Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 12/23/05

[Melissa G]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 12/23/05

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




All previous daily threads are available here:
http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm





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

[Melissa G]

1. Defective machine prompts high court to void Middletown election

Thanks to John Gideon for the link
AP STATE WIRE

Defective machine prompts high court to void Middletown election
December 22, 2005
Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state Supreme Court has voided the Nov. 8 common council election in Middletown because a defective machine failed to record as many as 100 votes for one of the candidates.

The high court on Wednesday ordered the city to redo the election. The city planned to hold the new vote on Jan. 24, but may be forced to move it to February to allow enough time to print absentee ballots and gather poll workers.



Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said repeating a citywide election may be unprecedented in recent history. Single election districts have had to redo elections before, including one in Bridgeport in 2001.

snip
The Supreme Court determined that the machine had a substantial defect. One lever in a city district machine malfunctioned and missed as many as 100 votes for common council candidate David Bauer, who lost a council seat by 102 votes citywide to fellow Republican V. James Russo.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-22020744.apds.m0456.bc-ct--scocdec22,0,3554849.story

[Melissa G]

2. Yes Virginia, there's a problem with absentee balloting.

http://www.politicalcortex.com/

Thanks to John Gideon for the link!


Yes Virginia, there's a problem with absentee balloting. (Recounting Deeds vs McDonnell)
By joan reports
12/22/2005 08:35:21 AM EST


cross-posted at dailykos

In the closest statewide election in Virginia's modern history, a state Court has supervised, and certified, a so-called "recount" of the race for Attorney General.
Did the voting machine in your county tally your ballot
— or did it count you out?

Recount Starts, but Without Va. Ballots
Wednesday December 21, 2005; Page B01 Wash. Post


The recount in the race for Virginia attorney general began yesterday ... but because of rules set earlier by a three-judge panel overseeing the process, very few votes were actually recounted.
It is "only a reverification and a checking of the paperwork," said Robert Moses of the Loudon county Democratic Committee.
Two rulings by the court kept 25% of Virginia's ballots, almost all of the optical-scan ones, from being looked at or refed through the tallying machines.

The candidates for Attorney General were separated by less than two-hundredths of a percent, a mere 323 votes out of nearly 2 million cast.

Many of the votes were tallied on a scanner model named the Optech III-PE. The III-P Eagle machine recently lost its certification in North Carolina and created unexpected counting problems in races in Colorado — where a review of the ballots flipped two races after it found bunches of marked ballots were skipped over by the machines.


snip
Now get the Catch-22 – "The judges agreed to order manual recounts only in instances where voting machine malfunctions could be proved."
The CATCH, of course: a machine that misreads ballots is often uncovered only when the ballots are reviewed. By prohibiting the review, few machine glitches could be found or proved.

http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2005/12/21/132820/21

[Melissa G]

3. Schuylkill officials allot federal money to help with voting

Schuylkill officials allot federal money to help with voting
More than $1.5 million going toward machines, training, outreach.
By Chris Parker
Of The Morning Call
Thanks to John Gideon for the link!

Schuylkill County commissioners on Wednesday allocated $1,567,207 in federal money to help it comply with the Help America Vote Act.

The money will pay for an array of improvements to the voting process, including accessibility of polling places and the purchase of required electronic voting equipment.


Commissioners have yet to choose a system but in past months have suggested they favor optical scanners, into which voters would feed paper ballots at their precincts.



snip
Schuylkill remains among the few Pennsylvania counties that uses paper ballots.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/lehighton/all-b1_1schuylkilldec22,0,5048934.story?coll=all-newslocallehighton-hed

[Melissa G]

4. County machines won't be analyzed

County machines won't be analyzed
A state investigation of Diebold voting machines does not apply to those certified and in use

The Secretary of State’s call for an investigation of memory cards in uncertified Diebold voting machines does not affect San Luis Obispo County’s Diebold machines, said county Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald.
The county has 80 Diebold optical scanners, already certified and in use. The call for further testing on Diebold equipment does not include machines that have been certified, according to Brad Clark of the Secretary of State’s elections division.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson notified Diebold that its application for voting machines in California would not be considered until the Independent Testing Authorities examine the systems for federal certification.

