Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sat. Dec. 2, 2006

[livvy]

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. Feinstein: Report Highlights Need for New Legislation to Reform Electronic Voting

Feinstein: Report Highlights Need for New Legislation to Reform Electronic Voting
Author: Feinstein office
Published on Dec 1, 2006, 09:06

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), scheduled to become the new Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee for the 110th Congress, today issued the following statement regarding electronic voting reform:

"A draft report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology made public today reaffirms my belief that there are serious questions about the security and reliability of paperless electronic voting machines. It further demonstrates the importance of moving forward with new legislation to require that there be an independent paper record of every ballot.

I plan to introduce that legislation at the beginning of the new Congress and hold hearings soon after, with the intent of moving the bill to the Senate floor as soon as possible. As we've seen in Sarasota, Florida, where officials have been unable to account for about 18,000 undervotes in the Congressional election, it is crucial that there be an independent record that can be reviewed by election officials.

One-third of voters cast their ballots in the midterm election using new electronic voting machines, and problems arose, not only in Florida, but in various jurisdictions across the country. We must do everything we can to restore confidence in the outcomes of elections by helping to ensure that every vote cast by an American citizen is recorded accurately and that every eligible voter can, in fact, cast a ballot."

>more

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_46726.shtml

[livvy]

2. WaPo: Security Of Electronic Voting Is Condemned

Correction to This Article
A graphic with a Dec. 1 article about electronic voting incorrectly identified a number of states as using electronic voting systems that do not provide a paper record of each vote. The following states, along with the District, use such systems in at least some jurisdictions, sometimes in conjunction with optical-scan systems that provide a paper record: Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Jersey (which will switch to a paper-trail system by 2008), Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.

Security Of Electronic Voting Is Condemned
Paper Systems Should Be Included, Agency Says

By Cameron W. Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 1, 2006; A01

Paperless electronic voting machines used throughout the Washington region and much of the country "cannot be made secure," according to draft recommendations issued this week by a federal agency that advises the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

The assessment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, one of the government's premier research centers, is the most sweeping condemnation of such voting systems by a federal agency.

In a report hailed by critics of electronic voting, NIST said that voting systems should allow election officials to recount ballots independently from a voting machine's software. The recommendations endorse "optical-scan" systems in which voters mark paper ballots that are read by a computer and electronic systems that print a paper summary of each ballot, which voters review and elections officials save for recounts.

Voters in Maryland cast ballots on electronic machines that produce no paper record of each vote; in the District and Loudoun County, voters can choose between using such machines and optical-scan systems. Other Northern Virginia jurisdictions, and many counties across the state, use electronic voting systems exclusively.

>more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/30/AR2006113001637.html

[livvy]

3. How Many Votes Were Stolen or Suppressed In 2006?

How Many Votes Were Stolen
Or Suppressed In 2006?

By Bruce Dixon

02 December, 2006
Black Agenda Report


“...roughly 3 million Democratic votes in November 2006 appear to have been cast but not counted, or shifted to the Republican column”

You'd barely know it from inside the opaque bubble that is corporate mainstream news, but millions of Americans, going into this November's election, feared that their votes, if they were allowed to cast them at all, might not be counted. The few media mentions of this widespread fear that Republican operatives might somehow hijack the midterm elections vanished utterly in the wake of substantial Democratic victories nationwide.

But a closer look at this November's elections indicates that if they weren't stolen it wasn't because nobody tried.

On election night 2006, attorney Jonathan Simon of Election Defense Alliance monitored the unadjusted National Election Pool data as it came online at CNN. Exit poll data has long been the standard worldwide for ascertaining the integrity of vote counts. But just as in 2004, this November's unadjusted exit poll data showed results very different from both the announced election returns and the “adjusted” poll data released the following day. The unadjusted polling indicates that Democrats nationwide may have won the election not by 7%, but by a whopping 11%. Thus roughly 3 million Democratic votes in November 2006 appear to have been cast but not counted, or shifted to the Republican column.

It wasn't that Republicans didn't try to steal the election, according to Simon. They just didn't steal enough to make up for the groundswell of opposition in the final weeks.

Rob Kall's thorough and remarkably overlooked OpEd News story dated November 17 tells us this:

>more
http://www.countercurrents.org/us-dixon021206.htm

[stellanoir]

4. 1st rec

Great toon livvy.

[livvy]

6. Thanks! n/t

[livvy]

5. FL: Voting-Machine Findings Won't End Battle

Voting-machine findings won't end battle

Jim Stratton | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 2, 2006

A new round of tests on Sarasota's embattled touch-screen voting machines failed to produce any major findings Friday.

State officials reported just two discrepancies, and they expect those problems will be traced to human error.

"We're pretty confident we'll find out on Tuesday it was some sort of voter-input mistake,'' said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Elections.

Employees from the Florida Division of Elections spent the day conducting a mock election on five of Sarasota County's touch-screen voting machines. Working from a script, they recreated ballots cast by voters on Election Day.

At the end of the test, officials found the results reported by the machines varied from test scripts by two votes. Similar tests produced the same sort of results earlier this week.

>more

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-vote0206dec02,0,7461987.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state

[livvy]

7. CA: Callison Calls For a Recount

Callison calls for a recount
By KERANA TODOROV, Register Staff Writer
Saturday, December 2, 2006 1:17 AM PST

The American Canyon City Council election ain't over yet.

Cecil Shaver, the outgoing mayor of American Canyon, has asked for a recount of the Nov. 7 ballots cast in American Canyon, John Tuteur, the county's registrar of voters said Friday.

Shaver is trying to get re-elected for another four-year term on the City Council. Two regular City Council seats were up for grabs.

According to the election results released on Wednesday, Don Callison and Ed West edged Shaver out and are the two newly elected members of the City Council.

