Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News: Saturday, September 2, 2006

[livvy]

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Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.



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

If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.



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

[livvy]

1. CA: Teamwork Makes For Very Productive Year of Lawmaking

Teamwork makes for very productive year of lawmaking
Improved relationship of governor, Democrats credited for success

By Mike Zapler and Kate Folmar
MEDIANEWS SACRAMENTO BUREAU
Inside Bay Area

SACRAMENTO — If 2005 was the year that California government was too consumed by partisan warfare and futile ballot initiatives to accomplish much of anything, 2006 may be remembered as a period of exceptional productivity in Sacramento.

The Legislature adjourned for the year early Friday, leaving in its wake a string of high-profile accomplishments on global warming, prescription drug costs and the minimum wage. Earlier in the year, lawmakers passed a timely budget for the first time in years and placed a $37 billion public works package on the November ballot.

The dramatic election-year turnabout was made possible when the Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, sought to repair the self-inflicted damage from last year's special election by embracing major planks of his Democratic counterparts' agenda.

Whether that was a temporary transformation by the governor to ensure his political survival or the start of a lasting era of cooperation in the Capitol will be left to voters to judge.

>more

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_4279390

[livvy]

2. Mexico: Political Foes Deny Fox Podium

Political foes deny Fox podium
Mexican leader can't deliver yearly report
Advertisement

By Colin McMahon
Tribune foreign correspondent

September 2, 2006

MEXICO CITY -- Facing the threat of an ugly confrontation with opposition congressmen, President Vicente Fox abandoned his reading of his state of the nation speech Friday before the Mexican Congress, breaking a tradition dating back 180 years.

"Given that the posture of a group of legislators makes it impossible to read the message I have prepared for this occasion, I am leaving the hall," Fox announced after delivering a written version of the annual presidential report, called the informe.

Half an hour earlier, legislators from the Democratic Revolution Party had swarmed the congressional stage. They waved anti-Fox posters and the tri-colored national flag, chanting "Mexico! Mexico!" And a leading senator from the party stood at the podium, refusing to yield.

"Deliver it and go," the protesting congressmen shouted.

>more

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609020152sep02,1,7360677.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[livvy]

3. FL: Election Law Violated, Candidate Says (Michigan tie here also)

Election law violated, candidate says
Joe Durek faulted All Children Matter for praising Steve Precourt in a House primary flier.
Erin Ailworth
Sentinel Staff Writer

September 2, 2006

A national school-choice group with ties to Amway and Wal-Mart has been accused of violating Florida election law with a flier touting a candidate for state House District 41.

Joe Durek -- a businessman running against traffic engineer Steve Precourt and attorney Dennis Horton in Tuesday's Republican primary -- this week filed the accusation with the Florida Elections Commission.

Durek contends that All Children Matter, which promotes school choice, "expressly" advocated for Precourt and violated campaign-contribution limits when it sent out the mailing.

The Michigan-based group, which has offices in Tampa and Tallahassee, disagrees with that interpretation.

{Note: this organization is chaired by the wife (Betsy DeVos) of the candidate running for governor in Michigan (Dick "Scamway" DeVos)}

>more

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-complaint0206sep02,0,2604453.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

[livvy]

4. WaPo: A Nation of Free Agents

A Nation of Free Agents

By Marc Ambinder
Sunday, September 3, 2006; B02

For the first time since presidential candidate Ross Perot won nearly 19 percent of the vote in 1992, technology, egos and politics are colluding to lower the barriers to entry for credible independent candidates for national office.

Signs abound that voters are moving beyond the two major parties and testing the free-agent market. And politicians are responding; the put-yourself-above-partisanship orientation is spreading, even during this midterm election season, when candidates typically seek to rouse the passions of their partisans.

This trend goes far beyond Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), who could become the first mainstream incumbent elected as an independent senator in 30 years. Take conservative Sen. James M. Talent (R-Mo.). The first television ad of his reelection campaign began with a narrator cautioning that "most people don't care if you're red or blue. Republican or Democrat. They don't use words like 'partisan' or 'obstructionist.' " Or Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.), who told voters in an ad that "I believe that neither Republicans nor Democrats are always right. I angered Republicans when I voted against the war in Iraq, and Democrats when I voted for legal reform."

The message is clear: Our candidate will work for you, not for a party.

>more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101403.html

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5. IL: Donation Stirs Campaign Dispute

Donation stirs campaign dispute
Democrat Pavich hits help given by Weller

By Christi Parsons
Washington Bureau
Published September 2, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Among the political contributions brimming from his campaign treasury, Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) accepted a campaign donation from a telecommunications executive he has tried to help in an international business dispute.

Weller hand-delivered a letter last year to government officials in Belize, suggesting that their decision to seize business assets of Jeffrey Prosser might hurt future investment in their economy. Weller received contributions totaling about $4,000 from Prosser and his wife last year.