McPherson denied the Diebold approval because, he said, the “security and integrity” of electronic voting could be at risk.
His warning applies to both Diebold’s AccuVote TSX machines, also known as touch screens, and AccuVote OS machines, or optical scanners. The investigation involves source codes for memory cards for both models.
At issue is whether the removable cards, which are used to program and configure the machines, will keep data secure.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/13471306.htm

[Melissa G]

5. Voting machine law burdens counties

Voting machine law burdens counties

Officials say not enough time, money to buy new equipment
by Julie Ball, STAFF WRITER
published December 23, 2005 6:00 am

MARION — McDowell County leaders want to challenge a state decision to de-certify the county’s 2-year-old voting machines as the state tries to implement new election laws in North Carolina.

McDowell, Buncombe and counties across North Carolina are struggling to comply with the new law, approved by the N.C. General Assembly earlier this year. The idea behind the law is to boost voter confidence.


“If votes are lost on an electronic machine, we want a paper backup,” said state Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe. “And second, we want to make sure no one is entering our machines electronically and making changes. The people are demanding it.”

snip
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners on Thursday sent a letter to the governor asking him to convene a special session of the General Assembly to deal with the problems.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/NEWS01/51222031

[Melissa G]

6. Diebold drops out of competition

Diebold drops out of competition

By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun
[e-mail]
Dec 22, 2005 : 10:23 pm ET

DURHAM -- One of the two companies that's vying to sell Durham County a new set of voting machines has dropped out of the competition here and everywhere else in the state, saying it can't comply with the regulations North Carolina recently imposed on the systems.

Officials with Diebold Election Systems announced their decision to the state Board of Elections on Wednesday, and the board passed the word along to election managers in Durham and other parts of the state Thursday afternoon.

Diebold's decision likely means that Durham County officials will buy new voting machines from Election Systems and Software, the company that built the county's current system.

snip
However, a lawyer for the company told The Associated Press that it can't comply with the state's demand for copies of the source code of all the software used in its systems.

http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-682228.html

[Melissa G]

7. From This Corner-Fair Elections Reborn from Clean Elections

From This Corner-Fair Elections Reborn from Clean Elections

By Richard Elrick

In the spirit of the Christmas season, when rebirth and regeneration are in the air, it seems altogether appropriate that one of this New Year’s resolutions should be for the renewal of our tired and failed political system. There can be little doubt that politics in the United States is sick and getting sicker. Almost weekly, newspapers offer up stories of corruption and the influence of big money lobbyists on our elected officials.

From Tom Delay, to Jack Abramoff, to Bob Ney, to the most recent, disgusting scene of a tearful Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham resigning from Congress after pleading guilty to bribery charges, examples of politicians running amok abound. Every day corporations and assorted other wealthy special interests pump $2 million into the coffers of our elected officials in Washington and their political parties. For their money, they get an estimated $160 billion a year in subsidies and tax breaks that cost each taxpayer about $1,500 per year!

In Massachusetts, what used to be known as the Clean Elections movement has been reborn as Mass Voters for Fair Elections. Readers may remember that under the 1998 Clean Elections law, approved by voters by a margin of 2 to 1, legislators would receive public funding for their campaigns in exchange for voluntarily adhering to strict fundraising and spending limits. Unfortunately, the law was short-lived with former Speaker Finneran and his legislative colleagues joining Gov. Mitt Romney to repeal the ballot law in 2003.

Since then, proponents of public campaign financing have been regrouping. They and their supporters in the legislature have recently filed the Fair Elections Financing Act, which was written to reflect concerns raised by lawmakers over the previous Clean Elections law. This time, for example, qualifying candidates will receive matching funds based on how much money they raised within limits. Under the old Clean Elections scenario, all candidates who qualified would receive a pre-determined amount of money, no matter how much they gathered themselves.

http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/from_this_cornerfair_elections_reborn_from_clean_elections_news_16_8279.html

[Melissa G]

8. U.N. won't investigate Iraqi vote

U.N. won't investigate Iraqi vote
Sunni Arabs, secular Shiites demand an inquiry into fraud
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.23.2005

BAGHDAD — Sunni Arab and secular Shiite factions demanded Thursday that an international body review complaints about voting fraud in last week's elections and threatened to boycott the new legislature. But the United Nations rejected the idea.

