Election Reform-Fraud & Related News Thursday 7/20/06

[EFerrari]

Election Reform, Fraud & Related News Thursday 7/20/06

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

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

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.
4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.

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

[EFerrari]

1. Mexico's Fox in favor of new round of elections

Mexico's Fox in favor of new round of elections

The July 2 election gave a slim victory to the conservative candidate Felipe Calderón over Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Thursday, July 20, 2006
by MISNA See all articles by this author

Mexico's exiting President Vicente Fox for the first time said that he is in favour of an eventual second round of the presidential election to resolve the impasse in the country following the result of the July 2 vote. That election gave a slim victory to the conservative candidate Felipe Calderón over the left-leaning Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has contested the outcome.

“I am inclined toward a runoff intended as an instrument to obtain a majority that consents taking the more important decisions for the country”, stated Fox, in clear reference to the razor-thin margin of 243,934 votes that separate Calderón from Amlo, as the candidate of the Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD) is popularly called.

Fox, accused by ‘subcommander’ Marcos of orchestrating electoral fraud in favour of Calderón, reiterated his “absolute confidence” in the Electoral Tribunal, the only body authorised to proclaim the new president.

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=135&id=4510&t=Mexico\'s+Fox+in+favor+of+new+round+of+elections

[EFerrari]

12. Leaders urge calm as Mexico City seethes

MEXICO CITY -- Politicians and media leaders appealed for calm in Mexico's capital Wednesday and warned that a bitter split between the left and the right after a disputed presidential election could grow more serious.

Scuffles, vandalism and subterfuge have Mexico City near its boiling point as supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador angrily push their claims that vote fraud helped his opponent, conservative Felipe Calderon, win the July 2 election.

Calderon was harassed Tuesday by a knot of people who banged on his car and screamed "pig." In turn, he and his staff on Wednesday touted support from a purported union "leader" who doesn't appear to hold any post.

Calderon's campaign introduced Gaston Saenz as a top adviser of the Electrical Workers Union and stood by smiling when Saenz called the election clean, honest and democratic. But union chief of staff Enrique Bernal later said that Saenz was a retired member of the union who held no current post and did not speak for the group.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/world/15081098.htm?source=rss&channel=dfw_world

[EFerrari]

2. Art Levine: Protecting The 2006 Vote

Protecting The 2006 Vote
Art Levine
July 19, 2006



Art Levine is a contributing editor for The Washington Monthly and has written for The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, and many other publications.

How many electronic voting machines can dance on the head of a pin?

That’s nearly how arcane today’s raging, almost theological, arguments among progressives have become over the lost 2004 election. The debates continue over such admittedly worthy issues as whether the GOP’s evil minions literally stole the election in Ohio from John Kerry in 2004, and if the blame for Kerry’s loss was due mostly to his bungled campaign, rigged voting machines or voting suppression efforts that targeted black and low-income voters.

But these internal debates don’t do anything to fight flaws in our nation’s patchwork election system that threaten to rob millions of Americans of the right to vote in the upcoming November election—and weren’t remedied by last week’s House passage of the Voting Rights Act. Fortunately, we don’t have to limit ourselves to wringing our hands, filing lawsuits against voting-machine companies, hoping for sweeping federal reforms or, as author Mark Crispin Miller says, “Going Ukraine” if the Republicans hold on to Congress.

Instead, there are a host of concrete steps you can take up through Election Day to keep votes from being robbed—and admirable national and local groups (see resources here) you can join to help prevent the sort of meltdowns that happened in Ohio in 2004.

Why is election reform—a key element of initiatives by MoveOn.org, Common Cause and People for the American Way, among others—so important? It’s not just that it promotes fair voting and democracy. It’s also essential for Democrats’ hopes of winning back either house of Congress this year, especially in any close elections. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who knows a thing or two about gaining power, put the issue at the top of her speech at the Take Back America progressive conference last month: “The Republicans have absolutely no interest in changing the way we vote, in holding the machine makers responsible, in having a verified paper trail, in eliminating conflicts of interest …” She noted that voting reform isn’t going to pass Congress this year and urged, “So until we get back a Democratic Congress, we have to hold local and state officials accountable…Make sure you do everything you can in the next several months so we don’t have a repeat of what happened in Ohio, what happened in Florida.”

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/07/19/protecting_the_2006_vote.php

[EFerrari]

11. Art Levine: Progressives: Stop squabbling, start fighting

Art Levine: Progressives: Stop squabbling, start fighting to make votes count

There's so much in-fighting among progressives over who really stole the 2004 election from John Kerry that not enough people are working to stop an election meltdown in many states this November. As I point out in an article with numerous resource links today in Tompaine.com, Protecting the 2006 Vote":

How many electronic voting machines can dance on the head of a pin?

That's nearly how arcane today's raging, almost theological, arguments among progressives have become over the lost 2004 election. The debates continue over such admittedly worthy issues as whether the GOP's evil minions literally stole the election in Ohio from John Kerry in 2004, and if the blame for Kerry's loss was due mostly to his bungled campaign, rigged voting machines or voting suppression efforts that targeted black and low-income voters.

But these internal debates don't do anything to fight flaws in our nation's patchwork election system that threaten to rob millions of Americans of the right to vote in the upcoming November election--and weren't remedied by last week's House passage of the Voting Rights Act. Fortunately, we don't have to limit ourselves to wringing our hands, filing lawsuits against voting-machine companies, hoping for sweeping federal reforms or, as author Mark Crispin Miller says, "Going Ukraine" if the Republicans hold on to Congress.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/progressives-stop-squabb_b_25416.html

[EFerrari]

3. NAACP 'storms' Capitol Hill for Voting Rights Act

NAACP 'storms' Capitol Hill for Voting Rights Act
Bus caravan pushes Senate panel to vote for law's renewal

Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer

(07-20) 04:00 PDT Washington -- The NAACP flexed its muscle Wednesday on Capitol Hill, persuading legislators in a matter of hours to act on renewing portions of the Voting Rights Act, a measure that had been stalled for months.

Motivated by fiery speeches from three Democratic allies, more than 1,000 NAACP delegates boarded buses Wednesday and headed to Capitol Hill to advocate for the preservation of three provisions of the voting act, as well as other civil rights legislation.

Just over two hours later, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the legislation for the act's renewal, and Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., joined NAACP President Bruce Gordon and Chairman Julian Bond to announce the Senate could take a full vote on the measure as early as today.

The sections of the 1965 act that ban literacy tests and other discriminatory practices are permanent. Set to expire next year are requirements that certain states and counties with a history of voter discrimination, primarily in the South, obtain federal approval for any changes in voting laws; that federal observers be present if there is evidence of voter intimidation; and that any county with a significant non-English speaking population provide bilingual ballots.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/20/MNGRAK22OP1.DTL&feed=rss.news

[EFerrari]

4. Electronic voting machines still not secure, expert says

Electronic voting machines still not secure, expert says

Washington - A leading information security expert warned Wednesday that federal standards for electronic voting machines have done little to prevent errors or manipulation by computer hackers.

"Today, the state of electronic voting security is not good," David Wagner of the University of California at Berkeley told a joint hearing by two U.S. House committees. "A single person with insider access and some technical knowledge could switch votes ... and potentially swing an election."

The joint hearing came on the heels of lawsuits filed by citizen groups in at least nine states challenging various actions in the transition from paper "butterfly" and punch-card ballots to electronic touch-screen and optical scanning voting machines.

http://www.currentargus.com/ci_4072329

[EFerrari]

22. Experts Tell Congress U.S. e-Voting Security Is Flawed

Experts Tell Congress U.S. e-Voting Security Is Flawe
By George Leopold Courtesy of EE Times

WASHINGTON — Security experts told Congress on Wednesday (July 19) that the federal qualification process for electronic voting machines is flawed.

"We have grave reservations about the safeguards in place with many of the computerized voting technologies being used," Eugene Spafford, chairman of the Association for Computing Machinery's Committee on Public Policy.

"New federal standards and a certification process hold promise for addressing some of these problems, but more must be done to ensure the integrity of our elections in the face of software and hardware errors as well as the possibility of undetectable tampering," Spafford told a joint House hearing.

David Wagner, an associate professor at the University of California at Berkeley and a specialist in information security and electronic voting, went further. "We've seen security defects that allow a single person with insider access and some technical knowledge could switch votes, perhaps undetected, and potentially swing an election," he testified. "These problems should be weeded out by the independent testing process, but it is clear that this system isn't working."

http://internetweek.cmp.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=190900058

[EFerrari]

5. OH: E-Voting: Cuyahoga Vote Counting Problem Blamed on Ballot Format

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Subtle format problems on paper ballots made them unreadable in optical scanners in the May primary election, delaying Cuyahoga County's vote tally for days, a review of the machine problems found. The election, the county's first using Diebold Inc.'s touch-screen and optical-scan voting systems, had an array of problems, including poll workers not showing up or not sufficiently trained in electronic voting.

Officials ordered a hand count of more than 18,000 paper ballots after the optical scan machines produced inconsistent tabulations. The machines are used for absentee votes or in other circumstances when touch-screen voting was not possible.

Elsewhere in Ohio during the May 2 primary -- the state's first election under a new federal law requiring e-voting -- there were printer problems, reports of poll workers losing memory cards holding votes, and voters being turned away without casting ballots because undertrained workers did not know how to turn on the new machines.

In Cuyahoga, the state's largest county with about 1 million registered voters, the board of elections approved a ballot layout that was unreadable by the scanners, according to SysTest Labs, a Denver-based company hired by the county to pin down the problem's cause. SysTest also reported Monday that North Canton-based Diebold did not warn its customers that placing thick black lines on ballots could create problems.

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=5167480&nav=menu34_2_2

[L. Coyote]

31. Same old dirty tricks??? Keep Dem areas from voting. n/t

[EFerrari]

6. 2 million voters, 1 address? More fraud claims mar Venezuelan election

2 million voters, 1 address? More fraud claims mar Venezuelan election
By PHIL GUNSON AND STEVEN DUDLEY
[e-mail]

CARACAS - The latest in a string of complaints of fraud in Venezuela's voter registry conjures up the old nursery rhyme about the old woman and her many children who lived in a shoe: more than two million voters with allegedly the same address.

The opposition Social Christian Party, known by its Spanish acronym of COPEI, says it found 2.3 million people registered at the same address in Caracas, although they vote all over the country. Another 1.7 million registries lacked any address at all, the party said.

The National Electoral Council has vehemently denied the allegation. ''That is absolutely false,'' Council director Sandra Oblitas told state television.

LIMITED COVERAGE

COPEI hasn't provided any backup evidence or revealed how it obtained the information on the addresses, which are not part of the public record. COPEI's allegation received limited media coverage here, and many other opposition groups have not commented on the allegation.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/15078199.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_americas

"We'll print anything!"

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

7. TX: Put it on paper!

(Illustration: Doug Potter)

Put it on paper!
BY LEE NICHOLS

On Tuesday, Judge Rose Spector, a former Supreme Court judge visiting Travis County's 353rd District Court, ruled against a temporary injunction against the county's current electronic-voting system. Without the injunction, the lawsuit will proceed to trial some time early next year, but the November election will proceed as planned.

Several plaintiffs, including the NAACP of Austin and its president Nelson Linder, activist Sonia Santana, and state attorney general candidate David Van Os, all represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project, sought a temporary injunction to block the use of paperless electronic-voting machines in Travis Co. in the November elections, requesting that they be replaced with systems that can produce a paper record of each vote. The suit targeted Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, who sets the standards for legally permissible voting machines in Texas, and Travis Co. Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, head of the county's elections division. The suit alleged that the machines violate the right to a re-count, are insufficient to prevent election fraud, and violate Travis voters' equal-protection rights, especially since other jurisdictions use reportedly more secure and reviewable systems that do create a paper trail.

In response, attorneys for Williams and DeBeauvoir argued in a hearing last week that an injunction is not necessary because the Hart InterCivic eSlate machines used in Travis Co. have never malfunctioned (although other jurisdictions have reported difficulties) and because the plaintiffs had suffered no actual harm. "The harm is purely speculative," said Williams' attorney, Kathlyn Wilson. Also, she argued that the machines have been certified as reliable by state examiners and meet Federal Election Commission standards and that a prior case in 1937 (regarding the old pull-lever machines) rejected the need for a paper trail.

As a possible remedy, the plaintiffs note that Hart already manufactures a printer attachment for the eSlate that is currently used in other states, which "would require little effort" for the county to purchase and would be "a relatively minor addition to the already existing equipment."

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2006-07-14/pols_feature3.html

[EFerrari]

8. AP: Electronic Machines Vex Voters

Electronic Machines Vex Voters



Nonprofit files lawsuits to ban use

By DEBORAH HASTINGS, The Associated Press
July 20, 2006

Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos such as occurred during 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 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.

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. A coalition of groups recently filed a lawsuit in Georgia.

http://www.sanangelostandardtimes.com/sast/news_opinion_viewpoints/article/0,2587,SAST_21056_4857328,00.html

:wow:

[EFerrari]

9. CA: Secretary of state addresses problems with voting systems

Secretary of state addresses problems with voting systems
7/19/2006

California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson recently discussed ways for states to work collaboratively with each other and the federal government to enhance voting system security, accuracy and reliability as well as usability and accessibility, a secretary of state news release stated.

“As election officials, we have the honor to be trusted with administering and safeguarding the basic right of free people, the right to vote,” McPherson stated in the news release. “It is our responsibility to work on a state-to-state basis, and a federal-to-state basis, to improve the administration of that basic right.”

In a speech delivered at the national Association of Secretaries of State Summer Conference in Santa Fe, N.M., McPherson outlined three proposals to improve the voting system certification process nationwide.

First, to address voting system security and reliability, McPherson proposed states join with the Election Assistance Commission to develop a national program to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis of voting systems, in addition to the existing security tests, as part of the federal certification process.

http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=13145

(Hey, Bruce! I don't trust you! :hi:)

[EFerrari]

10. FL: Keep an eye out for voter cards

Keep an eye out for voter cards
Elections office mailed them out starting last week

By Jeff Burlew
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Many voters already received it in the mail - that red, white and blue voter information card sent by the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Voters should take a close look at their cards before filing them away, Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho said.

"We urge citizens to make sure that things like their birth date, their address and party affiliation is correct," he said.

Last week, the office began mailing out 144,118 cards to every registered voter in the county. The cards also list voters' precinct number, where they vote and which races they can vote in.

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060720/NEWS01/607200345

[EFerrari]

13. Democrats: Hold Bush accountable (Voting Rights Act)

Democrats: Hold Bush accountable

By Jeff Zeleny
Washington Bureau
Published July 20, 2006

WASHINGTON -- One day before President Bush addresses the NAACP for the first time during his presidency, two Democratic senators on Wednesday urged those attending the meeting to hold the administration accountable for renewing--and enforcing--the Voting Rights Act.

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois warned NAACP delegates to be cautious of any civil rights promises Bush offers when speaking to the group Thursday. The senators criticized Republicans for allowing the landmark 1965 voting act to nearly expire and said the Justice Department has failed to aggressively pursue allegations of disenfranchisement.

"Don't be bamboozled. Don't buy into it," Obama said, trying to anticipate Bush's speech, which is expected to touch upon his support for extending the Voting Rights Act. "It's great if he commits to signing it, but what is critical is the follow-through. You don't just talk the talk, but you also walk the walk."

Democrats have accused the GOP of being too slow to renew the Voting Rights Act, hoping to make it an issue in the midterm election campaign. Republicans responded last week by passing the legislation in the House. The bill is pending in the Senate.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0607200253jul20,1,7426216.story?track=rss

[EFerrari]

14. Bush to Make First NAACP Appearance Today

By DEB RIECHMANN

WASHINGTON Jul 20, 2006 (AP)— For five years in a row, President Bush has declined invitations to address the annual NAACP convention. This year, with the Senate poised to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Bush said yes.

The White House says Bush wants to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Thursday to show his commitment to civil rights.

"The president has had five years to prepare for this speech," Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, past chairman of the Congressional Black Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday. "I hope that this time, he makes it worth the wait."

Democrats have called on Bush to use his appearance to renew the Voting Rights Act. "He could sign it right here on this stage," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., told the NAACP on Wednesday, eliciting cheers from the audience.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2214924&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[EFerrari]

15. CA: Supervisors grill registrar on election glitches

Supervisors grill registrar on election glitches
Greg Kane
Record Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006

San Joaquin County's top elections official offered a blunt assessment of last month's glitch-plagued primary during a presentation to county lawmakers Tuesday.

"Election day, as you know, did not go well for me," Deborah Hench told the county Board of Supervisors during the morning hearing.

Hench was called to answer questions about the June 6 primary, which was plagued by staff shortages, equipment problems, and late absentee ballots and precinct openings. At least 35 of the 333 polling places during the election had only one or two workers instead of the recommended four, and some workers weren't trained properly to assemble and maintain the Diebold TSx touchscreen machines used by the county.

Several board members said they were disappointed by the outcome of the recent primary and of other elections that were marred by similar precinct and balloting problems. Supervisor Victor Mow said experience gained from previous elections should allow Hench and other officials better to anticipate problems instead of suffering new ones.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060719/NEWS01/607190313

[EFerrari]

16. GA: Not all Bibb workers knew photo ID not required

Not all Bibb workers knew photo ID not required
By S. Heather Duncan
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER

Some Bibb County poll workers did not seem to know that Georgia's new voter ID law was not in place for Tuesday's primary.

The Telegraph observed workers at several polling places refusing one of the 17 approved forms of identification unless accompanied by a photo ID or telling would-be voters that a picture ID was required.

Originally, Tuesday's primary was to have been the first election to require a photo ID for voting. But last week, a U.S. District Court judge blocked the state from enforcing the law after civil rights groups challenged it in court, arguing that it discriminated against poor, elderly and rural voters.

J.V. Kirkland was informed Tuesday that he had to present a photo ID to vote at Hutchings High School. He argued unsuccessfully with the poll worker that state and federal judges had thrown out the requirement. Luckily, he had a photo ID handy.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/15069711.htm

[EFerrari]

17. CA: Local Democrats Don't Trust Voting Machines (San Diego)

Local Democrats Don't Trust Voting Machines

Last Updated:
07-18-06 at 4:42PM

The head of the local Democratic party wants an investigation into June's primary election. Jeff Durfee says the county allowed poll workers to take home electronic voting machines, and some may have been tampered with.

Durfee says the "sleepover" policy is compromising the integrity of local elections.

"We want the Board of Supervisors to hear the public's concerns about the
way our elections are conducted in San Diego," Durfee said.

"The growing crisis of confidence about election integrity will continue to undermine the democratic process until serious actions are taken to protect the vote," he said. "The voters in San Diego County have a right to know that our elections are properly managed, fair and legal."

http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.56951.html

[EFerrari]

18. Protesters call for elections investigation

By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO -- Saying they distrusted electronic voting machines and the way the county handled them, dozens of protesters called on county supervisors Tuesday to hold an investigation and public hearing on their concerns "about the integrity" of local elections.

Supervisors made no immediate comment Tuesday, but chairman Bill Horn said he was not inclined to ask for any investigation after the board meeting.

The protesters were led by Jess Durfee, chair of the San Diego County Democratic party, and included people who identified themselves as poll workers, political candidates, members of the League of Women Voters, activists and academics.

Speakers who testified at the county board meeting said:

# They remain convinced that the electronic voting machines that the county plans to use en masse in November could be tampered with ---- resulting in fraudulent, stolen elections.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/07/19/news/top_stories/12_05_187_18_06.txt

[EFerrari]

19. WI: Elections Board finds compromise on voter ID

Elections Board finds compromise on voter ID
BY SCOTT BAUER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WISCONSIN

MADISON - Voters without a driver's license could still cast a ballot on Election Day under action taken Wednesday by a state board.

But their ballot would be tossed if they didn't come up with their license within a day.

The plan was part of what the state Elections Board said was a compromise to deal with people who show up at the polls on Election Day and want to register to vote.

The issue has become highly politicized, with two Republican congressmen saying the state was inviting a federal lawsuit under a previous rule adopted by the board. Democrats argue that Republicans were trying to limit people's access to the polls.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/15080561.htm?source=rss&channel=duluthsuperior_local

[EFerrari]

20. Michael Scherer: Taking the paper trail to Washington

Taking the paper trail to Washington

The dangers of electronic voting machines got tallied Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

By Michael Scherer


July 20, 2006 | WASHINGTON -- White T-shirts are a significant departure from the standard dress code in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. So when a couple dozen activists walked into a joint meeting of the Science and Administration committees Wednesday wearing bleached cotton instead of the typical pantsuits and striped ties, it was not surprising that someone dispatched a Capitol Police officer to stand guard in case things got out of hand.

The T-shirts were imprinted with bold black letters that read "Got Paper?" or "Got Audits?" -- coded, chest-high messages that were directed at lawmakers to express the widespread concern that new computerized voting machines can be tampered with to swing elections. The activists had come to Washington to push legislation that would mandate voter-verifiable paper records for every ballot cast in the nation, a reversal of a recent trend toward touch-screen computers that only tally votes electronically. It didn't matter that the House committees did not plan to discuss the issue of ballot paper trails. "Hearings are all about theater," explained Susannah Goodman of the liberal election reform group Common Cause, in a pre-hearing meeting with the activists. "We're hijacking it."

As it turned out, the activists' point came across loud and clear to both Republicans and Democrats without hardly a peep from the gallery. The Administration Committee chairman, Vernon J. Ehlers, a Michigan Republican, opened the hearing by addressing the casually dressed crowd in the back of the room. "I notice a number of members in the audience wearing T-shirts showing their support for the paper trial," Ehlers said after his opening statement. "I am trying to arrange a separate hearing on the paper trail." This hearing, he explained, would focus on existing voting machine standards and testing guidelines.

But one by one, Ehlers' Republican and Democratic colleagues disobeyed his instructions by quizzing an all-star panel of election technology experts on the prospect of requiring paper records from every vote cast by computer. "When I had my week off I heard from an overwhelming number of constituents on the paper trail issue," explained California Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, the joint committee's ranking Democrat. "Voters are very concerned that their vote is not being counted."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/07/20/voting/?source=whitelist

[EFerrari]

21. Voting Rights Act Preclearance: Why Process Matters

Voting Rights Act Preclearance: Why Process Matters

Daniel P. TokajiDaniel P. Tokaji
Associate Director, Election Law @ Moritz
June 20, 2006


Yesterday, civil rights advocates organized a “National Call-In Day” to urge a floor vote on Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (H.R. 9). This bill would renew the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) that are set to expire in 2007. It would also make a significant change to the legal standard under Section 5 of the VRA.

In this post, I suggest that the lively debate over VRA renewal has overemphasized Section 5's legal standard while underemphasizing the importance of the process followed under Section 5. Section 5 requires covered jurisdictions to preclear proposed electoral changes – including redistricting plans – with either the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before they may go into effect. That process, which isn’t changed by the proposed amendment, creates a considerable risk of partisan manipulation and may not be adequate to protect minority rights from the most pressing threats. That’s not to say that Section 5 should be allowed to expire. To the contrary, I think it should be renewed. But Congress would be well-advised to take a hard look at the preclearance process and not just the standard applicable under Section 5.

The Standard

I start with the proposed amendment to Section 5 that’s received the most attention: the standard for granting or denying preclearance. The amendment purports to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in Georgia v. Ashcroft, by providing that compliance with Section 5 should be judged by a proposed redistricting plan’s impact on “the ability of any citizens of the United States, on account of race or color ... to elect their preferred candidates of choice.”

There’s been considerable debate among academics and advocates over whether this change to the standard is a good idea. These competing views are nicely represented in this recent exchange between Bob Bauer and David Becker, as well as in several of the posts appearing on the Election Law blog’s ongoing conversation regarding VRA renewal. Briefly (and at the risk of oversimplification), the debate focuses on whether it’s acceptable to trade off “safe” minority districts, in which racial minorities have a high likelihood of electing a candidate of choice, for “influence” districts in which there are enough minorities to influence the selection of a candidate but not enough to control that selection. Georgia v. Ashcroft gives some flexibility for states to make such trade-offs. Critics argue that this flexibility is subject to abuse and that Georgia v. Ashcroft’s fuzzy definition of an influence district fails to provide an administrable standard for judging compliance with Section 5.

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/2006/060620.php

[Kurovski]

23. Kick to the top.

Thanks, sfexpat2000. :kick:

[Kurovski]

24. Kick.(nt)

[EFerrari]

30. thank you, Kurovski

:hi:

[EFerrari]

25. CO: Denver announces major change in voting

(Here's Wilms' deprecinctification rolling along -- )




Denver announces major change in voting
written by: Anastasiya Bolton Reporter
posted by: Jeffrey Wolf Web Producer

The concept of precincts in Denver is a thing of the past, instead 47 vote centers will be available, allowing anyone to vote anywhere in the city.

"It will be easier," said Alton Dillard, Denver Election Commission Communications Director, "and also a little more convenient."

"As long as you have your photo ID, that you are a registered Denver voter, you go in and cast your vote," says Dillard.

The Denver Election Commission is also implementing new voting machines.

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=8480e52f-0abe-421a-01c1-ec12c7b6ddfb&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

[EFerrari]

26. GA: State: Don't blame Clayton County for vote delay

State: Don't blame Clayton County for vote delay
Polls got faulty computer cards

By ERIC STIRGUS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/20/06

Clayton County should not be blamed for long delays in counting election results, state officials said Wednesday.

State elections officials gave Clayton County a set of computer cards that weren't programmed to lock the voting machines once the polls closed Tuesday, forcing county election workers to scramble to deliver replacement cards to all Clayton precincts.

"We're not certain where that pack of cards came from," said Kara Sinkule, a spokeswoman for the Georgia secretary of state's office.

As a result, the first election returns from Clayton were not announced until 9:45 p.m. — shortly before Ralph Reed conceded defeat in the race for lieutenant governor.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayton/stories/0720metclayton.html

[EFerrari]

27. MD: Suit filed against early voting

Suit filed against early voting
Shore filing claims Assembly lacks authority to change election dates
By Melissa Harris
Sun reporter
Originally published July 19, 2006

Two Baltimore attorneys -- including the former legal counsel for the Maryland Republican Party -- filed suit in Queen Anne's County Circuit Court to block early voting this fall, alleging that the General Assembly lacks constitutional authority to alter election dates.

M. Albert Figinski and Christopher R. West filed the lawsuit Monday on behalf of three Queen Anne's County residents. The Maryland State Board of Elections, Linda H. Lamone, the state's elections administrator, and the state were named as defendants.

"This is not an action which says early voting is good or early voting is bad," Figinski said. "It is an action that says that to engraft early voting in Maryland, you have to do it by a constitutional amendment."