An aide to Weller said the congressman was acting appropriately as a member of the House Committee on International Relations. He also scoffed at the significance of $4,000 in contributions for a fundraiser like Weller who raises millions of dollars every election cycle.

But a public complaint about the contribution--aired this week by Weller's Democratic challenger--had a little extra sizzle because Prosser's vast telecommunications holdings once included a Guyana subsidiary that profited significantly from the lease of "1-900" telephone lines to phone sex operators.

>more

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609020173sep02,1,671407.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[livvy]

6. Today in History Break

On September 2, 1935, George Gershwin signed his name to the completed orchestral score of the opera, Porgy and Bess. The composer called the seven- hundred-page score his masterpiece and never ceased to marvel that he had created it. Many critics consider Porgy and Bess to be the first and finest American opera.
>snip

During its Washington, D.C. run, Todd Duncan led the cast in a strike to protest the National Theatre's segregation policy. The actors held out against offers by the theater to permit African-Americans to attend a "blacks only" performance.

As spokesman for the cast, Duncan stated that he would never play in a theater which barred him from purchasing tickets to certain seats because of his race. Theater management gave in to this demand and for the first time an integrated audience attended the National Theater.

The play folded after its Washington, D.C. run and West Coast engagements proved a financial disaster. For many years, the opera received more attention and acclaim in Europe and the Soviet Union than in the United States. Gershwin's complete score was not heard on an American stage again until 1976, when the Houston Grand Opera mounted a critically acclaimed production. In 1985, fifty years after its Broadway premier, the "folk opera" was performed by New York's Metropolitan Opera Company.
>more

http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

More information and pictures can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porgy_and_Bess

[livvy]

7. OH: Judge Throws Out New Voter Registration Rules

Judge throws out new voter registration rules
BY M.R. KROPKO | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND - A federal judge threw out new state rules governing voter registration drives on Friday, saying they appear to violate the First Amendment and are hurting efforts to sign up new voters.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen O'Malley issued an order from the bench immediately halting the enforcement of the registration rules. She said she planned to issue a detailed written order sometime next week.

A coalition of voter advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers sued the state, asking O'Malley to throw out the regulations, which they claimed would hurt their registration drives because the rules carry potential criminal penalties.

The groups say the regulations are harsh and confusing.

>more

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060902/NEWS01/609020380/1056

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8. IA: Letter to the Editor: Restore Election Faith With Clean Elections

Published September 2, 2006

Restore election faith with clean elections


Iowans should support publicly financed elections at the federal level. Clean elections level the playing field and allow all people to participate equally in the political process.

We have no need for elected officials who are well-connected insiders and career politicians. We need average people from diverse backgrounds in office. They cannot run and win under today's campaign-financing system.

Clean elections make elections about voters, not campaign donors. Candidates can spend their time talking to constituents instead of spending countless hours wooing major donors. Once in office, clean-elections officials are no longer beholden to special interests and lobbyists.

Candidates who participate in clean elections are supported by voters. In Maine, 83 percent of the state Senate and 77 percent of the state House is made up of legislators who ran as clean-elections candidates. In Arizona, 10 out of 11 statewide offices are held by clean-elections candidates.

>one more concluding paragraph of letter and a cute 'toon, too

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060902/OPINION04/609020306/1035/OPINION

[livvy]

9. AZ: Abstinence Backer Nusil Says He Had Sex While Single

Abstinence backer Munsil says he had sex while single

Staff and wire reports
Sept. 2, 2006 12:00 AM

Republican gubernatorial candidate and abstinence advocate Len Munsil admitted on Friday that he had sex before marriage.

In a statement, Munsil and his wife, Tracy, said that they conceived their son during the month before they got married. (Oh, my...tsk,tsk)

"Our children and close friends have been aware of this for years; it is not something we have advertised, but it is not something we have tried to hide . . . " the couple, who have been married for 20 years, said in the statement.

"Because of what we've experienced, we are even more committed to upholding the standard of abstinence until marriage - because we know from our own experience that it would have been a better way to begin our lives and our family together."

>more

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0902munsil0902.html

[livvy]

10. AZ: State Office Candidates in Tight Races Raise Most

Tucson Region
State office candidates in tight races raise most
By Josh Brodesky
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.02.2006

Candidates for state offices updated their campaign filings this week, with some the region's most competitive races showing the largest contribution gains.

In a separate but related matter, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission agreed to give state Rep. Ted Downing nearly $8,000 in compensation for a recent "push poll" attack. Downing is trying to unseat incumbent District 28 Sen. Paula Aboud.

Aboud has denied any connection to the attack.

Push polls are a form of negative campaigning where a caller will ask the respondent hypothetical questions about a candidate. In this case, respondents were asked if they would support Downing if they learned he "opposed increasing the penalty for husbands who rape their wives, and Paula Aboud supported increasing the penalties?''

>more

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/144899

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11. CT: ACLU Challenges New State Campaign Finance Law

Published: Friday, September 01, 2006
ACLU challenges new state campaign finance law
By Sarah Mishkin
Staff Reporter

Connecticut's nascent program of publicly financed elections could collapse before the reformed system even takes effect, following a legal challenge to the program filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut on behalf of a coalition of minor-party leaders and lobbyists.

The lawsuit argues that the clean-elections law, passed last December and amended in May, discriminates against minor-party candidates and violates the free-speech rights of certain categories of political donors, including lobbyists and their families. The ACLU asked the court to prevent publicly financed elections from being implemented unless the state legislature amends the current law. The lawsuit's plaintiffs are the ACLU, a Connecticut Green Party leader, the Libertarian party, a liberal lobbyist and the wife of a lobbyist for the Connecticut Bar Association.

The bill, which had been heavily lobbied for by Yale students, establishes a voluntary system that lets candidates decline donations from lobbyists, state contractors and those individuals' immediate family members. In exchange for declining that money, the candidates receives grant money from the state with which to run a campaign. Connecticut was the first state whose legislature established a system of public financing, but Maine and Arizona established comparable systems by public referendum.

But to become eligible for state grants, candidates must first prove their viability by raising a certain amount of money -- the amount depends on the office sought -- through individual contributions of under $100. Minor-party candidates must also have received 10 percent of the vote in a prior election or have gathered signatures equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for that office in the prior election cycle -- and it is this additional requirement on minor parties that sparked the Green Party's ire.

>more

http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=32972

[livvy]

12. Today in History Break 2

The Rock Springs Massacre


Chinese Camp in the Mines,
circa 1851-1857.

On September 2, 1885, a mob of white coal miners violently attacked their Chinese co-workers in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Twenty-eight Chinese were killed and fifteen wounded, some of whom later died. The homes of seventy-nine Chinese people were set ablaze and the bodies of many of the dead and wounded thrown into the flames. Hundreds of Chinese workers fled into the surrounding desert. Violence exploded after Chinese workers refused to participate in a strike for higher wages planned by Euro-American miners. A week later, federal troops escorted Chinese laborers back to the mines. After restoring order, federal troops remained at Rock Springs until 1898. Although the federal government refused responsibility for actions in a territory, President Grover Cleveland requested a compliant Congress to indemnify the Chinese for $150,000.

(scroll down page for more)
http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

[livvy]

13. Massachusetts Dems Will Have Little Time to Rally Behind Nominee

Mass. Dems Will Have Little Time to Rally Behind Nominee
By Jean Chemnick | 4:54 PM; Sep. 01, 2006 | Email This Article

Massachusetts Democrats believe they have a good chance this November to end one of the nation’s most unusual political anomalies: Though their party holds all 12 of Massachusetts’ seats in Congress and dominates both the state’s legislature and its presidential voting, Republicans have won the past four races for governor dating to 1990.

But if the Democrats do manage to defeat Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, the Republican Party’s candidate — and strong independent contender Christy Mihos — it won’t be because they have resolved their internal party differences prior to a Sept. 19 primary that is just seven weeks before the Nov. 7 general election.

In fact, three Democrats are locked in a tight primary contest: Deval Patrick, a business executive and former assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration; state Attorney General Tom Reilly; and wealthy entrepreneur Chris Gabrieli, who is seeking a political breakthrough after past well-financed but unsuccessful runs that included a bid as the 2002 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

Neither veteran political observers nor pollsters can agree how this race will shake out. A survey conducted Aug. 22 by the Suffolk University Political Research Center for Boston television station WHDH showed Gabrieli ahead of the pack with support of 32 percent of the respondents to 24 percent for Patrick and 20 percent for Reilly. But a Boston Globe poll released on Aug. 27 placed Patrick at 31 percent, Gabrieli at 30 percent, and Reilly at 27 percent — a virtual tie.

>more

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/09/mass_dems_will_have_little_tim.html

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14. TX: Rodriguez Announces He Will Stay in Texas 23 Race

Rodriguez Announces He Will Stay in Texas 23 Race
By Bob Benenson | 6:41 PM; Sep. 01, 2006 | Email This Article

This story was writen by Bob Benenson and Matthew Spieler.

Democratic former Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez ended a two-day period of political confusion Friday afternoon when he announced he will proceed with his campaign against seven-term Texas Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla in the unusual Nov. 7 primary in the state’s redrawn 23rd District.

Rodriguez himself had caused the stir on Wednesday night when, according to local news reports, he told a gathering of AFL-CIO activists that he would drop his challenge to Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla — whose district lines were adjusted Aug. 4 by a federal court panel that also vacated the results of the district’s March 7 primary and required a new vote to coincide with the national Election Day.

But on Thursday, Rodriguez spokeswoman Gina Castañeda said that the candidate was “surmising the situation,” had made no definite decision, and would hold closed-door meetings meetings with Democratic officials prior to making a decision on whether to move forward with his campaign.

In his statement Friday, Rodriguez said that “running for Congress takes considerable resources,” adding, “On Wednesday, I considered whether I should continue this race.” But, he said, he subsequently received “an outpouring of support” — “my phone has not stopped ringing” — from constituents “who have been asking me to continue and be their voice,” and that he would stay in the race on behalf of these backers.

>more

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/09/rodriguez_announces_he_will_st.html

[livvy]

15. Craig Crawford: The Straw Man Cometh

Craig Crawford: The Straw Man Cometh
By Craig Crawford | 6:13 PM; Sep. 01, 2006 |

Despite feeling a gust of political wind at their backs for the coming election, Democrats still need to make some critically fine distinctions to voters if the war in Iraq is to blow down the house of George W. Bush and sweep away his party’s control of Congress.

For starters, the war against terrorism and Bush’s way of fighting it are not necessarily the same thing. But this is how the president has managed to frame the debate, as a choice between backing his policies and abandoning the war altogether. “If we retreat before the job is done, this nation would become even more in jeopardy,” he said last week, when he launched another wave of speeches around the country to defend his war policies.

Any president inevitably wins a “me or nothing” debate. That is why Bush frames the war in this way. No one in his right mind is going to say that we should give up and let the terrorists do whatever they like. If voters buy the president’s view that without him the terrorists win, then they will surely take his side.

This puts the pressure on Democrats to reframe the debate every time they bring it up in congressional campaigns. Voters need to hear — over and over again — that those who criticize Bush are not saying it is wrong to fight the terrorists. It might seem like an obvious point to the president’s foes, but without belaboring it they are at risk of falling prey to the administration’s vigorous efforts to portray their criticism as a call for retreat.

>more

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/09/craig_crawford_the_straw_man_c.html

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16. AFL-CIO Union Vote Drive Targets GOP

AFL-CIO union vote drive targets GOP

Labor coalition to drop $40M on largest push ever to control Congress in midterm election.

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- AFL-CIO leaders said Wednesday they hope to boost union turnout this fall by 1.2 million voters in an effort to break Republican control of Congress.

As part of its biggest effort ever in a midterm election, the labor coalition will spend $40 million in 21 states, including Michigan.

Citing sagging GOP poll numbers and increasing concern among workers about their economic security, John Sweeney, the group's president, said conditions are ripe to take on congressional Republicans.

"A perfect storm is gathering that may sweep away Republican control of Congress," he said.

Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO's political director, said the group will focus on traditional methods of getting union voters to turn out -- including workplace drives and visits to members' homes -- as well as tapping databases to "microtarget" union members of particular races.

>more

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060831/POLITICS01/608310340/1022/POLITICS

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17. Five New Senate, Three New Gubernatorial Polls

September 01, 2006
Five New Senate, Three New Gubernatorial Polls
USA Today/Gallup released new polls today in five key U.S. Senate races:

* Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) "trailed Democrat Bob Casey by 18 percentage points among likely voters, by 14 points among registered voters."
* Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) "was behind Democrat Sherrod Brown by 6 points among likely voters, by 2 points among registered voters."
* Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) trailed Democrat Jon Tester "by 3 points among likely voters; Burns led by 2 points among registered voters."
* Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) held a 6-point lead among likely voters over Democrat Claire McCaskill. "The two were tied among registered voters."
* In Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar (D) led Rep. Mark Kennedy (R) by 10 points among likely voters, by 7 points among registered voters.

The survey also polled three gubernatorial races:

* Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) trailed Mike Hatch (D) "by a single point among likely voters but led him by 4 points among registered voters."
* In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) held a 22-point lead among likely voters over Lynn Swann (R).
* In Ohio, Ted Strickland (D) led Ken Blackwell (R) by 16 points.



http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/09/01/five_new_senate_three_new_gubernatorial_polls.html

[livvy]

18. Number of Republicans Declines to 32-Month Low

Number of Republicans declines to 32-month low

Fri Sep 1, 10:46 AM ET

The number of Americans calling themselves Republican has fallen to its lowest level in more than two-and-a-half years. Just 31.9% of American adults now say they're affiliated with the GOP. That's down from 37.2% in October 2004 and 34.5% at the beginning of 2006. These results come from Rasmussen Reports tracking surveys of 15,000 voters per month and have a margin of sampling error smaller than a percentage point.

The number of Democrats has grown slightly, from 36.1% at the beginning of the year to 37.3% now.

Those who claim to be unaffiliated have increased to 30.8% this month. That's the highest total recorded since Rasmussen Reports began releasing this data in January 2004.

Add it all together and the Democrats have their biggest net advantage—more than five percentage points—since January 2004. In the first month of 2006, the Democrats' advantage was just 1.6 percentage points. Last month, 32.8% of adults said they were Republicans and 36.8% identified themselves as Democrats.

