Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Friday 7/14/ 2006

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Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News






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1. House Votes to Reauthorize Voting Rights Act, Rejects Attempts by

Ultraconservatives to Gut Act

People For The American Way
For Immediate Release: 7/13/2006

This afternoon, the House renewed Sections 5, 203, and 6-9 of the Voting Rights Act by a 390-33 vote, rejecting amendments to weaken the Act that were introduced by Reps. Lynn Westmoreland and Charlie Norwood of Georgia, Rep. Steven King of Iowa, and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas.

People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas released the following statement:
“Today’s vote is a victory for voters and voting rights. It is also a triumph of principled bipartisanship over right-wing zealotry. By rejecting four unnecessary and harmful amendments to the Voting Rights Act, a bipartisan majority repudiated a group of reactionary Republicans who wanted to gut one of the most important and effective civil rights laws ever passed. While we look forward to the day when these protections may not be necessary, it is clear that day has yet to come. We now call on the Senate to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act without dilution or delay.”

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=21743

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2. GA: Once low-key secretary of state post drawing crowded field

Gwinnett Daily Post

07/14/2006

By Dave Williams
Staff Writer
[e-mail]

ATLANTA - Politicians weren't much interested in becoming Georgia's secretary of state in 1998, even though the job was open and there for the taking.
Only two Republicans sought the post in that summer's primary, while the eventual winner, Cathy Cox, captured the Democratic nomination unopposed.
But that was before "hanging chads'' on ballots in Florida delayed the outcome of the 2000 presidential election for six weeks, a debacle that prompted neighboring Georgia to become the first state to embrace electronic voting.
And before legislative Republicans pushed through the General Assembly a controversial requirement that voters show a photo ID at the polls.
This summer, with Cox's decision to run for governor leaving the seat vacant again, secretary of state suddenly is a hot commodity. Six Democrats and four Republicans are competing for their respective party nominations in the July 18 primaries, virtually assuring an Aug. 8 runoff on the Democratic side and making an extra round a distinct possibility for the GOP.
"It's become a higher profile office,'' said state Sen. Bill Stephens of Canton, one of the Republican hopefuls.
Stephens shares the GOP field with Fulton County Commission Chairman Karen Handel, Charlie Bailey - who has run for secretary of state twice previously - and businessman Eric Martin.

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=32&url_article_id=17230&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2

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3. NV: Voter registration deadlines are soon

Primary election is Aug. 15
Nevada Appeal

Terri Harber
Appeal Staff Writer, [e-mail]
July 14, 2006

Comments (0) Print Email

Saturday is the last day to register to vote by mail, in the field or through any agencies in the Aug. 15 primary election.

Residents who miss the Saturday deadline can register in person at the clerk-recorder office until July 25. Proof of identity and residence, such as photo identification and utility bills, is required.

"This is the time of year when we start getting busy," said Alan Glover, clerk-recorder and head of Carson City elections operations.

That office, 885 East Musser St., Suite 1025, is open weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. On June 24 and 25, however, extended hours of operation will allow people to register until 9 p.m., according to election officials. For details, call 887-2060 or visit www.carson-city.nv.us/clerk/elections.

Sample ballots should begin reaching registered voters' mailboxes next week, he said.

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20060714/NEWS/107140088

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4. GA: Georgia Lawsuit Filed over E-Voting Questionability

By Kristina Cates, Staff Writer, Atlanta Progressive News (July 13, 2006)

(APN) ATLANTA – Representatives from VoterGA filed suit this morning against Secretary of State Cathy Cox, the Georgia State Election Board, and Governor Sonny Purdue over the current electronic voting system as well as the audit trail pilot project.

VoterGA held a press conference to discuss the lawsuit this morning at a downtown hotel. Afterwards, Atlanta Progressive News joined activists in a procession to go file the suit.

VoterGA is representing the largest group of impacted citizens in Georgia legal history.

Plaintiffs include members from other voter rights organizations, such as Defenders of Democracy, and members of several political parties including the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution parties of Georgia. The plaintiffs are Garland Favorito, Mark Sawyer, Ricardo Davis, Al Herman, Freida Smith, Kathryn Weitzel, and Adam Shapiro.

Shapiro, a radio host of Current Events on 89.3 WRFG Radio Free Georgia, is blind, and is adding his own concerns about E-voting to the suit specifically related to his lack of eyesight.