The General Assembly passed laws each of the past two years authorizing early voting, which allows select polling places to open for five days before an election.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.voting19jul19,0,7063279.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[EFerrari]

28. SC: Printer trouble delays election results (Franklin Co)

Printer trouble delays election results

By Pearce Adams
Anderson Independent-Mail
July 19, 2006

CARNESVILLE — Franklin County Probate Judge Eddy Fowler said he was tired and worn out a day after Georgia’s general primary election.

One of about 51 remaining probate judges that continue to handle election results, Judge Fowler said it was about 1 a.m. Wednesday before two technicians could resolve a problem that kept his staff from printing and releasing the county’s primary results.

The technical snafu did not affect any of the 1,682 votes that were cast electronically in Franklin on Tuesday, during early voting or from absentee ballots.

"Everything was in there," he said. "We couldn’t get it on paper."

http://www.independentmail.com/and/home/article/0,1886,AND_8195_4856481,00.html

[EFerrari]

29. WI: Elections Board faces balancing act

Elections Board faces balancing act
Provisional ballots take law, voters' rights into account
By STACY FORSTER
[e-mail]
Posted: July 19, 2006

Madison - In an attempt to settle a political battle about how Wisconsin will comply with federal voting regulations, the State Elections Board decided Wednesday to require those registering on election day to provide a driver's license number if they have one.

Those without their driver's licenses or the license numbers with them at the polls may cast a provisional ballot. They then would have to supply the number by the end of the day after the election, the board determined. Voters who haven't been issued driver's licenses would be able to show either state-issued ID cards or to provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

Elections Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy said the compromise would likely settle the dispute. He said the U.S. Department of Justice had proposed it as a way to resolve questions about Wisconsin's compliance with the Help America Vote Act, which requires voters to provide driver's license numbers when registering.

The board had earlier decided to allow people to register at the polls by supplying the last four digits of their Social Security numbers if they didn't have their driver's licenses with them or if they didn't know the numbers.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=474272

[EFerrari]

32. Republicans, paper trails and HR 550 -- Mark Crispin Miller

Republicans, paper trails and HR 550 (Holt): No easy answers

by Mark C. Miller, author of "Fooled Again"


EMAIL FROM MARK CRISPIN MILLER MILLER'S response to Michael Scherer's Salon article (see below):

I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but this is not a good idea.

Why is our democracy at risk? Is it just because those DRE machines don't leave a paper trail? Or is it that the Bush Republicans detest democracy, since they cannot wield power without subverting the electoral system? The fact is that they're pushing an agenda that could never win majority support in the United States--from liberals or conservatives. They've therefore had no choice but to commit election fraud, repeatedly and on a mammoth scale, deploying every trick and tactic in the book, and then some.

As I point out in Fooled Again, the Bush Republicans used paperless machines to cut the Democratic vote, not only in Ohio but from coast to coast--but they also cut the vote in states and counties that did not use paperless machines; and in those places that did use them, the Busheviks also relied on many other means of disenfranchising the majority.

They kept Americans from registering, tossed out or passed over countless ballots (including absentee ballots), wiped the names of (at least) tens of thousands from the voter rolls, carefully dispatched too few machines to Democratic precincts nationwide, used "challengers" to bully countless would-be voters into going home or staying home, mounted vast disinformation drives to mislead countless more, arranged a most fortuitous computer glitch so as to keep some two million expatriates from voting absentee, and otherwise transported this whole nation, white and black alike, back to the catastrophic epoch of Jim Crow.


http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_c___060720_republicans_2c_paper_t.htm

[kpete]

33. Wow

that's alot of posting...Kick to top

[FogerRox]

34. Thats a lot of ERD......... KNR

[EFerrari]

36. 'Way to recruit me during HAVA implementation, a minute before

midterms.

:silly:

[livvy]

35. Evening kick

I got to be the first recommend today, too! I have no idea why that pleased me so much. Easy to amuse, I guess. Nice thread!
:kick: