Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Monday 09/01/08

[tbyg52]

Edited to add that we seem to be down to livvy and myself, for two threads per week.

So I changed my searches to go back a week instead of a day. That may turn out to be too much to deal with in the time I have available and on my dialup, so I might have to reduce the depth to which I dig; we'll see.

More volunteers would be much appreciated - reply to this or PM me if you might be willing....!


Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Monday 09/01/08

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




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[tbyg52]

1. States nt

[tbyg52]

8. NJ: Local Republican chairman spotlights voter fraud

From the "know your enemies" department...

Sunday was hardly Atlantic County Republican Chairman Keith Davis' first day in Minneapolis.

He has been in the area since Aug. 23 as one of two state members of the Republican National Committee's Platform Committee.

Davis, with a seat on the party's Health and Education Subcommittee, served along with Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, R-Sussex, Hunterdon, Morris, who handled foreign affairs.

Among other things, Davis said he pushed for the party to take stronger stands on career and technical education because of the need for highly skilled labor.

But from the floor, he also got the party to incorporate a statement saying it supported state and local officials who worked to ensure the integrity of the voting process and opposed fraud and abuse with registration and absentee ballots. Republicans have charged that Atlantic City Democrats have abused the absentee ballot process to run up vote totals for their candidates.

Click here to find out more!
Davis said he shared stories of questionable local elections with other delegates from Ohio, Washington state and South Dakota.

"This is not something unique to Atlantic County," he said.

More:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/109/story/244563.html

[tbyg52]

10. CA: STEALING AMERICA: VOTE BY VOTE (not rated) opens Sept. 12 at Bay Area theaters.

The numbers don't add up.

$3.8 billion: The initial Help America Vote Act allocation that California Secretary of State Deborah Bowen said "pushed many counties into buying electronic systems that ... were not properly reviewed or tested."
Images
A scene from the documentary "Stealing America: Vote by V...Dorothy Fadiman, director of the documentary "Stealing Am... View Larger Images

18,000: Votes that did not register in a 2006 Sarasota County, Fla., local election using touch-screen machines, in a Democratic stronghold that the Republican challenger won by 368 votes.

Negative 16,022: Votes counted for Al Gore on a Diebold tabulator in Volusia County, Fla., in 2000.

Zero: The number of proven instances of election fraud involving electronic voting machines, according to industry spokespeople.

John McCain, Barack Obama, Paris Hilton; it doesn't matter who one chooses if the votes aren't counted properly. Dorothy Fadiman's new documentary, "Stealing America: Vote By Vote," is the latest in a line of recent films that question our electoral system's ability - or propensity - to do just that (among the others: HBO's Florida election-disaster drama "Recount" with Kevin Spacey; and David Earnhardt's crisp documentary "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections," on Starz this month and available on DVD).

More:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/29/PKRV12GO4P.DTL

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19. FL: Diebold Problems Affect Florida Primary Election

In an article this morning from the St Petersburgh (FL) Times the reporters report that Diebold/Premier voting systems failed to work properly in Hillsborough County.

They report:
By far the largest problem cropped up in Hillsborough, which Browning had criticized when Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson took longer than any other supervisor to buy optical scan technology. Through bidding, Hillsborough picked a company called Premier Voting Solutions. Its voting systems are used in 34 states, and about 30 of Florida's 67 counties.

However, after major computer problems cropped up during Ohio's March elections, the manufacturer acknowledged last week that its software contains a critical programming error. Because of the error, votes can be dropped while being electronically transferred from memory cards. As a result, the company sent out a nationwide customer alert with recommended actions to deal with the problem.

More:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6325

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55. Vendor blamed for optical scan problems

Results from yesterday’s primary in Hillsborough County were slow to be released. Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson blames a software issue with the new optical scan machines manufactured by Premier Election Solutions.

Johnson is not the only one critical of the Premier machines. In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, the Director of Government Affairs for Premier Kathy Rogers said her company did not provide adequate documentation for their GEMS software to Hillsborough County to avoid the problem.

In the GEMS software, Rogers said, settings were not aligned between the two types of machines used Tuesday to read ballots that were cast. One machine, called OSX, was used at the precincts to tabulate early voting and Election Day voting. The other one, which made its debut with Premier software in Sarasota and Hillsborough counties, is called PCS and read all the absentee ballots.

More:
http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/6039

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57. Hillsborough Elections Supervisor: "We Didn't Fail"

Taking some heat for Tuesday night's delay in election results, Hillsborough County Election Supervisor Buddy Johnson says his staff didn't make any mistakes.

"We didn't fail at this job," he insists.

Tuesday night, it took longer than ususal to report results from the Hillsborough primary election. The county had used its new optical scan voting system for the first time.

Johnson blames a software-related problem that took a while for the results to be made public. He says the issue had nothing to do with the tabulation of votes.

More:
http://www.620wdae.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=124415&article=4159939

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20. VA: Lawyers gear up for election-fraud trial

Bank records, campaign opposition research and political lies all were part of the discussion at an Aug. 20 pretrial hearing for former state Senate candidate Mark Tate.

The hearing was the last before the candidate’s weeklong trial begins Sept. 8.

Tate, a Middleburg restaurateur, ran for the 27th District state Senate seat in 2003 and 2007, losing both times during the Republican primaries. He has been charged with nine counts of campaign finance fraud for finance misfilings from these elections.

Bank records

Tate’s defense attorney, Edward MacMahon, filed a motion requesting that Tate’s bank records not be admitted as evidence.

But Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled, “Bank records are not protected under the Fourth Amendment,” which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures.

More:
http://www.loudountimes.com/news/2008/aug/25/lawyers-gear-election-fraud-trial/

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21. WI: Elections officials vote against voter penalties

State elections officials rejected a Republican request Wednesday to make would-be voters who fail identification checks ineligible or force them to cast provisional ballots.

Local election administrators say the Government Accountability Board's decision should spare thousands of people from having to return to the election offices with proof of their identity to make sure their vote counts. Republican Party members say the decision leaves the presidential election vulnerable to fraud.

"This is really unbelievable, let everyone vote and see what happens," said Bob Spindell, election commissioner for the city of Milwaukee and chairman of the GOP's 4th Congressional District. "This could be the presidency of the United States on the line here."

The federal Help America Vote Act, passed after the disputed presidential election in 2000, requires each state to build a statewide voter registration list. The states must cross-reference names on the list with other state databases to confirm identities and addresses, but can decide for themselves how to handle so-called non-matches.

More:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/27/elections-officials-vote-against-voter-penalties/

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22. FL: New machines, new election, & Sarasota's still can't count our votes.

A recap of this Tuesday's election in Florida sounds eerily familiar. Sarasota can't count votes. Only this time there's paper to prove it. And this time they can't blame the voters for Florida's failed voting systems. Although the cause of this failure is different than those in 2006, as are the voting machines. The recovery is vastly different. This time instead of denying the problem exists and holding out for court fisticuffs, they scooped up our paper ballots and simply counted them by hand.

Problem solved? No. In at least three Florida counties, Election Supervisors responded to their voting machine failures with all the seriousness and responsibility of a third grader's, "The dog ate my homework ."

Sarasota County's Elections Supervisor Kathy Dent said, "But we really did have all the totals last night." At least this time she couldn't deny a problem exists. Paper proof won't let her...not too easily, anyway. We're making progress.

Hillsborough County's Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson said, "The problem was only with posting them to the public." He also said, "I don't think we failed in our job at all."

More:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Election-2008-New-machine-by-Lani-Massey-Brown-080829-238.html

[tbyg52]

23. HI: Coconut Wireless

Voting machines have acquired a pretty bad reputation that's only partly deserved. On the one hand, yes, the potential for behind-the-scenes "tinkering" (read: cheating) is very real. On the other hand, the same could be said of more prosaic vote counting methods—are we really going to argue that humans are incorruptible? Election fraud is as old as elections. The key is to create a paper trail so there's something to go back and check if shenanigans are suspected. All that being said, scrutiny is clearly a must when dealing with something like the $43 million contract Hawaii entered into with electronic voting giant Hart InterCivic for use of the company's machines through 2016.

More:
http://www.mauitime.com/Articles-i-2008-08-28-183896.112113_Coconut_Wireless.html

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24. TX: Travis commissioners urged to end e-voting

About two dozen residents, mostly members of the paper ballot advocacy group Vote Rescue, brought buttons that read "Prevent Unwanted Presidencies" to the Travis County commissioners Tuesday and urged the county to stop using electronic voting machines.

"I believe these machines are manipulatable and unreliable," Austin resident Elizabeth Baar told the commissioners.

Commissioners were considering whether to spend $102,000 to buy 35 more voting machines from Hart InterCivic. County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir asked for the additional machines to supplement the approximately 2,100 now owned by the county in anticipation of a large turnout in November. The commissioners decided to buy the machines.

Before they did, audience members spent more than an hour airing concerns, primarily about the fact that the Hart machines' software is proprietary. That means that only the company knows how to track the electronic path that each ballot takes between the time a voter hits the "submit" button and when it arrives in the hands of voting officials.

More:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/08/27/0827voting.html

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31. Travis County ups its electronic voting machines

My comment: Yeah, there probably *is* no evidence of *voter* fraud....

In anticipation of record voter turnout this November, more electronic voting machines will come to Travis County.

Commissioners voted Tuesday to spend $102,000 on new voting machines that the county clerk's office said are necessary.

Yet, the vote did not come without controversy.

A watchdog group worried about the ability to hack into voting machines said more taxpayer money should not be used to purchase the machines, but commissioners disagreed and said there is no evidence of voter fraud in Travis County.

More:
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=8902687

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26. HI: Isle voting machines tested, approved for Sept. elections

Observers from the community and Democratic and Republican parties this week said they were satisfied after testing new voting machines that will be used in this fall's primary and general elections.

Volunteers filled out ballots and ran them through the machines, comparing the vote count to the ballots they actually cast.

"They can be satisfied that their votes were accurately recorded," said state Chief Elections Officer Kevin Cronin.

The voting machines provided by contractor Hart Intercivic look similar to ones used in prior elections, but have slight differences. Observer Gerri Kerrigan of the Democratic Party said she liked the way voters could feed their ballots into the new machines face-up or face-down.

"I think the machines are really easy to use and convenient," she said at the test on Wednesday.

The Hart machines are programmed with specific

More:
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/507699.html?nav=10

[tbyg52]

28. (And territories) Guam: Electronic voting machines idle:

Election Commission hopes to use them again

More than 100 federally funded electronic voting machines will gather dust for another election because the Guam Election Commission hasn't yet taken steps to restore their use.
Advertisement

To make that happen would require: training; a public education campaign; testing for accuracy; and a redundant paper record of votes cast.

Lawmakers made electronic voting illegal nearly two years ago.

Newly hired Election Commission Executive Director John Blas said he plans to begin the process to restore the use of electronic voting machines in January, after this year's elections are over, with the goal of using them by the 2010 elections.

"I do have every intention to meet those requirements and satisfy those requirements so we can make it available to the voters who wish to use it," Blas said. "We have a lot of voters who prefer to have the paper ballots, but at the same time we did purchase the machines with federal funds. There is an obligation on the Guam Election Commission's part to actually implement the use of those electronic machines."

More:
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080902/NEWS01/809020304/1002

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30. AR: Nonmail sending of ballots no big hit

Arkansas’ county clerks aren’t showing much interest so far in joining a new voluntary federal program to use electronics to help make sure that Arkansans abroad get to vote in the state’s elections.

As of Friday, only eight of the 75 clerks had signed up.

Clerks may sign up at any time before they begin to send ballots to absentee voters, the secretary of state’s office said.

Clerks participating like the idea of doing more to make sure soldiers abroad get to vote, but those reluctant to join are concerned about whether the ballots will be secure, and some wonder whether the program will be any more effective than methods already in use.

Under this program, Arkansas residents who are abroad may fill out federal voter-registration and absentee-ballot applications online, have their applications electronically transmitted to their county clerks and have blank ballots electronically transmitted to them.

More:
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/235866/

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32. CT: Voting audit hits town

The dreaded "A" word, as in audit, has reared its head once again at the Greenwich registrars of voters office.

Four of the town's 12 voting districts have randomly been chosen by the state for a mandatory audit of the results of the Aug. 12 Democratic congressional primary won in a landslide by Jim Himes over Lee Whitnum.

Four poll workers will hand count the ballots during the audit, which will start at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Cone Room at Town Hall and is open to the public.

A less-than-enthusiastic Democratic Registrar Sharon Vecchiolla said the audit will cost the town more time and money, an amount that has not been determined.

"If it has to be done, it's got to be done," Vecchiolla said.

More:
http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_10353606

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34. NY: Some NY officials worry about voting access

Cliff Perez is legally blind and would like to vote without help this fall. Instead, he will count on his wife's assistance with New York's ancient pull lever machines, rather than rely on brand new $12,000 voting machines designed to give independence to the disabled.

"We're heading in the right direction, but I think for this election, there might be some problems," said Perez, a systems advocate for the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Inc., in Troy.

Even some election officials are worried.

New York has spent millions of federal dollars on the new ballot marking machines for the disabled to comply with federal laws. With little more than a week before primary state elections, many have watched machines fail to turn on, freeze up, or automatically store paper ballots in metal containers vulnerable to tampering.

More:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--votingmachines0831aug31,0,6882632.story

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35. NC: No Patriot games

From the "as long as you're happy" department....

Electronic voting machines are under attack in this country. Can we trust the ones used in Danville and Pittsylvania County?

Peggy Petty believes the answer is a resounding yes.

Danville’s registrar oversaw the city’s conversion from mechanical lever machines to the current touch-screen models.

“We feel really good about what we have,” Petty said of the system that Danvillians first voted with during the June 2005 primary. “The security of it we were impressed by.”

Switching to electronic voting machines was supposed to fix the problems that we saw in Florida during the 2000 presidential election recount. Nationally, Congress appropriated $3 billion to help fix the problem, the Associated Press recently reported. But worries about the machines’ accuracy, mechanical problems and the chance they could be hacked has led some states to switch back to paper ballots.

In the movie, “Man of the Year,” Robin Williams plays Tom Dobbs, a comedian who is elected president because of a glitch in electronic voting machines.

Petty said the system used in the Dan River Region — Unilect Corp.’s Patriot — is different than some of the systems that have been shelved in other communities around the country.

More:
http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/editorials/danville_editorials/article/no_patriot_games/5910/

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36. MD: Idea for Emergency Paper Ballots Torn Up by Election Officials

It goes without saying that some voters will encounter long lines at the polls this Election Day. The question for voting rights groups and election officials is how to shorten waiting times, and they're sharply at odds.

SAVEourVotes and the Fair Elections Legal Network want precincts to turn to emergency paper ballots if there are not enough touch-screen machines to keep lines moving. Paper ballots, used now for absentee and provisional voting, record votes with optical scan machines that read voters' marks on the ballots, similar to standardized tests.

William A. Edelstein, an election judge from Baltimore who has researched paper ballots extensively, made his case to the State Board of Elections in Annapolis on Thursday, saying that waits over 45 minutes are too long and that many people left before voting in 2004. "They were disenfranchised."

Local election administrators said a paper ballot system could create havoc with workers and voters who would not know how it works. "With just over 60 days left, that's an inadequate amount of time," Guy Mickley, director of the Maryland Association of Election Officials, told the board. "You could potentially intimidate and confuse voters." Not to mention the $1.3 million it would take to set up privacy barriers and software, he said.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083001689.html

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37. IA: Sept. 9 election marks return of paper

When Clay County voters walk into their respective polling sites on election day, they'll register to vote the same way they have in the past.

But the Sept. 9 school board election and the Nov. 4 general election will differ from recent years past in that voters will then be handed a paper ballot to vote on. It will be a one-sided ballot during next month's election, and a two-sided ballot with candidate names printed on both sides during the Nov. 4 general election.

It marks the third voting system Marjorie "Marj" Pitts has introduced to the public since being appointed Clay County's auditor and commissioner of elections on April 1, 1999.

The county's EV 2000 touch-screen machines became obsolete in 2002 when the federal government passed the Help America Vote Act and their maker, Fidlar-Doubleday, opted not to re-equip the machines with headphones, a required Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) component. This, coupled with the Secretary of State's decertifying voting machines without ADA components, forced Clay County to purchase Direct Recording Equipment (DRE) touch screens in 2000.

More:
http://www.spencerdailyreporter.com/story/1457165.html

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38. FL: Johnson muffs another election

Hillsborough elections supervisor Buddy Johnson did something incredible Tuesday even for Buddy Johnson. He took longer to report the results of the primary election than even those counties where the voter turnout was three or four times as strong. Of course, listening to him, the mess was no big deal and somebody else's fault. It always is. What will his chaotic leadership bring come November?

Tuesday's primary was Johnson's chance to do two big things before the general election: familiarize voters with the new optical scan voting machines and restore some confidence in his leadership before he stands for re-election. He failed at both. Hillsborough had the third worst voter turnout Tuesday of any county in Florida, undercut only by rural Calhoun and Glades counties. Turning out the vote is one of a supervisor's jobs. But Johnson seemed more interested in plastering his name and face across the county in the run-up to his tough re-election campaign.

More:
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article789719.ece

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39. FL: Ballot glitch looming?

Florida appears snake bit on elections - again.

From the hanging chads on paper ballots in the razor-thin 2000 Bush-Gore race to the undervotes on the touchscreens in the 2006 Buchanan-Jennings battle, our state commands national attention for election fiascoes.

This week's episode, though, may only be a hiccup, but history works against us.
Click here to find out more!

Sarasota County's brand spanking new voting machines did not work as expected. These machines, you might recall, replaced the touchscreens that got the blame for the 2006 mess.

So Sarasota ditched those electronic gizmos and went for paper ballots in order to secure a lasting record. But guess how those paper ballots are counted? Yep, electronic scanners.

As Sarasota elections officials began counting absentee ballots, they encountered a glitch with the software that uploads the totals, which would not send the results to the main server.

That's all computer talk for a system failure. The Premier Election Solutions Inc. scanners did not work as advertised.

And guess what? The same exact machines failed in the same manner in Hillsborough County.

More:
http://www.bradenton.com/196/story/845970.html

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40. FL: System error doubles vote count in most Indian River County precincts

A system error resulted in doubling the number of votes counted from most precincts in Tuesday's election in Indian River County, election officials found Thursday.

But a computer recount showed the same winners won -- although by much smaller totals, according to an unofficial recount by the county's election Canvassing Board. It included two county judges and a county commissioner.

County officials have until Sept. 2 to certify the final results to the state.

More:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/treasurecoast/sfl-0829voteerror,0,6216012.story

[tbyg52]

41. OH: Butler Co. joins voting-machine suit

utler County still plans to use its controversial touch-screen voting machines in the November election - even though it joined the lawsuit Thursday against the manufacturer..

“There’s no choice,” said Butler County Board of Elections Director Betty McGary. “We’re too close.”

Officials plan to deploy the machines even though the board voted unanimously to join a legal action against the manufacturer, Premier Election Solutions Inc, a unit of North Canton-based Diebold Inc.

The legal action is the latest in a string of concerns about the touch-screen system being used in Butler County and many other Ohio counties.

More:
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080828/NEWS01/308280084

[tbyg52]

43. CA: 'FAIR ELECTIONS' BILL PASSES FULL SENATE

“Fair Elections” public financing of campaigns is now only one step from the Governor’s desk after AB 583, the California Fair Elections Act (Hancock, D-Oakland), passed out of the full Senate by a vote yesterday of 21-18.

AB 583 would establish a pilot project for voluntary full public financing system for Secretary of State candidates in 2014 and 2018. It is modeled after the “Clean Money” systems that have been working in Arizona and Maine for eight years and recently adopted by Connecticut and other localities. Connecticut’s new system is so popular that 95% of legislative candidates this year plan to use it.

“The Secretary of State makes a perfect pilot project for Fair Elections funding because it is the office that guards the very integrity of our electoral system”, said Julie Rajan, Executive Director of the California Clean Money Campaign, the sponsor of the bill. “Secretary of State candidates, like all other candidates, have to spend huge amounts of time raising money for their campaigns from private contributors. Californians would have more faith in their government if candidates could instead spend more time talking to voters instead.”

More:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/-FAIR-ELECTIONS-BILL-PASS-by-California-Clean-M-080830-350.html

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46. CA: Proposition 11’s Redistricting Reform

and the Kind of Refreshing Change Obama Called on Americas to Demand

Last night, Barack Obama called on Americans to demand change based on "new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time."

There are those who hang on to the politics of the past, and cynically hope that they can confuse voters with fear and prejudice so they can hold onto power for one more election cycle. That political cynicism has come into sharp focus in the tactics of the politicians and insiders who oppose Prop. 11.

Why are they afraid? Prop. 11 would give regular voters the opportunity to go the polls and have real choices at the ballot box. Instead of hand-picked candidates, where all dissenting voices have been swept away, voters would actually have a choice of candidates. Prop. 11 would ensure the district lines would be drawn to reflect community interests, not incumbent self-interests.

Now that's a refreshing change.

More:
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/08/proposition_11s.html

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48. SC: Counties sticking with touch-screen voting machines

Many voters across the country will use paper ballots when they go to the polls in November.

But not in York and Chester counties, or in any other county in the state.

Despite concerns by officials in other states about the accuracy of electronic voting, South Carolina is sticking with the touch-screen machines it has used since 2004.

"We're confident in the system and it's worked well for us," said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the State Election Commission. "We haven't experienced the same type of problems that other states apparently have had. We feel like we're using one of the most advanced voting systems in the world and it's accurate and it's secure and easy to use."

More:
http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/771945.html

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51. NJ: Proposal would bar automated election calls in NJ

From the "Good!" department...

With the Democratic National Convention just ended and the Republican National Convention just getting under way, it's no wonder New Jersey lawmakers are thinking about ways to improve the election process.

A bill by three South Jersey lawmakers takes aim at political "robocalls," those annoying, automated telephone solicitations directed at voters each fall. Another bill takes a different approach, targeting high school seniors as the recipients of voter registration packets before they graduate.

Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matt Milam said they would renew their push for legislation to keep New Jerseyans from being harassed by unwanted electioneering calls.

More:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--xgr-legislativepr0831aug31,0,3969105.story

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53. IA: State issues warning to possible vote seller

Perhaps after reading the Iowa Independent’s report on the Hawkeye State’s battleground status, an Iowan saw an opportunity to make a buck.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office was contacted Thursday about an eBay listing that had up for bid the general election vote of the Iowan who made the auction post.

More:
http://iowaindependent.com/4771/state-issues-warning-to-possible-vote-seller

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54. CA: Napa activists focus on e-voting, 'Hacking Democracy'

Electronic voting machines will be on the sidelines when Californians hit the polls Nov. 4.

Many advocates believe that’s a good thing as they work toward what they believe is a more fair and transparent voting system.
Over the weekend, a group of concerned citizens gathered at the Napa Boys and Girls Club to express concerns with the integrity of electronic voting machines and to call for reliance on a paper ballot system.

The group, comprised mostly of members of Unitarian Universalist church, explored the problems with electronic voting machines as documented in the 2006 film “Hacking Democracy.” The film focuses on the 2000 presidential election results in Volusia County, Fla.. An electronic voting machine there reported that Al Gore received negative 16,022 votes, according to the film.
Officials were unable to prove that election fraud had occurred, but the incident generated mistrust of the machines.

More (and lots of comments - you might like to participate):
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/08/27/news/local/doc48b4eba3664a2183700037.txt

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61. CA: Calif. may allow online voter registration

Californians may soon be able to use their computers to register to vote.

Current law allows voters to fill out voter registration cards online, but they still must print the forms, sign them and mail them in.

State lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill that would let Californians register entirely online if they have signatures on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles for driver's licenses or identification cards.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen is supporting the bill by Democratic Sen. Ron Calderon of Monterey Park. It passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote without debate.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the bill.

More:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10328903

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63. FL: Election supervisor's name is everywhere at the polls - is it fair?

Walk into a polling place in Broward County, and you're confronted with the name of Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. Again and again and again. Her name is ubiquitous.

Chris Chiari, a candidate for state House of Representatives in the November election, said it's way over the top. And he's a Democrat, like Snipes, and says he's neutral in the primary contest that pits the incumbent against challenger Adriane Reesey.

The signs and papers go right with the voter into the booth, on the privacy sleeve that people use to put their ballots in while toting them to the scanners, and on the side of the booth on a notice advising voters to check the reverse side of the ballot to make sure there are no races there.

(In my precinct this morning, while I waited for the Electronic Voter Identification machine to read my driver's license, I looked down and saw a stack of "Dr. Brenda C. Snipes Supervisor of Elections" business cards.)

"You can't walk into a polling location anywhere in Broward County without seeing Dr. Snipes' name at least half a dozen times," Chiari said. "I like the supervisor, but she is in a contested election."

More:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/08/election_supervisors_name_is_e.html

[tbyg52]

68. OH: Cincinnati Asks Voters to Decide Whether to Use Single Transferable Vote for City Council

An initiative, asking the voters of Cincinnati if they wish to use the Single Transferable Vote system for electing city council members, will be on the November 2008 ballot. The initiative sponsors were told on August 27 that they have enough valid signatures. “Single Transferable Vote” is the term for Instant-Runoff Voting when multiple winners are to be elected. For some reason, the newspapers in Cincinnati call it “Proportional Representation.”

Comments:
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/08/27/cincinnati-asks-voters-to-decide-whether-to-use-single-transferable-vote-for-city-council/

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73. OH: Politics, communication sully absentee ballot plans

The rapidly deteriorating relationship between Republican lawmakers and Ohio's Democratic elections chief means some voters will get an absentee ballot application in the mail in early September, while others won't.

Voters in 17 of Ohio's 88 counties will receive an application for an absentee ballot. Everyone else will have to take the extra step of requesting one if they want to vote by mail.

That disparity is not what officials wanted. But because of politics and a lack of communication between Republicans - especially House Speaker Jon Husted - and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, it's what they got.

More:
http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/BA/20080828/NEWS01/808280303/1002

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77. Brunner, GOP leaders spar over ballot mailing

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner fired off an angry letter to Republican legislative leaders yesterday, accusing them of creating confusion and interfering in the election process by sending conflicting messages to county elections officials about absentee ballots.

The message to Speaker Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris reflected Brunner's ongoing frustration with the lack of communication between her office and legislative leadership on the issue.

The legislature passed a law in late spring that Husted and Harris say requires that all counties mail absentee ballot applications to voters along with a 60-day notice of the Nov. 4 election. Brunner, the state elections chief, has complained that the law was passed without any discussion with her, and the $3 million approved by lawmakers is up to $5 million short of the cost to cover postage for the applications.

Brunner appeared to grow more upset this week, when, in addition to urging her to change a directive that makes the absentee mailings optional for counties instead of mandatory, Husted and Harris sent a letter to county election officials telling them the law requires they send the applications. Leaders also promised to reimburse them later this year.

More:
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/08/29/AbsenteeUpdate.ART_ART_08-29-08_B3_DKB5U31.html?sid=101

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74. FL: Locked out: Ex-felons struggle to get voting rights restored

A chance to vote and get a decent job are immediate concerns for many ex-offenders in Florida hoping to get their civil rights restored.

In June, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced that more than 115,000 former felons who complete their sentences would be given back their civil rights, including the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury, and obtain state and local licenses for certain types of work.

Nelson Cologne has been working at having his individual rights restored since his release from the Florida State prison system 11 years ago.

ACLU helps navigate restoration process
“I think they are holding it up because they know that most of the people are going to register Democrat,” Cologne said about his case. “In Florida, you are not an ex-felon. You are still a felon. I filed papers when I was first released, but the forms and the people made you feel it was impossible. Since I’ve been working with the ACLU, it is the first time anything positive has happened.”

More:
http://www.flcourier.com/news/articles/521/1/Locked-out-Ex-felons-struggle-to-get-voting-rights-restored/Page1.html

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83. WI: Darling goes after Wasserman on voter ID

State Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) is going after her opponent on his votes against requiring voters to show ID at the polls.

In a press release today, Darling noted that Rep. Sheldon Wasserman (D-Milwaukee) has voted five times against requiring photo ID since 2003.

"Voter fraud could have sweeping implications for state and national elections, where in some states voter drives have added hundreds of thousands of 'new' voters to the voter rolls," Darling said in a statement. "People want to know that their vote means something, and not be cancelled out by groups of people here to commit voter fraud."

The two recently had their first joint appearance in a WISN-TV (Channel 12) forum in two parts you can view here and here.

More:
http://blogs.jsonline.com/allpoliticswatch/archive/2008/08/28/darling-goes-after-wasserman-on-voter-id.aspx

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84. NY: Electronic Voting Machines Pose Problems For Chemung County (VIDEO)

From the "no kidding" department....

When Chemung County bought new electronic voting machines, they expected them to make voting easier.

But, they aren't working as well as expected. In fact, the county is having trouble just getting them up and running in time for an upcomming election.

The machines need to work for the county-wide primary on September 9th. But because they're computerized, they are difficult to set up. Th county says it will be a crunch to get all the work done in time.

"They have errors," said Mary O'Dell of the Board of Elections. "Almost everytime you do something with them, something funny happens.

More:
http://www.weny.com/News-Local.asp?ARTICLE3864=9136916

[Wilms]

92. CA Court: SOS Electronic Voting Conditions Subject to APA

San Diego County Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler, and interveners Kern, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties sued SoS Debra Bowen arguing that her enhanced audit requirements are illegal and that even if the weren't she hadn't followed procedures (the state's Administrative Procedures Act) in calling for them. The judge did not agree with the former but agreed with the latter.

Perhaps then she can reintroduce the auditing measure in compliance with the APA as the judge has ruled she's entitled to call for an audit.

Court: SOS Electronic Voting Conditions Subject to APA

by Randy Riddle

August 29, 2008

Here is the summary of the holding from the Court of Appeal's decision:

"As part of a program intended to ensure the integrity of California elections, Debra Bowen, in her official capacity as the California Secretary of State (the Secretary), decertified and then immediately recertified a number of voting systems in use throughout the state. As a condition of recertification, the Secretary imposed a comprehensive system of postelection manual ballot tallying on local elections officials.

In this appeal, we consider a challenge raised by plaintiffs County of San Diego and Deborah Seiler, in her official capacity as Registrar of Voters for the County of San Diego, and interveners the counties of Kern, Riverside and San Bernardino (collectively, the Counties) to these requirements. The Counties contend that the Secretary does not ave the authority to impose the tallying requirements and that even if the Secretary does possess such authority, she was required, but failed, to act pursuant to the mandates of the Administrative Procedures Act (the APA)."

As we explain below, we disagree with the Counties on the question of the Secretary's authority to issue the ballot tallying requirements. We agree, however that the Secretary's issuance of the requirements was subject to the APA. Consequently, regardless of the wisdom of, or necessity for, the post-election manual ballot tallying requirements, they are void under California law due to the Secretary's failure to adhere to the procedures set forth in the APA."

http://www.calelectionlaw.com/archives/2008/08/court_sos_elect.php


Rumpel had posted about this earlier this year.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=494801


Here's the current ER Forum Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x507569


And here's Deborah Seiler's business card from a former employer.

[tbyg52]

2. National nt

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18. Premier Election Solutions (Diebold) Admits Machines ‘Lose’ Votes in 34 States

The company now known as Premier Election Solutions —formerly Diebold, long criticized by election integrity activists for unverifiable, unreliable touchscreen machines (achieving maximum notoriety when its chief executive said he would “do anything” in his power to win Ohio for Bush in 2004)—, has acknowledged that its machines have been “losing votes”, malfunctioning, and providing erroneous counts for more than a decade, affecting elections in 34 states.

Premier notified officials in 1,750 jurisdictions across the United States that its machines might have serious recording, tabulation and/or security flaws that could undermine the integrity of elections. The specific glitch Premier warned about in this recent acknowledgement causes “larger precincts” to lose votes when multiple memory devices feed their information into one broader count. Public information on how and why this occurs is sketchy, and observers are pressing for information about a number of other serious software flaws uncovered by test teams.

More:
http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2008/08/31/607/premier-election-solutions-diebold-admits-machines-lose-votes-in-34-states/

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27. Help wanted: Election Day techies to monitor e-voting mess

Do you have an affinity for technology? Did you do well in civics class? Are you free on November 4? If you meet all of these criteria, then you might feel compelled to take a temporary job on Election Day this year as a volunteer election site worker or an electronic voting machine technician.

That's the message being sent out by groups concerned about the integrity of the upcoming presidential election as well as the e-voting technology some states will rely on to cast votes. Election watchdog Black Box Voting, based in Renton, Wash., this week issued a press release pointing out that voting machine vendors—including Election Systems & Software, Premier Election Solutions, Sequoia Voting Systems and Hart Intercivic—will hire and train thousands of technicians staffed around the country.

Black Box points out that temporary election tech support jobs have been spotted on Yahoo's HotJobs.com and other Web sites, including a post on craigslist by Hart Intercivic for consultants to provide training and support for software and hardware systems as counties across the country prepare for the "closely-watched November 4 presidential election." Anyone with "tech skills interested in safeguarding the November election is encouraged to register at technical recruiting sites and apply for any election-related projects," Black Box said in its press release.

