Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday 5/ 28/06

Ready or not: Touchscreen voting machines await election test

(Record, The (Stockton, CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 27--STOCKTON -- Lined up like little electronic soldiers, rows of Diebold voting machines sit in a warehouse waiting for deployment next month.

In the weeks leading up to the June 6 primary, San Joaquin County election workers have been busy inspecting electronic voting machines to ensure vulnerabilities identified in Diebold's software don't affect voters at the polls.

All 1,625 of the county's Diebold TSx touchscreen machines have been hand-checked to ensure no malicious software snuck onto their motherboards or memory cards, said Deborah Hench, the county's registrar of voters. Memory cards have been loaded into the ATM-like machines and covered with a piece of tamper-proof tape.

Hench, like dozens of other election officials who will be overseeing the use of Diebold machines, received a letter earlier this month informing her that the company had identified a potentially devastating flaw, which could let someone with access to the machine insert a virus into the system.

"It's like holding a loaded gun to your head and saying, 'Well, unless you pull the trigger there's not much risk,' " said David Dill, a Stanford computer science professor who has studied the Diebold machines. Computer experts are not reporting the specifics of the flaw, not wanting to tip off potential hackers on how to corrupt an election.


More: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/05/27/1661200.htm

The trials of voting

Sunday, May 28, 2006

By David Sanders

I asked the woman who was about to hand me a paper ballot if I could cast my votes on the fancy touch-screen voting machine set up against the wall. When I walked into the gymnasium on Tuesday, I noticed that the machine wasn't working properly. A blank screen and high-pitch sound were good indications something was wrong.

The very gracious poll worker was caught off guard by my request to use the computerized contraption. She laughed and said I was the first person who had asked to use the machine. Nonetheless, she didn't try to dissuade me.

Mine was not an unreasonable request. No one else was voting at the time and I had heard so much about these machines. I wanted to put the new voting methodology to the test.

She grabbed her operating instructions - a couple of yellow sheets of paper with tiny text on it. She touched the screen in hopes that it would illuminate, but it didn't. Then she began inserting a couple of cartridges into a slot in the side of the machine. The small square devices looked like the old Pac-Man and Defender game cartridges I used to have to jiggle to make my Atari work.

This continued for a few minutes, but nothing worked. She said she had gone to an in-service meeting on how to operate the machine. I felt bad; she seemed determined.


More: http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2006/05/28/DavidJSanders/336384.html

Linden Brothers Will Pursue Recall Of Jefferson County Clerk

Reported by Angel San Juan
May 27, 2006 - 11:59PM

Two Southeast Texas community leaders say the recent controversy over the May 13th Port Arthur school board elections will not end with a scheduled recount Tuesday.
Former Port Arthur city councilman Ronnie Linden, and his brother Lonnie Linden, who lost his seat in the school board races, say there are many people in Port Arthur who fear their votes were not counted.

The Lindens say the votes should have never been canvassed just three days after the elections.
Lonnie Linden says, "The canvassing of the vote that was held the Tuesday after the election was not legal, they were supposed to wait until the canvassing board met to see if there were any provisional ballots and there was at least 1."

The brothers also question the integrity of the electronic voting machines.
They say many citizens have complained about malfunctions that were not properly addressed when they voted.

Lonnie Linden says, "Some authority needs to come in immediately and get the electronic voting machines, they need to be sealed, put in a safe place and we need to have a full, thorough investigation, we need to get a forensic computer specialist here to look at these voting machines and see what happened in this last election."

Ronnie Linden told us he's very disappointed with the lack of cooperation from the Jefferson County Clerk's office.

He says, "We're very concerned about the behavior of the county clerk's office, the county clerk and her office...it's disturbing to say the very least."

More: http://www.kfdm.com/engine.pl?station=kfdm&id=14977&template=breakoutlocal.html

Iwu Alleges Threat to Life

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu at the weekend alleged that he has in the last few days received series of death threats from unknown people.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Andy Ezeani, the INEC boss said though he put his trust in God for protection "it has become necessary however, to bring this development to the Nigerian public, to at least alert Nigerians on what is going on".

In the statement, Iwu said "the desperation of those who want to have their way in the 2007 election by all means is beginning to manifest in dangerous and reprehensible dimensions".
While stating that the death threat did not state in clear terms what he has done wrong, Iwu said one of these cowardly threats vaguely alluded to what it termed his 'stubbornness' in vowing not to "leave the system alone", while another one simply asked him to "go back to your lab and leave politics for politicians".

Though he did not pin-point specifically who might be after his life, in a vague reference to the fact that the death threat may not be unconnected with his insistence on the use of Electronic Voting System (EVS) for the 2007 general elections, Iwu maintained that "the effort by the commission under his leadership to introduce manageable technology in the electoral system in such a way as will reduce if not eliminate human influence on election results in Nigeria, has continued to be distorted and misrepresented".

He added that the death threats he has received is an indication that his principled stance on matters entrusted to him by the nation does not go down well with elements and interests that will prefer that things remain the way they were, noting that he is not deterred by "these messages of desperadoes who obviously are scarred that the electoral system he is putting in place will block their past crooked ways of cheating and winning elections".


More: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=49157

Election Commission Begins Counting Lonoke Ballots

Saturday May 27, 2006 7:06pm Posted By: Angela Rachels



Lonoke, AR - Voters in Lonoke County are one step closer to finding out election results.

Technicians have been on-site at the Lonoke County Courthouse working on a glitch in the ballot scanner.

However, working to get the machine problems fixed has been a four-day battle for the election commission, leaving voters and candidates waiting until now when votes can actually be counted.

(Jean McCanliss , Lonoke County Election commission) "For some reason, they cannot seem to get it all together."

Jean McCanliss has had enough.

As chair of the Lonoke County Election Commission, she has waited since Tuesday to have what she says is faulty equipment fixed by its manufacturer E S and S.


More: http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0506/331489.html

...snip

On Friday, the Ohio Black Republicans Association begins a two-day conference in Columbus, co-sponsored by the Ohio Republican Party. It coincides with Saturday's visit by a prominent black Democrat, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Obama is the featured speaker at the state Democratic Party's annual dinner in Columbus.

On June 20, Greg Palast, a British reporter and bestselling author, will speak about a block away from Gov. Bob Taft's Bexley residence about his newest book, Armed Madhouse.

Palast takes several swipes at Ken Blackwell and his actions as secretary of state and co-chair of President Bush's 2004 campaign.

"What happened to the missing votes?'' Palast writes. "I'm not going to pretend this was the most difficult investigative story I've worked. We didn't need to call on Sherlock Holmes. In Ohio, the Black Stain of spoiled votes traced directly to bad punch-card machines in the ghetto.''

By Palast's tally, there were 239,127 uncounted votes in Ohio, more than the president's 118,599 vote margin over U.S. Sen. John Kerry.

Palast's 7 p.m. speech is at the Jeffrey Park Shelter House, 165 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley.


Link: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/NEWS01/605280427/1056

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430202

...snip

Ohio Poll

A poll released this week by the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research asserts the Democrat Ted Strickland enjoys a six-point lead (50 percent to 44 percent with the rest undecided) over Republican nominee J. Kenneth Blackwell in the Ohio governor's race. The same poll found that in Ohio's other big-ticket statewide contest incumbent Republican Mike DeWine held a 51-42 percent lead over Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown.


Link: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060527/NEWS02/605270319/1003/EDIT

This is a great article about the Ohio Restoration Project, Patriot Pastors, and the liberal voices that are now countering them.

...snip

Last fall, alarmed by the political actions of the religious right, the Rev. Tim Ahrens, a United Church of Christ minister from Columbus, organized a meeting of about 50 similarly concerned clergy. In March, the interfaith group launched We Believe Ohio, whose name was suggested by Cantor Jack Chomsky of Congregation Tifereth Israel of Columbus.

