Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday, 2/29/2008

[Mnemosyne]

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[Mnemosyne]

1. National. n't

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6. Provisional Ballots May Be the Hanging Chad of ’08

Provisional Ballots May Be the Hanging Chad of ’08

Tova Andrea Wang, Edward Foley, The Hill, 2/28/2008

Although New Mexicans cast their vote on Super Tuesday, the race was not called until 10 days later. The contest between Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was painfully close, and there were an astonishing 17,000 provisional ballots cast that had to be counted by hand—about 12 percent of the total number of votes cast. Provisional ballots are given to voters who, for whatever reason, do not appear on the voter registration list but believe they are eligible registered voters, and are counted only after the polls are closed.

There might have been many reasons so many voters had to vote by provisional ballot rather than a regular ballot in New Mexico. Whatever the reason, however, there is no question that New Mexico or another swing state could find itself in a similar predicament come November: a close race in which the presidency will all come down to the counting of provisional ballots. What happened in New Mexico on Super Tuesday should serve as fair warning to all the states that they better know how they are going to handle such a problem should they be confronted with it. And it’s clear that most states do not.

State laws are incredibly vague and incomplete with regard to casting and counting provisional ballots. For example, most states require local officials to ascertain that a provisional voter is in fact “registered” in order for the provisional ballot to count. But few states specify either exactly what qualifies as being “registered” or the specific steps that local officials must take to make this determination.

There are circumstances that routinely arise during the registration process that lead to a voter having to cast a provisional ballot that most states have no policy on. States do not specify whether an individual is “registered” if the Department of Motor Vehicles fails to deliver the registration form to elections administrators. States do not have protocols for what to do if it turns out the Postal Service or a third-party group failed to deliver a voter’s registration form in a timely fashion. What if the voter omits certain required information from the form and it was rejected by elections administrators for that reason? Will that voter’s provisional ballot count?

http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=NC&pubid=1817

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7. More young people below age 30 are voting in Democratic primaries

More young people below age 30 are voting in Democratic primaries

By Elizabeth Holmes
The Associated Press
February 29, 2008 6:00 AM

Behind the surge in voter turnout this year has been a particularly sharp rise among people younger than age 30. In 18 states that have voted in the past two months, younger voters made up 13% of the Democratic electorate, up from 9% in the nominating contests four years ago, an analysis of primary and caucus exit polls shows.

Beyond helping Sen. Barack Obama in the presidential nominating contest, the trend could lift Democrats across the board in November, as the rise has been much bigger in Democratic primaries than for Republicans. In 16 of the early Republican contests, the younger-than-30 vote for Republicans made up 11% of the primary and caucus voters, up from 10% in 2000, the last time the party had a competitive nominating contest.

The rising prominence of the youth vote also could shape the terms of the campaign debate, as candidates increasingly focus on issues of concern to the younger demographic.

College tuition has taken center stage among the Democrats. Sen. Obama has pledged to give every college student $4,000 a year to help defray costs. In Hillary Clinton's opening remarks at the debate in Austin, Texas, last week, the New York senator promise to reverse current special-interest subsidies and use that money to "make college affordable."

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS/802290380

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9. High voter turnout prompts resource concerns for Nov.

High voter turnout prompts resource concerns for Nov.

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

Record turnout in this year's presidential primaries has election officials worried about possible shortages of machines, ballots and poll workers in November.

In 17 of the 24 primaries held so far, turnouts were larger than any in the past 40 years, the result of competitive Democratic and Republican contests and earlier primaries. Paper ballots ran out from California to the District of Columbia, more poll workers were needed in Arizona and an electronic voter registration database crashed in Connecticut.

"The biggest problem during the primary season has been too many voters," says Doug Chapin, director of electionline.org, which tracks voting issues. "Time and time again, the problem has been turnout being up higher than even the most optimistic projection."

Now officials from Virginia to Texas are warning that they will need more voting machines in the fall to avoid long lines.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-02-28-Turnout_N.htm?csp=34

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10. Stanford Professor Pushes Verifiable Voting System

Stanford Professor Pushes Verifiable Voting System

Feb 28, 2008

(UWIRE.com) This story was written by Nikhil Kamat, The Stanford DailyWith the upcoming general presidential election in November, the controversy surrounding electronic voting machines has become a top national priority, according to Stanford University Computer Science Professor David Dill.

Dill is the founder of VerifiedVoting.org, a nonprofit organization that advocates for reliable and publicly verifiable voting systems.

Partly as a result of the activism of organizations like VerifiedVoting.org, there has been a wave of state-wide legislation over the past few years requiring that voter-verifiable paper ballots be available to supplement electronic tabulations. These ballots ensure a paper trail that can unequivocally confirm election outcomes. Dill said that the inability to reliably track and secure computerized voting records has the potential to jeopardize the validity of close wins and reduces public faith in the electoral system.

"Transparency is a combination of two things: one of those things is being able to watch things happen, and the other is to be able to go back and check," Dill said. "With electronic voting, from a computer science perspective, there's no way to inspect the externals or internals of the machine or software and determine that it is accurate because it is too complicated to do by the means.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/28/politics/uwire/main3889993.shtml

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11. Democratic fundraiser pleads not guilty to fraud

Democratic fundraiser pleads not guilty to fraud

Thu Feb 28, 5:32 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Democratic fundraiser whose troubles prompted Hillary Clinton to return $850,000 in campaign contributions pleaded innocent on Thursday to orchestrating a $60 million fraud and making illegal political donations.

Norman Hsu, 56, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan after he was indicted in December for mail fraud, wire fraud and violating the Federal Election Campaign Act.

The latest case follows similar charges that arose in California that prompted Democratic presidential candidate Clinton to return $850,000 in campaign contributions.

Hsu, a clothing entrepreneur, was sentenced in January in San Francisco to three years in prison for stealing about $1 million from investors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080228/pl_nm/usa_politics_hsu_dc_1

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2. States. n/t

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12. AZ: A surge in young people urging others to vote

A surge in young people urging others to vote

By Scott Mackay
The Providence Journal
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.28.2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The wind on the city's East Side is a chilly bite on a Saturday morning in February, spraying street sand in the faces of Ariel Werner and Ari Savitzky as they walk the neighborhoods, knocking on doors in a fevered search for voters committed to Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Ringing a doorbell Savitzky is greeted by an elderly man peering through thick glasses. Before Savitzky can make his pitch, the man looks at his Obama '08 leaflet, creases his face into a stern frown, says loudly "Obama, take a hike," and emphatically closes the door.

Undaunted, the pair continue on to their next target, a few doors up where a tall man with a beard opens the door. Here, Savitzky gets a friendly reception, chats with the voter about Obama's health care stance, drops some literature and heads back to the sidewalk with a smile.

The elderly man will obviously not be encouraged to vote in Rhode Island's March 4 presidential primary by Obama's campaign, while the man who favors the Illinois senator will be called and urged to cast a ballot. If he needs a ride to the polls, an Obama volunteer will pick him up.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/news/227304.php

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13. CO: Boulder County voting machines get OK

Boulder County voting machines get OK
Secretary of state clears way to use Hart InterCivic machines

By Ryan Morgan (Contact)
Friday, February 29, 2008

Two critical pieces of Boulder County's election equipment got the green light from state voting officials Thursday.

Secretary of State Mike Coffman cleared the way for 47 counties to use their optical scanners to count paper ballots in this year's elections. Coffman had decertified most of the state's electronic voting machines in December, including the scanners made by Hart InterCivic, citing security and accuracy concerns.

"This is huge," said Hillary Hall, Boulder County clerk and recorder. "The vast majority of our voters vote on paper ballots, and now we know we'll be able to count them."

Coffman also approved the Ballot Now vote-counting software used by Boulder County. Local election officials will still have to work with the Secretary of State’s Office on outstanding issues concerning the county’s direct-record electronic machines, Hall said.

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/29/county-voting-machines-get-ok/?partner=yahoo_headlines

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14. FL: Touch-screen voting machines destined for parts recycler

Touch-screen voting machines destined for parts recycler

By GEORGE BENNETT and MICHAEL C. BENDER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

Friday, February 29, 2008

This time, Smithsonian curators and eBay bidders weren't interested in Palm Beach County's election artifacts.

Instead, most of the county's controversial paperless electronic touch-screen voting machines will be hauled away next week by a Tampa recycling firm to be stripped for parts.

Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning announced the ignominious end for the 6-year-old voting devices Thursday in Tallahassee. Gov. Charlie Crist and state lawmakers agreed last year to ban paperless voting in Florida and require that most votes be cast on paper ballots that can be read by optical scanners.

The paper-ballot law takes effect this fall.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/south/epaper/2008/02/29/s1a_touch_screen_0229.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=75

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15. AR: Lawyers review voting data in disputed election runoff

Lawyers review voting data in disputed election runoff

Last Update: 2/28 8:50 am

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Attorneys for a former lawmaker challenging his loss in a 2006 Democratic primary runoff for a state Senate seat have been combing through voting records in St. Francis County for the past several days.

St. Francis County officials received a subpoena from the state Senate last week after County Clerk Elizabeth Smith declined to hand over the records without a legal order. The subpoena is the first the Senate has issued in advance of a three-day hearing next month on Sen. Jack Crumbly's 2006 victory in the runoff over former Rep. Arnell Willis.

After the hearing, which begins March 25, the Senate's State Agencies and Government Affairs Committee will recommend to the Senate whether Crumbly should keep his seat. The election contest hearing is the first in state Senate history.

In the Feb. 21 subpoena, the Senate ordered the county to open records regarding the June 13, 2006, runoff, including all absentee ballots, voter registration lists, the election roster and ballot stubs for all polling sites.

http://www.fox16.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=bc72c76e-4727-44ef-901d-e7560c66d618&rss=316

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16. FL: Two Arrested Forging Signatures In Recall

Two Arrested Forging Signatures In Recall

MIAMI (CBS4) ―

Two people were arrested on Wednesday, charged with fraud in trying to collect signatures to recall Miami-Dade Commissioner Natacha Seijas in a 2006 election.

Luz Dunlap, 59, a notary, according to CBS4 news partners The Miami Herald, authorized forged signatures for a recall effort that failed. Miami-Dade police have charged her with more than 100 counts of falsely taking signatures and receiving signatures to mislead a public servant, both third-degree felonies.

According to the newspaper, police also charged Anibal Roberto Orellana-Ramirez, 26, with 23 counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.

Authorities said he confessed to forging the signatures in the petition with someone else's name, a first-degree misdemeanors.

http://cbs4.com/local/Luz.Dunlap.Anibal.2.664918.html

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17. FL: Strip Club Manager Jailed For Election Fraud

Strip Club Manager Jailed For Election Fraud

POSTED: 7:58 pm EST February 27, 2008
UPDATED: 5:50 am EST February 28, 2008

The manager of Lollipops strip club in Daytona Beach will be serving six months in jail for election fraud.

Sean Bishop was convicted earlier this month of getting friends to write $500 checks to two city commission candidates in 2005.

He then reimbursed them with cash, which is a violation of election law.
sponsor

The judge sentenced Bishop to three years of probation but ordered that the first 180 days be served in jail.

http://www.wesh.com/news/15431436/detail.html?rss=orl&psp=news

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18. IN: Sheriff's Department Investigating Possible Election Fraud

Sheriff's Department Investigating Possible Election Fraud

Updated: Feb 28, 2008 09:42 PM

As more evidence points to the fact that Tippecanoe County Council Candidate Keith Underwood does not exist, the Sheriff's Department has taken over the case.

Keith Underwood is one of 10 Republicans who have filed to run for County Council in the primary election. Police have seized the original forms filled out with Keith Underwood's name. They are also interviewing several witnesses.

Detective Tom Lehman would not confirm if police have spoken with Nancy Pickel. Pickel is the name of the notary public that appears on Keith Underwood's candidacy form. Her name also appears on candidate Dick Nagel's form. Nagel said Nancy Pickel, or somebody using her name, notarized his form. Election Co-Director Heather Maddox said Pickel told her she did not notarize either of the forms. Right now police are trying to figure out who's telling the truth.

"We've talked to several people this morning and into this afternoon and hoping to still make some more contacts later in the day," Lehman said.

http://www.wlfi.com/global/story.asp?s=7942833

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19. IN: Election board awaits return of ballots

Election board awaits return of ballots

THE STAR PRESS

MUNCIE — The reason that 37 absentee ballots in the November general election were unaccounted for in the December recount remain a mystery.

The Delaware County Election Board asked the three members of the recount commission during a Thursday hearing if they could explain the discrepancy.

The recount commissioners said they could not without first reviewing recount materials and video and audio recordings.

The recordings and recount materials are currently in Indianapolis with the Indiana Attorney General, having been impounded in connection with an unrelated vote fraud investigation.

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS01/802290318

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20. PA: Voting machine talks stumble

Voting machine talks stumble

BY GRETCHEN M. WINTERMANTEL
STAFF WRITER
02/28/2008

Lackawanna County commissioners are growing impatient in their negotiations with Premier Voting Solutions, the vendor supplying the county’s new electronic voting machines.

“We’re not happy with the pace at which the negotiations are moving along,” Commissioner Mike Washo said Wednesday, declining to elaborate.

However, when contacted later in the day, a spokesman for Premiere Voting Solutions seemed surprised when told of Mr. Washo’s comments, which were made during Wednesday’s commissioner’s meeting.

Company spokesman Chris Riggall said that to his knowledge, the firm has provided all the assurances and information requested by the county and was not aware of any outstanding issues.

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19340164&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6

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21. PA: Former Pa. state representative, aide charged with election fraud

Former Pa. state representative, aide charged with election fraud

By MARK SCOLFORO
The Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A former Democratic state representative from Erie and a top aide were accused Thursday of submitting dozens of fraudulent nominating-petition signatures to get the legislator on the ballot two years ago.

Linda Bebko-Jones, 61, and chief of staff Mary B. Fiolek, 60, were charged after an eyewitness told a grand jury that the two combed the Erie phone book and Bebko-Jones' personal address book to generate fake signatures the day before they were due.

The Democrat, first elected in 1992, announced she would not seek re-election in March 2006, one day before she was scheduled to appear at a court hearing on a petition challenge. The seat is currently held by Rep. Patrick Harkins, D-Erie, running unopposed for a second term.

