Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, FRI. Sep. 9/15' 06 Ney Guilty Plea

[rumpel]

BREAKING: Ney said to agree to guilty plea
By PHILIP SHENON, New York Times News Service

WASHINGTON – Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to his dealings with the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff, lawyers and others with knowledge of the investigation said Thursday.

A guilty plea would make Ney, a six-term congressman, the first member of Congress to confess to criminal charges in the Abramoff investigation, which has focused on the actions of several current and former Republican lawmakers who had been close to the former lobbyist.

People with detailed knowledge of the investigation said Ney had entered an in-patient facility in recent days for treatment of alcoholism, making it uncertain whether he would appear at a court hearing to announce the plea. Lawyers and others would speak only anonymously because of concern they would anger prosecutors.

They said the agreement with the Justice Department – and the exact criminal charges, which are expected to include conspiracy and false statement – would be disclosed in Washington as soon as Friday and would probably require Ney to serve at least some time in prison.

With both Ney and former Republican Majority Leader, Tom DeLay (R-TX) now facing indictments, that means there is only one remaining congress member who went on Jack Abramoff's golf junkets to St. Andrews, Scotland who has yet to be served with criminal charges: Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)

Feeney is currently facing a challenge for his seat by Clint Curtis, the man who has sworn in affidavit, video-taped congressional testimony and polygraph test that Feeney asked him to create vote-rigging software when they both worked at the same computer firm in Florida in 2000 (where Feeney was general counsel and registered lobbyist, even while he was also serving as Speaker of the Florida House).

via BradBlog
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3476

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[rumpel]

1. A must read for All DU'ers: Avi Rubin - Election Judge at the polls

Avi Rubin's blog: My day at the polls - Maryland primary '06

thanks to freedomfries

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x449399

[Kurovski]

2. K&R.

I've been wondering why that story continues to languish.

Thanks for making it your lead, and thanks for today's ERD!

[rumpel]

3. TN: Court Order lifted so voter registration forms are now being processed

Posted by NewsChannel 3 Watchdog Mike Matthews

MEMPHIS, TN --This past year has been one for the books as far as elections commissioner Greg Duckett has been concerned. The Ophelia Ford/Terry Roland state senate problems...people arrested for voter fraud...buying thousands of new touch screen machines...and now this. Four unsuccessful Shelby County candidates say there were all sorts of problems, and they want a new election.

Shep Wilbun, who was running for juvenile court clerk in Shelby County says all he's looking for is an honest, fair election. And he doesn't think he's received a fair shot. "We have been led to believe," he says, "that a number of folks voted in this election who didn't live in Shelby County. There were some people who allegedly voted twice. And then there were other circumstances where the machines themselves and the totals on the machines were not quite as they should have been."

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=5410320

[rumpel]

4. CA: Berkeley Director Determined to Bring Light to Voting Rights Once

Screening at a Time

East Bay -Indy

by GNN Production ( americanblackout gmail.com )
Thursday Sep 14th, 2006 11:28 AM

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and hailed as "powerful" and "engrossing," director Ian Inaba's searing documentary feature American Blackout will open September 15 for engagements in San Francisco at the Landmark Opera Plaza Cinemas and in Larkspur at The Lark Theater.
Sundance Film Fest Award-winning documentary 'AMERICAN BLACKOUT' Opening in San Francisco & Larkspur Gregory W. Neil p. 212.691.2800 [e-mail] Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and hailed as "powerful" and "engrossing," director Ian Inaba's searing documentary feature American Blackout will open September 15 for engagements in San Francisco at the Landmark Opera Plaza Cinemas and in Larkspur at The Lark Theater. The release is part of a nationwide theatrical roll-out and grassroots DVD effort first launched in Atlanta to coincide with the recent primary runoff for Cynthia McKinney's congressional seat. Recently featured in the New York Times, American Blackout is a multi-year effort that chronicles the recurring patterns of minority disenfranchisement witnessed in the 2000 and 2004 elections. It follows the story of recently defeated Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles but also found herself in the middle of her own after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9/11 terrorist attacks and again following her alleged altercation with Capitol Hill Police earlier this year. Some call McKinney a civil rights leader among the ranks of Shirley Chisholm and Malcolm X. Others call her a conspiracy theorist and a 'looney.' American Blackout gains unprecedented access to one of the most controversial and dangerous politicians in America and examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence political dissent. The Hollywood Reporter says, "One of the beauties of American Blackout is that even if viewers don't share her politics, what was done to McKinney in an effort to unseat her, is so mean spirited and unfair, it would be difficult not to be moved by her against-all-odds return to Congress." Ironic, as it has just happened again. This film is a perfect hook for a feature taking a look at these formidable voting issues as we approach the 2006 midterm elections in November and with the recent debate in Congress over the renewal of the Voting Rights Act.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/09/14/18311555.php