Columbus clergy of We Believe have filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against two Columbus-area evangelical Christian leaders, the Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church and the Rev. Russell Johnson of Fairfield Christian Church. Johnson's Ohio Restoration Project has enrolled nearly 2,000 evangelical ministers to be "Patriot Pastors,” exhorting congregants to vote for candidates with right-wing stands on social issues.

In their complaint, the Columbus clergy charged that Parsley and Johnson have violated IRS regulations, thereby jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, by promoting the candidacy of Ken Blackwell, secretary of state and Republican gubernatorial nominee, and other conservatives.


More: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2006/05/26/news/local/clergy0526.txt

Suspended 'Blade' Reporter Fired (Editor & Publisher)

By Joe Strupp
Published: May 26, 2006 10:25 AM ET

NEW YORK George Tanber, the staff writer for The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. who admitted this week to writing an anonymous letter to the Pulitzer Prize Board claiming the newspaper's "Coingate" series was tainted, has been fired....

The anonymous letter, an eight-page document dated March 28, was titled "Deception and Coverup Taint Award-Winning Coingate Series." It claimed, among other things, that the Blade was aware of alleged illegal campaign contributions by GOP fundraiser Tom Noe prior to the 2004 presidential election....

Tanber commented: "I was fired for dishonesty....In fact, I was fired for revealing the truth, which, under the journalism code of ethics, I was obligated to do."


More: http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576509


Discussion thanks to WhoWantsToBeOccupied here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2309724

California devises end-run around electoral college

By Jim Sanders
THE SACRAMENTO BEE

SACRAMENTO - Six years after Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the presidency to Republican George W. Bush, there's a new move afoot in the California Legislature and other states to ensure that such things never happen again.

The linchpin is a proposed "interstate compact," designed to guarantee that presidents will be selected by popular vote, without amending the U.S. Constitution or eliminating the electoral college.

Assemblyman Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat who chairs the Assembly Election and Redistricting Committee, said the basic premise is understandable even to children.

"When you're in first grade, if the person who got the second-most votes became class leader, the kids would recognize that this is not a fair system," he said.


More: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/14688423.htm

Noe asks court to dismiss state corruption charge

Associated Press
TOLEDO, Ohio - A coin dealer and major Republican fundraiser who faces theft and money laundering charges over his handling of a state investment in rare coins has asked a judge to dismiss a charge that accuses him of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

The charge would carry a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison if Tom Noe is convicted. Noe, scheduled for trial in August, has pleaded not guilty to 53 state charges related to his handling of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's $50 million investment.

Noe faces separate federal charges that he illegally funneled contributions to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. He has pleaded not guilty in the case but is scheduled to change his plea at a hearing Wednesday in Toledo.

In a filing Friday, Noe asked Judge Thomas Osowik of Lucas County Common Pleas Court to throw out the racketeering charge. His attorneys argued that prosecutors failed to distinguish between Noe and the criminal enterprise they say he used to commit crimes including theft, records tampering and forgery.


More: http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/14683960.htm

May 28, 2006

Doug Kellner is giving a talk in NYC on June 15 with the ominous title, "Is New York the Next Florida?" Doug Kellner is the hard-working Co-Chair of the New York State Board of Elections, which is responsible for certifying voting systems to replace the lever machines. He is also a Democratic Election Commissioner in New York City.

Thursday, June 15
6pm - 8pm

At the Baxter and Brooks Rooms
The Williams Club
24 East 39th St.
At Madison Ave.
New York, NY

Tickets $10
RSVP TODAY!

Questions?
Contact Raina Lipsitz
(212) 725-8825 ext 230
or
raina@eleanorslegacy.com

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_allegra__060528_is_new_york_the_next.htm

The Korea Times

05-28-2006 18:21
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The number of election lawbreakers has increased at an alarming rate as illegal campaigning for the May 31 local elections intensifies.

The number of people booked on charges of election law violation stood at 2,730 as of Saturday, four days before the elections that will select governors, mayors and city councilors, according to the prosecution on Sunday.

The figure was up 73 percent from 1,579 during the same period ahead of the 2002 local elections. The number of detained candidates, family members and campaigners reached 165, up 2.5 percent from 161 four years ago.

Prosecutors expect the number of election law violators will reach more than 3,000 before Wednesday’s elections as more candidates vie with each other to become provincial and city councilors than in previous elections.

From this year's elections, municipal governments are required to pay the councilors yearly wages of up to some 60 million won during their four-year term.

``Despite stern warnings to severely punish illegal campaigners, illicit electioneering has not shown any signs of abating. Many candidates are resorting to illegal measures, including smear campaigns and distribution of money, to get elected amid fierce competition,’’ a prosecution official said.

The methods of illegal campaigning include smear campaigns, distribution of money or presents and treating people to a meals or drinks. Some candidates also gave money at an early stage to gain a party nomination.

Of 2,730 booked on election law violations, about 1,102 were charged with illegally providing money to party officials and voters, followed by 296 with smear campaigns and 282 with illicit advertising.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200605/kt2006052818210511960.htm

Lawrence Journal World
J-W Staff Reports

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Sen. Kay O’Connor, R-Olathe, officially filed on Thursday to seek the Republican nomination for the statewide office of secretary of state.

“Clean elections are essential for a healthy democratic process, and I feel we are at risk if we do not bring much needed attention and accountability to the office,” she said in a statement.

O’Connor, a retired teacher and accountant, won Senate elections in 2000 and 2004. She also served for eight years in the Kansas House beginning in 1993.

The conservative senator has gained media attention because she once said women’s right to vote was a sign that American society didn’t value families enough. O’Connor has stood by her remarks and said she expects voters to dismiss that controversy.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/may/28/senator_files_run_secretary_state/

Published May 28, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

By DAVID ABRAMS, Staff Writer
Nearly a third of the nonpartisan elections chiefs in the state have quit in the past year, and some are saying they are leaving over frustration that numerous changes to the voting system could threaten the integrity of the fall elections.

"There is a hole that's left open that people can say it's fraud," said Robin Downs Colbert, a veteran elections official in charge of operations in Prince George's County who's stepping down next month. "It's not that it is fraud, but because there may be a process that (election workers) haven't been prepared for, it can be claimed that there's fraud."

Anne Arundel County's elections chief, Barbara Fisher, is threatening to retire at the end of this year, citing the same reasons.

"It's getting more and more difficult to conduct elections," said the 30-year veteran who has been in charge of county contests for a decade. "It used to be a really fun thing to do, but it's not fun anymore."

If Ms. Fisher leaves, she will be the seventh administrator to step down in the past year.

Harford County's chief resigned this month. Her counterparts in Baltimore City, Queen Anne's, Charles and Wicomico counties have already left. Ms. Fisher said to expect other resignations.

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/05_28-34/TOP

Muskogee Phoenix.com

Originally published May 28, 2006
By Liz McMahan
Phoenix Staff Writer

This may be one of the most active election years in Muskogee County in a long time, according to an election official.

“The District 14 (state representative) race is wide open, the governor’s race is going to be hot and the district attorney’s race is going to be hot,” said Ellen Thames, assistant secretary at the Muskogee County Election Board.

It’s also likely to be a very long ballot, she said. Offices that are open this year range from the governor and U.S. Congress down to the county treasurer, assessor and two commissioners.

Filing for county and state offices begins June 5, and primary elections are just 59 days away.

It’s going to be a busy rest of the year for the Election Board, Thames said.

Two incumbents already have picked up their papers for this year’s races: Dexter Payne, District 3 commissioner, and Dan Ashwood, Muskogee County assessor, Thames said.

detailed race info at site:
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/NEWS01/60527033/1002

Sunday, May 28, 2006
By ROYCE ARMSTRONG
LUCEDALE -- There will not be any hanging chads and far fewer chances for spoiled ballots when George County voters next go to the polls.

County election officials are busy testing new touch screen computerized voting machines and getting them ready to send to the precincts for the primary election on June 6.

The new machines are part of a massive statewide program to make voting easier and to ensure that Mississippi never faces the embarrassment suffered by Florida voters during the 2000 presidential election, according to Circuit Clerk James Cochran.

In that election, the outcome of the election finally hinged on the electoral votes in Florida. The popular vote was so close that in the end only 500 votes, out of nearly six million cast, separated the two candidates. The election results were challenged in court battles that ran all the way up the judiciary to the U.S. Supreme Court while the nation scrutinized and joked about Florida voters. The battle got down to whether or not to count punch card ballots that were not completely punched, leaving hanging chads.

After that debacle, Congress mandated that all states would replace their central scanner, lever operated or punch card voting machines by January 1, 2006, under the Help America Vote Act.

Mississippi Secretary of State Eric Clark launched a massive, $15 million statewide program to help counties buy new touch screen computerized voting machines. The state purchased 5,164 machines to be distributed among participating counties. Each county is responsible for purchasing any additional machines needed.

http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/index.ssf?/base/news/1148811360212070.xml

LA Times.com

Californians are suffering from election fatigue. Symptoms may include a record-low turnout for the June primary.
By Tony Quinn, TONY QUINN is co-editor of the California Target Book, a nonpartisan analysis of legislative and congressional elections.
May 28, 2006

CALIFORNIANS set a record in 2002: Fewer turned out for a primary election than ever before — just 34.6% of registered voters. Even fewer may turn out for June's primary.

The problem is that Californians are suffering from election fatigue. This will be the fourth election in four years. Two were for governor and a third was a proxy vote for governor.

n 2002, conservative GOP candidate Bill Simon ran one of the worst general election campaigns in state history, losing to wildly unpopular Gov. Gray Davis. Voters hated the choice and wanted a second bite at the apple.

A year later, they got their chance. In a special recall election, they dumped Davis and put Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor's chair. About 60% of registered voters went to the polls in 2003, more than had voted in 2002.

The 2004 election was something of a breather for state voters because the presidential contest was not in doubt and there was no real race for the Senate seat held by Democrat Barbara Boxer. Turnout, about 75% of the voters, was normal for a presidential election.

But just when voters thought they were safe from more campaigning, Schwarzenegger called for a special election in 2005 — a referendum on four initiatives he said were necessary to redirect state policy. About half the voters went to the polls.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-quinn28may28,1,3801442.story?coll=la-news-comment

Tennessean.com

Sunday, 05/28/06

By LARRY DAUGHTREY

There's a race for governor of Tennessee underway in which voters will be bombarded with millions of dollars in TV ads as they are urged to choose between incumbent Democrat Phil Bredesen and the likely Republican nominee, state Sen. Jim Bryson of Franklin.
More than a million people will make the choice in November.

But the talk stirring the Capitol last week concerned the state's second highest office, lieutenant governor. A contest is evolving there that will be decided by 33 people, mostly in whispered deal-making in back rooms.

Unlike most other states, Tennessee's lieutenant governor is not elected by the people but by the state Senate. His duties are limited but strategic; he appoints Senate committees and thus controls the flow of legislation. Otherwise, he is on standby in case the governor dies or is incapacitated. That hasn't happened in 75 years.

For half that span, the lieutenant governor has been John Wilder, an eccentric cotton-farming millionaire from the West Tennessee crossroads of Mason. A nominal Democrat, Wilder has survived coup attempts by his own party and the Republicans, operating in mysterious ways in a darkened Legislative Plaza office. He is now on the back side of 80.

Last year, Wilder persuaded two Republicans to join a Democratic minority to return him to office. It was a prime example of how the GOP has failed to deal effectively with recent political prosperity in Tennessee.

A lot has happened since then. Three of Wilder's Democratic senators have been indicted in a bribery scheme. Another Democrat defected to the Republicans. A replacement Democrat has been ousted for election fraud by the Republicans. With a vacant seat, Republicans now have an 18-14 majority. Barring major upsets, that majority is likely to remain next year.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/COLUMNIST0105/605280353/1099/NEWS

azcentral.com

Jabs fly as presidential hopefuls head down home stretch of historic campaign
Chris Hawley
Republic Mexico City Bureau
May. 28, 2006 12:00 AM
MEXICO CITY - It's a race between the dinosaur, the demagogue and the spoiled brat.

The insults and attack ads are flying as Mexico's presidential candidates scratch and punch their way toward a July 2 election, the first such vote in the young democracy after the end of one-party rule six years ago.

Ads jam the airwaves. Campaign posters cover telephone poles. Media are watching the candidates' every step as they race pell-mell across the country, trying to gather votes.

n the context of Mexico's fledgling political openness, little jabs are turning into major issues. Like when candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador ridiculed his opponents as pirrurris, or rich brats, and called President Vicente Fox a chachalaca, a kind of raucous bird.

Or when his opponent, Felipe Calderón, accused López Obrador of "demagoguery" and likened him to Hugo Chavez, the authoritarian, anti-American president of Venezuela. Another candidate, Roberto Madrazo, is still trying to shake the label of "dinosaur" for his allegiance to Mexico's old ruling party.

But beyond the fireworks, much is at stake for Mexico - and for the United States.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0528mex-president.html

timewv.com

Published: May 28, 2006 01:40 am

County workers put in many long days to ensure all would go smoothly

By Misty Poe
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — There was a moment or two of stress before the May 9 primary election.

It was the first time that 55 county clerks were solely responsible for the process leading up to the election. In prior years, the county clerks shared the responsibility with circuit clerks.

And to top it off, most of the state switched voting technologies. In order to comply with federal election requirements, counties switched from old-fashioned paper ballots to e-voting, optical scanning machines or some combination of the two.

Marion County chose to go with e-voting and iVotronic touch-screen voting machines in every one of the county’s 75 precincts. It was the second time the county has used the technology — the first being the 2004 general election.

snip:

“Election day was wonderful — absolutely wonderful,” Cosco said. “All the blood, sweat and tears working up to May 9 were worth it.”

Blood, sweat, tears and more than $11,000 worth of overtime. Cosco said that her staff worked 12- and 14-hour days, including Saturdays and Sunday, leading up to that Tuesday to make sure the election ran smoothly.

Cosco said the county may recoup the overtime costs, as well as the cost of the early-voting materials. The secretary of state’s office has already filed suit against Election Systems & Software, the Nebraska-based company with the state contract for voting systems this year.

Cosco stressed that the ES&S representatives who worked in West Virginia performed well, despite the problems the company had leading up to the election. In fact, the county commission last week presented Tom Thompson, one of the West Virginia reps, with an eagle statue in appreciation of a job well done.

“I’ve got nothing but good things right now to say about ES&S,” said Commissioner Alan Parks. “They delivered when they needed to. At times, we thought they had dropped the ball, but when it came to the end, it went well.”

http://www.timeswv.com/intodayspaper/local_story_148014003.html?keyword=secondarystory

http://www.eitb24.com:80/archivos/portales/eitb24/imagenes/lg_eitb24.gif

05/28/2006
Polls before the election showed at least 57 percent of Colombians would vote for another four years with Uribe, an attorney who appealed to Colombians with his image of a no-nonsense leader taking on FARC rebels.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe appears set to win re-election on Sunday, with most Colombians applauding the conservative U.S. ally and Wall Street favorite for tackling the country's armed conflict.

Helped by millions of dollars in U.S. aid, Uribe has cracked down on warring right-wing militias and the left-wing FARC rebels who use Colombia's cocaine trade to help sustain a four-decade-old insurgency that kills thousands each year.

Another Uribe victory would secure Washington a rare partner in the Andean region where leaders like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez have gained ground vowing to counter U.S. free-market ideas with socialist reforms for the poor. It would also please Wall Street. Colombia's economy grew 5.3 percent last year and foreign investment expanded thanks to better security.

Polls before the election showed at least 57 percent of Colombians would vote for another four years with Uribe, a U.S.-educated attorney who appealed to Colombians with his image of a no-nonsense leader taking on FARC rebels. "We are willing take a firm stance against terrorism and also negotiate for peace with generosity. I hope in four years we will be finished," Uribe told foreign reporters late on Saturday. "Four years wasn't enough to complete the job."

http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/international-news/wall-street-favorite--uribe-likely-to-win-re-election-as-colombia?itemId=D33771&cl=%2Feitb24%2Finternacional&idioma=en

changed for dupe

Concord Monitor Online

Main article Title Audit part of fallout after Kurk blocks bill
(scroll down in the article)

By Eric Moskowitz
Monitor staff
May 28. 2006 10:00AM

No offense intended

Lawmakers passed one more bill that Republicans said would combat voter fraud and that Democrats said would scare off college voters or those who can't afford a government-issued ID, among others.

The bill includes a provision calling for the secretary of state to send a letter to any voter who registers on the day of an election without showing identification. The return of a letter as undeliverable would trigger an investigation by the attorney general.

Lynch has twice vetoed bills this year that linked voting with driver's licenses, saying the Legislature should not try to limit the democratic process or create barriers to voting. He is still reviewing this bill.

"Apparently he is not concerned that anyone can show up at a polling place on Election Day and vote - regardless of their legal status as residents of New Hampshire or the United States," Republican State Committee Chairman Wayne Semprini said in a statement. The headline Semprini put on that news release? "Lynching the voters of NH: Democrats stand in the way of real election reform."

Democrats were not pleased. Rep. Claire Clarke of Boscawen, who is African-American, found the use of the term "Lynching" offensive, especially in the context of voting rights.

"I sincerely hope that this was merely an inadvertent oversight on your part, and that you will take this opportunity to apologize. If you purposefully tried to equate John Lynch's name with the practice of mobs hanging minorities and others, then you should be deeply ashamed of yourself," Clarke said in a statement released by the party. "Since your hurtful 'lynching'headline references the struggle over civil rights, perhaps you should remember one of the most important lessons of that struggle: that every man and woman deserves equal access to voting."

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/REPOSITORY/605280358/1101/NEWS04

Floridatoday.com

May 28, 2006

Florida's voter registration efforts deserve strong support, not punitive fines

Election politics in the Sunshine State never cease to dismay us.

From the infamous hanging chads in 2000, the state has progressed to harsh penalties for groups that try to get out the vote.

How ?

Last year -- while American troops were dying to give Iraqis the chance to participate in democratic elections --Florida's GOP lawmakers passed a bill that discourages those groups from running voter registration drives in the state.

The law slaps steep fines on the League of Women Voters of Florida and other public-interest organizations should they miss state-imposed registration deadlines.

The threat of fines led the League in March to halt voter registration drives statewide, including Brevard County, where the Space Coast chapter targeted high schools and reaped 674 new voters in 2005-06 before the moratorium.

Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, has said the law is intended only to guard against registration forms being purposely destroyed for political reasons, but that's already illegal.

Certainly, all entities that register voters should turn forms in accurately and promptly, and any that act fraudulently should be prosecuted.



http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/OPINION/605280305/1004

The Advertiser

By KARA PHILLIPS
29may06
SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLDS could be heading to the polls at the next state election under new legislation to be introduced to Parliament within the next month.

Independent Bob Such told The Advertiser he will present a private member's Bill to allow voluntary voting for those aged between 16 and 18.

"Our 16 and 17-year-olds are treated like lepers - they are not cute cuddly kids anymore, but they are not adults and are often forgotten by the political system," he said.

"They can drive, join the armed services, pay taxes, but we don't let them have a voice. "It is time they were given that opportunity."

Dr Such said his draft legislation would allow people aged 16 and 17 to enrol to vote if they choose.

Once enrolled they would be required to vote. The move was applauded yesterday by the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia, who has advocated for voluntary voting for young people for several years.

"There are many 16-year-olds out there who are active citizens who would like to be more engaged in politics," YACSA executive director Samantha Laubsch said.

"At the moment, young people are not even on the map.

"I think if this was introduced, you would see more young people take an interest in politics and get more young people thinking about how politics impacts their lives."

http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19289126%255E2682,00.html

:kick:

Thad Hall blogs from the event where many of the comments seem to be about how swell everyone and everything are.

But I fished out a few notes Thad makes of NIST Representitive, John Wack's comments.

To me, it sounds like NIST is going "alpha" having realized that the dog it inherited (the TGDC) has an aggression problem.


Election Updates: EAC Talks

May 24, 2006

by Thad Hall

I am sitting in the Standards Board and the Board of Advisors lunch and decided to blog the speeches. Here are summaries of the EAC commission member talks that occurred over lunch.

snip

(R)epresentative of NIST, John Wack:

He stated that NIST is to assist the EAC to develop standards for electronic voting equipment... There are many issues in voting and some were not completely addressed...They are doing more to reach out to vendors because they are not represented in the process formally...

There is a 2007 version of the standards that is being developed. Each requirement in 2007 will be linked to a specific test that can be conducted. The standards will be written to resemble an IEEE standard, but with a clear effort to make the writing clear and usable for public readers. There is a final tradeoff between security, usability, and system cost. Systems have to be affordable but also secure and usable. They are also doing assessments of potential test labs for voting systems. The EAC will receive recommendations from NIST about potential labs that could do voting system testing.

snip

In talking with the EAC, he would like to get better feedback in order to make more rapid progress. He would like the Standards Board and Advisory Committee’s to create a committee to work with NIST to ensure its work is real and accurate.

snip

http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2006/05/eac-talks.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430274

Software and Voting

by Robert J. Fleischer

This talk was given to a gathering of election officials in Ashfield, Massachusetts.

snip

Paper ballots, hand counted, are the "gold standard" around the world, and guidelines are published that make for reliable results even in those parts of the world where corruption is the norm. Paper ballot systems, especially ones that are hand counted, provide not only the fewest opportunities for tampering but are the most accurate as well. They are also the most open to public scrutiny, and they are the only systems that can be thoroughly audited.

snip

http://home.tiac.net/~rjf/software-and-voting-ashfield-17jan06.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430276

New Mexico: Court Says That State Should Have Allowed Recount

Belated Victory for Greens and Libertarians Leaves Flawed Election Results Unexamined

By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA

May 28, 2006

Election integrity activists in New Mexcio were justifiably heartened by a state court decision this month that invalidated a clause in a 2005 omnibus election reform bill that allowed the state canvassing board to require candidates to pay the estimated full cost of a recount up front as a deposit. The decision was a victory for all those involved in the effort to recount the 2004 New Mexico presidential election results. Analysis of the certified results revealed troubling anomalies including 2,087 phantom votes and an alarmingly high undervote rate (2.78% statewide, 21,084 in all), particularly from polling places using Sequoia Advantage and Shouptronic 1242 direct record electronic (DRE) voting machines.

Shortly after the state certified the results of the November 2004 election, presidential candidates from the Green Party (David Cobb) and Libertarian Party (Michael Badnarik) requested a recount. The candidates had submitted a deposit of $114,400 and argued that was the proper amount for a recount based on a formula in state election law. Help America Recount coordinated the recruitment and training of hundreds of citizen observers. But the state canvassing board, which consisted of Governor Bill Richardson, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Petra Maes decided in mid-December 2004 that the candidates could have a recount only if they paid a security deposit of $1.4 million, which was an estimate of the full cost of a statewide recount.

Attorneys for the candidates argued at the time that the convassing board’s demands were in violation of state law but their complaint was dismissed by state courts and the recount never took place. Subsequently the Governor had a provision inserted in an omnibus election bill passed in the 2005 legislative session that allowed the canvassing board to require a deposit of either part or the full estimated cost of a recount. While an agreement to strike the provision was reached with the legislative sponsors of the bill, in the hectic final days of the legislative session, it remained in the bill that was passed and signed into law in May of 2005.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1315&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430282