Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Thursday, March 15, 2007

The Real Voter Fraud

Posted on Mar 14, 2007
By Marie Cocco



http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070314_the_real_voter_fraud/




Welcome to the Thursday Open Thread

Although all members are welcome and encouraged to post to the Election Reform, Fraud, and Related News any day of the week, it is especially important for people to do so on Thursdays. All interested parties should contribute their ideas, and related articles, commentaries, political cartoons, and so forth.

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Please:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web. Google terms like “paper ballots”, “election reform”, or “campaign finance reform”. Don’t forget your local newspapers.

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

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Be the Media for open, transparent, and accurate elections!

Original post by kster
Discussion here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469212



The Rec Report

Wednesday, 14 March 2007

Michael D. Rectenwald, Ph.D.

The latest scandal rocking the Bush administration has its provenance in the issue of alleged "voter fraud." The original intention to fire 93 US attorneys and the eventual dismissal of seven of them was largely based on questions of political loyalty. The apparent litmus test for said loyalty was the willingness or lack thereof for prosecuting cases of so-called "voter fraud." Those who showed promise for prosecuting so-called "voter fraud" were considered "loyal" to the Bush Republican regime, and those who didn't, were not.

"Since the 2000 election ended in dispute in Florida," MSNBC reports, "Republicans at the national and local levels have repeatedly raised concerns about possible voter fraud, alleging that convicted felons and other ineligible voters have been permitted to cast ballots to the benefit of Democrats." Imagine that, the Republicans complaining about FRAUD in connection with VOTING! Now isn't that the most ironic idea you can imagine? Perhaps not as ironic as it might be, if one considers the administration's subtle shift in terminology.

One should note the White House and Justice emphasis on voter fraud, as opposed to election fraud. The distinction is not a minor one. Voter fraud places the blame for election scandals on so-called felonious and 'dead' voters whose votes are reputedly cast for Democrats. These felons and dead-men-voting are the old boogie men of Republican rhetoric regarding elections.

Election fraud, on the other hand, might include organizational, party-level, state-collusive manipulation and/or purging of voter rolls, the failure to count or the miscounting of ballots, the destruction of ballots, the failure to recount ballots when legally required to do so by state laws, the illegal use of election facilities for party purposes, the state-sanctioned targeting of precincts for faulty or inadequate amounts of equipment, and of course, the manipulation of electronic voting machine tabulations.

http://www.legitgov.org/comment/rec_report_140307.html

All roads lead to Rove
The White House political director was clearly at the center of the partisan plot to fire U.S. attorneys, despite the administration's clumsy attempts to pretend otherwise.

By Sidney Blumenthal

Mar. 15, 2007 | The Bush administration's first instinct was to shield Karl Rove from scrutiny when Congress began inquiring about the unusual firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Among the replacements, the proposed new U.S. attorney for Arkansas happened to be one of Rove's most devoted underlings, his head of opposition research, Tim Griffin, who boasted during the 2000 presidential election about the effectiveness of the negative campaign against Al Gore: "We make the bullets!" Griffin also posted a sign in his department at Bush headquarters: "Rain hell on Al!" A letter written by the Department of Justice in late February informed Congress: "The department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin." Despite this categorical disavowal, a sheaf of internal Justice Department e-mails released this week to Congress under subpoena revealed Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, writing in mid-December 2006, "I know getting him appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc." Harriet, of course, was Harriet Miers, then the White House legal counsel.

The Justice Department's statement on Karl Rove was simply one part of its coverup. The department's three top officials -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty and William E. Moschella, principal associate deputy attorney general -- all testified before Congress under oath that the dismissed U.S. attorneys had been removed for "performance" reasons, not because they had been insufficiently partisan in their prosecution of Democrats or because they would be replaced by those who would be. Yet another Sampson e-mail, sent to Miers in March 2005, had ranked all 93 U.S. attorneys on the basis of being "good performers," those who "exhibited loyalty" to the administration, or "low performers," those who "chafed against Administration initiatives, etc."

The day before the e-mails were made public Sampson resigned, offering a classic fall-guy statement, claiming that he was the one who failed to inform Gonzales and other officials about the firings. Sampson, who was Gonzales' closest aide, accompanying him from the White House Counsel's Office to the Justice Department when Gonzales was appointed attorney general, had sought to become a U.S. attorney himself through the purge. And Sampson was considered to be politically adept enough to be considered a stand-in for the supposedly indispensable Rove. When it was rumored that Rove might be indicted in the Valerie Plame case, the Washington Post reported that Sampson was likely to replace him.

Sampson's abrupt departure was followed by Gonzales' bizarre press conference on Wednesday. Speaking in a passive voice that "mistakes were made," he pleaded ignorance of "all decisions" at his department, explained that it has 110,000 employees, appealed to his modest origins, and promised to oversee the investigation of his own misfeasance. His defense was the very grounds used to fire the U.S. attorneys: poor performance. He used his failure as a shield.

>more

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/03/15/rove_attorneys/

Posted on Thu, Mar. 15, 2007


Dakota County / Strip club owner wins in vote case
Jurors acquit him of fraud in attempt to win '02 mayoral race
BY FREDERICK MELO
Pioneer Press

Exotic dancers, drunken patrons and employees registered to vote for Richard J. Jacobson as mayor in 2002, using his Coates strip club — Jake's — as their fake home address.

The scheme was illegal, unethical and completely "cockamamie," Jacobson's defense attorney acknowledged this week.

But a Dakota County jury found that the club owner himself was not guilty of voter fraud.

Jacobson, 36, of Prescott, Wis., was cleared Wednesday of criminal wrongdoing for unlawfully registering dozens of dancers and patrons to vote in Coates under a false address, a felony under state voter law.

The jury deliberated for more than six hours Tuesday and Wednesday before finding Jacobson not guilty of two felony charges — conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to procure unlawful votes.

>more

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/state/minnesota/16904829.htm

Documents, videos, newspaper articles and related websites.

News:
Washington Post: Full Coverage of the Firings of Federal Prosecutors
· USA Today: Gonzales defends firing of top prosecutors as 'right decision'
· LA Times: E-mails detail White House tactics behind firings
· New York Times: ‘Mistakes’ Made on Prosecutors, Gonzales Says
· Chicago Tribune: Gonzales rejects calls for resignation
· The Hill: Dems press AG Gonzales to step down
· Philadelphia Inquirer: The U.S. Attorney General: He should resign
· Washington Post: Firings Had Genesis in White House
· New York Times: White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors

http://www.c-span.org/special/attorneys.asp

Sununu calls for AG to be fired
Bush expresses confidence in job Gonzales has done

By Laurie Kellman, Associated Press | March 15, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Senator John E. Sununu of New Hampshire became the first Republican in Congress to call for Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's dismissal yesterday, hours after President Bush expressed confidence in his embattled Cabinet officer.

Gonzales has been fending off Democratic demands for his firing after disclosures surrounding the ousters of eight US attorneys -- dismissals Democrats have characterized as a politically motivated purge.

Support from many Republicans has been muted, but there had been no outright GOP call for his dismissal.

"I think the president should replace him," Sununu said in an interview. "I think the attorney general should be fired."

>more

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/03/15/sununu_calls_for_ag_to_be_fired/

DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469225



Resolution 131 for paper ballots and optical
scanners
passed the New York City Council
by unanimous vote, March 14, 2007. :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

Read the resolution, the supporting quotes
from 19 national, state, and local organizations,

http://www.wheresthepaper.org/ny.html#Announce

Res. No. 131-A



Passed by the New York City Council by unanimous vote, March 14, 2007



Resolution urging the New York State Board of Elections to promptly certify Precinct Based Optical Scan voting systems that are compliant with the New York State Board of Elections voting system standards for procurement by the county Boards of Elections and urging the Board of Elections in the City of New York to select a Precinct Based Optical Scan system that is compliant with the New York State Board of Elections voting system standards as the new voting technology for the City of New York.



By Council Members Barron, Arroyo, Baez, Foster, Sanders Jr., Stewart, Jackson, Martinez, Gonzalez, Palma, Katz, Vallone Jr., Comrie, James, Mendez, Nelson, Mark-Viverito, Avella, Vacca, Seabrook, Dickens, Addabbo Jr., Koppell, Liu, Monserrate, Lappin, Garodnick, McMahon, Gennaro, Gioia, Sears, Brewer, de Blasio, Weprin, Gerson, Mealy, Vann, White Jr., Dilan, Oddo, Gentile, Reyna, Gallagher and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)



Whereas, Honest, observable, and easily-verified public elections constitute the foundation of representative democracy; and



Whereas, Public confidence in the outcome of elections depends on voting technology that is easy to use and enables citizens to observe, understand, and attest to the reliable and secure handling of votes; and



Whereas, The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) was intended to address concerns with the manner in which elections were conducted following the Presidential Election of 2000; and



Whereas, HAVA requires states to undertake various measures to modernize elections and increase voter participation; and



Whereas, In 2005, the New York State Legislature enacted the Election Reform and Modernization Act (ERMA) in order to comply with HAVA; and



Whereas, ERMA requires county boards of election to select new voting technology to replace the mechanical lever machines, which are currently used throughout the state; and



Whereas, Under ERMA, county boards of election may select either a Precinct Based Optical Scan (PBOS) voting system or a Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting system; and



Whereas, Further, under ERMA, the New York State Board of Elections is responsible for certifying that voting systems are compliant with its standards and can be procured for use by the county boards of election; and



Whereas, ERMA requires that New York be fully HAVA compliant by 2007; and



Whereas, To date, the New York State Board of Elections has not certified that any of the voting systems under consideration is compliant with the State Board of Elections' voting system standards, and therefore can be procured for use by county boards of election; and



Whereas, Given the approaching deadline for full HAVA compliance, the Board of Elections in the City of New York must continue to work diligently to be prepared to select and procure a permanent voting system as soon as a voting system(s) is certified by the State Board of Elections, and begin planning immediately to make a transition to the use of a such system; and



Whereas, Voter and public confidence would be strengthened by the use of a PBOS system, which is easier to use because the ballot is marked directly by the voter, whether manually by pencil or pen, or by the use of an accessible ballot marking device; and




Whereas, The additional advantages to a PBOS system are that when it is used in conjunction with an accessible ballot-marking device it can be used by voters with disabilities, voters for whom English is not their primary language, and any other voters who prefer the technology; and



Whereas, A PBOS system would enable the Board of Elections in the City of New York to avoid many issues related to the prevention, detection and correction of errors and tampering because the paper ballots can be securely stored and handled and would enable election observers and the public to meaningfully witness election procedures and vote-counting; and



Whereas, A PBOS system would also facilitate easy and observable recounts; and



Whereas, Optical scanners and ballot markers in the polling site would make it easier to detect errors in ballot-marking such as overvotes and undervotes, and enable voters to correct such errors before their ballot is cast; and



Whereas, Optical scanner systems have proven their reliability by being successfully used in elections nationwide for over thirty years, and are currently used by approximately forty-nine percent of American voters in fifty-six percent of counties nationwide; and



Whereas, Optical scanner systems have been successfully programmed, operated, and maintained by public employees in New York State in agencies such as the Division of the Lottery, the New York State Education Department and the Department of Motor Vehicles, as well as by our county boards of election in all boroughs of the City of New York for use in counting absentee ballots; and



Whereas, To the highest extent possible, public employees should perform all work related to the conduct of elections; and



Whereas, PBOS systems can easily be programmed by bipartisan, technical staff at the Board of Elections in the City of New York without the need for ongoing involvement of vendors; and



Whereas, The alternative type of voting system, the DRE, does not lend itself to complete public control as vendors typically retain an interest in the hardware, software, or source-code of such technologies and are largely responsible for the maintenance of and training with respect to their systems; and



Whereas, PBOS systems will be significantly less expensive than DRE systems; and



Whereas, The difference in cost between the PBOS and DRE systems relates to: (1) how many units would be required and initial purchase costs; (2) the transition costs of altering storage facilities to accommodate the system; (3) revision of training materials and procedures for training of voters and poll-workers; (4) continuing costs of storage, transportation, and logic and accuracy testing; (5) dealing with the types of lawsuits that electronic voting has engendered in other jurisdictions; and (6) costs associated with replacing parts of the system ; and



Whereas, PBOS systems are less delicate than electronic voting equipment and therefore have a longer lifespan; and



Whereas, PBOS systems can provide the advantages of quick election day results and accessibility without the risks associated with electronic voting; and



Whereas, Voter and public confidence would be lowered by the use of electronic ballots, which are recorded in a way that no voter or observer can actually witness; and



Whereas, DRE voting systems can make errors and tampering difficult to prevent, detect, or correct; and



Whereas, Computer security with DRE systems is notoriously difficult to achieve; and



Whereas, Other jurisdictions have experienced severe problems with electronic voting systems, which have depressed voter confidence and prompted lawsuits by candidates and voters as a result of the many irregularities experienced with such systems; and



Whereas, Further, jurisdictions such as New Mexico that initially purchased electronic voting systems have switched their voting system to a PBOS system; now, therefore, be it



Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York urges the New York State Board of Elections to promptly certify Precinct Based Optical Scan voting systems that are compliant with the New York State Board of Elections voting system standards for procurement by the county Boards of Elections and urges the Board of Elections in the City of New York to select a Precinct Based Optical Scan system that is compliant with the New York State Board of Elections voting systems standards as the new voting technology for the City of New York.



DJ

Res. 1301/2005

March 12, 2007

Close Morris Twp. vote gets May rerun
Cost: More than $50,000 to fill a $9,000 committee job

BY MARGARET McHUGH
Star-Ledger Staff

With Morris Township's contested election hinging on one vote, a call to a former resident living 8,658 miles away in Thailand seemed to be the way to resolve it.
Problem was, Alfred Lee yesterday couldn't remember who he voted for. That left Judge Theodore Bozonelis with little choice: He's sending voters back to the polls.

>snip<

Mayor Robert Nace said the election, to be held May 1, will cost the township more than $50,000.
Neither candidate expected the race for the $9,000-a-year part-time township committee job to come to this.

"I thought it would be resolved (yesterday) one way or the other," said Democrat Jeff Grayzel, who was out of state with his family.
"This is my fourth try at this to bring an independent voice. I'm not giving up now," said Grayzel. If he wins, he would become the first elected Democrat in the township since the period following the Watergate scandal of the 1970s.

http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-2/11737644654550.xml&coll=1

Just so you know...this guy Alfred Lee was in Thailand and had used an absentee ballot. So its a tie 4217 to 4217.

The Morris DEM GOTV machine organized by Chip Robinson will be called back to duty. I know Chip, and I dare say he is more than up to the task. I will be making a couple of trips to Morris to help out, to deliver the vote and the win for Jeff Grayzel.



Jeff Grayzel on election night, after the so called 5 vote win.

the blowback that's coming.

People are asking, "Why voter fraud?"

Instead of deflecting attention from election fraud, they will have succeeded in creating a bigger focus on it.

:)