>more

http://news.yahoo.com/s/rasmussen/20060901/pl_rasmussen/partisantrends20060901

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19. 'Toon Break

[livvy]

20. TX: Special Election Draws 5 For DeLay Seat

Special Election Draws 5 for DeLay Seat
HOUSTON, Sep. 2, 2006(AP)

Five people will run in the special election to temporarily fill the seat vacated by former House Majority leader Tom DeLay, the secretary of state's office said Friday.

The special election will be held Nov. 7, the same day as the general election.

Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, backed by Republicans as a write-in candidate in the general election, is among those who filed by Friday's deadline for the special election.

She is joined by three other Republicans _ retired Air Force Maj. Don Richardson; Dr. Hoa Tran Giannibecego; and former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman _ and Libertarian Bob Smither.

>a bit more

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/02/ap/politics/mainD8JSH1K82.shtml

[livvy]

21. Lampson Says No to Special Election in Latest Texas 22 Twist

Lampson Says No to Special Election in Latest Texas 22 Twist
By Matthew Spieler
3:26 PM; Sep. 01, 2006

Democratic former Rep. Nick Lampson has decided not to compete in a belatedly scheduled Nov. 7 special election for the seat in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District, which was vacated in June by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — choosing instead to focus on his strong bid to take over this Republican seat in the general election to be held the same day.

Lampson appears to have gained an edge in the race for a full term in the 110th Congress because of a huge Republican snafu that left them with a blank ballot line in the general election.

And his decision to forgo the simultaneous contest for the final weeks of DeLay’s unexpired term in the current 109th Congress underscores the contention that he and other Democrats have made: that the short-term contest is a ploy by the state GOP to gain visibility for their candidate in the general election, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who has been forced by the ballot foul-up to run as a write-in candidate.

Lampson and his allies point out that the special election was announced just this past Tuesday by Republican Gov. Rick Perry, and note that he had said as early as April — when DeLay, plagued by ethics controversies, announced he would resign from Congress — that he would not schedule a special election in Texas 22. DeLay officially quit his seat June 9, so it was vacant for nearly three months before the special election was slated for Nov. 7.

>more

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/09/lampson_says_no_to_special_ele.html

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22. FL: New Political Ad Sours Florida Sugar Giant

September 1, 2006

New political ad sours Fla. sugar giant

BY AARON DESLATTE
FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE – U.S. Sugar Corp. isn’t taking kindly to an environmental group’s new television spot accusing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rod Smith of being in Big Sugar’s pocket.

Robert Coker, vice president of public affairs for the Clewiston-based agricultural giant, said today the company would file state and federal electioneering complaints over the ad that began airing Thursday in media markets around the state.

Save Our Everglades Trust filed its paperwork to become a soft-money political committee with the IRS on Monday, and its incorporation documents with the Florida Department of State on Tuesday.

But such groups are also required to file in Florida as electioneering communications organizations, or ECOs, with the Division of Elections, which didn’t happen until Thursday, after the ads had been ordered.

>more

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/NEWS05/60901017/1086

[livvy]

23. AZ: Read This Before You Vote

Read this before you vote
Poll workers will be checking your ID

By JON HUTCHINSON
Staff Reporter

Saturday, September 02, 2006


It's generally hoped that people are thinking before they head to the ballot box. But, this year, they need to have a couple more things on their minds.

Stop now and look at your identification! Does it have your picture? Does it have your current address?

If not, do you have identification with your current address that can be compared with a voting registration?

This election, new laws take effect that will make sure that the person casting the ballot is registered to vote and not someone using a bogus identification. The election office believes that many people, not aware of the requirements, will be frustrated and angry.

County Recorder Ana Wayman-Trujillo says, "some people that have gone to the polls regularly for years may be disappointed they have to vote a Conditional Ballot if they can't show proper identification."

No kidding! After researching this story, this reporter had to get a new duplicate driver's license because his was issued in 1994 with a photo and a 2013 expiry, but was not valid for voting. An Arizona Driver's License or Identification Card must be issued after 9/30/1996.

>more



http://campverdebugle.1upsoftware.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=17806&TM=26802.35

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24. WI: Clerk Confident New Voting Machines Will Ease Process

Columbia County's Daily Newspaper

Saturday September 2, 2006

Clerk confident new voting machines will ease process

Jeanne Miller has earned her three-day weekend. After countless hours of choosing, ordering and trying out the county's new voting and ballot-counting machines, and more hours of training other municipal clerks to use them, the Columbia County clerk is confident the machines are ready for the Sept. 12 primary election.
She is also exhausted.

"I am so excited. I think this is going to be an improvement and show more accurately the intent of Columbia County voters," said Miller, whose term will end this December. "But I can't count the hours I've put into it. It's pretty much been my focus, except for County Board stuff."

Two machines will be introduced in Columbia County.

The first, about which Miller is extremely excited, is a touch-screen machine intended to assist disabled voters. The $6,000 machines were purchased by the state of Wisconsin, one for each municipality, in order to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act. Fitted with adjustable screens and headphones, the machines are intended to allow disabled voters to vote without assistance.

Voting will continue as expected for Columbia County residents who do not require special assistance. Voters will fill in ovals on paper ballots (completely, Miller insisted) next to the name of the candidate of their choice. But this fall, instead of sliding the ballot into a box, where it is transported to the county clerk's office for hand-counting, voters will slide the ballot through an electronic reader.

>more

http://www.wiscnews.com/pdr/news/index.php?ntid=97283&ntpid=1

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25. WA: No More Trudging To The Polls

Saturday, September 2, 2006 - 12:00 AM

No more trudging to the polls

By Christopher Schwarzen
Times Snohomish County bureau

For more than 30 years, Helene DeFigh has awakened early each Election Day, headed to her precinct and readied the polling stations for incoming voters.

It's a duty, albeit paid, she has shared with hundreds of other poll workers throughout Snohomish County, none of whom will be needed Sept. 19, the date of this year's primary.

Instead, virtually all county voters will cast their ballots from their homes, their workplaces, schools, anywhere they can sit down with a pen or pencil to mark a ballot, seal and stamp an envelope, and drop it in the mail.

The county has switched to a mail-in balloting system that will no longer require hundreds of polling places to remain open from sunup to sundown. For voters with disabilities, one polling place — at the county Auditor's Office — will be available beginning Sept. 11.

>more

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2003239007_allmail01e.html

[livvy]

26. Today in History Break 3 (pic heavy)

Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945

On September 2, 1945, the formal surrender ceremony took place on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri.


The Japanese delegation is shown lined up at attention before the two generals.

Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945.


Japanese representative General Yoshijiro signs the instrument of unconditional surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, as General Douglas MacArthur watches.

[livvy]

27. NV: Judge Denies Angle's Request For New Primary

Judge denies Angle’s request for new primary


By SANDRA CHEREB
Associated Press Writer
September 1, 2006

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A judge Friday denied Assemblywoman Sharron Angle’s petition for a new Republican primary in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional House District seat.

After a daylong hearing, District Judge Bill Maddox said the state court lacks jurisdiction in congressional election contests because such authority is held solely by the House of Representatives under the U.S. Constitution.

He further ruled there was no evidence election officials in Washoe County committed malfeasance when some voting locations opened late because polling workers didn’t show up.

Angle lost to Secretary of State Dean Heller by 421 votes in a three-way race in the Aug. 15 primary for the GOP nomination to replace Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., who is running for governor. Gibbon’s wife, Dawn, who also sought her husband’s House seat, came in a distant third.

>more

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20060901/NEWS/60901001

[livvy]

28. Brad Blog: CNN's Lou Dobbs: Ohio Lawsuit and HR-50 Information

CNN's Lou Dobbs:Ohio Lawsuit and HR-550 Information

Posted By John Gideon On 1st September 2006 @ 19:54 In Election 2004, Lou Dobbs, Ohio, CNN, Election Reform, Election 2006 | No Comments

Guest Blogged by John Gideon

Tonight we had two segments on voting issues. The first on the lawsuit in Ohio against Ken Blackwell, will help to ensure the 2004 voting records are saved for longer than may be the whim of Blackwell. The suit also asks that Blackwell be removed from the ability to oversee his own election for governor. Also HR-550 is discussed by Congressman Rush Holt and a representative of Election Science Institute.
Note: While they reported that the bill has 159 co-sponsors the number is actually 211 or 209 when you discount one co-sponsor who is now a Senator and the District of Columbia delegate who has no real vote.

The text-transcript of tonight's segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight follows in full…

PILGRIM: Almost two years after the 2004 presidential election, important questions remain over the integrity of the vote count in Ohio. Activists who insist the Ohio ballots were sabotaged and favor President Bush have won an important victory in this dispute.

Christine Romans reports.

ROMANS (voice-over): Those now-famous paper ballots from the 2004 presidential election will be preserved a little longer. Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell instructing county election boards to hold onto those ballots.

Ohio election rights activists demanding as much in a federal lawsuit filed this week. They continue to question the outcome of the 2004 presidential election and say they are still uncovering irregularities in the ballots.

CLIFF ARNEBACK, VOTING RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Because there have been so many issues raised and we are finding evidence of tampering, both sides in this court proceeding need to have the opportunity to look at the real evidence.

>more

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3371

[livvy]

29. NY: High-Tech Overcomes Handicaps

09/01/2006
High-tech overcomes handicaps
By: DEBORA GILBERT

HUDSON-With the purchase and delivery of a handicapped-accessible ballot marking machine this summer, Columbia County Election Commissioners Ken Dow (D) and Don Kline (R) have done their part to move the state closer to compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

In April, a federal lawsuit resulted in an agreement to extend the HAVA deadline for the state until September 2007, at which time all counties will be required to have electronic voting systems in place for federal elections. A statewide database of registered voters must also be completed. But the court insisted that the state must take steps to insure equal voting opportunity for the handicapped by this fall's elections.

"It's a marking device, not a counting device," said Mr. Dow, who expects fewer than 10 voters will use the new $5,000 ESS Automark machine.

"You don't have to be disabled to use the machine, others can use it if they want to," said Lee Daghlian, public information officer for the state Board of Elections.

>more

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17139597&BRD=248&PAG=461&dept_id=462341&rfi=6

[livvy]

30. Cal: Alameda County Voters Demand Security Testing of Sequoia...Equipment

California: Alameda County Voters Demand Security Testing of Sequoia Electronic Voting Equipment

By VoterAction
September 01, 2006
County Registrar must provide Board of Supervisors' mandated security vulnerability testing

A group of Alameda County voters has written to the Alameda County Counsel in an effort to halt the county's payment for or use of the Sequoia touch screen electronic voting system in November and future elections until the system has passed independent, expert security vulnerability testing. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors required this testing as a condition before payment to Sequoia Voting Systems in its vote on June 8th. In their attorney's letter to David MacDonald, Alameda County's Acting Registrar of Voters, the voters requested
that the Sequoia system be submitted to independent testing to ensure that it is not vulnerable to hacking that could alter election results, or face a legal action asking the CA Superior Court in Alameda to order the testing.

"Alameda County's current Purchase Agreement with Sequoia appears to have been signed on June 16th; little more than a week after the Board of Supervisors added the provision for the independent security test. This provision was not included in the final purchase contract, and as of today, the necessary testing has not been performed nor is it planned," said Robert Friese, counsel for the plaintiffs, and a partner in Shartsis Friese, LLP in San Francisco. "It is hard to understand why the Registrar of Voters would not want to test the Sequoia touch screen system, when he has support of the Board of Supervisors, and when serious questions have been raised about its reliability and trustworthiness".

"Alameda voters are demanding the right to a fair election -- one that ensures that the candidate with the most votes wins", Mr. Friese said. "The Registrar of Voters has the charge to ensure election security, and the voters will proceed with a legal action if he side-steps this
responsibility".

"The Supervisors' mandated security testing of the Sequoia touch screen system is of great importance for Alameda County, and for the rest of the country as well," said Lowell Finley, Esq., co-director of Voter Action, and co-counsel in the pending California voters' lawsuit to halt the State's use of Diebold Accuvote TSx touch screen voting systems. "While several independent security tests have been conducted on Diebold electronic voting machines, which found them to be vulnerable to hacking in multiple and undetectable ways, none have been conducted on the Sequoia system. This is troublesome, as both Diebold and Sequoia have a history of lost and switched votes and breakdowns that cause long lines and disenfranchise voters at the polls".

>more

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1732&Itemid=113

[livvy]

31. WI:Paper or Plastic? Iron County Voters Get To Choose....

Paper or plastic? Iron County voters get to choose between paper ballots, electronic voting machines
Published Friday, September 1, 2006 2:43:48 PM Central Time

By MARGARET LEVRA

Globe Staff Writer

Iron County voters will have the option of using newly installed electronic touch-tone voting machines for the Sept. 12 primary.

Or, they can choose to use paper ballots, said county clerk Mike Saari.

Through a federal grant, Iron County received computerized Handicapped Accessible Voting Machines to be used by 11 of the 12 municipalities in the county. Each machine cost nearly $6,000, Saari said.

Hurley, Montreal, Saxon, Upson, Iron Belt, Pence, Oma, Sherman, Kimball, Gurney, and South Carey will use the new Sequoia Votings Systems machines from California (with an audio attachment for the blind) for the Sept. 12 primary election.

>more

http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0901vote.htm

[livvy]

32. SD: SOS Seeks Final Decision On Ballot Wording

September 02, 2006 ONLINE EDITION

Secretary of state seeks final decision on ballot wording

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A pending court case has Secretary of State Chris Nelson worried about getting ballots and voting machines ready to start absentee voting on time.

State election officials have not yet received a final court decision on the wording that will appear on South Dakota's ballot to explain a proposed constitutional amendment that would let people sue judges and other officials.

Its sponsors have asked the state Supreme Court to order changes in the explanation written by Attorney General Larry Long, but the high court on Thursday had not indicated when it would decide the appeal.

"We've made it very clear to the Supreme Court we need to get some things resolved by tomorrow," Nelson said Thursday.

>more

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/09/01/news/south_dakota/a464edbfb604c2b6862571dc0010048a.txt

[livvy]

33. GA: State's Voter ID Requirements Back in Force

Sat, Sept. 02, 2006

State's voter ID requirements back in force

By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/01/06

The state of Georgia's on-again, off-again effort to require voters to show photo identification at the polls is back on — for now.

