Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 10/7/05

[Wilms]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 10/7/05

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 "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.


If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396238


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

[Wilms]

1. VoteTrustUSA : Pass HR 550 As Written!

Pass HR 550 As Written!

By VoteTrustUSA

September 23, 2005

Send an email to your Representative and to the House Administration Committee urging them to pass HR 550 as written!

The recently-released report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform called on congress to establish a requirement for a voter verified paper record of every vote and mandatory audits. VoteTrustUSA hopes you will join us in using the Commission’s recommendations as a catalyst for speedy enactment of Rep. Rush Holt’s Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (HR 550) which organizations like VerifiedVoting, Common Cause, Working Assets, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Velvet Revolution, and many other national and state election integrity groups have been advocating for more than two years. In so doing, the forces of democracy can score an early and important win moving into the battle to prevent massive voter disenfranchisement.

The Commission recommended that Congress require a voter verified paper ballot for every vote and routine random audits to check the accuracy of vote counts in federal elections. However the report went on to recommend that the status of the voter verified paper ballot should be determined by states rather than mandated as the ballot of record nationwide. This means that any state can decide to disregard the only record that the voter has confirmed in favor of the “vapor trail” record inside the voting machine and make the voter verified paper ballot a meaningless and expensive placebo.

snip/more

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=163&Itemid=103


Petition

http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=VTUSA&hotissue=1


Thanks to Eric J in MN for posting

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396309

[Wilms]

2. So....About Volunteering on that Daily news thread... Where are we?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396300

[Wilms]

3. Cameron F. Kerry: Voting made easy

Voting made easy

October 3, 2005

By Cameron F. Kerry

THE TIME has come for Massachusetts to adopt same day voter registration, that is, legislation permitting voters to register on Election Day. The reason is simple and compelling for a Commonwealth with a long history of standing up for freedom: Same day registration enfranchises more voters.

Look at its track record. This system has been implemented successfully in six other states, including New Hampshire and Maine . These six states have 9 percent higher voter participation than other states and, of the five states with the highest voter turnout last November, four have same day registration.

Two same day registration bills are pending in the Legislature, one filed by Representative Gloria Fox, the other by Senator Cynthia Creem. These bills offer a common-sense way to streamline registration, reduce confusion, and increase voter turnout and access to the polls. The Legislature has the important opportunity to allow some pilot programs in municipal elections and to implement same day registration statewide in 2006.

There was a time when voting in Massachusetts was the exclusive privilege of white, male landowners. The more we have expanded voting, the more we have lived up to our democratic ideals. But we have more to do. Excluding citizens who have not registered 20 days before an election is an unnecessary barrier that does not improve the efficiency or fairness of elections.

snip/more

http://www.massdems.org/hotissues/mdppr_79_votingeasy.htm


Thanks to paineinthearse for posting

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396249

[Wilms]

4. 'Non-Partisan' 'Voting Rights' Group Founder Works for White House!

Blogged by Brad on 10/6/2005 @ 10:49am PT...

'Non-Partisan' 'Voting Rights' Group Founder Works for White House!
ACVR's Jim Dyke Moonlights to Push Bush Supreme Court Nominee
'Honesty and Integrity' in the Bush-Era Now at it's Bushiest Level of All Time!

Jim Dyke, the liar who helped found the "non-partisan" American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR), is boning up on his "non-partisan" creds of late...

Jim Dyke, the liar who helped found the "non-partisan" American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR), is boning up on his "non-partisan" creds of late by working for the White House to help them push Harriet Miers through the nomination process.

