Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday, July 23, 2006

[MelissaB]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x442261

[MelissaB]

1. FL: Democratic candidates take on issues (Gov)

Democratic candidates take on issues
Jim Davis and Rod Smith meet for a head-to-head debate in Broward County.

Anthony Man | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 23, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Capping off a week in which they sharpened their campaign-trail attacks on each other, the Democratic candidates for governor softened their barbs Saturday night during a debate in which they differed far more on style than substance.

Differences on issues between U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa and state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua were virtually imperceptible.

...snip

Each candidate called for change in the state's election system, and said they supported efforts to get a paper trail to back up the electronic, touch-screen voting machines used in some of the state's biggest counties, including Broward and Miami-Dade.

"We need a paper trail for every ballot. We need a recount that's accurate and you need to be able to verify your vote," Smith said.

The event, the highlight of a two-day state Democratic Party conference at the Broward County Convention Center, was televised in Central Florida and in the Tampa Bay area.

About 1,000 Democrats, many from Broward and Palm Beach counties, were part of the audience.


More: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locdebate23072306jul23,0,2943530.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

[MelissaB]

2. IA: Recount reconsidered

...snip

Recount reconsidered

A thistle to Polk County Recorder Tim Brien for casting doubt on the legitimacy of the county's new vote-counting machines. Although Brien lost in the June 6 Democratic primary to a challenger by 3,670 votes, he called for a recount, suggesting that new voting machines were to blame. Brien backed down last week. Maybe it was the prospect of losing the $10,000 surety bond had the hand recount confirmed the result, almost a certainty. Maybe he finally realized the damage he was causing to the credibility of Polk elections, which have a pristine record. Brien, who's been in office for five terms, was wrong to suggest otherwise.

Link: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/OPINION03/607230323/1110

[MelissaB]

3. UT: Audits keep elections honest

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Audits keep elections honest

Daily Herald

This summer, Utah will determine if touch-screen voting machines were accurate.

Lt. Gov. Gary R. Herbert, who oversees the state's elections office, will appoint a committee that will compare the election results stored on randomly selected computer memory cards with printouts from the voting machines.

It's a good move that will instill confidence in the new technology.

When electronic voting was first proposed, critics warned that a computerized ballot box would be easier to sabotage than the punch-card system, the Florida 2000 election notwithstanding. To those people, a card system at least creates physical evidence of a voter's intent that cannot be altered or destroyed in a couple of keystrokes.

Herbert's audit should allay those concerns and help Utahns determine whether the Diebold machines are working as expected.

Unfortunately, there is no requirement in state law for regular audits, nor for the type of audits that ought to be performed. Nor has the Legislature seen fit to allocate any money toward auditing. A lack of funds can limit the scope of an audit since the main expense is people -- workers paid to review the printouts from a machine and comparing it with the electronic result.

...snip

An ideal audit would consist of a full count of a machine's paper record and a comparison of that result with the memory and the voting books for that precinct. This would ensure that the machine produced the right results while cross-checking the number of voters who cast ballots.

By careful and regular scrutiny of electronic voting by the state, voters will gain confidence in the new machines. They will have the assurance that when they cast votes for their candidates, the votes will be correctly counted. If people see that the system works, more of them may decide that their vote does count and will go to the polls and increase voter turnout.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.

More: http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/187159/3/

[MelissaB]

4. MO: County braces for balloting switch

County braces for balloting switch
Polling places in eastern Jackson County will have more workers Aug. 8 as the InkaVote system makes its debut.

By MATT CAMPBELL
The Kansas City Star

Jackson County election officials are looking for hundreds of additional poll workers for the Aug. 8 election, when new voting machines will be used.

Jurisdictions nationwide must comply with a federal law to replace punch-card voting systems. While some jurisdictions, like Kansas City, are going high tech, eastern Jackson County has chosen a simpler system.

To deal with potential problems, the Jackson County Board of Election Commissioners wants to put more than 1,500 workers in its 297 polling places. The board would use 1,200 to 1,300 workers in a typical August election, co-director Charlene Davis said.

Davis said the extra poll workers were only a precaution and that she did not expect widespread confusion because of the new machines.

“That’s why we picked this system,” she said. “It’s the easiest transition for the voters.”

Under the new system, called InkaVote, ballots no longer have chads to be punched out. Instead, voters use an ink stylus to make marks beside their choices. The ballots then are read and tabulated electronically.

More: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/15101309.htm

[MelissaB]

5. CA: Cartoon characters make good showing in June election

Cartoon characters make good showing in June election

By ROGER H. AYLWORTH - Staff Writer

OROVILLE -- While they officially had no chance of winning, a host of cartoon characters, superheroes and celebrities made a significant showing in the June primary.
Bugs Bunny, Superman, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh and actress Sharon Stone all got write-in votes in the recent election.

...snip

Grubbs said the volume of write-ins was higher in June than in most recent elections and she said the ease of just typing in a name in the touch screen voting machines may have had something to do with the upswing.

Particularly in the case of "anybody else" or none of the above" votes, Grubbs thinks the write-in "is a way for a citizen to register a protest."

In some cases, individuals who were voting on Republican or Democrat ballots simply wrote in candidates from the other party into all of the slots.

Grubbs said the state simply doesn't have an option for that kind of "crossover" vote and it means the individuals' votes are wasted.

...snip

BACKGROUND: During last month's primary election, lots of people took the opportunity to write in candidates for various offices, a process made easy by the new touch-screen voting machines.

DID THEY COUNT? In most cases, no. For votes to count, a write-in candidate has to be "qualified," completing all the paperwork required of a regular candidate, just not by the deadline to make it on the ballot.


More: http://www.orovillemr.com/news/chico/ci_4084581

[MelissaB]

6. CA: Voters' lawsuit remanded to state court

Voters' lawsuit remanded to state court

7/22/2006

A lawsuit that would block California’s use of electronic Diebold Election Systems voting machines was remanded by the United States District Court in Oakland to the California Superior Court in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Holder v. McPherson, et al., which was filed in mid-March by a group of 24 California voters, seeks to nullify California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson’s conditional certification of Diebold machines for purchase and use in the state’s elections. The group cites issues of security, reliability, verifiability and accessibility to disabled voters related to the electronic touch screen system.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, McPherson’s counsel, had sought to transfer the case from state to federal court, but was blocked by the recent decision.

Seven of the 18 counties originally named in the suit — including Humboldt County — agreed in late April to use paper ballots in the November election and were subsequently dismissed from the suit.


Link: http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=13218

[MelissaB]

7. FL: Voting measure may appear on ballot

Voting measure may appear on ballot

Concerned voters in 15 Florida counties are closely watching Sarasota's paper-ballot referendum this fall before considering similar initiatives.

Volunteers for SAFE -- the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections -- gathered 2,000 more signatures than the required 12,030 well before the July 7 deadline, and Elections Supervisor Kathy Dent has certified the signatures as valid.

The final ballot language and title were submitted to the county commission this week by lawyers for SAFE.

The proposal would require independent, voter-verified paper ballots and random audits of voting machines in selected precincts across the county immediately following an election, by 2008.

If the measure survives legal muster and voters approve it Nov. 7, it would become a part of the home rule charter, Sarasota County's "constitution."

More: http://www.venicegondolier.com/NewsArchive3/072306/vn3.htm

[MelissaB]

8. Discussion

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x442635

[MelissaB]

9. FL: Democratic governor hopefuls bash GOP

Democratic governor hopefuls bash GOP

By JIM SAUNDERS
Tallahassee Bureau Chief

...snip

ELECTIONS

Smith and Davis agreed that the state should restore the voting rights of felons who have served their sentences, a move that Republicans have resisted.

Also, they blasted Republicans for refusing to require that electronic voting machines have paper trails, which could help assure voters that their ballots are counted properly.

"They (voters) want elections that have paper trails so they can, in fact, know their votes count," Smith said.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face either Attorney General Charlie Crist or state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher in the November general election. While the Democrats blast Bush on the campaign trail, Crist and Gallagher say they would carry on many of the governor's priorities.


More: http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01POL072306.htm

[MelissaB]

10. OH: No deja Vu

No deja Vu
November's balloting must go off without a hitch, and that requires new leadership at the Board of Elections

Sunday, July 23, 2006

After studying the report of the blue-rib bon investigators who examined what went wrong at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections before, during and after the May 2 primary, our immediate reaction is: Break out the brooms - if not the guillotine.

The carefully detailed work of Cleveland Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine and his two colleagues makes it painfully obvious that the elections agency is so infected with incompetence, hubris and mistrust that it needs a total house cleaning. Everyone there, from the director to the lowliest clerk, should be in line for a ruthlessly unsentimental - and apolitical - job review.

And, frankly, given the broken culture within the building and the shattered trust between the elections machinery and the public it serves, it is impossible to see how any of the top leaders could survive such scrutiny. As understandable as the motion Friday by the Board of Elections' two Democrats to fire Director Michael Vu and Deputy Director Gwen Dillingham may have been, it probably didn't go far enough.

Vu, Dillingham and the rest of their leadership team bungled almost every aspect of the county's conversion to electronic voting and preparations for this spring's primary. They ordered equipment and supplies too late; alienated the county commissioners, who control their purse strings; failed to adequately recruit or train poll workers; devised inadequate safeguards for ballot security; and ignored warnings from outside consultants and their own subordinates that a fiasco was brewing.

All of those mistakes were compounded on Election Day, when Vu and his senior staff realized that the scanning machines to count absentee ballots did not work. Faced with yet another problem they somehow had not anticipated, they panicked. People who were, at best, marginally qualified were hired to tally votes by hand and given few clear guidelines for their work.


More: http://www.cleveland.com/politics/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1153557459242390.xml&coll=2

[MelissaB]

11. Discussion

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x442640

[MelissaB]

12. UK: All deals are risky with this broker

All deals are risky with this broker

...snip

So, let's look at Accupoll, in which at Pacific Continental's recommendation you invested £24,000.

Accupoll developed an electronic voting machine for use in American elections, but Pacific Continental's research failed to spot that millions of shares were controlled by Jamie Mazur, 27, and his sister Jennifer, 26.

These are the children of Sherman Mazur, a Californian fraudster jailed for six years in 1993 and well-known to US watchdogs. And an address in Santa Monica, California, linked to Accupoll was also used by Regis Possino, a disbarred lawyer and a convicted fraudster.

Should Pacific Continental have spotted all this? Griggs thinks not. Admitting that he had 'only recently' found that Sherman Mazur was involved in Accupoll, he told me: 'It would not be reasonable to expect our due diligence, or that of any other firm, to necessarily identify the criminal convictions of any minority shareholders of stocks recommended.'


More: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_article_id=411004&in_page_id=19&in_author_id=5

[MelissaB]

13. Blackwell watch

[MelissaB]

14. God's Own Party?

God's Own Party?

By Katy Burns
For the Monitor


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 23. 2006 10:00AM


A s friend Glenn sees it, the Republican Party, to which he has belonged since registering to vote more than 40 years ago, is today nothing but the legislative arm of an essentially alien - to him - religious movement.

A former U.S. Army tank commander and retired business CEO, Glenn is the prototypical crusty conservative Yankee, born in the White Mountains town of Bartlett and now living near Augusta. But he's alarmed - and disgusted - by what today's GOP leaders have turned his party into.

"If Sinn Fein is the political wing of the IRA, the GOP is little more than the political wing of rightwing authoritarian religious zealots," he fumed not long ago. With time on his hands and a good broadband connection even in his part of rural Maine, he's spending a lot of time reading and researching, and he's decidedly unhappy.

...snip

Back in Ohio, brother John -another cranky conservative who could always be counted on to rail against Democrats' confiscatory tax policies and crackpot social policies (and drive his liberal sisters nuts) - has had his bile newly reinvigorated. This time getting his goat, big time, are the Republicans, from President Bush to state gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, who spends much of his time campaigning in fundamentalist churches.

A bit of it is his loathing for the Iraq War that John, a Vietnam vet, believes Bush and company maneuvered us into. But, more, it's the company Bush, Blackwell and so many in today's GOP keep. It's the "(expletive deleted) Moral Majority" that's the villain in his eyes.


More: http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/REPOSITORY/607230358/1028/OPINION02

[MelissaB]

15. Strickland far ahead, early poll indicates

Strickland far ahead, early poll indicates
Democrat strong across board; Brown maintains 8-point edge over DeWine in Senate race

Sunday, July 23, 2006
Darrel Rowland
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Democrat Ted Strickland has surged to a surprising lead of 20 percentage points in the first Dispatch Poll on Ohio’s Nov. 7 race for governor.

Meanwhile, Democrat Sherrod Brown holds an 8-point edge in his bid to unseat two-term Republican Sen. Mike DeWine.

Strickland’s 47-to-27 advantage over GOP rival J. Kenneth Blackwell is fueled by a more than 3-to-1 lead among independent voters, combined with Blackwell’s inability to sell himself to Ohio Republicans.

"I kind of feel like the Republican Party has run the state government like an old boys club for a long time" and it is time for a change, said poll participant Stuart Hinnefeld, 53, a federal worker from the Cincinnati area who backs De-Wine but not Blackwell.


...snip



• Overall, 61 percent of Republicans are backing Blackwell, compared with the 81 percent support Strickland is receiving from Democrats.


• Just 53 percent of the respondents who said they voted for President Bush in 2004 are lining up behind Blackwell. There are 28 percent who remain undecided, but 18 percent are ready to vote for Strickland. Less than a majority of those who said they voted for Republican Gov. Bob Taft four years ago want Blackwell in the office. Taft voters are split 46 to 28 between Blackwell and Strickland. Strickland is winning the battle among those who said they voted for Democrat Tim Hagan in 2002 by 81 to 3.



More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/07/23/20060723-A1-01.html

[MelissaB]

16. Matchup made in heaven

Matchup made in heaven
How faith figures into the governor’s race

Sunday, July 23, 2006
Joe Hallett and Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican and evangelical Christian, outside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on East Broad Street.

Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister, in a Methodist chapel on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.


Ohio’s next governor will be a devout Christian who readily quotes Scripture and is compelled by faith to help the less fortunate.

Even so, there is a dramatic difference in how the religious beliefs of Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell and Democrat Ted Strickland might influence public policies that affect the more than 11 million Ohioans.

Like their separate journeys to personal religious awakening, the candidates’ views on issues such as intelligent design, homosexuality and the role of religion in politics are divergent and could change Ohio’s social landscape.

Blackwell would permit the teaching of intelligent design — belief that a higher being, possibly God, was responsible for life on Earth — in public schools as an elective course, but not in a science class.


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/07/23/20060723-A1-02.html

[MelissaB]

17. Republican tactics in Ohio echo political ploys of '04

Republican tactics in Ohio echo political ploys of '04
Foes target Strickland on values, Brown on national security issues

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER


The Ohio Republican Party's newly hired "social conservative coordinator" e-mailed an undisclosed group of "pro-family friends" this week, offering a 10-point introduction to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland.

His message attacked the church attendance, work ethic, and voting record of Mr. Strickland, a southeast Ohio congressman and ordained Methodist minister. It alleged Mr. Strickland and his wife of nearly 20 years live in different states - and linked to an Internet posting that questions whether Mr. Strickland is gay.

The e-mail's author, a Christian home school headmaster named Gary Lankford, signed the note with his Ohio Republican Party title below his name. "Pass this information along," he concluded.

...snip

The e-mail surfaced shortly after the campaign of U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine (R., Cedarville) launched a television ad - produced by the agency behind the "Swift Boat" campaign against 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry - that flashed terrorist mug shots and a smoking World Trade Center to underscore criticism of Mr. DeWine's Democratic opponent's record on national security.


More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/NEWS09/607230348

[MelissaB]

18. New voter registration rules attacked, defended

New voter registration rules attacked, defended

By: Michael Bellart
[e-mail]

07/23/2006

Ohio has become the center of a national firestorm over the state's effort to curb voter registration fraud and make those who register voters more accountable.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel sent a letter to Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, urging him to act on the concern of some interest groups regarding Ohio's election system.

On Friday, the Democratic National Committee issued a statement accusing Blackwell, who is running for governor, of running a scheme to disenfranchise specific segments of the voting population.
"Republicans like Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell are pushing election rules that threaten to disenfranchise countless minority, elderly, disabled, rural and student voters," according to the statement.

Over the last few months, both Blackwell and the recently overhauled election system have come under increasing criticism from inside and outside the state.


More: http://www.news-herald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16956384&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21849&rfi=6

[MelissaB]

19. William Hershey: Ohio AFL-CIO targets Blackwell's support of right-to-work

William Hershey: Ohio AFL-CIO targets Blackwell's support of right-to-work laws

By William Hershey

Staff Writer

COLUMBUS | — There were empty seats in the ballroom at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati last week at the biennial convention of the Ohio AFL-CIO, a reflection, perhaps, of organized labor's decline in the economic and political life of Ohio and the nation.


William Burga, the labor federation's president, conceded that these are not unions' glory days, but then struck a defiant pose.

"The Ohio AFL-CIO is still the big dog in the doghouse," he told the delegates.

Burga needed just two words and a phrase — "Ken Blackwell" and "right-to-work" — to show that there's still some growl left in the "big dog."

Blackwell, of course, is the Republican candidate for governor, running against Democrat Ted Strickland, a longtime union favorite. Carlo LoParo, Blackwell's spokesman, calls Strickland, a U.S. House member from Lisbon, "big labor's candidate."

LoParo acknowledged that Blackwell is a right-to-work supporter.

"Right-to-work" measures prohibit requirements that workers join unions as a condition of employment. Such measures weaken their bargaining power, unions say.

"I want to tell you, on the enemies' list of Ken Blackwell, we're No. 1. There's no doubt about it. How can anyone think of voting for him when he favors right-to-work laws?" Burga said to shouts of approval.


More: http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/columns/daily/072306hershey.html

[rumpel]

20. TN: State's voting system needs to be reformed (Letters)

The Mountain Press

July 23, 2006

If you can select to vote in either primary, why not list all the candidates and then take the top two for the final election? Why list them by party?

This is the only state I have ever lived in where you have to choose in which primary to vote. You should have to vote in the primary for the party you are registered. You should have the right to select your candidate to represent your party. By allowing members of another party to vote in the opposing candidate's primary for the purpose of electing the candidate that would be less likely to beat their candidate to me constitutes voter fraud.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1211&dept_id=169692&newsid=16955381&PAG=461&rfi=9

[rumpel]

21. WY:Reliable paper trails

Laramie Boomerang

By Aaron LeClair
Boomerang Staff Writer

Albany County voters will be in for a change this year as more than half a million dollars in new voting equipment will be unveiled during this year’s primary elections.

According to Albany County clerk Jackie Gonzales, the new machines were purchased by the federal government under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002.

The HAVA was created by Congress to ensure that the 2000 Florida presidential election fiasco does not happen again by replacing punch card and lever voting systems and creating minimum election administration standards.

With HAVA funds, county governments across the country have been purchasing new state-of-the-art voting equipment in the M-100 and Automark voting systems.

Gonzales said Albany County has received 30 units each — one for each precinct — of the M-100 and Automark voting systems.

Both the M-100 and Automark, Gonzales said, are designed to reduce errors in the voting process.

Furthermore, the new machines should create a more reliable paper trail than the old equipment.

“We … have always had a paper trail with our equipment, since 1992,” Gonzales said.

The M-100 Voting System

The M-100 Voting System is a ballot tabulator and collector in which voters will submit their completed ballots.

http://www.laramieboomerang.com/news/more.asp?StoryID=105360

[rumpel]

22. IA: Roses & thistles

REGISTER EDITORIAL STAFF


July 23, 2006


Sawing off a branch of government Sawing off a branch of government

A thistle to all five members of the Iowa delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives who voted to strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over Pledge-of-Allegiance cases. Not that the pledge is in any danger (the U.S. Supreme Court as now constituted is hardly likely to threaten the pledge, or motherhood and apple pie). What is dangerous is the idea that Congress would carve out certain constitutional issues that are off limits to court review. Didn't that debate end with Marbury vs. Madison in 1803? The Republicans who cast almost all of the yes votes might want to rethink the wisdom of court stripping: When the Democrats are back in control, they might be of a mind to strip the Supreme Court's power to defend the Second Amendment.

Recount reconsidered

A thistle to Polk County Recorder Tim Brien for casting doubt on the legitimacy of the county's new vote-counting machines. Although Brien lost in the June 6 Democratic primary to a challenger by 3,670 votes, he called for a recount, suggesting that new voting machines were to blame. Brien backed down last week. Maybe it was the prospect of losing the $10,000 surety bond had the hand recount confirmed the result, almost a certainty. Maybe he finally realized the damage he was causing to the credibility of Polk elections, which have a pristine record. Brien, who's been in office for five terms, was wrong to suggest otherwise.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/OPINION03/607230323/1110

[rumpel]

23. IN: Senator declines to buy data about Iowa voters

July 23, 2006

Bayh Watch

Sen. Evan Bayh has been saying for more than a year that he is doing the practical things he needs to do in case he decides to run for president in 2008. That apparently doesn't include buying an electronic voter information file from the Iowa Democratic Party.


Bayh was not one of the four potential presidential candidates who paid $50,000 to get the early-bird price for the file.
Iowa traditionally kicks off the presidential nominating process with its caucuses, and the file can be used to identify supporters. Bayh has traveled to Iowa six times in the past year, the most of any Democrat except former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.
The Democrats who did buy the file, according to The Des Moines Register, are Edwards, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.
Bayh's spokeswoman said he bypassed the voter list because he's focusing on the 2006 elections.
"Senator Bayh has pledged to support candidates up and down the ballot, and that is what he has been working to do in Iowa and around the country," said spokeswoman Meg Keck. "In the future, should we feel it is necessary, we will purchase the voter files."
Bayh definitely should have the money. He reported having $1.3 million in his political action committee and $10.4 million in his Senate campaign account at the end of June, according to the most recent disclosure reports.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/NEWS02/607230448/1008/NEWS02

[rumpel]

24. NE: Courts more involved in election spats

Journal Star

Sunday July 23, 2006

By KEVIN O’HANLON / The Associated Press

If it seems that the courts are more involved in settling election spats these days, it’s not your imagination.

It’s part of a national trend, said Richard L. Hasen, an election law specialist at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Hasen did a study that showed a marked increase in election litigation since the disputed 2000 presidential election in Florida, where George W. Bush was ultimately declared the winner over Al Gore by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hasen found that there was an average of 96 election-related cases a year nationally from 1996 through 1999, compared to an average of 254 cases per year from 2001 through 2004.

“This trend is likely to continue into the 2006 and 2008 elections, especially with new controversies over voter identification and voter registration laws,” he told The Associated Press.

And Nebraska is not immune.

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/07/23/local/doc44c2ae6b797c0281344856.txt

[rumpel]

25. AZ: State Election Integrity Committee Meeting (announcement)

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson Region
Political week
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.23.2006
advertisement

During the election season, the Star is running a weekly list of local public political events. To get a public event listed, send an e-mail to politics@ azstarnet.com by the Friday before the event. The e-mail must include specific information about the location, time, any cost and contact information.

snip

State Election Integrity Committee Meeting. At Demo-cratic Party Headquarters, 4639 E. First St. Starts at 6 p.m.

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/139034

[rumpel]

26. OK: Primary Election: Tuesday: GOP predicting a strong turnout

By MIKE HINTON AND RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writers
7/23/2006

View in Print (PDF) Format

OKLAHOMA CITY -- About one in three registered voters are expected to cast ballots in Oklahoma's primary election Tuesday.

State Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman said that means 600,000 to 700,000 registered voters are expected to vote.

Historically, Democrats are more likely to vote in a primary than Republicans, but Clingman said "that could be changing, particularly this time."

State Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Pryor said, "How hot is it going to be Tuesday? That could make the difference in voter turnout."

According to the National Weather Service, a high of 95 degrees is predicted for the Tulsa area Tuesday.

Republican Party Chairman Tom Daxon said this is the most significant election in state history for his party, and he expects a strong GOP turnout in the primary.

In November's general election, Republicans are eyeing a possible takeover of the state Senate, which has been controlled by the Democrats since statehood.

"Never before have Republicans controlled both houses and the governor's office," said Daxon, who stopped short of predicting an overall sweep.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060723_Ne_A1_GOPpr42821_0

and general information and announcement of a precinct change

[rumpel]

27. Based on voting records, county’s primary election turnout nothing to brag

The Enid News & Eagle (Seems like the Dems have to get to work)

Published: July 23, 2006 12:21 am

By Robert Barron Staff Writer
Garfield County voters go to the polls in greater numbers for statewide primaries than some other elections, and Republicans turn out more than Democrats.

But, overall turnout is nothing to brag about. Since 1994, no primary election has seen 50 percent of registered voters of either party cast ballots.

Garfield County Election Board Secretary Wenona Marshall said recent primary election turnout has been low.

In 1994, 36 percent of registered Democrats voted, compared to 43 percent of Republicans. That was a presidential election year, Marshall said, although the presidential primary was held in February.

In 1998, only 22 percent of Democrats voted, and Republican turnout dropped to 27 percent. Turnout rose in 2000, also a presidential election year. That year, 33 percent of Democrats voted in the primary, as did 43 percent of Republicans.

By 2002, percentages dropped again, with just 23 percent of Democrats voting, compared to 37 percent of Republicans. Oklahoma had a gubernatorial election that year, Marshall said.

Only 27 percent of Democrats voted in the 2004 primary election, while 42 percent of Republicans cast ballots. That year, the Democrats had only a U.S. Senate race to decide, while Republicans had U.S. Senate, sheriff, county commissioner and House District 40.

http://www.enidnews.com/politics/local_story_204002125.html?keyword=secondarystory

[rumpel]

28. Elsewhere; Mexico - Mex to Witness Stepped up Resistance

Mexico, Jul 23 (Prensa Latina) The Por el Bien de Todos coalition will carry out new actions as of Jul 30, as part of a peaceful resistance strategy to demand a re-count of votes for what it considers an electoral fraud.

The actions include a demand for the Federation´s Judicial Power Electoral Court (TEPJF) and the National Action party to agree on a vote-by vote counting of votes of Jul 2 elections that, according to the alliance, were full of irregularities.

Spokesman for the coalition, Gerardo Fernandez Norona, announced that on Sunday, Jul 30, Mexico will witness one of the most impressive, largest mobilizations in history, as more than 2.5 million people are expected to be present.

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BC0E43990-8BCE-47C8-85E3-68D7C955257B%7D)&language=EN

[rumpel]

30. Bangladesh: Revision of voter list starts in Bangladesh

Published: Sunday, 23 July, 2006, 12:44 PM Doha Time
By Mizan Rahman
DHAKA: At long last, the Election Commission (EC) has begun the work of updating the voter list by going from door-to-door with most of the field-level election officials staying home on the weekend.
The EC secretariat began the task without much publicity and preparation across the country.
In many areas, there was no activity at all, as necessary papers were yet to arrive there, sources said.
A few election officials engaged themselves in the work yesterday, also a weekly holiday. Officials at the EC secretariat, however, are hopeful that pace of the work will pick up from today.
Field-level election workers said they were afraid they might face an uphill task, as they could not get 80% of the people traced to the addresses on the previous list.
Besides, many teachers and junior officials assigned for the job now seem unwilling unless assured of full remuneration.
Visits to more than 100 houses suggest that the election officers did not cover even 10% of those households.
Deputy Election Commissioner for Dhaka Abul Kashem told reporters that officials have begun work in many parts of the city.
He, however, admitted that little progress was made on the first day.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=98748&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24

[rumpel]

31. Thailand: Tuesday court ruling key to fair election

Founder Sanoh Thienthong of the Pracha Raj Party on Sunday said the new party has yet to decide whether it will contest the newly-scheduled general election set to be held on October 15.

The veteran politician said that his party would rather adopt a wait-and-see attitude while it assesses whether the new general election will be conducted with fairness and transparency.

Mr. Sanoh said his party would not field candidates to contest the election if the status of the discredited Election Commission (EC) members is not resolved.

"It would be useless if the power of money, state and other forms still prevail as it (the new election) would be just like the April 2 general election, which was declared invalidated," Mr. Sanoh said. "This time the
situation would be even worse as there are only three EC members left while the Supreme Court has insisted that it would not appoint two additional EC members (to fill two existing EC vacancies)," Mr. Sanoh
said.

Under the established rules, major issues concerning the election must be approved by four out of five EC members, so if the electoral body has only three members it cannot form a quorum.

All parties are awaiting with concern the anticipated ruling by the Criminal Court on Tuesday. The court is scheduled to hand down a verdict in a malfeasance case against the EC. Otherwise, the status of the
commission remains a stumbling block in the path of Thailand's unfolding democracy.

[rumpel]

32. Nigeria: Afikuyomi Seeks Issue-Oriented Campaign

snip

Afikuyomi also said there is no election in major places around the world since 2003 that his campaign organisation has not sent people to observe. Listing some of the countries, which he said include the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Ghana and Benin Republic, the two-term senator said observing elections in those places has put his campaign team in good stead as far as election issues are concerned.
He added that such trips also shaped his views during the debate on the proposal by INEC to use Electronic Voting Machines in the 2007 adding that he vehemently opposed it because he saw that such machines are subject to manipulation from his experience in places where he observed elections.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=53752

[rumpel]

36. UK: All deals are risky with this broker ( Accupoll ! )

23 July 2006
Financial Mail's ace investigator outlines his concerns with stockbroker Pacific Continental Securities and readers' problems with the company.

B. S. writes: I gather we share a common concern - the activities of Pacific Continental Securities. I am sending you documents showing the problems I have been having with it. These are being considered by the firm's ' complaints committee', but I am not expecting much help. If necessary, I am prepared to go to both the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Authority.


I DO share your concerns. I have received more complaints about Pacific Continental Securities than every other firm of UK stockbrokers put together. The tally of complaints is now more than 40, with some clients losing all their money.


You invested £94,535 after being phoned by Pacific Continental salesman Kiri Kyriacou and by the time you contacted me, you were showing losses of about £60,000.


The shares recommended to you were all tiny, unknown American stocks. All or most had no proper stock exchange listing and could not even be offered legally to Americans, but under the US 'Regulation S' they could be dumped on foreigners.

snip

Accupoll developed an electronic voting machine for use in American elections, but Pacific Continental's research failed to spot that millions of shares were controlled by Jamie Mazur, 27, and his sister Jennifer, 26.

These are the children of Sherman Mazur, a Californian fraudster jailed for six years in 1993 and well-known to US watchdogs. And an address in Santa Monica, California, linked to Accupoll was also used by Regis Possino, a disbarred lawyer and a convicted fraudster.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_article_id=411004&in_page_id=19&in_author_id=5

[thefuzz811]

45. Accupoll

Utah has a certified machine that is made by that company. Check it out
http://elections.utah.gov/Certified%20Equipment.pdf
Crazy

[rumpel]

29. OpEdNews: Of George and Felipe: A case of premature congratulation?

July 22, 2006 at 11:59:36

by Edgar Pope

Thanks to the alternative press, almost everyone knows about the President of Germany's understandable aversion to being touched on the shoulders by George Bush. To be fair to Dubya, it´s clear that Ms. Merkel was unaware that the G8 recess bell had gone off and that Georgie was just looking for someone to play with. Besides, it wasn't very nice that some of the heads of state went on being presidential during the break. Especially since George can't manage that during class time.

But while we have all had ample time to sympathize with Ms. Merkel, the blog pages are failing to give sufficient attention to another of Mr. Bush's international love affairs-that with Felipe Calderon. That no one has yet been named president after the recent and very controversial elections in Mexico, did not stop Mr. Bush from phoning his buddy to congratulate him as that country's new president. Well, who could blame George? After all, he was SO excited (stopping the spread of "communism" can be very arousing). Which of course explains how George fell victim to perhaps the most embarrassing of international mishaps in these between-the-political-sheets relationships: premature congratulation. (One possibility, of course, is that Ms. Merkel rejected George because she had in fact heard about the embarrassing incident with Felipe and didn't want to waste her time. Perhaps the French president had promised her a foot massage later?)

Some progressive writers have already pointed out the Bushite hypocrisy in branding some foreign elections as fraudulent while praising the one in Mexico. How the Neocon machine can be so certain that the Mexican results were fair is of course directly related to the purported results. When the candidate they support loses, the elections were fraudulent. When the candidate wins, they were pure as the driven snow. Lose, bad. Win, good. Even George doesn't need to write that one on his shirt cuff. And of course the US radical right (undoubtedly through some direct line to God) knows better than the million or more silly Mexicans who passionately, but peacefully, gathered in (and spilled out of, because not every one COULD fit into) Mexico City's main square to exercise their legitimate right to express doubt and frustration over pre-election, election, and post-election irregularities. But why so many would have such strong doubts in a country that has experienced so many decades of such fraudulent elections seems to be beyond the likes of not only the Bush oligarchy, but also of corporate and state media within Mexico and around the globe. (The Mexican television channels chose not to cover the country's largest-ever political rally. Can you imagine a million people in Washington protesting the Bush regime not receiving any television airtime? Oh, wait. Yes, I guess I could.)

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_edgar_po_060722_of_george_and_felipe.htm

[rumpel]

33. NV: Early voting begins next weekend (announcement)

Nevada Appeal

Terri Harber
Appeal Staff Writer, [e-mail]
July 23, 2006


Jeff Rohrer won't be waiting in line on Election Day.

Instead, he'll be among about half of local voters taking advantage of early voting, a system put in place by the state in 1994 to increase participation.

Rohrer used early voting for the first time in 2004 and will do it again this year.

"It was really fast, really easy," he said. "Didn't have to wait in line like at the mall. And not waiting in line was the big thing."

Early voting begins in Carson City at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the courthouse, and is available through Aug. 11. Registered voters can avoid the chance of encountering lines at the city's two polling places, the Community Center and Carson Mall, at the Aug. 15 primary election, by making their choices early.

In exchange for completing their voting early, they get more flexibility in choosing the day and time in which they do it.

Democratic and Republican officials across the country see early voting as a way to ensure inconsistent voters have more incentive to turn out after the close 2000 presidential vote. And advocates of voters' rights support it because it provides options.

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20060723/NEWS/107230093

[rumpel]

34. TN: The Appearance Of Impropriety (Opinion)

Stuart James: Sheriff Cupp And Mike Walden - The Appearance Of Impropriety

The Chattanoogan.com

by Stuart F. James
posted July 23, 2006

There are several questions Sheriff Cupp must answer before the election on Aug. 3. These are legitimate questions deserving legitimate answers.

Sheriff Cupp, why is Mike Walden your campaign manager while he continues to serve as an election commissioner on the Hamilton County Election Commission? About a week ago you stated that Mr. Walden cannot sway an election as a member on the Election Commission suggesting this is not a problem. Sheriff Cupp, doesn’t the Election Commission choose the type of voting machines we use as voters? Doesn’t the Election Commission decide which voting precincts will stay open and will stay closed, and doesn’t the Election Commission decide who will serve as our elections administrator?

Sheriff Cupp, what about the appearance of impropriety? How many other campaign managers serve on the Election Commission? Sheriff Cupp, why didn’t you ask Mr. Walden to step down as a member of the Election Commission before he decided to run your campaign?

On the Election Commission issue, isn’t Mr. Walden continuing to serve as a commissioner like Jack Abramoff continuing to visit the White House? Finally, if the Election Commission cannot “sway votes” or “affect elections,” why doesn’t Mr. Walden resign; resign avoiding the appearance of impropriety of serving as your campaign manager and as a member of the Election Commission?

Next, Sherriff Cupp, let’s discuss courthouse security. How is it that Mike Walden, who serves as your campaign manager, and serves on the Election Commission, received the lucrative contract of providing courthouse security?

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_89701.asp

[rumpel]

35. Greg Palast: They don't call it the White House for nothing!

VHeadline.com

Published: Sunday, July 23, 2006

US bestselling author Greg Palast writes: God lost this time. I counted: Bush mentioned God only six times in his speech to the NAACP today. The winner was 'faith' ... which got seven mentions, though if you count "The Creator" as God, well, then the Lord tied it.

Coming in right behind God and Faith, other big mentions in the First Home Boy's rap included: The Voting Rights Act, his family's "commitment to civil rights," the "death tax," rebuilding New Orleans and "public school choice" and "soft bigotry."

As the philosopher Aretha Franklin once said, "Who's zoomin' who?"

Let's take it one point at a time.

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=64064

[rumpel]

43. Discussion: Greg Palast on bushitler @ NAACP /by lonestarnot

:)


duh forgot link in my exitement

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1710338

[rumpel]

37. IL: Kane board panel seeking more info on clerk's budget (Vote Mobile)

Further explanation: Election opponent rips Cunningham on Vote Mobile buy

The Courier News

By Steve Lord
staff writer

GENEVA — The Kane County Board Public Service Committee will hold a special meeting next week to further discuss County Clerk John Cunningham's election budget.

The meeting will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the county boardroom in Building A of the Kane County Government Center, 719 S. Batavia Ave. Committee members will discuss resolutions to free up more money to cover election budget deficits, and get an update from Cunningham on his application for federal grants that will reimburse some of those election costs.

At its regular meeting this week, the public service committee discussed Cunningham's budget problems, including his delay in implementing negotiated pay raises for union employees.

On Friday, Cunningham's opponent in the November election, Democrat Annie Collins, held a press conference criticizing Cunningham for the way he has handled his budget crisis, and saying she would have worked more closely with the county board in that situation.


Cunningham's budget has been under a microscope this week, with some county officials questioning his purchase of a trailer, which Cunningham calls a Vote Mobile, with money from the election budget.

Public Service Committee Chairman Bill Wyatt, R-Aurora, said he thinks Cunningham will present committee members a flow sheet to show exactly what has been spent this year, how much more money is needed, and how much federal grant money the clerk's office is trying to get.

"That's what committee members asked for, to at least give some justification for the additional costs," Wyatt said.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/3_1_EL23_A3CLERK_S10723.htm

[rumpel]

38. OpEd: How the last presidential election awoke me from an unsound sleep

July 22, 2006 at 20:52:19

by Jeanne Norris Weinberg

One average citizen's account of her unsettling experience video-taping on Election Day 2004, attending the public hearings afterward and then serving as an Official Witness for the Ohio Vote Recount.

In 2004, like most of my friends, I was asleep at the wheel, even with questions still lingering following the 2000 election. As an active mother, advocate and writer, I felt entitled to this lethargy. It's all too much was my hidden mantra. If I hadn't been asked to take my outdated family video camera to the polls on Election Day, I might still be able relieve myself of the burden of being awake and aware. But from that day forward, things changed. In late 2004, I added Voter's Rights activism to my list of duties. Nobody in my life saw it coming, least of all me.

Linda Byrket, a filmmaker and the organizer for video-documenting voter issues on the day of our last presidential election, had nabbed me three days before the election, while I was waiting in line for a showing of the film, Unprecedented, at the Drexel Theatre. She assured me that my ineptness with a video camera wouldn't get in the way of making a video record of voters and their stories.

I took film footage at precincts in Franklin County, Ohio, and it changed me, forever. Following that, I also attended two public hearings about election abnormalities and following that, I volunteered to become an official Witness for the Ohio Vote Recount.

On Election Day, 2004, I pulled out the camera, dusted it off, and showed up to precincts where voters were having problems. My job, and that of others who volunteered at the last minute for this project, was simply to document voter issues, complaints, and testimony of injustices. It was assumed there might be problems with Republican challengers. I would have taped happy voters, as well, but in my precincts, they were few and far between.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jeanne_n_060722_how_the_last_preside.htm

[rumpel]

39. FL: Democratic candidates take on issues

Orlando Sentinel

Jim Davis and Rod Smith meet for a head-to-head debate in Broward County.

Anthony Man | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 23, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Capping off a week in which they sharpened their campaign-trail attacks on each other, the Democratic candidates for governor softened their barbs Saturday night during a debate in which they differed far more on style than substance.

Differences on issues between U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa and state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua were virtually imperceptible.

Both vowed change from eight years of Republican Gov. Jeb Bush's administration, promising increased salaries for teachers, less emphasis on punitive elements of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests in the public schools, and fixes for the problem of skyrocketing insurance premiums.

The debate format precluded rebuttals from the candidates and didn't create many opportunities for back and forth. Their remarks were drawn largely from the speeches and interviews they've been giving across the state.

snip

Each candidate called for change in the state's election system, and said they supported efforts to get a paper trail to back up the electronic, touch-screen voting machines used in some of the state's biggest counties, including Broward and Miami-Dade.

"We need a paper trail for every ballot. We need a recount that's accurate and you need to be able to verify your vote," Smith said.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locdebate23072306jul23,0,2943530.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

[rumpel]

40. Steve Freeman, Greg Palast on CSPAN Saturday: Integrity & US Elections!

Thanks to IndyOp

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x442198

[rumpel]

41. Donor to Virginia Congressional Campaign (Goode - R) Pleads Guilty

Thanks to deadparrot

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2406979

[rumpel]

42. DU: Have we discussed the issue of DUers volunteering as pollworkers?

a reminder (also to myself to check with the Activist HQ from time to time)

:)

it will become more important as we get closer!


Thanks to burythehatched

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x28402

[truedelphi]

44. Proof Positive that there 's no recourse when elections go wrong

Please read my article
www.coastalpost.com/06/06/02a.html

It describes how a California County (in this case, Marin County) KNOWS that two of its election day employees are committing misdemeanors and felonies... But there is not way to change it.

You are supposed to protest to the Feds. But if they don't care, nothing will happen (And Marin County election officials remain indifferent.)

[FogerRox]

46. KN freakin "R"