The State Election Board on Friday agreed to launch an extensive education campaign to let voters know they will need one of six forms of government-issued photo identification when they cast a ballot in elections to be held in September and November.

Judges in both state and federal court halted enforcement of the voter ID law for the July primaries, ruling in favor of groups who argued that the law posed an unnecessary impediment to voting. But lawyers for the state, during a brief closed door session of Friday's election board meeting, said the rulings applied only to the primaries.

Beginning next week, voters will hear public service announcements on radio and TV letting them know about the change in the law. A brochure will also be mailed to another 305,074 registered voters who might lack either a state-issued driver's license or identification card.

>more
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/election06/stories/2006/09/01/0901voterid.html

[livvy]

34. Today in History Break

1789: Congress founds U.S. Treasury

On this day in 1789, the United States Treasury Department is founded.




1882 National Banknote - only $749 on eBay! http://cgi.ebay.com/1882-5-Date-Back-National-4645-Liberty-New-York-N-Y_W0QQitemZ8427471408QQihZ021QQcategoryZ3419QQcmdZViewItem
The institution’s roots can be traced to 1775, when America’s leaders were looking for ways to fund the Revolutionary War. Their solution--issuing cash that doubled as redeemable "bills of credit"--raised enough capital to fuel the revolution. but also led to the country's first debt. The Continental Congress attempted to reign in the economy, even forming a pre-Constitutional version of the Treasury. Neither this move, nor the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which enabled the U.S. to seek loans from foreign countries, proved effective. The debt kept mounting, while war notes rapidly deflated in value.

With the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, the American government established a permanent Treasury Department in hopes of controlling the nation’s debt. President George Washington named his former aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, to head the new office. The former New York lawyer and staunch Federalist stepped in as Secretary of the Treasury on September 11. Hamilton soon outlined a practical plan for reviving the nation's ailing economy: the government would pay back its $75 million war debt and thus repair its badly damaged public credit.



>more
http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=50885

[livvy]

35. One More History Break For the Marathoners Among Us

Saturday, September 2, 2006
PHIDIPPIDES DAY

Legend has it that, on this day in the year 490 B.C., a trained runner by the name of Phidippides of Athens, completed his mission to seek help against the invading Persian army. Phidippides had run for two days and two nights to the city of Sparta, about 140 miles away. Under religious law, he could not get the needed help until after the next full moon. And so, he ran the 140 miles again, returning to Athens without Spartan troops.

The Athenians had no time to wait for the Spartan troops; however, they were still able to win the battle against the Persians at Marathon. Wounded, Phidippides took to the road again, running the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to carry the news of the victory. His last words before he collapsed and died, “Rejoice, we are victorious.”



http://www.440.com/twtd/today.html

[livvy]

36. Whew...I'm done for the day...Any additions welcome!

[rumpel]

37. great job

plenty of info already :applause:

[mod mom]

40. wow-excellent job!

[Kurovski]

38. Thank you, livvy. And so, a kick to the top!

:kick:

[rumpel]

39. AZ: Follow up on suit by GOP candidate requesting re-election

Judge Denies Relection Bid for Congressional Candidate



Sep 1, 2006 08:15 PM

A judge in Carson City denies Sharron Angle's bid for a new Republican primary election.

Assemblywoman Sharron Angle who lost the primary in a close race to Secretary of State Dean Heller is contesting the outcome of the election.

http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5357675&nav=168Y

[rumpel]

41. Correction NV and see-discussion here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=447955&mesg_id=447955

[rumpel]

42. Bradblog: Is The Constitution Going To Be Used Against Democrats

BLOGGED BY John Gideon ON 9/2/2006 10:29AM

Is the right-wing trying out a new tool; the US Constitution?
Let me preface this with a statement. I am not an attorney. I'm just a retired "knuckle dragger" (marine machinist). While I'm not an academic I do have the ability to read something and know what it says especially when it is written in clear English. I've also got a bit more common sense than most academics because I've had to exercise it throughout my life.

Any reader of The BRAD BLOG is familiar with the court decision from San Diego County. Essentially the judge ruled that he did not have jurisdiction because Bilbray was already sworn in as a member of Congress and the US Constitution gives the Legislative Branch jurisdiction over elections of their members.

Today's Nevada Appeal has an article regarding a court challenge that stemmed from problems in the GOP primary election for Congress. That race between Dean Heller, present Secretary of State, and Sharron Angle, was closely contested and Ms. Angle filed the challenge based on what she thought to be possibly illegal practices in Washoe County.


The judge threw out the case, not on a finding that the practices were not illegal but on a constitutional basis. The judge found that he had no jurisdiction, in part, according to Article 1, Section 5 of the US Constitution.

The pertinent part of Article 1, Section 5 says: "Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members,……..". Note the phrase "of its own members".


http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3372

[kpete]

43. Amazing amount of info

thanks