Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Thursday, March 3, 2007

O.K. to say

February 28 edition of CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman
Sen. John McCain: "(w)e've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure , which is American lives."

Media response=none

NOT O.K. to say

February 12 edition of ABC's World News Tonight:
OBAMA: (video clip) "And I'd seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted."

Media response: February 13 edition of ABC's Good Morning America:
ROBERTS: And debate over the war is proving to be a stumbling block in the race for the White House. Senator Barack Obama now says that he regrets suggesting that U.S. lives are being wasted in Iraq. Instead, he says he misspoke, and really meant that their service has not been honored.

Read the article, and watch the videos linked from the Media Matters article: "Wash. Post, LA Times yet to highlight McCain's "wasted ... lives" comment; ABC's World News and GMA also ignored."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200703020007?src=other

And lest we forget....REALLY, NOT O.K. to say

Kerry October '06: "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Remember the field day the press had with that?
"Said Snow: "What Senator Kerry ought to do first is apologize to the troops. The clear implication here is, if you flunk out, if you don't study hard, if you don't do your homework, if you don't make an effort to be smart, and you don't do well you, quote, Get stuck in Iraq.''

"The last thing you do is insult our soldiers and their capabilities. John Kerry is going to regret this," (William)Bennett added."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/blog/2006/10/kerry_gets_crit.html

Call them out their continuous bias. Contact information at the Media Matters link above.


And now....(finally)

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.



Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

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 below).

Here's a livvytoon and caption to get you warmed up:


You're a lying little weasel, so I feel justified in stapling your lips together.

Election probe keeps absentee ballots locked up
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Saturday, March 03, 2007
By Marjory Raymer
mraymer@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6325

FLINT - Absentee ballots from the failed effort to recall Flint City Council President Darryl Buchanan have been locked up because of an ongoing investigation into alleged voter fraud.

The absentee ballots were counted in the Tuesday election, in which Buchanan convincingly fended off the recall attempt with support from 65 percent of voters.

However, the ballots are at the center of a dispute. At least four residents gave affidavits to City Clerk Inez Brown claiming a campaign worker for Buchanan took their ballots before they voted.

Leon Wesson, 74, assistant director of the Hasselbring Center, was arrested on Election Day in connection with a state police investigation into allegations of illegal possession of absentee ballots.

>more

http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1172926202281600.xml&coll=5

Estonians first to cast national votes online

Posted Mar 3rd 2007 12:40AM by Jeannie Choe
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

For a lucky group of Eastern European cyber-voters, e-voting no longer entails traveling to an official location to poke at a screen -- let's just hope they managed to shake off e-voting's penchant for fraud while they were at it.
Nationwide voting in cyberspace has finally become a reality in, of all places, Estonia. Eeeh? Yep. Estonia's been keen on the idea of voting via the internet since 2001 and became the first country in the world to hold legit general elections when they implemented the remote e-voting process locally in 2005.
As of this week, they own yet again with over 30,000 of 940,000 eligible Estonians casting virtual ballots in the world's first online parliamentary election. Online voters even have the option to re-vote with a paper ballot in the event that hurried or pressured decisions were made from their remote voting locations. This option is evidently proving to be an effective way to boost voter turnout, which was only 58 percent in 2003.
Let's hope this "using the internet to encourage voting" trend catches on in some other countries (ahem) that also suffer from less-than-impressive election turnouts.

(That's all, except a picture at the site.)
http://transportation.engadget.com/2007/03/03/estonians-first-to-cast-national-votes-online/

Estonia's governing parties lead polls on day before national vote

The Associated Press
Saturday, March 3, 2007

TALLINN, Estonia: Estonia's two biggest parties looked poised to stay in power according to opinion polls Saturday, a day before the country's first parliamentary election since joining the EU and the first worldwide to allow voting over the Internet.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip's center-right Reform Party and the left-leaning Center Party, led by political veteran Edgar Savisaar, have topped most surveys in the run-up to Sunday's vote.

Analysts said the biggest question was who would be the next prime minister of the Baltic country of 1.3 million, and whether the two parties would need another coalition partner to form a government. They currently govern with the help of junior coalition partner, the Estonian People's Union.

big snip

In a pioneering Internet vote, some 30,000 voters already cast their ballots online in a three-day period that ended Wednesday, election officials said. They said the system proved reliable in municipal elections in 2005 despite concerns about hacker attacks, identity fraud and vote count manipulation.

a bit more


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/03/europe/EU-POL-Estonia-Election.php

Saturday March 3, 2007

Lawmaker's sentencing pushed back to end of session

BY MARY MUSIC

STAFF WRITER

U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell continued the sentencing hearing scheduled this month for Sen. Johnny Ray Turner so that he can continue work in the 2007 regular session of the General Assembly.

Less than a week before Turner, D-Drift, was scheduled to be tried in an election fraud case last December, he pleaded guilty to “not willfully” violating the expenditures to influence voting statute during his 2000 campaign. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth R. Taylor agreed to dismiss the election fraud indictment against Turner in exchange for the guilty plea.

Last year, Turner, accused of conspiring to buy votes in his 2000 campaign for 29th District Senate seat, was cited in a superseding indictment alongside his cousin, Loren Glen Turner, for conspiring with Pikeville lawyer Ross Harris, who is now deceased, to pay people to buy votes. According to the indictment, money used to influence people to vote for Sen. Turner was disguised as money used to pay “campaign workers” or “vote haulers.” The indictment also claims that Turner and others reimbursed various “nominee” or “straw contributors” for $1,000 contributions they were asked to make for the campaign.

Turner was aware that checks were issued during the campaign, but he was not aware that the checks were handed out to buy votes, his attorney Brent Caldwell said after he pleaded guilty.

>more

http://www.news-expressky.com/articles/2007/03/03/news/01session.txt

Article published Mar 3, 2007
Lifton seeks to preserve committee on voting machines
From Journal staff reports
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, D-125th, has introduced legislation to preserve a state committee established to advise the state about modernizing its voting machines.

Under the federal Help America Vote Act, New York is to phase out nearly 20,000 lever machines and replace them with new technology accessible to people with disabilities, a project that could potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars. New York has not made a decision on what kind of equipment to use to replace the old lever machines.

Lifton's measure would extend the life of the Citizens' Election Modernization Advisory Committee until July 1, 2010. The legislation would allow the committee to continue advising the state Board of Elections on voting machine certification. The board would take the committee's recommendations into consideration when determining whether a voting machine meets HAVA requirements.

The advisory committee comprises the co-executive directors of the state board of elections, four local election commissioners, one member appointed by the Assembly and one by the Senate. The rest of the members are from disability rights organizations, including a representative from the Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and from the Disabled American Veterans. The New York State League of Women Voters also has a representative.

>more

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/NEWS01/703030363/1002

Article published Mar 3, 2007
Sarasota County considers switch to voting by mail
By PATRICK WHITTLE

patrick.whittle@heraldtribune.com
SARASOTA COUNTY -- The county will consider a vote-by-mail system when it decides how to replace its current voting system.

An influential county oversight committee is set to study the possibility of all-mail voting, which has been used in Oregon for almost 10 years.

The committee's decision, made Friday, comes as the county is phasing out electronic voting. Sarasota County must adopt a paper-trail voting system by January because voters last year tossed out touch-screen voting.

The paper voting system would be very similar to the system used for absentee ballots. Voters would send in their ballots via mail or drop them off at public buildings.

>more

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/NEWS/703030344

Posted on Sat, Mar. 03, 2007


Two more indicted in vote-buying case
12 Bath residents have been charged
By Beth Musgrave
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Two more Bath County residents have been indicted on charges they helped rig the May primary.

The indictments of Roosevelt "Sonny" Swartz, 68, of Olympia and Charles "Chuck" Hart, 48, of Salt Lick were unsealed yesterday after the two men appeared in federal court in Lexington.

The investigation into what federal officials have called flagrant vote-buying in the May primary has so far resulted in charges against 12 Bath County residents, including two elected officials. Federal officials said yesterday that the investigation into election fraud in Bath County continues.

According to information released yesterday, Swartz and Bath County Judge-Executive Walter Shrout allegedly gave money to five middlemen to pay voters to cast ballots for Shrout in the May primary. In previous court hearings involving fraud in Bath County, federal officials have characterized Swartz as the money man behind Shrout's vote-buying operation.

>more

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/16824589.htm

Ryan defends donations from Troha

(Published Saturday, March 3, 2007 01:04:51 AM CST)

By Mike DuPre/Gazette Staff

JANESVILLE-Rep. Paul Ryan said Friday that contributions that his campaigns received from the family of Kenosha businessman are different from those that brought a federal indictment against the man.

Nevertheless, if any of the donations are found to be illegal, Ryan said he will donate the money to charity or refund the contributions if he is not allowed to pass them along to charity.

Dennis Troha, 60, a millionaire who made his money in trucking, was charged Thursday with fraud and lying to federal investigators.

Troha has been trying for years to get into the gambling business by establishing an Indian casino in Kenosha. He was charged with illegally funneling $100,000 in donations to Gov. Jim Doyle's campaign and other political entities, then making materially false statements to investigators.

Ryan, a Janesville Republican, has received more than $50,000 from the Troha family since 2001.

>more

http://www.gazetteextra.com/ryan030307.asp

Pair Indicted For Fraudulent Signatures In Anti-Gay Ballot Measure
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: March 3, 2007 - 12:01 am ET

(Cincinnati, Ohio) Two women have been charged with election fraud in connection with the collection last year of signatures on a referendum to repeal Cincinnati's LGBT rights ordinance.

Following a seven-month investigation indictments were handed down against Lois Mingo, 47 and Precilla Ward, 32. Both women had been hired by Equal Rights Not Special Rights, an organization formed to repeal the ordinance.

But the grand jury did not return indictments against two other people that local LGBT civil rights groups also accused to irregularities, including - Rep. Tom Brinkman (R).

Citizens To Restore Fairness, a group formed to fight the referendum, and Equality Cincinnati, said they believed the alleged fraud was widespread. In a statement to the media Equality Cincinnati said investigators "ignored the real extent of the changes made while the petitions were in state Rep. Tom Brinkman's control."

>more

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/03/030207cin.htm

Seems to me I read this before, but can't remember for certain...hmmmm



‘Paper’ tigers push for safer elections - Greens say electronic voting should be scrapped
By Helen Klein
03/02/2007

Forget electronic voting.

That’s what the New York Green Party wants the state to do, opting instead for old-fashioned paper ballots.

Braving a chill wind that created real feel temperatures in the zero range, and bundled in hats and gloves, members of the Brooklyn Greens took to Cadman Plaza, right behind Borough Hall, to make the case for their preference.

“We are calling for voter marked paper ballots that get counted by hand,” said Colby Hamilton, the presiding officer of the Green Party of Brooklyn. He said that many countries, including Canada, use paper ballots, and have results of elections within 24 hours.

“Voters expect accountability,” as they would get at ATMs, Hamilton noted, “but, for some reason, election officials don’t seem to think they have to have that level of accountability.”

>more

http://www.baynewsbrooklyn.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=18027554&BRD=2384&PAG=461&dept_id=552847&rfi=6

Article published Mar 3, 2007

Laura Sperling

UNDERNEATH THE UNDERVOTE
Analysis of undervote provides little comfort

Whether it was karmic retribution or some other form of payback, I'm not sure. But in any case, I was tasked with a hellish chore this week: reading technical reports on the conduct of Sarasota County's Nov. 7, 2006, election.

Yes, that's the one with the whopping undervote in the District 13 congressional race between Vern Buchanan and Christine Jennings.

(I could explain here what an undervote is, but you should know by now.)

The technical reports are very important; of that, I am convinced. But the only other conclusion I can draw with absolute certainty from these tedious documents is that I should have taken the computer programming courses I spurned back in college.

>more

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/COLUMNIST62/703030341

Touch-screen voting still an act of faith


March 3, 2007

It is impossible to say, as Donald F. Norris and Paul S. Herrnson do in their column "Don't replace voting system" (Opinion • Commentary, Feb. 26), that the paperless touch-screen voting system has performed well.

We simply do not know how the system has performed because we cannot audit or recount the results.

Paperless touch-screen voting is a faith-based system.

Before being forced to switch to touch-screen voting, 19 of Maryland's 24 counties used optical-scanning systems. In that period, Maryland had the lowest rate of nonrecorded votes in the nation.

In the presidential election of 2004, 12 percent of Montgomery County's voting machines malfunctioned.

>more of letter

on edit: more letters on the subject at the link also

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.voting03mar03,0,3850812.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

Fooled Once: Checking Vote Count Integrity

An increasing number of Americans have become concerned with whether or not electronic machines accurately record and count votes. To require voter-verified permanent paper ballots and increase voter confidence and accessibility, U.S. Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida have sponsored virtually identical bills (HR811 and S559) that are intended to correct some of the significant, if unintended consequences of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

(PRWEB) March 3, 2007 -- An increasing number of Americans have become concerned with whether or not electronic machines accurately record and count votes. To require voter-verified permanent paper ballots and increase voter confidence and accessibility, U.S. Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida have sponsored virtually identical bills (HR811 and S559) that are intended to correct some of the significant, if unintended consequences of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Election officials in most states have not subjected election results to independent outside audits - visual inspections of voter-verified paper ballots in randomly-selected precincts; nor are there any uniform audit procedures for elections.

Kathy Dopp, President of the National Election Data Archive, recently met with Congressional staffers in Washington, DC to recommend changes to proposed federal election integrity bills - statistically valid election audits and public access to election records.

>more

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/3/prweb508877.htm

Posted on Sat, Mar. 03, 2007


Makers pitch voting machines with paper trail
Sarasota citizens committee hears from firm that created controversial iVotronic
STACEY EIDSON
Herald Staff Writer

SARASOTA - With less than 10 months to return Sarasota County to a voting system with a paper trail, two of the country's largest voting machine manufacturers went before a citizen oversight committee Friday to pitch their products.

Voters in Sarasota County are all too familiar with one of the vendors, Election Systems & Software.

ES&S is the company that manufactures the county's existing iVotronic machines that sparked controversy after more than 18,000 undervotes were reported in the 13th Congressional District race.

Even though a state audit of the touch-screen machines and an independent review of their source code found no evidence that the system malfunctioned, committee member Jono Miller said he still believes some voters are skeptical about the company's products.

Therefore, Miller said he has some concerns about recommending that the county purchase new voting machines with a paper trail produced by the same company.

>more

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/16823682.htm

My personal favorite:

"Face Time"

Nick Anderson
http://blogs.chron.com/nickanderson/

More 'toons here, with links to even more!
http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/03/saturday-cartoons.html

It is impossible to say, as Donald F. Norris and Paul S. Herrnson do in their column "Don't replace voting system" (Opinion • Commentary, Feb. 26), that the paperless touch-screen voting system has performed well.
We simply do not know how the system has performed because we cannot audit or recount the results.

Paperless touch-screen voting is a faith-based system.

Before being forced to switch to touch-screen voting, 19 of Maryland's 24 counties used optical-scanning systems. In that period, Maryland had the lowest rate of nonrecorded votes in the nation.



http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-ed.le.voting03mar03,0,3850812.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

March 3, 2007

Take Action: Contact Congress to Ban Electronic Ballots!

By JGideon

There are many good provisions in the new election reform bill (HR 811 introduced by Congressman Rush Holt D-NJ), called the “Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007.” There is significant momentum in the U.S. House to pass the bill as written; and it is on a "fast-track".

BUT, the bill allows the continued use of electronic "ballots" -- invisible data on a computer -- as the ballots of record. Democracy demands that voters can know the selections on their own ballots. This means all ballots must be cast on paper and only paper – no electronic ballots, which keep the ballot secret from the voter.

The members must hear from us - NOW - that the bill urgently needs an amendment to ban electronic ballots.

We are not seeking to "kill" the bill, but to gain support for an amendment banning electronic ballots and the use of Direct Record Electronic (DRE) voting machines, which create them. We believe we have a chance!

Here's what you can do: Go to the action alert at VotersUnite.Org ( http://www.votersunite.org/takeaction/ban-e-ballots.asp )and help us to educate our legislators. We hear that they are supporting the bill but they are not hearing from the voters that there are any problems. We all need to tell them what problems there are in the legislation. Please help.



Authors Website: www.votersunite.org

Authors Bio: John is the Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org and the Information Manager for VoteTrustUSA.Org

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_jgideon_070303_take_action_3a_contact.htm

State notifies local election officials they will be able to proceed with May primary.

by Dave Kitchell
Pharos-Tribune staff writer

A voting machine company that represented the wave of the future for local elections after the Florida voting debacle of 2000 is apparently a thing of the past.

Cass County election officials received word from the Indiana Attorney General’s Office Friday that Voting Technologies Inc., or VTI, cannot be contacted at its Milwaukee area address. One employee of the company said he could not get a paycheck to clear for several days.

County Attorney John Hillis, who also serves on the County Election Board, said the company’s financial problems should not affect the May city primary in Logansport.

“I think Cass County is in good shape to have the primary election. It could be different in the fall,” he said.


http://www.pharostribune.com/local/local_story_061230102.html

:-) I have a hard enough time with reality.

K&R, and thanks, livvy!

Oh, well. Does that mean tomorrow is Friday again, or can we just skip it, and proceed directly to another Saturday?
Love the weekends.... I finished reading It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and then read Joe Conason's It Can Happen Here today. Both good reads, and obviously went well together!

Thanks for the K&R!

And how the heck did Cass County lose it's voting machine vendor...ROFLMAO:evilgrin:

Here's a thought:

HammerMill® Fore® MP Premium Multi-Function Paper

Ideal for use in all high-speed copiers, inkjet and laser printers and plain-paper faxes.

* 20 lb.
* 96 US / 108+ Euro Bright
* Meets performance demands of high-output machines, provides trouble-free feeding
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* Acid free will not yellow or crumble over time
$42.99
5,000/Case

Buy More Save More:
1-2 @ $42.99
3-5 @ $41.99
6+ @ $40.99



Or, if they want to get fancy, or want to make the sorting easier...

Staples® Pastel Colored Copy Paper

Soft pastel colors are perfect for color coding and reports!

* 20 Lb.
* Variety of colors available
* Acid free, archive safe - won't yellow or crumble over time
* Contains 30% post-consumer content
$8.99
400/Pack

Buy More Save More:
1-3 @ $8.99
4+ @ $8.69

And they'll need these....

Staples® #2 Yellow Pencils

Break-resistant black lead for smooth writing.

* #2 lead
* Break-resistant black lead for smooth writing
* Hexagonal shaped pencil has smudge-free rubber eraser
* PMA Certified nontoxic
$3.99
72 Pack

Buy More Save More:
1-1 @ $3.99
2+ @ $3.00

Ok.....

but realized its my sig...............

...devil. Love the smilie face.