There are seven counts being brought against the defendants, including five against the current system and two against the audit trail pilot project. The filing also states the court has jurisdiction over the matter as per the US Constitution.

“Plaintiffs are electors of the State of Georgia opposed to Georgia's use of Diebold Touch-Screen voting machines, hereinafter "DVMS", as currently used and configured,” a copy of the brief obtained by Atlanta Progressive News reads.

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0070.html

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10. Lawsuit: Voting Machines Hackable

Web Editor: Jon Shirek
Last Modified: 7/14/2006 8:01:07 AM

Georgia's controversial, electronic, touch-screen voting machines, less than four years old, are under fire as never before.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Atlanta against the Governor, Secretary of State, and the State Elections Board claims the machines are obsolete and vulnerable to computer hackers bent on re-programming the units and fixing elections.

"These machines maybe can't be trusted," said Walker Chandler, the attorney for VoterGA.org, a coalition of voter rights groups representing the plaintiffs.

One of the eight plaintiffs, Ricardo Davis said, he became convinced the machines are vulnerable even to amateur hack attacks.

"Working as a poll worker, I basically figured out how I could steal an election in 10 minutes, with one accomplice," Davis told reporters at a news conference in Atlanta on Thursday.

Plaintiff Garland Favorito of VoterGA.Org said he knows of no evidence that anyone has ever reprogrammed the units illegally and stolen any elections, because the design of the machines and the unwillingness of the state and the vendor to disclose proprietary source codes make it impossible to gather any such evidence if it existed.

"We're saying that fraud and errors are undetectable, statewide,” Favorito said at the news conference. “That's worse than election fraud, because you can never detect the election fraud."

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=81939

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5. NC: Thursday at the General Assembly

The Associated Press

Published on Friday, July 14, 2006

Campaign rules change

The General Assembly agreed to make changes to how campaign money is reported and used in North Carolina. The House gave final approval to reforms that prevent candidates from converting campaign donations to personal use and require more disclosure about donations to independent political organizations. The House approved limiting to seven areas how a candidate or campaign committee could spend political donations and essentially barred the use of campaign funds to pay for cars, retirement accounts and other personal items. The House also approved tighter reporting requirements for so-called "527" political groups. The independent organizations can accept unlimited corporate and union donations and have taken an increasing role in state politics in recent years, including Republican primaries for the two most recent election cycles.

Ongoing ethics

A Senate judiciary committee considered an ethics bill that would change a lobbying law passed in 2005 that was to take effect next year. The House has approved similar changes. The Senate bill leaves out some items sought by reform advocates, such as a complete ban on lobbyists soliciting campaign donations for candidates. Instead, the bill requires lobbyists to report any contributions delivered to a candidate on behalf of other donors. The Senate bill also leaves out a House provision that would have limited the amount of money a lobbyist could contribute in any election to $4,000 in cumulative donations. Any citizen now can give $4,000 per candidate for an election. Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, said he hoped the committee could vote on the bill at its Monday meeting.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/local/article_ap?id=88301

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6. WA: Cantwell braces in case McGavick finances his race

By Alex Fryer
Seattle Times staff reporter

If campaign-finance numbers released this week indicate a trend, state Democrats say incumbent Sen. Maria Cantwell will end up raising about twice as much money as her Republican rival, Mike McGavick.

That has led to a flurry of speculation that McGavick, former chief executive of Safeco, will pour his own money into the race, just as Democrat Cantwell did six years ago when she spent $10 million to topple Sen. Slade Gorton.

But the rules are different now. Since Congress passed the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform in 2002, candidates who face a self-financed opponent can collect much larger donations from individuals and political committees, leading to a blizzard of political money.

Last week, the Cantwell campaign filed a series of questions to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to clarify its options if McGavick were to self-finance his campaign.

During the 2004 Illinois primary, businessman Blair Hull pumped $28 million into his race, enabling his opponents, including Barack Obama, to raise their contribution limits.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003126085_senate14m.html

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7. TN: Frequently asked questions on voting

Tennesseean.com

Friday, 07/14/06

Compiled by Leah M. Caudle

How do I know if I am eligible to vote in the Aug. 3 election?
You are eligible to vote if you are a citizen of the United States, a resident of Tennessee, and at least 18 years old before Aug. 3, unless you have been disqualified by law from voting, such as for a felony conviction.
How do I vote early?
If you are voting early in person, then you must go to your local election commission or other designated early-voting polling site and fill out necessary paperwork.

