machines are secure and accurately recording people’s votes. It also involves taking care of some basic, fundamental issues that many people just take for granted. These are the types of fundamental, logistical problems we need to begin addressing now to ensure they don’t repeat themselves in November.”

That’s the focus Senator Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach), the chairwoman of the Senate Elections, Reapportionment & Constitutional Amendments Committee, will bring to the newly-formed Senate Select Committee on the Integrity of Elections that she will chair. The three-member select committee – which includes Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) and Senator Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove) – intends to hold hearings over the next two months to look at problems that arose during the June 2006 primary election and what can be done to prevent them from recurring in November.

“Clearly, the security issues involving electronic voting machines have garnered the bulk of the attention and rightly so, but there are logistical issues we need to deal with as well,” continued Bowen. “In San Diego, electronic voting machines with well-known security holes in them were sent home with poll workers days and weeks before the election. Why? Because the county has been sending paper ballots and other election equipment home with workers for years and it saw no reason to change that practice. Elections are different today than they were in the 1950s or even the 1990s, meaning many of the historical practices that elections officials have relied on may need to change to reflect that new reality.”

Aside from the voting machine “sleep-over” issues in San Diego, there were widely-reported problems in Kern and San Joaquin counties as well:

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2006/07/bowen_to_chair.html

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34. OpEdNews: San Diego is test case for November elections!

July 7, 2006 at 18:56:22

by Sheri Myers, Voting Activist

Dear Friends of Democracy,

Please forward this urgent appeal to your lists. We have a deadline to meet.

We're drawing A Line in the Sand in San Diego. And we need YOUR help, to keep the tide from washing it away.

You've likely heard by now that our country's most hackable electronic voting machines were sent home with volunteer pollworkers in the days and weeks leading to San Diego County's June 6 Congressional runoff election. Although the machines became immediately uncertified, therefore illegal for use in the election, voting took place as planned.

San Diego County Registrar Mikel Haas disregarded new State and Federal emergency security mitigation requirements put in place by the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) Voting System Board and Bruce McPherson, California's Secretary of State.

Despite there being no way to determine who actually won the election, short of counting the paper ballots and paper trails, Brian Bilbray (R) was declared the winner and sworn into office.

Remember: San Diego was and remains a test case for the November elections. If we allow fatal compromise of the laws protecting our elections to go unchallenged, we can count on seeing more of it-multiplied thousandfold-in every state come November. Momentum is building to toss out the electronic voting machines. Government officials are our employees, not our bosses. Arise and Supervise!

Timelines are very tight for the few legal methods of calling elections into question. We need to raise money for legal fees. Specifically, we need $10,000 by Monday July 10 to retain our attorney.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_sheri_my_060707_san_diego_is_test_ca.htm

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35. Mexico's Surreal Elections ( Very Informative)

(India)

By John Ross

09 July, 2006
Counterpunch

Mexico City.

Mexican elections are stolen before, during, and after Election Day. Just look at what happened in the days leading up to the tightest presidential election in the nation's history this past July 2nd.

By law, the parties and their candidates close down their campaigns three days before Election Day. On Wednesday night June 28th as the legal limit hove into sight, a team of crack investigators from the Attorney General's organized crime unit descended on the maximum security lock-up at La Palma in Mexico state where former Mexico City Finance Secretary Guillermo Ponce awaits trial on charges of misuse of public funds much of which he appears to have left on Las Vegas crap tables.

During his nearly six years in office, outgoing president Vicente Fox has often used his attorney general's office against leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to counter his growing popularity, including a failed effort to bar the former Mexico City mayor from the ballot and even imprison him.

Now. in a desperate last minute electoral ploy by Fox's right-wing National Action or PAN party to boost the fortunes of its lagging candidate Felipe Calderon, the agents tried to pressure Ponce into testifying that AMLO and his PRD party had used city revenues to finance his presidential campaign but Ponce proved a stand-up guy and ultimately rebuffed the government men.

snip
During the build-up to July 2nd, independent reporters here uncovered what appeared to be IFE preparations for cybernetic fraud. One columnist at the left national daily La Jornada discovered parallel lists of "razarados" on the IFE electronic page one of the lists contained multiples of the other. While Julio Hernandez made a phone call to the IFE to question this phenomenon, the list containing the multiples vanished from his computer screen.

http://www.countercurrents.org/ross090706.htm