>more

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2006/12/02/news/local/iq_3712457.txt

[livvy]

8. Editorial: Fishy in Florida

Editorial

Dec. 1, 2006, 7:06PM
Fishy in Florida
With 18,000 disappeared votes in a tight race, Florida officials should call a new election.

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The state that made hanging chads and butterfly ballots household phrases in the aftermath of the disputed 2000 presidential election is about to do the same for so-called undervotes. An inexplicably large number of ballots did not register a vote in the 13th Congressional District race. The missing or uncast votes have thrown the election into court and perhaps into the halls of Congress.

An estimated 18,000 electronic ballots in Sarasota County failed to count votes for either Republican Vern Buchanan or Democrat Christine Jennings. Dozens of voters filed complaints alleging that they tried to vote, but the touch-screen electronic voting machines did not register their selection. The undervotes in the county were roughly five times higher than undervotes in neighboring counties that used different voting technology. Political scientists and election analysts say it's highly unlikely that voters in one area of the district simply decided to abstain from voting in one of the most spirited races on the ballot.

>snip

Florida election officials are auditing the electronic voting system used in Sarasota County to determine what caused the massive undervote. That is unsatisfactory because they have a partisan bias. Any inquiry should be carried out by an impartial and independent authority. If the mystery of the missing votes has not been solved when the House convenes in January, it's very likely a Democratic majority would refuse to seat Republican Buchanan, provoking another national controversy.

For once, Florida state officials should take care of their homegrown electoral disputes by declaring the election invalid and calling a special election to allow voters another opportunity to express their choice and have it counted. Given the clear evidence of either malfunction or manipulation of the touch-screen system in Sarasota County, election monitors should be on hand at every polling place to make sure that reports of problems with the machines are dealt with while they can still be remedied.

>more

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/4373488.html

[livvy]

9. Calderon Inaugurated While Lawmakers Brawl

Calderon inaugurated while lawmakers brawl
Conservative becomes president of Mexico in 4-minute ceremony

Monica Campbell, Chronicle Foreign Service

Saturday, December 2, 2006

(12-02) 04:00 PST Mexico City -- Perhaps setting a record for the fastest swearing-in ceremony, Felipe Calderon became Mexico's president Friday amid brawling by rival legislators.

Legislators from the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, came to blows with members of Calderon's right-of-center National Action Party (PAN), claiming the election had been stolen from their candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has never conceded defeat. Calderon won the July election by a wafer-thin 240,000 votes out of 41 million ballots cast.

>snip

Accompanied by outgoing PAN President Vicente Fox, bodyguards and PAN legislators shielding him from attack, Calderon dashed to the congressional dais and quickly took the oath of office. Fox then handed him the presidential sash, and the two immediately left the chamber. The ceremony lasted four minutes.

In fact, Calderon had already taken the oath of office during an unprecedented, private, midnight ceremony at the presidential residence. Afterward, he made a nationwide televised appearance, stressing the need to allow Friday's inauguration to proceed as planned. Mexican presidents are constitutionally bound to take the oath of office before a joint congressional session.

>more

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/02/MNG10MO6AO1.DTL

[livvy]

10. The Spirit of Resistance in Mexico City

December 2, 2006

The Spirit of Resistance in Mexico City

By Stephen Lendman

The Spirit of Resistance in Mexico City - by Stephen Lendman

National Action Party (PAN) candidate Felipe Calderon had center stage at 12:01 AM, December 1 at the presidential residence of Los Pinos as Mexico's new president addressed the country on national television after a brief stealth swearing-in ceremony for him to the office he didn't win and will now assume illegitimately because of the fraud-laden electoral coup d'etat that gave it to him. He then had to be slipped in a back door of the Congress later that morning to take the oath of office there, as constitutionally required, in a second "lightning-fast" chaotic ceremony preceded by a brawl between lawmakers for and against the new president who then left as fast as he entered and is now off to a rocky start.

At the same time, outside in Mexico City's streets, hundreds of thousands of people assembled early in the morning in the vast Zocalo square supporting opposition Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who changed his earlier plans to march on Congress and instead held a peaceful mass-protest march of his supporters through the city center to avoid clashes with the police that might have turned violent. It went as far as Chapultepec Park, the entrance to the secured area, to demonstrate opposition to Mr. Calderon and to support Lopez Obrador who was denied the presidency he won now handed over illegitimately to Mr. Calderon. Obrador told the crowd his fight will continue because "it is not possible that there are no democratic elections in Mexico. We are not rebels without a cause, like the media want to portray us. Sometimes they forget the real issue at hand, they forget that we were robbed of the presidential election."

Earlier on Tuesday, November 28, opposition legislators occupied the speaker's podium in the Parliament's Chamber of Deputies lower house where Calderon was scheduled to be sworn in as is customary. They remained there, humiliating Mr. Calderon and forcing him first to settle for a well-guarded private bewitching hour ceremony, unprecedented in the country's history, and then have to repeat it in the brawling environment of the lower house and mass-opposition controlled anger in the streets outside. Not a good way to begin a presidency that may not get any easier ahead. It led the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) on December 1 to write an article with the long and ominous title - "With Calderon's Deeply Troubled Inauguration Last Night, Amidst a Deteriorating Security Situation in Oaxaca, the Possibility of a New Mexican Revolution Cannot Be Ruled Out." What COHA didn't say was that it appears that revolution may have already begun and is beginning to spread slowly throughout most parts of the country where "the people the color of the earth" live and are now demanding their rights.

In the earlier wee-hours ceremony COHA referred to, Calderon was presented the tri-color ceremonial sash by outgoing PAN president Vincente Fox, and it now remains to be seen what he can do with it as he assumes his new office in a weakened position against an opposition with vast support determined to continue resisting his legitimacy. For weeks following the fraud-laden July 2 general election, mass protests filled the streets of Mexico City and its vast Zocalo square.

>more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__061202_the_spirit_of_resist.htm

[livvy]

11. With Calderon's Deeply Troubled Inauguration Last Night...

Friday, December 1st, 2006
Mexico, Reports, Front Page

With Calderón’s Deeply Troubled Inauguration Last Night, Amidst a Deteriorating Security Situation in Oaxaca, the Possibility of a New Mexican Revolution Cannot Be Ruled Out

* The once-localized and relatively contained popular unrest in the southern state of Oaxaca has evolved into the onset of a violent rebellion likely to permanently stain the early days of Calderón’s presidency, and his ability to rule the country effectively
* After being temporarily eclipsed on the national scene, the defeated leftist presidential candidate, Andres Manuel López Obrador, is making his high risk feint of trying to capitalize on Oaxaca’s chaos to boost his own “revolution” by launching a “parallel government”
* The ongoing protests in Oaxaca have put an intense strain on Calderón, and will challenge his capacity to govern a country stymied by mounting volatility in Oaxaca as well as in the Mexican Congress

On the morning of November 6, radical protesters in support of the Oaxaca popular movement detonated bombs at three high-profile targets in Mexico City, including the PRI headquarters and the Federal Electoral Tribunal. Although the attacks caused no injuries, the upsurge of violence demonstrates the escalating scope of unrest which was once confined to the main square of the southern city of Oaxaca. Elsewhere in the country, the intensity of the violence reached a fever-pitched climax with the Ixtapa resort attacks in the state of Guerrero when, on November 7, bombers openly targeted the then incoming President, Felipe Calderón and his predecessor, Vicente Fox. Yesterday, Mexico City was the setting for the unrest when a near riot took place in the Mexican Congress, temporarily preventing Calderón from entering the institution.

The Oaxaca crisis originally started out as a peaceful, state-wide teachers’ strike last May, which rapidly drew allies from civil society organizations, indigenous communities and leftist activists. Within the past few months, however, this ad hoc coalition has morphed into a roiling mass movement which, like a line of fire, quickly spiraled out of control after the more radical wing of its supporters started to use the movement’s banner to cloak their own agenda.

At its inception, nobody could have predicted that the teachers demand for a wage hike would grow into a full-blown revolt against the notoriously corrupt Oaxaca governor, Ulises Ruiz, a high-level PRI functionary and the prime target of the unrest. The now six-month-old quasi-insurrection can be partly ascribed to the deep-seated venality that continues to flourish in several of Mexico’s poorest states, despite the recent wave of democratization initiated in 2000. The protests also reflect a feeling of near-desperation among a disillusioned and radicalized working class which has yet to see significant improvements in its living standards and has been fully swayed by López Obrador’s populist orations. Now that the movement has taken a dramatic turn, reaching new levels of nationwide violence, it looks as though President Calderón has inherited a complex political crisis that threatens the success of his presidential term and, in a doomsday scenario, could even translate into a civil war. Aside from the disaster that such a denouement would have for Mexico, it could produce a new round of seismic explosions along the U.S. border, as hundreds of thousands of Mexicans try to escape a new round of violence and upheaval.

A Long History of Impunity: PRI’s Old Habits Die Hard
The current national emergency that is now casting a very large shadow extending beyond the state of Oaxaca has its roots in the institutionalized oppression and entrenched flaws of the once-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), an oligarchic group which dominated Mexico’s political life for over seven decades. The party was originally comprised of a loose confederation of local political caudillos and military strongmen, grouped together with self-serving and machine-driven labor unions and peasant organizations. Throughout its reign, the PRI successfully contained political competition among the leaders of the party’s various factions and sectors, using a platform that was revolutionary in its rhetoric but hegemonic in its policies. It ruled by means of a complex corporatist system and through authoritarian methods until Vicente Fox of the center-right National Action Party (PAN) captured the presidency in 2000, and soon exhibited his own special inability to rule the country effectively.



>more
http://www.coha.org/

[livvy]

41. Mexican Opposition Lawmakers Balk at Calderon's Presidential Inauguration

Mexican Opposition Lawmakers Balk at Calderon's Presidential Inauguration

By Armando Duke

(AXcess News) Houston, TX - As Felipe Calderon was being sworn in as Mexico's new President, opposition lawmakers shouted in defiance as tempers got the best of them spilling over into fighting within the Congressional chamber in Mexico City Friday that at times appeared more like a WWF smackdown than a presidential inauguration.

Calderon no more than donned the ceremonial sash and was sworn in when body guards quickly escorted Mexico's new president out a back door of the chamber.

Meanwhile, chairs and fists flew on the Congressional chamber floor as leftist and conservative lawmakers there clashed over Calderon becoming Mexico's new president after a close race in which Calderon beat his opponent by a mere 1 percent in a court-decided review of the vote count.

Leftist opponents had vowed to stop Calderon from being sworn in as Mexico's president, saying he rigged the entire July 2nd election.

>more

http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=12188

[livvy]

12. MI: Three Recounts Will Take Place This Month

Three recounts will take place this month
Saturday, December 02, 2006
MICHAEL GREENLEE
THE SAGINAW NEWS

Ballot counters will belly up to the table to hand-tally votes in mid-December in three races contested after the Nov. 7 general election, says Saginaw County Clerk Susan S. Kaltenbach.

First up is the state Senate 32nd District race between Republican Roger N. Kahn, a Saginaw Township Republican, and Saginaw Democrat Carl M. Williams. The state Board of Canvassers certified the results Monday, putting Williams behind by 432 votes.

The state Board of Elections will coordinate the recount. Officials have not firmed up the date.

"I cannot touch or do anything in the county until this one is taken care of," Kaltenbach said. "None of that's done here. The state is telling me things."

Though the Senate recount will take place here, state authorities will oversee it.

>more

http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1165058675177480.xml&coll=9

[philb]

32. I assume they use Opti-Tech in this county? You'l notice 2 also have high UVs

I would focus on absentees and whether they were really signed by the voter

Look at the difference in Dem vote percents in ABs vs regular for 3 Miami-Dade Congressional races

Representative Dist 18 Total votes % 7-Nov Early V Absentee Provisional
Illeana Ros Lehtinen® 65525 62.6 38084 10190 17229 22
David Patlak(D) 38987 37.3 26594 7481 4888 24 21.57%
Write-In ***** 151 0.14 91 24 35 1
Over votes ***** 29 29
Undervotes ***** 5156 ***** 3888 757 509 2
% UV ***** 4.70% ***** ***** ***** 2.25%

Representative Dist 21
Lincoln Dias-Balart 57388 63.3 36013 8249 13113 13
Frank Gonzalez 33220 36.7 23152 6367 3690 11 21.36%
Write-In *****
Over votes ***** 13 13
Undervotes ***** 7054 ***** 5503 1076 471 4
% UV ***** 7.22% ***** ***** ***** 2.73%

Representative Dist 25
Mario Diaz-Balart 52578 58.1 34172 7928 10465 13
Michael Calderin 37984 41.9 27539 7118 3320 7 23.34%
Write-In *****
Over votes ***** 21 20 1
Undervotes ***** 6782 ***** 5242 1099 439 2
% UV ***** 6.97% ***** ***** ***** 3.09%


These are ES&S touch screen races

[livvy]

52. All of Michigan uses opti-scan (Diebold) paper ballots, machine counted, or....

ballot marking device (ES&S) for voters with disabilities, although anyone may use it. There is one of these machines per precinct.
Absentee ballots are available with excuse required.

[livvy]

13. CA: Caput, Graves win in final election tally

December 2, 2006

Caput, Graves win in final election tally
By Donna Jones
Sentinel Staff Writer

Razor-thin victories in Watsonville and Capitola city council races have at least one candidate on the losing end requesting a recount.

The final results from the Nov. 7 election, certified Friday by County Clerk Gail Pellerin, put Greg Caput in Watsonville and Ron Graves in Capitola in the winning column.

But Maureen O'Malley-Moore asked for a recount after her three-vote lead turned into a three-vote loss to Graves.

"It's pretty wild the way it turned out," O'Malley-Moore said. "All it did was change places. I'm asking for a recount. I owe it to myself and the folks that supported me. It's too close. It's too close."

>more

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/December/02/local/stories/01local.htm

[livvy]

14. VT: Auditor's Race Recount Starts Monday

Local/Vermont

Saturday, December 2, 2006

Auditor's race recount starts Monday

Published: Saturday, December 2, 2006
By Ross Sneyd
The Associated Press

MONTPELIER -- County clerks all over Vermont made final preparations Friday for the start of a vote recount in the Nov. 7 election for state auditor, which ended in a 137-vote victory for incumbent Randy Brock.

Beginning Monday, teams of volunteers in the state's 14 counties will count about 250,000 ballots to see if Brock's win over Democrat Thomas M. Salmon stands. Salmon, son of former Gov. Thomas Salmon, requested the do-over, which will be Vermont's first statewide recount since 1980.

State police have completed their canvass of town clerks' offices to collect the sealed bags of ballots and delivered them to all 14 county courthouses.

On Monday morning, Superior Court clerks begin cracking open the bags, counting out 50 ballots at a time, and handing them to teams of four people to recount. It's a laborious process that could take some time to sort out and complete.

>more

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061202/NEWS02/612020309/1007

[kpete]

15. LOVE that cartoon!!!

K&R

[livvy]

16. Blackwell Accused of Stalling Transition

Blackwell accused of stalling transition
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Mark Rollenhagen
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus -- Secretary of State-elect Jennifer Brunner says Ken Blackwell and his staff have dragged their feet as she prepares to move into his office in January.

The current and soon-to-be secretary of state met Friday for the first time since the Nov. 7 election, when Brunner beat Greg Hartmann for the secretary's job and Blackwell lost a bid for governor to Ted Strickland.

"I'm hoping things will go better from here," Brunner said.

Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said the weeks following an election are a busy time for the secretary's office as official vote counts and recounts are completed. He said the transition is moving more quickly than when Blackwell took over the office from Bob Taft.

>more

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1165052049171230.xml&coll=2

Maybe it would help if they offered him one of these:
:shrug:

[philb]

27. I'm sure he has lots of stuff to shread and files to erase before leaving, would take quite a while

[livvy]

17. Toon break for dog lovers...

I found this while browsing images, and it gave me a chuckle....

[livvy]

18. MD: New Voting System Supported

New voting system supported
Research group, politicians agree voters need verifiable paper trail

By Sumathi Reddy and Melissa Harris
Sun reporters

December 2, 2006

Legislative leaders say they support overhauling the state's electronic touch-screen machines when the General Assembly convenes next month, an effort that comes in the wake of a draft federal report that condemns paperless voting systems.

Although voting in last month's election in Maryland went off without major glitches, widespread problems in the September primary and in other states trouble those seeking change.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said yesterday that the legislature will work to provide a system with a verifiable paper record of their votes by the next election. Miller, a Democrat, was viewed as the main obstacle to a bill that didn't pass this year.

But with more time before the next election, Miller said he supports exploring a change - whether by switching to optical-scan machines or adding a voter-verified paper printout to the current electronic machines.

>more

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.voting02dec02,0,1802830.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[texpatriot2004]

19. K & R for Transparent Democracy nm

[livvy]

20. Wireless Enters the Political Arena

Wireless Enters the Political Arena
Wireless may rock the vote in coming elections.
By Mark Rockwell
December 1, 2006

Wireless technology may be the next big thing for election campaigning and even voting, but its use could initially be troubling, according to media experts.

Wireless phones have been increasingly used internationally in the past few years, to great political and strategic affect among political groups. The "Orange Revolution" in the Ukraine owes a lot of its success to organization by wireless phones among the general population, especially students. This past October in France, disaffected youths used their phones to organize a demonstration commemorating the 2005 riots against the French government. Text messaging reportedly was used in China to set up anti-Japanese rallies there. These examples could offer some insight into how wireless phones could play a part in future American elections.

POLITICAL CATALYST Wireless phones could be an important catalyst – from increasing the impact of campaign strategies to how voters stay informed about elections, says Adam Thierer, senior fellow and director of the Progress and Freedom Foundation's center for digital media freedom. For instance, using "flash mobs" – which have been an online forum phenomenon, where people are directed to be at a certain place at a certain time – could become a campaigning technique for candidates looking for mass support at a given time, he says.

Campaign advertising could see a boom, too, he says, since wireless phones are ever-present and capable of downloading increasingly complex video and other digital content.

>more

http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA6395702.html

[philb]

34. Can be used more directly; remember the wireless patch between manufacturer and election compilers

in some counties in Ohio, verified in 2004 Ohio election "recount"
The manufacturer had real time votes on their screen as people voted, and could make changes in individual machines
from their office. Affidavit from a county official.

[livvy]

21. Congress Plans to Address Electronic Voting

Politics
Congress Plans to Address Electronic Voting

Listen to this story... by Pam Fessler

All Things Considered, December 1, 2006 · The debate over electronic voting machines is heating up. A draft government report concludes that paperless touchscreen voting is not secure. And questions continue over 18,000 ballots cast in Sarasota County, Fla. This has boosted efforts in Congress to require paper backups on electronic voting equipment, but some experts think that will only further complicate elections.

Sarasota election workers spent hours today at a warehouse testing five of the county's touch screen voting machines. They're trying to figure out why thousands of ballots showed no votes for a congressional race in the midterm elections.

Observers outside the room listened through speakers as the workers were instructed on how to re-enact the November vote, in an effort to see if the machines might be at fault. An answer isn't expected before next week. But Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) thinks no one will ever know.

"The problem cannot be resolved now without a paper trail," he says. He claims there's no way to verify the electronic results without some kind of paper backup to compare results. His argument has been bolstered by a draft report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

>more

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6567175

[livvy]

22. CO: City Asked For Pollbook Software

denver & the west
City asked for pollbook software
Documents refute vendor
By George Merritt
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
Article Last Updated:12/01/2006 12:52:51 AM MST

Records exchanged between Sequoia Voting Systems and the Denver Election Commission show the commission asked for Web-based software that could be used to check in voters on Election Day.

Those documents appear to refute testimony from a Sequoia representative who Wednesday told a panel investigating Election Day delays that he was unaware Denver was using Sequoia's software as a so-called "electronic pollbook."

Experts who examined Denver's technology faulted the Sequoia-designed software for crashing Denver's voter check-in system, leading to lines as long as three hours at some vote centers. Officials estimate that more than 20,000 people didn't vote because of the delays.

But Sequoia vice president Howard Cramer told the mayor's panel he was surprised to learn Denver was using the company's technology as an "e-pollbook" to check in voters at the polls.

>more

http://test.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_4752696

[livvy]

23. FL: Election Lawsuit Expands

Article published Dec 1, 2006
Election lawsuit expands

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER and VICTOR HULL

STAFF WRITERS

[e-mail]
TALLAHASSEE -- As the legal battle over the disputed 13th Congressional District race in Sarasota County continues, a move Thursday could put the touch-screen voting machines used in the election on trial.

Democrat Christine Jennings added Election Systems and Software Inc. to her lawsuit that alleges faulty voting machines manufactured by the Omaha-based company led to 18,000 Sarasota voters not voting in the election, resulting in a 369-vote margin of victory for Republican Vern Buchanan in the contest.

Jennings' lawyer, Kendall Coffey, said bringing ES&S into the lawsuit gets to the heart of the case and could remove procedural arguments that have thus far blocked Jennings' legal team from having access to computer codes that are used to operate the iVotronic voting machines. Coffey and others have argued that a thorough review of those codes could reveal flaws that explain why there was such a large "undervote" in the bitterly contested congressional race.

"Our response is to make sure ES&S is in the courtroom," Coffey said. "They are the manufacturer and the machines are going to be on trial."

>more

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061201/NEWS/612010454

[philb]

25. They also programmed the machines and compilation, had access to easy manipulation

[philb]

24. N.J. seems to have have a twin Cong. race to the Jennings/Sarasota race- disappearing votes &high UV

New Jesey District 7
Linda Stender(D) vs Ferguson in a squeaker with lots of reported irregularities

see the close Congressional elections thread

[livvy]

29. Close Congressional Elections Thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x461171

[livvy]

26. Miami County officials worry 2008 presidential election could be 'chaos'

Miami County officials worry 2008 presidential election could be 'chaos'
Elections board says county needs more equipment and better training for poll workers.

By Nancy Bowman

Staff Writer

Friday, December 01, 2006

Troy — Miami County election officials said the 2008 presidential election in the county could be "chaos" without spending for more equipment and making some changes on Election Day.

The elections board Thursday reviewed the Nov. 7 gubernatorial election, which saw a higher than expected voter turnout in the county and complaints of long lines in some polling places.

"Whatever aches and pains we had this year, if we do the same thing in 2008, it will be chaos," said Roger Luring, elections board chairman.

Board members agreed the county does not have enough electronic voting machines. Elections Director Steve Quillen said the Secretary of State's recommendation of one machine per 175 voters was "inadequate."

>more

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/11/30/ddn120106elections.html

[livvy]

28. Your Vote May Or May Not Have Been Counted on Election Day

Your vote may or may not have been counted on Election Day
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/1/06

BY MICHELE ROSEN

Election Day should be a celebration of our Democratic government and the rights and privileges we enjoy. While Americans have grown increasingly cynical about their government and those who serve in it, the fact so many people vote indicates we take those rights and privileges seriously. Perhaps that is why the events of the past few weeks in Ocean County have been so distressing.

We know the election was flawed by what the Ocean County Board of Elections calls "glitches" in the program that tabulated the votes on the voting machines for Barnegat. And we know the board conducted a recheck of the vote totals on all of the machines used.

The so-called "glitches," however, are not glitches at all, but major flaws that may have changed the election results, at least at the municipal level, and the recheck proved nothing at all.

Instead of code words that understate the problems that occurred and press releases that ignore the issues, voters in Barnegat and throughout Ocean County need explanations from the board.

>more

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061201/OPINION/612010384/1030

[livvy]

30. Ohio County Eyes Switch To Optical-Scan E-Voting

Ohio County Eyes Switch To Optical-Scan E-Voting
Increasing number of voters may be too much work for standard electronic voting machines.
Marc L. Songini, Computerworld
Friday, December 01, 2006 08:00 AM PST

Ohio's Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners is considering scrapping a $17 million investment in touch-screen electronic-voting hardware and switching to precinct count optical scan devices.

Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, runs Diebold Election Systems' AccuVote TSX systems. Board members are concerned that the systems now in place can't handle a growing number of voters. By contrast, optical scan systems could accommodate increased numbers of voters by allowing officials to add more places for them to fill out paper ballots in heavy-turnout elections.
Paper Trail

The use of touch screen systems in the county's May 2 primary was the subject of a critical report by the Election Science Institute (ESI). Based in San Francisco, ESI is a nonprofit group that works to promote the development of auditable election systems. The report noted that the performance of the paper trail system used by the machines to record votes was flawed, as well.

That the commission is considering swapping out Diebold's TSX gear in favor of optical scan technology is noteworthy, said Steven Hertzberg, project director at ESI. "Diebold's rhetoric about the performance of its direct record electronic (DRE)-based election system does not withstand objective scrutiny, and the Cuyahoga Commissioners obviously now know this." He also said he believes the county spent more money, effort and energy evaluating the system than perhaps any other jurisdiction in the nation.

>more

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128064-c,currentevents/article.html

[philb]

38. Over 100,000 votes have been swung or switched in Cuyahoga in both 2004 and 2006

Over 100,00 mostly minority voters not allowed to vote in 2004 and 2006

2006
www.flcv.com/cuyahog6.html

2004
www.flcv.com/ohiosum.html Cuyahoga

see the Cuyahoga thread

[livvy]

31. Time:Why Chavez Is a Shoo-in: It's the Economy, Stupid

Why Chavez Is a Shoo-in: It's the Economy, Stupid
Friday, Dec. 01, 2006

Never mind his anti-American theatrics. The Venezuelan President carries the support of the majority because they believe he's eased their poverty
By JENS ERIK GOULD/CARACAS

Listening to his campaign speeches, you might think Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was running against George Bush — whom he has been known to call "the devil" — rather than Manuel Rosales in Sunday's presidential election. The Venezuelan leader is convinced that Washington is behind Rosales's effort to unseat him, and told an enormous campaign rally on Sunday that his real opponent was the "imperialist government of the United States." But the president's supporters say his hostility to the Bush administration is not the main reason Chavez holds a commanding 20-point lead over Rosales according to most polls. Instead, his support is based on the myriad development programs he has set up to provide cheaper food, free education and free health care for the poor.

"Foreign policy has an effect, but obviously a leader grows stronger through the solution of internal problems," said deputy William Querales, who is on the National Assembly's foreign policy committee. "President Chavez has confronted the problem of poverty and the serious social problems in our country." The opposition counters by pointing to studies showing that Chavez has failed to put a major dent in poverty and that crime has actually increased. But many in the dilapidated barrios on the outskirts of Caracas say they are better off since Chavez was elected in 1998. And since the majority of Venezuelan voters are from the lowest income brackets, that perception is what will count most on Sunday.

One community that might be expected to ask how much Chavez had done for them would be the residents of Tacagua, a dilapidated neighborhood clinging to a mountainside near Caracas, where many homes are made of scraps of tin pieced together. Here, gang violence and drugs are part of everyday life, and the government has been slow to provide new housing for families whose homes are in danger of collapsing in mudslides. Even so, posters and graffiti praising Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution," named after South American independence leader Simon Bolivar, permeate the neighborhood.

Yris Machado, 41, a widow, could only feed her four children one meal a day until a Chavez-backed program began supplying her with food staples. Now, she and her children eat three times a day. She is also beginning to benefit from a government program called "Mothers of the Barrio," which gives stipends to poor mothers with handicapped children. She will use the extra funds to help pay for anti-convulsive drugs and a new mattress for her daughter, who has Down syndrome. "Thanks to my president, now I can say that I'm going to buy a new mattress for my daughter and I'm going to give her a better way of living," Machado said.

>more

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1564953,00.html

[livvy]

33. Excellent animation! The Republican Revolution

http://blogs.chron.com/nickanderson/archives/2006/12/the_republican.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

35. 12/1 Former Appalachia mayor pleads guilty to rigging election

12/01/2006

Former Appalachia mayor pleads guilty to rigging election

WISE, Va. The former Appalachia mayor charged with vote-rigging and corruption pleaded guilty today to 243 felonies.

Wise County Circuit Judge Tammy McElyea also sentenced several Appalachia officials and residents for their roles in a conspiracy to rig the 2004 election in the tiny coal town.

Prosecutors say former mayor Ben Cooper was the mastermind behind the scheme -- which included buying votes with beer, cigarettes and even pork rinds.

During an October trial of one of Cooper's 13 co-defendants, the ex-mayor was portrayed as the key figure in the plot.

The plot mostly centered around intercepting absentee ballots from the mail and forging the names of the intended voters.

Cooper could get up to 21 months in prison when he's sentenced January-ninth.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press

http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=5753428&nav=menu368_2

[philb]

37. Schemes involving ABs have been used widely in Florida elections historically

though its known to be widespread, only a few have been indicted and prosecuted.
Mostly due to internal fueds of people involved, rather than investigation by authorities.

[philb]

36. machine switching, glitches,malfunctions in thousands of counties in 2004 & 2006, affecting

millions of votes; unreliable results, long lines, millions forced to vote by backup mechanisms,
in addition to widespread suppression of minority and student voters and widespread illegal dirty tricks

www.flcv.com/eirstss6.html
www.flcv.com/eirsppp6.html
www.flcv.com/eirsoth6.html
www.flcv.com/eirsdt6.html
www.flcv.com/florida6.html


2004
www.flcv.com/summary.html

Common Cause has an even larger monitoring hotline effort that I don't have access to, though I'm a CC member.

for those who don't know, FLCV is Florida League of Conservation Voters, which monitors all votes in Florida Leg. each year
and keeps up an environmental web page- state of the Florida Environment each year(www.flcv.com
I borrowed their educational web site to put up election monitoring data from the EIRS hotline data

[livvy]

39. Cluster of SoCal cities caught in string of corruption cases

Posted on Sat, Dec. 02, 2006


Cluster of SoCal cities caught in string of corruption cases

MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Handcuffed and led away to 10 years in prison, the former treasurer of South Gate became the latest in a growing parade of officials from the gritty suburbs south of Los Angeles jailed for government corruption.

The area abutting Los Angeles and the coastal pearls of Manhattan Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes is known for clotted freeways and fading neighborhoods, but the tally of charges has generated unwelcome notoriety for thieving, bribe-grabbing public officials.

Illegal schemes on a scale usually associated with big Eastern cities have devoured tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, prosecutors say, paying for everything from a seaside condo to massages.

South Gate Treasurer Albert Robles aspired to build a "power machine" to secretly control cities throughout the economically struggling area, according to trial testimony. One now-jailed former mayor sought to steal $6 million by steering city contracts to a shell company he owned.

>more

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16149709.htm

[livvy]

40. Fiery Chavez Promises to Outdo Himself

Fiery Chavez Promises to Outdo Himself

By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON
The Associated Press

SABANETA, Venezuela - Hugo Chavez has called George Bush the devil, allied himself with Iran and inserted himself into election races all over Latin America. He has poured Venezuela's oil wealth into uplifting the poor, and rivals Fidel Castro as a defiant voice of the left.

Now, as he seeks another presidential term in an election Sunday, he is telling Venezuelans this is only the beginning of his effort to remake Venezuela as a socialist oil power.

Chavez predicts a "hurricane" victory that will secure a mandate for zero compromise on policies that inspire both adulation and despair. Having survived a coup, a recall referendum, a general strike and clashes with the Roman Catholic Church, business community and opposition media, he has entrenched his power and sharpened left-right divides beyond Venezuela's borders.

His main challenger, tough-talking state governor Manuel Rosales, trailed far behind in an AP-Ipsos poll last month, but nonetheless has galvanized a fractured opposition movement of millions desperately hoping he can unseat Chavez.

>more



http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/88-12022006-750332.html

[livvy]

42. Phillipines: Ex-Senator Claims She Has Addt'l Proof of Poll Fraud

Sunday, December 03, 2006
Ex-senator claims she has addt’l proof of poll fraud

THE camp of former senator Loren Legarda has asked the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to allow her to present more evidence of election irregularities from other provinces.

Speaking through her counsel Sixto Brillantes, Legarda submitted on Thursday her formal offer of evidence, to cap the complainant’s presentation of evidence of election fraud in two towns in Balindong and Taraka, in Lanao del Sur.

Brillantes said as soon as PET grants their formal offer, it would be the turn of Vice President Noli de Castro to present counter-evidence.

“We have submitted all the fake election returns (ERs) and the discrepancies with the authentic ERs. We also prayed that we be allowed to present more evidence of cheating from other provinces,” said Brillantes.

>more

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2006/12/03/news/ex.senator.claims.she.has.addt.l.proof.of.poll.fraud.html

[livvy]

43. Photos- Rally To Protest Against President Felipe Calderon In Mex. City

San Francisco Indymedia

Photos - Rally to a protest against President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City
by zed Saturday, Dec. 02, 2006 at 2:50 AM

Thousands of supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stand at Mexico City's Zocalo square during a rally against Felipe Calderon, December 1, 2006.

photos at link
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2006/12/1733208.php

[livvy]

44. Madagascar president expected to win Sunday elections

Madagascar president expected to win Sunday elections
Published: December 2, 2006

The Associated Press

Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana is expected to hold on to his position in presidential elections to be held on the Indian Ocean island Sunday.

Despite recent political tensions, relative calm prevailed Saturday, a day after campaigning ended.

Last month an army general called for the military to take control of the country in an apparent coup attempt against Ravalomanana.

This is the first presidential elections since Ravalomanana came to power in May 2002 after a six-month political crisis sparked by former President Didier Ratsiraka's refusal to accept defeat in a December 2001 election.

>more

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/02/africa/AF_POL_Madagascar_Elections.php

[livvy]

45. PA: Party Flips Could Add More Drama To House Election Results

Party flips could add more drama to House election results

By MARTHA RAFFAELE
The Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Democratic leaders in the state House of Representatives were ready to celebrate last week after an unofficial election tally promised to give the minority party a one-seat majority for the first time in 12 years.

Republican leaders, by contrast, laid low and let their spokesmen do the talking. The aides insisted the GOP wasn't ready to concede and by Friday the party was saying it would seek a recount in the suburban Philadelphia district that gave Democrats a 102-101 majority.

Aside from that, intense, private politicking may ensue amid speculation that legislative leaders of both parties are sniffing out defectors from the opposition to bolster their caucuses - potential maneuvers that would be especially critical for Republicans to retain a majority.

