Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Thursday, 06/01/06

[EFerrari]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News June 1, 2006



Today's Weather:


All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.
4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.

Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page

[EFerrari]

1. MD: early voting suffers setbacks (Early Voting)

Md. early voting suffers setbacks
GOP referendum drive advances
By Andrew A. Green and Stephanie Desmon
Sun reporters
Originally published June 1, 2006

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s drive to stop early voting this year advanced on two fronts yesterday, pushing the debate into uncharted legal territory and deepening the uncertainty about how ballots will be cast this fall.

Republican activists met a preliminary deadline yesterday to put a referendum on the issue on the November ballot, and the state budget department threatened to withhold funds for new equipment that elections officials say is crucial to administer the new voting laws.

The head of Marylanders for Fair Elections, a new group backed by the Ehrlich re-election campaign, turned in more than 20,000 signatures to the Maryland secretary of state's office yesterday opposing two early voting bills. If all the entries are valid, the submission contains about 3,000 more names than needed to meet the preliminary deadline for referendums to go on the November ballot.

But the attorney general's office has indicated that the petition gatherers might be a year late in their efforts, because the state's initial early voting law - which allows selected polling places to be open five days before the primary and general elections - passed a year ago.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.voting01jun01,0,6416902.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

[EFerrari]

2. NM: State ID cards fraught with mistakes

State ID cards fraught with mistakes

By Associated Press
May 31, 2006

SANTA FE - Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron says her office has been flooded with calls from voters upset with mistakes on newly issued plastic-coated voter identification cards.

Vigil-Giron said people should contact their County Clerk's Office if there are errors on the card, such as an incorrect address or birth date. Mistakes will be fixed in a computerized voter registration database and a corrected ID card will be mailed later to the voter, she said.

State-issued voter ID cards are being mailed to the nearly 1.1 million registered voters in New Mexico, at a cost of about $1 million, state officials have said.

Voter registration information from the counties was used to prepare the new ID cards. Vigil-Giron speculated some mistakes could have occurred when counties entered registration information into a computer system or if voters failed to update information.

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_state/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19863_4739561,00.html

[EFerrari]

3. AL: 14 handicapped-accessible voting machines to be tested

14 handicapped-accessible voting machines to be tested
Thursday, June 01, 2006
ANEESA McMILLAN
News staff writer

When Graham Sisson turned 18, he made his first trip to the polls in a wheelchair.

"I can remember having some real access issues," said Sisson, who was left paralyzed from the waist down from an accident 24 years ago at the age of 17.

Disabled voters often give up their privacy because they need assistance marking ballots, Sisson said. But things are changing in Jefferson County, where 14 handicapped-accessible machines will be tested in the June 6 primary election. If the machines work well, all polling places in Jefferson County will have handicapped-accessible machines for the November general election.

The Automark machines are designed to give disabled people the ability to vote independently.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/114915338136230.xml&coll=2

[EFerrari]

4. AL: Voting machines designed to assist the handicapped

Voting machines designed to assist the handicapped
By Jim Cox SA Publisher

Thirty-two handicapped voting machines have been purchased for Clarke County and will be placed at each of the voting precincts in the county for the June 6 primaries.

The cost of the 32 machines is $192,000.

Probate Judge Becky Presnall said thankfully the county isn't paying for them. The tab is being picked up by the state with money allocated from the "Help America Vote Act." The new machines are part of other reform measures prompted by the dispute in the presidential election of 2004.

The machines, in simple terms, are ballot markers. People who are not able to physically mark their own ballots can request to use the special machines. It offers a video display for the hearing impaired and headphones speak the ballot and instructions for the blind. Computer controls are also in braille for the blind.

A voter requesting to use the machine will be given a ballot just like any other voter by a poll worker and directed to the machine. The ballot is fed into the machine and it recognizes it (either Democratic, Republican or nonpartisan for the primary and the correct ballot style for that box) and displays the races on a video screen. The voter presses appropriate buttons to mark the ballot for each race. At the end, a review screen is offered so the voter can check their selections. If the voter is satisified, they press the select key and their marked ballot exits the machine and can then be fed into the ballot tabulating machines just as any other voter would.

http://www.southalabamian.com/news/2006/0601/News/078.html

[MelissaB]

5. GOP adopts wait-and-see approach to tainted funds

GOP adopts wait-and-see approach to tainted funds

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER


Tom Noe's admission in federal court yesterday that he funneled thousands of dollars into the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign wasn't enough to prompt President Bush to immediately return the illegal money.

