Election Reform, Fraud, & News Sunday 10/14/06 - HBO Hacking Democracy

[freedomfries]

Election Reform, Fraud, & News Sunday 10/14/06

HBO Hacking Democracy
posted on bradblog.com

This cautionary documentary exposes the vulnerability of computers - which count approximately 80% of America's votes in county, state and federal elections - suggesting that if our votes aren't safe, then our democracy isn't safe either.
Premieres Thursday, November 2 at 9pm.
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/hackingdemocracy/index.html



All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

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

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

Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page.

[freedomfries]

1. AP Coast to Coast: "Dems facing proven GOP Turnout Machine "[Vote Burnout]

"Dems facing proven GOP Turnout Machine"

Liz Sidoti, AP
Story picked up by 125 news outlets!!!
The Washington Post
October 14, 2006

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/14/AR2006101400442_2.html
thanks to rodeodance; check interesting DU discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2562521

WASHINGTON -- In the battle for control of Congress, Democrats hope enthusiasm trumps Republican efficiency.

Otherwise, they concede, they will have problems on Nov. 7 as a party still struggling to catch up with the GOP's ability to turn voters out of seeming thin air.

"Makes me green with envy," says Ellen Malcolm, the president of EMILY's List, which backs female candidates who support abortion rights. She was speaking of the Republican Party program that relies on reams of polling data, publicly available information and consumer choice records to identify likely GOP voters in even the most Democratic precincts.

Republicans most recently put their prowess on display in California, where they turned out enough conservatives in June to elect Brian Bilbray to the House, and a few months later in Rhode Island, where they motivated moderates and independents to vote for Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a primary.
:shrug:
Democrats hope technology is not the deciding factor in the upcoming election that will determine the majority party in the House and Senate. Democrats need to gain 15 seats in the House and six in the Senate to knock Republicans from power.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/14/AR2006101400442_2.html

[freedomfries]

2. P Krugman Op-Ed: Election 2006: Will the levee break?

Election 2006: Will the levee break?

Paul Krugman
The New York Times
October 14, 2006

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_4493342
THE conventional wisdom says that the Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives next month, but only by a small margin. I've been looking at the numbers, however, and I believe this conventional wisdom is almost all wrong.

Here's what's happening: a huge Democratic storm surge is heading toward a high Republican levee.

It's still possible that the surge won't overtop the levee — that is, the Democrats could fail by a small margin to take control of Congress. But if the surge does go over the top, the flooding will almost surely reach well inland — that is, if the Democrats win, they'll probably win big.

Let's talk about congressional arithmetic.

Unless the Bush administration is keeping Osama bin Laden in a freezer somewhere, a majority of Americans will vote Democratic this year. If congressional seats were allocated in proportion to popular votes, a Democratic House would be a done deal. But they aren't, and the way our electoral system works, combined with the way ethnic groups are distributed, still gives the Republicans some hope of holding on.

The key point is that African Americans, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic, are highly concentrated in a few districts. This means that in close elections many Democratic votes are, as political analysts say, wasted — they simply add to huge majorities in a small number of districts, while the more widely spread Republican vote allows the GOP to win by narrower margin in a larger number of districts.
My back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that because of this "geographic gerrymander," even a substantial turnaround in total congressional votes — say, from the three-percentage-point Republican lead in 2004 to a five-point Democratic lead this year — would leave the House narrowly in Republican hands. It looks as if the Democrats need as much as a seven-point lead in the overall vote to take control.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_4493342

[freedomfries]

3. HuffPO Op-Ed: Gas Prices Could Be The New Gay Marriage

Gas Prices Could Be The New Gay Marriage

Bob Cesca
The Huffington Post
October 15, 2006

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/gas-prices-could-be-the-n_b_31665.html

All indicators are pointing to the Democrats winning control of (at least) the House next month. Poll after poll shows the Republicans going down in flames. Cue sinister music. But will they?

Of course for the sake of balance and accountability, I absolutely hope the Democrats can pull it off. However, there's a paranoid voice in my head that keeps whispering, "Psst!

Hey. First, you're not posting enough. What's your fricking prob? And also, don't forget about Diebold and election fraud. The GOP is gonna retain control, broseph." Yeah. The voice in my head is a hipster jagoff who uses the word "broseph." But the overall theme is far more sickening.