Al Bowman, spokesman for House Speaker John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, said fiscally conservative Democrats might be inclined to switch because they disagree with tax increases and expanded welfare spending that have occurred under Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

>more

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-12022006-750333.html

[livvy]

46. RI Supreme Court Allows Ballot Review in Close Race

R.I. Supreme Court allows ballot review in close race

Dec 2, 2006 08:30 AM

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The Rhode Island Supreme Court allows a candidate in a tight East Providence race to look at disputed ballots.

A recent recount shows city council candidate Joseph Larisa losing to Isadore Ramos by 16 votes. He previously asked a Superior Court judge to see any ballots rejected by vote counting machines, and the judge agreed.

The Board of Elections wanted the Supreme Court to reverse that decision. They fear the lower court's ruling could pave the way for a manual recount of ballots, which board attorneys say could inject human error and bias into the process.

After hearing from attorneys yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld the earlier decision.

>more

http://ww2.wpri.com/Global/story.asp?S=5759272

[livvy]

47. Bloggers Step Up For Jennings

Bloggers step up for Jennings
Saturday, December 2, 2006

Liberals flex muscles to raise money, awareness of 13th District fight.
By JEREMY WALLACE

H-T POLITICAL WRITER
[e-mail]
SARASOTA -- This time, they were ready to pounce.

Liberal bloggers -- who could do little more than vent during the contested presidential election in 2000 -- are just as angry about this year's District 13 congressional controversy.

Now they are a much more formidable group: more heeded and more numerous, and eager to flex their political muscle on behalf of Democrat Christine Jennings.

Every day, the coordinators of Internet discussion forums like MyDD.com and dailykos.com post information from the ongoing audit of the District 13 election results, and the forum fills up with jokes about Florida politics and Sarasota County elections chief Kathy Dent.

But more than directing the discussion, the bloggers are also helping Jennings raise money.

>more

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061202/NEWS/612020393

[livvy]

48. Lawmakers Tackle Election Financing

Lawmakers tackle election financing
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/2/06

BY GREGORY J. VOLPE
GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — Lawmakers will begin next week considering legislation to reauthorize and expand the state's public financing program for legislative elections, after poor results last year.

In 2005, the state tried a "Clean Elections" program designed to take special interest money out of legislative elections by having candidates raise a certain number of nominal donations to be eligible for public funding. But only one of the five pairs of candidates running in the 6th and 13th legislative districts was able to qualify.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr., D-Camden, said legislation will be introduced Monday that would add a third district and take away some of the impediments candidates faced last year.

Roberts said the changes will make the program "more meaningful for candidates and voters alike. If enacted, these reforms will help prove that public financing can strengthen the democratic process."

The proposed changes include:

>changes at link

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061202/NEWS03/612020353/1007

[livvy]

49. The Campaign is Over; The Campaign Begins

The campaign is over; the campaign begins
By Jules Witcover
Tribune Media Services
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:12/01/2006 08:19:46 PM MST

WASHINGTON - Stop the presses! Retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is not going to run for president in 2008! Stop them again! Retiring Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa is!

Thus is the truism of American politics confirmed again. When it comes to presidential aspirations, for every ambitious politician who stares reality in the face and blinks, there's always another who doesn't, and presses on.

Even as the American voter is barely recovering from the bombast of this fall's congressional and gubernatorial elections, the political spotlight is turning to the next presidential election two years hence. And for every fainthearted Frist there are a dozen or more other pols with stars in their eyes gearing up for it.

Frist's decision not to enter the starting gate for the 2008 Republican nomination was a triumph of common sense over ambition. His ineffective leadership of the Senate over the previous four years demonstrated his unpreparedness for higher office.

>more

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_4757513

[livvy]

50. OH: Lieutenant Governor Decides It's Time To Go

Lieutenant governor decides it’s time to go
Johnson discloses no particular plans; Taft says interim isn’t needed

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

When Bruce E. Johnson walks out the door Friday as Ohio’s 63 rd lieutenant governor, it could be his last hurrah in public office.

But don’t count on it.

Johnson, 46, announced his resignation as lieutenant governor and development director yesterday. He has held the No. 2 job in state government since January 2005. He began as development chief four years earlier.

>snip

Ohio law on gubernatorial succession dictates that if Taft is unable to perform his duties while there is no lieutenant governor, Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris would be his successor. He would be followed by House Speaker Jon A. Husted, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, Treasurer Jennette Bradley, Auditor Betty D. Montgomery and Attorney General Jim Petro.

>more

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/02/20061202-C1-02.html

[livvy]

51. FL: Second Vote Test Mirrors First

Second vote test mirrors first
By CAROL E. LEE
[e-mail]
Saturday, December 2, 2006

SARASOTA COUNTY -- The usual suspects turned out: elections officials, reporters, lawyers, voting advocates, political observers and a guy who was filming the event to post on YouTube.com.

But the novelty of being cooped up in a roped-off viewing area of a warehouse had worn off by the time state audit officials started their second simulated election on Friday.

The test was part of an audit that began this week to investigate whether the county's touch-screen voting machines malfunctioned in the Nov. 7 election, in which the 13th Congressional District race was decided by 369 votes.

Friday's test went off with no immediate evidence of computer malfunction. It also did little to explain why there were 18,000 undervotes in the District 13 race in Sarasota County, nearly three times the rate as in neighboring counties.

>snip
While Democratic candidate Christine Jennings peered through the viewing window Friday afternoon, a lawyer for Republican Vern Buchanan sat reading the December issue of Florida Bar Journal, as if a bubble shielded him from the commotion her presence generated.

Then he let one slip: "How long do I have to stand up there, so it looks like I care?" Hayden Dempsey mumbled, referring to Jennings.

>more

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061202/NEWS/612020369/1006/SPORTS