Gonzogate Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday, 5/15/07

[Melissa G]

Sorry to get this out so late. I have a sick kid and everytime i try to get on DU, it's down! Help is welcome!




Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday, 5/15/07


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 Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

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).

[Melissa G]

1. Resign Mr. Atty Gen.: Gonzales Pressed Ailing Ashcroft on Spy Plan, Aide Says

Thanks to spanone for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x890719


Original message
Resign Mr. Atty Gen.: Gonzales Pressed Ailing Ashcroft on Spy Plan, Aide Says
Edited on Tue May-15-07 02:20 PM by spanone
This man has OUR Judicial System in his hands....What a scumbag.

WASHINGTON, May 15 — On the night of March 10, 2004, a high-ranking Justice Department official rushed to a Washington hospital to prevent two White House aides from taking advantage of the critically ill Attorney General, John Ashcroft, the official testified today.

One of those aides was Alberto R. Gonzales, who succeeded Mr. Ashcroft as Attorney General.

“I was very upset,” said James B. Comey, who was deputy Attorney General at the time, in his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I was angry. I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me.”

“I was very upset,” said James B. Comey, who was deputy Attorney General at the time, in his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I was angry. I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me.”

Mr. Comey’s account offered a rare and titillating glimpse of a Washington power struggle, complete with a late-night showdown in the White House after a dramatic encounter in a darkened hospital room — in short, elements of a potboiler paperback novel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/washington/15cnd-attorneys.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[Melissa G]

2. Hand-Counted Paper Ballots: Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks to kster for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x472555

Free & Fair Elections
ELECTION FRAUD NEWS

First published in OpEdNews



Glossary
What are some useful terms to know?

HCPB fundamentals
What are HCPB?
What are the essential elements of HCPB?
What are the benefits of HCPB?
Why choose HCPB against the recommendation of so many computer experts?
Aren't HCPB simply a nostalgic throwback to some idyllic "good old days"?
Aren't HCPB systems obsolete?
Aren't HCPB advocates merely afraid of electronic voting machines?
What are the details of the HCPB process?
What are the possible problems unique to HCPB?
How trustworthy are HCPB systems?
How accessible are HCPB systems? Are they HAVA compliant?
How practical are HCPB?
How can I help get HCPB adopted in my locale?

http://electionfraudnews.com/Articles/HCPB.Now.htm

[Melissa G]

3. Dems Press Gonzales on Missouri USA

Dems Press Gonzales on Missouri USA
By Paul Kiel - May 15, 2007, 2:58 PM
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), along with subcommittee chair Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) wrote Alberto Gonzales today to press for details about the firing of U.S. Attorney for Kansas City Todd Graves and the subsequent hiring of Bradley Schlozman. They also took some time to point out that Gonzales' answers about Graves and Schlozman last week didn't hold up to scrutiny.

Gonzales testified, for example, that Gonzales had not mentioned Graves' firing before because his firing had been outside of the "process" -- that's despite the fact, the lawmakers, point out, that Graves was fired in exactly the same manner as the other eight U.S. attorneys (with a phone call from Justice Department official Michael Battle who assured the U.S. attorney that there was no particular reason he/she was being asked to step aside) only weeks after Graves' name appeared on Kyle Sampson's list of prosecutors to be fired.

And Gonzales was simply wrong, they write, when he argued that the Justice Department's lawsuit to purge Missouri's voter rolls, pushed by voter-fraud hawk Bradley Schlozman, was defeated mainly on jurisdictional grounds. On the contrary, they write, quoting portions of the judge's opinion against the Justice Deparment, the judge found that the suit was fundamentally flawed -- pointing out, for instance, that the Department had failed to show that any actual voter fraud had occurred as a result of ineligible voters being on the rolls.

Full text of the letter is below the fold.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003223.php

[Melissa G]

4. U.S. Attorneys Office: Calls Were Possible "Voter-Suppression Tactic"

U.S. Attorneys Office: Calls Were Possible "Voter-Suppression Tactic"
By Paul Kiel - May 14, 2007, 3:04 PM
Concerning The Philadelphia Inquirer's story about a "voter alert!" going out to New Jersey voters in a local election, the following statement was just released by Michael Drewniak, Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey:

A story published in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer which said the U.S. Attorney's Office flooded Camden with taped phone messages warning against buying votes in that city's recent election was false. Neither the U.S. Attorney's Office or the Voting Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice had any role in the phone-message blitz.
As U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie noted, the U.S. Attorney's Office would never engage in such a practice, which clearly could have been used as a voter-suppression tactic. The U.S. Attorney's Office was not contacted to authenticate the matter or comment for the story, which implied the office sanctioned or was the source of the recorded phone-message blitz.


The Inquirer's story contained a transcript of the call, which cleverly gave the impression of coming from the U.S. attorney's office, while not actually saying that it was:

"Voters alert!" said the taped message. "Please note that it is a federal crime to be paid for a vote. I repeat, it is a crime. If you or your neighbor have been offered payment, please report it immediately to the U.S. Attorney's Office at 856-757-5026."
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003212.php

[Melissa G]

5. Federal prosecutor says Inquirer story is false

http://www.politicsnj.com/

Federal prosecutor says Inquirer story is false
By Editor - May 14, 2007 - 2:54pm
Tags: Dwight Ott, Christopher Christie,
The U.S. Attorney's office says that a Philadelphia Inquirer story that federal prosecutors "flooded Camden phone lines the day of the May 8 councilmanic race with warnings that taking money for votes was a federal crime" is false.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie says his office would never engage in such a practice, which clearly could have been used as a voter-suppression tactic.

The U.S. Attorney's Office was not contacted to authenticate the matter or comment for the story, which implied the office sanctioned or was the source of the recorded phone-message blitz, Christie says.


According to the Inquirer report, automated phone calls were made with this recorded message: "Voters alert! Please note that it is a federal crime to be paid for a vote. I repeat, it is a crime. If you or your neighbor have been offered payment, please report it immediately to the U.S. Attorney's Office at 856-757-5026."

http://www.politicsnj.com/federal-prosecutor-says-inquirer-story-false-8398

[Melissa G]

6. E-Voting Machine Problems Highlighted on Heroes Episode

E-Voting Machine Problems Highlighted on Heroes Episode
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/05/evoting_machine.html

Last night's episode of Heroes played right to geeks who care about the shoddy security on e-voting machines. Micah, a character whose talent allows him to manipulate technology, is forced by the bad guys to rig an election run via touchscreen voting machines. The best part? When his captor says, "OK, we'll have to do this in every precinct around New York," and Micah replies, "No we won't -- all the machines are networked." He can rig the entire election from one machine because the security is so sloppy that New York has all its voting machines on a network together.

For e-voting activists who lobby for safe, secure e-voting technologies, this fantasy scenario is all too real. Many states and counties have e-voting machines that a technologically-savvy hacker could easily rig, and most of these machines are networked in some way or another. As 2008 nears, I hope the Heroes scenario reminds citizens that their votes are not safe -- unless they lobby their local officials to buy secure voting machines or get the current voting machines they're using audited by security researchers who aren't being paid by the companies who make the machines in the first place.

Read more about e-voting issues
http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/
http://www.bravenewballot.org/

[Melissa G]

7. NEW VOTING MACHINES: Budget decision is 'optical scan'

May 14, 2007
NEW VOTING MACHINES: Budget decision is 'optical scan'


By Jenny Cox


Both the ballot and the booths used in this week’s budget referendum will look very different to those accustomed to Ridgefield’s old voting machines.

The new paper ballot will be read by an “optical scan” machine, Republican Registrar of Voters Hope Wise said. The ballot looks similar to a lottery ticket form or an SAT form, she said.

“And there is still a place for write-ins,” she added.
With the "optical scan" ballot being used in Tuesday's budget referendum voters will color in either 'Yes' or 'No' for each question.


Ridgefielders will line up to vote in “privacy booths,” which will be equipped with pens to mark each voter’s choices on the ballot by coloring in an oval next to the yes or no question.

Each privacy booth will also have a magnifying glass for those who might need it.

There will be approximately 20 privacy booths at each polling station, Ms. Wise said.

http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/17861.shtml

[Melissa G]

8. County reports few problems at polls; paper ballots used for time at Foxdale

County reports few problems at polls; paper ballots used for time at Foxdale
By Pete Bosak

BELLEFONTE — County officials say voting is going well even though a computer glitch kept voting machines silent for nearly two hours in one Centre County precinct and human error caused several other polling places to open about 15 minutes late.

“Considering this is the second full run, I think things went great,” said Centre County Commissioners Chairman Chris Exarchos of the county’s computerized voting machines.

The polls at Foxdale had to be done with emergency paper ballots until about 9 a.m., when technicians were able to correct a computer glitch that rendered every voting machine there useless, said Centre County Elections Director Joyce McKinley.

While the machines were down, 35 to 40 paper ballots were cast, she said.

http://www.centredaily.com/126/story/96834.html

[Melissa G]

9. Computer foul-up mires CMU student elections

Computer foul-up mires CMU student elections
Saturday, May 12, 2007

By Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The good news about Carnegie Mellon University's student government election this year is that voter turnout was up.

The bad news is that how those people voted may never be known.

All 1,933 ballots were rendered irretrievable by a computer foul-up that -- depending on you viewpoint -- illustrates the perils of electronic balloting or simply shows that technology can bedevil people, even on one of the nation's most tech-savy college campuses.
snip


"The electronic voting results are inaccessible due to suspected malicious behavior that involved tampering with the electronic key used to encrypt and decrypt the results," wrote Meg Richards, chair of the student government elections board, in the May 3 e-mail directed to the campus community.
snip

She said the votes are not lost but remain in a place where they cannot be retrieved, either. "It's so secure, we can't even open it," she said.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07132/785504-96.stm

[Melissa G]

10. Problems at the PollsIssues Preventing Some from Casting Their Vote

6 Action News

Problems at the PollsIssues Preventing Some from Casting Their Vote
By Nydia Han
PHILADELPHIA - May 15, 2007 - We have received a few reports of voting problems at polling locations. Action news and the League of Women Voters have teamed up to help you.

The volunteers here have received hundreds of calls throughout the day. Many people are asking whether they need to go to the polls if they are not registered Democrats. And the answer is yes. There are some contested Republican races and any registered citizen can vote on the ballot questions - Although earlier today some people had trouble voting at all.

Alicia Shubert/Mantua tells us, "The voting machines aren't working. I've been waiting all week, all month, all year - just to get my opinion said and I haven't been able to do so. And I'm very upset with this."

The problem at the polling place in Mantua? Both available voting machines were broken.

Election Judge Veronica Outlaw-Drummond said, "We have turned away maybe 15 or 20 people already." And that was at around 9 a.m.!

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=politics&id=5305908

[Melissa G]

11. Gonzales: Deputy Was Pointman on Firings

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/05/15/ap/headlines/d8p51o182.txt

Gonzales: Deputy Was Pointman on Firings
By LARA JAKES JORDAN

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006 file photo. McNulty said Monday he will resign, the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, FILE)
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday he relied on his resigning deputy more than any other aide to decide which U.S. attorneys should be fired last year.

His comments came a less than a day after Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty announced he would resign at the end of the summer _ a decision that people familiar with the plans said was hastened by the controversy over the purge of eight prosecutors.

"You have to remember, at the end of the day, the recommendations reflected the views of the deputy attorney general. He signed off on the names," Gonzales told reporters at a National Press Club forum in Washington. "And he would know better than anyone else, anyone in this room, anyone _ again, the deputy attorney general would know best about the qualifications and the experiences of the United States attorneys community, and he signed off on the names."

McNulty, reached in San Antonio after Gonzales' remarks, declined to comment.

McNulty has acknowledged approving the list of prosecutors who were ordered to leave last October, a few weeks before the firings were made official. But documents released by the Justice Department show he was not closely involved in picking all the U.S. attorneys who were put on the list _ a job mostly driven by two Gonzales staffers with little prosecutorial experience.

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/05/15/ap/headlines/d8p51o182.txt

[Melissa G]

12. Lawmakers want more information on departure of Graves

Lawmakers want more information on departure of Graves

By SAM HANANEL, AP
Skeptical House lawmakers on Tuesday asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to release more information about why Kansas City, Mo., federal prosecutor Todd Graves was forced out of his post.

