Election Reform, Fraud & Related News Thursday Aug 10 2006

[EFerrari]

Election Reform, Fraud & Related News Thursday Aug 10 2006




All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

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

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

[EFerrari]

1. TN: Law restoring voting rights is unfair to poor, critics say

Law restoring voting rights is unfair to poor, critics say

By Associated Press
August 9, 2006
KNOXVILLE -- A new law that makes it easier for felons to restore their voting rights may discriminate against poor people because of a provision that requires them to be current on their child support, say some members of a panel discussing the issue.

The event Monday was sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union, Tennessee's Right to Vote Campaign and the Race Relations Center of East Tennessee. It's one of eight town hall meetings scheduled across the state to explain the new law.

Critics of the former restoration system said the process was cumbersome because it depended on the circumstances of each individual and the year the crime was committed.

For instance, a person convicted of a crime in the early 1980s had a different process from someone convicted after June 30, 1986.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/midsouth_news/article/0,1426,MCA_1497_4903437,00.html

[EFerrari]

2. MD: Court hears arguments over early balloting

Court hears arguments over early balloting
Ruling could come as early as today
By Melissa Harris
sun reporter
Originally published August 9, 2006

An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge heard arguments yesterday in a case that could decide whether Marylanders will have an additional five days to cast votes this fall - a General Assembly effort that two Baltimore attorneys with close ties to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. say violate the state's constitution.

M. Albert Figinski, who is married to Ehrlich's budget director, and Christopher R. West, the former legal counsel to the Maryland Republican Party, filed suit against the state elections board and its administrator, Linda H. Lamone, after the Democrat-controlled General Assembly overrode two Ehrlich vetoes and authorized early voting. Figinski and West argued yesterday that only a constitutional amendment could change election dates.

Circuit Court Judge Ronald A. Silkworth said after yesterday's six-hour hearing that he hopes to rule today or tomorrow. Both parties have said that should they lose, they will appeal to the state's highest court.

Democrats and the attorney defending Lamone - Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Berman - have argued that early voting is about convenience. Still, many political observers say that if the procedure boosts turnout, Democrats - who outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1 - would benefit more.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.voting09aug09,0,2541279.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[EFerrari]

3. CA: County’s new voting machines may be flawed (Humboldt Co)

County’s new voting machines may be flawed – Aug. 8, 2006
Daniel Mintz
Eye Correspondent

HUMBOLDT – The county’s effort to comply with a federal disabled voting access law has hit another wall, as word from the state is that the low-tech system thought to be a workable option is too unreliable to be certified.

Coming up with a voting system that meets the standards of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the secretary of state’s office has proven to be a challenge here and across the state. After debate and controversy over a proposed touch screen system, the county decided to opt for a simpler, well-received method that allows visually-impaired and disabled voters to use conventional ballot cards that fit inside plastic sleeves – but now its viability is in doubt.

Manufactured by Vote-PAD, the assistive voting devices have been viewed as a useful alternative to a touch screen system from the Diebold corporation. The county originally pursued the Diebold option but dropped it after both local and wider controversy emerged, ultimately resulting in a lawsuit from election watchdog groups against the counties that have accepted the highly disputed touch screen system.

But Vote-Pad has yet to be certified by the state, and now there is serious doubt that it will be. A secretary of state’s office staff report on Vote-Pad in advance of an Aug. 9 hearing on it and another system emerged at the end of last week, and county election officials already knew what it would it say – that Vote-PAD’s error rate is “unacceptably high.”

http://www.arcataeye.com/index.php?module=Pagesetter&tid=2&topic=3&func=viewpub&pid=221&format=full

[EFerrari]

4. CA: New machines may have heads spinning (San Mateo Co)

New machines may have heads spinning
Officials to unveil new system for fall election
By Suzanne Bohan, STAFF WRITER

San Mateo County is pushing to go electronic — voting, that is.