An investigator told the grand jury that people on one of her petitions denied having signed it. One supposed signatory had been dead for six years.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-02292008-1495425.html

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22. TN: Bill would let candidates feed poll workers

Bill would let candidates feed poll workers

By JENNIFER BROOKS • Staff Writer • February 29, 2008

Tennessee lawmakers are getting ready to cross a line — the invisible 100-foot boundary that's supposed to separate candidates from the inside of a polling place on Election Day.

Nashville Democrats Sen. Joe Haynes of Goodlettsville and Rep. Gary Moore of Joelton, propose letting candidates for public office enter polling places, bearing gifts of doughnuts, pizzas, beverages and other goodies to feed poll workers.

Supporters call it a gesture of good will and kindness for the poll workers, many of whom are elderly volunteers working grueling 12-hour shifts. Opponents point out that the dividing line between the candidates and the voting booth is there for a reason.

An attempt to pass the House bill Thursday was derailed when supporters weren't able to kill an amendment by Rep. Donna Rowland, R-Murfreesboro, that would block the candidates from delivering the food in person.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS0201/802290423

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23. TX: Ford Bend County adds eSlate machines

Feb. 27, 2008, 1:12AM

Ford Bend County adds eSlate machines
A week after top election official quits, leaders order 200 extra devices to handle expected high turnout

By ERIC HANSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

RICHMOND — Fort Bend County officials have rented an extra 200 electronic voting machines to help handle the heavy voter turnout predicted for next week's primary election.

The emergency expenditure of $62,660 to rent and ship the eSlate machines to Richmond was approved by county commissioners Tuesday. The rental of the devices comes one week after Fort Bend County's election administrator suddenly resigned.

Election administrator J.R. Perez quit after telling county commissioners he wanted to scrap the eSlate voting system and return to a paper ballot and optical scan operation. Perez also told commissioners the county's 830 eSlate machines were too few in number to handle the crunch of voters expected Tuesday and there could be delays. Perez did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert said he thinks there are enough voting machines but as a precaution the county is renting more.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5573079.html

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24. TX: Upshur disabled voters in peril, state official says

Upshur disabled voters in peril, state official says
Ruling against county's Republican Party could mean rights violation

By CHRISTINA LANE

Friday, February 29, 2008

The state's chief elections office is concerned about a judge's ruling this week against the Upshur County Republican Party, which was trying to force the Upshur County district clerk to lease electronic voting machines to the party for Tuesday's primary elections.

State law requires that electronic voting machines be available at each polling place to provide voting privacy for people with physical disabilities. The Upshur Republican Party says it tried leasing the equipment Feb. 8, but was turned away and later told the machines had been programmed and could not be changed.

"We are concerned that an agreement wasn't reached between the county and the party chair as we are now faced with the possibility that a voter with a disability may not be guaranteed the same rights to a private ballot as they otherwise would be," said Ashley Burton, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's office.

Burton would not say what could happen if the party is not able to find another source for the machines. There are four electronic machines that have been approved for use in Texas. Burton said state law requires counties to lease the machines to political parties with "reasonable restrictions.

http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/29/02292008_Lawsuit_Folo.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

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25. VA: Tate Seeks Subpoenas of GOP Leaders in Election Fraud Case

Tate Seeks Subpoenas of GOP Leaders in Election Fraud Case

By Bill Brubaker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 27, 2008; 11:29 AM

A bruising courtroom battle involving local Republican leaders could be looming in Loudoun County, where a former GOP state Senate candidate who faces election fraud charges is alleging that his opponents within the party launched the criminal investigation to derail his campaign.

Mark D. Tate wants to subpoena three locally prominent Republicans to testify, according to motions filed by Tate's attorney in Loudoun Circuit Court last week. The Middleburg restaurateur was indicted on nine charges of election fraud in January, three months after a judge had dismissed similar charges against him. Both indictments involve alleged misstatements that Tate made on campaign finance reports he filed during his runs for public office in 2003 and 2007.

Tate's attorney, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., is rolling out some of the same strategies he used to fight last year's indictment -- alleging, for example, that prosecutors leaked damaging information about his client to destroy his candidacy. This time, though, the tactics seem more aggressive.

In the earlier case, MacMahon tried to subpoena Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney James E. Plowman, who initiated the investigation. This time, court documents show, he is seeking testimony and e-mail records not only from Plowman but also from state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (Winchester), who defeated Tate in the Republican primary in June, and Warrenton Town Attorney Whitson W. Robinson, a Holtzman Vogel supporter who chairs the Republican Party of Fauquier County.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022701618.html

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3. The Youth Vote. n/t

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26. Ann Fisher commentary: Youngsters can't vote, but they are tuned in

Ann Fisher commentary: Youngsters can't vote, but they are tuned in

Friday, February 29, 2008 3:01 AM
By Ann Fisher
DispatchPolitics

Much ado has been made over the "youth vote" in this election cycle, how Barack Obama and his "yes we can" message have inspired young voters.