As reported last night by NPR's All Things Considered in a story about some rightwinger concerns about Miers:

snip/more

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001898.htm


Thanks to babsbunny for posting

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396288

[Wilms]

5. They don't realize how true this headline is!

While not the intent of the writer, early voting is fraught with problems.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Five early voting sites for gaming election

By Mike Bowie

Evening Times Editor

The Crittenden County Election Commission set five early voting places in West Memphis for the upcoming vote on expanded gambling at Southland Greyhound Park.

snip/more

http://www.theeveningtimes.com/articles/2005/10/06/news/news3.txt

[autorank]

6. SCOTUS: Harriet! Come on Down! Her Role in 2000 Election Fraud

Here she is, our newest addition to the “Court that Stole the Election,” on right wing coffee tables everywhere. She worked the 2000 election for Bush in Texas. Seems someone pointed out that Cheney was a Texas resident, thus blocking the vote for him by any Texas elector (unconstitutional to have President and VP candidates from the same state). She did a good job of denying reality. The electors were able to ignore the clear fact that Cheney was a Texas resident. These are good qualities for the current court environment.
http://www.dallasnews.com/

Corporate career led Miers to few weighty issues
Despite routine nature of cases, nominee draws praise for legal skills

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/100705dnnatmierscases.1c9f7279.html


09:32 PM CDT on Thursday, October 6, 2005

By SUDEEP REDDY / The Dallas Morning News

<snip>

2000 election

In the legal battle after the 2000 presidential election, she was one of many lawyers hired to knock down claims that Vice President-elect Dick Cheney was a Texas resident at the same time Mr. Bush claimed Texas as his home – preventing delegates from backing the ticket.

Mr. Cheney had been chief executive officer of Halliburton Corp., then based in Dallas, and held a Texas driver's license. To avoid a constitutional issue, Mr. Cheney successfully claimed residency in Wyoming, which he had represented as a congressman and where he owned a vacation house.

Once Mr. Bush became president, Ms. Miers became staff secretary in the White House, a role that required discretion in overseeing the papers that needed the president's attention.

This week, President Bush has faced charges of cronyism for selecting Ms. Miers for the court.

MIERS' CLIENT LIST

George W. Bush: Represented the governor in various personal legal matters. Also served on the team that successfully fought the court claim after the 2000 election that Texas state electors could not vote for Mr. Bush and Dick Cheney because they were both Texas residents.

As a commercial lawyer, Harriet Miers built her career on dozens of relatively routine cases, generally on behalf of corporations. A sampling of the clients she represented:

Microsoft Corp.: Represented the software giant in several cases, including a class-action suit over defective software and a claim against an Arlington man whom the company accused of pirating Microsoft products (Probably some guy loading up clones for a computer exposition to make enough to pay his Arlington, VA property taxes. You’ll be happy to know that aside from helping Cheney deny reality in Texas 2000, the Microsoft pirating case is the biggest.)

[autorank]

7. The Doctor is in the House: Ernest Partridge of Crisis Papers Speaks!

While the Iron is Hot

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0510/S00098.htm

Ernest Partridge: While the Iron is Hot
http://www.crisispapers.org/essays-p/hot-iron.htm
Friday, 7 October 2005, 2:51 pm
Opinion: Ernest Partridge

The Republican Party and the Bush Administration are reeling, enmeshed in corruption and failure, and the ideology of the regressive right is in retreat.

The iron is hot – now is the time to strike.

Unfortunately, it appears that the congressional Democrats and the Democratic Party would prefer to throw cold water on the hot iron.

What in the name of God and the US Constitution has neutered the Democrats?

Clearly, if the alleged “opposition party” won’t lead, then we the people must do so. Perhaps, out of this inchoate and widespread resistance, a movement will coalesce and effective leadership will emerge. They must, if we are to rescue ourselves and our republic from this morass.

In the meantime, among the angry and disillusioned American public – apparently the majority, let us note – opposition to the Busheviks is diverse, aimless, uncoordinated and, worst of all, in despair.

Some simply refuse to be politically concerned, as they retreat into their private lives. “Politics? – I say, screw them all and leave me out of it!” Trouble is, they can’t be “left out of politics” when the prevailing politics is leading to economic collapse, is depriving millions of citizens of their health, livelihoods and occasionally their lives, is eroding our civil rights and liberties, is making our country an international pariah, and is trashing the environment.

Some look to third parties – and as they do so, the GOP poobahs smile as they reflect upon Ralph Nader’s essential role in their 2000 presidential “election victory.”

My suggestion is that we do to the Democratic Party what the radical right did to the Republicans: we take control. Join local and state Democratic committees. Put the congressional Democrats on notice that they will be opposed by progressives in the primaries. (Senators Boxer and Feingold, Congressmen Conyers and Kucinich, and the entire Congressional Black Caucus honorably excepted). Even if the progressive candidates lose (and not all of them will lose), they will still be sending a message to the establishment: “either you shape up and represent us, or we will be back next time doing our damndest to toss you out of office.”

<snip>

Election Fraud is the Linchpin. If election fraud is not addressed and exposed, the Democrat’s cry of “wait ‘till next time” is so much hot air. After all, 2002 and 2004 were “next time,” and while the voter “input” likely favored the Democrats, the output, via the “black box” manipulations of the Diebold and ES&S voting machines, compilers and secret software codes kept the Republicans in power. So they shall again in 2006 – you can count on it -- unless the issue of voting integrity is addressed and favorably resolved.

To those who insist that the 2002 and 2004 elections were legit, I ask again: “give me the evidence.” Bear in mind that “don’t be paranoid!” and “get over it!” are not evidence. In fact, there is no evidence of legitimacy because the e-vote machines were designed that way – no paper trail, secret software codes, and “back door” access to voting tallies. On the other hand, the evidence of fraud is overwhelming, and should be convincing to anyone who dares to examine and come to terms with that evidence. (The Crisis Papers has collected accounts of the evidence here).

Even so, the public simply can’t bring itself to acknowledge that their congressional and presidential elections are fixed, and that the regime in Washington rules without the consent of the governed which, in the past two presidential elections, was overruled through vote manipulation and fraud. The implications are just too much to bear; namely, that our democracy has been effectively overthrown and that we are now living under a one-party dictatorship, despite George Bush’s easy talk about “spreading freedom and democracy.” But when the economy darkens and jobs are lost, mortgages foreclosed, businesses fail, energy costs become prohibitive, the public discovers the true meaning of “tort reform” (no access to the courts) and “credit reform” (no bankruptcy relief), that public will likely become more receptive to the idea that they have also been had at the ballot box. If and when that happens, all bets are off.

Count me among those who believe that today we have lost our democracy. That doesn’t mean that we can’t take it back. But time is of the essence, for the longer we wait the more difficult will be the restoration. Today, Republican-owned companies count the ballots with secret codes, most of our media is controlled by six corporate conglomerates, The Patriot Act is still in force, and so-called “enemy combatants” including some American citizens, are being denied basic rights stipulated by the Geneva Conventions and the US Constitution. Ahead lies total media control and the police state.

But for the moment, the Busheviks, the GOP and the radical right are reeling. The iron is hot, and it is time to strike.

But as we do, we must remember that the blacksmith bends the iron with repeated blows of his hammer, then he heats the iron again. Persistence and unrelenting pressure is the key. There is still time to break and overthrow this criminal regime.

The alternative is unthinkable.

[autorank]

8. PA: HAVA – ALL ABOUT ENTRENCHING REPUBLICAN VOTING COMPANIES

Help America Vote Act in action. Watch it foul up the electoral process. This article says that Bucks County PA had excellent performance of its previous voting equipment, non problems, no challenges.. Now they have a few months to replace it because HAVA demands that. The state has approved only one vendor and is lagging in certifying others. How obvious is this. HAVA A FORCED CONVERSION TO VOTING AND TABULATING MACHINES MANUFACTURED BY RIGHT WING REPUBLICAN FIRMS. THAT WAS THE INTENT. THAT WILL BE THE OUTCOME. DOESN’T MATTER HOW WELL YOUR ELECTOIN SYSTEM WORKS. THAT S NOT THE POINT. IT’S ALL ABOUT BUYING REPUBLICAN COMOPANY VOTING SYSTEMS.

Bucks braces for voting changes

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15330595&BRD=1686&PAG=461&dept_id=41297&rfi=6
By: CHRISTOPHER T. EDWARDS Advance of Bucks County 10/05/2005

Perhaps not wanting to be omitted from the recent rash of government officials blasting their colleagues, Bucks County Commissioners Board Chairman Charles H. Martin took a heavy swipe at the U.S. Congress last Thursday morning, September 29.
During a state of the county meeting of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, Martin estimated the Helping Americans Vote Act of 2002 (or HAVA) will wind up costing his county constituents between $4 million to $5 million to replace existing lever voting machines.
Martin, who feels the approximately 800 current machines have served the county flawlessly since the 1950's, told breakfast attendees at The Waterwheel Restaurant and Country Inn that HAVA was a "gross overreaction" to the 2000 Presidential election ballot-counting snafu.
"This is going to be a major expenditure of your tax dollars," Martin predicted. "By going to electronic voting machines, it's going to cost us $9-10 million. It's the kind of thing we got stuck with, and it's bipartisan."
HAVA mandates that all 67 Pennsylvania counties must purchase electronic voting equipment by Jan. 1, 2006. In order to be eligible for federal aid in buying the new machines, county officials must comply.
According to Martin, Bucks County figures to receive $3-4 million of funding to put toward the overall expense.
To date, however, the State of Pennsylvania has approved only one brand of machine. State officials are in the process of certifying vendors offering features such as optical scanners for voter identification.
As Martin correctly indicated, time is running short to implement HAVA's changes. He doesn't want to be forced to purchase the cheapest available machine just to promote fiscal sanity.
"I don't know what we're going to be doing on New Year's Eve," he said, sarcastically referring to the federal deadline. "This is not well thought out legislation."

[autorank]

9. NJ: Essex County Activists Fight Back “Rage Against the Machine”

Split vote on voting machines: Montclair activists demand accessibility and accuracy

http://www.montclairtimes.com/page.php?page=10543
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
By ERICA ZARRA
of The Montclair Times
With the September deadline passed, Essex County has yet to make a decision in the battle of the ballot box builders.
A new state law mandates that by 2008, all electronic election machines must include voter-verifiable printed receipts, which enable citizens to double-check their ballots before officially casting them. This aims to reduce questions should a recount be needed.
Ballot boxes must abide by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which mandates that all electronic models have a paper recount, disability access, and multiple-language capabilities. A machine lacking these functions could be disqualified from consideration.
However, the bidding process has raised queries of its own as both Essex County officials and political activists deduce which model is best — or even compliant with the evolving law.
“Although this has taken longer than anticipated, we’re getting closer to a decision,” Essex County Superintendent of Elections Carmine P. Casciano told The Times.
After briefly favoring the Liberty Elections Systems’ Liberty Vote, which meets federal requirements but has only been used in Europe and is still pending state approval, Casciano is once again leaning toward the Sequoia Advantage.
“Not all of the Sequoia’s features are good, but it keeps with the law,” he said.
This logic does not satisfy the Essex County Task Force on Voting.
The group started an online petition, which has already garnered a couple hundred signatures, demanding a ballot box that employs modern voting technology and accessibility standards, can be easily and inexpensively d, and provides a voter-verified auditable paper record, as required by New Jersey law.
“It is a pity that the Attorney General’s Office did not go out and proactively seek alternatives to the Sequoia,” Task Force member and area resident Katherine Joyce said of the frontrunner, which currently accounts for 64 percent of electronic voting systems in the state.
<snip>
As the clock ticks, the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders is feeling the pressure of this extremely expensive purchase. The county may lose millions of dollars in federal reimbursements if it fails to comply with federal guidelines. The freeholders have already set aside $7.5 million for the purchase of 700 electronic voting machines, of which $4 million will be refunded by the state through HAVA funds.
Retrofitting about 700 Sequoia Advantages with a paper documentation device is expected to cost an additional $1.4 million.
Sequoia manufactured more than half of all electronic ballot boxes in New Jersey. If the machines are not HAVA-compliant, then this could set off a statewide scramble to find upgraded electronic models for approval next month and installation by January 2006.
Joyce hinted at an extension to this deadline. Casciano said that if the county agrees on a model by the New Year, then it will still be reimbursed.

[autorank]

10. MD: No Assurance that Machines Count Votes-No Democracy-No Legitimacy

"How can we be sure the other counties didn't lose votes that they didn't catch?" asked Stanford University computer science professor David Dill. We can't. That's the point.” Truer words have not been spoken. We have no confidence in the election process because our votes are turned over to vendors by electronic voting machines (optiscans on up) and tabulated by electronic voting machines (run by private vendors). Once we cast our votes, they disappear into the hands of mostly Republican dominated vendors and reemerge as a final tally. We never get to see them again. We can’t examine the machine. There is no accountability or quality assurance. Thanks HAVA. Thanks compliant politicians of both parties. Wake up America! There is no more democracy. It’s all been outsourced to Diebold, etc.

The Washington Examiner

Examiner Editorial - Maryland voters should demand a receipt
03Oct'05
http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/10/04/opinion/editorial/77edit03voting.txt
Published: Monday, October 3, 2005 12:17 AM EDT
E-mail this story | Print this page

The bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, headed by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, found no evidence of extensive voter fraud throughout the country. American elections are, by and large, honest and democratic. But the 21-member commission discovered numerous local examples of voting irregularities and even downright fraud. Ex-felons, the deceased and non-citizens all cast ballots in some places and some, such as the 60,000 voters found to be registered in both North and South Carolina, may even have voted twice.

Because it is critical to maintain public confidence in the electoral process, one of the commission's 87 recommendations demands immediate action at both the federal and state level: requiring a paper trail for all electronic voting machines.

You get a paper receipt whenever you use a debit or credit card at an ATM or electronic gas pump, so why can't you get one when you vote? After the hanging chad fiasco in Florida, the federal government spent $3.9 billion to help states get new e-voting machines in place by next year's mid-term elections. But states are not required to produce an auditable paper trail. So for all practical purposes, there can be no recounts in close contests. This is ridiculous, especially since the technology is so readily available commercially.

Maryland Republicans unsuccessfully tried to oust State Board of Elections administrator Linda Lamone, a Democrat, after she spent $55 million to purchase touch-screen voting machines that experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere had warned were not tamper-proof. The point was hammered home when a demonstration Diebold AccuVote TS - the same machine Lamone insisted was "safe and reliable" - accidentally changed Sen. Barbara Mikulski's vote from a "no" to a "yes" at last year's Takoma Park Folk Festival.

Lamone continues to insist that no printed voting record is needed, even though her office has commissioned two University of Maryland teams to look into the matter further.

State election officials in North Carolina now admit that six e-voting machines used in a 2002 general election lost ballots because of a software glitch. Poll workers only discovered the problem when they found the total number of absentee ballots - which were each assigned a computer-generated tracking number, i.e. a paper trail - did not match the number of votes recorded on the machines. A company audit later confirmed that the glitch had disenfranchised 436 early voters.

"How can we be sure the other counties didn't lose votes that they didn't catch?" asked Stanford University computer science professor David Dill.

We can't. That's the point.

[Melissa G]

11. So....About Volunteering on that Daily news thread...

Melissa G (1000+ posts) Thu Oct-06-05 10:02 PM
Original message
So....About Volunteering on that Daily news thread... Where are we?
I thought I'd do a status thread.. since it has been a while since we chatted on this subject. The way it stands right now. We have a coordinator job... Currently held by your truly, Melissa G ( also known as she who herds cats )

We have a Monday-Thursday shift currently held by autoank...
Weekends have been rotating between MelissaB and Melissa G. We have lately been rescued by help from the Magnificent Wilms and support from the Great Foger Rox.

Many Thanks to Everyone who Regularly Keeps the Daily News Thread going!!! Many Thanks to Everyone who occasionally posts and makes it easier for the regulars while educating the masses.

THANK YOU FOR BEING THE MEDIA!!!

More at Link below......Check it out!!!

DU discussion Here....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396300