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5. D.C. Residents Push For Congressional Voting Rights

NBC 4

Lawmakers Attend Hearing On Capitol Hill

POSTED: 7:31 pm EDT September 14, 2006
UPDATED: 7:45 pm EDT September 14, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The long-running, controversial issue of granting congressional voting rights to District citizens was the focus of a new hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
Supporters said the city should at least have a vote in the House because D.C. citizens pay federal taxes and send their children to war.
Voting rights advocates have demonstrated for decades to gain congressional voting rights, but have always fallen short.

http://www.nbc4.com/politics/9852839/detail.html

[rumpel]

6. Jonah Goldberg: A Victory for Election Protection in Maryland

OpEd News

September 14, 2006 at 17:02:16

On Tuesday, as Americans in nine states and the District of Columbia voted in primary elections, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, together with our Election Protection partners, guaranteed that thousands of otherwise disfranchised Marylanders had the opportunity to cast a ballot. Late Tuesday afternoon, Judge Holland of the Baltimore City Circuit Court ordered polls to remain open throughout Baltimore for an extra hour because of polls not opening on time, voting machine problems, absent poll workers, and long lines. I was honored to represent the Baltimore Branch of the NAACP and multiple individuals who called the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline throughout the day. In all communities in Maryland and across the country, we again saw an unresponsive election system plagued with irregularities. Thanks to the year-round commitment of the Lawyers' Committee's National Campaign for Fair Elections, voters have a powerful ally in the fight to right this undemocratic wrong.


The National Campaign for Fair Elections, a dynamic, integrated initiative of the Lawyers' Committee's Voting Rights Project, is proud to launch an exciting new tool to continue that tradition: www.nationalcampaignforfairelections.org - a clearinghouse for Election Protection and election reform information and advocacy.


The National Campaign for Fair Elections (NCFFE) incorporates litigation, policy development, legislative advocacy, and Election Protection to comprehensively address the needs of American voters throughout the election process. The Campaign's goal is to foster a sustainable election reform movement that promotes progressive changes to the electoral process, improving the voting process at the local, state, and national level. NCFFE's central premise is that to fix the crumbling infrastructure of American elections, we cannot wait until Election Day.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_jonah_go_060914_a_victory_for_electi.htm

Jonah Goldberg (huh?)

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7. WA: County tops state in trouble with ballot

Herald net

Published: Wednesday, September 13, 2006

By Jeff Switzer and Jerry Cornfield
Herald Writers

Snohomish County is leading the state in the number of votes expected to be tossed out because voters are failing to choose a party affiliation.

"You're pretty high in Snohomish County and I don't understand why," Secretary of State Sam Reed said Tuesday.

One in five of Snohomish County's partisan ballots won't be counted, based on a sample taken this week. If the trend holds up, thousands of votes could be nullified.

Ballots checked in King, Pierce, Kitsap and other counties show a similar problem, but error rates in those counties are lower.

Reed requested the samples to see how voters were filling out the pick-a-party primary ballots. He's been seeing problems since 2004.

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/09/13/100loc_a1ballot001.cfm

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8. MI: Judge correct on ballot proposal Secretary of State Office goes mobile

WZZM13 News Coverage
John Bumgardner

Created: 9/14/2006 6:12:15 PM
Updated: 9/14/2006 10:59:14 PM

Allendale - The Michigan Secretary of State Office is on the road signing up college students to vote.

The mobile office was at Grand Valley State University this Thursday.

It was the 4th stop in a 13 stop tour of Michigan campuses.

The office manager says it needs to increase the number of young people who go into the voting booths this November.

Office Manager David Dodds, says "Demographically, University students have the lowest voter turnout among any age group in the U.S., so we're trying to push the registration so we can increase the numbers and give them the opportunity to express their opinions by electing the officials they'd like to see in office."

They hoped to register from 150 to 200 students.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=61370

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9. CS Monitor: Electronic voting's moment of truth

from the September 15, 2006 edition

The Monitor's View
This November, many Americans will encounter electronic voting for the first time. Will it go smoothly? The primaries have shown that problems with the new voting process are likely. So election officials must be prepared, and have a backup plan.
With 9,500 voting jurisdictions in the country, and about half a dozen vendors supplying electronic voting machines, it's not possible to know how widespread problems will be.

But in a politically divided country, with control of both the US House and Senate at stake and many races tight, it's certain that the mechanics of voting itself will receive intense scrutiny.

Elections around the country this year illustrate a wide variety of problems:

• In the Maryland primary this week, officials forgot to include electronic voter cards needed to activate machines in Montgomery County - a suburb of Washington. Voting was delayed, and many voters gave up. Backup provisional paper ballots were in short supply, and in some cases, voters wrote down choices on scrap paper.

• In Iowa, a local election looked to be running smoothly until it was noticed that a college student was leading against an experienced politician. The problem was a ballot-counting malfunction with the new technology.

• In the Michigan primary in August, election officials counted over 100 problems with electronic voting in Oakland County. These problems ranged from machine jamming to rejected test ballots. One election official complained about late delivery of equipment from a vendor so busy that the programming wasn't done properly.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0915/p08s02-comv.html

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10. ZDNet: Where democracy goes to Diebold

Posted by Mitch Ratcliffe @ 2:59 pm

Avi Rubin, the political scientist who has documented many problems with Diebold polling equipment, presents his report on a day at the polls during the Maryland primary. You should read the whole thing, but I am going to excerpt extensively because of how critical the performance of Diebold equipment is to our democracy. This information must be widely discussed.

There were many problems with Dielbold equipment at the polling place where Rubin spent the day as one of 16 election judges. Software errors, despite a story by The Washington Post that emphasizes human errors in the process that, as David Isenberg rightly criticizes, urge readers to miss the real problems with the Diebold systems. Most troubling to me, the errors are so pervasive that there is no systematic approach to trying to monitor for incorrectly counted votes.

One breed of technical error would allow people to vote twice, according to Rubin:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe/index.php?p=176

[rumpel]

11. RI: Voters Report Problems With Special Machines For Blind

Board Of Elections Promises Better Training For Poll Workers

By R.J. Heim, News Channel 10
POSTED: 5:29 pm EDT September 14, 2006
UPDATED: 5:45 pm EDT September 14, 2006

NBC 10 News received a number of complaints from visually impaired voters who said they had a tough time voting in Tuesday's primary.
The Federal Help America Vote Act was made law because of the voting problems in the 2000 general election. One of the provisions called for machines designed to make it easier for some seniors, the disabled, and those who are blind or legally blind to vote.
The new machines, which were used for the first time and paid for with federal money, are the AutoMARK brand. Once up and running, they worked fine. But to save money on the ink cartridges, the Rhode Island Board of Elections told its workers not to turn on the machines until someone requested to use them.

But in Tuesday's primary election, some needing to use the machines had problems.
"The poll workers in my poll, which is the Riverside Junior High School, said that all they were told to do is plug it in and the machine would take care of itself and it would run. They didn't know anything about putting a cartridge in or anything like that," said Richard Gaffney, of the Rhode Island chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.

http://www.turnto10.com/politics/9851859/detail.html

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12. AZ: Voting system has a 'paper trail'

AZ Central

Sept. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
In my 24 years of public service, I cannot recall a more misinformed point of view than was expressed by Jana Bommersbach in last Sunday's Viewpoints (Plugged In, "Paperless ballot").

To begin with, each and every voting machine in Arizona does, in fact, have a "paper trail." Unlike other states, I pushed through legislation that requires all Arizona voting systems to "provide a paper document or ballot that visually indicates the voter's selections."

Thus, voters should have confidence in Arizona's voting devices because they all generate a voter-verifiable paper ballot or record of the voter's selections.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0915frilets152.html

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13. NJ: Felten alleges e-vote flaw

Daily Princetonian

By Viola Huang
Princetonian Senior Writer

Five years ago, computer science professor Ed Felten challenged the music industry by cracking the codes designed to stop music from being copied. Two years ago, he wrote software to show that peer-to-peer networks couldn't be regulated. Now he's broken into another type of supposedly secure data: election results.