If Warren Slocum, the county's chief elections officer, has his way, voters will spin a wheel on a black electronic panel to cast their votes Nov. 7.

Then they'll push some buttons, review a paper record, push another button and they're done.

If that sounds slightly more complicated than punching holes in a paper ballot — and carefully removing any hanging chads — your hunch is on par with test voters in other areas.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_4155038

[EFerrari]

5. CO: Clerk, workers ensure ballots aren't wasted

Clerk, workers ensure ballots aren't wasted
By The Denver Post

Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Nancy Doty got down and dirty on primary day in an effort to make every vote count.

Doty, in her second year as clerk and recorder, and two employees spent an hour sifting through trash bins at Heritage Christian Center, 9495 E. Florida Ave., to find a couple of absentee ballots that were thrown away.

"We wore plastic gloves and were fortunate to find the ballots in about an hour," Doty said. "It isn't a large number of ballots, but we wanted to make sure every ballot got counted."


http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4153360

[EFerrari]

6. CO: Count still a matter of time

Count still a matter of time

Thursday, August 10, 2006

By MIKE SACCONE

The Daily Sentinel

For more than four hours Tuesday night, a handful of Republican primary candidates, a cadre of journalists and an assortment of onlookers sat in the public meeting room of the old county courthouse’s annex simply waiting.

As the results trickled in from early voting, absentee ballots and, finally, the county’s 20 vote centers, the tense, yet calm atmosphere was broken by Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Janice Ward passing out the latest tables of results.

Hands anxiously shuffled through pages, and then bodies settled back into waiting.

But as the final polling results were taken to the elections division, onlookers and anxious candidates — however trailing — kept asking, “Why is this taking so long?”

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/08/10/8_10_1b_Election_Folo.html

[diva77]

34. chock full of pro-DRE talking pts!

[EFerrari]

7. CO: No big glitches at new voting centers

No big glitches at new voting centers

By Bianca Prieto And Charley Able, Rocky Mountain News
August 9, 2006
Voter turnout was low, election officials said, but the process went smoothly as two metro-area counties used voting centers for the first time.

Denver and Douglas counties allowed voters to cast their ballots at any one of dozens of centers, rather than requiring them to go to their neighborhood precinct.

Election judges had few voters to contend with and problems at voting centers were short-lived.

In Jefferson County, the primary turnout "is one of the lower numbers in elections that we've done," said County Clerk Faye Griffin.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_4903669,00.html

[EFerrari]

8. MI: Voter turnout light in mid-Michigan; few glitches with new equipment

Voter turnout light in mid-Michigan; few glitches with new equipment

By Tricia Bobeda
Lansing State Journal

When Dennis Zile of DeWitt heard on the radio Tuesday morning that voter turnout was expected to be less than 20 percent, he decided to make the extra effort to get to the polls.

"It's a shame," Zile said of the low turnout. He considers himself a regular voter - and one who pays close attention to his government.

"Especially since I retired in January," Zile said. "Now I pay more attention because I have even more time."

Voter turnout in Tuesday's primary election was low across mid-Michigan, but poll workers said that is typical for primaries. Despite the low turnout, the first use of statewide standardized voting equipment enjoyed widespread success with scattered glitches, the secretary of state's office said.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/ELECTIONS06/608090368/-1/NLETTER01

[EFerrari]

9. MI: Few voters attempt to use new machines

Few voters attempt to use new machines

By SHANNON MURPHY
Times Herald

New voting machines designed to help disabled voters did not see much use in St. Clair County during Tuesday's primary election.

The machines, called AutoMARK, can be used by anyone, but are designed to help people with disabilities.

The machine, which works like an electronic pen, has a Braille keypad, foot pedals, magnification and contrast features, headphones for audio and a personal sip/puff tube for people with paralysis.