"The U.N. is not going to conduct an independent review of the election results," U.N. associate spokesman Robert Sullivan said in New York.
The demand for a review came two days after preliminary returns indicated the current governing group, the Shiite religiously oriented United Iraqi Alliance, was getting bigger than expected majorities in Baghdad, which has large numbers of Shiites and Sunnis.
Although final results are not expected until January, secular Shiites and Sunni Arabs were alarmed. The formerly dominant Sunni minority, in particular, fears being marginalized by the Shiite majority, which was oppressed during Saddam Hussein's reign.

But the criticisms of the election could also be part of jockeying for position by both Sunnis and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, before negotiations begin on forming a new coalition government. No group is expected to win a majority of the legislature's 275 seats.

A representative for Allawi described the Dec. 15 vote as "fraudulent" and called the elected lawmakers "illegitimate."
Thirty-five political groups that competed in the vote issued a statement calling for the disbandment of the electoral commission, known as the IECI, because of alleged problems with the balloting.
The groups said the hundreds of complaints about fraud and intimidation of voters should be reviewed by international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League.
http://www.azstarnet.com/news/108234

[Melissa G]

9. WP on Delay Thwart

AUSTIN -- A state appeals court thwarted a bid by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for an early trial in his money-laundering and conspiracy case. DeLay's lawyers had asked the 3rd Court of Appeals to speed up the appeals process by shortening the filing periods from 20 days to five days. DeLay has pressed for a quick resolution so he can regain his post as House majority leader before leadership elections next month.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/22/AR2005122201654.html

[GuvWurld]

10. LTTE - Eureka Reporter: Area Voting Machines Discredited By Gov't Reports

The following letter should be in Friday's edition of the Eureka Reporter and is now online at:
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=6653.

Report on voting machines worthy of some follow-ups

12/23/2005

Dear Editor,

Thanks for tackling the crucial topic of election integrity (“Area voting machines could have flaws,” Dec. 16). We simply must come to terms with the subversion of our democracy. As you investigate this subject further, please consider a follow-up called “area voting machines discredited by government reports.” Some suggested sources:

1. The official nonpartisan watchdog arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, in October released a 107-page report condemning the security and reliability of U.S. elections. See: www.gao.gov/new.items/d05956.pdf

2. An April 2004 California Secretary of State staff report revealed Diebold had illegally installed uncertified software in voting machines in Humboldt and 16 other California counties. See: www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ks_dre_papers/diebold_report_april20_final.pdf

3. A report prepared for the Maryland General Assembly explains how GEMS, Humboldt County’s vote-counting software (“central tabulator”), can be compromised. See: http://www.raba.com/press/TA_Report_AccuVote.pdf

4. The Department of Homeland Security’s cyber-threat division, U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, included GEMS in this Sept. 2004 bulletin: www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB04-252.html

While not a government report like the others, visit www.votergate.tv for the free download of “Votergate,” the movie. Watch footage originally aired on CNBC featuring Bev Harris demonstrating for Howard Dean how to hack GEMS and alter vote totals without a trace in under two minutes.

Some hack demonstrations may test the access from an outsider’s reach. Others, such as the one you reported on in Leon County, Fla., grant the hacker the same access as an election official or machine vendor. Mr. McWilliams’ dumbfoundedness at this procedure notwithstanding, the software has proven unsecure.

In light of the fine example set by both Leon and Volusia Counties in Florida, it is time that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors declare its intention to do no further business with Diebold, a company now facing multiple class action lawsuits from its shareholders.

The looming deadline of the Help America Vote Act is inconsequential compared to the restoration of voter confidence and a basis for such.