Instead, Mr. Bush and his political advisers are taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation," said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. "We will make appropriate transfers as directed by the court."

A spokesman for the White House did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The Democratic National Committee questioned why it would take a court order for the White House to act.

"Since Tom Noe has admitted that the money directed to the President's re-election campaign was dirty, the big question is what is President Bush waiting for?'' Damien LaVera, a DNC spokesman, said. "What else has to happen before the President finally returns Tom Noe's tainted money?''


More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/NEWS09/606010474

[MelissaB]

7. Discussion

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430718

[EFerrari]

6. AR: Election officials say law outdated (ERV)

Election officials say law outdated

BY DANIEL NASAW

Posted on Thursday, June 1, 2006

Early runoff voting got off to a bumpy start this week because state law gives election administrators only six days to prepare for the vote that will choose three statewide nominees, election officials and a spokesman for Election Systems & Software said Wednesday.

The law, which requires election officials to offer early runoff voting even if the results of the primary election aren’t official, is outdated and doesn’t reflect the difficulties posed by new federal and state election standards, said Jill Friedman-Wilson, a spokesman for Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb. The company has been criticized for failing to meet a series of voting equipment and software deadlines in Arkansas this spring.

County election officials contacted Wednesday agreed that the law should be re-examined.

“It’s well past its time to be looked at,” said Benton County Election Coordinator James Mc-Carthy. The short deadline “puts an awful lot of stress and strain” on election workers, commissioners and ballot printers, he said.
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/156316/

[EFerrari]

8. AR: Recount Gives New Result (Touchscreens)

Recount Gives New Result

By Rusty Garrett

TIMES RECORD • [e-mail]

A recount in the race for Logan County’s District 7 Justice of the Peace resulted in a new Democratic candidate for the position.

The Logan County Election Commission ordered a recount in the Democratic primary race between Joyce Friddle of Magazine and Bob Krepps of Booneville on Friday after detecting some errors in addition, according to a Logan County Clerk’s Office spokeswoman.
She said the county’s new electronic touch-screen voting system was not a factor in the errors. The District 7 JP race was the only one recounted.

Original results of the May 23 primary showed only six votes difference in the totals. Friddle with 220 votes was the winner over Krepps with 214.
http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2006/05/31/news/news09.txt

[EFerrari]

9. CA: (Riverside) County in good (and bad) company

County in good (and bad) company

By: CHRIS BAGLEY - Staff Writer

Riverside County elections officials say privacy concerns and a range of logistical hurdles prevent them from tallying and posting each precinct's votes at the polling place, but a dozen other counties around the state do so with little problem, according to officials in those counties.

Posting the tallies of votes from each polling place after it closes allows citizens to check the results in various precincts and compare them to the countywide results. Though most counties publish numbers in the days after the election showing how their various precincts voted, a precinct-level count and posting is a powerful check against fraud or error at the central computer that counts all the votes, voter advocates say.

At the very least, it gives voters extra confidence that all their votes are being counted, according to elections officials in counties that follow the practice.

The California Elections Code isn't entirely clear on the posting requirements, but Secretary of State Bruce McPherson declared last fall that counties with touch-screen voting systems ---- including Riverside and 20 others ---- would have to count and post results at the precinct level.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/05/31/news/californian/21_51_075_30_06.txt

[EFerrari]

10. KS: More voting machines to offset fewer polling places

(What IS the matter with Kansas? :( )



More voting machines to offset fewer polling places
County commissioners approve the purchase after 146 voting locations were eliminated.
BY FRED MANN
The Wichita Eagle

Saying they were disappointed about a severe reduction in the number of polling places, Sedgwick County commissioners agreed to buy new vote tabulation machines to shorten lines at the polls.

Commissioners on Wednesday approved giving $301,500 to the Election Office to buy 60 optical-scan tabulating machines through the Kansas secretary of state's office.

The county already has several of the machines, so each of the 62 polling locations will have one for the next election, with a few spares, said Bill Gale, county election commissioner.

The digital machines are intended to help reduce waiting time at the polls by offering an alternative to the regular touch-screen voting machines.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/14712870.htm

[EFerrari]

11. Editorial (5/14): Fewer voting polls could be a disaster

Fewer voting polls could be a disaster
BY KELLY W. JOHNSTON

An article in the May 7 Eagle did not tell the whole story ("County eliminates 146 voting locations").

If you compare the number of polling locations planned for this November's gubernatorial election -- 62 -- with the number of polling locations in use when we voted for president in November 2004, the reduction will be from 292 to 62, a total loss of 230 locations or 79 percent.

Regardless of how many voting machines will be available for Sedgwick County voters to use, I am very concerned that 62 voting locations will be inadequate to serve the needs of the community.

The only justification for this reduction offered in the article by Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale was the need to eliminate polling locations that did not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Though a laudable and necessary objective, this cannot be the whole story.

[EFerrari]

12. MS:County tests voting machines (touchscreens)

County tests voting machines
By Wesley Steckler
The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ —The new touch-screen voting machines were tested all day Tuesday in preparation for their first real election by voters next Tuesday.

Though some of the election commissioners who worked on the machines were glad to finally see an update, others were concerned about the public’s response to more modern technology.

Three district election commissioners for Adams County were testing the new touch-screen voting systems that are to be used on Tuesday, June 6 for the Democratic Senate primary elections.

Last year in August, the county board of supervisors voted 4-0 to join 75 other counties in purchasing the machines from Diebold Election Systems as part of the Help Americans Vote Act, or HAVA, passed in Congress in 2002 which took effect Jan. 1.


http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/articles/2006/05/31/news/news73.txt

[EFerrari]

13. MS: Lee voters will see only slight change in machines

Lee voters will see only slight change in machines

5/31/2006 12:05:28 AM
Daily Journal

By Sandi P. Beason

Daily Journal

TUPELO - Lee County did not buy into a state program to use Diebold voting machines.

Instead, voters here can expect much the same as they're used to when polls open for Democratic Party primaries June 6. Lee County's machines - except for the touch-screen, handicapped-accessible ones - are the newer version of the brand the county has used for years.

Ballot style, too, will be nearly identical to ones used in previous elections with fill-in-the-oval choices.

The county bought 43 touch-screen and 42 scanner-type machines earlier this year, as part of a federal mandate to upgrade equipment and make polling places handicapped-accessible. Changes were mandatory under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=220641&pub=1&div=News

[EFerrari]

14. MO: Democrats continue to contest voter ID bill

Democrats continue to contest voter ID bill
ASSOCIATED PRESS
05/31/2006

JEFFERSON CITY, MO.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan wants Gov. Matt Blunt to call a special legislative session to allocate money for implementing a voter identification bill - a suggestion quickly dismissed by Blunt.

Blunt has said he plans to sign the measure, which will require voters to show a Missouri or federal government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot starting in November.

Among other things, the bill requires the secretary of state's office to publicize the requirement and the Revenue Department to go around to nursing homes and elsewhere to help people lacking a state ID card to obtain one at no cost.

Carnahan, a Democrat, sent a letter Wednesday to Blunt, a Republican. She asked him to call a special session so lawmakers can set aside funding to meet the bill's requirements. Blunt spokesman Spence Jackson said the governor sees no need for a special session.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/919D149A6B207E2186257180001661BA?OpenDocument

[EFerrari]

15. MT: New terminals will help individuals cast ballot Tuesday (Automark)

New terminals will help individuals cast ballot Tuesday
By Bill Vander Weele

Sidney Herald

A new device will be located at all the polling places during Tuesday’s primary election to assist the handicap in letting their vote count.

The Automark voter assist terminal provides privacy and accessibility to voters who are blind, vision-impaired or have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to mark a ballot in the traditional method.

“All the counties have these because of the HAVA or Help America Vote Act,” Yvonne Volkman, Richland County Clerk and Recorder office, said.