On Wednesday, Felten, along with computer science graduate students Alex Halderman '03 and Ariel Feldman, released a paper detailing flaws in the Accuvote-TS, an e-vote machine manufactured by Diebold, Inc.

"If someone had physical access to one of the machines for less than a minute, they could install vote-stealing software or infect it with a virus that would spread to other computers," Halderman said.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/09/15/news/15791.shtml

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14. Baltimore Sun: Posturing over glitches

Ehrlich to question Democratic administrator; Democrats blame his appointees

By John Fritze and Andrew A. Green
sun reporters
Originally published September 15, 2006
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. summoned Maryland's top election official to appear before the Board of Public Works to explain the glitches that turned an untold number of voters away from the polls during Tuesday's primary election.

In a letter released by the governor's office yesterday, Ehrlich said state election administrator Linda H. Lamone must answer for an apparent lack of training of some poll workers and for problems with the state's electronic voter check-in system that caused confusion and delayed the results of some races by nearly a day.

"You repeatedly reassured the Board of Public Works that the various elections systems would operate without problems," the governor's letter said. "Contrary to your statements, the state and some local boards of elections encountered major problems in the conduct of the primary election."

The letter came as both political parties sought to redirect blame for an election that frustrated thousands of voters, especially in Baltimore and Montgomery County. Republicans fault Lamone, a Democrat, while Democrats criticize the local boards of election, which are appointed by the governor.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.voting15sep15,0,4769508.story?coll=bal-mdpolitics-headlines

[rumpel]

15. NJ: Typo topples Barraga's tally

BY RICK BRAND
Newsday Staff Writer

September 15, 2006

The discovery of a typographical error reduced Legis. Thomas Barraga's vote total by 100 as unofficial returns were tallied Tuesday in the Republican primary for Islip supervisor, a Suffolk election official said.

Expanding on earlier explanations, Robert Garfinkle, Republican elections commissioner, said the call-in sheet for town Election District 48 shows that officials at the polling place reported Barraga with the correct number, 41 votes - not the 141 that was displayed in initial returns on the county's election Web site.

He said the error occurred when the numbers were transferred from the call-in sheets to the computer.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/ny-lielect154892048sep15,0,5929443.story?coll=ny-lipolitics-headlines

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16. MD: Judge problems at heart of poll issues

Baltimore Sun

No-shows leave sites short-handed
By Eric Siegel, Julie Scharper and Sumathi Reddy
Sun reporters
Originally published September 15, 2006
Luther Taylor arrived at St. Rose of Lima Church in Brooklyn an hour before dawn on Election Day, the first of what he believed would be a team of five judges to work the South Baltimore polling place.

Nearly an hour later, and 15 minutes before the scheduled 7 a.m. poll opening, he was still the only judge there.

Election officials told Taylor that they would soon send another judge, but when no one had arrived by 8:15 a.m. he received word that he should open the polls by himself.

As he was working feverishly, one voter told him that she could take off work if he needed her help. He swore her in on the spot, and the two were the only poll workers for the rest of the day.

"It was ultimately a mega-load of stress," said Taylor, who was working his fifth election and said the first ballot was cast about 9 a.m.

Amid the frustration of Tuesday's election - including voters who were turned away at polls that opened late, technological clumsiness and candidates who had to wait until the next morning to find out results - the issues surrounding judges were at the heart of many of the day's problems.

A rash of no-shows left the short-handed polling sites struggling to keep up. Frequently lacking training on key equipment, those judges who were there had to cope with new and sometimes balky voting machines - and understaffing caused by the absence of colleagues.

As in Montgomery County, judges in Baltimore were required to work an extra hour because so many polls, like the one in Taylor's precinct, opened late.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.judges15sep15,0,6622696.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[rumpel]

17. MN: Clear sailing for voting machines

Friday, September 15, 2006 — Time: 3:00:03 PM EST

No incidents reported with new equipment during Tuesday’s primaries.

By Rae Kruger - Independent Staff Writer

New machines made a difference in this year’s primary election in Lyon County, auditor Paula VanOverbeke said.