When I hear this voice in the back of my head, I initially blow it off by rationalizing the cold hard facts. There's no chance in hell the Democrats could screw this up. The president's poll numbers are dropping back into the low 30s. The congressional Republicans have covered up a sex scandal -- a cover-up which could lead all the way to the Oval Office. Everything in the world is stacking up against continued Republican control.

Except gas prices.*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/gas-prices-could-be-the-n_b_31665.html

[freedomfries]

4. MD: Demand for absentee ballots overwhelms local elections officials

Demand for absentee ballots overwhelms local elections officials

Stephanie Tracy,
The Examiner
Oct 13, 2006

http://www.examiner.com/a-341014~Demand_for_absentee_ballots_overwhelms_local_elections_officials.html

BALTIMORE - Several local boards of elections in the Baltimore region said they have been overwhelmed in the last week by requests for absentee ballots after some of the state’s top politicians began touting them as a reliable paper alternative to the embattled electronic machines.

Elections officials in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, and Baltimore City have requested a combined total of more than 338,000 absentee and provisional ballots. Many of those orders represent a 10 percent or greater increase over what was ordered for the last gubernatorial election in 2004.

Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan are just two of the prominent politicians who have publicly encouraged voters to vote absentee in the wake of a glitch-riddled primary election last month. The tens of thousands of absentee ballots could be the difference in the governor’s race, and that means the winner might not be known for a few days.

“We know it’s going to be close,” Ehrlich said, “very close.”

Kim Atkins, acting election director in Harford County, said she ordered 10 percent more ballots to cover demand created by news coverage and mailings from both Democrats and Republicans, and an additional “5 percent for drama.”

“The cost doesn’t really fall with the actual physical ballots,” Atkins said. “The cost falls with the staff time it takes to send them out. ... We’re opening about 400 to 500 , and it was 700.”

http://www.examiner.com/a-341014~Demand_for_absentee_ballots_overwhelms_local_elections_officials.html

[freedomfries]

5. IA: Absentee Ballots Expected To Grow This Election

Absentee Ballots Expected To Grow This Election
Both Parties Work To Get Vote Out

KCCI.com, Des Moines, Iowa
October 13, 2006

http://www.kcci.com/news/10073605/detail.html

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Early voting is no longer just a matter of convenience. Absentee voting is becoming a more widely used option.

Election Day is Nov. 7, but Iowans could start voting on Sept. 28. It's an option that both Republicans and Democrats voters are using.

With less than a month until midterm elections, Iowa Republicans are focusing their energy on ensuring a big turnout on the big day.

"Ultimately, from the Republican Party standpoint, our main focus is turning out voters on Election Day. Our 72-hour program, that's where our emphasis is," said Cullen Sheehan, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa.

Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson said Democrats see absentee votes as a way to reach out to their constituency.

"The Democratic constituency often has a more difficult time getting to the polls because many of the people have children or day care or after-school activities," Pederson said.

Unlike other states, there is no reason needed to vote with an absentee ballot. Starting a few weeks before the election, voters can do so at their leisure.

The Polk County Election Office said during the last gubernatorial election in 2002, 35,000 absentee ballots were returned. So far this year there have been 17,000 absentee applications.

http://www.kcci.com/news/10073605/detail.html

[freedomfries]

6. IN: Absentee balloting intense

Absentee balloting intense

Thomas B. Langhorne
Evansville Courier & Press
October 12, 2006

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/oct/12/absentee-balloting-intense/
Fast and furious absentee balloting in Vanderburgh County is pointing to an unusually heavy voter turnout this year.

"It looks more like a presidential election than a midterm," County Clerk Susan Kirk said Wednesday as she sat in the county Election Office, surrounded by piles of envelopes containing absentee ballots.

"This is the kind of election where you typically get the lowest turnout, when there's no election for president or mayor.

"But we've had quite a few more (absentee ballots and applications) than I anticipated. We are extremely, extremely busy."

A typical presidential election yields about 5,000 absentee ballots in Vanderburgh County, Kirk said.

"I don't know if we will (surpass that figure), but we're getting there."

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/oct/12/absentee-balloting-intense/

[freedomfries]

7. MD: Md. Orders 1.6 Million Paper Ballots

Md. Orders 1.6 Million Paper Ballots

October 12, 2006
Baltimore, WTO News

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=598&sid=941068

BALTIMORE (AP) - Diebold Election Systems Inc., the company that manufactures Maryland's electronic voting machines, is scrambling to print 1.6 million paper ballots for next month's general election amid worries by some that the machines could suffer the same problems as in September's primary.