The state required all polling places to have the machines, which were paid for with money from the federal Help America Vote Act.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS01/608100301/1002

[EFerrari]

10. MO: Printers cast doubt on voting machines

Missourian News
August 10, 2006
Printers cast doubt on voting machines
The county clerk says printers jammed on Tuesday and that she questions future accuracy.

By ISABELLE ROUGHOL

The inaugural use of voting machines Tuesday raised an important question in the mind of Boone County’s top election official: Will the paper trail or the electronic count prevail if there is a discrepancy in future elections?

“When you have a problem with the paper and you know the paper is wrong and the device is correct, where do you go?” Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren said Wednesday.

The faulty design of printers in the new voting machines caused problems in getting the paper trail of Tuesday’s elections, Noren said.

“Things were jamming,” she said. “We had places where the paper was put in backwards. It looks like it’s printing, but it doesn’t.”

http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=20986

[EFerrari]

11. MO: Voting errors won't recur, says machine company official

Voting errors won't recur, says machine company official
Firm assures that having more time to review official ballot should help it find problems

By Bruce C. Smith
[e-mail]

Despite errors and irregularities on the ballots used in Boone County's May primary, officials said Wednesday the mistakes didn't affect the outcome of any races.

They pledged to correct the cause of the errors so they won't be repeated in November's election.

"I think countermeasures are in place so we can deliver on our goal of zero problems in the next election," said Tom Easterday, chairman of the county's election commission.

Mike Burns, a representative of Milwaukee-based Voting Technologies International, said the electronic voting machines and computer programs the company supplies will be checked before the election.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/LOCAL02/608100370/-1/ZONES01

[EFerrari]

12. NY: The Voting Rights Act redux

The Voting Rights Act redux

By Sheldon Scruggs
Times Herald-Record
[e-mail]

President Bush recently signed into law a 25-year extension of the Voting Rights Act. The law will continue to ensure the voting rights of minorities in America.

One provision of the act will continue to make some counties across America responsible for providing assistance and voting instructions to English-challenged people in their native languages.

But, what does this mean for people in our area?

"Orange County has never had to make any provisions for people whose primary language is not English," said Commissioner Susan Bahren of the Orange County Board of Elections. "However, we may have to after the 2010 Census comes out."

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/08/10/news_community-ssvote-08-10.html

[EFerrari]

13. NY: Ballot tampering charges in Mechanicville

MECHANICVILLE - After almost a year-long investigation by the State Police, two community leaders were charged on Tuesday with tampering with absentee ballots during September's primary elections.

The director of community and economic development, William Connors, 47, and his brother Joseph Connors, 51, the city's Democratic Committee chairman, were arraigned in Ballston Spa on Tuesday for election fraud and submitting false absentee ballots for last year's Independence and Conservative primary elections to help Mayor Anthony Sylvester and Supervisor Tom Richardson win the election.

Kevin Luibrand, the Connors' lawyer, said the brothers plead not guilty to all of the charges. Both men were released on their own recognizance after appearing before Saratoga County Judge Jerry Scarano.
If found guilty, the younger Connors could serve up to 20 years in state prison and Joseph Conners could serve up to one year, said Ann Sullivan, the prosecuting attorney for the case.

http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17029855&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7021&rfi=6

[EFerrari]

14. OH: Board asks for $192,000 to buy carts (Mahoning Co)

Board asks for $192,000 to buy carts

The elections board hired John F. Kennedy of Youngstown as a clerk.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Timing of the request is probably not the best, but the Mahoning County Board of Elections wants approval by the county commissioners to spend $192,367 for voting machine carts.

The commissioners recently agreed to borrow up to $590,000 to pay for voting equipment after the vendor cut its service to the county elections board and threatened to sue.

Also, the county is dealing with fiscal issues that have led to cutbacks at the jail.

"I understand the money problem in Mahoning County, but we need this equipment," said Joyce Kale-Pesta, the elections board deputy director, at Tuesday's board meeting.

http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/316304016293144.php

:eyes:

[EFerrari]

15. OH: Cuyahoga commissioners back absentee voting

Cuyahoga commissioners back absentee voting
M.R. KROPKO
Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Voters in Cuyahoga County, the most populated county in Ohio, will be encouraged to vote by absentee ballot in the Nov. 7 general election, county commissioners said Wednesday.

Commissioners also have asked Tom Hayes, who is leaving his job as director of the Ohio Lottery on Aug. 21, to work for the county from Sept. 1 until Nov. 10 as a project manager to oversee the county Board of Elections' preparation and performance. Hayes has agreed.

Hayes, a former board of elections director in the county, was part of a three-member panel that recently reviewed the county's error-prone election performance in the May primary, the first using touch-screen electronic voting.

Voting by absentee ballot would allow voters to bypass electronic voting and possible long lines at the polls, which officials worry could be a side-effect of a new requirement that voters show identification.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/15236513.htm

[EFerrari]

16. TN: Sullivan election officials dispel rumors

Sullivan election officials dispel rumors



After standing in line for about two hours, voters cast their ballots at Indian Springs Elementary School last Thursday. Some would-be voters in Sullivan County said long lines at the polls kept them from voting. David Grace photo.

. . .

BLOUNTVILLE - Some Sullivan County voters are saying long lines for last week's elections kept them from voting. But thousands of those who cast a ballot didn't vote in all the races.

It's sometimes called "single shot" voting - casting your vote for only one candidate, even if the race in question allows you to vote for two or more.

Some voters see it as a strategy that could give their favorite a lead over an opponent in a close race.

Other times voters may skip a particular race altogether.

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3664387

(Who didn't see this one coming. :mad: )

[EFerrari]

17. TN: Miscommunication blamed for election delays

Miscommunication blamed for election delays

By Candis Ann Shea
The Ashland City Times

A miscommunication was the main reason election results were delayed Thursday night, according to Election Administrator Sandy Cherry.

About 120 people were still in line when the polls closed at 7 p.m. at Harpeth High School in Kingston Springs, the District 6 precinct.


And, by 11 p.m., the final county totals were still not available.

Some voters were taking longer to vote because of the new machines, and the ballot was lengthy because of the large number of judicial retention questions.

http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/MTCN0101/308090115/1292/MTCN01

[EFerrari]

18. WA: A boost to ballot security

Published: Thursday, August 10, 2006

A boost to ballot security
County must upgrade before first all-mail vote

By Jeff Switzer
Herald Writer


Elections in Snohomish County are getting a security boost costing nearly a quarter-million dollars.

Improvements include computer upgrades and come as the county prepares to switch to all-mail voting in September.

The changes are partly required by state law. They were in the works before the County Council voted in January to switch to all-mail elections, county elections manager Carolyn Diepenbrock said.

The work is paid for by $240,000 in federal Help America Vote Act grants. The money is being spent to automate how ballots are sorted and tracked.

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/08/10/100loc_a1ballot001.cfm

[EFerrari]

19. WI: Ross vows to defend same-day registration

Ross vows to defend same-day registration
Says loss would cut thousands of votes
By David Callender

A proposal to eliminate same-day voter registration in Wisconsin would have kept more than 48,000 Dane County residents from voting in 2004, Democratic secretary of state candidate Scot Ross says.

Ross, who is running in the Sept. 12 primary against incumbent Doug La Follette, released a study showing that efforts to ban same-day voter registration would have kept about 435,000 state residents from voting in the last presidential election.

The study was done by the Ross campaign using Elections Board records.

Ross said in a statement today that if he's elected, he will battle lawmakers to keep the same-day registration law on the books.

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=94187&ntpid=7

[EFerrari]

20. Opinion Adam Levenstein: When Even the Illusion is Gone

When Even the Illusion is Gone:

"Black Box" Voting and Faith-Based

Elections

- by Adam Levenstein

"I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year." --Walden O'Dell, CEO, Diebold Inc.

