Election Reform, Fraud & Related News Thursday 10/19/2006

[EFerrari]

Election Reform-Fraud & Related News Thursday, Oct 19, 2006

Coalition of Latino groups sounds alarm over intimidation of voters
Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

A coalition of national Latino civic organizations raised concerns Tuesday about intimidation of Latino voters and potential obstacles to their participation in the Nov. 2 election.

"We're seeing more direct intimidation of people with Spanish surnames and individuals who are bilingual," said Ann Marie Tallman, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or MALDEF, in a telephonic press conference.

(snip)

The incidents mirror similar voting concerns raised by the NAACP in a recent report, "The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today."

(snip)

Bilingual hot line

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials has launched a toll-free bilingual hot line where people can get election information and report potential voting problems: 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota (1-888-839- 8682).

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/27/MNGLE9H2RJ1.DTL








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[EFerrari]

1. National: New Laws and Machines May Spell Voting Woes (NYTs)

New Laws and Machines May Spell Voting Woes

By IAN URBINA
Published: October 19, 2006

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — New electronic voting machines have arrived in Yolo County, Calif., but there is one hitch: the audio program for the visually impaired in some of them works only in Vietnamese.

“Talk about panic,” said Freddy Oakley, the county’s top election official. “I’ve got gray-haired ladies as poll workers standing around looking stunned.”

As dozens of states are enforcing new voter registration laws and switching to paperless electronic voting systems, officials across the country are bracing for an Election Day with long lines and heightened confusion, followed by an increase in the number of contested results.

In Maryland, Mississippi and Pennsylvania, a shortage of technicians has vendors for new machines soliciting applications for technical support workers on job Web sites like Monster.com. Ms. Oakley, who is also facing a shortage, raided the computer science department at the University of California, Davis, hiring 60 graduate students as troubleshooters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/us/politics/19voting.htm?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=login

[Kurovski]

2. The racist element in these voter purges are particularly sickening to me.

GOTV. Swamp the bastids'!!!

K&R

[EFerrari]

3. CA: AG: Voter warning linked to GOP campaign

AG: Voter warning linked to GOP campaign

SANTA ANA, Calif. - State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Orange County Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote

"We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained," said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

He declined to identify the specific Republican campaign Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation.

The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register both reported Thursday that the investigation appeared to be focused on the campaign of Tan D. Nguyen, a Republican who immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam as a child and is now challenging Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez (news, bio, voting record) for her seat in Congress. Nguyen's Web site says he opposes illegal immigration.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061019/ap_on_re_us/immigration_voting_threat

(Notice this link is called "immigration_voting_threat". :eyes: )

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4. CA: Defective absentee ballot tally rises

Defective absentee ballot tally rises
By Ed Fletcher - Bee Staff Writer

Last Updated 12:56 am PDT Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1

he number of Sacramento County residents who reported receiving incomplete or flawed absentee ballots continued to climb Tuesday, leading to internal hand-wringing and external finger-pointing.

By midafternoon Tuesday, the number of absentee voters reporting problems with their ballots reached 85 -- representing 17 voting zones.

"This is just baffling to say the least," said Jill LaVine, the county registrar. "I can't find a common thread."

Officials said the intense media coverage and subsequent phone calls from voters would help give them a better understanding of the breadth of the problems.

http://www.sacbee.com/302/story/41376.html

[EFerrari]

5. CA: Elections Workers Test eSlate Voting Machines (San Mateo Co)

Elections Workers Test eSlate Voting Machines

(BCN) SAN MATEO San Mateo County elections workers sidled up to glistening new electronic voting machines Wednesday morning as testing began in preparation for the Nov. 7 general election.

The “logic and accuracy” testing of the county’s fleet of eSlate voting devices will last at least three days, elections office spokeswoman Theresa Rabe said, as workers run through sample ballot-casting exercises to gauge whether the system accurately records and tabulates votes.

The testing is being conducted at the county elections office in San Mateo, and, in addition to political party representatives, Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum invited any interested members of the public to observe.

“We have an open-door policy at the elections office,” Slocum said. “I believe strongly that public institutions should be open and transparent and we abide by that standard.”

http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_291155802.html

[EFerrari]

6. CA: Yolo (Co) voting machines initially spoke only Vietnamese

Yolo voting machines initially spoke only Vietnamese
By Ryan Lillis - Bee Staff Writer

Published 10:16 pm PDT Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Yolo County election officials are skeptical that many vision-impaired voters will use the county's 150 electronic voting machines in next month's election.

They're even more skeptical that many of those same voters will need to hear instructions in Vietnamese.

Yet two weeks ago, when officials began programming the machines, the directions for use by voters with vision disabilities came out in Vietnamese.

The timing of the discovery - about one month before the Nov. 7 elections - lessened the shock. But the county's top elections official said the error shows just how sticky the move toward electronic voting can be.



http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/42187.html

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7. CO: Rock the vote — question the machine

Rock the vote — question the machine

Published: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 6:03 PM CDT

Some locals contemplate voter fraud; not too late to snag absentee ballots

By Matthew Beaudin

On Nov. 7, millions of Americans will hit the polls. They’ll vote for governors, for ballot measures and local representatives. They will vote on policy-shapers and tax increases, on future presidents, perhaps.

But how many of those votes will be counted — and counted properly — still weighs heavily on the mind of the American electorate, including in San Miguel County, in the hangover of the 2000 election and subsequent lawsuits.

In some states — Colorado included — legal challenges assail the idea of electronic voting machines. Lawyers in Colorado have called the machines faulty and unreliable and said they could easily be tampered with and restored in a minute’s time. Should someone capable want to, they could wipe an election off the books and rewrite its outcome, some say.

A September Denver District court case, however, determined that Colorado’s voting machines, four brands in total, would be used in this fall’s elections but that the machines must be recertified after the elections.

http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2006/10/19/news/news01.txt

[EFerrari]

8. FL: Election Voting Machines Put To The Test (Miami-Dade)

Election Voting Machines Put To The Test
Oct 18, 2006 10:33 pm US/Eastern

CBS4) DORAL The Miami-Dade Election Department, put their voting machines to the test Wednesday, to make sure every machine is prepared for Super Tuesday.

The electronic voting equipment was put through a rigorous test, called a Logic and Accuracy test, which simulates what voting machines will go through during actual elections. It’s a test plan that identifies unexpected issues before the election, according to officials.

"The best way to test our equipment is to simulate Election Day conditions, and that is what we have done with our test plan," said Supervisor of Elections Lester Sola. "It's a worthwhile effort that will help ensure fair and transparent elections."

Participants cast test votes on the iVotronic units. In addition, scripted absentee ballots were tabulated using optical scan readers. The test is intended to ensure that the tabulation correctly reflects the votes that were cast on both the electronic voting equipment and the equipment that tabulates absentee ballots. Subsequently, an audit trail will be compared against tabulation results.


http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_291112459.html

[EFerrari]

9. GA: Lawyers to drop contempt claim against Georgia over voter letters

Lawyers to drop contempt claim against Georgia over voter letters

ERRIN HAINES
Associated Press

ATLANTA - A legal team opposing Georgia's voter-photo ID law said Wednesday it will drop a contempt charge against the state after the approval of a mass mailing of more than 300,000 letters to inform voters they will not have to bring a photo ID to the polls in November.

A contempt hearing was scheduled for Friday, where lawyers planned to ask a judge to force the state to send voters a letter similar to the one approved Tuesday at a special meeting of the State Election Board.

"They have basically done everything that we were asking for in our motion for contempt," said Jennifer Auer Jordan of the Barnes Law Group, headed by former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes.

"At the end of the day, this isn't about grandstanding or trying to point fingers. It's about making sure Georgians have the correct information so that they will be able to freely vote in the November election," she said.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/15790603.htm

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10. ID: Idaho weighs ‘Vote By Mail’ system

Idaho weighs ‘Vote By Mail’ system

By Kelly Hafen

County clerks from across Idaho have given their stamp of approval to a system allowing people to vote by mail, saying the new method would lower costs and increase voter turnout.

The “Vote By Mail” proposal would parallel programs in Washington and Oregon by mailing ballots with return envelopes to all registered voters. Once residents have voted, ballots can be mailed to or dropped off at the county elections office, where signatures will be verified and votes counted. The system would be similar to absentee voting — a program which has been widely used in Franklin County, said County Clerk Elliott Larsen — and would eliminate the need to vote at designated precinct polling places.

Voters would still have the option to vote in person at a centralized voting precinct, most likely the clerk’s office, Larsen said.

At an August meeting, Idaho county clerks passed a resolution to be drafted into legislation and presented to the 2007 Idaho Legislature, Larsen said. The Vote By Mail legislation would have to be passed by both the Idaho Senate and House, and would give local governments the option of implementing the system.

http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2006/10/19/news/news03.txt

[EFerrari]

11. Il: (Cook) County board members still skeptical about voting machines

10/17/2006 10:00:00 PM
County board members still skeptical about voting machines
Election judges to receive more training for Nov.

By PHILIP TURNER, Medill News Service

Voters won't only be testing the candidates at the polls on Nov. 7-they'll also be testing the voting system itself.

Steps have been taken to reduce the confusion and chaos that delayed results of county board elections for a week last March, Cook County officials said on Oct. 4, but there isn't full confidence that this go-around will prove to be any more efficient or effective.

"I don't think the general public accepts or understands the problems we saw in the primary elections in March," Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri (R-Elmwood Park) said at a meeting of the full county board.

A stir was caused at the meeting when Deputy County Clerk Brandon Neese cited national election experts who said it can take up to four election cycles for new voting equipment to be fully effective.

http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=1899&TM=82977.02

[EFerrari]

12. IL: City promises better voting process in November (Chicago)

City promises better voting process in November

by Matt Lynch
October 18, 2006

Voting in Chicago should be easier the second time around.

After wide-ranging difficulties with a new voting system introduced in March's primary election, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners is back with an improved version in time for the Nov. 7 elections. They unveiled the system for Chicago aldermen on Tuesday during a hearing on the city's proposed 2007 budget.

The dual system, which uses both touch-screen voting as well as a more familiar scanning machine for paper ballots, was first used in the March primary elections as mandated by the Help America Vote Act. Despite an unusually low voter turnout, the new system got off to a rocky start. Problems ranged from technical difficulties to human error.

"One of the precincts where we had a problem was because our judges didn't plug the machine in," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th).

http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=7300

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13. IN: Ballot error leads to call for resignation (Hamilton Co.)

October 18, 2006

Ballot error leads to call for resignation
State lawmaker should give up election post, Hamilton County Democratic chairman says

By James A. Gillaspy

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- A Democratic leader claims the removal of his party's candidate from a Hamilton County ballot poses a threat to a fair election and a reason to replace the election administrator.

Keith Clock, Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman, called for the resignation Tuesday of Kathy Kreag Richardson, county election administrator, saying her failure to ensure a proper ballot is a disservice to candidates and voters.

Richardson, a Republican who is facing Democratic challenger Greg Marchant in her bid for an eighth term as state representative, characterized the error as an unintended problem that she quickly resolved.

"I admitted to the error," she said Tuesday. "There was nothing malicious about it. It just happened."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/LOCAL19/610180473/1006/LOCAL

[EFerrari]

14. IN: Judges question criticism of Voter ID (7th Circuit)

2:19 PM October 18, 2006

Judges question criticism of Voter ID
By Theodore Kim


CHICAGO -- A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard 30 minutes of oral arguments this morning about Indiana’s voter identification requirement, questioning how much of a burden it represented and whether it threatens to disenfranchise voters.

"Under this law, no one can be denied the right to vote," Secretary of State Todd Rokita said after the hearing, echoing a point made by the state's lawyers to the judges.
But Ken Falk, an attorney with the American Civil Liberities Union of Indiana, called the law a "severe burden."

He questioned the point of the law when, he said, evidence shows that, when voter fraud occurs, it often appears in absentee ballots, not at the polls.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/LOCAL19/610180493/1006/LOCAL

[EFerrari]

15. IN: Voting equipment test not held (Union Co.)

Voting equipment test not held
Glitch found in Union Co. software, more time needed
BY PAM THARP
CORRESPONDENT

LIBERTY, Ind. - The public test of voting equipment scheduled for Tuesday in Union County wasn't held because the memory cards that tally the votes weren't ready.

Fidlar Election Co. found a glitch in the software program that counts the votes and asked for more time to correct the problem, Union County Clerk Pat Hensley said.

A new test is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m Friday, but that doesn't mean it will happen then, Hensley said.

"If it doesn't happen Friday, it will be Monday. (Fidlar) has promised by Monday and it better happen then. Tuesday is the deadline," Hensley said.

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS01/610190313/1008

[EFerrari]

16. IA: Election services, work, costs increase (Washington Co)

Election services, work, costs increase
By: David Hotle
10/18/2006

With the addition of new touchscreen voting machines as well as the more traditional optical scan machines which use paper ballots, the cost of elections as well as the workload for county employees has increased.

Getting ready for the Nov. 7 general election, Auditor Bill Fredrick and his staff are busy testing the voting machines that will be used in the 13 precincts throughout the county. Fredrick commented that the new Federal and State-mandated machines make the polling job tougher.

"It is like running two elections simultaneously," Fredrick said. "With two styles of machines in each precinct there is twice the preparation, twice the testing and more work for the poll workers to tabulate both machines when they call in results."

Fredrick said all the bills from the machines' premiere election are not in yet and he will have a better handle on additional costs after the November election. He also commented that a new state-mandated registration system is also creating more work for county employees. While he says the new system better integrates voter registration in different counties, it creates more work for employees.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17346802&BRD=1142&PAG=461&dept_id=568956&rfi=6

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17. KY: Voting system change unlikely (Absentee voting rules)

Voting system change unlikely
By Joe Wessels
Post contributor
Publication date: 10-18-2006

Voting absentee in Kentucky isn't likely to become as easy at it is in Ohio anytime soon.

Ohioans are enjoying the benefit of their first election cycle where any or no excuse is good enough to qualify for an absentee ballot. Previously, a voter had to be working at the polls, out of the county on Election Day or incapacitated to qualify for an absentee ballot.

Now, just asking earns the privilege and many have. Thus far there have been 28,000 requests turned in to the Hamilton County Board of Elections alone. That's up from 19,000 actual absentee ballots counted in 2002, the last gubernatorial election, said John Williams, executive director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

But not in Kentucky. Easing the requirements for absentee voting - which some claim is another form of early voting - has not even been raised in the Kentucky General Assembly during the three years Secretary of State Trey Grayson has been in office, said Les Fugate, communications director for Grayson.

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/NEWS02/610180342/1014

[EFerrari]

18. LA: More voting machines needed in Grant Parrish

More voting machines needed in Grant Parrish

10/18/2006, 2:32 p.m. CT
The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Secretary of State Al Ater has asked voting machine manufacturer Sequoia to expedite delivery of 47 machines after the Grant Parish voting machine warehouse flooded.

"We are assessing the damage right now," Ater said Tuesday. "We have 12 to 16 inches of water in the warehouse in Colfax."

Heavy rains hit much of north Louisiana Monday night and early Tuesday, causing widespread flooding.

The Secretary of State's Office already had ordered 112 new computer voting machines to have as spares.

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/news-28/116120037929690.xml&storylist=louisiana#continue

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19. MD: Paper ballots persevere, even in high-tech times

Paper ballots persevere, even in high-tech times

10/18/06
By Lou Panos


If the election for governor is as close as some polls indicate, it could be days, even weeks, before the winner is determined by the count of the unusually high number of absentee ballots.

Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Democratic challenger Martin O'Malley have both urged voters to shun the problem-plagued electronic voting machines at the polls in favor of good, old-fashioned paper ballots. In most cases, this means absentee ballots, which theoretically are harder to rig. Theoretically.

Like the ever-changing schemes of offense and defense in football, the paper ballot has challenged the ingenuity of unscrupulous politicians throughout history. It played a particularly fascinating role in Maryland's 1950 Democratic primary for governor.

This year, voters seem to be responding to the calls of the major candidates and applying for absentee ballots in potentially record numbers.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=574&NewsID=755566&CategoryID=8014&show=localnews&om=1

[EFerrari]

20. MS: (SOS) Clark Seeks to Calm Voter Concerns

Clark Seeks to Calm Voter Concerns
Meridian, Miss.
Charles Daniel

Four years ago the U.S. Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which stated that by this year's elections, every county in America must have new voting machines that meet stricter federal guidelines.

Mississippi's Secretary of State Eric Clark said Wednesday he wants to calm any concerns about the new voting machines being used across the state. Clark said his office has demonstrated them over 1,000 times in different locations, helping people understand how they work.

"We are wanting folks to find out how to use the machines, to get comfortable with them," Clark said. "They are very easy to use. After people try it, people love them."

The new voting machines feature a touch screen ballot which is very user friendly.



http://www.wtok.com/news/headlines/4429676.html

[EFerrari]

21. NV: Clark County Voters Will Get Ballot Books On Time

Colleen May, Anchor
Clark County Voters Will Get Ballot Books On Time
Oct 18, 2006 07:55 PM

Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax explains, "When we go into the printing mode our printer works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for about one month to get everything printed in time."
Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax explains, "When we go into the printing mode our printer works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for about one month to get everything printed in time."

The Registrar of Voters office says Clark County residents will have their sample ballot in time for early voting, which begins Saturday, Oct. 21.

There were some concerns this year about getting the ballots printed on time because several questions were being challenged in court. And ballot books cannot be printed until the Nevada Supreme Court makes a decision.

Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax explains, "We're talking about several different types of ballots, sample ballots. There's not just one. There are several hundred different versions. Depending on where you live, you have different representatives so we have to print sample ballots. They all have to be approved. Absentee ballots. It's a time consuming process."

The high court ruled to change the language in Questions 2 and 5 and removed Question 3 in its entirety from the ballot. So now, work is underway printing hundreds of thousands of ballot books.

http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5548093&nav=menu102_1

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22. NM: 1st test for new voting system (Paper ballots)

1st test for new voting system
By Diana M. Alba Sun-News reporter
Article Launched:10/19/2006 01:00:00 AM MDT

LAS CRUCES — Problem-riddled might be the best descriptor for Doña Ana County elections the past several years.

Though county officials are optimistic about an upcoming general election because of recent changes to the election bureau, they've got their share of challenges ahead.

Joining the rest of the state, Doña Ana County for the first time will use a new paper ballot voting system, a change-up from electronic machines used in the June primary.

County officials had a short time to learn the new system. Machines used for the new system arrived from the state in late August.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_4514396

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23. NM: Some voting machines will speak Navajo this election

Some voting machines will speak Navajo this election

By Michael Amedeo
Thursday, October 19, 2006

Whether you're with the "long-ear planning group" or the "animal-that-ropes-with-his-nose planning group," this year's election will prove to be a little more aurally interesting than in the past.

For the first time, spoken Navajo translations of the ballot will be available on voting machines that allow voters to select their choices on a screen.

Sounds easy enough. But not really.

"Some words, of course, are very hard to translate into the Navajo language, like general obligation bond, constitutional amendment," said Zane James, Native American election coordinator with the Secretary of State's Office. "Citizenship was one word I was thinking about for a while. How do you fully translate that?"

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/oct/19/some-voting-machines-will-speak-navajo-election/

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24. NC: Longtime elections official resigns before Nov. 7 (Forsyth Co)

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Longtime elections official resigns before Nov. 7
Cardwell described as dignified public servant, committed to work

By James Romoser
JOURNAL REPORTER

Twenty-six years ago, Joan Cardwell became the first black woman to be appointed to the Forsyth County Board of Elections. Yesterday, she officially resigned, and was replaced by Linda Sutton, a local activist for voting-rights issues in the Democratic Party.

Cardwell left the board because of health problems. Elections officials described her as a dignified public servant who was committed to her work on the board, which oversees all elections in the county. She had been the chairwoman of the three-member board since 1993.

"Joan has always been a quiet leader," said Eric Elliott, who took over as the board's chairman yesterday. "In the politics part of elections, there's a lot of people who come and go, but as far as the people who work the elections, everyone in the county knows Joan."

Cardwell could not be reached for comment. She did not attend yesterday's elections-board meet--ing, at which Sutton was formally sworn in.

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191217693&path=!localnews!elections!&s

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25. NC: Test of new voting systems begins today (Western NC)

Test of new voting systems begins today
by Joel Burgess, [e-mail]
published October 19, 2006 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE — Voters in Western North Carolina will pick candidates in one of two ways beginning today in the region’s first general election test since sweeping reforms in counting ballots.

About half of WNC counties will go with optical scan machines — essentially paper ballots read by an electronic scanner. Those include Buncombe, which gave the machines the final OK Wednesday after a test by county Board of Elections members.

Six years after the Florida presidential election debacle, election officials, experts, civil rights groups and lawmakers worry this mid-term Election Day could be another big mess.

The 2002 federal Help American Vote Act gave money to states to buy machines and eliminated the punch cards that left chads hanging in 2000 in Florida.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661018087

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26. OH: Lots of ballots, lots of headaches

Lots of ballots, lots of headaches
BY AMY SAUNDERS | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR

Ohio’s new law allowing any voter to use an absentee ballot has created some headaches in Butler and Warren counties.

Butler County Board of Elections employees had already been working overtime to ship out thousands of requested ballots – and then the postage got messed up.

The board is notifying more than 5,200 voters that they received incorrect mailing instructions with ballots postmarked Oct. 9 and Oct. 10. Voters were instructed to use a 63-cent stamp to return their ballots. But the correct postage is 87 cents.

“It was an error on our part,” said Lori Davis, elections board administrative assistant.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/NEWS01/310180033/1056/COL02

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27. OH: Oops! Wrong postage on ballots (Butler Co)

Oops! Wrong postage on ballots
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HAMILTON – The Butler County board of elections mailed 5,250 absentee ballots that misinformed voters of the postage needed to return completed ballots for the Nov. 7 election.

The ballots, postmarked Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, included an insert that said they should be returned to the Butler County Board of Elections with a 63-cent stamp. The correct postage is 87 cents.

Some ballots were returned to absentee voters for insufficient postage. County post offices now will be instructed to send all absentee ballots to the Hamilton Post Office, said Betty McGary, deputy director of the elections board.

The board reached an agreement with the post office to pay the difference for absentee ballots with insufficient postage.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/NEWS01/310180007/1056/COL02

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28. TN: Early voting brings poll change in Knox County

Early voting brings poll change in Knox County

October 18, 2006
By AMELIA DANIELS
6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Early voting started Wednesday but there may be some snags in where to vote in Knox County. And some ballot questions may have you scratching your head.

There's a new polling place in Knoxville. It's at East Town Crossing on Center Line Drive, near Home Depot. It replaces the location in the county government offices at the Knoxville Center Mall.

Mall management asked for the polling location to be removed in July, claiming campaign workers were soliciting shoppers.

Voters who spoke with 6 News at the new location Wednesday had mixed reactions to the change.

"It's fine. I like it, just walk in off the streets and there is nothing to it. I think it's a nice location," James Fox says.

But other voters disagree. Some say it takes longer to vote at the East Town Crossing location than it did at the mall. "The new location's computer system is on dial up modem and the old location was on a T1 line and it was much faster," Bill Roop says.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=5557168

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29. UT: Counties to compare 1 percent of electronic ballots with paper

Counties to compare 1 percent of electronic ballots with paper
Election security

By Glen Warchol
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:10/19/2006 07:10:31 AM MDT

Utah counties will do a hand recount of 1 percent of their electronic ballots, comparing them to paper backups, to ensure the accuracy of new touch-screen voting machines under a policy released Wednesday by the Lieutenant Governor's Office.

The policy, which covers election security, tape handling, audits and recounts, sets out procedures for checking the accuracy of the machines. Election experts see such policies as crucial to ensuring public confidence in the new voting technology required by the federal government.

State election officials require the 1 percent audit after every statewide or multi-county election. The policy also provides for recounts in close races.

Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, who oversees the largest electorate in the state, is satisfied with the policy.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4514664

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30. Rob Kall: OH Lawsuit to Reinstate 100s of 1000s Purged

October 18, 2006 at 21:57:37

Ohio Lawsuit to Reinstate hundreds of thousands of Purged Democratic Voters to be Filed Fri or Monday

by Rob Kall

Ohio voting rights activist and attorney, Bob Fitrakis, says the Ohio elections may have already been won, responding to reports of massive voter purges in Democratic precincts.

Dr. Fitrakis, told OpEdNews, "Essentially, by purging these rolls, the Republicans, by shrinking the electorate, have already won in Ohio. If they can't win, which is what the polls show among registered voters, the way to win is to use their nuclear option-- to target black voters, young voters and the working poor-- by purging them so they can't vote.

Reports indicate that starting as early as shortly after the 2004 presidential elections, but particularly recently, hundreds of thousands of voters-- mostly urban apartment dwellers (likely black) and students-- who are primarily Democratic-- were sent notifications that they would be purged from the eligible voter lists if they did not respond the letter. But, reportedly, the letter was designed to be easily overlooked, perhaps treated as junk mail. Failure to send in a response caused the voter to be removed from the voting roll.

Fitrakis observes, "They aren't challenging voter eligibility in Republican areas. This is coming from the republican party. They're not targeting their own base.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_rob_kall_061018_ohio_lawsuit_to_rein.htm

Go, Bob!
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[EFerrari]

31. Rady Ananda: SWARM: See What Activism Really Means

October 19, 2006 at 06:46:45

That explosive, exhilarating, all-consuming surrender to being in love can be experienced within the full range of human capability.

When I've worked long and hard on a project; slept, dreamt and wept over it, finding those perfect final touches, I feel that explosive, exhilarating, all-consuming surrender to excellence.

Maybe I just enjoy experiencing exhilarating, all-consuming surrender. Some portion of the human population always does.

Sometimes, it matters nothing that the social cause I champion will lose, is losing, has been lost for decades.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rady_ana_061017_swarm_3a_see_what_acti.htm

[EFerrari]

32. Stephen Crockett: A Philosophy of Voter Suppression

October 18, 2006 at 13:04:13

A Philosophy of Voter Suppression

by Stephen Crockett

A Philosophy of Voter Suppression

The most alarming thing I learned about American politics in the past decade is that one powerful group of political leaders is dedicated to keeping American citizens from voting. This group is the leadership of the modern Republican Party. This fact is carefully hidden from the average republican voter who clearly does not support this approach to politics.

My first real clue about the opposition to a real, working democratic process by the powerbrokers of the Republican Party occurred during the 2000 Presidential Election Florida Recount effort. The national Republican Spin Machine went into overdrive to prevent an honest count of the ballots. Eventually, the Republicans had to use their overwhelming majority on the US Supreme Court to stop a statewide manual recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court. Ironically, the Bush campaign had for weeks been demanding a statewide recount instead of the few counties requested by the Gore campaign.

Long after the election, a consortium of major US newspapers did a recount and discovered that Al Gore did win the vote although he lost the vote count. This assault on American Democracy has resulted in policies that made the wealthiest of the wealthy much wealthier, curbed civil liberties for all Americans, created huge government budget deficits, cut government services for most middle-class or poor Americans, gave us a disastrous war in Iraq and put a culture of corruption in charge of our federal government. American Democracy and all citizens lost in Florida when Gore unjustly lost the vote count.

The great investigative journalist Greg Palast discovered that then Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris had used her office to deny voting rights to tens of thousands of voters by unjustly accusing them of being former felons in the months before the 2000 General Election. She should have been placed on public trial for her actions. However because of her position as co-Chair of the Bush campaign in Florida while acting as chief election official in the state, she was rewarded with a safe seat in Congress.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__061018_a_philosophy_of_vote.htm

[EFerrari]

33. BlueLatinos.org: Why should Latinos vote for Democrats?

Submitted by JQ on Fri, 2006-10-13 12:20.

There are many reasons why Latino voters should vote for Democrats. Here, I want to elaborate on just one: to restore the balance of power in Washington, D.C.

For the past 4 years, we have witness the truism, “absolute power, absolutely corrupts” in full display in Washington. Since Republicans took control of all branches government, they consequently undermined the most basic tenant of our form of government – the balance of power. Granted, the founding fathers conceived of the balance in terms of institutions; the Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary bodies balancing each other out. But what has happened since the Republican take over is that Congress morphed into a rubber stamp, do-nothing Congress; the Executive turned a blind eye to spending bills loaded with pork, as it ran with a blank check for its warring adventures; and the Judiciary is steadily advancing a conservative agenda of unraveling civil protections. And they are all doing this unchecked because they are all controlled by the same political party.

Absolute power starts its corrupting influence when leaders become obsess with keeping power rather than doing their job. Case in point:Speaker Hastert lied about what and when he knew of Rep. Mark Foley's inappropriate behavior towards underage pages. Clearly, Hastert saw the train wreck coming and chose to blame his staff in fear of losing his own precious position.

As Latinos, we’ve seen this monopoly of power before. Mexicans, for example, lived under a one-party rule for over 70 years; the PRI ruled everything at every level of society, corrupting democratic institutions and arresting the development of civil society.

http://www.bluelatinos.org/node/479

[kpete]

34. Wow!!!

Great job

K&R

[EFerrari]

35. (I think we better start eating our Wheaties because here comes

the Titanic :)

[rumpel]

36. "GOP Urges Calif. Candidate to Exit Race"-NYT on Nguyen vote suppression

thanks to
greeneyedboy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x241269

[Wilms]

37. .