Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sat. Nov. 25, 2006

[livvy]

The time has come.

Welcome aboard!

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.



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

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

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

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

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

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



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

[livvy]

1. Voting Machines Test Starts Tues:Jennings' Attorneys Want State's Focus on Undervote Areas

Posted on Sat, Nov. 25, 2006

Voting machines test starts Tuesday: Jennings' attorneys want state's focus on undervote areas

STACEY EIDSON
Herald Staff Writer

Voting machines test starts Tuesday: Jennings' attorneys want state's focus on undervote areas

SARASOTA - The Florida Department of State will begin testing Sarasota County's touch-screen voting machines Tuesday morning to determine if the system failed to record votes in the 13th Congressional District race between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings.

Even though Secretary of State Sue Cobb has already established an audit plan for next week, Jennings' attorneys want the state to focus on the machines that generated the highest number of undervotes in the race and not waste time testing machines never used on Election Day.

Cobb announced earlier this week the state will begin testing at least four "back-up" voting machines that were prepared for the general election, but never deployed. The initial testing, which will be videotaped and documented by the state, is expected to start at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and will continue until 7:30 p.m.

Beginning on Friday morning, the state auditing team also plans to test at least four voting machines that were used during the election, but Cobb did not identify how those machines will be selected for testing. The entire auditing process could take approximately three weeks.

>more

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16093699.htm

[livvy]

2. FL: voting "Model" Under Scrutiny

Posted on Sat, Nov. 25, 2006
SARASOTA
Voting 'model' under scrutiny
Florida's highly touted electronic voting machines have thrust the state back into the national spotlight over vote-counting after a close congressional race.
BY PHIL DAVIS
Associated Press

SARASOTA - Katherine Harris is staying out of the bitter fight over the election results in the race to fill her congressional seat.

But the contested race is likely to further cement her political legacy with election controversy. The same touch-screen voting machines Harris championed in 2001 as an end to Florida's embarrassing election problems are now under national scrutiny after recording an unusually high number of voters as skipping the race to replace her in Congress.

The meltdown in Florida's 13th Congressional District is in many ways a microcosm of the 2000 Florida election fiasco that put George W. Bush into the White House.

A tight race. A confusing ballot. Allegations of massive voter disenfranchisement.

''These guys in Florida -- embarrassingly -- just keep getting it wrong,'' said Ted Selker, co-director of the CalTech/MIT Voting Technology Project.

>more

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/elections/16093133.htm

[livvy]

3. FL:County to Weigh Purchase of Voting Machines

11/25/06

County to weigh purchase of voting machines

As part of next Tuesday's agenda, Sarasota County commissioners will discuss a previously authorized $4.5 million purchase of new voting machines -- a delicate issue, in light of the Nov. 7 approval of paper ballots and recent questions raised about the accuracy of the machines.

According to a memorandum to the commissioners from County Administrator Jim Ley, the purchase was approved back in 2001. Earlier this month, however, county voters adopted an amendment mandating a paper trail and spot audits of election results.

"Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent has estimated the cost of returning to a paper ballot system would be about $3.6 million and the ballots would cost $175,000 for each election," Ley's memo said.

Public confidence in touch-screen voting machines has plummeted since the recent elections, mainly due to more than 18,000 undervotes -- no vote for either candidate -- which were discovered in the totals for the District 13 congressional race between Democrat Christine Jennings and Republican Vern Buchanan.

>more

http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/112506/ew2.htm?date=112506&story=ew2.htm

[livvy]

4. OH:Republicans, Democrats Pleased With Ballot count

Republicans, Democrats pleased with ballot count
Saturday, November 25, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Democrats and Republicans watching over a count of ballots held over from Election Day because of voter identification problems said they have found no reason to challenge the tally so far.

Election workers have spent the week reviewing about 38,500 absentee and provisional ballots. About 500 have been rejected because they were cast by ineligible voters, said Franklin County Elections Director Matt Damschroder.

The official, final tally is expected to be announced Monday, along with the winner of the 15th Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, a member of the House Republican leadership, has a lead of 3,717 votes over Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy in ballots counted so far.

About 19,500 absentee and provisional ballots from Franklin County are being counted in that race.

A conflict over voter ID arose on Election Day when poll workers did not allow some voters with proper ID to cast regular ballots, instead forcing them to cast provisional ballots.

>more

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=321310&Category=13&subCategoryID=

[livvy]

5. OH:Democrat Questions Party's Lack of Support in Close House Race

Democrat questions party's lack of support in close House race
Saturday, November 25, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) - With her chances of winning on provisional ballots gone, a Cincinnati-area Democrat is wondering why her party's national leaders didn't help her against a vulnerable Republican who almost lost a year ago.

"I am regretful," said Victoria Wulsin, who refuses to concede a narrow loss to Rep. Jean Schmidt in the 2nd District in southwest Ohio until all the ballots are counted.

The Republican clinched victory Tuesday, two weeks after the election, when additional provisional and absentee ballots gave her a lead of 3,107 votes. Schmidt had 51 percent of the overall vote compared with 49 percent for Wulsin, according to unofficial results.

An epidemiologist with public health leadership but no elected experience, Wulsin surprised many by coming as close as she did despite little backing from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the national Democrats' House campaign organization.

"I fell through some DCCC cracks," she said.

>more

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=13&ID=321311&r=0&subCategoryID=

[livvy]

6. IN:Dems File For Recount In County Council Race

Dems file for recount in county council race
Timeline unclear; state representative recount takes precedence
BY BARRY WILLIAM WALSH
[e-mail]

A recount to decide who is the winner of the Grant County Council District 2 race likely will have to wait until the Indiana state representative District 31 race is decided, Grant County Democratic Party Chairman Kem Linn said.

Wednesday, Linn filed the petition for a recount in the District 2 race between Democrat Dan Brock and incumbent Republican Myron Brankle on behalf of Brock and the Democrat Party in Grant Superior Court 3, after Brock missed the noon Tuesday deadline to file a recount for himself.

Brankle defeated Brock by one vote, 2,152 to 2,151.

Linn said he believed the recount would have to wait until the winner of the District 31 representative race between Republican incumbent Tim Harris and Democrat challenger Larry Hile was determined. This week, Hile filed a petition for a recount alleging, among other items, that two Grant County precincts were added erroneously to his district.

>more

http://www.chronicle-tribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061125/NEWS01/611250332/1002

[livvy]

7. Editorial: Lines of confusion

Published: Nov 25, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: Nov 25, 2006 03:10 AM

Lines of confusion
To gain political advantage, legislators often split precincts between different voting districts -- an abusive practice

Political mischief has many offspring, and the tortured counting of votes in state House Speaker Jim Black's 100th District is a sad specimen. Black's legal difficulties, rising from questionable campaign donations and passage of the lottery in 2005, put him in a tight race with Republican Hal Jordan. But a razor-close election (after a recount, Black was ahead by 30 votes, at 5,340, to 5,310 for Jordan) likely would have been settled earlier had it not been that one neighborhood in the Mecklenburg County legislative district was split by precinct.

Some voters were in the 100th House District, while neighbors within hailing distance were in the 104th. More than 400 who were placed in the 100th mistakenly were given the wrong ballot when they showed up at the polls. Now the state Board of Elections must decide next week whether to name a winner, call a new election or ask some voters to cast new ballots.

At the root of the confusion lies gerrymandering by the General Assembly. When redrawing state and federal legislative districts following the 2000 U.S. Census, lawmakers used the power of computers to carve districts in exquisite detail, picking out this cluster of Democratic voters and that handful of Republicans to favor a powerful pol or preserve districts for incumbents.

It's bad enough when districts writhe across vast areas. North Carolina has had some prime examples, some of them still on the books. The worst modern case, approved in 1992, probably was the 12th Congressional District, a 160-mile-long monstrosity that in some spots was no wider than the Interstate 85 corridor.

>more

http://www.newsobserver.com/579/story/514265.html

[livvy]

8. Editorial: Democracy's Failure

November 25, 2006

Democracy's failure

When an election denies one voter his say

The worst thing to happen from the disputes in Florida over hanging chads, recount petitions, touch-screen voting discrepancies, memory card failures and the like is the public lethargy that dismisses appeals for election reform as little more than sour grapes from the losing side.

But when an election, any election, disenfranchises one voter, democracy fails that voter, and where balloting is close, as occurs frequently in Florida, an inaccurate outcome fails us all.

After the 2000 presidential election debacle, Congress outlawed punch-card voting and mandated electronic balloting for reliability and more uniformity. The law, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, though well intentioned, unfortunately stopped short of requiring paper trails that could accurately verify votes when electronic systems fail, as many have since, or when tampering with vote outcomes is suspected. Independent computer experts have demonstrated convincingly that the electronic systems are susceptible to hacking or can be programmed through the manufacturer's proprietary source code to alter election outcomes without detection. Voters today have good reason to question whether voting results are any more accurate than before the 2002 voting act. Yet attempts to strengthen the law were rebuffed by congressional leaders this year. Renewed efforts should be given high priority by the new Congress in January.

In addition to mandating paper trails for all electronic voting systems, other changes are needed to ensure every citizen fair access to a ballot, and confidence that once that ballot is cast it will be counted accurately. Congress should require voting machine manufacturers to make their source code, which runs the central tabulating computer of each system, available for public inspection beyond a state certification process. In this case, the interests of private shareholders should be secondary to a free society's need for transparency in its elections.

>more

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN52112506.htm

[livvy]

9. RI: Three Local Election Recounts Scheduled Next Week

Three local election recounts scheduled next week

By Meaghan Wims/Daily News staff


The recounts of three local elections will be held Wednesday at state Board of Elections headquarters in Providence. The effort likely will last all day.

The ballot recounts will decide the following races:

? House of Representatives District 72: Republican candidate John Robitaille requested a recount after the tally showed him losing by 13 votes to Democratic incumbent Amy G. Rice, for the seat representing parts of Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport.

? Tiverton Town Council: Councilman Arthur "Buz" Wyman asked for a recount after finishing eighth in a race for seven seats, just six votes behind Councilman Paul Carroll.

? Portsmouth Town Council: Democratic newcomer Mark J. Katzman requested a recount after finishing 23 votes behind Republican incumbent Peter J. McIntyre for the seventh and final seat.

>more
http://www.newportdailynews.com/articles/2006/11/25/news/news6.txt

[livvy]

10. Opinion: Here's a System That Works

Posted on Sat, Nov. 25, 2006
VOTING
Here's a system that works
BY BILL BRADBURY
www.sos.state.or.us

SALEM, Ore. -- This month, as controversies emerged in other parts of the country over polling place problems and malfunctioning touch-screen machines, we here in Oregon prepared to swear in a new crop of elected officials with nary a question about the legitimacy of the count or the functioning of our electoral process. We accomplished this with a turnout on Nov. 7 that was, once again, among the highest in the nation. How? With Vote by Mail.

All signatures verified

One episode that highlights its success is in Tillamook County, where 13 inches of rain on Election Day sent many citizens scrambling to the safety of shelters under a declared state of emergency. Despite the fact that many roads were impassable and parts of the county were inaccessible -- conditions that would have crippled turnout in a state that relied on conventional polling places -- 70 percent of the voters cast ballots. Only voting by mail could have led to this outcome.

Voting by mail was launched statewide through a people's initiative in 1998, which passed by a 70 to 30 percent margin. Every registered voter receives a paper ballot in the weeks before Election Day. The ballot can be either mailed back or dropped off at one of a number of secure sites statewide.

The system has proven to be fraud-free. Oregon is one of only two states in the nation to verify every single voter signature against the signature on that voter's registration card. Our process is transparent and open to observation. Finally, the returned paper ballots, which are the official record of the election, can be recounted by hand.

>more

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16093784.htm

[livvy]

11. The Nation-Blog:Political "News" Replaced By Political Ads

BLOG | Posted 11/24/2006 @ 2:35pm
Political "News" Replaced By Political Ads

When Franklin Roosevelt and the first New Deal Congress faced the question of how best to organize broadcasting on the public airwaves, they enacted the federal Communications Act of 1934. That law brought into the modern age the principle that had underpinned the "freedom of the press" protection in the first amendment to the Constitution: that a competitive and responsible media was essential to the healthy functioning of a democracy.

Though the airwaves belonged to the people, private owners would be allowed to broadcast on particular frequencies. Ownership would be diverse, competition would be encouraged and all who used the people's airwaves would be required to do so in the public interest.

Over the ensuing decades, the radio and television airwaves have been colonized by ever more powerful corporate interests. Media conglomerates have used their economic power – a power obtained through their exploitation of the people's airwaves – to hire lobbyists and secure ever more favorable federal rules and regulations. Slowly, the civic and democratic values that were intended to guide broadcasting have been replaced by commercial and entertainment values.

The duty to inform the public about the political processes of the Republic, which once was considered the essential responsibility of the recipient of a broadcast license, has been abandoned. The amount of news coverage of state and local elections is in decline, while television stations cede the political discussion to paid advertising.

>more

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=143011

[livvy]

12. The Nation Editorial: The Odd Attack On Dean

editorial | posted November 22, 2006 (December 11, 2006 issue)
The Odd Attack on Dean

Amid Democratic postelection celebrating, there was a bizarre outburst: a malicious attack launched by James Carville against Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee, demanding his ouster. Carville's freakish initiative was bogus in every way. He has the same influence in party affairs as any other talking head on CNN--that is, none. In a year when the Democrats achieved their first real Congressional victory since 1992, Carville accused Dean of losing seats by not devoting more money to close House races.

The Ragin' Cajun was promptly stuffed. Don Fowler, former state party chair of South Carolina, observed: "Asking Dean to step down now, after last week, is equivalent to asking Eisenhower to resign after the Normandy invasion." Senator Harry Reid, the new majority leader, rallied to Dean too. "I didn't support his running for the chair of the DNC," Reid said. "I was wrong. He was right: I support his grassroots Democratic Party-building."

Carville's reckless foray, joined by pollster Stanley Greenberg, is worthy of comment only because the two are picking a fight that reflects the deep, potentially explosive fault-line in the party: the battle for control between old and new. Carville speaks for yesterday's failed politics--the Clinton years. Dean represents a more promising future with his aggressive efforts to rebuild a fifty-state party that grows from the grassroots up.

On the day after the election, Clintonistas-in-Waiting awoke to realize their wing of the party is not represented at the top of the party. For them, it seems, restoration of a Clinton White House--getting Senator Hillary Clinton nominated in 2008--needs inside influence. Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite their cultural differences, are both labor liberals. So why not take a shot at Dean and see what happens? Senator Clinton issued a limp disavowal, but if her side wants to start a fight, she can't have it both ways.

>more

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061211/editors

[livvy]

13. Election 2006 Aftermath – Media Attacks the Not Yet Seated Democratic Congress

November 24, 2006

Election 2006 Aftermath – Media Attacks the Not Yet Seated Democratic Congress

By Steven Leser

An interesting pattern is emerging regarding the attitude of the Press toward the incoming Democratic majority in Congress. From the St. Petersburg Times who today wrote an article titled "Power outage on energy policy" which criticized what it calls Democrats' first 'action on the energy front', to a recent article in the New York Times, "Democrats Split on How Far to Go With Ethics Law" which criticizes the mere debate in Democratic circles about what steps to take to force a higher congressional ethical standard, the press is putting immense pressure on Democrats over a month before the new legislative session begins and the people who were just elected even take office.

Perhaps the phrase "putting immense pressure on" is a little too nice. The media seems to be taking over where Republican Party campaigning left off. Where the media isn't attacking the incoming congress, they are promoting the idea that there is disunity among the Democratic Caucus or that Democrats may ignore the voters wishes as stated by exit polling on November 7th. Consider the following articles (you can find more of your own if you go to Google News and simply enter the search term "Democrats", yes; finding negative articles on Democrats these days is THAT easy)

- Democrats' plan to negotiate drug prices is misguided: Fort Wayne News Sentinel

- Democrats clash on immigration policy: Boston Globe

- LOCAL COMMENT: Don't buy the myth that Democrats are not party of rich – The Detroit Free Press

>more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_steven_l_061124_election_2006_afterm.htm

[livvy]

14. Op-Ed: "Americans Can't Handle Another Impeachment" Is Republican Propaganda. Don't Be Deceived.

November 25, 2006

"Americans Can't Handle Another Impeachment" Is Republican Propaganda. Don't Be Deceived.

By Linda Milazzo

"Americans can't handle another impeachment." So say the supporters of George W. Bush in their anti-impeachment propaganda.

The truth is Americans CAN handle another impeachment. They CAN handle the truth. In fact, if Americans don't bring Bush and Cheney to justice after the atrocities they've committed, this nation will never reclaim its moral authority. And the people of this nation will be despised for unleashing these dangerous men on the world.

"Americans can't handle another impeachment" isn't a truth. It's a device. Like 'weapons of mass destruction.' 'A mushroom cloud.' 'Gassed his own people.' 'Sought significant quantities of uranium from A-f-r-i-c-a.' These are the sound bytes, the parroted propaganda, which brought us to war. Each is a proven lie, told time and again by well-rehearsed pundits. Verbatim delivery. Robotic form. Repeated ad nauseam by grown-up children of the damned. It sounded good for Nicholson in "A Few Good Men," but rings pretty hollow here. Americans CAN handle and probe for the truth.

As soon as the midterm elections were settled and Democrats took back control, the Republican parrots flew onto the scene. The first to land was smooth talking Connecticut Congressman Christopher Shays, who perched on cspan the morning of November 9th. Within minutes Shays proclaimed the pitfalls of impeachment, responding to an oped by former Republican House Majority Leader, Dick Armey. In his article, Armey advised Republicans to "demonstrate an ability to be good stewards of the taxpayers' hard-earned money. If Republicans do these things, they will also restore the public's faith in our standards of personal conduct."

>more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_linda_mi_061125__22americans_can_t_han.htm

[livvy]

15. More Questions Arise About Competence and Impartiality of Sarasota Voting Machine Auditors

November 24, 2006 at 06:19:03

More Questions Arise About Competence and Impartiality of Sarasota Voting Machine Auditors

by Press Release
http://www.opednews.com

Tell A Friend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Nick Berning or Josh Glasstetter

November 22, 2006 at 202-467-4999 /
[e-mail]

More Questions Arise About Competence and Impartiality of Sarasota Voting Machine Auditors

One member of the auditing team, Bureau of Voting Systems Certification
chief David Drury, previously authorized the illegal distribution of
uncertified voting machines in Florida

SARASOTA COUNTY-Doubts are arising about a second member of the team
assembled to audit the voting machines implicated in Sarasota County's
massive 13th Congressional District election undervote.

Audit team member David Drury is in charge of voting machine certification for the state and has a vested interest in finding that the machines he certified functioned properly. Additionally, according to a complaint filed by the Florida Fair Elections Coalition, questions about Drury's competence have been raised by his decision earlier this year to authorize
the illegal distribution of uncertified voting machines.

Drury is the second person whose participation in the audit raises concerns about conflict of interest. Last week, PFAW Foundation criticized the selection of Alec Yasinsac-a political partisan and avowed opponent of voting machine paper trails-to help lead the state's audit.

"What we've learned about the members of this audit team is deeply troubling," said PFAW Foundation Legal Director Elliot Mincberg. "Floridians deserve an impartial audit that will get to the bottom of this
mess. Instead, they're getting a biased and potentially incompetent
investigation. We agree with the editorial board of the Palm Beach Post that more credibility is needed in this audit so we can all find out what went wrong with these machines."

>more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_press_re_061124_more_questions_arise.htm

[livvy]

16. Wow, Do We Have a Lot to Be Thankful for This Year. Now , About 2007....

Land Shark posted his thoughts on idealism in a wonderful post in GD on Thursday.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2791861
Here's some ideals to guide us. We may not achieve all of them, but even if we only achieve a few, it would be a start. Personally, the idealist in me, thinks we can do more than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. Look what we have done already.

“Idealists...foolish enough to throw caution to the winds...have advanced mankind and have enriched the world.”
Emma Goldman

Caution be damned. Let's just do it.



November 23, 2006 at 09:53:36

Wow, Do We Have a Lot to Be Thankful for This Year. Now , About 2007....

by Rob Kall

http://www.opednews.com


Tell A Friend

We could have faced a dark thanksgiving where the elections were totally stolen instead of just partially stolen.

WE could have faced a dark thanksgiving where right wing extremists had consolidated their power, probably permanently, taking the US inevitably down the path to fascism.

We could have faced a dark thanksgiving where corporatists had finally broken the will of the American voter.

But instead, we now face a hopeful future, not a sure one, not one that we can be certain is rosy for the USA and its great masses of regular people.

>please read more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_061123_wow_2c_do_we_have_a_lo.htm

[livvy]

17. OK, you scurvy dogs! Now that I've got you aboard.....

pick your passion, and get to work!



Here's just a few places to get started.

Clean Elections:

http://www.publicampaign.org/

http://www.azcleanelections.gov/ccecweb/ccecays/home.asp

http://www.just6dollars.org/

http://www.newrules.org/gov/clean.html

Minimum Wage

http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage

http://www.livingwagecampaign.org/

Universal Health Care

http://www.uhcan.org/

http://www.amsa.org/uhc/

http://cthealth.server101.com/the_case_for_universal_health_care_in_the_united_states.htm

Global Economy

http://www.ips-dc.org/

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/

Energy Independence and Clean Energy

http://www.cleanenergy.org/

http://www.apolloalliance.org/

http://www.energyindependencenow.org/

http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/

http://www.ei2025.org/

Media Reform

http://www.corporations.org/media/ (many other links at this site)

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media_Reform/Media_Reform.html