Election Reform, Fraud & News Sunday 11/05/06 Cheated! The Comic

[freedomfries]

Election Reform, Fraud & News Sunday 11/05/06 Cheated! The Comic

http://wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com/cheated/comic_cover.htm

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.
Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
:argh:


If you can:

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.

Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page.
:patriot:

[freedomfries]

1. NAT: Democrats Seek Big Gains in Final Push

Democrats Seek Big Gains in Final Push

David Espo, AP
November 4, 2006
Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/a-379755~Democrats_Seek_Big_Gains_in_Final_Push.html

WASHINGTON - Long locked out of power, Democrats appear poised to win control of the House and possibly the Senate in midterm elections this week amid a national clamor for change after four years of war in Iraq.

Democrats also are on track to replace Republican governors in several states, New York, Ohio and Massachusetts among them. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seems safely on his way to a first full term in California, the most populous state.

Six years after President Bush took office and with his poll ratings at no better than 40 percent, all 435 House seats are on the ballot, as well as 33 Senate and 36 gubernatorial races. Voters in 37 states settled the fate of ballot initiatives, deciding whether to raise the minimum wage, ban gay marriage, endorse expanded embryonic stem cell research and - in South Dakota - impose the country's most stringent abortion restrictions.

State legislative and local races by the thousands filled out the ballots in nearly every county.

The elections counted as the costliest ever, with spending expected to reach $2.6 billion, much of it paying for caustic television commercials.

Candidates everywhere worked through a final weekend of campaigning, sometimes with little or no rest. Claire McCaskill, the Democratic senatorial candidate in Missouri, was on a 30-stop tour over 24 uninterrupted hours. "It's the last person you expect to see at Waffle House at 3 a.m.," said Tim Yazawa, 24, who was grabbing a middle-of-the night bite to eat when her entourage rolled in.

http://www.examiner.com/a-379755~Democrats_Seek_Big_Gains_in_Final_Push.html

[freedomfries]

2. NAT: Demagoguery of negative ads

Demagoguery of negative ads

Tim Rutten
The Los Angeles Times
November 3, 2006
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4599893

The Viennese satirist Karl Krause once remarked that "the demagogue's secret is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he really is."
He wrote those words nearly 100 years ago, but Krause would easily recognize the old-fashioned demagogic assumption that people are most easily conned in crowds as the force behind the tsunami of negative political advertising that will wash across the U.S. until the polls close Tuesday night.
Similarly, as the guy who could be credited with creating both media criticism and the blog -- he published a magazine consisting entirely of his own work -- he'd probably be struck by the interplay between negative ads and a media increasingly divided over what political news should be.
If negative advertising disturbs you, stay away from the television this weekend.
Over the next two days, the two political parties will spend tens of millions of dollars to air more than 600 new ads and, this late in the campaign, you can bet that nearly all of them will have something bad to say about somebody.
...
On Friday, Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group told The Washington Post that this weekend's spending spree will push the two parties' combined spending on broadcast advertising in this election cycle over $2 billion, which is $400 million more than they spent on the last presidential campaign.
On top of that $2 billion-plus, you've got the so-called "527s," groups named for the provision in the tax code that allows independent political expenditures for causes of various sorts. Some of these are funded by business or professional interests; many are financed almost entirely by wealthy individuals. Nearly all of their money goes to negative advertising.
For example, according to the Federal Election Commission, this year's single biggest individual political contributor is Bob Perry, the 74-year-old Houston homebuilder, who gave the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth $4.5 million so that group could produce ads attacking Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam War record.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4599893

[freedomfries]

3. NAT: Big changes forecast, not guaranteed

Big changes forecast, not guaranteed
Shifting voter attitudes, stable national political structure collide

Craig Gilbert
Journal Sentinel
November 4, 2006
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=527157

Washington - Tuesday's midterm elections have been likened to a strong wave crashing into a well-constructed building.
The wave is the mood of voters, unfriendly to the party in power and eager for change.

The building is a modern-day political structure that seems impervious to big partisan swings - thanks to a 50/50 electorate, the advantages of incumbency and the scarcity of competitive congressional districts.

So what happens when these two forces collide?

"It's a question of how high the wave is going to be," says Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz, whose own forecasting model (based on polls, history and other factors) projects a Democratic takeover of the House but not the Senate. That's consistent with the expectations of most insiders in both parties.

Here is a look at the forces working for and against big Democratic gains in Congress next Tuesday.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=527157

[freedomfries]

4. MSNBC: Keith Olbermann: "Election process is a computerized mess!"

Keith Olbermann: "Election process is a COMPUTERIZED MESS."
Thanks for posting Garybeck!

http://www.solarbus.org/blog/
The day after the 2004 election, the corporate media reported that it was a "clean election." Except for one: Keith Olbermann. He covered the mysterious results that defied the exit polls, the long lines, the illegal recount, and the hearings, while all other TV news ignored it completely.

After Bush was sworn in, Keith moved on to other important subjects, and for a long time did not even mention the problems with our election system.

Since then, others in TV News (mainly Lou Dobbs) have started to cover these problems extensively, while Keith has been silent. I was starting to wonder if he gave up on the issue.

Then last night he broke through with an amazing synopsis of the problems with the machines. Don't bet on this being the last time he mentions it in the next few weeks. In fact he says this is "a number 3 story that could become a number 1 story next Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday."

This is a really good video to show to lots of people. In just a few minutes they give most of the shocking evidence, and it is on mainstream TV, which is what some people need in order to believe something is true.

7 minute video:
http://solarbus.org/blog

[freedomfries]

5. NAT: GoTV: Hack the Vote Videos

GoTV: Hack the Vote Videos
Thanks bradblog!
http://www.gotvnetworks.com/hackthevote/

[freedomfries]

6. FL: Early balloting a hit with Martin, St. Lucie voters

Early balloting a hit with Martin, St. Lucie voters

Rachel Simmonsen
The Palm Beach Post
Saturday, November 04, 2006
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2006/11/04/m1b_tcearly1104.html

Treasure Coast elections officials say they won't be surprised if there's a low turnout on Election Day, in part because so many voters have cast their ballots early.

But no matter how many voters show up Tuesday, officials don't expect any problems, despite some delays getting results on the night of the primary and the unusual circumstances of the 16th Congressional District race.

By Friday afternoon, 13,490 people in Martin County had voted early, surpassing the previous record of 12,243, which was set in the 2004 general election.

In St. Lucie County, 9,463 people had voted early by Friday afternoon. Though it's no match for the 2004 general election, when 15,004 people voted early, Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker expected a big turnout today, the last day for residents to vote early. Long lines were reported at voting sites Friday.

"It usually gets heavier at the end of early voting," Walker said.

She predicts a 50 percent turnout this election, including early and absentee votes, which would be a slight drop from the 2002 general election, when 53.3 percent of registered voters turned out. That was the most recent year of a governor's race.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2006/11/04/m1b_tcearly1104.html

[freedomfries]

7. MD: GOP handbook for pollwatchers on how to challenge voters

GOP poll handbook says how to challenge voters

Associated Press
The Capitol, Annapolis, MD
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/11_02-62/GOV

BALTIMORE — A handbook for Republican poll watchers in Maryland describes how to challenge the credentials of suspected fraudulent voters and urges them to tell election judges they could face jail time if they fail to act.

Democrats consider the handbook to be evidence of a Republican effort to block people from voting, but Republicans say they are just guarding against possible fraud in Maryland’s close races for governor and an open U.S. Senate seat.

The 13-page GOP handbook, obtained by The Washington Post for a story in today’s editions, states, “Your most important duty as a poll worker is to challenge people who present themselves to vote but who are not authorized to vote.”

“The tenor of the material is that they are asking folks, if not directing them, to challenge voters,” said Bruce L. Marcus, an attorney for the state Democratic Party. “It’s really tantamount to a suppression effort.”
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/11_02-62/GOV

[freedomfries]

8. MT: Republican 'secret weapon'?

Republican leaders believe their legendary ‘secret weapon' will turn the tide for Burns

Charles Johnson
The Missoulian, Montana
November 5, 2006

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/11/05/news/mtregional/news02.txt

HELENA - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns may be facing the political fight of his life, but calm GOP operatives believe they have a secret weapon that will push him over the top in Tuesday's vote.

For the first time, Republicans in Montana are putting into place the national party's vaunted 72-Hour Task Force for the final three days of the campaign, state GOP executive director Chuck Denowh said.

It may be the party's ace in the hole.

The highly sophisticated targeting, voter identification and get-out-the-vote program, or GOTV, was developed in the wake of the extremely tight 2000 presidential race. Its architects were Karl Rove, President Bush's top political strategist, and Ken Mehlman, now Republican National Committee chairman.

National party officials believe the program, which emphasizes the final three days before an election, can give Republican candidates a two or three percentage point advantage in tight races.

It's a highly intensive, volunteer-driven effort to identify Republican and potential Republican voters through techniques such as micro-targeting used by businesses and introduced into politics.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/11/05/news/mtregional/news02.txt

[freedomfries]

9. MI: The Final Push: Volunteers could make all the difference

The Final Push
Volunteers could make all the difference

Patricia Lopez and Rochelle Olson
Star Tribune, Minneapolis
November 04, 2006
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/788679.html

With little time left, and control of Congress and the state up for grabs, armies of Democratic and Republican volunteers took to the streets in Minnesota and across the nation Saturday in a final drive for votes that's more elaborate and expensive than any the parties have ever undertaken.
Taking advantage of next-generation technology, but still relying on old-fashioned shoe leather, canvassers knocked on doors and dialed phones all day and into the night.

The two parties have an extraordinary goal in the last days of the campaign: To make contact with 1.7 million Minnesota voters by the time polls close on Tuesday.

In Anoka, where a fiercely contested congressional race could help decide which party takes charge on Capitol Hill, GOP volunteer driver Geano Poos started driving and dropping off volunteers in neighborhoods around 9 a.m. in a black Lincoln Town Car that sported U.S. flag magnets on each rear door. "I want the good team to win," said Poos, wearing an American flag shirt.

In Minneapolis, volunteers from the coalition that's leading liberal efforts, America Votes Minnesota, poured into a union building Saturday morning and were greeted by energetic trainers who gave them a quick schooling in "get-out-the-vote rap."Don't be rude, don't argue," one trainer told the crowd. "Move on to the next house."
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/788679.html

[freedomfries]

10. NAT: TV Guide HBO Film Interview with Bev Harris

Inside the Shocking HBO Film That Rocks the Voting Process

Matt Webb Mitovich
TV Guide
November 2, 2006
http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={2ACA466C-E81E-4888-B8D3-F23CC3F35200}

HBO's Hacking Democracy (premiering tonight at 9 pm/ET) tells the story of Bev Harris, a grandmother and writer who started investigating the subject of electronic voting in 2002 after questioning her county's switch to electronic touch-screen voting machines. Unsatisfied with their explanation, Harris set out to learn about electronic voting systems on her own, and in doing so stumbled upon shocking revelations about the vulnerability of the software and hardware. Harris, who went on to form the watchdog group BlackBoxVoting.org, recently spoke with TVGuide.com about her illuminating, though unsettling, journey.

TVGuide.com: Have you read any of this week's news stories, about Diebold asking HBO to slap a disclaimer on the documentary?
Bev Harris: They haven’t seen the real film at all.

TVGuide.com: Apparently they are taking issue with, among other things, the hacking demonstration which shows how central tabulators can be tampered with by modifying a single memory card .
Harris: It's interesting they would bring that up because the State of California commissioned its own independent study, Diebold was ordered to cooperate with the study, and all of the scientists said, "The hack is real, and it is dangerous." And they found 16 additional vulnerabilities. You have to sort of decide who it is that has more credibility — a manufacturer that wants to sell a system, or six independent scientists commissioned by the State of California.

TVGuide.com: The machines at issue, how widespread is their current use?
Harris: The film isn’t just about Diebold — it also talks about Sequoia and other companies — but computerized voting systems will account for 80 to 90 percent of this coming election, depending on how you define it.

TVGuide.com: Is it just optical scanning and touch-screen machines that are of concern?
Harris: Computer systems are complex systems that all interact. So yes, they have optical scanning machines in every jurisdiction, because those are what count the absentee ballots. And there's the central tabulator, which is the one Dr. Herbert Thompson hacks , which compiles all the different information from the different locations. Diebold now makes an electronic poll book that replaces the sign-in sheet, and that is having a lot of problems in Maryland and Georgia. The film would be overly complex if it talked about all the different computer issues, but there are a lot of them.
http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={2ACA466C-E81E-4888-B8D3-F23CC3F35200}

[freedomfries]

11. CA: Absentee voters could outnumber those going to the polls

The cost of voting by mail
How the rapid growth of absentee voting is changing elections, and not necessarily for the better.

Steven Hill
The LA Times
November 5, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-hill5nov05,0,5672968.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

All across California, millions of voters didn't wait for election day. They didn't hear any of the last-minute appeals from the candidates. They made up their minds weeks ago and filled out their absentee ballots in the comfort of their living rooms or at kitchen counters.
Many political scientists and commentators hail the convenience of absentee voting as a milestone in democracy, with the potential to boost voter turnout. The absentee ballot allows voters to vote "at their own pace," said Mark Baldassare, director of research at the Public Policy Institute of California.

The dramatic upsurge in absentee voting began in 2002, when former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley implemented the state's "permanent absentee voting" law, which allows any voter to cast a ballot by mail. In the 2003 recall election, nearly 40% of the votes cast (3.2 million) were absentee, while in the June 2006 primary, the percentage reached 47% of the 5.2 million votes tallied.

For Tuesday's election in California, absentee voters could outnumber those going to the polls. Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, believes that this trend may climb to 60% or higher in his lifetime. (Nationwide, 30 states allow absentee or mail-in voting, and experts estimate that 20% of the voters in the midterm elections will have made their candidate choices before Tuesday.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-hill5nov05,0,5672968.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

[freedomfries]

12. NY: GOP challenges 6,000 Westchester registrations

Mid-Hudson voter rolls unchallenged

William J. Kemble
The Daily Freeman, NY
November 5, 2006
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1769&dept_id=74958&newsid=17423570&PAG=461&rfi=9

VOTER ROLLS in Ulster, Dutchess, Greene and Columbia counties are not facing the same level of scrutiny as those in Westchester County, where Republicans have challenged nearly 6,000 registrations.

Officials in the four Mid-Hudson counties said there have not been any challenges - only the monitoring of rolls in Columbia County by an attorney for U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, whose opponent, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, lives in Hudson.

"In our pre-election preparations, it's been entirely calm, routine, and with no problems or challenges of any kind," said Kenneth Dow, the Democratic elections commissioner for Columbia County. "Sweeney's attorney came in the other day. However, there have been no papers filed here for us to scrutinize or remove any voters."

Sweeney is seeking a fifth two-year term representing New York's 20th Congressional District, which includes Northern Dutchess and all of Greene and Columbia counties.

Concern over interference with voter registration rolls was voiced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, who contends the Westchester challenge is being orchestrated by the same Republican operatives who guided President Bush to victories in 2000 and 2004. Hinchey, a Democrat from Hurley, is unchallenged for an eighth term representing New York's 22nd Congressional District.

Some 5,929 Westchester County voter registrations were challenged by county resident Dennis Gallego in a complaint filed Oct. 28 by attorney John Ciampoli, who has represented Republicans in disputed elections throughout the state. The effort is similar to a challenge two years ago, when incumbent Republican state Sen. Nicholas Spano defeated Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins by 18 votes in a recount that took three months to complete.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1769&dept_id=74958&newsid=17423570&PAG=461&rfi=9

[freedomfries]

13. Bradblog: GOP Laying Grounds to Declare Fraud in Tennessee Election

GOP Laying Grounds to Declare Fraud in Tennessee Election

Drudge Gets the Ball Rolling, Everyone Else in the Corporate Media Follows Dutifully
DNC: Still a No Show
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3723
Meanwhile…As reported long ago, the GOP is planning to declare fraud after next Tuesday's election. As initially linked by DRUDGE (which should tell you almost all you need to know) earlier today, the GOP is laying the groundwork:

Several electronic voting cards, used to cast ballots, are missing from a polling place in Memphis, according to the Tennessee Republican Party.

In a letter to the Shelby County Election Commission, state GOP chairman Bob Davis Jr. charges the "lack of oversight and control" over the so-called Smartcards "has created a situation which could allow for voter fraud."

The situation is not "lack of oversight and control" of these smart cards. It's lack of oversight and control of our electoral system such that we've come to a place where there are so many access points to the system, it's virtually impossible, with this equipment, to have any kind of security that could ensure a legitimate vote.

You'll also note this unsubstantiated allegation from the AP coverage of the claims in TN:

Davis sent his letter one day after Gibbons said he asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into allegations two people each cast two ballots during early voting in Shelby County.
Looks like the GOP is in good shape in Tennesse at this point. If they lose, they can make whatever claims they like: Fraud by Electronic Voting, or Voter Fraud by those nasty double-voting Dems.

Take your pick. And where is the DNC? Asleep at the wheel, apparently, as we've been trying to point out for months.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3723

[freedomfries]

14. VelvetRevolution: $500,000 reward for election fraud information

$500,000 Election Fraud Reward
VelvetRevolution is offering a $500,000 reward for information about election fraud and manipulation in the November 7th mid-term elections. That’s half a million dollars to the persons or persons who provide us with definitive and conclusive proof that a United States House or Senate election has been rigged by illegal means. The information must result in an overturning of a congressional election and a conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fraud. We want whistleblowers to come forward and to provide us with evidence, documents, tape recordings, and admissions. Send to tipsvelvetrevolution.us. Or call our hotline at 1-888-VOTETIP. This hotline is for fraud tips only. All other reports of electionproblems should be made at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
Note: This reward was originally announced as $250,000 and has now been increased to $500,000!
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/electionstrikeforce/2006/10/reward_fund.html

[freedomfries]

15. WI: Election 2006: High turnout at polls expected

Election 2006: High turnout at polls expected

The Fond du Lac Reporter, WI
November 5, 2006
http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061105/FON0101/611050477/1985

Voters are expected to pack the polls Tuesday in Fond du Lac County.
"I would say the turnout is probably going to be a little larger than normal for the governor's election," said County Clerk Joyce Buechel, while also citing hotly contested state races and referendum questions for the higher-than-normal expectations.


The county is ready for the election, she said.
"I guess we're as prepared as we can be at this point," Buechel said.

She suggests voters bring their driver's license or other proof of residency with them even though it is not required. If there is an issue, voters will not have to go home to get the documents if they have them.
Buechel also said voters should be aware of the new poll hours.
"All the polls are now open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.," she said. "That's new this year."

Buechel has only one other reminder.
"I would also just encourage everybody to get out and vote," she said.
http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061105/FON0101/611050477/1985

[freedomfries]

16. NAT: Molly Ivins: What is this election really about?

What is this election really about?

Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
Star Telegram, Austin
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/15929332.htm

AUSTIN - I'm still worried sick. The R's have seized the news cycle! Which says more about how dim American politics is than anything I can think of.

Apparently the Michael J. Fox affair didn't have enough meat to it, and even Rep. Mark Foley is out of the game, so now we have the semi-hemi-demi-gaffe from John Kerry, who is not in fact running for anything.

If Kerry had been given as many breaks for misspeaking as George W. Bush has, he'd be a professor of grammar by now. And this all shows what the Bush regime has: attacks on Kerry, Clinton, Kennedy, Pelosi, liberals! -- but not any actual policies.

The Great Wall of Republican ads is bearing down on us -- race-baiting, scare tactics and sleaze-mongering. (Who knew so many people had signed up to "promote the homosexual agenda"? I don't even know what it is. But apparently you don't have to sign up to support -- you could be part of it and not even know!)

The R's are throwing distorting ads, funded by endless money, all over the place. Can the people see that, and ignore and punish them for it?

Aside from the Wall of Ads, we also are faced with Disenfranchisement of Democrats again. For some reason, this has come to be regarded as "one of Karl's dirty tricks" -- a clever ploy, a little hardball, rather to be admired.

I've covered East Texas politics for a long time. All over East Texas -- and elsewhere around the country -- there are elderly black Americans who don't have driver's licenses because they've never had a car, who can't read because they never got to third grade and who are scared of The Law because for 70 years or better they've been oppressed by it. So if they see a sheriff's car blocking the road to the polling place and officials checking people's papers, they head the other direction.

Voting isn't hard, and believe it or not, these elderly blacks have worked all their lives and paid into Social Security and paid taxes, and they know a lot about how government affects people.

With pundits in Washington, who just a few weeks ago were claiming that the Democrats probably would take the House by a razor-thin margin, now victoriously claiming that they all along knew it would be a wipeout, I feel that overconfidence juice starting to kick in. "Maybe 20 seats, maybe 40 seats" -- yeah. People could think: "So that's settled. I don't even really have to vote." Folks, step up and make sure there's some control on this regime.

May I remind you what this election is about? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, unprecedented presidential powers, unmatched incompetence, unparalleled corruption, unwarranted eavesdropping, Katrina, Enron, Halliburton, global warming, Dick Cheney's secret energy task force, record oil company profits, $3 gasoline, FEMA, the Supreme Court, Diebold, Florida in 2000, Ohio in 2004, Terri Schiavo, stem cell research, golden parachutes, shrunken pensions, unavailable and expensive healthcare, habeas corpus, no weapons of mass destruction, sacrificed soldiers and Iraqi civilians, wasted billions, Taliban resurgence, expiration of the assault weapons ban, North Korea, Iran, intelligent design, Swift boat hit squads, and on and on.

This election is about that, but much more -- it's about honor, dignity and comity in this country. It's about the Constitution, which gives us this great nation.

George W. Bush ran on a pledge of "restoring honor and integrity" to the White House. Instead, he brought us Reps. Tom DeLay, Roy Blunt, Katherine Harris, John Doolittle, Jerry Lewis, Richard Pombo, Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert and the likes of David Safavian, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, Karl Rove and an illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

People, it's up to you.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/15929332.htm