Election Reform, Fraud and Related News. Sunday 02/10/08

[EFerrari]

Ohio: Ballot-box blues

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner wants to ditch touch-screen voting machines and use paper, optical-scan ballots. A study indicated that items such as magnets and Treo Smartphones could be used to tamper with the touch-screen devices.


By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS — During Ohio’s winter conference of county elections officials, participants faced a training exercise that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner dubbed “anatomy of a meltdown.”

As officials were leaving that session, one of them turned to a field representative in Ms. Brunner’s office and quipped, “That couldn’t have happened.”

“Oh, you bet it did!” responded the field rep.

The “meltdown” occurred in Putnam County on Nov. 6 when a special congressional primary election coincided with the regular local general election.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080210/NEWS09/153185696

[EFerrari]

1. NJ: New Jersey vote needs paper trail

New Jersey vote needs paper trail
Friday, February 8, 2008 7:10 AM EST

Stephanie Harris of Princeton

On Feb. 5 Jon Corzine learned that even if you are governor, your constitutional right to vote will be denied if the electronic, touch-screen machines break down. The recent request by the Coalition for Peace Action to the Attorney General for emergency paper ballots to be widely available at the polls was denied.

We have been asking the State of New Jersey for almost four years to decommission the electronic, touch-screen machines in favor of paper ballots with precinct-based optical scan. In the long run, this would save the state hundreds of thousands of dollars and provide a more reliable and efficient voting system. Many states have already adopted this strategy.

It is unconscionable for New Jersey to be wasting vast sums of money to fight us in court for the past three and one half years, while at the same time denying the voters a safe, effective and transparent voting system. Shame on you, Gov. Corzine, for not resolving this issue. Now, maybe you will take this problem seriously and do what is right for New Jersey.

http://www.pacpub.com/articles/2008/02/10/the_princeton_packet/your_views/doc47abbdfb87272667009809.txt

[EFerrari]

2. MO: Precincts face higher election costs

Precincts face higher election costs
Electronic voting machines more expensive to maintain

By Kalen Ponche
Saturday, January 26, 2008 12:50 PM CST

St. Charles County voters have used electronic voting equipment since April 2006, but the Election Authority is starting to feel the pinch of maintaining that equipment.

For the past three years, the Election Authority has charged political subdivisions - the municipalities, fire districts and school districts with items on the ballot - $4,500 per precinct to run an election.

But the new electronic voting machines are more expensive to use and maintain, said Rich Chrismer, director of the St. Charles County Election Authority. As a result, the price to put on the election is going up by $1,000 per precinct this year.In 2005, St. Charles County ordered 180 new optical voting machines and 180 touch-screen voting machines. The federal Help America Vote Act paid for counties across the country to get rid of the punch-card method of voting.

"(The federal government) wanted to have voting equipment that allowed the disabled to vote independently," Chrismer said. "Then they also wanted to replace punch cards. ….. The optical scan is faster, considerably faster, and the accuracy is unbelievable."

http://stpetersjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2008/02/09/news/sj2tn20080126-0127stc_elect_1.ii1.txt

[EFerrari]

3. CO: Rebuffing state not in county's plans

Garfield County plays election waiting game

Rebuffing state not in county's plans

Phillip Yates
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado
February 9, 2008

Comment Comments (0) Print Friendly Print Email Email

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Some Mesa County commissioners this week pondered conducting the presidential election this year without state approval of its voting machines.

But Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jean Alberico said she has not had any conversations like that with Garfield County commissioners.

Although Mesa commission­ers have spoken about possibly going forward with this year’s election without the go- ahead from the secretary of state for its Election System & Software vot­ing machines, they have not tak­en a position on the issue, said Janice Rich, Mesa County’s clerk and recorder.

“I think they were just doing a briefing and airing out their frus­trations,” said Rich, who was not in the room as the commission­ers spoke about the issue.

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080209/NEWS/190190945/-1/rss02

[EFerrari]

4. UT: Primary votes might have 'flipped'

Primary votes might have 'flipped'
But secret election records in Utah mean citizens may never know, activist says
Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
Article Launched: 02/09/2008 11:52:47 AM MST

A local election activist says she is concerned that errors made Tuesday by poll workers and touch-screen voting machines could impact voter registration rolls.

"In at least one polling location in Summit County, poll workers any unaffiliated voters vote in the Republican primary without first taking the required step to fill out a registration form to register in the Republican Party," said Parkite Kathy Dopp, director of Utah Counts Votes, in a prepared statement.

Some voters in Salt Lake County, who are not affiliated with a political party, were denied "the right of unaffiliated voters to vote in the Democratic primary," according to Dopp.

"Unfortunately Utah election officials' recent practice of keeping virtually all election records secret from the public, makes it difficult or impossible to investigate the extent of any incidences ballot programming error, electronic ballot box stuffing, incorrect voter registration roll records, the frequency of vote-flipping, or vote miscount here in Utah," Dopp claims.

http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_8217657?source=rss

[EFerrari]

5. IA: Culver willing to back plan to buy new voting machines

Culver willing to back plan to buy new voting machines

By JENNIFER JACOBS • REGISTER STAFF WRITER • February 9, 2008

Gov. Chet Culver is backing down on his plan for updating Iowa's election technology after weeks of disagreement over how to ensure a paper trail for every voting machine.

Culver said Friday he is now willing to use state money to help counties switch to one uniform system with paper ballots.

Iowa's top election official, Michael Mauro, has been pushing a $9.7 million plan that would give every voter an actual paper ballot that could be recounted later, and would give every county the same equipment.

Two weeks ago, Culver called that plan "irresponsible" because it would cost the state too much money. He wanted to stick with a cheaper plan that lawmakers approved last year: spend $2 million to equip touch-screen voting machines, which have electronic ballots, with a special printer that shows voters their choices on a continuous roll of paper.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080209/NEWS10/802090336

[Peace Patriot]

6. Thank you, SFexpat2000! The Brunner story is great! nt

[EFerrari]

7. NY: Clinton and Essex Counties to purchase similar voting machines

Clinton and Essex Counties to purchase similar voting machines
North Country makes deadline for choosing new voting machines

By JOE LoTEMPLIO,
Staff Writers

LOHR McKINSTRY

and DENISE RAYMO

PLATTSBURGH -- North Country voters will be casting their votes on new machines in November, ending the era of the clunky old lever machines.

Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties all chose new machines by Friday's deadline, as mandated by federal laws.

Each county chose the Image Cast optical-scan unit from Sequoia Voting Systems.

The Sequoia machine has a paper ballot that asks voters to fill in the ovals for their candidate then feed the document into the machine, which verifies that the person filled out the ballot correctly before it is officially recorded.

http://www.pressrepublican.com/0100_news/local_story_039234553.html

[EFerrari]

8. (NM) Opinion: Democrats angry about long wait at polling station

http://adsys.townnews.com/67722869/creative/observer-online.com/news+leaderboard/76733-1202641252.gif

Democrats angry about long wait at polling station

Super Tuesday was super complicated in Rio Rancho, with turnout in record numbers.

Sandoval Democrat Party chairman Jim Moran expected 1,500 voters, roughly the same number that came to vote in the 2004 caucus. That was a big mistake because more than 2,800 turned up on Super Tuesday.

The one polling station in Rio Rancho seats only 650 people in the high school’s auditorium and 375 in the lobby, so hundreds of anxious, and often disappointed voters waited for hours outside in the bitter cold.

Moran said he and his staff of 20 people were “super busy working nine hours straight, helping voters.” He says no voter was turned away, and many of them stayed after voting to help bring order to an otherwise chaotic situation.

http://www.observer-online.com/articles/2008/02/10/news/editorial.txt

[EFerrari]

9. MS: Mississippi, where were you?

Mississippi, where were you?
Article Launched: 02/10/2008 01:00:00 AM MST

On Super Tuesday, the cable news networks had all manner of electronic gizmos, and updates of primaries and caucuses were up-to-the-second.