The Supes should also start considering how else to have us vote in June, because no way should they expect us to use area voting machines discredited by government reports.

Dave Berman
Eureka

*

On edit: fixed broken links; the Reporter converted submitted links to all lowercase, posting broken links on their site, and possibly publishing incorrect URLs in Friday's paper (ouch!)

[GuvWurld]

11. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406364

[Algorem]

12. OH-Fake surveys seek voter data for Blackwell (in goobernatorial race)

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1135330635119561.xml&coll=2

Recordings carry criticisms of Petro

Friday, December 23, 2005

Columbus - Calls seemingly packed with poll questions about Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's run for governor and his tax-limit plan are being used to collect information on Ohio voters who might cast a ballot for Blackwell or give him money.

The automated calls are amassing the voter information while sometimes spreading negative messages about Blackwell's leading Republican rival, Attorney General Jim Petro, in a practice called "push polling."

A recent spate of calls made no mention of Blackwell, but did include questions peppered with references to Petro's "horrible track record," his alleged fund-raising ties to "favored GOP whipping-boy Bill Clinton" and his being "part of the problem in Columbus."

What the calls are not doing, concedes Blackwell spokesman Gene Pierce, is measuring anything...



More dirty Ohio politics- "opposition research" -

http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2005-12-21/news/firstpunch.html

The scum always rises

In politics, it's called "opposition research," a polite phrase for digging up anything you can to smear your opponent. Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz never knew how slimy it could be until she married Congressman Sherrod Brown.

Schultz recently moved from Shaker Heights to Avon so that the couple could live in hubby's congressional district. Then Brown announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Strange things began to happen.

Schultz looked out the window one day to see two men in suits and a white van taking away her garbage. "I just thought they had upscale garbage pickup," she jokes of her new hometown. But when she confronted the well-dressed sanitation workers, they quickly fled.

Then she noticed a guy taking pictures of her house. The man said he was an appraiser. When she asked for identification, he bolted too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2003757&mesg_id=2003757

[Wilms]

13. BOOK COMMENTARY: A Government Hijacked

BOOK COMMENTARY: A Government Hijacked

Reviewed by William E. Betz

Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)by Mark Crispin Miller

snip

Why do we refuse to believe that it can happen here and, indeed, that it has happened here? The reason is that the inevitable conclusion that American democracy has been fatally compromised can lead to only one reaction: and that reaction is action. "And what if it's true?" people ask. "What can we do?" Indeed, what can we do? Can we go on as before? Certainly not. Can we ignore it? No. (Only the press can ignore it.) We as citizens have several options: vote the bastards out, have them removed by impeachment, or take up arms against them. Yet if elections, with the help of Diebold, Sequoia, ES&S and the other private machine proprietors and counters of votes, are permanently fixed, the first option is eliminated. In that case, we are truly doomed.

snip

http://baltimorechronicle.com/2005/122105Betz.shtml

understandinglife posted a discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406336

[Wilms]

14. MO: Amidst Intense Last-Minute Drama, St. Louis County Rejects Diebold

Amidst Intense Last-Minute Drama, St. Louis County Rejects Diebold!

Citizen Activists, Increasing Concerns about Diebold Security, Company Integrity Said to Have Been Key to Decision!

ALSO: FOIA Requests Filed About Closed-Door Hearings, Concerns Emerge About ES&S, the Company Chosen Instead of Diebold, and a Diebold Lobbyist Reportedly Inquires About BRAD BLOG...And FAMILY!!!

by Brad on 12/22/2005

Add St. Louis County to the growing list of Elections Boards around the country who have now rejected Diebold, Inc. voting machines in the last-minute scramble to select new election hardware, prior to the Jan. 1, 2006 Help America Vote Act deadline to have such "upgrades" paid for with Federal tax dollars.

The bad news for the once-great, now-disgraced Diebold, Inc. (stock symbol: DBD) of North Canton, Ohio, comes as the latest blow in a long string of disappointments for the company, which last week saw the resignation of its CEO, the filing of several Class Action Securities Fraud lawsuits, and the devasting revelation that their voting machines can be easily hacked, allowing the results of Diebold elections to be completely reversed.

The loss of the contract in St. Louis County, who chose to go instead with Election Systems and Software, Inc. (ES&S), is estimated by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to be at least $9.6 million.

The last minute decision came amid intense lobbying by both citizens' election integrity advocacy groups and paid Diebold lobbyists -- at least one of whom was reported to have inquired about both The BRAD BLOG itself and the financial background of the father of yours truly!

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002189.htm

Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406331

[Wilms]

15. HAVA: The Endgame, Part 3 - For a host of reasons, states will miss...mark

Help America Vote Act: The Endgame, Part III

For a host of reasons, states will miss the HAVA voting machine mark

electionline Weekly – December 22, 2005

By M. Mindy Moretti
electionline.org

snip

With reasons ranging from hold-ups in the request for proposal (RFP) process to vendor delays to slow legislative action, states including California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York and Hawaii are expected to miss the mark.

Many of the 17 states that will miss the voting system deadline – an approximate number from a survey of 43 states conducted by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) – will do so because as few as one county in the state may not have made the necessary voting system purchases. (See link to survey and Associated Press story below.)

snip

Just how the U.S. Department of Justice handles late states is up in the air, state officials said.

“States have been in communication with the Department of Justice,” said Reed, who also serves as president of NASS. “They are going to work with us as we make good-faith efforts.”

But he did acknowledge that none of this guarantees that the department won’t sue for noncompliance.

snip

http://www.electionline.org/Newsletters/tabid/87/ctl/Detail/mid/643/xmid/168/xmfid/3/Default.aspx


Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406326

[Wilms]

16. NC: Diebold Pulls Out of NC But Offers to Help Change the Law

Diebold Pulls Out of NC But Offers to Help Change the Law

By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA

December 22, 2005

In a surprising reversal, Diebold has notified the North Carolina State Board of Elections that they are withdrawing from the procurement process in the state. They also offered their assistance in "revising" the state's recently passed election laws to better suit their product. Just yesterday, a Superior Court had dismissed a challenge to the Board's decision to certify Diebold in spite of their failure to disclose third party software as required by State Law 2005-323.

Last month, Diebold had lost a bid for a judgement that would have exempted them from placing their software in escrow. In spite of this decision, the State Board of Election proceded to certify Diebold anyway on December 1, the action which prompted the lawsuit that was dismissed this week. However, in bestowing the "immaculate certification" on Diebold, the board had required the vendor to place a copy of their software with a holding company in Raleigh by today.

While the company's statement focused on third-party software, Diebold's tenacious refusal to escow their source code may be motivated by their reluctance to sign off on a statement that says the software in escrow is the same software that is on the machines. Such a declaration, and Diebold's failure to adhere to it, was the cause of their initial decertification in California in 2004. However, unlike California and other states, such a violation of North Carolina's escrow requirements is a felony, and while Diebold has been willing to install uncertified software to count votes, they apparently are less willing to risk criminal penalties in doing so.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=618&Itemid=30

Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406334

[Wilms]

17. Solar Bus: Holy Democracy, Batman! - Election Justice News

Election Justice News
the fight for democracy in America continues...

IMPORTANT Recent Headlines

garybeck's Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406268

[Wilms]

18. NC: With Nowhere Left to Hide, Diebold Pulls Out of North Carolina

With Nowhere Left to Hide, Diebold Pulls Out of North Carolina

December 22, 2005

Following a flurry of litigation that found EFF fighting both alongside and against the state Board of Elections, Diebold on Thursday withdrew from the North Carolina procurement process, ceding the state’s voting machine business to rival ES&S.

In November, Diebold filed suit against the North Carolina Board of Elections in an effort to be exempted from a state requirement that vendors place into escrow (among other things) all source code “that is relevant to functionality, setup, configuration, and operation of the voting system.” The code would be available to the Board of Elections and the chairs of the state political parties for review so that they could look for security vulnerabilities, to the extent they wanted to make such an effort. Diebold argued to the Superior Court that it simply couldn’t meet that requirement, at least in part because they relied so extensively on third party software for critical system functions. EFF intervened in the case on behalf of local voter integrity advocate Joyce McCloy and succeeded in convincing the judge to dismiss the case, leaving Diebold on the hook for criminal and civil penalties if they failed to comply.

Undaunted, and despite Diebold’s admission that it could not meet these requirements, the Board of Elections agreed three days later to certify Diebold.

EFF filed suit against the Board of Elections the next week, arguing that the Board had violated its own obligations to perform extensive security-related tests of all of the code on all certified systems prior to certification. The Board of Elections argued that even though the statute refers to a mandatory pre-certification review of “all” source code, third party software should for some reason be exempted from this process. The court, faced with conceding that the Board of Elections had bungled their certification obligations from the start of the process, denied EFF’s motion. But for Diebold, the damage was already done.

snip

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004285.php

[Wilms]

19. John Gideon: An Open Letter To The Election Assistance Commission

By John Gideon, Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org and Information Manager for VoteTrustUSA

December 23, 2005

Dear Elections Assistance Commission

Today I write to express my disappointment with the non-responsiveness of the commission to the needs of the voters. You do well when it comes to the needs of the voting machine vendors, it seems, but the voters are being ignored.

You say that "the Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource for information and review of procedures with respect to the administration of Federal elections". I'm sorry to say that you fail as both a national clearinghouse and as a resource for information.

Let me give you a few examples of the failures. On October 17, 2004 a letter from VotersUnite.Org was given to, you, the commissioners. This letter expressed an idea that VotersUnite.Org had concerning your mandate to be a national clearinghouse and resource. It was VotersUnite.Org's idea that a communications network be established between all state, county, and local elections officials for the purpose of wide promulgation of information about voting system problems, solutions, and other issues that would have wide-spread interest. To this date VotersUnite.Org has never received a response to this letter even though I have personally spoken with your spokesperson about it and another copy of the letter was transmitted to this person for a response. It is, apparently, sitting on some EAC Counsel’s desk for action; or being ignored.

The letter was also given, months later, to members of the Government Accountability Office as testimony prior to their report on your successes and failures since you were formed. I'm sure you have noticed that the clearinghouse idea was mentioned several times in their report. It is hoped that you will not treat the GAO as you have treated the public and ignore their advice.

Snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=625&Itemid=26

Discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406445

[Wilms]

20. MI: Elections Officials Believe Mayoral Recount Is Hopeless

Elections Officials Believe Mayoral Recount Is Hopeless

Freman Hendrix Believed There Were Irregularities In Nov. 8 Election

December 22, 2005

DETROIT -- Election officials said it is clear that a recount will not change the results of the Detroit mayoral race, Local 4 reported.

The recount has covered 326 of 720 precincts and incumbent Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has gained 26 votes over challenger Freman Hendrix, the station reported.

Hendrix cited irregularities in the Nov. 8 election and problems with ballot equipment as a reason for the recount, Local 4 reported. The election results gave incumbent Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick a win by more than 14,000 votes, according to reports.

Elections officials did not ask Hendrix to give up his request for a recount, but believe it is hopeless, Local 4 reported.

More:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/5612779/detail.html

Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x406433

[Wilms]

21. NC: (County) Elections board chooses optical scanning devices

Elections board chooses optical scanning devices

By JEFFERSON WEAVER, Staff Writer

snip

Another postive effect of the new systems, Hammond said, is that many voters were uncomfortable with computerized voting.

“A lot of people like the tangibility of a paper ballot,” he said. “This way, we can have the state- and federally-required-paper record, and people can be comfortable with the technology in use at the same time. Anything that will encourage voter registration and participation is good for the system.”

snip

Hammond said efforts to evaluate the systems on both the state and local level were “decidedly non-partisan.”

“There was no Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or anything else,” he said. “In each case all the groups came together to come up with the most cost effective way to bring us into compliance with the new state laws.”

snip

http://www.bladenjournal.com/articles/2005/12/23/news/news07.txt