Election Reform and Related News- Saturday, March 1, 2008

[livvy]

Election Reform and Related News
Saturday, March 1, 2008



Your participation is most warmly encouraged and welcomed. Please feel free to:


:bluebox: Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

:bluebox: Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...

:bluebox: Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

:bluebox: Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.

Recommendations for the Greatest Page are always welcomed. It's the link below.

[livvy]

1. States n/t

[livvy]

2. Ohio's Cost To Switch Voting Method Soars

$64 million price tag
Ohio's cost to switch voting method soars
Saturday, March 1, 2008 3:13 AM
By Mark Niquette

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

After predicting a record voter turnout in Tuesday's Ohio primary, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner dropped another big number yesterday: The estimated cost of replacing state voting equipment this fall has more than doubled, to $64 million.

That's the new projected price tag for replacing Ohio's touch-screen voting machines with optically scanned paper ballots, as Brunner wants to do if funding is available.

The initial estimate late last year was $31 million, but more equipment is needed after a plan to create vote centers for multiple precincts was put on hold, Brunner said yesterday. Other adjustments also may be made, she said.

"I think what happens on Tuesday is going to play a big role in the thought process of the legislature about what they want to do for November," Brunner said.

more...

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/01/turnout.ART_ART_03-01-08_B1_D49GN2E.html?sid=101

[livvy]

5. KS: Campaign Law Tweaked, But Reform Stalls

Saturday, March 1, 2008 7 : 19 AM

Campaign law tweaked, but reform stalls
By Chris Green - Harris News Service
[e-mail]
TOPEKA

House members passed several adjustments to campaign finance and ethics laws Friday, but some Democrats wanted to go even further.

The chamber overwhelmingly approved four bills making modest changes to state laws governing the handling of political money.

One of the bigger shifts involves shortening a blackout period shortly before an election. The loophole has kept the public from learning about last-minute campaign finance transactions.

However, the House handily defeated, on a 75-46 vote, a Democrat-backed proposal that would've required more groups to report information by requiring "issue" advertisers to reveal their backers and spending information.

Campaign finance reform efforts have stalled in the House in recent years, in part because the chamber's leaders have been reluctant to open the issue for contentious and lengthy floor debates.


more...

http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/law2008-02-29T21-39-34

[livvy]

6. OH: One of 15 Vote-counting Machines in Cuyahoga County Fails Test

One of 15 vote-counting machines in Cuyahoga County fails test

Saturday, March 01, 2008
Joe GuillenPlain Dealer Reporter

One of the 15 new vote-counting machines relied on by Cuyahoga County officials for next week's primary election failed in a test Friday night.

The machine was being used in a "public test" put on by the county Board of Elections.

Board Director Jane Platten was not dismayed by the stumble. "This is not a failure of our system," she said. "This is what tests are for."

The scanner in Friday's check, as well as the 14 other machines, had passed many tests in the last several weeks.

Platten said it was the first time the scanner failed.

"Thank God it happened three or four days before the election," she said.

Platten said the failed scanner will be removed from service, but that Election Systems & Software - the company from which the county is leasing the machines - is sending two to takes its place. That will give Cuyahoga 16 scanners for the primary.

a bit more...

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1204365328315190.xml&coll=2

[livvy]

7. All Eyes Will Be ON Ohio to Get Election Day Right

Article published March 1, 2008

All eyes will be on Ohio to get Election Day right
State works to minimize problems


By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF


COLUMBUS - Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner isn't telling voters what to do, but when she walks into her Franklin County polling place on Tuesday, she will not use the touch-screen voting machine.

"It's up to individual preference, but I myself will be asking for a paper ballot …," she said yesterday. "I am more comfortable with a paper ballot."

Voters who haven't already taken advantage of early voting or absentee ballots will have the option of requesting paper ballots if they prefer not to stand in line for voting machines or don't trust the devices.

Ms. Brunner has ordered county boards of elections to have enough paper ballots on hand to equal 10 percent of those registered to vote. The ballots could serve as an emergency backup in case machines malfunction and lines back up as occurred last November in Putnam County during the 5th Congressional District special election.

The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday refused to issue an order requested by Union County to prevent Ms. Brunner from enforcing that order.

more...

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080301/NEWS09/803010401

[livvy]

8. Colorado Secretary of State Says Garfield County's Votring Equipment is OK

Colorado Secretary of State says Garfield County’s voting equipment is OK

By Phillip Yates
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
March 1, 2008

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jean Alberico is now breathing a sigh of relief.

That’s because Secretary of State Mike Coffman on Thursday announced that Hart InterCivic’s eScan, which is used by Garfield County to tabulate election results, has been conditionally certified for use in Colorado. The company’s Ballot Now system, a ballot printing and counting machine the county has purchased but not used in an election, was also conditionally certified Thursday.

The state’s election system was thrown into chaos last month when Secretary of State Mike Coffman announced in December that he was decertifying several electronic
voting machines, including Hart’s eScan and Ballot Now systems, across the state
based on accuracy and security problems.

“We are in great shape,” Alberico said. “We are set. We are excited. We now have
the OK to use our optical scanners. ”

Garfield County Commissioner Larry McCown said it was “about time” the machines were re-certified.

Coffman’s December decision left counties wondering if they needed to purchase new equipment for the August primaries and November’s general election.

“(Coffman’s decision) saved a lot of money and headaches to the county,” McCown said.

more...

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080301/VALLEYNEWS/713162640

[livvy]

9. MS: Judge's Ruling On Wilkinson County Vote May Be Challenged

March 1, 2008

Judge's ruling on Wilkinson County vote may be challenged

From staff and wire reports

A judge's announcement that he will appoint a special master to oversee new elections in Wilkinson County may be challenged, the attorney for one of the parties said Friday.

"There is absolutely no authority under Mississippi law for that," said Carroll Rhodes, who represents county Supervisor Richard Hollins. "My client is disturbed that the law does not allow for that to happen in an election contest."

He said that he has not made a decision yet about whether to challenge the expected appointment.

On Thursday, Chancery Judge Jim Persons announced he will appoint a special master to oversee the new Wilkinson County Democratic primary contest.

Persons, of Harrison County, was appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to handle the case. He was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon.

more...

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080301/NEWS/803010349/1001/news

[livvy]

10. FL: Farewell To Touch-Screens

Farewell to touch-screens
By Ryan Burr
LYNN HAVEN

Within the next two weeks, Creative Recycling, a major electronics recycler, will pick up 29,000 touch-screen voting machines from 18 Florida counties, including 32 in Bay.

Bay County Supervisor of Elections Mark Andersen was on a conference call Thursday with Florida Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning, who was explaining his plan for removing the touch screens.

Andersen said the vendor of his touch screens, Election Systems & Software Inc., will accept the old machines.

“They will find another buyer, or if they can’t, they’ll use the parts,” Andersen said.

Before the state last year directed local governments to revert to paper-based, optical-scan voting, Bay County was among the quickest to move toward a touch-screen system to meet state and federal rules for voting access.

So as not to punish Bay County for working expeditiously on complying with new voter requirements, the state has awarded it a $72,000 grant to switch back to paper-based voting.

more...

http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?id=911

[livvy]

13. NJ: Makers Defent Voting Booths Tally Errors Blamed on Polling Workers

Makers defend voting booths Tally errors blamed on polling workers
Saturday, March 01, 2008
BY ROBERT STERN

The manufacturer of Mercer County's 600 electronic voting machines reported yesterday that poll-worker error caused some machines to record inaccurate Republican and Democratic voter turnout totals in the state's Feb. 5 presidential primaries.

The problem related to California-based Sequoia Voting Systems' AVC Advantage machines may have affected as many as 30 -- or 5 percent -- of Mercer County's machines, county elections officials said.

Similar mistallies of voter turnout by political party were spotted in 29 Sequoia voting machines in five other counties around the state, according to the state Attorney General's Office, which oversees New Jersey elections.

At the behest of the Attorney General's Office and elections officials in the affected counties, Sequoia technicians inspected the equipment and the software to determine what caused the glitch in party-affiliation turnout totals. The firm said it concluded malfunctioning equipment was not the problem.

"We identified a way in which poll-worker error can result in the party turnout totals to be reported incorrectly," Sequoia announced in a statement posted on its Web site yesterday.

The problem that occurred, state and Mercer County elections authorities have said, was a mismatch -- by one or two voters per machine -- between the total Democratic and Republican ballots cast as tabulated by the machine and the party totals that should have been recorded in that machine.

more...

http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1204347977220020.xml&coll=5

[livvy]

18. Blog: Pesky Details With Getting a Voting System Correct

Pesky Details with Getting a Voting System Correct

By Dan Wallach, Rice University
March 01, 2008
This article was posted at Ed Felten's Blog and is reposted here with permission of the author.

Today was the last day of early voting in Texas’s primary election. Historically, I have never voted in a primary election. I’ve never felt I identified enough with a particular political party to want to have a say in selecting their candidates. Once I started working on voting security, I discovered that this also allowed me to make a legitimate claim to being “non-partisan.” (While some election officials, political scientists, and others who you might perhaps prefer to be non-partisan do have explicit partisan views, many more make a point of similarly obscuring their partisan preferences like I do.)

In Texas, you are not required to register with a party in order to vote in their primary. Instead, you just show up and ask for their primary ballot. In the big city of Houston, any registered voter can go to any of 35 early voting locations over the two weeks of early voting. Alternately, they may vote in their home, local precinct (there are almost a thousand of these) on the day of the election. There have been stories of long lines over the past two weeks. My wife wanted to vote, but procrastinating, we went on the final night to a gigantic supermarket near campus. Arriving at 5:50pm or so, she didn’t reach the head of the queue until 8pm. Meanwhile, I took care of our daughter and tried to figure out the causes of the queue.

There were maybe twenty electronic voting machines, consistently operating at between 50-70% utilization (i.e., as many as half of the voting machines were unused at any given time). Yet the queue was huge. How could this be? Turns out there were four people at the desk in front dealing with the sign-in procedure. In a traditional, local precinct, this is nothing fancier than flipping open a paper printout to the page with your name. You sign next to it, and then you go vote. Simple as can be. Early voting is a different can of worms. They can’t feasibly keep a printout with over a million names of it in each of 35 early voting centers. That means they need computers. Our county’s computers had some kind of web interface that they could use to verify the voter’s registration. They then print a sticker with your name on it, you sign it, and it goes into a book. If a voter happens to present their voter registration card (my wife happened to have hers with her), the process is over in a hurry. Otherwise, things slow down, particularly if, say, your driver’s license doesn’t match up with the computer. “What was your previous address?” Unsurprisingly, the voter registration / sign-in table was the bottleneck. I’ve seen similar effects beforehand when voting early.

How could you solve this problem? You could have an explicit “fast path” for voters who match quickly versus a “slow path” with a secondary queue for more complicated voters. You can have more registration terminals. You could have roving helpers with PDAs and battery-powered printers that try to get further back into the queue and help voters reconcile themselves with their “true” identity. There’s no lack of creativity that’s been applied to solving this class of problems outside of the domain of election management.

more...

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2762&Itemid=26

[livvy]

3. World n/t

[livvy]

4. Russian Election Fraud Uncovered

Russian Election Fraud Uncovered
February 29, 2008 12:21 p.m. EST

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer
London, England (AHN) - A British daily claims it has uncovered a plan by Kremlin to rig Sunday's presidential election in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin's anointed Dmitry Medvedev. The plan includes mandating public sector employees to vote for Medvedev to ensure a voter turnout of 68 to 70 percent, with 72 percent of the ballots cast in favor of Putin's preferred candidate.

U.K.'s Guardian Unlimited quoted diplomats and independent persons as its sources. The British daily said, under Kremlin's instruction, local election officers will fill ballot boxes with filled out ballots using unused forms, while regional election offices will pad the tallies.

Public employers including teachers, students and doctors were reportedly instructed to vote for Medvedev on Sunday or lose their jobs or university slots.

Marina Dashenkova, spokeswoman of Golos, an independent poll monitoring body, disclosed it has received telephoned reports that massive fraud was being planned to ensure Medvedev's poll victory.

Even without Kremlin's hand, Medvedev is assured of victory, although it would be based on a small voter turnout. Medvedev is seen as an acceptable president by a significant portion of Russia's population, but because of a belief held by many voters that the election result has been predetermined, few are interested in bothering to cast their ballots.

more...

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010189687

[livvy]

19. Armenia Declares State of Emergency

Armenia Declares State of Emergency
By AVET DEMOURIAN – 1 hour ago

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's president imposed a state of emergency Saturday after police used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse demonstrators protesting alleged fraud in last month's presidential election.

The announcement from the office of President Robert Kocharian came shortly after police broke up the rally of about 15,000 demonstrators. Earlier, police used batons to remove hundreds of protesters who had camped for more than a week in tents in a square near the city mayor's office.

Tensions remained high into the night. Groups of angry young people were prowling the streets of the capital, calling for others to join them, city residents told The Associated Press. An AP reporter saw cars overturned and the police department said some of its cars had been set on fire. Looters hit stores and kiosks, police said.

"What's going on now is not a political process. It has gone over the edge," Kocharian said in a late-night news conference. "I appeal to the people of Armenia to show restraint and understanding."

more...

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hEX1a7S3PK9JeH5alm2zWbCw45SgD8V4TSM80

[livvy]

11. Election '08 n/t

[livvy]

12. Democrats' Rhetoric Heats Up Over Caucuses

Posted on Sat, Mar. 01, 2008
Democrats' rhetoric heats up over caucuses

By JAY ROOT
Star-Telegram staff writer
AUSTIN -- Barack Obama's presidential campaign said Friday that Hillary Clinton, fearing a defeat in Texas, is trying to undermine confidence in the process by raising the specter of a chaotic and legally questionable election on Tuesday.
Clinton aides shot back that Obama was "fanning the distortion" of their legitimate concerns about the state's two-step voting process, which entails both a primary election and a little understood caucus or "precinct convention."

Clinton's top Texas adviser, Garry Mauro, repeated the campaign's assertion that the New York senator has no intention of suing the party over its caucus rules. That scenario had been raised in a sternly worded letter -- warning of an "imminent" lawsuit -- made public by the Texas Democratic Party this week.

"Nobody ever raised the idea of suing," said Mauro, blaming the flap on the Obama campaign. "When they feel a race is close they distort."

Mauro acknowledged that the Clinton campaign had raised objections about the way caucus results will be reported Tuesday night but said the former first lady is not trying to stop the party from doing it. The Obama campaign, meanwhile, accused Clinton aides of purposely trying to undermine confidence in the Texas election process, questioning in particular a new reporting system designed to give unofficial results from the caucuses that are held after polls close Tuesday night. There are 67 delegates up for grabs in the caucuses, more than were at stake in the first caucus, Iowa, which Obama won Jan 3.

more...

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/504829.html

[livvy]

16. March 4 Snapshot: Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont

March 4 Snapshot: Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont
By Verified Voting Foundation
March 01, 2008
Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont hold Presidential primaries on March 4. Ohio and Texas will also hold state primaries. In all four states, turnout is expected to increase substantially from 2004. The March 4 states use a mix of voting system types. Ohio has a mix of counties useing direct-recording electronic (DRE) machines with a voter-verifiable paper audit trail, and counties using only optically scanned paper ballots. Texas has a very wide diversity of voting systems, including many paperless DREs. Rhode Island and Vermont use paper ballots exclusively. None of these states require manual post election audits of their inital, software-generated, results. In all four states, the primaries are under the jurisdiction of the state election officials, rather than of the political parties.

Ohio


Ohio's voting systems have been the subject of national attention and controversy following Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's EVEREST review and her subsequent push for optical scan voting systems with central counting of ballots. The EVEREST review, conducted by computer scientists from leading universities and private sector consultants, found grave security vulnerabilities, and the Academic Team review cast doubt on the reliability and security of the VVPAT printers for the Premier (Diebold) TSx and the ES&S iVotronic DRE machines. Only 4 counties that were previously using direct-recording electronic machines have switched to paper ballots since the EVEREST review.

29 of Ohio's 88 counties use only optically scanned paper ballots, with ES&S M100 ballot scanners at the polling place, and the AutoMARK ballot marker for accessibility. These counties chose optical scan systems in 2006.

Cuyahoga County, the state's largest, was ordered by Secretary Brunner to switch to optical scan for the March 4 primary, following a number of failures of the paper-trail printers on the county's TSx touch screen DREs. Cuyahoga will use paper ballots as the primary voting system, counted by ES&S high-speed M650 optical scanners. For voters with disabilities, the county will continue to use its Premier (Diebold) TSx touch screens.

the rest....

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2768&Itemid=26

[livvy]

17. Blog: Beware Whose Counting the Votes in Texas and Ohio

March 1, 2008 at 12:54:46

Headlined on 3/1/08:
BEWARE WHOSE COUNTING THE VOTES IN TEXAS AND OHIO (Shouldn't that be Who's? Sorry...grammar control freak, here.)

by Allen L Roland

The Washington Establishment, which includes the Bushes and Clintons, is beginning to get uneasy about the growing populist Obama movement and its obvious threat to the status quo ~ so don't rule out voting irregularities in Texas and Ohio. Karl Rove is on intimate terms with the state officials who run the elections in Texas and both state’s electronic voting machines are owned by diehard Republicans: Diebold; ES&S and Sequoia ~ which is a self-serving arrangement for both Mr. Rove and the Clintons: Allen L Roland

Remember Hillary's miraculous win in New Hampshire when 81% of the votes cast were counted by Diebold and they directly contradicted the exit polls which showed Obama the clear winner.

The same thing could happen in Texas and Ohio particularly since Karl Rove is a resident of Texas and the Republicans would much rather face Hillary in November than Obama ~ who, according to recent polls, beats McCain handily whereas Hillary would lose to McCain.

My friend Michael Carmichael, reporting from the UK, offers an in depth analysis of THE CLINTONS IN CRISIS and also shares the ominous Karl Rove connection as well as the very real possibility of vote stealing.


Excerpts follow with a link to the original article, "The Clintons in Crisis".
http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2008/03/01.html

[livvy]

20. Free Press Reporter at Cleveland's Obama-Clinton Debate

An amusing report, with a flavor of Hunter Thompson...

Free Press Reporter at Cleveland's Obama-Clinton Debate
by David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor
March 1, 2008

I seemed to have peed on my suit jacket, just now, in the restroom here at the Cleveland University's Wolstein Center, location of the last Democratic debate in the 2008 presidential primary cycle. I am on Location, I have traveled through Icy Hell to bring you this top-notch Reporting; I have seen the Beast up close, and it let me keep my beer.

Oh God....where am I? Why am I here? And why do I always begin these missives in the restroom, with detailed accounts of the heroic struggles of my urinary tract? These are legitimate questions, and by God, you deserve some answers. I am sorely addled, but let me try to sort this out, for my own sake if for no other reason.

I attended yesterday's Cincinnati Barack Obama rally and endured the tears of his loyal supporters; hugging and crying, weeping and painting beautiful pictures. The excitement is perfect; I couldn't stop smiling. I have covered his roundtable discussions and I am always amazed by his 'sincerity'. He is the most engaging man in politics by a considerable margin, and there is a very specific reason for his meteoric rise to the top of the political shark pond. Even a repressed manic like me gets swept up in the sheer power of the man, let alone the enthusiasm of his earnest supporters. I find it all too easy to ignore the flaws in his political record...as does most of the media who cover him.

“I support globalization,” he declared, to wild applause. “I support having trade agreements, but we have to make sure they are properly regulated to protect workers, to protect their jobs, and to protect consumers.” He smiled broadly, and I felt the first shiver of doubt shake me from the spine up. Globalization? And they're clapping? It was a foreshadowing of fearful policy positions as yet untaken...

more...

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/20/2008/3029

[livvy]

14. Help Wanted....Pretty please and a brag to boot....

My time is really limited this morning. I'm heading off for the Detroit Dog Show, and must be there by 10:30, so I'll have to post more when I get home. Wish me luck...one of my dog's daughters will be showing, so proud Grandma here will be on the sidelines glowing!
Meanwhile, feel free to add to the thread today to help out, and here's a link to OpEd News from yesterday:



'Daily Voting News' For February 29, 2008

by JGideon Page 1 of 2 page(s)

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

As hard as Sequoia must have had to search they actually found a way to blame the problem found on their machines in New Jersey on the poll worker. I am duly impressed. They even appear to admit that they stopped looking after they were able to figure out a way to blame the poor poll worker for the problem. "We identified a way in which poll worker error can result in the party turnout totals to be reported incorrectly." Did they look for any other potential answers for the problem? They don't say. Remember that the problem was the vote counts were correct, as far as anyone can know from a DRE, but the party totals did not match between the internal memory and the internal paper record. There were one or two Republican votes registered as being Democratic votes or vice versa. This only happened on 59 machines in 6 counties. Sequoia claims there was some special machinations poll workers used inside the control panel that allows them to select the R or D ballot for each voter. How did these machinations result in a different report on electronic memory from the paper memory? Also, why did it only happen once or twice on each machine? If a poll worker was making an error in the process why didn't that error happen much more often?? I have, again, requested that the EAC do their jobs and notify any potentially affected jurisdictions outside of New Jersey of this problem. They will ignore this problem as they have all previous problems with voting systems. Election officials in Pennsylvania counties that use these machines need to be made aware of the issues. Please pass on the word.

Late this afternoon it was reported that the first two pretests of Cuyahoga Co Ohio's new ES&S optical-scan machines were failures. The computer showed error messages during the first two tests. The third test was successful. What? Me Worry?...

list of articles follows...
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_jgideon_080229__daily_voting_news__.htm

[MelissaB]

15. Best of luck, livvy!

:hi:

[Melissa G]

21. Thanks, livvy! n/t

[Mnemosyne]

22. Hope the dog show went well!

What kind of puppies do you have, Grandma?

Thanks Livvy! :hi:

[livvy]

23. Boooooviers....

Bouvier des Flandres: originally general farm dogs and livestock herder from France/Belgium. They almost went extinct after WW1 and WW2 due to their use as messenger dogs (making them prime targets). It was only a few people who gathered up the remaining stock they could find, and resumed breeding. Today they work as herding dogs, guard dogs, and make great family companions. They love kids, long walks, vigorous romps, and especially long naps.

My "granddaughter" did not win yesterday, but a good friend did very well with her dogs, and I had a lot of fun.

[Mnemosyne]

24. How gorgeous!

Looks to be around the size of a Great Pyrenees. Love the ears! I never heard their history before, fascinating!

Glad you had fun even without a win. :hi: