Anyone know this International election organization?

[rumpel]

http://www.ifes.org/

http://www.ifes.org/board.html
William J. Hybl, Chairman
Peter G. Kelly, Vice-Chairman
The Honorable Leon J. Weil, Secretary
Lesley Israel, Treasurer
Howard Henry Baker Jr.
Mary Banotti
Judy Black
Don V. Cogman
Tyrone Freeman
Frederick P. Furth, Esq.
Jeffrey Glassman
Stuart Holliday
Steny Hoyer
Barbara Kennelly
Maureen Kindel
Jean-Pierre Kingsley
Kathleen M. Linehan, Esq.
Robert L. Livingston
Richard Lugar
Joseph Napolitan
Jane Bergman Norton
R. Scott Pastrick
Dr. Michael Pinto-Duschinsky
T. Timothy Ryan

"Countdown to the U.S. Elections
Q&A with EAC Chairman Paul DeGregorio"

Paul DeGregorio, chairman of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission, recently addressed members of an IFES working group that is writing a guidebook on recruiting, training and retaining U.S. poll workers. IFES.org asked DeGregorio about the challenges U.S. election officials face this year and how that is likely to affect voters when they go to the polls.

snip

I know that you've been visiting primaries recently. Can you tell me some of the trends that you're seeing?

What I have seen overall is that voters really like the new equipment. I think there’s apprehension out there for voters and poll workers who are used to systems that have been in place for many decades, such as punch cards and lever machines. But for the most part, what we’ve seen is that voters find the new voting systems easy to use and they feel confident that their vote is being counted accurately from those machines.
At the same time we’ve seen the difficulties that some jurisdictions have had in transitioning to the new equipment. Poll workers have to turn on the equipment, get it ready for the voters to use, turn it off at night and capture the results from it. And it’s one thing to go from mechanical lever machines or punch card ballots that are counted at an election office to a system where ballots are counted at the polling place. So there’s a difficulty sometimes with the poll workers who are not used to this type of technology.
I have confidence that everyone involved will get familiar with it enough to make it work. But I think getting there is going to take an election or two. There are plenty of other states that have transitioned to new equipment in 2002 and 2004, and there were minor problems along the way during that time of transition.

emphasis mine.

Does this man seriously think the problems are minor?

forgot link:
http://www.ifes.org/us-project.html?projectid=eac_degregorio

[robinlynne]

1. yes. I just read a long article explaining their links. will find it and

post for you. I dont know how to make a link, so can I post the article itself?

[leveymg]

4. How to link:

Copy the URL address (eg, http://www.whatevertheaddressis) from the browser window on your task bar, and paste that into the DU message box. It should glow blue.

Post your message.

And, also feel free to copy and post the title and an extract of the article up to three paragraphs.

:hi:

[robinlynne]

10. link testing to see if it works.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1641059

nope. doesn't turn into a link for me.

[robinlynne]

11. it did. it did. thank-you. I'm excited.

Who knows where this newfound knowledge may lead....

[robinlynne]

2. article is at this address. long but worth reading!

http://www.ecotalk.org/VotingMachineCompanies.htm

[rumpel]

6. thanks

It is interesting, I got the link to them from the Japanese EV site I posted the other day on ERD.

Their links are quite interesting to explore.

Election issues are a global matter, and many influencial people seem to be involved, friendlies with integrity and those - who have an agenda.

While the organization at first glance sounds balanced - it seems to be part of an US based effort along the policies of democratization of the world.
Which in itself I have nothing against -

Look at where they operate:
Bradley Austin
Senior Field Development Manager, East/South Africa
[e-mail]
Dickson Bailey
Project Director, IFES Albania and Kosovo (Elections)
[e-mail]
Dan Blessington
Chief of Party, Azerbaijan
[e-mail]
Elizabeth Côté
Chief of Party, Guinea
[e-mail]
Almami Cyllah
Chief of Party, Liberia
[e-mail]
Peter Erben
Deputy Director and Senior Advisor, Center for Transitional and Post-Conflict Governance
[e-mail]
Ched Flego
Chief of Party, Armenia
[e-mail]
Ben Goldsmith
Chief of Party, Egypt
[e-mail]
Beverly Hagerdon Thakur
Chief of Party, Philippines
[e-mail]
Paul Harris
Chief of Party, Yemen
Leone Hettenbergh
Chief of Party, Uganda
[e-mail]
Richard John
Chief of Party, Iraq
[e-mail]
Edward Kibirige
Chief of Party, Burundi
[e-mail]
Charles Lasham
Chief of Party, Nigeria
[e-mail]
Dr. Cecile Marotte
Chief of Party (Victims of Violence), Haiti
David Mikosz
Chief of Party, Kyrgyz Republic
[e-mail]
Katherine Müller
Chief of Party, Tajikistan
kmü[e-mail]
Theo Noel
Chief of Party, Kenya
Mauricio Claudio López-Rivera
Chief of Party, Timor Leste
[e-mail]
Carmina Sanchis-Ruescas
Chief of Party, DRC
[e-mail]
Hermann Thiel
Chief of Party, Lebanon
[e-mail]
Rodolfo Ticao
Senior Program Manager, Iraq
[e-mail]
Marcin Walecki
Senior Political Finance Advisor, Center for Transitional and Post-Conflict Governance
[e-mail]
Peter Williams
Chief of Party, Afghanistan
[e-mail]
Jennifer Wilson
Chief of Party, Kazakhstan
[e-mail]

However, this policy these days are controlled by * & Co and the methods imposed, vis a vis the Middle East is such, that it has manifested into a major expnasion of conflict and anger.

I have a feeling, this particular organization could either hurt or benefit -dependent on who runs the US gov't.

:shrug:

[rumpel]

7. wow they did all the research on them already. n/t

[BeFree]

3. BIG money

Controlling our elections, and doing everything they can to keep power centralized. Training poll-workers, indeed. More like brain washing.

Remember when Democrats used to get elected? That was back when our people shared the responsibilty of making sure the votes were counted with accuracy and honesty. The future, if these peope have their way, will be all machines with the workers doing nothing more than plugging in the machines.

I say we need our elections Unplugged!

[leveymg]

5. I say we need to unplug GOP voting machine companies,

and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and indict their asses.

[rumpel]

8. This new press release is also indicating the involvement of journalists

which concerns me, too.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Laura Ingalls in Washington, 202-350-6729, [e-mail]
IFES and ACE PARTNERS LAUNCH ‘ESSENTIAL’ ELECTIONS TOOL IN MEXICO
Washington, DC – JULY 3, 2006 – IFES and other leading international election experts launched the
world’s largest online resource for elections at a ceremony June 30 in Mexico City. The ACE Electoral
Knowledge Network (www.aceproject.org) is designed to develop the professionalism of those on the
ground – from election administrators to journalists – who are responsible for designing, organizing,
overseeing or writing about elections.
The newly launched network is an updated and expanded version of the original ACE Project that began
in 1997, which has attracted over 2.4 million visitors annually.
“The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network represents the most essential resource in the tool kit of election
administrators worldwide,” said IFES President Richard Soudriette.
An estimated 100 people attended the launch during the Forum for International Visitors at the Hotel
Royal Pedregal. The launch was hosted by the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico (IFE) in the lead-up
to Mexico’s July 2 elections. A panel of elections experts examined recent trends in the democracy
promotion industry, including the importance of democratic governance as a means to combat poverty
and the impact of having election observer missions in countries affected by conflict.
The ACE network is the result of cooperation between seven leading international election institutions:
IFES, EISA, Elections Canada, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
(International IDEA), IFE, the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA)
and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The ACE network provides ready access to a global network of experienced election specialists, along
with a comprehensive calendar of upcoming elections, an extensive elections encyclopedia, and
comparative elections data from different countries and regions on topics including voter registration,
political parties, candidates and vote counting.
Currently, the materials on the ACE website are available in Spanish, English and French with plans to
expand the project to include Russian and Arabic. The ACE partners also plan to offer regional resource
centers, training for election staff and election management programs at universities.
# # #
IFES is an international, nonprofit organization that supports the building of democratic societies.

[rumpel]

9. Is this the mothership? n/t

[rosesaylavee]

12. They do not have our best interests at heart...

This group, from what I have read elsewhere here on DU, is a scary extension of *co. Not nice guys, folks.

[rumpel]

13. Comes complete with propaganda machine, perhaps -

Press Secretrary...

thought for a moment it was another Laura -

[Wilms]

14. Kick

[rumpel]

15. Here is another inherent conflict of interest

http://www.ifesbuyersguide.org/info.htm

from:
IFES Web Sites

The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network
Arab Election Law Compendium
Buyer's Guide to Election Suppliers
ElectionAccess.org
Election Guide
Election Technology Survey
Money and Politics.net

The IFES Buyer's Guide to Election Suppliers is the only comprehensive directory of companies selling election supplies, equipment and services to those responsible for managing public and private elections.

Produced by IFES, a non-partisan organization dedicated to election assistance and democracy promotion worldwide, the Buyer's Guide is a respected and trusted source of information on election suppliers. IFES and the Buyer's Guide work closely with major professional election organizations and associations, such as IACREOT, the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA), the Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO), International IDEA and many others.

The Buyer's Guide is available in print (issued every other year) and online. The print edition is an essential tool for government and private purchasing agents. The Buyer's Guide Online complements the print edition, offering updated, direct links to participating company websites and email. Companies can update their listing every six to eight weeks to keep buyers current with the latest contact information and product developments.

PARTICIPATING COMPANIES | MARKET EXPOSURE | ADDITIONAL FEATURES | INQUIRIES