“The (election judges) that made comments really did like the machines,” VanOverbeke said. “Nobody had any incidents to reports.”

The machines are M100 vote tabulation machines and Handicapped American Voting Act or HAVA machines designed for the disabled.

The M100 machine receives the voter’s ballot and electronically records the votes. If a voter crossed party lines on the ballot or made another error, the machine will inform the voter and the election judge. The voter then has a chance to discard that ballot and vote again.

It made the vote tabulation process faster this election, VanOverbeke said.

“Judges liked it because it ran a report at the end of the night; it tallied everything up for them,” VanOverbeke said. “They commented that they didn’t have to sit around and wait for us to run the ballots through the old central count equipment.”

http://www.marshallindependent.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=5833

[rumpel]

18. IL: Kane's voting machines get needed changes

The Beacon News online

By Steve Lord
Staff Writer

GENEVA — Kane County Clerk John Cunningham said this week recent changes to the county's new electronic voting equipment were proper and secure.

Cunningham made the statement after questions were raised about hardware changes made to the eSlate voting machines Kane County started using in the March primary election.

A woman told county officials that she had a friend who was one of the temporary workers hired by the county make repairs on the eSlates. She said only the company that makes the equipment, Hart Intercivic, was on site reviewing the changes. There were no political party representatives, nor county, state or federal election officials, she said.

Cunningham said there was no need for election officials to watch the changes, because they were basic hardware changes to the eSlate casings, and to the connectors between the machine and the paper printout machines.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/city/2_1_AU15_VOTE_S10915.htm

[rumpel]

19. MD: Officials Look Into Montgomery Co. Voting Problems

NBC 4

POSTED: 12:24 am EDT September 15, 2006
UPDATED: 12:35 am EDT September 15, 2006

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Two days after the primary absentee ballots were opened, the election is over but the controversy is not.
On Tuesday morning, voters across Montgomery County could not cast their ballots electronically. The cards required to operate voting machines were never packed, News4 reported.
Three hours later, every precinct had the cards, but many voters refused to return to the polls.

"There has to be accountability on things like this. They worked for two years to get ready for this, and then somebody forgets something even though they said it was on the checklist," said voter Alan Paro.
Because of the problems, a judge ordered that the polls stay open an extra hour, but some of the polls remained empty. For those who returned or voted before the electronic machines were fixed, their ballots remain inside a locked room, their votes still uncounted.

http://www.nbc4.com/politics/9853786/detail.html

[rumpel]

20. MI: Challenger chides secretary of state

Friday, September 15, 2006
BARRIE BARBER
THE SAGINAW NEWS
A Democrat challenging Terri Lynn Land for the secretary of state post says the Republican could have better spent $1.9 million on a mailing to millions of residents on registering voters or training poll workers.

Carmella Sabaugh, Macomb County clerk from Warren, outlined her campaign platform in a press conference Wednesday at the Saginaw Area Democratic Club, 114 N. Hamilton in Saginaw.

The mailing to 6.9 million residents was an outreach to educate voters about new equipment at the polls, particularly for those with disabilities, countered Matthew B. Golden, a Land campaign spokesman.

It also told residents where voters may find out more about elections, he said. The federal Help America Vote Act paid for the literature.

Sabaugh, 68, further chided Land for not holding voting equipment makers accountable for ballot box snafus when they occur.

http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/115832652589900.xml&coll=9

[rumpel]

21. CT: Town could be 'trailblazer' selected for new voting system

By: Jason Vallee, Special to the Newington Town Crier
09/15/2006

When town voters return to their polling places this November, they might use new technology designed to make the voting experience quicker, easier and more accurate.

Lucian Pawlak, former mayor of New Britain and representative of the secretary of state's office, told the Town Council on Tuesday evening that, based on its response and demographics, there is a good chance the town will be selected as one of 20 pilot towns to have the brand-new voting technology implemented by the state before the November elections.
"I can't say whether or not the town has officially been selected, but they are one of those invited to be present when the announcement is made in Hartford ," said Pawlak. "Newington is well positioned to be one of those selected for the program."
The program will allow towns to test the new equipment and help provide feedback that will ensure that the system will be as effective as possible before it is implemented throughout the state. By November 2007, the equipment will be installed in every municipality and will be required for all federal elections.
The new technology will include an accessible voting machine provided by IVS, LLC that will welcome those with disabilities by allowing them to vote privately and independently. In addition, it will also include an optical scanning system that can read paper ballots completed using a black or blue ball-point pen or a number two pencil.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17201073&BRD=1647&PAG=461&dept_id=11410&rfi=6

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22. Princeton researchers demonstrate Diebold virus

Security Focus

Published: 2006-09-14

Researchers at Princeton University have demonstrated major security holes in U.S. electronic voting machines made by Diebold that make vote-stealing viruses a reality.