But to update New Mexico results, a stopwatch was not needed. For the Zia state, a sundial was more fitting. And as it turns out, the best tool to track the New Mexico Democratic caucuses is a calendar. One with multiple months.

Unless you gave up waiting to see who New Mexico Democrats would pick, you know, at last check, less than a percentage point separated Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. You also know they're still counting provisional ballots.

Regarding the embarrassing delay in our state's final numbers, it would be easy to point fingers and play the blame game.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8210272?source=most_emailed

[EFerrari]

10. National: Plan would sidestep Electoral College

Plan would sidestep Electoral College
2008-02-10

If John R. Koza gets his way, American voters will never again have to wonder about the workings of the Electoral College and why it decides who sits in the White House.

Koza is behind a push to have states circumvent the odd political math of the Electoral College and ensure that the presidency always goes to the winner of the popular vote.

Basically, states would promise to award their electoral votes to the candidate with the most support nationwide, regardless of who carries each particular state.

"We're just coming along and saying, 'Why not add up the votes of all 50 states and award the electoral votes to the 50-state winner?'" said Koza, chairman of National Popular Vote Inc. "I think that the candidate who gets the most votes should win the office."

http://dailynews.muzi.com/news/ll/english/10060769.shtml

[EFerrari]

11. TX: Texas' arcane delegate system suddenly comes into play

Texas' arcane delegate system suddenly comes into play

AUSTIN -- For the first time in 20 years, Texas will have a heated presidential primary election next month, a contest that will bring the state's complex primary and caucus system into play for Democratic hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

"Texas arguably has the most arcane system in the country," state Rep. Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi and an Obama backer, told the Houston Chronicle in a story published Sunday. "There are a lot of people scrambling to get smart on it in a hurry."

The Democratic and Republican primaries in Texas are March 4. The Clinton-Obama tussle for national convention delegates is extremely tight, especially after Obama's victories Saturday in Nebraska, Washington and Louisiana.

The last time the Texas Democratic convention delegation was at stake in the midst of a national fight was 1988. Michael Dukakis won the statewide primary that year but virtually split delegates evenly with Jesse Jackson because of the state's unique Democratic nominating process.

http://www.kristv.com/global/story.asp?s=7850289

[sonias]

16. We count for once

We count!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Sonia

[EFerrari]

12. 2008 Election Will Be Stolen in PA! A Plea from A Resident of the "Silent State"

February 10, 2008

2008 Election Will Be Stolen in PA! A Plea from A Resident of the "Silent State"

By Mary Ann Gould

2008 WILL BE STOLEN (UNDER PRESENT SYSTEM)
YOUR VOTE MAY BE NULLIFIED BY THE "SILENT STATE"
YET CITIZENS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE...EVEN IN THE "SILENT STATE"
A CALL TO ACTION...GIVE US BACK OUR VOTE..."RIGHT" NOW!
~

I am a Pennsylvanian - and so are you, especially in this year of 2008. We face a serious SILENT Crisis and MUST Act. Will you help?

~

I call Pennsylvania the "Silent State" for few are talking about our plight and concurrently our impact on the Nation. Pennsylvania may just be the key battleground state determining the next President and Control of Congress ... yet we predominantly will be voting on paperless DRE touchscreens.

~

If this remains, then 2008 will be "stolen"! If one cannot prove "reported "results, if there is no way to recount, no way to get back to source entry/ballot of voter then have we voted? How will we know - we won't.

~

If we don't know "reported" results are the people's choices then have we had an election? NO! If no vote... no election....then won't 2008 be stolen from rightful deciders?

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/print_friendly.php?p=opedne_mary_ann_080210_2008__will_be_stolen.htm

[EFerrari]

13. OH: Shadows On High: Election Machine Drama,

February 9, 2008

Shadows On High: Election Machine Drama, All Dam-ed Up and Nowhere to Go
By Brian Rothenberg
Originally posted at ProgressOhio.org; reposted here with permission of Brian Rothenberg.