More:
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=help-wanted-election-day-techies-to-2008-08-26

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33. www.NoVoterLeftBehind.net Launched With Help of RFK, Jr.

to Oppose Republican Attempts to Steal 2008

Thousands of Democrats
across the United States are receiving letters from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
urging them to support a major new effort at http://www.NoVoterLeftBehind.net
to raise the funds that will be needed to challenge Republican efforts to
steal the 2008 election.

NoVoterLeftBehind.net is a project of Democrats for America's Future (DAF)
http://www.americasdemocrats.org. DAF is mobilizing the NoVoterLeftBehind.net
project to monitor voter registration and the actual vote on Election Day in
2008. The campaign will shine a public spotlight on every last irregularity.
Democrats for America's Future is urging every Democratic candidate to pledge
not to concede a single race until every last vote is counted.

More:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/wwwnovoterleftbehindnet-launched-with-help-of,521605.shtml

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44. Efforts made to break logjam on voting

As Election Day looms, smaller public and private entities are taking their own steps to help overseas voters in the face of federal government efforts they characterize as high-cost, low-use and chronically late.

The Defense Department’s Federal Voting Assistance Program spent more than $30 million on electronic voting initiatives since 2000 with varying levels of success to give overseas Americans better options for absentee voting.

Pat Hollarn is one of the people trying something new this year, and she’s no stranger to being an ocean away from the ballot box.

More:
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64177&archive=true

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47. Election Integrity Timeline

2000
George W. Bush "defeats" Al Gore, and Americans learn about the hanging chad. Risner says the debacle in Florida made him interested in election integrity.

2002
Risner requests to be a Democratic Party elections observer, and realizes there isn't much to observe, since votes are counted by computers and not by elections staff. Local Democrat and computer-science professor Tom Ryan gets involved.

2003
Pima County Chairman Paul Eckerstrom creates an Elections Integrity Committee. Ryan co-authors a report on election-security concerns regarding Pima County's use of the Diebold voting machines and the GEMS software.

More:
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=114676

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52. They're Back! Women's Voices Women Vote Sowing Confusion Again With "Registration Drive"

The DC non profit "Women's Voices Women Vote" is back at it again confusing voters and causing an avalanche of unneccesary paperwork for busy election officials during a critical time. WVWV is doing what they did to 26 states in the primary this year, and what they have done in 2007 - mass mailing voter registration forms, pumping these forms out willie nillie to 6 and 14 yr olds, deceased persons, registered voters and inelligible voters. Forms are pre-filled with the would-be registrant's names, often mis-spelled. WVWV is the group that made an estimated 182,236 illegal robo calls in North Carolina during the April/May 2008 primary voting season. The calls were made anonymously and appear to have targeted African American voters. At least some of the robo calls went to registered voters and indicated to the voters that they were not registered to vote and further failed to inform voters they could still register in person because of a new state laws.

WVWV hasn't disenfranchised anyone yet, but for every WVWV form sent in for an already registered voter, officials are slowed down that much more from processing legitimate forms. One way to disenfranchise voters is to "gum up" the system that enfranchises them.

More:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/They-re-Back-Women-s-Voic-by-ncvoter-080829-805.html

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56. Voter registration scams

With the national election heating up, phishers use the opportunity to mine identity theft information. The FTC issued a warning not to provide social security numbers or other personal information to unsolicited e-mails or phone calls claiming to confirm or verify voter registration.

Legitimate voter registration drives may contact you in person. However, the safest method is filling out the registration application and submitting it independently.

Voter registration information (deadlines, mail-in addresses and websites) by state is available at the Election Assistance Committee website.

States have their own registration forms, but most must accept the federal registration form as well, with the exception of Wyoming, New Hampshire, and the territories (won't accept) and Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin (voluntarily accept) or North Dakota (the only state without voter registration.)

Instructions for ID required are listed by state at the end of the federal form. Some states do require a social security number, but others accept a driver's license number.

More:
http://www.examiner.com/x-302-Scam-Examiner~y2008m8d31-Voter-registration-scams

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62. Define electioneering, ACLU says

Last spring, a voter in Union County was told to remove the Barack Obama T-shirt he was wearing before entering a polling place.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said it has received complaints that voters in Allegheny, Lancaster and York counties either agreed to remove campaign-related T-shirts or turn them inside out.

Now the ACLU is asking Commonwealth Secretary Pedro A. Cortes to ensure that someone wearing such a shirt, or campaign buttons, will not be blocked from voting.

More:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/121997673273980.xml&coll=1

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70. Electoral Dirty Tricks Coming Soon To An In-Box Near You

Election experts have already worried that the surge of newly registered voters may cause unintentional chaos through long lines and ballot shortages on Election Day. Now there is increased concern that intentional chaos may be caused by partisan forces using something that millions of Americans access every day - the Internet. Although deceiving and disenfranchising voters through political dirty tricks is a staple partisan strategy to influence election reclick here the Internet may be making it easier and more effective than ever to spread misinformation, according to CNN reporter, Stephanie Busari.
"We're seeing all sorts of ways in which these people can put out the message to first-time voters and those who are unsure of their voting rights. They are replacing the tactics we saw in previous elections cycles," says Lillie Coney of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in the CNN report.

In the recent past low-income and minority voters have been targeted by dirty tricks, including telephone calls, direct mail and leafleting. For example, during the 2004 and 2006 elections, voters were falsely informed that they could not vote if they were immigrants, had parking violations, "or even outstanding child support payments," Busari wrote.

In response, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act was introduced into the United States Senate in October 2007. Currently pending, S. 453 "makes it a federal crime to 'knowingly provide false information with the intent to disenfranchise another person in a federal election."

More:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Electoral-Dirty-Tricks-Com-by-Project-Vote-080828-459.html

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88. Exclusive Video Interview: Gov. Don Siegelman on 'Stolen Elections,' Rove's Contempt and the 'Magnan

We had the chance to interview former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman inside the Pepsi Center on Wednesday, during the Democratic National Convention.

Our concise conversation ranges from the Congressional Democrats' failure to call for a full House vote on Contempt of Congress by Karl Rove, Siegelman's 2002 election which he believes was "stolen electronically," the corporate media's inability to investigate or report on it, and the concern about whether or not Democrats will be in a forgive and forget mode after this session of Congress if Obama is successful in his quest for the White House.

Here's our complete interview (appx. 6 mins)...

More:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6335

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3. Foreign nt

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7. Kenya: Election was not fraud, Kriegler tells witness

The last General Election was not stolen, that was the Independent Review Commission Chairman Johann Kriegler’s verdict as the curtain fell on public hearings at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC.)

Kriegler said the talk of a stolen election was a creation of the civil society. He said several factors contributed to the election fiasco and that the Kenyan society was also to blame.

"I have gone around the country but I can’t get a trace of the so-called fraud of the presidential elections. The civil society, which is the source of inflammatory document where allegations of fraud and a stolen election are made, have failed miserably to prove their case to that effect," said Kriegler.

UNDER SIEGE: Dr Kanyinga.
He differed with lawyer Harun Ndubi and a witness, Dr Karuti Kanyinga, over what amounted to fraud in an election. Kanyinga had testified that the election was a fraud.

"Our findings, which we based on results as announced by the ECK, attest to a fraud election. President Kibaki benefited from over 420,000 anonymous votes," said Kanyinga.

More:
http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1143993738&cid=4

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13. UK: 'Make voters show photo ID to prevent election fraud'

Voters should be required to take photo-ID cards to the ballot box to prevent fraud, the election watchdog said today.

The Electoral Commission called for the move among a string of reforms to drag 19th century voting systems into the 21st century.

The commission demanded measures to restore public confidence in the way elections are run, including individual voter registration instead of the current head-of-household system.

Carrying a photo-ID is one of several ways of proving that an individual's identity is confirmed when they go to vote.

The system already operates in Northern Ireland because of fears of impersonation and the watchdog today said it could be used in conjunction with other forms of identity such as birth certificates.

More (plus comments):
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23545407-details/'Make+voters+show+photo+ID+to+prevent+election+fraud'/article.do

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15. UK: Massive voting reform needed to block fraud loopholes

Voters may have to take some form of photographic ID into the polling station under controversial proposals to reform the electoral system announced today.

The system needs urgently to be overhauled to restore voter confidence, protect against fraud and bring it into the 21st century, the Electoral Commission says. It calls on the Government to consider a national register with details of every voter to help to eliminate postal vote fraud.

This should be backed by individual registration, as opposed to the present system under which the head of each household registers the names of all voters living at that address.

The national register could replace or supplement the present system of local registers throughout the country. Every voter would have to provide a signature, date of birth and national insurance number.

More:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4615384.ece

[tbyg52]

16. Brazil: Police arrest 11 on suspicion of election fraud

Brazil's federal police on Friday arrested at least 11 people on suspicion of fraud in the run-up to the City Council election in October.

A "Free Vote" operation was launched in the morning, when some 230 police officers took action to nab the suspects, including an election candidate and six local policemen.

The arrestees are connected to an illegal militia group known as Justice League, which operates in several slums in western Rio de Janeiro. They coerced the residents to vote on candidate CarmenGloria Guinancio Guimaraes, said federal police.

More:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/30/content_9738729.htm

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60. Iraq: Time running out for Iraqi lawmakers to pass election law

Iraq has enough time to hold provincial elections this year but only if the nation's lawmakers wrap up a controversial law in the next two weeks, an electoral commission official said Monday.

"It normally takes 128 days to organize the ballot but by making a huge effort we could get it done in 105 days," the commission member, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.

"It is therefore necessary that the law be adopted no later than September 15 for voting to take place before December 31."

Iraq, a nation of around 26 million, had been due to go to the polls on October 1 but the long-awaited legislation to govern the ballot has faced repeated delays over the political handling of the disputed northern oil province of Kirkuk.

Iraqi MPs failed to strike an agreement before the parliament took a summer recess from August 6 to September 9.

More:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8RbhxelAm8Y8nfqqJPO73agxmVg

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82. Philippines: Comelec to cleanse voters list

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has vowed to cleanse the voters lists to help assure that the next national election will be successful and free of any fraud.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said that they plan to remove from the voters list the names of double or triple registrants, and those who are already dead.

The Comelec chairman gave the task of purging the voters lists of illegal registrants to Commissioner Leonardo Leonida, one of the two new commissioners of the poll body.

“I asked them to do it as soon as possible because there are a lot of things to be done,” Melo said.

More:
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/aug/26/yehey/metro/20080826met1.html

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85. Philippines: Comelec mulls Internet voting for overseas Filipinos

From the "No! No! Somebody stop them!" department....

The Commission on Elections will study a proposal to allow Filipino seafarers to register using their voice for identification and to vote via the Internet, Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said Friday.

At the signing of the memorandum of agreement between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Comelec, Ferrer said the proposal was made by the Spanish company Scytl.

"This will surely suit our seafarers who are usually at sea," he said.

"But of course we will have to ask Congress to amend the Automation Law to accommodate these changes" if Comelec decides to go with Scytl's proposal, he added.

More:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080829-157637/Comelec-mulls-Internet-voting-for-overseas-Filipinos

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4. Blogs, Editorials, LTTEs, etc. nt

[tbyg52]

9. Democracy Without Tears: An open letter to Eugene Robinson and Bob Herbert

I wrote this in response to Eugene Robinson's "So Many Miles From Selma," and Bob Herbert's "Champagne and Tears," which columns ran in the Washington Post and New York Times, respectively.

Messrs. Robinson and Herbert,

Your latest columns are quite moving, and I agree with them, but there's a glaring problem with them, too. I noticed the same defect in Sen. Obama's speech on Thursday night: a speech that also moved me very much, although that problem is a big one--maybe fatal.

Specifically, you both invoke the long, hard fight for civil rights for African-Americans, yet without any reference to that movement's main concern: the right to vote. In your column, Mr. Robinson, you fail to mention that the march on Selma was an effort on behalf of voting rights; and your piece, Mr. Herbert, although powerfully recalling the grim history of racist violence against black citizens, devotes not one word to the major purpose of that violence, which was to keep those people disenfranchised.

More:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Democracy-Without-Tears-A-by-Mark-Crispin-Mille-080830-234.html

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11. 'Stealing America' steals your precious time

More from the "know your enemies" department...

Rejoice, conspiracy theorists, bloggers and other assorted nuts. Your paranoia is about to be rewarded in the form of a documentary that twists rumor, heresy and innuendo into a self-fulfilling truth.

It’s called “Stealing America: Vote by Vote,” and given its “we was robbed” slant, I’m betting it was financed by money left over from John Kerry’s failed 2004 presidential campaign.

It’s not a fine whine, either. It’s dull, repetitive and without one substantiated claim. But why let facts get in the way of a whole lot of grousing by poor losers freely flailing pointed fingers at anyone they can think of other than the junior senator from Massachusetts.

No doubt there were irregularities in the 2004 election, particularly in the key swing state of Ohio, but there have been irregularities in every election since Adams edged Jefferson in 1796. Ah, but those elections didn’t involve these new-fangled electronic voting machines.

More:
http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/entertainment/x801998156/Stealing-America-steals-your-precious-time

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12. Ohio GOP in a needless lather over register-and-vote window -- editorial

Republicans are up in arms because Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has told county boards of election that they can and should continue to recognize a small window in which qualified citizens can both register to vote and mark an absentee ballot.

They're able to do so because a Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2005 passed a bill -- then signed into law by a Republican governor -- allowing Ohioans to vote absentee for any reason beginning 35 days before an election. The deadline for registering to vote is 30 days before the election. A handful of voters have been taking advantage of what's, in effect, a one-stop-shopping window since the primary election in May 2006 -- with no apparent problems and without a peep of protest from Brunner's predecessor as chief elections officer, Republican Ken Blackwell.

But now GOP leaders are raising a ruckus about possible voter fraud. Led by deputy state Chairman Kevin DeWine, who pushed for early voting in the legislature, they are pointing to a state law that requires Ohioans to have been registered voters for 30 days before actually voting. Brunner's response: Absentee ballots aren't votes until they're counted on Election Day.

More:
http://www.cleveland.com/editorials/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1220171508297310.xml&coll=2

[tbyg52]

14. Note to Democrats: Don't Panic! But Stop Voter Purges, Too

While many progressive bloggers are worrying that Obama and the convention haven't been hitting McCain hard enough, The American Prospect offers some grounds for hope for Democrats. (And the Bill Clinton and Joe Biden speeches doubtless helped too. )

Tim Fernholz pulled together yesterday some reasons for liberal optimism:

* Polling. Yes, Obama is tied with McCain in some averages, but he's also up in most individual polls. Mike Crowley points out he still is leading in these polls, especially in key states, even if he has slipped over the summer. Nate Silver also notes that we shouldn't expect a convention bounce to begin until tomorrow.

* David Plouffe. Ambinder reports that Plouffe remains confident -- admittedly, he's paid to do so -- but his reasoning is sound, and his focus on key states is reminiscent of the primary campaign's focus on delegates. Remember the criticism of the Obama campaign then? Plouffe notes that "Obama is underperforming only among working class whites over 70 and pointed to a poll showing that Obama is over performing John Kerry with working class white voters under 50" and that Montana, Virginia and Colorado all look good.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/note-to-democrats-dont-pa_b_122000.html

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29. In North Dakota, we're counting votes the right way

Al Gore invented the Internet. Well, maybe not. The claim, most acknowledge, was a misunderstanding as Gore only suggested he took the initiative to move the internet into the mainstream for the advancement of the country's economic growth, environmental protection and education system.

Gore won an academy award. Well, not exactly. The film, An Inconvenient Truth (about global warming), won an academy award for best documentary feature.

Gore is responsible for the failure of electronic voting machines. Well, no. But Gore's disputed presidential loss to George Bush in 2000 prompted Congress to provide more than $3 billion to replace punch-card and level-operated machines.

That expenditure doesn't seem such a bright idea today.

More:
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/09/01/news/opinion/editorials/163524.txt

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42. LTTE: Beware of GOP purging voter rolls this election

To the Editor:
America is a great nation and deserves a great voting system that works and is accountable to “We the People.” Unfortunately, most of our country votes on machines that cannot be recounted, have gaping holes in the programming that make them easy to hack, and probably a “back door.” These machines are all made by corporate Republicans. That’s not nonpartisan.

More:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080830/OPINION02/80829038/1008/OPINION01

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45. Resurrecting E-voting

The biggest, most visible, compliance issue in the world involves certifying the integrity of vote counting processes

As I noted yesterday, an expert dragged into court to testify and asked point blank whether it is theoretically possible that a voting process built around voting machines running local applications could be corrupted has to say Yes - and that reality, no matter what caveats you put on it, dooms the current client-server architecture for e-voting.

If, however, votes were collected on Sun Rays running centralized applications, that same expert would have to say No - the fact that there’s no local program running, means there’s nothing there to corrupt.

You can’t replace the device without getting caught either - the end to end cryptology depends on device recognition; a physical replacement can’t masquerade as the real machine without setting off alarms; and, booting the real Sun Ray from a local flashdrive in order to have it interact with, rather than just show, the remote application might be possible but would certainly require extensive hardware modification first.

More:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=1228

[tbyg52]

49. FL: Our view: Fixing the snafu

They waited and waited -- and then waited some more.

We're talking about candidates and voters who were wondering what was wrong Tuesday night when vote tallies for Space Coast races stalled.

The culprit was a glitch in 140 touch-screen voting machines that prevented poll workers from relaying the results to the Brevard Supervisor of Elections office. Without those results -- which amounted to just 20 ballots cast countywide -- officials could not declare the precinct counts final.

The blame rests with machine maker Premier Election Solutions that did not get replacement parts to Brevard before Tuesday even though the trouble was identified late last year.

More:
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080829/OPINION/808290317/1006/news01

[tbyg52]

50. Victory in the voting rights battle

We've come to the end of a remarkable journey. In the early 1960s, most Southern blacks were barred from voting. Yet today, just over four decades later, blacks and whites from across the country have selected an African American man as the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

The United States has undergone an extraordinary, awe-inspiring transformation -- particularly so for those who remember what the South was like not so long ago. In 1964, the right to vote remained a white privilege, despite the promise of the 15th Amendment. Blacks were routinely kept from the polls by fraudulent literacy tests, violence and intimidation. Without the franchise, they had little or no say in what policies their "representatives" in Congress might support, where state health dollars would go or which local streets would get sidewalks. To have the vote was to belong to the American community; the disfranchised had been stripped, in a fundamental sense, of their citizenship. There were, of course, no black elected officials from the South.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-thernstrom31-2008aug31,0,4386541.story

[tbyg52]

59. Phil Lewis: The random accuracy of exit polling

The Daily News got a bit of criticism this past Tuesday for doing exit polling on election day in Collier and Lee counties.

We assigned reporters to stand outside polling places with pad and pen. As people exited, the reporters would identify themselves as Daily News reporters and politely ask the voters how they voted. We did this shortly after the polls opened, again at around noon and again late in the afternoon. Throughout the day we updated our poll results on naplesnews.com.

Comments posted below the exit poll on our Web site questioned the accuracy of such polling, with many weighing in that it was unscientific and worthless. Others, in phone calls and e-mails, were harsher and saw some type of conspiracy. They asked whether the newspaper was making up numbers or posting statistically meaningless numbers to somehow benefit candidates our editorial board favored with an endorsement.

I assured the critics there were no ulterior motives in posting the numbers throughout the day. Exit polling occasionally gets a bad rap, especially on the national scene in close elections. There is the argument that news agencies and polling services do a disservice to the democratic process when they collect and disseminate vote totals while the polls are still open. Potential voters, the argument goes, will see that their candidate is either way behind or far ahead and decide not to vote.

We’ve decided to continue random exit polling because:

More:
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/aug/30/phil-lewis-random-accuracy-exit-polling/

[tbyg52]

64. Other Voices: Paper backups a must for computerized voting

Election officials around the country have discovered that paper might not be so bad. ...
Print E-mail Comment

The Associated Press reports that despite the government's $3 billion plan to move to electronic voting after the 2000 Florida election fiasco, this November more Americans might vote on paper ballots than in any election in U.S. history.

Now, just 36 percent of registered voters reside in jurisdictions with electronic voting machines, down from a high of 44 percent in 2006.

Paper has its liabilities, to be sure. Florida's punch-card ballots had to go.

More:
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/082708/opi_323443038.shtml

[tbyg52]

66. LTTE: We need instant runoff voting

Every two years are the same problems. There are multiple offices with three or more candidates. Pick one and the winner gets less than 50 percent of the vote in an already anemic turnout.

There were four winners who received less than 50 percent of the vote in Hernando County this time. The system works so badly, we get the least worst. No one bothers coming to vote anymore.

More:
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/letters/article788669.ece

[tbyg52]

67. IRV: beyond the top-two primary

The current debate over whether the top-two primary violates party rights, confuses voters, or props up the secretary of state as the restorer of the blanket primary misses the real point. The discussion should focus on the fact that the top-two primary is completely unnecessary.

A primary election can do two things. First, it can select the nominee of each party who will move to the general election. Second, it can simply reduce the number of candidates in the second election.

The top-two primary only attempts the latter. It lacks any nominating function by taking a potentially crowded field and reducing it to two candidates.

Although the parties may not like the top-two primary, this system has one appealing outcome: It produces majority winners. That's a big improvement over both the blanket and the pick-a-party systems, where majority rule was not a requirement.

More:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008140210_irvop27.html

[tbyg52]

69. How the Republicans Win

Barack Obama made it across the tightrope of the Democratic National Convention, gaining solid endorsements from Bill and Hillary Clinton and giving a rousing speech before some 80,000 supporters at Invesco Field in Denver. But now comes the time when the Republicans win elections.

Over the past four decades, Republicans have dominated the outcomes of presidential races by mixing negative campaigning in public with illicit dirty tricks behind the scenes, as I've recounted in my last two books, Secrecy & Privilege and Neck Deep.

As a party, the Republicans have not only refined the art of the political smear – with such memorable moments as the Willie Horton ads in 1988 and the “swift-boating” of John Kerry in 2004 – but they also have defined the concept of the October Surprise, manipulating late-breaking events to drive the electorate toward their candidate.

Much of this Republican behavior traces back to their perceived victimization at the hands of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in the razor-thin 1960 race. Though many historians dispute the significance of alleged voter fraud in that election, the notion that Richard Nixon was robbed became an article of faith inside the GOP.

More:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/082908.html

[tbyg52]

76. Congress leaves job of fair elections to states

Everyone complains that young people don't vote, but consider the experience of students at Kenyon College in Ohio in the 2004 election. Officials in Knox County provided just two voting machines for the school's 1,300 voters. Some students waited in line for 10 hours, and the last bleary-eyed voter did not cast a ballot until nearly 4 a.m.

That same day in Columbus, voters in black neighborhoods waited as long as four hours, often in the rain. Many voters there and in other urban areas — including Toledo and Youngstown — left their overcrowded polling places in disgust, or because they could not wait any longer, without casting a ballot. In many of Ohio's white-majority suburbs, the lines were far shorter.

Troubles in Ohio drew the greatest attention in 2004, but that state was hardly alone. There were complaints of long lines in other states, including Colorado, Michigan and Florida, where elderly voters endured waits in blistering heat.

I was in Ohio on Election Day 2004. The night before the voting, rumors spread that there would be a major effort by Republican operatives to challenge the registrations of voters in majority-black precincts. Those large-scale challenges did not materialize. But tens of thousands of votes were suppressed by something so mundane that no one thought to focus on it: long lines.

More:
http://www.ohio.com/editorial/commentary/27730064.html?page=all&c=y

[tbyg52]

5. Campaign Finance nt

[tbyg52]

78. IL: Gov vetos campaign-finance bill

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose administration is under federal scrutiny for allegedly trading state jobs for campaign contributions, proposed a sweeping ban Friday on political cash from anyone holding a government job.

Blagojevich used amendatory veto authority on innocuous campaign-finance legislation and suggested barring contributions to any state officeholder -- from governor to legislator -- by any public employee -- from local librarian to director of state prisons.

It was another step in the second-term Democrat's "Rewrite to Do Right" campaign, taking what he deems unsatisfactory legislation and adding major changes.

Some already have complained Blagojevich is exceeding his constitutional authority.

More:
http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/IL-XGR-Blagojevich-083108

[tbyg52]

79. 501(c)(4) Accused of Violating Campaign Finance Law With Ads Attacking Obama

A new group the American Issues Project (AIP) has been caught in controversy over an ad linking candidate Senator Barack Obama☼ (D-IL) to former domestic terrorist William Ayers. As a 501(c)(4) organization it is allowed to air a political ad as long as the majority of its spending is nonpolitical, it cannot accept money from corporations, and it must identify the donors that finance its ads in reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The ad however, is being considered by some to be a violation of election law.

The ad "Know Enough" has images of Obama and Ayers, with a narrator asking, "Why would Barack Obama be friends with someone who bombed the Capitol and is proud of it? Do you know enough to elect Barack Obama?"

More:
http://www.ombwatch.org/article/blogs/entry/5321/34

[tbyg52]

80. Campaign finance disclosure - Alaska - Sarah Palin (r)

You all knew it was just a matter of time. Didn't you?

The State of Alaska has campaign finance disclosure reports on line. Heh. The Alaska Public Offices Commission is the custodial entity.

Sarah Palin registered her candidacy/disclosure for her campaign for Governor of Alaska on:

Candidate Registration

2006 State Primary REGISTRATION
filed October 25, 2005
by PALIN, SARAH
(Candidate for Governor)...

It may take a while to explore all the nooks and crannies of the Alaskan campaign finance disclosure system. In the meantime, here are some interesting snippets of information:

In her 2002 primary run for Lieutenant Governor her campaign spent $52,023.38 and raised $48,880.80 with a final deficit of $1,947.77 in the campaign close out report.

Sarah Palin's 2006 primary campaign for Governor cost a little more:

More:
http://blog.showmeprogress.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1532

[tbyg52]

81. Anti-Obama Backer Broke Campaign Finance Law

Harold Simmons, the billionaire Dallas investor has grown accustomed to using his vast wealth to influence the outcome of elections.

For decades, Simmons has poured millions of dollars into the campaign coffers of mostly Republican lawmakers to get legislation introduced that would greatly benefit on his financial holdings.

Simmons has had a close relationship with President George W. Bush and the Bush family for more than a decade. He contributed at least $90,000 to Bush’s Texas gubernatorial campaign, was one of the largest donors to Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000, and donated $100,000 to Bush’s 2004 inauguration.

In 1998, Bush backed a highly controversial plan to construct a radioactive waste dump near the New Mexico border that Simmons’s company, Waste Control Specialists, would operate.

More:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0809/S00008.htm

[tbyg52]

87. TX: Council gives preliminary nod campaign finance reform

Squeezing in a vote before dashing into the harsh afternoon sun due to a fire alarm, the Austin City Council gave preliminary approval to changing Austin's campaign finance laws.

The alarm turned out to be nothing more than a car backing into a fire control box in the City Hall parking garage, but according to council, the changes will make Austin's campaign laws enforceable.

The changes passed on first and second readings.

"I was shocked to learn some months ago that we cannot enforce our own campaign laws," Council Member Lee Leffingwell said.

The changes, if approved on third reading, would allow the city attorney to go after those who violate finance laws.

"I am just really glad to be working with our colleagues to get this thing done," Council Member Randi Shade said.

Council Member Mike Martinez said the resolution "cleans up the loop hole language."

More:
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=218495

[tbyg52]

6. The Youth Vote nt

[tbyg52]

25. Program reaches out to teen voters

Asked when she will turn 18, Mariah Hoffman's reaction revealed her disappointment in missing out on what the Marcos de Niza High School senior considers one of the events of the year.

Her December birthday means Mariah, 17, won't be eligible to vote in this year's general election.

"I know, I miss it by one month," Mariah said. "But I'm going to do some campaign volunteer work."

Mariah was one of 38 students in an honors government class that were the first to experience Vote 18, a nonpartisan program that encourages high-school students to vote through role play and class discussions.

Marcos de Niza was one stop on a three-month, 16-state national tour of classrooms by the New York non-profit of the same name that provides the Vote 18 program free to schools. Tempe Union High School District social-studies classes will start using it Sept. 22.

More:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/09/01/20080901evstudentvote0901.html

[tbyg52]

58. Students want polling place at SLU

A group of St. Louis University students is working to get a polling place on campus for November's election.

The closest spot where students at St. Louis University now can vote is about a mile and a half away.

Lauren Khouri founded the non-partisan group SLU Students for Voters Rights.

More:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1352132§ionID=1

[tbyg52]

65. Young Ohio Voters Blog about the Election

Meet two young voters—one Democrat and one Republican—who are blogging for us from the swing state of Ohio. Tricia Heschel and Colleen O’Kane are students at the University of Dayton and each is politically active. Meet them and take a look at their blogs to get their perspective on the candidates and the youth vote.

Tricia Heschel writes today about Obama’s acceptance speech.

Tricia Heschel
I am senior at the University of Dayton majoring in Journalism and Political Science with a minor in photography. I have always been interested in politics and voted for the first time in 2004. In my years at UD I have worked on several campaigns including local, state and national races. My most recent campaign is the Barack Obama campaign that I have phone banked for and will be doing walks for during the month of September. I am the president of the UD College Democrats and am focusing on getting young voters registered to vote regardless of who they support.

Colleen O’Kane was there Friday as McCain announced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. She will attend the Republican convention next week in St. Paul.

More:
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/29/young-ohio-voters-blog-about-the-election/

[tbyg52]

71. Young Republicans See Hope In November

Democratic nominee Barack Obama generated excitement among young voters early in his campaign for president, but recent polls show Republican John McCain gaining in youth support. And young Republicans say they hope the trend continues until November.

According to a Reuters/Zogby poll in early July, Obama's support among 18-to-29-year-olds was nearly double McCain's--64 percent to 26 percent. By mid-August, the Reuters/Zogby numbers showed that although the senator from Illinois still dominated, his share of support among young adults decreased to 52 percent while the Arizonan's rose to 29 percent.

Charlie Smith, national director of the College Republicans, says that those numbers carry a message: Younger voters are looking beyond Obama's rhetoric and are now examining his policy proposals. "There's some part of Obama's message that's no longer appealing to them," Smith said.

More:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/conventions/co_20080901_8664.php

[tbyg52]

72. GOP says it too can draw youth vote

Advertisers target them.

Companies with products to pitch covet their discretionary dollars.

And every four years, presidential campaigns woo young people to vote, only to be disappointed by low turnout among the group.

While much has been made of the strong showing Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama had with that voting bloc during the presidential primaries, Virginia's Republicans say they, too, have made major strides attracting young voters.

As the GOP faithful gather for their four-day national convention beginning Monday in the Xcel Energy Center, they see younger voters as an important part of their coalition.

More:
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/gop-says-it-too-can-draw-youth-vote

[tbyg52]

75. Capturing the Youth Vote: McCain, Obama Target Concerns About Paying for College

With the general presidential election only months away, concerns over the availability of student loans and how families will cover their college costs continue to be at the forefront of young voters' minds, in the midst of a dragging economy where credit is tight, unemployment is up, and high gas and food prices continue to eat away at families' paychecks.

In this year's close race for the White House, with the candidates virtually even at the polls, presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain are in determined pursuit of every contested voter group, even vying for the support of a typically politically uninterested and non-voting demographic: America's young adults.

An estimated 44 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 will be eligible to vote in the upcoming election, according to Rock the Vote, an organization dedicated to engaging young people politically. Of those 44 million, 17 million are voting-age college students, a large percentage of whom have ranked college costs and worries about student loans and their ability to pay for their education as among their top concerns.

More:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/capturing-youth-vote-mccain-obama/story.aspx?guid=%7B642D10CD-6E61-4CE5-8CB7-42B6E9711317%7D&dist=hppr

[tbyg52]

86. Youth promote political participation

"Politics is dirty." "All politicians are liars." "General elections are manipulative." "Your vote won't make a difference." Such perceptions are pervasive among youth, who tend to exhibit apathy toward the political system.

Indeed, the Internet generation does seem more cynical when compared with their Baby Boomer counterparts. For example, the former, with the assistance of Wikipedia and political sites, publish on their blogs long lists of their reasons for shunning politics and for staying away from the polls.

In a young democracy such as Indonesia, this trend has become something of a drag.

More:
http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20080901.T03&irec=2

[tbyg52]

17. NOTICE: POSSIBLE HIATUS IN NEWS POSTING

DU has been flaky for me off and on for quite a while, so I thought I'd better post this while I could in case I have to quit for a while.

I'll get it all posted as soon as I can, which may be the next hour, may be later tonight, or may be tomorrow afternoon, depending on how DU behaves.

[tbyg52]

89. That's all, folks! Pant, pant, pant......

We could sure use a few more editors around this place - anybody interested.....? ;) :hi:

[Mnemosyne]

91. Good lord tbyg! I wish I had time right now. In a month or so things

may settle down and I can jump back in to help. I'm taking care of three/four kids and a recuperating sister from 11 - 6 each day. I barely have time to think lately.

Thank you for your energy and all the hard work. :yourock:

And I am so sorry I can't do more than thank you and :kick::hug: for now. :cry:

Tremendous thread!I stand in awe. :applause:

[tbyg52]

93. Thanks for the good thoughts - I'm fortunate to have the time

Just a little *too* much of it today....! :hug:

[Mnemosyne]

94. You do great work and it is much appreciated!

:hug:

[bleever]

90. K&R!

Thank you so much, tbyg52!