Election Reform, Fraud, & News Monday 12/04/06

[EFerrari]

Election Reform, Fraud, & News Monday 12/04/06






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 "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.

[EFerrari]

1. AZ: Fed probe of vote bulge finds no tampering but possible problems

Fed probe of vote bulge finds no tampering but possible problems

PHOENIX -- A federal investigation into a 2004 legislative primary race that saw hundreds of additional votes surface in a recount has been closed after finding no evidence of tampering but indications of possible problems with machinery and ballot security.

John McComish, a Republican candidate for a second state House seat from District 20 in Phoenix and Chandler in Maricopa County, pulled ahead to defeat Anton Gorlich in the 2004 primary after the nearly 500 additional votes turned up in the recount conducted by Maricopa County.

Republican activists who supported Gorlich questioned how hundreds of additional votes could surface in the second count, and the FBI launched an investigation.

In announcing the close of the investigation, U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said there was no evidence of intentional miscalibration of ballot scanners or tampering with the ballots themselves, though FBI agents did find a pallet of stored District 20 ballots _ and only those from District 20 _ partially unwrapped in an election warehouse.

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5757463

[EFerrari]

2. AR: Carroll County : Appeal over vote sent back to court

Carroll County : Appeal over vote sent back to court

BY TRACIE DUNGAN

Posted on Saturday, December 2, 2006

A circuit judge erred in dismissing an election lawsuit filed by a prosecuting attorney candidate in Carroll County, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled this week.

In an opinion delivered Thursday, the high court sent the lawsuit, filed June 15 by Cindy M. Baker, back to Carroll County Circuit Court.

Baker sued her opponent in the May 23 Democratic primary, incumbent Prosecuting Attorney Tony Rogers, as well as the Carroll County Election Commission.

She contested the certification of Rogers as the winner, arguing that the election was so riddled with irregularities that Rogers could not possibly have won. The commission certified Rogers the winner by a 53-vote margin.

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/174605/

[EFerrari]

3. CA: No request for recount in AG sales tax vote

No request for recount in AG sales tax vote
By Larissa Van Beurden-Doust
[e-mail]

No one has contested the measure that will raise Arroyo Grande’s sales tax next year, though it passed by only 14 votes.

The 6,969 people who voted on the issue were almost exactly split in voting for it to pass or fail. It was the closest of the county’s five sales tax measures on November’s ballot.

About 65 percent of voters in San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay approved half-cent sales tax measures, while 55 percent of Grover Beach voters approved such an increase. A similar measure in Pismo Beach was defeated by about 65 votes.

The deadline to ask for a recount for the close Arroyo Grande measure is Monday at 5 p.m., County Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald said. After that, Rodewald said, a person would have to claim voter fraud or say someone was denied the right to vote in order for a recount to be done.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/16147518.htm

[EFerrari]

4. CO: Reliving the Election Day fiasco

Reliving the Election Day fiasco
written by Shawn Patrick Reporter
posted by Dan Boniface Web Producer
Created: 12/2/2006 4:29 PM MST - Updated: 12/3/2006 4:28 PM MST

DENVER - From a faulty voting system to a lack of training, many voters and election judges highlighted problems and offered ways to prevent another election meltdown in the city at a meeting on Saturday.

The city council held the public hearing to allow residents a chance to document problems which occurred November 7th, and bring forward recommendations for the city's investigation.

Hundreds of voters waited for several hours when new electronic polling books crashed at new voting centers throughout the city.

Some voters proposed returning to the 200 neighborhood-based precincts used in previous elections.

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=45801372-0abe-421a-0044-0522f0108367&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

[EFerrari]

5. CO: Coffman wants tougher voter registration rules

Coffman wants tougher voter registration rules

By PETER ROPER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Colorado's voter registration process is an "embarrassment" because voters are not required to show a photo identification to register, Secretary of State-elect Mike Coffman told a Pueblo Republican club Friday.

Coffman said that pressing the General Assembly to tighten Colorado's voter registration laws would be his top priority when he takes office in January. Coffman narrowly defeated Democratic state Sen. Ken Gordon in last month's election.

Coffman also told the Pueblo Pachyderms he would review the performance and reliability of the four electronic voting systems used on Nov. 7.