The option of the first woman and the first black for president has moved many others.

But the youth vote had increased anyway in recent years. In presidential-election years between 1972 and 2000, the turnout rate had declined by 16 percentage points among young citizens before rebounding by 11 percentage points in the 2004 election, when 47 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, based at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Credit the terrorist attacks, the war, a couple of close elections, whatever, but young voters wouldn't need reinvigorating had they been invigorated in the first place -- at home.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/29/ann29_ART_02-29-08_B1_5V9GB38.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

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27. Civics classes can inspire young voters - but study finds many lack access to basic lessons

Civics classes can inspire young voters - but study finds many lack access to basic lessons

By Martha Irvine - Associated Press

CHICAGO - Her neighborhood, with its police cameras and abandoned buildings, isn't known for inspiring hope. Yet, 18-year-old Ariel Williams feels empowered.

She's lobbied her state lawmakers to increase education funding. She and other students traveled to Iowa in December to campaign for presidential candidates. And now she can't wait to vote in November's election.

They are the sort of results that happen when civics education is creative and engaging, according to a new study.

“I've always been a real cynic when it comes to politics. At first, we didn't think we had a say,” Williams says of herself and other students in her Advanced Placement government class at North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School on Chicago's impoverished West Side. She's also part of the Mikva Challenge, an organization that works to engage students politically. “Now I finally realize that I have a voice.”

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2008/02/29/news/news04.txt

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28. Young NC voters a growing political force as more sign up to vote

Young NC voters a growing political force as more sign up to vote

The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. --
More young voters are signing up to vote in North Carolina as political interest grows among a demographic that has long lagged at the polls.

New voters led the state's election director to caution poll workers that they need to be ready for a turnout that could top 50 percent in the May 6 primary - far more than the 30 percent of registered voters that normally go to the polls in primaries.

"We are going to be registering new folks the likes of which we have never seen before," state elections director Gary Bartlett told the News & Observer of Raleigh. "I've not seen this level starting out of the gate."

Among people ages 18 to 24, registrations in North Carolina are up sharply from 2004, according to incomplete statistics kept by the State Board of Elections. Registrations are up 200 percent among young unaffiliated voters, 176 percent among young Democrats and 126 percent among young Republicans.

http://www.charlotte.com/politics/story/512313.html

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29. NC: Young people ready to cast first ballots

Young people ready to cast first ballots
North Carolina counties register throngs of new voters

Rob Christensen, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - ******

North Carolina election workers are bracing for a wave of new voters -- many of them young people casting their first ballots -- who may inundate polling places during the May 6 primary.

"We are going to be registering new folks the likes of which we have never seen before," said state elections director Gary Bartlett. "I've not seen this level starting out of the gate."

Bartlett recently cautioned county election workers that they need to be ready for a turnout that could top 50 percent if the Democratic presidential contest between Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is still alive when North Carolina holds its primary. North Carolina typically sees a top turnout of about 30 percent in primaries.

State voter registration is going up among all demographic groups. But the increase has been especially marked among blacks, Democrats and unaffiliated voters.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/968436.html

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30. RI: Primary draws young voters

Primary draws young voters

NEWPORT – Danielle Brazil leans back with a pensive but active gaze. She's carefully weighing her thoughts; considering her options. Like many Rhode Island voters, Ms. Brazil, a Salve Regina University junior and president of the campus chapter of the College Democrats, plans to vote in next Tuesday's presidential primary. And like many Rhode Island voters, she's currently forming her thoughts on each of the candidates.

This will be a special election for the West Warwick native. Not because she is anxious to vote for "change;" not because she has been told by political pundits it is an important election. Rather, March 4 will be the first time she casts a ballot in a presidential election.

That means both opportunity and responsibility to Brazil.

"This is a big deal for me," she said. "I'm really excited about it. I tell everyone I run into on campus to get out there and vote because I believe that college students definitely can make a difference."

http://www.eastbayri.com/story/298410682479844.php

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31. TX: Election pulls in young voters

Election pulls in young voters

By Leigh Jones
The Daily News

Published February 25, 2008

GALVESTON — Dane Dougherty sat in the second row of Levin Hall’s orange seats on Saturday and studied for a test while he waited for Sen. John Kerry to make the first major Barack Obama campaign speech in Galveston.

Like many of his peers across the nation, Dougherty said he was excited about this election and specifically about the Democratic front-runner.

“I’m excited because he’s young and thoughtful and seems to be sincere in his motives to unify people,” said Dougherty, a 24-year-old student in his first year at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

“I’m inspired by that.”

http://texascitysun.com/story.lasso?ewcd=929a82107b7fd35d&-session=TheDailyNews:45935697059180077AuJj2FB8075

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4. OPED/BLOGS/LTTE. n/t

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43. Staff editorial: Young voters have responsibility

Staff editorial: Young voters have responsibility
Access to more information, candidates visiting young people helps decision making

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Opinion

In 2008, presidential candidates are targeting young voters more than years' past by rallying at college campuses, utilizing social networking Web sites and reaching out directly to our generation to raise awareness about politics and get young people involved.

Though the increased number turnout is a step in the right direction for young voters, it is just as important for young people to be informed. Fortunately, becoming informed on each candidate is easier than ever due to the variety of ways candidates are engaging young people.

The most significant way Democratic and Republican candidates are getting young people's attention is by adapting to what Generation Y knows best: the Internet.

All of the nominees' official Web sites are modernized and cover all aspects of their campaign through video, podcasts and blogs. With so much multimedia content, it's hard not to be informed. There is no longer an excuse for young voters to say they don't know what is going on in elections.

http://media.www.newsrecord.org/media/storage/paper693/news/2008/02/28/Opinion/Staff.Editorial.Young.Voters.Have.Responsibility-3239180.shtml

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44. I’m Not Running for President, but ...By MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG

Op-Ed Contributor
I’m Not Running for President, but ...

By MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG
Published: February 28, 2008

WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must know better. They must know we can’t fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can’t fix our immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can’t fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless challenge. And they must know that we can’t keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.

The vast majority of Americans know that all of this is true, but — politics being what it is — the candidates seem afraid to level with them.

Over the past year, I have been working to raise issues that are important to New Yorkers and all Americans — and to speak plainly about common sense solutions. Some of these solutions have traditionally been seen as Republican, while others have been seen as Democratic. As a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers and, as mayor, I have seen just how true that is.

In every city I have visited — from Baltimore to New Orleans to Seattle — the message of an independent approach has resonated strongly, and so has the need for a new urban agenda. More than 65 percent of Americans now live in urban areas — our nation’s economic engines. But you would never know that listening to the presidential candidates. At a time when our national economy is sputtering, to say the least, what are we doing to fuel job growth in our cities, and to revive cities that have never fully recovered from the manufacturing losses of recent decades?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/opinion/28mike.html?em&ex=1204434000&en=53917525622b6409&ei=5087%0A

[Mnemosyne]

45. Senate Kin and the Campaign Kitty

Editorial
Senate Kin and the Campaign Kitty

Published: February 29, 2008

A worthy House measure to clamp down on members of Congress who employ relatives using campaign donations has disappeared into the maw of the Senate. A nonprofit watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, may have come up with a reason why. It has uncovered at least 20 senators who have paid out more than $500,000 in campaign funds to family members since 2000.

The House bill, passed last summer and sent to the Senate, is itself only a half-loaf measure. It would ban the use of political donations to pay spouses, but it would allow these funds to be used to hire other family members, as long as those payments are fully disclosed. The House was shamed into acting by the Jack Abramoff Congressional corruption scandal, and by CREW’s revelation that 72 House members had spent $5 million in campaign funds to employ family members and their companies since 2000.

The Senate, at least so far, has been harder to shame. That is not entirely surprising, considering another discouraging CREW finding: that 31 senators — nearly one-third of the Senate — have one or more family members registered in the lobbying industry.

The Senate has also lagged on other ethics issues. Unlike the House, it still refuses to require electronic filing of its campaign finance data. It clings to an old slow-motion paper system that builds in months of obfuscation by requiring print records that have to be scanned and e-mailed to election officials, who in turn have to do their own processing and printing before the information is publicly available. Senate Republican leaders have, scandalously, been blocking a good bill that would force campaign reporting into the digital age.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/opinion/29fri4.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

[Mnemosyne]

5. Foreign. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

32. PUTIN URGES RUSSIANS TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESIDENTIAL POLL

Russia

PUTIN URGES RUSSIANS TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESIDENTIAL POLL

President Vladimir Putin on February 29 appeared on national television to urge Russians to participate in the March 2 presidential election, Russian media reported. "The movement of Russia forward must not be stopped and the changes for the better must be continued," Putin said, using the campaign slogan of First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev -- "Russia, Forward!" "Who will bring to the post of head of state real benefit for millions of people, for all the citizens of our great motherland," Putin said. "In these days everyone has the chance independently to answer these questions and, at the election for the president of Russia, make their conscious choice." RC

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/02/1-rus/rus-290208.asp

[Mnemosyne]

33. Kremlin planning to rig election

Kremlin planning to rig election

* Luke Harding and Tom Parfitt in Moscow
* guardian.co.uk,
* Friday February 29 2008

The Kremlin is planning to falsify the results of this Sunday's presidential election in Russia by compelling millions of public sector workers to vote and by fraudulently boosting the official turnout after polls close, the Guardian has learned.

Governors, regional officials, and even headteachers have been instructed to deliver a landslide majority for Dmitry Medvedev - Russia's first deputy prime minister, whom President Vladimir Putin has endorsed to be his successor.

Officials have been told they need to secure a 68% to 70% turnout in this weekend's poll - with around 72% casting votes for Medvedev. However, independent analysts believe the real turnout will be much lower - with between 25% and 50% of the electorate taking part.

The Kremlin is planning to bridge the gap by the use of widespread fraud, diplomats and other independent sources have told the Guardian. Local election officials are preparing to stuff ballot boxes once the polls have closed with unused ballots, they believe, with regional officials also giving inflated tallies to Russia's central election commission.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/29/russia2?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews

[Mnemosyne]

34. COMMUNISTS AGAIN MOBILIZE MAJOR ELECTION-MONITORING EFFORT

COMMUNISTS AGAIN MOBILIZE MAJOR ELECTION-MONITORING EFFORT...

The Communist Party intends to mobilize 500,000 people to monitor the voting in the March 2 presidential election, ITAR-TASS reported on February 28. "The party will conduct a parallel vote count using electronic means and an analysis of all the data we receive from our observers, from polling stations, and from territorial and regional commissions, and from the Central Election Commission," party leader and presidential candidate Gennady Zyuganov was quoted as saying. The Communists have also organized some 150 lawyers nationwide to assist in the monitoring and analysis. The party carried out similar monitoring of the December 2 Duma elections, but all their efforts to challenge the official results of those polls were rejected (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 29, 2007). Lilia Shabanova, head of the independent NGO Golos, told RFE/RL on February 28 that her organization has been barred from officially monitoring the elections, although some representatives will be allowed access to polling stations as correspondents for the NGO's small newspaper. The group plans to concentrate its monitoring in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, and Chelyabinsk. RC

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/02/1-rus/rus-290208.asp

[Mnemosyne]

35. Observers say Russians pressured to vote

Observers say Russians pressured to vote


By MARIA DANILOVA, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 29, 6:01 AM ET

MOSCOW - Young voters will get discounts for night club passes. Cheap groceries will be sold at the polls. Schools and hospitals, meanwhile, are threatening to fire workers who don't cast ballots.

Voters across Russia say they are being urged, cajoled and pressured to vote in an effort to ensure that the Kremlin's candidate scores a big win in Sunday's presidential elections.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's first deputy prime minister, is all but certain to win Sunday's presidential election by a broad margin. But authorities are still taking extraordinary steps to make sure he wins by a huge margin and with a high turnout, voters and rights groups say.

Compared to the December parliamentary campaign, which was marred by allegations of harassment and intimidation of opposition groups, the March 2 race has been calm, in part because there are no real opposition candidates in the race.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080229/ap_on_re_eu/russia_voters_pressured_4

[Mnemosyne]

36. Malaysia: ‘Let the head rule the heart’ - to young voters

‘Let the head rule the heart’

PENDANG: Young voters should let their heads rule their hearts, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

“You should choose wisely for your future and that of your children’s,” she said at a gathering in the Sungai Tiang state constituency here yesterday.

The Barisan Nasional’s Suraya Yaacob faces PAS candidate Sobri Awang in a straight fight.

Azalina said the Government understood the needs of young people, adding that there were various youth development programmes that had been organised.

The minister also said a fatwa by PAS pre-sident Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to allow candidates to talk bad about others would only lead to problems.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/2/29/north/20486910&sec=North

[Mnemosyne]

37. Dead or alive, Malaysia voters among world's oldest

Dead or alive, Malaysia voters among world's oldest

Fri Feb 29, 2:59 AM ET

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has found nearly 9,000 people aged more than 100 on its electoral rolls as it heads for general elections next month, raising suspicions that the books are "contaminated" with dead voters.

The Election Commission has found the names of 8,666 registered voters with birth dates from a century or more ago, the New Straits Times said on Friday, quoting commission secretary Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor.

They included two 128-year-olds, the daily said.

"As far as the commission is concerned, as of December 31 last year, these voters are still alive," Kamaruzaman said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080229/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_malaysia_election_elderly_1

[Mnemosyne]

38. Nigeria: 2007 Polls Rigged, NLC Insists

Nigeria: 2007 Polls Rigged, NLC Insists

Vanguard (Lagos)

29 February 2008
Posted to the web 29 February 2008

Funmi Komolafe, Leon Usigbe and Chris Ochayi
Lagos

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) declared, yesterday that the 2007 elections were marred by fraud, Tuesday's judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal notwithstanding.

The judiciary, it said, was no substitute for a credible electoral system. Besieds the Action Congress (AC) and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) kicked yesterda over Wednesday's statement by the Defence Headquarters warning those planning to foment trouble on the strength of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to think twice.

Giving the position of the NLC in abuja, its President, Comrade Abdullahi Omar said: "The nation has to grapple with the challenge of developing a credible electoral system so that the whole electorate can choose leaders rather than leave the matter in the hands of some five judges."

Speaking at the symposium entitled, "30 years of Struggle: NLC's contributions to national development," in Abuja yesterday, the NLC President said, "we believe that the 2007 general elections are plagued with serious electoral malpractices. The judgement does not in any way give INEC under Prof. Maurice Iwu a clean slate."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802290075.html

[Mnemosyne]

39. Nigeria: Why INEC Officials Go Unpunished, Nnamani Regrets Mistake in Electoral Law

Nigeria: Why INEC Officials Go Unpunished, Nnamani Regrets Mistake in Electoral Law

29 February 2008
Posted to the web 29 February 2008

Abdul-Rahman Abubakar

As Nigerians continue to react to last Tuesday's judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which confirmed the election of President Umaru Yar'Adua, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani yesterday canvassed a 20-year jail term or life jail for electoral officers who aid or abet electoral malpractices.

He said the National Assembly under him made a fundamental omission in the 2007 Electoral Act by leaving out punishment for any electoral officer who aids or abets electoral malpractices.

Speaking at a Media Dialogue on Electoral Reform in Nigeria organised by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in Abuja, the former Senate President said: "I admit that it was a grievous oversight on our part not to have provided for adequate punishment for officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who declare phantom results with big figures from nowhere."

Senator Nnamani said: "the punishment for such INEC officials should be a minimum of twenty years imprisonment or even life in jail depending on the offence. It is unfair that today INEC resident electoral officers in the states where elections have been nullified are working freely in the streets while their victims suffer in tribunals."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802290579.html

[Mnemosyne]

40. Panel upholds presidential election's result in Nigeria

Panel upholds presidential election's result in Nigeria

By Edward Harris
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/26/2008 10:37:29 PM MST

ABUJA, Nigeria — A Nigerian election tribunal sided Tuesday with the president in a challenge of the vote that brought him to power last year and that opposition leaders say was tainted by fraud.

The two opposition leaders vowed to appeal — sticking to a legal, peaceful route that is perhaps a sign of the African nation's maturing democracy in contrast to its past and violence that followed Kenya's disputed presidential election.

In a judgment delivered over three hours to a packed, sweltering courtroom, the tribunal said the petitions by former strongman Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lacked evidence that fraud had materially affected the outcome of the April 21 vote.

President Umaru Yar'Adua welcomed the decision.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_8371304?source=rss

[Mnemosyne]

41. Namibia: Battlefield Omuthiya

Namibia: Battlefield Omuthiya

The Namibian (Windhoek)

28 February 2008
Posted to the web 28 February 2008

Christof Maletsky
Windhoek

SPARKS flew at Omuthiya yesterday as parties hurled allegations of fraud at each other ahead of tomorrow's first local authority election in the newly proclaimed town.

Well-placed sources informed The Namibian that the voters' roll which Swapo used to lodge a complaint against the presence of Magnus Nangombe's name on the Omuthiya list was allegedly smuggled out of the Directorate of Elections by members of the party who work there.

The sources said that one list without Nangombe's name was given to the party before the voters' roll was finalised.

When the actual voters' roll - with 1 587 names - was made available at the local Police station for inspection, Swapo's Regional Co-ordinator for Oshikoto, Armas Amukwiyu, cried foul.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802280387.html

[Mnemosyne]

42. Thai panel upholds election fraud finding

Thai panel upholds election fraud finding

Thailand's Election Commission has upheld the investigation finding parliament Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat guilty of election fraud.

The panel will ask the nation's Supreme Court to ban Yongyuth from politics, a commission official said Tuesday. Yongyuth was accused of bribing local officials to campaign for votes for the People Power Party in a northern province, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The decision could lead to an investigation into election fraud allegations against the People Power Party, the coalition government's largest party. An investigation could lead to the party's dissolution, the Journal said.

The People Power Party, supported by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is the largest party in the coalition government formed after Thailand's first elections since a bloodless coup in September 2006.

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/98869/

[Kurovski]

8. First rec!

Barkeep, transparent elections, all around!

Thanks in advance, sweet vickiss. I'll check back later. :hi:

[Mnemosyne]

46. I'll take one of those transparent elections, please!

Thanks Kurovski! :hi:

And you are very welcome! :hug:

[Mnemosyne]

47. See you all next week!

:hi:

[livvy]

48. Get thee to the Greatest Page...

and

[Mnemosyne]

50. Thanks livvy,

and you are kindly welcome!

Love that sculpture! Whoa!

:hi:

[MelissaB]

49. I just love your organization!

:hi:

[Mnemosyne]

51. Well,

mania has some advantages! :P