Early voting for all registered voters for the Aug. 3 elections begins July 14 and ends July 29.
If you live in Nashville or the surrounding counties, you can find a list of the dates, times and places where you can vote early by clicking this link.
If you live farther from Nashville, you can click this link to see a list of Web sites for county election commissions:

Call your election commission and they can tell you when and where you can vote early.

How do I vote on election day?
Identify your polling place on your voter registration card, go to that location and show the poll workers your card.
If you’re a first-time voter by mail and have already voted in person before, your signature on the mail-in request will be compared to that on file at the state Department of Safety, and then you can vote. Click this link to read more about voting by mail.
If you’re voting in person, you must bring something with your photo and signature on it — whether it is your voter registration card, Social Security card or your Tennessee driver’s license — in order to vote.

How do I register to vote?

http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060714/NEWS0206/60713025

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9. Local briefs: Early voting, Bryant campaign, Beer Commission meeting

The Jackson Sun

Early voting begins for Aug. 3 elections

Today is the first day of early voting for the Aug. 3 county general elections and state primaries.
In Madison County, registered voters can cast their ballots at the Madison County Election Commission headquarters, 311 North Parkway in Jackson. Early voting hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays through July 29.

http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060714/NEWS01/607140310/1002

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8. CA: Supervisors embrace flawed election system

Contra Costa Times

Posted on Fri, Jul. 14, 2006

GUEST COMMENTARY

By Allen C. Michaan
Last month, I experienced a truly disgraceful display of ignorance and arrogance from a majority of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and the staff of the registrar of voters office.

The supervisors held a public hearing on June 8 to decide on voting equipment for our future elections. Dozens of concerned citizens were treated to a pathetic example of the breakdown of responsible representative government that today plagues our nation at every level of our system. These citizens felt compelled to spend the day giving informed testimony and impassioned pleas for a return to honest and verifiable elections, only to be ignored by three of the five supervisors. Instead of having the decency to honor the desire of their constituents to eliminate potential election fraud, they instead chose to squander $13.25 million in taxpayer dollars for a touch screen voting system by Sequoia.

This system, like its counterparts from Diebold, employs secret software codes, which cannot be trusted to deliver honest vote counts. This system is perhaps slightly better than the now illegal 4,300 touch-screen voting devices our taxpayer dollars purchased from Diebold in 2002 for $12 million. Those machines are now sitting in a warehouse collecting dust, deemed unusable. (Diebold will reimburse Alameda County taxpayers $3 million as a return credit on those machines.)

The Sequoia's system emits a printout on a tiny roll of thermal paper that is virtually useless for any large-scale recounts and does not allow the voter to verify his or her choices. The voter cannot see how the selections were reported.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15037334.htm

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11. Forbes: Voting Trends Favor Democrats

Forbes.com

Oxford Analytica 07.14.06, 6:00 AM ET

Since World War II, the U.S. president's political party has usually performed poorly during midterm elections. This historical trend suggests that 2006 should be a banner year for Democrats:

-- House races. Assuming the trend holds, Republicans would suffer a net loss of 22 seats. In the next Congress, the House would have 224 Democrats, 210 Republicans and one independent--returning control to the Democrats.

-- Senate campaign. The Republicans would suffer a net loss of three seats. This would result in a Senate composed of 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

However, political analysts are divided over whether these patterns will hold, or whether congressional redistricting over the past decade has led to a proliferation of "safe" seats. The effects of redistricting favor Republicans, but history and public opinion lean toward the Democrats.

The sixth year of a president's term in office tends to be particularly harsh for his party. Since World War II, there have been six midterm elections that coincided with the sixth year of an administration, and almost all these elections have gone poorly for the president's party.

http://www.forbes.com/leadership/compensation/2006/07/13/democrats-election-trends-cx_0714oxford.html

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12. CO: Privacy for all voters

Coloradoan.com

Touch-screens improve access for the disabled
By SARA REED
[e-mail]

Voting in the August primary using Larimer County's new touch-screen electronic voting systems will take Terry Schlicting about one-fourth the time to cast a paper ballot.

Schlicting was among a dozen people with the Fort Collins Commission on Disabilities who got a lesson on touch-screen voting Thursday from Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Scott Doyle. "It was great," Schlicting said after he took the system for a spin. "It's a lot easier on people who have difficulties with fine motor skills than filling out a paper ballot."
Schlicting, who uses a wheelchair and has difficulty with fine motor skills, said he has filled out the paper ballots in the past but that process was a lot more lengthy.

The 2002 federal Help America Vote Act - or HAVA - requires each voting precinct or center to have voting systems that allow people with disabilities to vote privately and independently.

The machine also is equipped with headphones and a keypad, and users have the ability to change the font size and contrast on the voting screen, which makes it accessible to people with all types of disabilities.

Doyle also took time to address questions regarding the security and accuracy of using the touch-screen systems, explaining safeguards taken to ensure the machines are not tampered with.

During an election, the machinery would not be connected to the Internet and would not be accessible to anyone but election workers, Doyle said. When not in use, the equipment is stored in a secure area monitored by surveillance equipment, including motion-detecting cameras.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060714/NEWS01/607140319/1002

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13. NY Times: Activists Sue to Block Electronic Voting

The New York Times

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 13, 2006
Filed at 3:31 p.m. ET

Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos such as the 2000 presidential election, but activist groups say it has only worsened the problem and they've gone to court across the country to ban the new machines.

Lawsuits have been filed in at least nine states, alleging that the machines are wide open to computer hackers and prone to temperamental fits of technology that have assigned votes to the wrong candidate.

Manufacturers say their machines are more reliable than punch cards and other traditional voting technologies.

But they face a determined opponent in Voter Action, which has filed lawsuits in Colorado, California, Arizona and New Mexico. Similar bans have been sought by voters in Texas, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. On Thursday, a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit in Georgia.

''The designers of video games have built far more sophisticated security into their systems than have the manufacturers of voting machines,'' said Lowell Finley, co-director of Voter Action, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group based in Berkeley, Calif. ''The biggest problem is security against tampering.''

About 80 percent of American voters will use some form of electronic voting in the November election, where every seat in the House of Representatives is up for re-election, as are 33 Senate offices and 36 governorships.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Electronic-Voting.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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14. BradBlog: Heading Down to DemocracyFest!

What's Not To Celebrate?…Please Come Say Hello!

Heading to DemocracyFest! in San Diego! Was supposed to have left hours ago, but as you might guess, lots and lots going on. Which I hope I'll be able to share soon. Even from the road. Nothing like a three hour midnight drive, I guess…

I'll be speaking at the Fest on the Election Integrity panel, Day 2, Saturday, July 15 at 9:30am in the big room (800 seats) along with Debra Bowen, Alan Dechert of Open Voting Consortium and Rob Cohen, co-director, co-producer of the VoterGate documentary. I think I'm also on a panel of bloggers on Sunday and will otherwise be around down there throughout the weekend to say hello to my good friends Howard Dean, Francine Busby, Al Franken (who will be broadcasting live from there, but not speaking with me it seems) along with many others who also can't wait to see me! Seriously, tons of great people will be there. Check out the schedule and folks coming.

If you would like to say hello to me, and are anywhere near, please come on down! Looks like tons of great stuff planned out there for the next three days and nights!

http://www.bradblog.com/

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15. GA: Electronic voter lists should help lines

ASSOCIATED PRESS


Ray Cobb, left, director of the Center for Election Systems, in Kennesaw Thursday, demonstrates the new electronic poll books with his assistant Michael Barnes, that will see their first statewide use in polling places in Tuesday's primary. The computerized check-in system will replace the bulky, paper lists of voters that poll workers used in the past.

By DOUG GROSS
Associated Press Writer


ATLANTA — An electronic device the size of an adding machine could be the key to shorter lines and quicker visits for voters on Election Day, Georgia’s voting officials say.

Tuesday’s primary elections will be the first statewide to use electronic poll books, a computerized check-in system that will replace the bulky, paper lists of voters that poll workers have used in the past.

‘‘It gets rid of those big books where they spend five minutes looking for your name,’’ said Kara Sinkule, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, which oversees Georgia’s elections.

The hope is that the new devices will eliminate or at least reduce the long lines that some voters confronted in the 2004 general elections when a record 3 million people turned out at the polls in Georgia.

Sinkule said there will be at least two of the new devices at every precinct that has more than 250 registered voters, and one machine at each smaller site.

The devices will allow poll workers to instantly verify that voters are registered and at the correct polling place and will immediately print out their ballot. In the past, poll workers had to search for the correct ballot for each voter and crosscheck the voter’s address for various state, local and congressional districts.

http://www.statesboroherald.net/showstory.php?$recordID=7080

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16. NM: Voting-machine firm gives $50,000 to state secretaries

New Mexican

The Associated Press
July 14, 2006

A national convention of secretaries of state received $50,000 for their event from a company that is New Mexico's sole supplier of voting machines, the Albuquerque Journal reported in a copyright story Thursday.

New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron helped organize the meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State this week in Santa Fe.

Election Systems and Software Inc. of Nebraska, the only supplier of voting machines in this state, gave the largest single donation for the event.

The conference attracted more than 30 secretaries of state -- the officers who oversee elections in the various states -- and cost more than $300,000, said Vigil-Giron, who cannot seek re-election this year because of term limits.

More than half the revenue for the convention came from corporate donations, she said.

ES&S became New Mexico's only voting-machine vendor after the 2006 Legislature voted to require all 33 counties to use paper-ballot voting systems. Vigil-Giron and Gov. Bill Richardson pushed for the legislation.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/46407.html

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17. IN: Ban sought on new voting machines

The News-Sentinel

Posted on Fri, Jul. 14, 2006

States sue the voting machines’ makers; activists warn the machines open the door to election tampering.
By Deborah Hastings
of The Associated Press
Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos such as the 2000 presidential election, but activist groups say it has only worsened the problem and they’ve gone to court across the country to ban the new machines.

Lawsuits have been filed in at least nine states, alleging that the machines are wide open to computer hackers and prone to temperamental fits of technology that have assigned votes to the wrong candidate.

Manufacturers say their machines are more reliable than punch cards and other traditional voting technologies.

But they face a determined opponent in Voter Action, which has filed lawsuits in Colorado, California, Arizona and New Mexico. Similar bans have been sought by voters in Texas, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. On Thursday, a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit in Georgia.

“The designers of video games have built far more sophisticated security into their systems than have the manufacturers of voting machines,” said Lowell Finley, co-director of Voter Action, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group based in Berkeley, Calif. “The biggest problem is security against tampering.”

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/15039019.htm

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18. MEXICO: Mexican leftist accuses business groups of conspiring against his

candidacy

San Diego Union Tribune

By Mark Stevenson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
7:14 a.m. July 14, 2006
MEXICO CITY – Leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused Mexican businesses of conspiring against his candidacy and of running advertisements during the election campaign to undermine him with both overt and subliminal messages.
Lopez Obrador also said Thursday that electoral officials were trying to fix vote counts and he claimed there was enough fraud to annul the July 2 presidential election, which the official tally showed ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon won by a narrow 0.6 percent margin.

Asked if it was sufficient fraud to annul the elections, Lopez Obrador answered, “Clearly it is, but we don't want that. Clearly, there is more than enough evidence to indicate they violated constitutional principles.”
The former Mexico City mayor – who has called on his supporters across Mexico to head to the capital for a massive rally Sunday – claimed that business groups, a juice company and a potato-chip maker had mounted a shadowy, subliminal ad campaign against him.

As has been his daily habit of late, Lopez Obrador on Thursday showed reporters videotapes he claimed showed evidence of election irregularities, including ads that aired prior to the elections.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060714-0714-mexico-elections.html

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19. Same article also on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/14/mexico.election.ap/


and ALL Others

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20. but - non AP reports: Lopez Obrador widens election fraud claims

Dominican Today

July, 14 - 6:41 AM

Mexico City.– Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador widened his allegations Thursday that government and private groups conspired against him in an apparent losing bid for Mexico's presidency.

Other candidates and civic groups – some allied with the apparent winner, conservative ruling-party candidate Felipe Calderon – publicly urged Lopez Obrador to moderate his criticism for the good of the country.

The official tally showed Calderon winning the July 2 vote by fewer than 244,000 votes – a 0.6 percent margin.

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor who ran a campaign that promised to help the poor, claimed some commercial ad campaigns contained messages against him. He also said electoral officials were trying to fix vote counts, and even accused some of his own poll watchers of selling out.

Asked if it was sufficient to annul the elections, Lopez Obrador answered, "Clearly it is, but we don't want that. Clearly, there is more than enough evidence to indicate they violated constitutional principles."

Earlier Thursday, Calderon called on Mexicans to "reject violence," a reference to the radical and violent methods they say Lopez Obrador uses.

Calderon rejected Lopez Obrador's demand for a manual recount of all 41 million votes, but said "if the (electoral) tribunal should order a recount at some polling place, we would understand there was a legal basis for it."

While Lopez Obrador says the sole purpose of the 225 electoral challenges he has filed in court is to get a manual recount of votes, his staff acknowledges that judges could use his appeals to annul the elections. Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal, or TRIFE, has annulled two governors' races in the past, but never a presidential election. The court must review complaints filed by Lopez Obrador and all others by Aug. 31 and name a president-elect by Sept. 6.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=15555

appears to be only a reformulated article of AP

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21. AR: Election problem-solving study planned

Daily Record

By Gary Lookadoo Staff Writer // [e-mail]
Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006

GRAVETTE — Various problems that occurred in Arkansas’ primary elections May 23 will be the subject of an upcoming study by state lawmakers. The study is set to begin sometime in August, said state Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette.

On May 23, there were problems — ranging from too few paper ballots to too-long lines of voters waiting to vote — with elections in various places around the state.

On election night, Hendren complained about problems with voting in his own precinct and later arranged for a state legislative study of election problems in Benton and 14 other Arkansas counties.

The interim study, by the Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee, will aim to answer questions, many of them about what caused glitches with both new and old voting systems around the state during voting in the recent elections, Hendren said.

State Sen. Steve Faris, DMalvern, chairman of the State Agencies Committee, advised him the committee will meet next month, Hendren said.

“(Faris ) said he wants to get moving on it and get something done. At that time, we’ll want to invite the interested parties that can help us with that and give us some information, … tell us what specific problems there were and what they think we might need to do, ” Hendren said.

http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/37252/

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22. GA: Republican plan to crush middle class is almost complete (Letters)

Tribune & Georgian

Letters

Dear Editor, Kudos to the author of “The smart vote is to stay with Lincoln’s party” (July 5) for lauding selfless Republican legislators who say “No!” to Democrats who want to raise the current $5.15 minimum wage. Sure, that’s a yearly wage $5,000 below the poverty level, but, so what? Let’s applaud the courage of those Republican legislators who voted themselves pay raises at the same time they took a firm, patriotic stand on the minimum wage.

But isn’t $5.15 per hour a little, well, generous for the minimum wage? As a kid, I worked for a dollar an hour and was mighty glad to earn that dollar. Why not $4.15 or even $3.15? In fact, let’s just get rid of the minimum wage.

No time for half measures if the GOP expects the big prize: abolishing once and for all the middle class. And if the current middle class figures out the same, who cares?

Let’s get onboard with W and quit paying any attention either to polls or to democracy. With the help of Diebold, gerrymandering and a judiciary who darn well know who butters their bread, election worries are a thing of the past. We’ll bravely forge ahead with the noble idea of creating a tiny, wealthy minority in charge of a large population of slaves ... err, sorry, I mean economically-challenged citizenry.

To eliminate the middle class, the gap between haves and have nots has to grow and grow until what’s left in the middle is ... well, nothing.

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2006/07/14/news/opinion/letters/3letter7.12.txt

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23. TN: It has come to my attention that our U.S. representative, William

Jenkins, doesn't seem to feel that fair and verifiable voting is that important. I say that because he doesn't seem to support H.R. 550.

The Mountain Press (Letters)

July 14, 2006
This measure is coming up for a vote in the House, and I cannot understand why every representative isn't anxious to sign it if, that is, they believe that fair elections are the cornerstone to our - indeed any - democracy.

It is crucial that the American people, when they cast their votes, be assured that their vote was not just counted, but counted for the person for whom they meant to vote. After the debacle of Florida in 2000 and then the problems in Ohio as well as other states in 2004, it would seem more important than ever to have a paper trail. Add to the past voting problems the findings of Black Box Voting concerning how easily, quickly and anonymously the Diebold machines can be hacked, and it would seem crucial for our democracy that all our machines have paper trails.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1211&dept_id=169695&newsid=16916632&PAG=461&rfi=9

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24. VR:Calif. 50 Bilbray/Busby Registrar Mikel Hass Stonewalls on Hand Count

of Paper Ballots

PRESS RELEASE



7/14/2006 9:16:00 AM

To: State Desk

Contact: Ilene Proctor PR, 310-271-5857

SAN DIEGO, July 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On July 5, Barbara Gail Jacobson, a voter in California's 50th District requested a hand count of all paper ballots from the Busby/Bilbray election because of the failure of the San Diego Country Registrar to follow state and federal provisions requiring the security of the Diebold voting machines used in the special election. Specifically, poll workers took all the voting machines home in the two weeks prior to the election where they remained in unsecured environments.

On Tuesday, July 11, Jacobson delivered a letter to Registrar Mikel Haas asking questions about the manual hand count procedure -- (1) would he give her the chain of custody documents, audit logs and other related information that she had the right to review as "relevant materials," according to California law, (2) would he allow her to review them before she had to start paying for the count and (3) what were the results of the statutory 1 percent audit of the initial count? Haas had previously said in his July 7 letter to Jacobson that there would be a "pre-recount meeting" on Wednesday, July 12 at 8 a.m., and the "the recount will begin immediately after this meeting."

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 11, the assistant registrar, Tim McNamara, emailed Jacobson a vague and unresponsive answer to her questions. He said, "Please be aware that we are not necessarily in agreement with you regarding what constitutes relevant material. We can discuss that when we meet." In short, he demanded that Jacobson pay $6,000 to begin the count prior to the Registrar following the law.

On the morning of Wednesday, July 12, Jacobson was informed that the 8 a.m. pre-count meeting was cancelled and all other "interested parties" had been notified. However, Jacobson had not been notified. Jacobson again wrote Haas on July 13, citing major ambiguities in the Registrar's email, and asked whether the "manual hand count (has) ended ... (and if yes), why has it ended?"

She said, "Voters have a right to know if their elections are accurate and true. To that end, the system must be transparent. However, your correspondence to me of July 7 and July 11 assisted in creating an illusion of cooperation without providing concrete information ..."

The Registrar's Office has stonewalled the election count by failing to follow the law and procedures, VelvetRevolution said.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69225

[rumpel]

25. RI: City purging records of inactive voters

The Providence Journal

In the past two years, the board of canvassers has cancelled 9,304 voter registration cards for people who have died, moved out of state or moved from the city.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, July 14, 2006
BY KAREN A. DAVIS
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- The city Board of Canvassers and Registration has been working for months to clean up its voting roster in preparation for the primary and general elections.
It is coordinating efforts with and using new software from the secretary of state's office, according to Laurence K. Flynn, executive secretary of the board.
Since the last general election in November 2004, the board has cancelled 9,304 voter registration cards for people who have died, moved out of state or moved from the city.
Two years ago, the city had more than 103,000 names on its voting roster, but after recent purging efforts, that number dropped to 95,937, Flynn said.
However, the board of canvassers is also taking in new registered voters.
"The city rolls are like the stock market," Flynn said. "Once the day ends, the number could be one thing, but we could take in a thousand new people the next."
The problem of inaccurate voting rosters has been an issue throughout the state for years. Canvassing boards and election officials were criticized for having names of the deceased or of former residents who were living elsewhere but voting in old districts.
But in 2004, the secretary of state's office began creating a central voter registry system, as required by federal law. The central registry was designed to, among other things, eliminate the problem of some residents being listed on the voting roster of more than one Rhode Island community.

http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_20060714_pvote14.175e552.html

[GuvWurld]

26. CA: Humboldt Holds Special Meeting of Election Advisory Committee

http://wedonotconsent.blogspot.com/2006/07/humboldt-holds-special-meeting-of.html

Thursday, July 13, 2006
Humboldt Holds Special Meeting of Election Advisory Committee

Humboldt Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich convened a special meeting of the citizens' Election Advisory Committee (EAC) Thursday night, advising us that CA Secretary of State Bruce McPherson is squeezing her for a three-option plan to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), due on his desk by Monday. Compliance with HAVA is primarily about making voting methods available for disabled people to cast their ballots privately and independently. The problem is McPherson seems intent on forcing the least best systems upon us.

MORE...

[rumpel]

27. Choicepoint President Funds Secretary of State Candidate Scott Holcomb in

Georgia

by Matthew Cardinale and Betty Clermont
July 14, 2006 at 00:49:23
http://www.opednews.com

This article courtesy of Atlanta Progressive News.

(APN) ATLANTA - With the Georgia Primary for Secretary of State only days away, Atlanta Progressive News has learned Democratic Candidate Michael "Scott" Holcomb has accepted campaign contributions from the President of Choicepoint Corporation and the President's wife.

Choicepoint has come under scrutiny for its well-researched acquisition of the company responsible for the false felon voter list which disenfranchised tens of thousands of minorities in the 2000 elections in Florida. Choicepoint, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, with over a billion dollars in revenue in 2005, is synonymous with voter fraud and Bush cronyism to many advocates. It has billions of data points about individuals and has contracts with the US government to provide much of that information to them toward their goal of total information awareness.

Mr. Douglas Curling, the President of Choicepoint, gave $500 to Holcomb's Campaign on December 19, 2005, according to campaign finance disclosures dated December 31, 2005.

Curling's wife, Donna Curling, gave $1,000 to Holcomb's Campaign on December 21, 2005.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_matthew__060714_choicepoint_presiden.htm

[rumpel]

28. NC: N.C. legislators end personal use of campaign fund

WCNC (NBC)

10:45 AM EDT on Friday, July 14, 2006
By GARY D. ROBERTSON / Associated Press


RALEIGH, N.C. -- The General Assembly approved two more campaign finance reforms Thursday, preventing candidates from converting campaign donations to personal use and requiring more disclosure of donors to independent political organizations.
With little debate, the House agreed by a vote of 111-2 to Senate changes on limits that a candidate or campaign committee could spend political donations to seven specific areas.
They include expenses related to running for and holding public office, charity and penalties for election law violations.
The conversion of campaign money received attention after former Rep. Michael Decker, R-Forsyth, received a $4,000 contribution from House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, in February 2005, then closed his campaign account the next day and kept the money.
Several other former members -- both Democrats and Republicans -- also have written checks to themselves for office rent, cars and other items.
"This is an example of legislators imposing new restrictions on themselves, so it's not insignificant," said Bob Hall with the campaign finance reform group Democracy North Carolina. "Money is given to them for limited purposes, and they've taken action to honor that political purpose that the money is given for."
Later, the House approved tighter reporting requirements for so-called "527" political groups that have taken an increasing role in state politics in recent years, including Republican primaries for the two most recent election cycles.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/politics/stories/wcnc-071406-jmn-legislators_campaign_funds.102eb620.html

[rumpel]

29. My rant: Do we have any reporters outside of AP?

A different perspective perhaps? Sorry had to say it.

2 stories, same article in ALL Newspapers today both are AP

Activists lawsuit to ban electronic voting :)

and

Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accusing him of

"As has been his daily habit of late, Lopez Obrador on Thursday showed reporters videotapes he claimed showed evidence of election irregularities, including ad campaigns that he said contained "subliminal propaganda" against him. The ads aired prior to the elections." :(

[kpete]

30. NYT:Activists Sue to Block Electronic Voting

Activists Sue to Block Electronic Voting

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 13, 2006
Filed at 3:31 p.m. ET

Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos such as the 2000 presidential election, but activist groups say it has only worsened the problem and they've gone to court across the country to ban the new machines.

Lawsuits have been filed in at least nine states, alleging that the machines are wide open to computer hackers and prone to temperamental fits of technology that have assigned votes to the wrong candidate.

Manufacturers say their machines are more reliable than punch cards and other traditional voting technologies.

But they face a determined opponent in Voter Action, which has filed lawsuits in Colorado, California, Arizona and New Mexico. Similar bans have been sought by voters in Texas, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. On Thursday, a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit in Georgia.

''The designers of video games have built far more sophisticated security into their systems than have the manufacturers of voting machines,'' said Lowell Finley, co-director of Voter Action, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group based in Berkeley, Calif. ''The biggest problem is security against tampering.''

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Electronic-Voting.html

[rumpel]

31. Urgent request from Mexico for help with statistical analysis

Thanks to IndyOp

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x440019

[Kurovski]

32. Kick to the top. (nt)

[livvy]

33. Evening kick n/t

[robinlynne]

34. Thanks so much for the new picture. I was tired of that big cartoon thing.

(just being silly, but it's true.)

[Wilms]

35. .