Each machine costs in the neighborhood of $5,000, and the state purchased them through federal funding. Each of Richland County’s polling places will have a terminal.

http://www.sidneyherald.com/articles/2006/05/31/news/news02.txt

[EFerrari]

16. NJ: County certifies 700 electronic voting machines

County certifies 700 electronic voting machines
New devices will head to primary polling sites, but activists fear hacking
Friday, May 26, 2006
BY JONATHAN CASIANO
Star-Ledger Staff

While lawyers continue to chal lenge the constitutional validity of electronic voting machines in state appeals court, a new batch of 700 machines was inspected and certi fied in Newark yesterday, as Essex County prepares to use electronic machines for the first time in the June 6 primary.

Lined up in neat rows inside a sprawling warehouse, the machines were inspected one by one by local clerks and primary candidates who wanted to see first-hand how the new machines function. Already programmed and ready to go, the machines will start being shipped to polling sites on Tuesday, despite persistent complaints from activists who claim the machines are unreliable and easily hacked.

"It's definitely a dark day for Essex County to see them giving up machines we had no problems with for machines we have so many doubts about," said Katherine Joyce, a member of the Essex County Task Force on Voting Rights.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/essex/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1148621590283100.xml&coll=1

[EFerrari]

17. NJ: Small's absentee case will go to trial

Small's absentee case will go to trial
By DEREK HARPER Staff Writer, [phone]
Published: Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Updated: Wednesday, May 31, 2006

MAYS LANDING — Atlantic City Councilman Marty Small will head to trial this summer over alleged absentee-ballot crimes after he rejected two separate plea offers Tuesday.

After he confirmed Small was turning down both offers, Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Donio tentatively scheduled the start of what likely will be a multi-week trial for Aug. 7.

The first rejected offer would have attempted to place Small in the pre-trial intervention program.

While the state was opposed to that, state Deputy Attorney General Ronald Epstein said if the court allowed Small to enter the PTI program, then the state would ask Small to give up both his school job and City Council seat. For three years Small also would not be allowed to vote or handle absentee ballots.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6397245p-6253102c.html

[EFerrari]

18. OH: Review panel consulting voters to improve Cuyahoga's elections

Review panel consulting voters to improve Cuyahoga's elections
JOE MILICIA
Associated Press

CLEVELAND - A review panel charged with investigating Cuyahoga County's botched primary election is asking voters and election workers what went wrong.

Results from the county's disastrous first attempt at electronic voting May 2 were delayed six days when roughly 18,000 absentee ballots had to be hand counted. There also were numerous problems at polling places.

The independent three-member review committee led by veteran Cleveland Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine is reaching out to voters and election workers through a Web site http://www.cuyahogavoting.org and a June 9 public hearing.

"I don't think there's been an imperative in the past to check with them about their experience," Adrine said Wednesday. "This election has caused the people at the board of elections to want more information from poll workers, poll officials in order to more fully understand what they're up against."

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/14710062.htm

[mod mom]

26. Article: Ohio Vigilance activist says deeper issues in machine security

"Victoria Lovegren, an Election Day technician who worked at a precinct in Parma, has formed a group called Ohio Vigilance to monitor the county board of elections. She thinks the independent panel will help fix problems she experienced May 2, which included inadequate training and a shortage of poll workers.

She thinks the panel's attempt to reach out to the public is positive but won't address her concerns with electronic voting.

"There's more deeper and fundamental issues about he security of the machines that you're not going to get from poll workers and voters," she said."

[EFerrari]

19. PA: Ramping up voter education

Bucks officials plan informational assault leading up to November election


Despite pockets of concern regarding Bucks County's transition to the Danaher Controls Electronic 1242 Voting System for the upcoming November elections, county chief operating officer David M. Sanko is confident the new, full-face machines will enjoy a "flawless rollout."

The key to such a triumph, as Sanko and Bucks County Commissioners James F. Cawley, Esq., Charles H. Martin and Sandra A. Miller know quite well, is education.

"When the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government," Sanko said, quoting U.S. President Thomas Jefferson from a line first uttered in 1789.

During the May 24 Commissioners Board meeting at Langhorne's Penndel Mental Health Center, Sanko explained that approximately 50,000 of the 100,000 "VOTE Bucks" brochures printed to explain the operation of the Danaher machines were distributed during the May 16 primary elections.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1686&dept_id=41297&newsid=16717545&PAG=461&rfi=9

(Excuse me while I :puke:)

[EFerrari]

20. TX: Samuels will Decide Whether to Call for a Recount of the Recount

Samuels will Decide Whether to Call for a Recount of the Recount
Reported by Camille Briggs
May 31, 2006 - 11:17PM

Even though a recount Tuesday resulted in no changes in the top three finishers in the at-large race for Port Arthur School Board, a recount committee appointed by Board President Julia Samuels maintains there are discrepancies in 5 precincts.

The recount committee includes Chairman Chris Underhill, Becky Veazey, and Virginia Dudley.

Underhill says he will present his findings to Samuels Thursday afternoon and she will determine if there needs to be a recount of the recount.

Interim School Superintendent Dr. Jim Weeks says state law allows Samuels up to 48 hours to challenge a recount and if necessary to call for another one.

http://www.kfdm.com/engine.pl?station=kfdm&id=15030&template=breakoutlocal.html

[EFerrari]

21. Ed: HJR 13: Did Ohio Miss a Rare Opportunity?

HJR 13: Did Ohio Miss a Rare Opportunity?

By: Damien Kitte, Moritz College of Law Class of 2008
(Part of a new series summarizing and analyzing election law developments, edited by Terri Enns, Senior Fellow)

On Thursday, May 25, 2006, House Joint Resolution 13 failed in the Ohio House of Representatives, and consequently Ohio may have missed a rare opportunity to lead the nation in redistricting reform. The vote on the House floor featured some strategic parliamentary maneuvers by the Republicans which ultimately forced the Democrats to vote against their own redistricting proposal. As a result, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Jon Husted (R-Kettering) said that the Democratic opposition to redistricting was based on politics. <1> Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Cincinnati), who drafted the proposal that the Democrats ultimately voted against, dismissed the Republican maneuver as "no more than a stunt." <2> Regardless of whether or not the move was a stunt, the chances that the November 2006 ballot will feature a redistricting proposal are very bleak, and many feel that redistricting reform will be off the table for years to come.

By the end of the day Thursday, the House Democrats rejected not only HJR 13, as expected, but also their own proposal from March 2005. <3> Because it would amend the state constitution, HJR 13 needed a supermajority of sixty votes to pass, but it failed by a vote of 53 for and 42 against. <4> Among those who voted against the measure were Republican Representatives Charles Blasdel (R-East Liverpool), Jim Carmichael (R-Wooster), Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), Speaker Husted, and the sponsor of HJR 13, Kevin DeWine (R-Fairborn). <5> Because he voted on the prevailing side, Rep. Blasdel was able to move to have the vote on HJR 13 reconsidered. <6> This motion, supported by all five Republicans who voted against the measure, succeeded on a 58 to 37 vote. <7> After a motion to adjourn by Rep. Skindell (D-Lakewood) failed, Rep. DeWine amended HJR 13. <8> The amended version of HJR 13 mirrored a proposal introduced by Rep. Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) in March 2005, <9> but it too fell short of the required supermajority, by a vote of 58 for and 37 against. <10> After the vote, Speaker Husted voiced his disappointment and stated that the Republicans "tried to exhaust every excuse that had been given not to vote for this." <11> Rep. Driehaus, in addition to referring to the Republican maneuver as a "stunt," stated that both plans had shortcomings and the most important reason to vote against his proposal was that there had not yet been any public input on it. <12>

HJR 13 would have established a seven member commission, comprised of four members appointed by the legislative leaders of both parties and three "neutral" members, to redraw the legislative district map and U.S. Congressional districts after each decennial U.S. census beginning in 2011, using criteria such as compactness, existing political boundaries, and competitiveness. <13> Rep. Driehaus's proposal from 2005, like HJR 13, established a commission to draw legislative districts. In contrast, however, the Democratic proposal would have created a five member commission featuring four members of the public appointed by the legislative leaders of both parties and a fifth member elected by the first four appointees. <14> This commission would determine the legislative districts of the Ohio General Assembly and the districts for the U.S. Congressional Representatives from Ohio. <15>

Ohioans recently rejected a redistricting proposal. Issue 4, a ballot initiative from November 2005 that would have created a five member commission to redraw legislative districts effective in 2007, with "competitiveness" being "a primary criterion," was soundly defeated with 70 per cent of voters opposing the measure. <16> The general consensus is that voters rejected Issue 4 because it was confusing. Prior to the November 2005 election, Issue 4 was described as "based on a seemingly complicated formula that tends to be laid out in esoteric terms." <17> After Issue 4 and several other election reform issues failed in November 2005, The Columbus Dispatch stated "oth sides agreed that the issues' complexity caused widespread confusion among voters." <18> Not everyone, however, attributed the defeat to voter confusion. Former Issue 4 supporter and HJR 13 opponent House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty (D-Columbus) seemed to interpret Issue 4's defeat as a statement by Ohio voters that they are not interested in redistricting. Referring to HJR 13, she stated, "I'm just focusing on the fact that this is something Ohioans don't want, and we're rushing it." <19>

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/reform/060530.php

[EFerrari]

22. CO: Lawsuit targets voting system

Lawsuit targets voting system
Lawyers: Touch-screen equipment not reliable enough
By KEVIN DUGGAN
[e-mail]

A Denver law firm expects to file a lawsuit today aimed at blocking the use of touch-screen electronic voting systems in Colorado, including the type Larimer County plans to use in the upcoming primary and general elections.

Lawyers with the firm Wheeler Trigg Kennedy LLP claim touch-screen systems have a history of reliability problems, and are "easily compromised" by hacking and violate the state constitution. The systems also do not meet the needs of disabled voters, according to a press release from the firm.

A representative of the firm declined further comment. A press conference detailing the complaint and the firm's client - thus far identified only as a "diverse nonpartisan group of Colorado voters" - is scheduled today in Denver.

Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Scott Doyle said the suit could put clerks "between a rock and hard place" when it comes to conducting elections this year.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/NEWS01/606010315/1002/rss

[EFerrari]

23. TX: Election Reform Activist Sues Texas Secretary of State (Press Rel

Election Reform Activist Sues Texas Secretary of State to Compel Examination of Electronic Voting Systems' Software

An election reform advocate in Texas is challenging the statement of a top election official that electronic voting systems are "faster, easier, and more secure." The Texas Secretary of State is being sued for failing to follow a Texas Election Code law that mandates periodic examination of voting systems' software to determine that no changes have been made to the software either in error or by malicious intent.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) May 30, 2006 -- Thomas Manaugh, PhD, an election reform advocate in Texas, filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court earlier this month. The suit petitions the court to issue an emergency writ of mandamus to compel the Texas Secretary of State to examine software used in electronic voting systems in Texas.

Manaugh claims that the Secretary of State has not examined software actually used in elections to verify that the software has not been altered from originally certified versions. Those examinations are required on a periodic basis, but, according to Manaugh, they have never been performed, even though a 1987 law that is part of the Texas Election Code requires them.

Other lawsuits have been filed by citizens in New Mexico, California, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania that challenge various aspects of the purported reliability and transparency of electronic voting systems. Manaugh’s lawsuit is the first citizen-initiated lawsuit in Texas to challenge how a state elections official has acted to protect the integrity of elections when electronic voting systems are used.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/5/prweb390507.htm

[mod mom]

24. OH: Feds to seek add penalties on Noe over election loss of confidence

Noe pleads guilty to federal charges
Coin dealer illegally routed thousands to Bush
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


TOLEDO — Saying he wanted to accept responsibility and spare his family and friends further embarrassment, indicted coin dealer Thomas W. Noe admitted yesterday that he broke federal laws to get credit for raising money for President Bush’s re-election campaign.

During a hearing before U.S. District Judge David A. Katz, Noe changed his not-guilty pleas to three federal felony charges related to illegally giving $45,400 to 24 friends, politicians and associates to donate to Bush in their names.

Katz delayed sentencing Noe until a pre-sentence report is completed. But according to suggested sentencing guidelines, Noe could face 2 1 /2 years in prison plus fines and probation, authorities said.

Federal prosecutors said they also plan to seek additional penalties because of the potential loss of public confidence in the presidential-election process.

<snip>

http://www.ohioelects.com/?story=dispatch/2006/06/01/20060601-A1-00.html

[Wilms]

32. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x430855

[EFerrari]

25. Scoop: Remember Vote Fraud: A Review - Part 1

Remember Vote Fraud: A Review - Part 1
Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 12:10 pm
Opinion: Mark S. Tucker
Remember Vote Fraud: A Review - Part 1
It’s Election Time, Don’t Let Your Guard Down

May 29, 2006
By Mark S. Tucker
First published - http://www.opednews.com

On January 15, 2006, in OpEdNews, which has not been loathe to cover the issue, I wrote “Vote Fraud: Our #1 Concern - Exposing Lies Kills ‘The Fruit of the Poison Tree’ “, which can be read here (LINK).

As June 6 draws near, however, the absolute silence in mainstream media on this issue should be causing extreme anxiety in most everyone. Not only is it the most important subject in our country, bar none (because nothing can proceed properly without a clean vote...nothing), but the indications of past prolificities of the debacle and the drop-dead likelihood of it occurring once again, when the conservative boat is in so precarious a position, is nearly 100%. The matter left to address, then, is: how widespread will it be?

This we cannot know until after all is said and done. Though I’m hoping for some scandalous exposés of fell activities caught amidships the very day of the elections, brought forth by zealous election watchers, with Republicans hip to the fact their scam is known, how much more sophisticated can we imagine the new wave of attack will be?

Here in my district, Congressional candidate Marcy Winograd is leaving nothing to chance. She’s organizing observation teams to monitor polling places throughout the day, from the moment they open until the second they close. Her plan is well thought out, disciplined, all inclusive, and with good reason: her opponent is Jane Harman, a self-confessed “Republican Democrat” and a woman fighting for her political life in every possible way (Nancy Pelosi recently came out squarely against Harman). Many of us here in the 36th have no doubt that there may very easily be an attempt to pull more of the Vote Fraud of the past and we’re preparing for it, with Winograd as the focus point. After all, Harman has been a key Intel affiliate and the Intel community has been extraordinarily cowardly about the VOTE FRAUD issue, consummately so, remaining stolidly silent, refusing to comment or investigate something they have cardinal knowledge about and which should shock them to the depths of their carnivorous souls.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0605/S00448.htm

:toast:

[EFerrari]

27. Bushworld: Bush: World Will Act If Iran Won't Halt Uranium Enrichment

Bush: World Will Act If Iran Won't Halt Uranium Enrichment

WASHINGTON — President Bush said Thursday that the standoff over Iran's suspected nuclear program is headed for the U.N. Security Council if Tehran continues to refuse to halt uranium enrichment.

"We'll see whether or not that is the firm position of their government," Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House. "If they continue their obstinance ... then the world will act in concert."

With Russian and Chinese support crucial to crafting a deal for Iran that also includes a threat of sanctions, Bush said that he "got a positive response" from Russian President Vladimir Putin during a conversation on Tuesday.

"We expect Russia to participate in the United Nations Security Council," Bush said he told Putin. "We'll see whether or not they agree to do that."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197810,00.html

Discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2317091

[EFerrari]

28. News: Hackett Files Lawsuit On Behalf Of 26.5 Million Vets

Hackett Files Lawsuit On Behalf Of 26.5 Million Vets

Reported by: A.P.
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
First posted: 5/31/2006 8:39:24 PM

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A Cincinnati attorney has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of 26.5 million veterans whose personal information was on a stolen computer disk.

The suit asks the Department of Veterans Affairs to compensate the veterans and pay for credit monitoring.

Paul Hackett filed the suit yesterday in US District Court in nearby Covington, Kentucky.

Hackett is a Marine reservist who served in Iraq and ran unsuccessfully for Congress last year.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/05/31/vets_idtheft.html

Discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2316197

[Kurovski]

29. DUer GuvWurld on Thom Hartmann's show 6/1, 11:00 AM, PT

Listen here:

http://www.whiterosesociety.org/Hartmann.pls

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1328107

[Kurovski]

30. Kick to the top! I dunno, "The Count" kinda looks Republican to me.

Almost like John Ashcroft.

Thank you, sfexpat2000 for today's ERD! :loveya:

[livvy]

31. Up to the top.... and Rec., too...Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs....

I love that book. My copy is very raggedy from many readings to kids!