Coffman, a retired Marine officer, left his job as state treasurer last year to go back on active duty and help run Iraq's national elections in three provinces. He used his talk to the Pueblo group Friday to recount his experience in Iraq and emphasize that, while he was opposed to sending U.S. troops into Iraq, he agrees with President Bush's commitment to keep them there until the new government can defend itself.

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1165053024/2

(Still trying to find this article in the original German.)

[EFerrari]

6. FL: No end in sight for election battle

No end in sight for election battle

SARASOTA -- State elections officials said Friday a second round of testing produced no evidence voting machines malfunctioned in a hotly contested congressional race.

State officials must still review the software in the touch-screen machines, but they said this week's testing proved the machines did not malfunction.

Meanwhile, Democrat Christine Jennings refuses to concede a 369-vote victory to Republican Vern Buchanan in one of the country's last standing races.

Jennings has sued to obtain the programming codes from the machines' manufacturer to get information the state's testing failed to provide, the campaign said.

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061202/LOCAL/612010335/-1/news

[EFerrari]

7. FL: Protesters demand new election for District 13

Protesters demand new election for District 13 congressional seat
By DOUG SWORD

[e-mail]
SARASOTA -- Arguments about ballot design, machine error, statistical probabilities and the like don't sway Bertie Lou Gentile, one of more than 500 people packing Bayfront Park on Sunday calling for a revote in the 13th Congressional District race.

The 77-year-old Nokomis resident has a simple reason for believing that 18,000 people didn't all intentionally skip the congressional race Nov. 7.

"When you get more votes for the hospital board, you know something's wrong," Gentile said.

She was referring to election results showing that fewer people voted in the congressional race between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings than in the race for a county hospital board seat.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061204/NEWS/612040684

[EFerrari]

8. FL: 4 voting machines pass test in recount

"We'll Print Anything!"

4 voting machines pass test in recount
BY PHIL LONG
[e-mail]

SARASOTA - A test conducted Friday on four voting machines used in a controversial congressional race turned up no discrepancies in that race.

This backs up a test on four other machines earlier in the week, which found the only vote discrepancies were caused by human error.

The tests are part of a state audit of the controversial election.

Democrat Christine Jennings challenged the results of the Nov. 7 election in which Republican Vern Buchanan was named the winner in the race to replace Rep. Katherine Harris in Congress. Buchanan beat Jennings by 369 votes out of more than 237,000 cast.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16145700.htm

[EFerrari]

9. KY: Boone County tapped for vote-result audit

Boone County tapped for vote-result audit
THE ENQUIRER

BOONE COUNTY - Boone was one of six Kentucky counties randomly chosen to have its Nov. 7 election results audited for irregularities. The other five counties are Elliott, Estill, Hardin, Jessamine and Washington.

The audits, required by law, will be done by the attorney general. The routine inquiries will include checking election forms and interviewing county officials.

In addition to the random audits, the attorney general has an election fraud hotline for citizens to report irregularities. The number is 800-328-VOTE.

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20061202/NEWS0103/612020411

[EFerrari]

10. 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
Originally published 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.

Advertisement
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.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.voting02dec02,0,3332281.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[EFerrari]

11. MD: Democrat Admits Loss In Anne Arundel Race, Gives Up Court Fight

Democrat Admits Loss In Anne Arundel Race, Gives Up Court Fight

By Raymond McCaffrey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 2, 2006; Page B05

An Anne Arundel County Democrat who narrowly lost a bid for the state legislature announced yesterday that she was dropping a court challenge of the November election results and had conceded to her Republican opponent.

Barbara Samorajczyk, who lost to Ronald A. George by 53 votes in House of Delegates District 30, said she conceded by phone yesterday after deciding that "there wasn't any meaningful way to do a recount" with electronic voting machines. "We cannot recount the machine," Samorajczyk said.

On Monday, an appeal was filed in Anne Arundel Circuit Court on behalf of Samorajczyk and Joan Cadden, a Democratic delegate who lost by 28 votes to Republican Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. in the District 31 House contest in northern Anne Arundel. Samorajczyk said Cadden had joined her in dropping the appeal, which challenged an Anne Arundel Board of Elections decision to not count more than 200 provisional or absentee ballots. "It just was such a difficult and procedurally consuming case," Samorajczyk said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120101678.html

[EFerrari]

12. NY: Election officials want more funds (for voting machines)

Election officials want more funds
By LEEANNE ROOT, Dispatch Staff Writer
12/03/2006

WAMPSVILLE - New voting machines have to be in place by September and county election commissioners aren't sure if enough money has been budgeted to purchase them.

"They have to be used in the primary election in 2007," said county Election Commissioner Laura Costello. "According to New York state election law the lever machines cannot be used after Sept. 1, 2007."

Advertisement
New York is the last state to implement the Help America Vote Act by replacing the lever machines and is being penalized.

The state has lost out on $47 million in federal funds that were available to replace the old machines.

http://www.oneidadispatch.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17544397&BRD=1709&PAG=461&dept_id=68844&rfi=6

(What a great name: Wampsville.)

[EFerrari]

13. OH: Franklin County judge seeks recount, citing voting machine woes

Franklin County judge seeks recount, citing voting machine woes
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Associated Press

Columbus -- A judge wants a recount in her losing bid for re-election, arguing results might have been affected by malfunctioning electronic voting machines and poll-worker errors.

Judge Carole Squire of Franklin County Domestic and Juvenile Court asked Thursday for a recount of the votes cast in her race in 35 precincts. In addition, she wants a recount of more than 93,000 absentee and 18,000 provisional ballots.

The Democrat lost to Republican Chris Geer by more than 13,000 votes.
Percy Squire, the judge's husband and attorney, said documented machine malfunctions and poll-worker mistakes that happened as vote totals were downloaded raise questions about the accuracy of the results.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1165052230171230.xml&coll=2

[EFerrari]

14. OH: Recount complete; Moroski adds 2 votes to win total

Recount complete; Moroski adds 2 votes to win total
---->>Results show new voting machines are working well<<------
By MARK TODD
Staff Writer

[e-mail]

JEFFERSON - - A three-day recount of votes from the November election produced no upsets, but did boost faith in Ashtabula County's high-tech tabulating equipment.

More than a dozen people poured over the 35,000-plus ballots cast last month, courtesy of two extremely tight contests. When the recount was completed Friday afternoon, incumbent Commissioner Joe Moroski had widened his victory margin by two votes to 87, said Richard Hornstein, county election board director.

Moroski collected 17,118 votes, compared to 17,031 for opponent Dan Claypool, Hornstein said.

There was no change in the outcome of a Williamsfield Township fire levy defeated by a 246-244 count. The total didn't budge after the recount was finished, Hornstein said.

http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_338073035

(And we were worried!)

[EFerrari]

15. PA: GOP to seek recount in key Pa. House race

GOP to seek recount in key Pa. House race

By MARTHA RAFFAELE
Associated Press Writer
Advertisement

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Republicans will seek a recount in a legislative election that tipped control of the state House of Representatives to the Democrats for the first time in 12 years, a GOP spokesman said Friday.

The party plans to file its request in Chester County Court by Wednesday, the deadline for challenging the results, said Al Bowman, a spokesman for the House Republican Campaign Committee.

Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith beat Republican Shannon Royer by 23 votes, giving Democrats a 102-101 majority in the House.

"There's a lot on the line," said Bowman, who is also spokesman for House Speaker John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PA_PENNSYLVANIA_LEGISLATURE_PAOL-?SITE=PAPIT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=home.htm

[EFerrari]

16. PA: Vote watchdogs warn of system failure

Vote watchdogs warn of system failure

By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, December 4, 2006

Western Pennsylvania entered the age of electronic voting with only random glitches, elections officials say, but critics warn the systems in use could cause major problems in future elections.

When the Allegheny County Election Board meets today to certify results from the Nov. 7 election, members of VotePA -- a statewide volunteer group advocating secure and accessible voting -- plan to express concerns about potential failings of the systems in Allegheny and surrounding counties. The board meets at 10:30 a.m. at the County Courthouse, Downtown.

The biggest concern centers on Pennsylvania's reluctance to allow the electronic machines to generate paper trails to ensure accuracy in reporting vote totals. Efforts are gaining steam in the state Legislature and in Congress to require such audits, advocates say.

"It's kind of like a time bomb ticking away. One of these days, we're going to have a serious problem, like they are having in Sarasota," said Mary Beth Kusnic, a Westmoreland County poll worker and a member of VotePA.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_482556.html

(Boy, that Mary Beth Kusnic sounds like a real troublemaker. :evilgrin: )

[EFerrari]

17. RI: Paper vs. scanner: Ensuring the vote’s integrity

Paper vs. scanner: Ensuring the vote’s integrity

01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 3, 2006
By Benjamin N. Gedan
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — Almost a decade ago, Rhode Island retired its mechanical voting machines, peddling the 1,000-pound, 6-foot-tall behemoths for scrap.

The five-decade-old lever machines were replaced by a compact optical scanner called the Optech Eagle in a decision heralded as a leap forward for accurately tallying votes. For years, Rhode Island considered itself in the vanguard of electoral reform, and many states did not integrate similar electronic systems until after witnessing the 2000 presidential-election controversies.

For five election cycles, the new system went largely unchallenged. But last month, candidates in several unusually tight races questioned whether the state went too far in its rush to modernize elections.

On Wednesday, a Superior Court judge agreed, ruling that the state Board of Elections had ceded too much authority to the Optech scanners and mandating that candidates be permitted to view ballots rejected during recounts to determine whether the voter’s intent could be discerned.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/VOTING3_12-03-06_QR35BEC.2ce2d90.html

[EFerrari]

18. CA: Riverside County needs to find fix for myriad voting troubles

Blue-ribbon panel is just what voters deserve to insure a smooth election

The Desert Sun
December 3, 2006
Democracy deserves better.

The problems voters in the Coachella Valley and around Riverside County encountered trying to cast ballots were inexcusable and should not happen again. Fortunately, the county's Board of Supervisors is putting together a blue-ribbon panel to investigate what happened and make recommendations to prevent this from happening.

It is the first time that the supervisors have taken such a step, which speaks volumes about the enormity of the problem Election Day. The panel is a welcome and necessary move. Voters need - and deserve - answers.

Voting is a fundamental right. Unfortunately, too few citizens exercise that right, preferring to sit out the election rather than participate.

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/OPINION01/612030323/1004

[EFerrari]

19. Swedes guard Christmas goat from vandals

Swedes guard Christmas goat from vandals

By MATTIAS KAREN
Associated Press Writer

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- For 40 years it has been torched, vandalized, had its legs cut off and even been run over by a car. But officials in the Swedish city of Gavle are guaranteeing that this year's giant straw Christmas goat - the victim of Sweden's most violent yule tradition - will survive unscathed.

The 43-foot-high goat - a centuries-old yule symbol that preceded Santa Claus as the bringer of gifts to Swedish homes - has been burned down 22 times since it was first set up in Gavle's square on Dec. 3, 1966.

But for its 40th anniversary Sunday, officials think they have finally outsmarted the resourceful vandals by dousing the battered ram with flame-resistant chemicals normally used on airplanes.

"It is impossible to burn it to the ground this year, although you might be able to singe its paws," said Anna Ostman, a spokeswoman for the committee in charge of building the goat. "After 40 years, we think we finally found the solution."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SWEDEN_CHRISTMAS_GOAT?SITE=PAGRE&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

:shrug:

[rumpel]

20. 51-year old American?

"The vandals are seldom caught, but the 2001 culprit - 51-year-old American Lawrence Jones - was convicted and spent 18 days in jail."

I guess someone has to continue the "tradition" -

bizarre.....

[EFerrari]

22. I'll be that age on Sunday. LOL!

So funny but maybe only to the ERD posters. I copied the text I needed and this headline showed up in the copy. Who could resist that headline?

:)

[rumpel]

21. SC: Candidates protest county reelection decision

Chronicle Independent

By JIM TATUM, C-I (Camden, S.C.) senior staff reporter December 04, 2006

Two protested Kershaw County elections will be heard at the state appeals level this week.

Chris Whitmire, public information specialist for the South Carolina Election Commission, said appeals for Kershaw County Council District 6 and the Lugoff Fire District race have been filed and will be heard Tuesday (Dec. 5).

The next step in the process is for the state election commission to hold a hearing on those appeals, during which both sides will be allowed to present arguments and evidence, Whitmire said.

"What usually happens is they review the case based on transcripts from the protest with the county election commission," Whitmire said. "The commission will then decide on one of two options: they will either uphold the Kershaw County decision -- in which case new elections will be held -- or they will overturn that decision and the election results would stand."

If the appellants are dissatisfied with the state election commission's decision, they can seek further relief through the court system, Whitmire said.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17546339&BRD=1382&PAG=461&dept_id=161822&rfi=6