The state has ordered the paper ballots, about one for every two registered voters, for possible use on Nov. 7. A spokeswoman told The (Baltimore) Sun Wednesday that it had not expected such a large order and delivery for some will be delayed a week.

At least 66,000 of those paper ballots will be mailed to voters as absentee ballots. The rest will be available as provisional ballots, which were used last month, and some precincts ran out.

"This is a response to all of the issues," said Margaret A. Jurgensen, elections director in Montgomery County, referring to the volume of the printing. "We have had to double or maybe even triple our order."
...

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=598&sid=941068

[freedomfries]

12. SD: Absentee Voting Numbers High

Absentee Voting Numbers High

Kekoland TV, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
October 13, 2004

http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6375.cfm?Id=0,51697

The November election is still weeks away, yet thousands of South Dakotans have already picked up their ballots. Here is a sample of numbers in some counties:

Minnehaha: 3,700
Pennington: 2,700
Brookings: 675
Brown: 650
Hughes: 490

Stop by the auditor's office and you might think it's election day. As many people have decided to cast their votes early.

Some are taking the ballots home, hoping that'll give them the time they need to make their choices.

Sue Roust, the Minnehaha County Auditor says, “Probably half the people who come in to get a ballot are taking it with them to study. In past years, most people who came in, they were ready to vote.”

Others just want to beat the November rush.
...
http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6375.cfm?Id=0,51697

[freedomfries]

8. Bus Week Op-Ed: Beware The High-Tech Ballot

Beware The High-Tech Ballot
Untested technology and poor training can lead to disaster

Stephen Wildstrom
Business Week
October 23, 2006

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_43/b4006045.htm?sub=techmaven

Even by the standards of Washington newspeak, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is in a class by itself. For more than 200 years, the U.S. ran elections quietly, efficiently, and mostly honestly. But since passage of the 2002 law, the simple act of casting a ballot has become the stuff of high drama. There's a lesson here about the use and abuse of technology.

HAVA was a response to the 2000 Presidential deadlock in Florida. But it was based on a misdiagnosis of the problem. The inescapable fact in Florida is that the outcome was a tie. George W. Bush's official margin over Al Gore was 0.009% of the votes cast, and since any method of casting or counting ballots involves error, that difference was just too fine to split. But images of butterfly ballots and hanging chads convinced politicians and the public that the problem was bad technology and that the solution lay in changing how the nation votes. HAVA provided more than $3 billion to pay for high-tech systems, and vendors rushed to fill the demand. Although there was no money for training, "states were forced to go out and buy equipment," says Jim Adler, president of VoteHere, a Bellevue (Wash.) firm that develops ballot auditing systems.

THE RESULT HAS BEEN CHAOS in one election after another, with worse likely in store for November. Much attention has been given to the fact that electronic voting machines, especially those made by Diebold Election Systems, may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers. And Princeton University computer scientist Edward Felten recently showed that the physical lock that protects Diebold machines from tampering can be opened with keys easily purchased on the Internet.

While there have been no reports of attacks on machines that are actually in use, the risks Felten and others have pointed out are serious and highlight the danger of rushing to embrace untested technology. Failures, both human and electronic, are already affecting the ability of people to vote, as I learned in Maryland's Sept. 12 primary. All was confusion at our local elementary school because county officials had neglected to send out the access cards voters use to cast ballots on the Diebold AccuVote-TS machines. I was lucky; I got to cast a provisional paper ballot, supplies of which were quickly exhausted.
...
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_43/b4006045.htm?sub=techmaven

[freedomfries]

9. AL: Computer World: Alaska Dems Battle State Over E-voting

Alaska Dems Battle State Over E-voting
Party says changes were made to voter database after ’04 election

Marc Songini
Computer World
October 16, 2006

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=268783&pageNumber=1

An examination of the e-voting database and its audit logs from the November 2004 general election in Alaska found that changes were made to thedatabase in the months after the votes were tallied, according to the state’s Democratic Party.

The party contends that a study of the electronic voting database, which it obtained a copy of last month after a long battle with the state, revealed that the database had been accessed as recently as this July.

“The Division of Elections has not comprehensively explained and corrected the situation,” said Alaska Democratic Party spokeswoman Kay Brown.

The logs were generated by Diebold Election Systems’ AccuVote-OS optical-scan voting systems, which were used statewide in the election.

The party had sought a copy of the AccuVote voting database last December to reconcile apparent discrepancies in voting results compiled by the state after the November election. The Alaska Division of Elections first rejected the request but relented last month.

Democrats had filed a lawsuit in April to force the state to release the documents. That suit remains open in Alaska’s Superior Court.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=268783&pageNumber=1

[freedomfries]

10. AL: The Passion of the D-SoS: Worley "cooperating" with voter database

Worley tells judge she’s cooperating on registration plan

Bob Johnson, AP
The Decatur Daily News
October 12, 2006

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/061013/worley.shtml

MONTGOMERY — Secretary of State Nancy Worley sought to fend off a possible contempt of court citation by telling a federal judge Thursday that she has “willingly cooperated” with Gov. Bob Riley’s efforts to develop an overdue statewide voter registration system.

In a one-page letter to U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins, Worley said she disagreed with a report filed with the court last week by the governor’s legal adviser, Ken Wallis. That report said Worley had not fully cooperated and had refused to work with a committee appointed by the governor to help develop the system, saying she would only deal with Riley.

She said she has worked with the governor and Wallis and has searched “bookcases, file drawers” and other areas looking for documents on development of a voter registration system.

Watkins had ordered Worley, a former Decatur High School teacher, to respond to him by Thursday on why she should not be found in contempt of court for violating his previous order that she help the governor. Watkins in August gave the Republican governor the title “special master” and put him in charge of developing the database, which is required by the federal Help America Vote Act. The judge’s decision came after Worley, a Democrat, was sued by the Justice Department for failing to meet a Jan. 1, 2006, federal deadline for implementing the computerized file.

Worley’s response was filed Thursday as an attachment to a filing by the attorney general’s office. The filing said the letter was written by Worley “without input from the attorney general’s office, although assistance was offered.”
...
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/061013/worley.shtml

[freedomfries]

11. FL: Democrats sue to stop Negron ballot signs

Democrats sue to stop Negron ballot signs

Michael C. Bender
Palm Beach Post
October 13, 2006

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/13/1013foley_signs.html

The Florida Democratic Party filed a lawsuit today in hopes of keeping notices out of polling places that would inform voters that ballots cast for former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley will count for fellow Republican Joe Negron.

The eight-county elections supervisors who will record the outcome in the 16th Congressional District agreed this week to print a notice that would be posted at registration tables and handed to voters who had questions about the race.

What District 16 voters would see:
In the Congressional District 16 race
A vote for Mark Foley (REP) will be counted for Joe Negron (REP), the Republican candidate.
A vote for Tim Mahoney (DEM) will be counted for Tim Mahoney (DEM), the Democratic candidate.
A vote for Emmie Ross (NPA) will be counted for Emmie Ross (NPA), the no party affiliation candidate.
...
The attorney for the Florida State Supervisors of Elections gave local supervisors recommended language for the notice, which also would tell voters that votes cast for Democrat Tim Mahoney will count for Mahoney and votes cast for Emmie Ross, who has no party affiliation, will count for Ross.

But Democrats said giving voters this information at the polling place is illegal.

Democratic attorneys cite a Florida statute that states, "no precinct officer may favor any political party, candidate or issue."

"This plain English statute specifically prohibits any (election supervisor) from passing out at a polling location any information whatsoever that identifies Negron replacing Foley," according to the complaint. "That would clearly and prejudicially constitute favoritism for both the Republican Party and Negron."
...
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/13/1013foley_signs.html

[freedomfries]

13. Kuff's World: Interview with electronic voting machines expert Dan Wallach

Interview with electronic voting machines expert Dan Wallach

Kuff's World
October 11, 2006
http://blogs.chron.com/kuffsworld/2006/10/interview_with_electronic_voti.html

I don't cross-post stuff from my blog very often, but this is one of those times. Dan Wallach is a computer science professor at Rice University who has become a leading expert on electronic voting machines and their flaws. With the recent news about more serious vulnerabilities in Diebold machines and open questions about eSlate machines, I wanted to ask him some questions about what we know about these things, and what we should do about them. I think you'll be very interested in what he has to say.

http://blogs.chron.com/kuffsworld/2006/10/interview_with_electronic_voti.html

[freedomfries]

14. OpEdNews: Steven F. Freeman on Vote Manipulation In America

Interview: Professor Steven F. Freeman on Vote Manipulation In America

Larry Sakin
OpEdNews
September 30, 2006

http://www.opednews.com/articles/not_sh_larry_sa_060929_interview_3a_professor.htm

With the 2006 Midterm elections just weeks away, many progressives have expressed a fear possible manipulation of the vote by conservative republicans. Hundreds of scholarly articles and semi-scientific studies have been published this year alone which take a hard look at elections presidential exit polling and the technology used to record votes.

Steven Freeman, a Visiting Scholar and Affiliated Faculty in the Center for Organizational Dynamics at University of Pennsylvania, and co-author Joel Bleifuss, editor of In These Times Magazine, recently published Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?: Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count on Seven Stories Press. The book is a fascinating analysis of election polling, and the flawed Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines deployed in several states with funds provided by the 2001 Help America Vote Act. I interviewed Professor Freeman by phone and on the internet.

Larry Sakin: In the first chapter of your book, Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? President Bush seems very worried about the election outcome. If the Republicans stole the election, why would Bush be so concerned?

Steve Freeman: Good question. We included this anecdote because it happened on Election Day, involved exit polls, President Bush, was well sourced, and consistent with other evidence (e.g., we confirmed that Election Day broadcasts in the critical battleground state of Florida were in fact cancelled). Throughout the book we tried to present all relevant data whether it directly supported our main findings or seemed to contradict them.

A reader might infer that the anecdote suggests that the Bush/Cheney campaign did not steal the election or that if they did, George Bush did not know about it. On the other hand, it also indicates that the president, who is after all a highly seasoned politician, was deeply concerned about the exit polls. Most of all, the story brings us back to Election Day 2004, when it seemed clear that, of course, the exit polls and corollary indicators (high turnout, low approval ratings) were right. All knowledgeable observers understood it. Tony Blair went to bed believing that Kerry had won. Even George Bush understood it. Our source's account suggests that Bush was furious because he had been assured that he would win. He may not have understood, forgotten, or been temporarily confused he was going to win*despite* the exit polls and corollary indicators, indeed despite how people cast their ballots.

The source was equally clear that his political operative Karl Rove calmly assured him everything would be okay. And this is consistent with other reports. Despite widespread Election Day predictions that Kerry had won, the Bush/Cheney campaign team remained highly confident. According to reports from their campaign headquarters, this confidence was based on their "on-the-ground intelligence," the details of which have never been explained.
...
http://www.opednews.com/articles/not_sh_larry_sa_060929_interview_3a_professor.htm

[freedomfries]

15. CA; The Power of 1 Million New Asian American Voters

The Power of 1 Million New Asian American Voters

Asian Week
October 13, 2006

http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=94edff9d77306e82b8465f2217869a37

The New Millennium marked a “New Awakening” in American politics. In just one presidential cycle (between 2000 to 2004), the Asian American vote came of age. Our nation experienced a dramatic increase in the number of Asian American voters — nearly 1 million newly registered Asian American voters, roughly 6 percent of all newly registered voters nationwide.

California is home to 39 percent of all Asian American voters, and it is said, how California goes, could go the nation. So take heed. According to the 2005 American Community Survey, 2.5 million Asian Americans in California are eligible to vote. There were 1.1 million registered Asian Americans in California who voted in 2004’s presidential election, but 200,000+ APAs who were registered, did not vote. Even worse, California missed out its true potential: 1 to 1.2 million Asian American U.S. citizens who were eligible did not even get registered to vote.

Are there any seismic changes that could ‘change the face’ of California’s political landscape, and change the fate of California’s Electoral College votes?

You bet there is. For the first time in California’s history, an unprecedented number of Asian Americans are running for Congressional and State Offices on California’s November 7, 2006, ballot, 26 to be exact: 14 Asian American democrats (6 female; 8 male), 11 Asian American republicans (5 female; 6 male) and 1 Asian American Libertarian (male).
...
The real increase in Asian American electoral representation occurred between 1998-2004, when representation tripled from 4 to 11 seats. On November 7th, 2006, it is impossible for all 26 Asian American candidates to win, but it is possible that Asian Americans could pick up 2-4 more seats.
...
http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=94edff9d77306e82b8465f2217869a37

[freedomfries]

16. MS: New voting machines concern senior citizens

New voting machines concern senior citizens
State representatives work to train voters

Leigh Coleman
The Sun Herald, MS
October 14, 2006

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/news/special_packages/renewal/long_beach/15757570.htm

OCEAN SPRINGS - A group of senior citizens gathered this week for a public meeting to voice their concerns about the new Diebold electronic voting machines.