"It's not he who casts the votes that matters--but he who counts the votes." --Josef Stalin

"There were security holes all over it." --Roxanne Jekot, computer programmer who examined Diebold's voting machines

In the United States, we don't have much in the way of democracy. Every four years, we go to the polls, and select which white man from one of our two corporate-backed parties we want to be President. Then - lest our votes directly go towards the individual in question - faceless electors who our votes actually go to meet and they vote in the actual President.

Beyond that, every two years we select Congressional representatives; sometimes some people of color and women manage to slip in, but it's almost always from the same two parties.

In 2000, everything changed. Recount after recount in Florida yielded differing results, none establishing a clear majority. The nation was riveted; which group of faceless electors was going to vote in the President? Democrat Al Gore's electors, or George W. Bush's electors? Eventually, the Supreme Court stepped in and told Florida to stop counting the votes; the last recount, which showed Bush in the lead by the slimmest of margins. Compelled by the order, life-long Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris faithfully certified the results, with George W. Bush the winner.

Immediately after the recounts started, explanations flew. Initially, the confusion was due to ill-conceived "butterfly" ballots that voters could potentially misalign. Then, hanging pieces of paper called "chad" were to blame. We weren't given the option to decide that maybe, just maybe, the thousands of African-American voters systematically removed from the polls under the guise of "making sure felons didn't vote" might have had something to do with the problem.

http://www.lefthook.org/Politics/Levenstein021204.html

[EFerrari]

21. Partial recount of votes starts in Mexico's contested election

Thursday August 10, 05:22 PM
Partial recount of votes starts in Mexico's contested election



MEXICO CITY (AFP) - A partial recount of votes was under way to determine who won last month's presidential election, but leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said only a recount of all the 41.7 million votes would be fair.

"If there is a full recount and the result is against us, we'll call off the protest movement," the leftist former Mexico City mayor told his followers late Wednesday after they blocked three foreign banks and disrupted traffic in the city center.

"You can't get a more generous offer than that, and yet they won't accept it," Lopez Obrador said.

Mexico's electoral tribunal on Saturday rejected Lopez Obrador's recount petition, instead ruling for the partial recount at polling stations where it believed there were possible irregularities.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/060810/19/103in.html

[EFerrari]

22. Opinion: Turns out Sir Charles won't be able to run after all (AL)

Turns out Sir Charles won't be able to run after all

(Updated: Wednesday, August 9, 2006 2:16 PM CDT)
Bob Ingram, Alabama Scene

MONTGOMERY - There is something eyebrow-raising about the controversy over naming Gov. Bob Riley as the special master (overseer) of an effort to develop a statewide computerized voter registration database.

The responsibility for establishing the voter database was initially given to Secretary of State Nancy Worley, but for whatever reason she missed the deadline. The federal courts then stepped in and gave Gov. Riley the authority to do the job. That is when some of the Democratic leadership began to howl in protest -- State Democratic Chairman Joe Turnham, and Joe Reed, long time spokesman for black Democrats.

Both filed motions in court claiming that Riley should not have the responsibility for this project because he is a Republican running for reelection in November. Ironically, there was no protest from them when Worley had the assignment, and she is a Democrat running for reelection in November.

But somewhere in all this noise, there is an uneasy feeling that there is more to this controversy than meets the eye. There's an uneasy feeling that there are some people who don't want the state to have a computerized voter data base. I hope I am wrong.

It is one of those stories that you wish did not have to be mentioned.

http://www.hartselleenquirer.com/articles/2006/08/10/opinion/oped3.txt

:wow:

[Peace Patriot]

23. MEXICO: "Mexico Protests Target Tribunal"--"a democracy of lies!"

BBC: Tuesday, 8 August 2006: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5254922.stm

"Mexico protests target tribunal

"Thousands of supporters of defeated Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have rallied at the country's top electoral court.

"The protesters carried banners and blocked a road, demanding a recount of all votes in the disputed 2 July poll.

"The left-wing candidate rejected the tribunal's decision to recount only 9% of votes. 'The Mexican people do not want only part of the truth,' he said.

"His supporters' sit-ins have paralysed the capital for the last week.

"Official election results gave victory to the conservative Felipe Calderon by half a percentage point.

"'Our institutions cannot remain subject to the power of money, to those who think they own Mexico,' Mr Lopez Obrador told protesters gathered in the rain.

"'If we permit it we will be accepting a simulated democracy, a democracy of lies.'

(snip)

The crowds shouted about "revolution"

"'What is going to happen if they ratify this imposition?' Mr Lopez Obrador asked the crowd.

"'Revolution!' his supporters shouted raising their fists aloft - although he has repeatedly urged them to remain peaceful.


-----------------------------------


"'Our institutions cannot remain subject to the power of money, to those who think they own Mexico. If we permit it we will be accepting a simulated democracy, a democracy of lies." --Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

[Kurovski]

24. Kick to the top.

Thank you, dear and glorious sfexpat2000!

[EFerrari]

25. LOL!

:spray:

[Kurovski]

26. I forgot...

magnificent!:D

[Kurovski]

27. And...

a veritable goddess of verity, charm and goodwill.

How do ya' like them apples? :D

[EFerrari]

28. I think we need to call in a welfare check.

lol

[Kurovski]

29. My keepers are in the garden as I type...

And it is now the cocktail hour.

I failed to mention...a heavenly apparition of divine humor.

[EFerrari]

30. All RIGHT! THAT'S IT!

:loveya: for helping me laugh today

[Kurovski]

33. Well you know...

I've always said "DU keeps me sane." :silly: :loveya:

[IndyOp]

31. IN: Parties spar over voter registrations

Parties spar over voter registrations
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/LOCAL/60810032

By Richard D. Walton

Marion County Democrats today charged the GOP with canceling the voter registrations of qualified voters.

Republicans responded by saying that recently discovered errors resulting in wrongful cancelations can be corrected, and show that the system works.
At issue before the Marion County Election Board was the eventual purging of more than 4,000 registrations of people registered in more than one place. Postcards were sent to those individuals, with 18 complaining to one or both parties that they were mistakenly earmarked for purging.

Chairman Ed Treacy of the Marion County Democratic Party asserted that the 18 were disenfranchised and that there could be many more lawful registrations purged by a flawed system.

[freedomfries]

32. IN WISHTV: Mistakes Being Found in Purged Voter Rolls

Mistakes Being Found in Purged Voter Rolls
Aug 10, 2006 06:38 PM EDT

By Rick Dawson


To clean up the voter rolls, some central Indiana counties have cancelled more than three out of every four potential duplicate registrations. Marion County officials cancelled just 12 percent, but already they're finding mistakes.

On the day the Marion County Election Board watched a test of new voting machines for the disabled, the recent attempt to cancel duplicate voter registrations is facing a test of its own. Terri Todd is one of 18 voters so far, 10 Republicans and eight Democrats, who've called in the mistake.
"I got a card that said I'd been dropped by the voting rolls because I was double registered. That was not the case," said Terri Todd.

"I think we have to now question what happened to those 4,000 people that we have decided to go ahead and purge. When we take a look after two days, we've had 18 people call in, who just say ‘I'm still there'," said Ed Treacy, County Democratic Chairman.

Human data entry error is sometimes causing the wrong duplicate to be cancelled. Republicans say, for now, the number of mistakes is low.

"This was 99.6 percent accurate. 99.6, which I think is as close to 100 percent accurate as humanly possible," said Kyle Walker from voter registration.

The board ordered both party leaders in the voter registration office to once again scrutinize the 4,000 duplicates cancelled so far and to reinstate people who call in.


http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5266974&nav=0Ra7