The Diebold AccuVote-TS and TSx systems are the mostly widely deployed voting systems in the United States. The research summary and the full paper (PDF) do not mince words, clearly stating that the election machines are vulnerable to "extremely serious attacks."

The Princeton study was summarized in four main points. First, they found that malicious software, likely in the form of a virus, would be capable of "steal votes with little if any risk of attention." Second, the study concluded that anyone with physical access to a voting machine, or a memory card that would later be inserted into the machine, could easily install malicious software. Third, the Princeton researchers demonstrated a proof-of-concept virus that manipulates voting results, both on screen and in printed format, stealing votes and potentially rigging a U.S. election. They discuss how such a virus could easily be spread to numerous machines in an election riding. Finally, the paper concludes that the only feasible remedy to such major security concerns is through replacing the voting machines themselves, along with changes to electoral procedures in the U.S. - noting that software changes alone would be insufficient to patch the Diebold design flaws.

Researchers Ariel J. Feldman, Alex Halderman, and Edward W. Felten further provide a chilling, narrated video (including a high resolution version) that demonstrates how easy it is to fool voters and election officials with an infected machine. The narrator clearly explains how a criminal's malicious software "can steal votes, and it can cover its tracks so that the theft cannot be detected."

http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/302

[rumpel]

23. Discussion at: I watched the Princeton Video- diebold TS hack? what was in

my pocket?

Thanks to Foger Rox

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=449172&mesg_id=449172

[rumpel]

24. and with that

I have to now run some diagnostic tests on my computer again - it just is so absolutely annoying -

sorry guys - having computer problems. I can not properly paste or keep several windows open...

grrrrrr

:argh:

going offline...

[livvy]

25. Evening K&R

[rumpel]

26. Al:Attorney general subpoenas secretary of state's records

MONTGOMERY, Ala. Attorney General Troy King has subpoenaed state records and banking records involving Secretary of State Nancy Worley, who calls it a Republican attempt to smear her in an election year.

Chris Bence, a spokesman for King, told the New York Times Regional Newspapers, that a total of seven subpoenas have been issued to three banks and two divisions of the state Finance Department: the comptroller, who issues state checks and travel reimbursements to state officials, and the Information Services Division, which handles the e-mail service for state offices.
Worley, a Democrat, said she believes the subpoenas are an attempt by the Republican attorney general and her Republican opponent, State Auditor Beth Chapman, to hurt her politically before the November seventh general election.
Bence said subpoenas were sent to Regions, Compass and Wachovia banks.

http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5413414&nav=8fap

[rumpel]

27. CO: Secretary Of State's Attorneys Defend New Rules

CBS 4 Denver

Sep 15, 2006 12:53 pm US/Mountain

By Steven K. Paulson, AP Writer
(AP) DENVER Attorneys for GOP Secretary of State Gigi Dennis on Thursday defended her new campaign finance laws against allegations they were designed to punish Democrats, saying she had to make the changes to prevent corruption.

A Democratic-backed group is asking Denver District Judge John McMullen to bar Dennis from imposing the rules while it presses a lawsuit to overturn them. The group claims Dennis abused her authority by limiting contributions from Democratic supporters just two months before the election.

One of the new rules requires groups that collect membership dues to get permission from members to give money to political committees. The other requires donor groups to certify that none of the money came from people barred by state law from contributing to political campaigns, including foreign workers who are members of those organizations.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_258145551.html

[rumpel]

28. Colorado's E-Voting 'Expert' is no Expert, Admits 'Expert'

BradBlog

BLOGGED BY Brad ON 9/15/2006 2:06PM

Man Appointed by SoS to Certify Voting Machines for State Has No Computer Science College Education, Failed to Test Machines for Hackability or Much Else
Colorado Democratic Party Calls on Voters to Vote by Absentee Ballot, Citizens Group Calls for Investigation of SoS
It's incredible (or is it at this point?) but the lawsuit filed by several Colorado voters to ban touch-screen voting machines manufactured by Diebold, ES&S, Hart InterCivic and Sequoia in the state has revealed that the state's appointed "expert" — responsible for certifying voting systems — has no actual college training in computer science and failed to do any actual testing of the systems before certifying them!

As reported in an excellent article from Rocky Mountain News news this morning…

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3478

[rumpel]

29. CO: New Concerns Raised About Voting Computers

CBS 4 Denver

Sep 15, 2006 12:57 pm US/Mountain

(AP) DENVER Some voting computers were certified for use in Colorado after only about 15 minutes of security checks by an official with no formal training in computer science, according to a newly released deposition.

The deposition intensified criticism of the systems that will be used in next month's elections. The state Democratic Party on Thursday urged voters to use absentee ballots to avoid using the computers. Paul Hultin, an attorney seeking to bar the use of the systems, said the November election is "headed for a train wreck."

The deposition by John Gardner Jr., an employee of the secretary of state's office, came in a lawsuit seeking to bar the use of voting computers made by four manufacturers. The suit was filed by 13 residents with various political affiliations and goes to trial in Denver District Court on Wednesday.

In his deposition, made public this week, Gardner said he has not been certified as an expert and confirmed he had no formal training in computer science, computer programing or evaluating the security of data processing systems.

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_258145954.html

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30. WAPO: 2 Candidates Question Vote In Pr. George's

By Ovetta Wiggins, Eric Rich and Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 16, 2006; Page B01


Congressional candidate Donna Edwards announced plans yesterday to file a lawsuit over apparent voting irregularities in Tuesday's primary election in Prince George's County, while defeated county executive challenger Rushern L. Baker III demanded an independent investigation of the process.

The separate announcements signaled that Tuesday's voting, a flawed process by many accounts, may not conclude the close primary contests for a seat in Congress and the county executive's office. The election itself was "horrendous," the Prince George's elections administrator said yesterday. And the victorious Democratic county executive candidate, incumbent Jack B. Johnson, said it warranted investigation.

"The integrity of the election is at stake," said Edwards, who ran against Rep. Albert R. Wynn in the 4th District Democratic primary and is waiting for the race to be decided when provisional ballots are counted next week in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Jonathan S. Shurberg, a lawyer working with Edwards, said they will ask a judge to take possession of voting machine memory cards in two, possibly three, precincts in Chillum. The request will be made either in Prince George's Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro or U.S. District Court in Greenbelt over the next several days.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091500836.html

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31. Cybereye | What happened in Maryland?

GCN (Post Newsweek media)

09/15/06 -- 02:43 PM

By William Jackson, GCN Staff

If this week’s primary election in Maryland decided anything decisively, it was that you can’t solve problems by slapping on some technology. Automating a problem only produces faster, bigger mistakes.

In the Sept. 12 primaries, Maryland used the Diebold AccuVote-TS direct-recording, electronic voting machine statewide for the first time. Precincts across the state were plagued by late openings and delays when cards to operate the machines were unavailable, voting machines froze up and computers containing electronic voter lists failed. Paper ballots were often not available as a backup, and there were reports of voters scribbling their choices on scraps of paper as polls were closing.

In a congressional race in which incumbent Democrat Rep. Albert Wynn garnered around 50 percent of the vote and leads his opponent by only 3,000 votes, you have to wonder what impact these irregularities will have on the outcome.

Of course, some bugs are to be expected in a new process. But some of the worst problems occurred in counties that have been using the machines since 2002, including Montgomery County, where a judge had to step in and keep polls open an extra hour because of screw-ups.

Not all of the problems were technical. Montgomery County suffered a self-administered denial-of-service attack when election officials neglected to provide the reusable cards needed by voters to activate the voting machines. Machines containing electronic voter rolls were delivered late by Diebold in some counties, so there was little time to test them or train poll workers.

On top of all this, researchers from Princeton’s Department of Computer Science released a report the next day detailing vulnerabilities in the AccuVote-TS.

“Many computer scientists doubt that paperless DREs can be made reliable and secure, and they expect that any failures of such systems would likely go undetected,” the authors said. Their research tended to confirm this.

http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/42015-1.html