Voter outreach coordinators representing the Secretary of State Eric Clark's office have been meeting with elderly voters lately because of the change.

The Ocean Springs Go-Getters, a senior citizen organization, met at First Baptist Church with Jessica Graham, voter outreach coordinator, to get some special training and find out how the new voting machines would help them. After the forum, the senior citizens were able to try out the new machine for themselves.

The machines are capable of handling those who are in wheelchairs, color blind, blind, need magnifying glasses, need audio capabilities, and the security features help deter voter fraud. There will also be a printout of all the voting choices after someone casts their electronic ballots.

One of the main concerns of seniors is whether they will be able to operate the machines and make corrections while voting. "I need to know that if I make a mistake or change my mind if I can correct it or not. It is difficult to see some of those screens," said Anna Miller, a participant at the forum.
...
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/news/special_packages/renewal/long_beach/15757570.htm

[freedomfries]

17. Alternet: Republican allegations of voting fraud raudulent

Republican allegations of voting fraud... fraudulent

Evan Derkacz
Alternet.org
October 13, 2006.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/42975/

Classically, journalists are taught to seek out "both sides" in any story. It's the most basic mandate, the simplest defense against allegations of bias.

Unfortunately, political consultants have caught up to, and surpassed, the ability for j-schools and reporters themselves, to adjust for gaming the system. That is to say, manufacturing another side, in order to render any malfeasance, no matter how damning or documented the information, into a he-said/she-said situation.

That's how we got to a point after the 2004 elections where not only aren't the actual, documented problems of the election (long lines, intimidation, and other vote suppression tools, like sending misinformation to Kerry voters... to say nothing of the demonstrated insecurity of electronic voting machines) being dealt with, but a whole different set of "problems" are influencing legislation that will make it even more difficult for Americans to get to the polls.

USA Today writes: "At least 11 states have approved new rules for independent voter-registration drives or requirements that voters produce specific forms of photo ID at polling places."

These are in response to Republican allegations that Democrats are pushing "'dead' voters, non-citizen vot and felon" to register and vote. As Rachel Maddow put it, the laws "just happen to disenfranchise people who tend to vote for Democrats." Ironic to say the least.

But now a report puts the lie to Republican allegations. Much like the recent report that shows a no-win situation in Iraq, this one won't be released until after Americans need the information.
...

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/42975/

[freedomfries]

18. US Election Assistance Commission report on the Voting Fraud Project

also posted on bradblog.com
http://www.usatoday.com/news/pdf/2006-10-11-election-report.pdf

[freedomfries]

19. IL: Engineering a Democratic comeback

Engineering a Democratic comeback
The pressure is on Illinois' Emanuel to deliver a victory in midterm elections--and analysts think he can

Jill Zuckman
Chicago Tribune
October 15, 2006

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610150371oct15,1,4673702.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

PHOENIX -- With polls showing Democrats increasingly within striking distance of taking back the House of Representatives, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the point man in the Democratic effort, is traveling the country, raising money and stumping for candidates at a frenetic pace.

Two years ago, most analysts believed Democrats had virtually no chance of retaking the House. But with the botched response to Hurricane Katrina, the mounting deaths in Iraq and the congressional page scandal, among other Republican problems, the pressure is on Emanuel, as the man responsible for electing Democrats to the House, to bring home the victory on Nov. 7.

Emanuel now must make difficult decisions about how to allocate money, given that more races than expected are proving competitive. Every decision brings complaints and second-guessing.

Twenty-eight days before Election Day, Emanuel, 46, was on a western swing through Arizona, New Mexico and Washington state. Outside a downtown law firm in Phoenix, he paces back and forth along a terra cotta walkway lined with palm trees, a cell phone glued to his ear.
...
Since House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California asked Emanuel to be chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee a year and a half ago, he has raised roughly $36 million, taken 48 trips, and sent about 400 Eli's cheesecakes from Chicago as thank-you presents to candidates and donors.
...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610150371oct15,1,4673702.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[freedomfries]

20. Have a Great Day!

[Peace Patriot]

21. CA: "Absentee voters put stamp on election"

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/NEWS/61009001&SearchID=73259915038482

"Absentee voters put stamp on election" 10/9/06

By Bob Norberg

"THE PRESS DEMOCRAT - Absentee voters have become a decisive voice in Sonoma County, representing a cross-section of the electorate and almost certainly accounting for more than half of all ballots that will be cast in the Nov. 7 election.

(snip)

"On Tuesday, the county will mail 125,000 absentee ballots, representing more than half of its 233,610 registered voters, said Janice Atkinson, the assistant registrar of voters.

"If this election follows the pattern of the June primary and the November 2004 general election, the absentee ballot return rate is expected to be well over 50 percent. Of the remainder of registered voters, only about a third are expected to go to the polls.

(snip)

"In June, of the 126,567 votes cast, 70,000 were absentee ballots.

(snip)

"Absentee voters are a cross-section of the voting public now, not the conservative-leaning group it once was.

“'The traditional viewpoint has been that while absentees are a bellwether, it has been a conservative bellwether,' said state Sen. Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata. 'But in the last few elections, the absentees are similar to the spread of the eventual outcome.'

"Many absentee voters cast their ballots earlier, which changes the pace of campaigns.

(snip)

"In the June primary, Atkinson said, 18 percent of the absentee ballots were received three weeks before election day, 37 percent two weeks out and 53 percent by the last week.

(snip)

"Absentees speed up the counting process on election night because more than half the vote is in and ready to count when the polls close at 8 p.m.

“'We can begin processing and tabulating early in the day, so at 8 p.m. we can press the button to accumulate and print the results, and we can have results at 8 o’clock that are 50 percent of the votes cast,' Atkinson said. 'That first hit gives you a pretty good idea of where the election is going.'

(snip)

"The Nov. 7 election, which is full of state, local and federal offices and state and local ballot measures, will be six to seven cards long, depending on the area of Sonoma County, making it one of the county’s longest ballots. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 23."


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Note from the poster:

In typical fashion, the Press Democrat fails to report the likely REASON for the surge of Absentee Ballot voting--that people DON'T TRUST electronic voting machines run on "TRADE SECRET" PROPRIETARY PROGRAMMING CODE, OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY BUSHITE CORPORATIONS! They want a PAPER BALLOT, HAND-COUNTED, and an Absentee Ballot is the closest they can come to it.

This is a lengthy news item filled with mostly trivia. The REAL STORY is the voter REVOLT against the machines! It's also up to 50% in Los Angeles County. I've read it's also big in Contra Costa County. And I'm sure it's big all over. We've had these Bushite-controlled election theft machines shoved down our throats. People are sick of it!

The California deadline for requesting an Absentee Ballot is OCTOBER 31 (a week LATER than the deadline for registering to vote--Oct. 23).

This is going to be the biggest story of this election--the voter rebellion against the machines.

Spread the word! Bust the Machines--Vote by Absentee Ballot!

And demand that election officials hand-count the Absentee and all paper ballot votes, and post the results prior to any use of electronics!

Stop messing with our votes! No scanning the AB votes into the rigged electronic system! No word processing! HAND-COUNT the votes, and post the results before Diebold or ES&S can apply their "trade secret" code!

[freedomfries]

22. WaPo D Broder: A Gender Insurgency In Politics

A Gender Insurgency In Politics

David S. Broder
Washington Post
October 15, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301416.html
also posted at HuffPo

Men have been making policy in Washington for as long as most of us can remember. But much of the political future rests in the hands of women.

In the narrowest terms, with Democrats needing 15 seats to capture a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives, there are 17 highly competitive districts with female candidates.

More broadly, much of the voter mobilization effort in both parties -- and their allied groups -- is aimed at women, especially those who normally vote in presidential years but skip the midterm elections.

That this election could result in placing a woman, Nancy Pelosi, in line to be speaker of the House for the first time in history only emphasizes the growing role of women in setting the political course.

Dennis Simon, a Southern Methodist University political scientist who has studied female candidates for Congress, has issued his statistics describing filings for 2006.

He reported last week that women made up 16 percent of the candidates running in this year's congressional primaries, an all-time high and the ninth consecutive election cycle in which that proportion has increased.

The total of 136 women nominated for House seats this year is only one fewer than the record set in 2004. And odds are good, Simon says, that the number of women elected will be higher this year than the 67 in the last Congress.
...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301416.html