Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, FRIDAY August 11, 2006

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Wampum Belts ca 1870s
http://www.canadiana.org/citm/imagepopups/c085137_e.html

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 8/11/06

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Excerpts of "The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations"

GAYANASHAGOWA

1. I am Dekanawidah and with the Five Nations' Confederate Lords I plant the Tree of Great Peace. I plant it in your territory, Adodarhoh, and the Onondaga Nation, in the territory of you who are Firekeepers.
I name the tree the Tree of the Great Long Leaves. Under the shade of this Tree of the Great Peace we spread the soft white feathery down of the globe thistle as seats for you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords.
We place you upon those seats, spread soft with the feathery down of the globe thistle, there beneath the shade of the spreading branches of the Tree of Peace. There shall you sit and watch the Council Fire of the Confederacy of the Five Nations, and all the affairs of the Five Nations shall be
transacted at this place before you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords, by the Confederate Lords of the Five Nations.

Rights, Duties and Qualifications of Lords

19. If at any time it shall be manifest that a Confederate Lord has not in mind the welfare of the people or disobeys the rules of this Great Law, the men or women of the Confederacy, or both jointly, shall come to the Council and upbraid the erring Lord through his War Chief. If the complaint of the people through the War Chief is not heeded the first time it shall be uttered again and then if no attention is given a third complaint and warning shall be given. If the Lord is contumacious the matter shall go to the council of War Chiefs.
The War Chiefs shall then divest the erring Lord of his title by order of the women in whom the titleship is vested. When the Lord is deposed the women shall notify the Confederate Lords through their War Chief, and the Confederate Lords shall sanction the act. The women will then select another of their sons as a candidate and the Lords shall elect him. Then shall the chosen one be installed by the Installation Ceremony.
When a Lord is to be deposed, his War Chief shall address him as follows:

"So you, __________, disregard and set at naught the warnings of your women relatives. So you fling the warnings over your shoulder to cast them behind you.
"Behold the brightness of the Sun and in the brightness of the Sun's light I depose you of your title and remove the sacred emblem of your Lordship title. I remove from your brow the deer's antlers, which was the emblem of your position and token of your nobility. I now depose you and return the antlers to the women whose heritage they are."

Rights of the People of the Five Nations

93. Whenever a specially important matter or a great emergency is presented before the Confederate Council and the nature of
the matter affects the entire body of the Five Nations, threatening their utter ruin, then the Lords of the Confederacy must submit the matter to the decision of their people and the decision of the people shall affect the decision of the Confederate Council. This decision shall be a confirmation of
the voice of the people.

94. The men of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a Council Fire ever burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When it seems necessary for a council to be held to discuss the welfare of the clans, then the men may gather about the fire. This council shall have the same rights
as the council of the women.

95. The women of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a Council Fire ever burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When in their opinion it seems necessary for the interest of the people they shall hold a council and their decisions and recommendations shall be introduced before the
Council of the Lords by the War Chief for its consideration.

96. All the Clan council fires of a nation or of the Five Nations may unite into one general council fire, or delegates from all the council fires may be appointed to unite in a general council for discussing the interests of the people. The people shall have the right to make appointments and to
delegate their power to others of their number. When their council shall have come to a conclusion on any matter, their decision shall be reported to the Council of the Nation or to the Confederate Council (as the case may require) by the War Chief or the War Chiefs.

source: http://www.indigenouspeople.net/iroqcon.htm

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1. MO: Digital voting a hit, with one ominous glitch

Columbia Daily Tribune

‘Paper trail’ lost for some ballots.

By JACOB LUECKE of the Tribune’s staff
Published Thursday, August 10, 2006
Boone County’s election chief praised the performance of the county’s new electronic voting machines, but she also cautioned that minor issues could become a problem in future elections.

For months, County Clerk Wendy Noren worried how the machines would perform under the pressure of a real election. But after Tuesday’s primary, Noren said this morning she was thrilled with how smoothly the day went.

Although Tuesday’s 24 percent voter turnout was likely much lighter than what the machines will have to handle in November, Noren said she was encouraged.

"I feel like we’re going into November having designed a really outstanding training process," she said. "I feel like the feedback from the judges and my trainers is that we’re ready to go."

However, the machines were not flawless. Several had problems with their "paper trail" systems.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Aug/20060810News007.asp

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2. MO: Election workers faulted

The Kansas City Star

Posted on Thu, Aug. 10, 2006

They are part of the reason for troubles with voting Tuesday, Kansas City’s Democratic election director says.
By DAVE HELLING
The Kansas City Star
Kansas City finished counting ballots from Tuesday’s primaries about noon Wednesday, 15 hours later than expected.

The delay came after a day of minor complaints about the new electronic voting system: glitches at polling places, malfunctioning machines, confusion over ballots, and improper instructions from some poll workers.

Kansas City’s election directors say that local returns will be audited, and that no race was affected by the difficulties. But they also say problems went beyond unfamiliar equipment: It isn’t a lack of money for poll-worker training, it’s the poll workers themselves.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15237804.htm

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3. MI: Few voters attempt to use new machines

The Times herald

By SHANNON MURPHY
Times Herald

New voting machines designed to help disabled voters did not see much use in St. Clair County during Tuesday's primary election.

The machines, called AutoMARK, can be used by anyone, but are designed to help people with disabilities.

The machine, which works like an electronic pen, has a Braille keypad, foot pedals, magnification and contrast features, headphones for audio and a personal sip/puff tube for people with paralysis.

The state required all polling places to have the machines, which were paid for with money from the federal Help America Vote Act.

Officials purposely had the machines used for the first time during the primary because of an expected low voter turnout, said Michigan Secretary of State spokeswoman Kelly Chesney.

She said officials wanted to make sure election workers knew how to use the machines and would have a chance to work out any potential glitches before the November general election.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS01/608100301/1002

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4. PA: Port Authority sued over refusal to run voting rights ads

Centre Daily Times

Posted on Thu, Aug. 10, 2006

Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania sued the Port Authority of Allegheny County, alleging the transportation agency refused to post educational advertisements explaining voting rights of ex-offenders on its buses.

The discrimination lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court by the ACLU and Pittsburgh League of Young Voters, who jointly tried to buy space on Port Authority buses for nonpartisan ads to run before the November election, the ACLU said.

The groups want ex-offenders to know their rights because the state law has been changed twice in the last decade. Since 2000, ex-felons can vote once they have been released from prison, even if they still are on parole or probation.

The ACLU said the transportation agency refused repeated requests to consider the ad and provide advertising rates, claiming it only accepted commercial ads.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/politics/15245147.htm

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5. CA: Opponents contend e-voting dangerous

The Daily Journal (San Mateo County)

By Michelle Durand

New electronic voting machines might guarantee disabled residents secrecy in upcoming elections but opponents of the systems believe they may also be vulnerable to errors and manipulation.
At least one local skeptic of electronic voting plans to ask the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to either hold off on buying new machines to meet federal standards or add specific language to the contract guaranteeing public access to the software code.

“We’re trying to head off problems and hope we’re successful. This has national ramifications,” said Brent Turner, a Half Moon Bay resident speaking on behalf of himself and others promoting a complete return to paper ballots.

Opening the voting software to the public is a “mixed bag,” said Elections Chief Warren Slocum. Transparency can be good, Slocum said, but it may also make the system more vulnerable to hackers.

The contract with machine maker Hart InterCivic requires it to follow any changes in federal voting law — including proposals for open source software — but Turner wants the language to be more specific regarding machinery and service.

“Our position is, if we’re going to be doing this let’s make sure it is as secure and transparent as possible and not rush into a relationship with people who haven’t provided transparent machinery,” Turner said.

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=62688

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6. FL: Touchscreens well supported

Herald Tribune

Last modified: August 11. 2006 12:00AM

The efforts of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections to replace the current touchscreen electronic voting system with an optical system ignores the needs of citizens with special needs.

In 2000, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent established an advisory council as an integral part of determining what type of voting system should be selected. Members included representatives from the Venice Chapter of The Florida Council of the Blind, the Suncoast Center for Independent Living, and Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.

Has SAFE considered the needs of these organizations?

Under the leadership of Ms. Dent, Sarasota County successfully implemented an electronic voting system that has been described by Beverly Kaufman, County Clerk, Houston, Texas, as "a big winner for the voters of Sarasota County in the September and November elections of 2002."

Ms. Dent conducted a Voting Systems Open House in 2001 to determine voter preferences between touchscreens and optical scanning systems. More than 400 Sarasota County residents participated, including poll workers, elected officials, municipal clerks and representatives of various disabilities. The overwhelming consensus was for touchscreens (94 percent).

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/OPINION/608110705/1029

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7. MS: Commission addresses voter fraud concerns

Hattiesburg American

Originally published August 11, 2006
By Reuben Mees

The seven poll workers at each of the three voting precincts in the Aug. 29 special election will represent both a political and racial cross section of city residents, Hattiesburg Election Commission members said Thursday.

"We expect to have a diverse group," Ward 4 Commissioner George DeCoux said.

His comments came after a public hearing in which Scott Tyner and Clint Martin expressed concerns over issues they saw while working as poll watchers during the 2005 municipal elections.

The concerns came forward after the election commission re-formed in mid-July to prepare for the special election to fill the Ward 4 City Council seat.

Tyner, who was stationed at the Woodley precinct in 2005, complained of instances where he alleged black voters were turned away from the polls without being advised of their right to vote by affidavit ballot, while white voters in similar situations were given a regular ballot and allowed to vote.

Election law states that any voters who believe they are registered at a specific precinct can cast an affidavit ballot there and the election commission is responsible for determining within days of the election if the vote is valid.

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/NEWS01/608110302/1002

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8. NJ: Casinos seek political muscle with voter registration drives

Press of Atlantic City

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer
Published: Friday, August 11, 2006

ATLANTIC CITY — Blackjack dealer Emmanuel Villamil estimates that last month's three-day government shutdown of the casino industry cost him more than $300 in salary and tips — money he will never get back.

Villamil, of Egg Harbor Township, isn't politically active, but the shutdown has angered him enough to do something that he hasn't done before: vote. On Thursday, he took the first step by registering with the election board.

“There was no good reason for the politicians to shut down the casinos,” Villamil said.

Casinos hope that thousands of other gaming employees will join Villamil in signing up to vote in the November election. The gaming industry launched a voter registration drive Thursday to bring its workers together in one powerful voting bloc that could dramatically influence Trenton politics in the casinos' favor.

“In doing so, we want to impress upon our elected officials that our industry is a force that should not be neglected or taken for granted,” said Joseph A. Corbo Jr., president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, the trade group representing Atlantic City's 12 gaming halls.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6623930p-6472793c.html

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9. Rawstory: McKinney to file election challenge

Brian Beutler
Published: Friday August 11, 2006

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), who lost Tuesday's runoff bid to challenger Hank Johnson, is seeking to legally contest the results after alleging that error-prone electronic voting machines and constituent disenfranchisement had caused her campaign to suffer.

RAW STORY has learned that, as of yesterday, her campaign officials had tallied 25 sworn affidavits and believed that several dozen more had yet to be counted.

Karon Edge-Fitzpatrick, a poll watcher for the McKinney campaign, told RAW STORY that she and other officials would be meeting with attorneys late yesterday to discuss available legal avenuea, but did not immediately return numerous calls for comment later in the afternoon and today.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/McKinney_to_file_election_challenge_0811.html

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10. CT: Lamont's Daughter Wasn't On Voter List

Hartford Courant

August 11, 2006
By Jonathan Lucas, Staff Writer

GREENWICH -- Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont's daughter, Emily, has gone out on the campaign trail for her dad and contributed more than $4,000, but the 19-year-old couldn't vote for him.

Emily Lamont's vote in Tuesday's primary battle between her father and U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman was thrown out yesterday after the Democratic registrar of voters in the family's hometown, Greenwich, determined she was ineligible.

"Her vote was rejected because she is not enrolled in a party," said Sharon Vecchiolla, Democratic registrar in Greenwich.

It didn't matter in the end, as Ned Lamont won with more than 52 percent of the vote. Lieberman has launched an independent bid to retain the Senate seat he has held for 18 years.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-sa-lamont-emily-0811,0,6734209.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

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11. MN: A vote for technology

Friday, August 11, 2006 — Time: 1:30:45 PM EST

New equipment will be showcased at fair.

By Rae Kruger - Independent Staff Writer

Two 20-year-old women were impressed Thursday afternoon that today’s technology was available for voting in Lyon County.

Melissa Sandquist and Chelsea Guetter of Marshall are two county summer employees who had helped unload the new AutoMARK voting machine and an M100 vote tabulator at the Lyon County Fairgrounds on Thursday.

The staff of the county auditor/treasurer’s office is demonstrating the equipment in the 4-H building at the fairgrounds from noon to 9 p.m. today and Saturday, and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Sandquist and Guetter got an unexpected demonstration from auditor/treasurer Paula VanOverbeke Thursday afternoon.

http://www.marshallindependent.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=4907

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12. FL: Election 2006: Touch Screen Concerns

Channel 13 Central Florida News

With the primary elections now just weeks away, the state says it is ready.

However, some election experts say they're still worried history could repeat itself in a close race.

The issue isn't with hanging chads and butterfly ballots this time though. It's with electronic voting machines.

Many counties have now installed the machines, but critics are worried the machines could be rigged.

They also want a mandatory paper trail for the machines.

Nevertheless, state election workers have their doubts.

"You don't want to put your Supervisors of Elections and County Commissions in the position of having to go spend more money,” Florida Secretary of State Sue Cobb said. “If there's going to be a new machine, which I know people will think of, that does an all-in-one process. So, everybody's looking at it."

http://cfn13.com/StoryHeadline.aspx?id=17863

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13. BradBlog: Mexican Protesters Seize Toll Booths, Blockade Stock Market and

and Government Offices

BLOGGED BY Winter Patriot ON 8/10/2006 8:20PM

No business as usual in Mexico City — until the votes are counted!
“For the good of all, the poor first”

Mexican sit-ins demand vote recount

Throughout Mexico, the movement for social justice continues to take to the streets to press its demands.
Supporters of presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador took over tollbooths throughout Mexico City on Aug. 8, preventing federal officials from charging tolls on the highways into the city, and blockaded the agricultural ministry, preventing employees from entering. (Reuters)

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3214

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14. HI: Native votes count: No vote, no grumble

By Wayne Kaho'onei Panoke
8/11/2006 7:08:23 AM
As a Native Hawaiian, do you think your vote makes no difference? Please think again. Native Hawaiians make up twenty-percent of our State population, and yet we are not using our power to make a difference by voting. Only 78,000 of the 210,000 eligible Native Hawaiian voters are registered to vote. And among that small number, even fewer - only about 20% - actually vote.

Hawaiian Vote 2006 is a group of Native Hawaiians, just like you, encouraging other Native Hawaiians to come out to register and vote in this year’s Primary and General elections. This effort is non-partisan – we endorse no particular candidate(s) or political party. We are only committed to Hawaiian empowerment through our voting numbers.

Please join us in this effort to strengthen the voice and power of all Native Hawaiians. We are planning several community outreach programs and events around key dates to achieve our mission. Please hold these dates for Hawaiian Vote 2006 Rallies that will feature voter registration, speakers, plus free music, entertainment and food on the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace:

http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/68117823.asp

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15. AZ: Goldwater files, awaits decision on public funding

Arizona Capitol Times

August 11, 2006
Top Stories

By Christian Palmer, [e-mail]

Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater filed an estimated 4,670 signatures and $5 dollar donations with the Secretary of State’s Office on Aug. 7 to help qualify for public campaign funding.

Gubernatorial candidates must submit 4,200 contributions and signatures from registered voters in order to receive public campaign financing. The Citizens Clean Elections Commission, which oversees the state’s public campaign funding system, recommends that candidates for governor submit 5,040 contributions and signatures in case some are invalidated.


Mr. Goldwater is one of three candidates for governor relying on public funding. His main GOP rival, Len Munsil, and Democratic incumbent Janet Napolitano, have already each received the full funding amount of $ 452,849 to use for the Sept. 12 primary.

http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/story.cfm?id=3898

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16. CA: SBA Critics Chide Schwarzennegger for Adding Barreto to Team

Hispanic Business.com

August 11, 2006

Following news stories critical of the U.S. Small Business Administration under Hector Barreto, California Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger has been criticized for adding one of the highest-ranking Hispanics to serve in the Bush Administration to his re-election team.

Mr. Barreto was named one Mr. Schwarzennegger's chairmen for his statewide leadership team on July 20, approximately three months after he announced plans to step down as head of the SBA. His decision to accept the chairmanship of the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group the Latino Coalition came amid growing criticism of the SBA's response to Hurricane Katrina recovery.

One of his harshest critics on that matter and other SBA actions had been Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a Brooklyn Democrat and the ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, who claimed he was "running the agency into the ground."

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=43807&cat=Headlines&more=/news/more-news.asp

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17. HI: Hawaiian get-out-vote efforts build

The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, August 11, 2006
Registration drives reach out to immigrants

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

"No Vote, No Grumble" is the theme of a drive to get Hawaiians to register to vote and then cast a ballot.

Through sign-up tables, bumper stickers, brochures, T-shirts and rallies, Hawaiian Vote 2006 wants to get the word out that collectively, Hawaiians can make a difference.

"If you look at our numbers, if everyone came out to vote, we would be a force to be reckoned with," said Mona Wood, owner of Ikaika Communications and one of the group's advisory panel members. "There are Hawaiians who disagree on the issues, but we all agree on this."

Hawaiian Vote 2006, a non-profit group, estimates there are about 154,000 Hawaiian residents eligible to vote and about 68,000 actually registered. The group's goal is to sign up an additional 25,000 by the Nov. 7 general election.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/NEWS05/608110371/1001/NEWS

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18. IN: Dems Say Voters Being Disenfranchised

The Indy Channel

POSTED: 8:24 am EDT August 11, 2006
UPDATED: 8:30 am EDT August 11, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS -- Some Marion County Democrats said Republicans are trying to take away the right to vote for some registered voters.
The two parties are feuding over the proper way to get rid of outdated, duplicated registrations without eliminating people who are alive and still properly registered, 6News' Norman Cox reported.
Democratic leaders said Thursday that 18 people have called them in the last few days wondering why they got cards from the county that cancel their registration when they still live at the addresses where they lived when they signed up to vote.

The cards are part of an effort to reduce bloated voter rolls by removing people who have died or moved away.
More than 4,000 names have been removed, but Democrats said Republicans at the Board of Voter Registration started without their approval. Democrats also charged that the list of names, which was provided by the state's computer vendor, is inaccurate, even though it was certified as being 100 percent reliable.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/9665052/detail.html

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19. DE: Rehoboth Beach property owners seek the right to vote

8/11/06

By Kevin Spence
Cape Gazette staff
Marcia Eisinger, who put her property in trust last year, said she hasn’t missed voting in Rehoboth Beach in 28 years. Eisinger, an Oak Avenue property owner for almost three decades, also routinely pays property taxes. But this year she can’t vote.

After officials compared tax records to the city’s voter rolls, property owners holding properties in trust were determined unqualified.

As a result, in May officials informed 65 registered voters - many of whom voted for years - they would be ineligible to vote.

Eisinger was among them.

“There was an article in the newspaper, so I knew about the problem, but I didn’t think it affected me,” she said.

“Well, boom, all of a sudden I went uptown when I got the letter. I said, ‘Hey, wait. There’s an error. I only put my house in trust. They said, ‘There’s nothing you can do until next year,” she said.

Rehoboth, with its unusual mix of seasonal and full-time residents, may have to alter its voting requirements, which are spelled out in the city’s charter.

http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/200608/rehotrustvote081106.html

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20. AR: Patterson not a candidate for mayor of Centerton, election official

said

The Benton County Daily Record

By Gary Lookadoo Staff Writer // [e-mail]
Posted on Friday, August 11, 2006

CENTERTON — As of 3 p. m. Wednesday, three hours after the deadline for municipal candidates to file to run for office, there were only three people — Ken Williams, Bobbie Griffith and Donna Presnell — listed on the county clerk’s Web site as candidates for mayor of Centerton.

The site, which includes an unofficial listing of municipal candidates who have filed for office, had previously included the name of Judy Patterson, but Patterson’s name was removed after the county clerk checked with authorities who said Patterson does not live in Centerton, said Christine Southard, the deputy county clerk / voter registration supervisor.

Patterson, who was listed on the Web site as living on Brookside Road, lives in an area that is the subject of a lawsuit between Bentonville and Centerton, Southard said.

“(Patterson ) is in the area that is in dispute right now in circuit court. It’s in a lawsuit between Centerton and Bentonville. And she went ahead and filed based on the fact that she was told she was in the city limits of Centerton — that that area she is in was considered to have all the rights of the city. That’s what she was told, ” Southard said.

http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/38307/

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21. NY: Coin Toss Decides Connecticut Primary Race

WCBS Channel 2

Aug 11, 2006 5:45 am US/Eastern

(CBS/AP) GROTON, Conn. One vote does make a difference. Elissa Wright won the Democratic nomination for a state House seat in Groton by a coin toss Thursday after a provisional ballot tied the race.

Rita Schmidt was one vote ahead in the primary on Tuesday, but the race became tied at 457 votes each after a provisional ballot for Wright was opened. A third candidate, Michael Kindle, won 408 votes.

State law calls for a flip of a coin to decide tie votes. Schmidt called heads and it came up tails.

"I don't think it's the best way to resolve ties in primaries," Wright said. "A run-off would have produced a clear winner."

Before a group of about 20 observers, including backers of the two candidates and television and newspaper reporters, Allen Palmer, the Democratic registrar of voters, flipped the coin -- a quarter featuring Connecticut's Charter Oak -- at the Groton Town Hall Annex.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_223054647.html

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22. OH: 500 new voters might not exist

The Columbus Dispatch

State activists might be charged over questionable registrations
Friday, August 11, 2006
Robert Vitale and Mark Niquette

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Workers paid by a liberal group to register voters in Franklin County have turned in more than 500 forms with nonexistent addresses and potentially fake signatures, elections officials said yesterday.

Board of Elections Director Matthew Damschroder said he has forwarded the cards to county authorities for possible criminal charges.

Elections workers verifying new-voter forms discovered signatures with the same handwriting, addresses that were for vacant lots and incorrect information for voters who already were registered, Damschroder said. One card had the name of an East Side man who’s dead.

All the questionable cards were turned in by workers for Ohio ACORN, a group that’s also paying people to gather signatures for a proposed November ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage.

Katy Gall, the group’s head organizer, said ACORN is cooperating with the investigation and already has fired some of its paid circulators.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/08/11/20060811-E1-00.html

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23. New Proof of Mexican Election Scam

Mexico, Aug 11 (Prensa Latina) Amid the partial recount in 11,839 ballots for the July 2 elections, Mexican opposition forces will present new evidences confirming the alleged fraud.

Representatives from the PRD (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) announced that, to support the accusation, they will deliver results of mathematic and statistical studies in coming days to demonstrate there was "online fraud."

They claim they will demonstrate errors in counting of votes the same day of elections, with a trend in favor of PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) presidential candidate Felipe Calderon.

This evidence is based on investigations carried out by experts from the Mexican National Autonomous University and the Metropolitan Autonomous University, which will clarify anomalies of the counting system by the Federal Electoral Institute.

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B0F42EDC4-C793-44AF-826D-059EBD2F1BAA%7D)&language=EN

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24. and on the lighter side: Diebold To Buy Federal Election

Commission! - A Satire



Unconfirmed sources report the Bush administration is ready to sell off the FEC to Diebold, maker of touch screen voting machines. Diebold will pay an undisclosed amount for the government commission and assume all of its functions and responsibilities.
Diebold and the White House refused to comment on the impending purchase but one industry watcher shared his observations.

"This is a very shrewd move by both Diebold and the Bush Administration. By selling the FEC the administration gets rid the headache of having to take any responsibility for election reform. For Diebold it makes sense to get in on the decision making process. The combination of Diebold and FEC will streamline the transition to new and untested voting technology without public comment. It will also quell any controversy over voting security standards. With Diebold writing the standards their equipment will automatically be in compliance."

http://www.unconfirmedsources.com/?itemid=761

Unconfirmed Sources political satire and news story parodies as represented above are written as satire or parody. They are, of course, fictitious.

[H2O Man]

25. Good post,

interesting thread.

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26. Nice Pix

thanks

:hi:

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27. GovTech: Roll Call

Government Technology

August 31, 2006 By Merrill Douglas

As part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, Congress stipulated that every state must operate a centralized voter registration database (VRDB). Rather than relying on county election officials to maintain voter rolls, states must now use a single system to organize current information on who is eligible to vote and where.

In Washington state, election officials could have chosen a packaged solution to meet the Jan. 1, 2006 deadline for complying with HAVA's VRDB requirement. But they opted for a different approach.

"Some of the election vendors had great products," said Steve Excell, Washington's assistant secretary of state.

But state officials wanted to do more than simply abide by the letter of the law.

For several years now, Washington residents have been visiting the state's Web portal to conduct e-government transactions, such as buying fishing licenses, renewing auto registrations or applying for unemployment insurance.

"We saw the voter registration database, and light bulbs went on," Excell said.

This new resource could fuel a whole range of e-commerce transactions to benefit voters and local election officials.

"We wanted a platform that could be expanded and go to more of a portal/information sharing system in the future," he said.

http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=100358

[rumpel]

28. NYTimes: Recounting Our Way to Democracy (Mexico/Op-Ed)

By ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR
Published: August 11, 2006
Mexico City

NOT since 1910, when another controversial election sparked a revolution, has Mexico been so fraught with political tension.

The largest demonstrations in our history are daily proof that millions of Mexicans want a full accounting of last month’s presidential election. My opponent, Felipe Calderón, currently holds a razor-thin lead of 243,000 votes out of 41 million cast, but Mexicans are still waiting for a president to be declared.

Unfortunately, the electoral tribunal responsible for ratifying the election results thwarted the wishes of many Mexicans and refused to approve a nationwide recount. Instead, their narrow ruling last Saturday allows for ballot boxes in only about 9 percent of polling places to be opened and reviewed.

This is simply insufficient for a national election where the margin was less than one percentage point — and where the tribunal itself acknowledged evidence of arithmetic mistakes and fraud, noting that there were errors at nearly 12,000 polling stations in 26 states.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/opinion/11lopezobrador.html?

[rumpel]

29. TX: DeLay Asks Secretary Of State To Officially Remove Name From Ballot

Fort Bend Now

by FortBendNow Staff, Aug 11, 2006, 02 55 pm

Former congressman Tom DeLay sent a letter Friday morning to Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams requesting that his name be removed from the Nov. 7 general election ballot.

The move formalizes DeLay’s stated intent earlier this week to withdraw from the race for the 22nd Congressional District, where he served for more than 20 years.

“This letter is to inform you that by the attached sworn certificate of withdrawal, I am requesting that my name be omitted from the Nov. 7, 2006, general election ballot for the office of the United States congressman from District 22,” DeLay said in the letter.

“It has been my pleasure to serve the people of the great state of Texas; however current circumstances, of which you are very much aware, compel me to take this action in order to ensure that the people of District 22 have the opportunity to elect a congressman who truly represents their interests, goals and values,” DeLay’s letter states.

1 Lynn McGuire - Aug 11, 03:16 pm
How sad. A man stands accused of many false and wild stories but convicted of none. Fort Bend County will be the lesser without him helping us in Congress.

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/1659/delay-asks-secretary-of-state-to-officially-remove-his-name-from-cd-22-ballot

[rumpel]

30. LATEST POLLING ON 2006 SENATE CAMPAIGNS

Council For a Livable World

LATEST POLLING ON 2006 SENATE CAMPAIGNS
(N.B. This listing includes mostly media and public polls; party or candidate polls are generally not used unless other polls are not available. Because all polls have a margin of error in their numbers, the polls should be taken as useful indicators at the moment the polling is conducted rather than absolute truth. In some instances, conflicting polls are provided.)


========
Arizona
========
45% - Jon Kyl (R)
27% - Jim Pederson (D)
28% - other, undecided
Behavior Research Center poll conducted July 8-21 - 627 registered voters

52% - Jon Kyl (R)
40% - Jim Pederson (D)
9% - Undecided
Survey USA poll conducted July 14-16 - 700 adults

========
California
========
56% - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D)
34% - Dick Mountjoy (R)
10% - other, undecided
Field poll conducted July 10-23 – 762 likely voters

60% - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D)
33% - Dick Mountjoy (R)
Rasmussen poll conducted July 5 – 500 likely voters

========

more at:
http://www.clw.org/2006/08/latest_polling.html

[freedomfries]

31. k & r

good thread rumpel! Thanks