Top members of the House Judiciary Committee asked Gonzales in a letter to conduct a new search for all documents related to "the termination" of Graves and his replacement by Bradley Schlozman.

Lawmakers also want to know if Graves' departure was related to his dispute with Schlozman - then interim head of the Justice Department's civil rights division - over a voter fraud case in Missouri.

Graves revealed for the first time last week that a senior Justice Department official asked him to leave the post in January 2006. He resigned in March 2006.

http://www.examiner.com/a-729801~Lawmakers_want_more_information_on_departure_of_Graves.html

[Melissa G]

13. Diebold whistleblower Steve Heller wants to share his story.

Electronic voting system whistleblower to talk
Nicole C. Brambila
The Desert Sun
May 14, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diebold whistleblower Steve Heller wants to share his story.

He’ll do so at the monthly Democracy for America meeting in Murrieta on Wednesday.

In 2004, Heller was an out-of-work actor working as a temp for Jones Day, a Los Angeles law firm, when he came across documents that showed Diebold Election Systems violated state election law by selling unapproved software. Heller leaked the documents to the California Secretary of State and the media.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley decertified Diebold’s machines. A subsequent Secretary of State reinstated Diebold.

Titled, “An evening with an American Patriot,” Heller will talk about his experience and take questions following an Instant Runoff Voting demostration at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary Phillips Sr. Center at 41845 6th St. in Murrieta.

For more information phone Maxine Ewig at 951-694-6582
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070514/UPDATE/70514032

[Melissa G]

14. Convicts deliver voting booths

Convicts deliver voting booths
Officials said it's a practice that has gone on for more than a decade with no problems.
By TERESA ANN BOECKEL
Daily Record/Sunday News
Article Launched: 05/15/2007 06:13:55 AM EDT


Click photo to enlargeTerry Grothe, left, a York County Parks employee from Chanceford Township... (Paul Kuehnel - YDR)«1»At bottom: · VOTE TODAY
May 15, 2007 — Susan MacKenzie was surprised to hear Monday that outmates from York County Prison are sometimes used to help deliver voting machines to polling places.
"We had no idea," the administrative assistant for the Bridgeway Community Church in York Township said. "I'm a little concerned about that. I take deliveries when I'm by myself."

County officials say they have been using minimum-security prisoners for years to help deliver the machines - especially the old, heavy green lever ones used in the past - and they're supervised by a full-time, county employee.

"They've done it for years and years," elections director John Scott said. "There's never been a problem."

http://www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_5899943

[Melissa G]

15. Elections chief opposes new bill

Elections chief opposes new bill
BY GARY FINEOUT
[e-mail]

TALLAHASSEE -- In a sharply worded letter to Gov. Charlie Crist, the head of the Florida Elections Commission says a bill now sitting on Crist's desk would make it impossible for the state to punish people who break state elections laws.

Chance Irvine, a former GOP legislator from Orange Park and the outgoing chairwoman of the commission, called on Crist to veto a comprehensive elections bill that moves Florida's presidential primary to Jan. 29 and includes nearly $28 million to replace touch-screen voting machines with paper ballots.

Irvine, who was appointed to her post by former Gov. Jeb Bush, is upset with a provision slipped into the bill by the Florida Senate that would sharply limit the number of investigations that could be undertaken by the Elections Commission. She called the measure ''regressive'' and said it would undermine ''open and honest elections'' in Florida.

snip
Rep. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat, said Democrats were opposed to the change, but were warned by Republicans that the bill would die if they pushed any last-minute amendments. Gelber predicted that state attorneys will wind up being asked to pursue election law cases because of the new measure.

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/106754.html

[Melissa G]

16. KO--U.S. Attorney's Scandal

Thanks to Monkeyman for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x28876

Original message
KO--U.S. Attorney's Scandal
Run time: 04:06
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As_1H-5fnYI

Posted on YouTube: May 15, 2007
By YouTube Member: heathr234
Views on YouTube: 417

[Melissa G]

17. Deputy Attorney General to Resign Post

Deputy Attorney General to Resign Post
May 15, 2007 - 7:55am

By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said Monday he will resign, becoming the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys.

McNulty, who has served 18 months as the Justice Department's second-in-command, announced his plans at a closed-door meeting of U.S. attorneys in San Antonio. He told them he would remain at the department until late summer.

"I thought this made a lot of sense," McNulty told The Associated Press in a phone interview after talking to the prosecutors. "The U.S. attorneys have been very supportive. I've got a good relationship with them, and they were very kind, and I appreciate that."

He also sent a one-page letter of resignation to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose own job has been put in jeopardy by the firings and their aftermath, noting "financial realities of college-age children" as one factor in his decision. The letter did not mention the firings controversy.

Neither did Gonzales, in a responding statement that praised McNulty as "a dynamic and thoughtful
leader."
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=116&sid=1140579

[Melissa G]

18. Specter: DoJ can’t function with Gonzales at the helm

Thanks to maddezmom for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2846333

Original message
Specter: DoJ can’t function with Gonzales at the helm
Edited on Tue May-15-07 12:09 PM by maddezmom
Source: The Hill

Specter: DoJ can’t function with Gonzales at the helm
By Jeremy Jacobs
May 15, 2007
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) leveled harsh words at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the White House Tuesday, saying it is “embarrassing for a professional to work for the Department of Justice today.”

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the 2006 firings of several U.S. attorneys, Specter told former Deputy Attorney General James Comey that he believes Paul McNulty, who stepped down from the deputy attorney general post Monday, found it difficult to serve under Gonzales.


“I think he found it difficult — really impossible — to continue to serve in the Department of Justice as a professional, which Paul McNulty was,” said Specter, the panel’s ranking member.

Specter also lambasted the testimony that Gonzales provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 19 as “hard to understand.”


http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-doj-cant-function-with-gonzales-at-the-helm-2007-05-15.html

[Melissa G]

19. Gonzo toon

Thanks to n2doc, more great toons here ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x887819

[Melissa G]

20. Gonzales misses deadline to submit Rove emails.

Thanks to cal04 for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x891991

Original message
Gonzales misses deadline to submit Rove emails.
Edited on Tue May-15-07 03:36 PM by cal04
Earlier this month, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) subpoenaed Alberto Gonzales to turn over all e-mails to or from Karl Rove in connection U.S. attorney scandal. The committee gave the attorney general until 2 PM today to comply. That deadline has passed.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/15/gonzles-misses-deadline-to-submit-rove-emails


Leahy subpoenas Rove emails.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) subpoenaed Alberto Gonzales today to turn over all e-mails to or from Karl Rove in connection U.S. attorney scandal. “Not accepting the White House’s explanation that some of the Rove-related e-mails may have been lost, Leahy subpoenaed any in the custody of the Justice Department.”




"It is troubling that significant documents highly relevant to the committee's inquiry have not been produced," the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, wrote in a letter to Gonzales. The subpoena gives Gonzales until May 15 to turn over the information.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/02/america/NA-GEN-US-Senate-Rove-Subpoenas.php

Today is the last day for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to turn over e-mails from White House political czar Karl Rove. Those emails are to go to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is looking into the dismissal of 8 U.S. attorneys.

Gonzales may be asked to appear before the committee if he doesn't submit the e-mails.
http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/dd7b5a56-c0a8-2f11-0160-892d5f947562/8fd490bd-c0a8-2f11-000c-0ce3b56792f9

[Melissa G]

21. Harvard law classmates call for Gonzo resignation!

[tblue]

22. Happy to give you the 5th K&R vote! This is so important!. Thanks, Melissa G! nt

[Melissa G]

26. Thank you for the help getting the word out! n/t

[bonito]

23. K&R n/t

[bleever]

24. You got it done

with a sick kid, and a gummy DU?

A++



:yourock:

[Melissa G]

27. A gummy DU? are we talking bears or frogs, worms or cheeseburgers?

A Gummy DU candy? I wonder what that would look like?:rofl:
Kid is better now. She is a big gummy frog fan. Thanks for the help, Bleever.:loveya:

[Kurovski]

25. kick to the top.

Thanks, Melissa G!