Progressives are a diverse lot. It’s part of the DNA of free-form thinking – the Myers-Briggs that defines the ideology. Smart conservatives know that.

So when progressives began to splinter over different issues involving the Ohio Election study – EVEREST -- it was hardly surprising. What was surprising was how a Republican election official from Franklin County – Matt Damschroder – became – to borrow Reggie Jackson’s famous phrase -- the straw that stirred the drink in sidetracking Ohio’s Secretary of State’s voting change efforts.

One of the few things the increasingly secretive legislators on Broad and High haven’t exempted from public records are emails of Boards of Elections officials. So ProgressOhio requested Matt Damschroder’s emails on the subject of EVEREST to give SHADOWS readers a glimpse of how operatives influence politics.

What we found was correspondence that showed Damschroder become the de-facto Secretary of State for the opposition. These emails showed Damschroder positioning himself as an expert with newspapers, serving as the public relations scheduler for the elections activist community– and generally – evolving into Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s worst unseen antagonist.

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/print_friendly.php?p=genera_brian_ro_080209_shadows_on_high_3a_ele.htm

[EFerrari]

14. WA: Voter confusion: Lack of info hinders those younger than 30

Voter confusion: Lack of info hinders those younger than 30

By Kelly Mahoney, Medill News Service for The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - They love using their iPods, laptops and cell phones for political information, yet many young adults say they aren't quite sure how to get a ballot in the first place.

On top of that, information overload from all the tech toys gets in the way of finding news sources they can trust. Confusing absentee ballots and a lack of faith in the system also may turn young voters into no-shows at the polls.

Andy Weisman, a 23-year-old research analyst from Arlington, Va., simply looks up information in a newspaper about the candidates. Still, he says, plenty of people his age are turned off voting by "not knowing enough about the candidates and not knowing how to find out about the candidates."

More than 20 million people younger than 30 cast their votes in 2004's presidential election. But, at 49 percent, that's still lower than the overall turnout of 64 percent.

"They are so overwhelmed with all the different information," says Abby Kiesa, youth coordinator for the University Maryland's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which has studied why young people don't vote

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/01/30/features/synergy/synergy990.txt

[EFerrari]

15. Easier voting through graphic design

LONDON: When it's well designed, you barely notice it. The trouble starts when it's not. How many times have you nearly missed a train because of an indecipherable timetable? Taken a wrong turn after struggling to read an illegible road sign? Or thrown out one form, and filled in another, because the layout was so confusing you weren't sure what to write, and where to write it?

Irritating and inconvenient though bad information design is, it wasn't until Nov. 7, 2000, that many of us realized quite how damaging it can be. That was when Al Gore "lost" the U.S. presidential election after the punch-card ballots of thousands of voters in Palm Beach County, Florida, were deemed invalid.

Most of those voters had supported Gore. Some had completed their ballots correctly only for their votes to be disqualified because of a technical hitch, dubbed the "hanging chad," whereby the cards failed to detach from their chads, or paper tabs. Others had mistakenly punched the box belonging to the ultraconservative candidate, Patrick Buchanan, thinking that it was Gore's. One glance at the punch card explains why they did so: the layout is hopelessly confusing, as is the blizzard of text. Those ballots are such a (booby) prize example of lousy information design that it's a mystery how anyone managed to vote correctly.

With Super Tuesday now behind us, and the November 2008 presidential election looming, it seems timely to consider how to avoid a repetition of the 2000 punch-card catastrophe. Marcia Lausen, a graphic designer and professor of graphic design at the University of Illinois at Chicago, does so in the book "Design for Democracy: Ballot and Election Design." As well as analyzing what went wrong in Florida eight years ago, she suggests how the design of ballots and the rest of the voting process could be improved in future.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/07/arts/DESIGN11.php

[Kurovski]

17. Kick to the top!

Thanks, Beth. :hug: