Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Thursday April 20

Goodby, Scotty Edition



"He wants to spend more time lying to his family." -- Ferrari

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.
4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.

Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

Voting machines unveiled

Thursday, April 20, 2006
By DAN MURTAUGH
Staff Reporter

Officials unveiled Mobile County's new voting machines Wednesday, less than two months before the first voters will use them.

The new system has two different machines, one that actually counts paper ballots and another that helps voters with special needs fill out the ballots. The machines will debut during party primaries June 6.

"This is a completely different way of voting," said Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis.

Both machines are made by Election Systems & Software, a Nebraska-based company. The Mobile County Commission purchased 222 ballot-counting machines and 120 voter-assistance machines, known as AutoMARKs.

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/114552466234440.xml&coll=3

Clerk to probe L.B. ballot problems

City clerk's office will investigate complaints
By Kristopher Hanson, Staff writer

LONG BEACH — Did everyone who requested an absentee ballot receive it in the mail?

Why were registered voters' names left off the list at their polling places?

Why were so many provisional ballots cast during the April 11 municipal elections?

The questions came fast and furious Monday for City Clerk Larry Herrera during a session with several office seekers and election consultants anxious to know their political futures.

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_3720777

Precincts to be supplanted by 47 vote centers

The Denver Election Commission has selected 47 vote centers for this year's statewide elections, replacing the century-old precinct polling sites and allowing voters to cast their ballot at any vote center across the city.

Election officials have estimated that the consolidation from 285 precinct polls to the centers will save $3.4 million.

The centers are expected to be more convenient for voters because there is no way for them to go to the "wrong precinct," said Alton Dillard, the commission's interim executive director. Each location will have from eight to 20 or more voting machines.

With just under four months to go until the August primary, Dillard said the agency is well-positioned to complete installation of the high- speed computer lines and other logistical planning for the 47 vote centers.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4636095,00.html

Howard Dean: voter ID law unfair

By Richard D. Walton

Former presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean today blasted an Indiana law requiring a photo ID to vote, saying it is part of a national GOP effort to disenfranchise the poor and elderly.

Dean said the national party will do what it can to assist Indiana Democrats in appealing a recent federal court ruling upholding the identification requirement.
In a telephone interview, he dismissed Republicans’ claim that the requirement is needed to prevent voter fraud.

“These laws have appeared all over the country and they’re always put in by Republicans. And the truth is, there’s no reason for a law like this. In the history of the state of Indiana, there’s not one single case of a voter being prosecuted for impersonating somebody else.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/LOCAL/60419040/1006/NEWS01

Deadline to fix voting machines closes in
If company can't get system certified within days, 22 counties may have to use paper ballots May 2

By Mary Beth Schneider

Twenty-two Indiana counties may be forced to use paper ballots on primary election day unless the company that provides the equipment can get their voting system certified in the next several days.

The Indiana Election Commission told Indianapolis-based MicroVote General Corp. that it must complete all the legal hurdles before the May 2 primary election or, by Indiana law, the equipment is barred from being used.
In addition to the 22 counties that use MicroVote's Infinity voting system as their main method for people to cast ballots, an additional 25 counties -- including Hamilton, Hendricks and Morgan -- have purchased those machines to assist disabled voters.
That's a requirement of the federal Help America Vote Act. If the equipment cannot be used, all 47 counties will have to mothball the MicroVote Infinity machines. They would then be in violation of that federal law and could face having to return at least some of the federal dollars allocated for the machines.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/NEWS02/604200438/1008

How is New Orleans pulling off an election after Hurricane Katrina?



How is New Orleans pulling off an election after Hurricane Katrina?

By CAIN BURDEAU
Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- New Orleans will hold its first municipal election Saturday since Hurricane Katrina obliterated polling places, scattered thousands of voters and led a plethora of candidates to jump into the race. Some questions and answers about the election:

Q: What offices are being filled?

A: Many of the city's top elected jobs - mayor, City Council seats, sheriffs, clerks of court, tax assessors. If no one gets a majority for a particular post, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff May 20.

Q: How many people are expected to vote?

A: There are 297,991 registered voters in New Orleans. Typically, turnout is about 40 percent to 45 percent, but it could be much higher this time because of how much is at stake. For example, a similarly important election, the 1991 gubernatorial election between ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and former Gov. Edwin Edwards, drew 77 percent of the city's electorate.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_ORLEANS_ELECTION_QA_LAOL-?SITE=LABAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Rights groups say New Orleans vote will exclude blacks
KATRINA DROVE MANY TO SHELTER IN OTHER STATES
By Cain Burdeau
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS - In a cramped City Hall office, Louis Keller, the registrar of voters, watches a row of fax machines and waits for another absentee ballot to be spit out.

The machines work 24 hours a day. Every morning, Keller says, "we generally have a stack of these waiting for us."

On Saturday, New Orleans will hold its first municipal election since Hurricane Katrina, using fax machines and other stopgap measures to pull off a tricky exercise in democracy.

The non-partisan election, originally scheduled for Feb. 4, is for many of the city's top posts -- mayor, City Council seats, sheriffs, clerks of court, tax assessors. In many of the races, there will be a runoff, probably on May 20.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/nation/14383771.htm

(yeah, right)

New Orleans election: An experiment in democracy

By CAIN BURDEAU
Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- In a cramped hallway of his City Hall office, Louis Keller, the registrar of voters, watches a row of fax machines and waits for another absentee ballot to spit out.

Seconds later, he clutches the latest dispatch from a voter living who-knows-where: Atlanta or Houston, or maybe Colorado Springs, Colo., Hot Springs, Ark., or Missouri City, Texas.

The fax machines in his office are busy 24 hours a day, and every morning, he says, "we generally have a stack of these waiting for us."

On Saturday, New Orleans will hold its first municipal election since Hurricane Katrina, using fax machines and other stopgap measures to pull off one of the trickiest exercises in democracy in modern times.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_ORLEANS_ELECTION_LAOL-?SITE=LABAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

(Deprecinctification proceeds apace. :( )



Justice approves county’s precinct consolidation consolidation plan

By DEBBIE BURT MYERS
Managing Editor
dmyers@neshobademocrat.com


A plan which reduces Neshoba County’s voting precincts from 38 to 27 and moves a supervisory district line several feet to encompass a polling place received pre-clearance last week from the U. S. Department of Justice.

Supervisors welcomed the news on Monday and directed the circuit clerk to ensure that the county’s new voter address library is updated in the Statewide Elections Management System (SEMS) in time for the June primary.

Required and funded by the federal Help America Vote Act, SEMS is a single, centralized, interactive and official database system of all Mississippi registered voters.

Circuit Clerk Patti Duncan Lee told board members that she had discussed the matter already with two computer-programming companies and would contract with the one providing the best quote.

http://www.neshobademocrat.com/Main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=297&ArticleID=12392

Freeholders want to know: Where are the voting machines?
By Lauren DeFilippo, Staff Writer

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ - Essex County is in a voting machine predicament. What else is new?

With a primary election coming up in just eight weeks, the county is still short more than 600 new electronic voting machines.

Last week the Board of Chosen Freeholders, along with Superintendent of Elections Carmine Casciano and voting machines vendor Sequoia Voting Systems, went into an hour-long, closed-session meeting to discussion their options, including the possibility of seeking legal action.

Information about the meeting was not yet available at press time.

http://www.localsource.com/articles/2006/04/19/shared/essex_county_news/doc4446420b09f53806735342.txt

Machine errors could lead to new school vote

Thursday, April 20, 2006

By MARGARET K. COLLINS
STAFF WRITER


PEQUANNOCK -- From triumphant victory, to exasperation, to confusion.

The roller-coaster ride in the township's school district continued Wednesday with talk of voting machine irregularities and a possible second election.

After voters turned out in overwhelming numbers to pass the two-question budget tax proposal -- and the celebration that followed -- questions about the voting machines arose.

"We were all sitting around after the results came in and I said, 'Here's a funny story,' " said Bob Friedman, who lost his bid for a three-year term. "I almost didn't vote for myself."

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MjEyOTUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz

New York rushes to comply with e-voting rules

News Story by Marc L. Songini

APRIL 19, 2006 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Seeking to avoid legal penalties, the state of New York has offered the U.S. Department of Justice a plan for compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

Among its various stipulations, HAVA dictates that every voting precinct in the country have at least one handicapped-accessible e-voting machine and that every state establish a comprehensive database of its voters. The deadline for meeting HAVA’s requirements was in January, and New York ‘s tardiness to comply prompted the DOJ to single it out with the threat of a lawsuit (see ”New York faces federal suit over voter accessibility law”).

Responding to a March 23 order, the New York State Board of Elections last week filed its compliance plan in the U.S. District Court in Albany. It contains a set of milestones related to testing, training, procurement and other processes connected with the implementation of the state’s e-voting systems and voter database.

As part of its plan, the New York Board of Elections will employ an “expedited” certification process to allow the purchase of voting gear for use in this year’s primary and general elections. The board also told Justice Department officials that it is committed to doing the work necessary for the certification and acquisition of handicapped-accessible voting devices by the Sept. 12 primaries. Currently, the state relies heavily on lever-activated machines.

http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110668,00.html

Some early voters get incorrect ballot

From Staff Reports
PITTSBORO - Sixty-four early voters were given the wrong ballot at an early voting site in Pittsboro this week, allowing them to vote in a congressional race they were not eligible to vote in.

County elections officials said computerized voting machines were programmed only with a ballot for those who live in the 4th Congressional District, which has three candidates in the Democratic primary.

But parts of the Pittsboro and Hadley precincts fall in the 2nd Congressional District, represented by Bob Etheridge, who is unopposed in the primary.

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/430551.html

Summit Co. elections board braces for voting machine woes

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AKRON - Malfunctioning memory cards have an elections director predicting voting machine problems May 2.

Omaha, Neb.-based Election Systems & Software, however, is assuring the Summit County Board of Elections that the optical-scan voting system will work properly.

"We are working very hard to ensure it is a trouble-free election," Jill Friedman-Wilson, a spokeswoman for ES&S said Wednesday.

The voting system uses paper ballots, marked in pen by the voter, that are fed into a scanner. The elections board has been having problems in practice runs with the machines' memory cards, which are inserted into ballot scanners to record and tabulate those votes. Some of the cards' batteries have run out and other cards have broken.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/NEWS01/604200386/1056

E-vote machines likely to arrive in time
BY ROGER DUPUIS II STAFF WRITER

Voting machine deliveries may be more than a week away, but Lackawanna County officials are optimistic they’ll be able to offer 100 percent electronic polling come primary day next month.

So is the vendor, yet both still stopped short of making any definitive statement on the matter Wednesday.

“There’s no guarantee,” said Cathy Ann Hardaway, county director of voter education, “but we’re doing everything possible to make sure we’re ready.”

Electronic voting machines from Texas-based Advanced Voting Solutions are expected to arrive between April 28 and May 2, Ms. Hardaway said. Despite the company’s inability to fulfill Lackawanna’s total $1.7 million order of 525 machines until after the primary, she anticipates no major problems with the projected delivery of 360 machines in time to prepare them for the May 16 vote.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16506381&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6

(LACKAWANNA? Isn't that where they filmed "Dirty Dancing"? I kill me. :freak: )

Bucks to use old machines for voting in May primary

Despite a federal law requiring counties to replace their outdated voting machines, Bucks County will roll out its fleet of lever machines for the May 16 primary.

David Sanko, the county's chief operating officer, announced yesterday that no electronic machines would be used for casting ballots in the primary. Paper provisional ballots will be offered to handicapped voters in an attempt to comply with the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

The commissioners voted last month to spend $5 million on 744 electronic machines made by Washington-based Danaher Corp., but the county was unable to secure enough of them for delivery by the primary. At risk is about $985,000 of a $3.1 million federal grant.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/philadelphia_county/philadelphia/14382308.htm

Whew! Voter aces first try with Allegheny County's new touch-screen machines

Thursday, April 20, 2006
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

One voter down, 877,998 to go.

John Tague yesterday became the first participant in a massive educational campaign that Allegheny County officials hope will introduce every registered voter to the ES&S iVotronic -- the county's new touch-screen voting machine -- before the May 16 primary election.

As Mr. Tague, an advocate for people with disabilities, navigated a fictional ballot during a demonstration session at the county courthouse, a pack of television cameras, photographers and elected officials hovered over his every move.

One official, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, breathed a heavy sigh of relief after Mr. Tague successfully pressed a flashing "vote" button at the top of the machine.

For months, a federal law requiring local governments nationwide to update their voting equipment has weighed heavily on Mr. Onorato, and he and his staff now have just a few weeks to orchestrate an unprecedented outreach effort.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06110/683620-85.stm

Voting machines make their debut
By Eric C. Deines
edeines@independenttribune.com
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

CABARRUS - With the May primary elections less than two weeks away and some county precinct officials not trained on new voting machines, the Cabarrus Board of Elections office is alive with activity.

While one-stop voting on new touch-screen equipment will run through April 29 at the elections office, small groups of precinct officials are being trained three times a day Monday through Friday on new scanning voting equipment that will make its countywide debut next month.

“This (primary) has been a real hard one because it’s come so fast,” said Linda Grist, board of elections director. “And we’ve had to do a lot in a short time.”

http://www.independenttribune.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CIT%2FMGArticle%2FCIT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835451306&path=!news

Bill would let 16-year-olds register to vote

April 19, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Rhode Island could become the second state to let 16-year-olds register to vote.

State Rep. Edwin Pacheco, D-Burrillville, has introduced a bill that would let 16-year-olds register to vote and make the registration active upon their 18th birthdays. Hawaii already allows this.

"I know this is going to help in engaging younger people and making them feel like part of the process," said Pacheco, a 24-year-old who was elected to the General Assembly two years ago.

State law allows 17-year-olds register to vote if they will turn 18 by the next election.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/04/19/bill_would_let_16_year_olds_register_to_vote/

Lawmaker Puzzled by Obscenity in Letter

By SAM HANANEL, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 19, 6:51 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Nobody expects to get a letter from a member of Congress that ends with an expletive.

But that's what happened when Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (news, bio, voting record), R-Mo., recently corresponded with a resident of her southeast Missouri district.

The letter ended with a profane, seven-letter insult beginning with the letter a — "i think you're an. ..."

Emerson says she can't explain how the offensive language made it into the letter, which otherwise reads like a typical response to a citizen's question about last year's testimony of oil executives before the Senate Commerce Committee.

"There is no excuse for this inappropriate letter having been sent, and every apology has been made to the individual who received it," Emerson said in a statement to The Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060419/ap_on_go_co/congresswoman_obscenity

:rofl:

Racial Discrimination in Washington State's Criminal Justice System May Violate Voting Rights Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2006
Kay Shaw
212-965-2271

A federal district court judge will hear oral arguments on Thursday, April 20, on whether state laws disproportionately strip minorities of their right to vote following a felony conviction. Plaintiffs in the case, Farrakhan v. Gregoire, claim that these laws are in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the University Legal Assistance law clinic at Gonzaga Law School are arguing on behalf of Black, Latino and Native-American plaintiffs who charge that Washington State felon disfranchisement scheme interacts with the State's criminal justice system to disproportionately disfranchise racial minorities. As a result, minorities cannot participate on equal terms in Washington State's political process.

In 2003, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling, which recognized "plaintiffs' evidence of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, and the resulting disproportionate impact on minority voting power, as compelling," but nonetheless held that such evidence was not relevant to Section 2's analysis.

"Plaintiffs' evidence demonstrates that racial disparities exist at every stage of Washington State's criminal justice system, from arrest through charging and incarceration," said LDF Assistant Counsel Ryan Paul Haygood. "Based on the extent to which racial minorities actually participate in crimes most likely to lead to arrest and prison sentences, they are over represented in the criminal justice system. As a result, an incredible 24 percent of all Black men in Washington State, and 15 percent of the entire Black population in the State are disfranchised. This discriminatory result is precisely what Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was enacted to combat."

http://www.civilrights.org/issues/cj/details.cfm?id=42455

(Thanks to Election Law Blog)

Senate votes Ford out
Election won by Memphis Democrat 'incurably uncertain'

By TRAVIS LOLLER
For The Tennessean

Sen. Ophelia Ford was ousted from the state Senate yesterday after members voted 26-6 to void the results of the special election that put her in office.

After the vote, Sen. Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican who led the opposition to Ford, said, "We did what we had to do to restore the integrity of the ballot box."

Sen. Steve Cohen, a fellow Democrat who represents a Memphis district adjacent to Ford's, defended Ford before the Senate, saying an ad hoc committee set up to look into voting irregularities had not proven its case.

The committee worked for seven months and found that 12 votes were not valid because the voters were either dead, felons or residents of other districts. Ford won the September election by 13 votes.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/NEWS0201/604200396/1001/NEWS

(Thanks to Election Law @ Moritz)

Lt. Gov. John Carney, Department of Elections Commissioner Frank Calio and Technology and Information (DTI) Secretary Thomas Jarrett recently joined students from Caesar Rodney High School and elections officials from all three counties to unveil the latest e-government initiative: Online Voter Registration.

“This new online opportunity really addresses one of our elections department’s primary responsibilities,” Carney said. “Anything we can do to make it easier for our residents to participate in this process is a great thing. This new system will make it very convenient to register, particularly for our younger Delawareans, most of whom know their way around a computer very well.”

The officials gathered at the Caesar Rodney High School Library to demonstrate the new registration process, which permits any Delaware citizen to register to vote at any location with internet access. The online form is simple to use and provides Department of Elections staff with more accurate information, because it eliminates the difficulties sometimes experienced when applications are hand-written. The new system does require that the applicant for registration print a copy of the registration form, sign it, and mail or deliver it to an elections office before the registration process is fully complete.

http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/0406/onlinevote041806.html

:eyes:

Voters in June primary wiuse new electronic system

Ventura County residents will use a new electronic voting system when the June primary election rolls around. Newspaper reporters got a recent preview of the system in Camarillo.

Instead of a paper punch card, voters will now use a black or blue ballpoint pen to mark a paper ballot which features arrows that point to the candidate or proposition they're selecting.

Voters then feed the completed ballot into an electronic reader about the size of a street corner mailbox.

Although the county could have chosen an entirely electronic system, officials wanted to keep a paper trail in the event that someone calls for a recount, said Mischa Sammons, a voter outreach assistant.

http://www.toacorn.com/news/2006/0420/Front_Page/004.html

Eighty skipped on voting pamphlet
HAVA problems, incomplete cards behind difficulty

By Josh Singer, joshs@theunion.com
April 20, 2006

As election materials are mailed out for the June 6 primary, which could decide many of the races, some voters will not receive their Voter Information Pamphlets because of incomplete registration cards and problems related to compliance with the Help America Vote Act, according to Nevada County Clerk-Recorder Kathleen Smith.

Approximately 80 potential voters will not be receiving their information pamphlets this year, Smith announced in an e-mail, unless they act quickly to provide the needed information.

These potential voters fall into a "pending classification," Smith stated, either because they did not fill out their voter registration cards completely or because their identification information did not match the Statewide Voter Database.

HAVA, the federal act passed in 2002, requires states to maintain a unified database of voter records corresponding to county records, and many California counties have had difficulty complying with the law.

(This is the way we shave the vote, shave the vote, shave the vote. :mad: )

Trouble feared at ballot box

Summit County elections director predicts optical scan system will fail in May primary
By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

Summit County Board of Elections Director Bryan Williams is predicting Election Day failures with the memory cards in the county's new optical scan voting system.

``I don't think we can assume anything else,'' Williams said at a meeting Tuesday, where the elections board reviewed the latest list of troubles.

The voting system uses paper ballots marked in pen by the voter which are fed into a scanner.

And with just two weeks to go before the election, the board continues to experience problems with PCMCIA cards, commonly referred to as memory cards, that are inserted into ballot scanners to record and tabulate those votes.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/ohio/news/14375779.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

04/20/06 FOX Poll: Gloomy Economic Views; Bush Approval at New Low

NEW YORK — More Americans disapprove than approve of how George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Congress are doing their jobs, while a majority approves of Condoleezza Rice. President Bush’s approval hits a record low of 33 percent this week, clearly damaged by sinking support among Republicans.

Opinions are sharply divided on whether Rumsfeld should resign as secretary of defense. In addition, views on the economy are glum; most Americans rate the current economy negatively, and twice as many say it feels like the economy is getting worse rather than better. These are just some of the findings of the latest FOX News national poll.

President Bush’s job approval rating slipped this week and stands at a new low of 33 percent approve, down from 36 percent two weeks ago and 39 percent in mid-March. A year ago this time, 47 percent approved and two years ago 50 percent approved (April 2004).

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192468,00.html

:woohoo:

Edit: At this rate, they might have to find bin Laden.

Blackwater in the Crosshairs
The Families of Four Private Security Contractors Killed in Fallujah File a Ground-Breaking Lawsuit

The families of four private security contractors killed in Fallujah in March 2004 have filed a ground-breaking lawsuit charging Blackwater USA with fraud and wrongful death. Blackwater has fought to have the case dismissed by claiming that all liability lies not with the company but the U.S. government.

In an expose in the new issue of the Nation magazine, independent journalist Jeremy Scahill tells the story of the struggle of the four families of the slain Blackwater contractors to hold those responsible for their deaths accountable.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/20/1340246

LBN discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2238233

LATEST E-VOTE LAWSUIT: Oregon Sues ES&S for Breach of Contract!

2006 Election 'Train Wreck' Continues as Company Fails to Meet Obligations in Yet Another State
Complaint Latest in Growing String of Legal Battles, HAVA-Related E-Voting Meltdowns Around the Country...

2006 Election 'Train Wreck' Continues as Company Fails to Meet Obligations in Yet Another State
Complaint Latest in Growing String of Legal Battles, HAVA-Related E-Voting Meltdowns Around the Country...

In the latest amongst a spate of lawsuits being filed against Electronic Voting Machine Companies around the country, the Oregon Sec. of State has announced today that they have filed...

In the latest amongst a spate of lawsuits being filed against Electronic Voting Machine Companies around the country, the Oregon Sec. of State has announced today that they have filed a complaint against Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) for breach of contract in failing to provide the state with disabled-accessible voting machines, as promised, in time to meet the January 1, 2006 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) deadline.

The complaint, filed yesterday on behalf of the state of Oregon in Marion County Circuit Court, is downloadable here in full : http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/Oregon_ESSComplaint_041906.pdf

In a statement just issued by the office of Bill Bradbury, Oregon's Sec. of State, he said, "I'm disappointed in ES&S. They agreed to provide us with voting machines, they didn't follow through on that agreement, and that failure directly punishes people with disabilities."

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002714.htm

Contra Costa Times

Posted on Thu, Apr. 20, 2006

Associated Press
ATLANTA - Veteran state Rep. Gail Buckner announced on Thursday that she is seeking the Democratic nomination for secretary of state.

"After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to continue my dedication to public service by asking the citizens of Georgia to elect me as their next secretary of state," Buckner said.

Buckner said she supports adding paper ballots to Georgia's electronic voting machines. She also wants to use the office to fight against identity theft and investment fraud.

Buckner is trying to succeed Democrat Cathy Cox, who is running for governor.

Buckner, of Jonesboro, was first elected to Georgia's House of Representatives in 1990.

Buckner will face a crowded field in the Democratic primary. She is the first Democrat in the race who has been elected to state office.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Bill Stephens of Canton is running against Fulton County Commission Chairman Karen Handel.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/14389574.htm

Special Issue

Genetic Engineering News

Breaking News

4/20/2006 12:58:00 PM EST

BIOWIRE
A symposium on the 2004 election raising provocative questions and assessing the effects of legislative actions and judicial decisions aimed at preventing the problems and missteps that marred the 2000 vote highlights the April 2006 issue (Volume 5, Number 2) of Election Law Journal, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The issue is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/elj.
Among the five papers that comprise this broad-ranging symposium is an essay by Robert Bauer, Chair, Political Law Group, Perkins Coie (Washington, D.C.) that evaluates the effects of the McCain-Feingold bipartisan campaign reform act on the 2004 election. Entitled, "A Report from the Field: Campaign Professionals on the First Election Cycle under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act," the essay presents the views of a group of experts on their experiences.
Clifford Jones, Associate in Law Research, Center for Government Responsibility, Levin College of Law, University of Florida, assesses the effects of post-2000 election law reform in the state of Florida. In "Out of Guatemala?: Election Law Reform in Florida and the Legacy of Bush v. Gore in the 2004 Presidential Election," Jones concludes that the State of Florida learned substantial lessons, but the improvements made are incomplete.
Writing on the pro-incumbency and anti-competitive effects of redistricting, David Lublin, Associate Professor of Government, School of Public Affairs, at American University, and Michael McDonald, Assistant Professor of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University, describe the impact of incumbent-protecting and racial redistricting on competition in state legislative elections in an article entitled, "Is It Time to Draw the Line?: The Impact of Redistricting on Competition in State House Elections."

http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=612366

Crawford County voters will be using the new Optech Voting System for all elections, beginning with the annual election on May 2. County Clerk/Register of Deeds Sandra Moore will unveil the new system to voters with a three day demonstration beginning Tuesday, April 25 at 9 a.m. and running through Thursday, April 27. The demonstration is open to all voters in Crawford County as it will allow the citizens to better acquaint themselves with the new voting equipment and procedures.

"I want the voters of Crawford County to feel comfortable about voting from this point forward, and this is one way my office can serve the residents and educate them on the new process," said County Clerk/Register of Deeds Sandra Moore. "My goal is to see increased participation on election day because it streamlines the process and makes voting more convenient."

All jurisdictions across the State of Michigan are converting to Optical Scan voting, which will allow the voter to mark the designated paper form with a pen or pencil (complete the arrow pointing to your choice with a single bold line) and then feed the ballot directly into a tabulator. The machine optically scans the ballot and the voter can review the vote cast and either correct or electronically record the votes in it's memory.

http://avalanche.townnews.com/articles/2006/04/20/news/news07.txt

The Record, West Verginia

Thursday, April 20, 2006

By Chris Dickerson - Charleston Bureau

CHARLESTON - When early voting for the May primary election began Wednesday, many West Virginia counties had to fall back to paper and optical scan ballots.

The vendor chosen to supply new touch screen machines - Elections Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb. - didn't get the machines programmed in time.

That snafu has Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper worried about potential lawsuits.

"They (ES&S) didn't meet their contract," said Carper, who also is an attorney. "That's a violation of federal law. There is no question that the state of West Virginia is in violation of HAVA (the 2002 Help America Vote Act).

"The state used federal dollars and local dollars. We've had classes. We've run advertisements telling handicapped people they'd be able to use these machines in early voting."

Kanawha is one of 34 counties using ES&S, which has a $17 million contract with the state to provide the machines to those counties.

Carper said he hopes no lawsuits develop from this delay, but he said the situation is ripe.

"I don't know what's going to happen," said Carper, who has sent letters to local and federal officials about ES&S not meeting its deadlines. "What if there are close elections? What if someone says numbers don't add up to records?

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/newsview.asp?c=178002

Transcript
This is a transcript from PM. The program is broadcast around Australia at 5:10pm on Radio National and 6:10pm on ABC Local Radio

PM - Thursday, 20 April , 2006 18:30:00
Reporter: Alexandra Kirk
MARK COLVIN: Three federal politicians went to the Solomons as part of an international election observer team, under the auspices of the United Nations.

All say they left with the impression that the election went well, but they point to underlying problems that have sparked the riots.

One MP has taken a big swipe at Taiwan, saying it's too close to the Solomons' political process and should channel its money through internationally recognised agencies.

From Canberra, Alexandra Kirk reports.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Liberal Senator Marise Payne, part of an international mission of nearly 50 observers, says the three Australian MPs were deployed right across the islands.

MARISE PAYNE: In Gizo, Kolombangara, the mood on polling day was, I thought, particularly positive and very constructive. The polling officers were very conscientious and diligent in the way they carried out their tasks. And I saw no concerns raised by local Solomon Islanders about the process of the vote, and certainly none were actually raised with me.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Labor's Pacific Islands spokesman Bob Sercombe says there was no capacity for absentee voting, and the electoral rolls were not up to scratch, but he too was impressed.

BOB SERCOMBE: I was an election observer in one of the outer islands, an island called Makira. It's an area that's relatively rarely visited, certainly by foreigners. I was impressed by the general technical competence of the process.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Liberal backbencher Michael Ferguson went to the island of Malaita.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1620418.htm

Northwest Arkansas Times

BY DREW TERRY Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Thursday, April 20, 2006

vote to take place there, "said John Logan Burrow, commission chairman.

More than 1,800 registered voters reside in the two precincts that utilize the center at 240 E. Rock St. That figure is approaching a critical mass of sorts that can lead to lengthy waits for voters to cast their ballots on election day.

Commissioner Pete Loris proposed separating the precincts to reduce possible congestion and establishing polling places that would lead to shorter driving distances.

http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/39810/

Statesman Journal

Marion County
April 20, 2006

If you want to cast a ballot in the May 16 primary, you must register to vote by Tuesday.

County elections offices will accept postcard registrations if they are postmarked by Tuesday.

You must re-register if you have changed your name, address or party affiliation.

Only registered Democrats can choose Democratic nominees in a primary under Oregon law, and only registered Republicans can choose Republican nominees. All voters may vote on nonpartisan candidates and ballot measures.

New registration cards require voters to list either their Oregon driver's license number or the final four digits of their Social Security number as proof of residency. A 2002 federal law imposed the requirement.

The law does not require voters to re-register if they have no changes to report.

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/STATE/604200354/1042

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2235473&mesg_id=2235826

:hi: K&R

:toast:

"And pursue opportunities to lie in the public sector." -- bleever



:rofl:


:thumbsup:

:rofl:

cbc Sasketchwan

Last Updated Apr 20 2006 04:43 PM CDT
CBC News
A Saskatoon man has been sentenced to house arrest for tampering with ballots in the disputed 2004 Saskatchewan Métis election.
Vince Buglar has been ordered to serve a one-year conditional sentence at home, followed by two years probation.
During that time, he's forbidden from running for public office.
He was sentenced Thursday in North Battleford provincial court.
In 2004, Buglar was placed in charge of ballot boxes at a Métis polling station in Wilkie.
During that election, ballot boxes were stuffed and votes were cast in the names of non-residents – even dead people.
Charges against other individuals are working their way through the courts.
Last week, another man was sentenced in Maple Creek province court in connection with election irregularities.
FROM APRIL 13, 2006: Man sentenced for forging ballots in Métis election

http://www.cbc.ca/sask/story/metis-election060420.html

:)

saw you do it all by yourself today.

:)

Bangkok Post

PRADIT RUANGDIT & MONGKOL BANGPRAPA
Two small political parties were paid by Thai Rak Thai to run in the general election and one of them bribed a poll official to rig the Election Commission's database, a source close to the probe committee said yesterday. EC chairman Wassana Permlarp admitted that an official was implicated in tampering with data, but he fell short of spelling out any links with the Thai Rak Thai party.


The source said the panel, headed by Nam Yangyim, found that the Pattana Chart Thai party and the Thai Ground party (Paendin Thai) received money from senior TRT executives to field candidates in the April 2 general election, so TRT could avoid running alone.


The allegations were raised by Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban, who accused EC staff of tampering with data to enable small parties to stand in the election.


According to the investigation report, the Pattana Chart Thai party _ through leader Boonthaweesak Amornsin and election campaign director Suksan Chaithes _ accepted money from TRT to fund elections in both the party-list and constituency systems.


The committee also found that the Pattana Chart Thai party had bribed election official Amornwit Suwanpa, who was in charge of the electronic database, to manipulate data so party members appeared qualified to run. Mr Amornwit was paid 30,000 baht to rig the data and add 61 members to the database, the panel found. Of these, 21 contested the election.


According to the investigation report, Mr Amornwit said he had acted alone. Mr Suthep, however, alleged that at least one EC commissioner was involved in the data tampering.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Apr2006_news02.php

Brenkam Banner Press

Kolkhorst to file bills during special session-- State representative: District constituents express concern over property tax reform

Thursday, April 20, 2006 12:32 PM CDT

snip (way at the end of arrticle)
In another effort to remove mandates on the local community, Kolkhorst is filing House Bill 62 at the request of several local government officials. If passed, the legislation clarifies that local elections are not subjected to the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) unless a federal election appears on the ballot.

"Local people who hold a local election should not be hindered by federal mandates," Kolkhorst said. "It's letting a small government entity opt out of the federal guidelines if they choose to do so.

"We all understand the need for open and accessible elections, but a local school board or city council race shouldn't cost a fortune."

http://www.brenhambanner.com/articles/2006/04/20/news/news01.txt

Herald Today

Posted on Thu, Apr. 20, 2006

From staff reports
Pam Finlayson, Allen County’s director of elections, said Thursday afternoon the Election Board has decided to proceed with using its new Infinity digital voting machines, despite the state not yet certifying their software.

The board’s other option would have been to use paper ballots for the May 2 primary, which Finlayson said her office would not be capable of processing.

Finlayson said the board will just have to hope the state certifies the county’s returns. By going ahead with the new machines, the board also leaves itself open to the possibility of a lawsuit from someone questioning the validity of the election returns.

For more information on this story, check back later on www.news-sentinel.com and see Friday’s News-Sentinel

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/14389916.htm

Looks like there is more to come :)

Staff Report

Both political parties need poll workers for the upcoming primary election, according to County Clerk Sharon Christner.

Poll workers will be expected to attend one of the classes in the Justice Building meeting room next week.

Classes are 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and at 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Training for poll inspectors is at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

All poll workers must take a training class next week because of the number of new election laws and because of the switch to electronic voting machines.

Christner said the classes will take three to three and a half hours.

Poll workers vote absentee and are assigned to a poll location.

Workers arrive at their designated poll location at 5 a.m. May 2 and must be prepared to stay until the polls close and reports are ready to be taken to the clerk’s office.

Clerks and judges receive $95; inspectors are paid $115. Meals are included.

For more information, call the clerk’s office, 372-2334.

http://www.timeswrsw.com/N0420064.HTM

:hug: :thumbsup: