Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Saturday, August 12, 2006

[livvy]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.
True American Patriots

Washington DC September 2005

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 new 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).

[livvy]

1. SEC Opens Formal Invesitgation Into Diebold-posted by Garybeck in ER

SEC Opens Formal Invesitgation Into Diebold

By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA
August 10, 2006

Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a formal investigation into how Diebold recognizes revenue. In a public filing in May, Diebold has acknowledged that SEC staff had begun an informal inquiry but the company’s latest filing on July 27 reported that the investigation had been converted into a formal nonpublic investigation.

SEC investigations typically begin as informal inquiries. A formal inquiry is one in which the commission authorizes the staff to look at whether laws have been broken and carries the power to subpoena witnesses and documents.

Though both Diebold spokesman Mike Jacobsen and SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment on the investigation, it was clear that the focus of the inquiry relates to Diebold's election division, Diebold Election Systems, Inc.


this is dated Thursday the 10th but I don't see it mentioned in the ER forum. I think this is pretty big news, eh?

here's the link:
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_conten...

[livvy]

2. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x445807

[livvy]

3. AZ: Clean Election Complaint Against Munsil Dismissed

Published: 08.10.2006

Clean Elections complaint against Munsil dismissed
PAUL DAVENPORT
The Associated Press

PHOENIX - Splitting along party lines, a state commission on Thursday dismissed a campaign finance complaint that the state Democratic Party had filed against Len Munsil, one of four candidates for the Republican nomination for governor.

The Democrats' complaint contended that Munsil's publicly funded campaign apparently broke state law by either improperly delaying payments to consultants or receiving unreported contributions through the consultants' services.

However, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission voted 3-2 to dismiss the complaint after Munsil's campaign responded that it reduced its use of consultants' services during the period in question, when the campaign had yet to receive its public funding.

The three commissioners voting that there no grounds to conduct a formal investigation, a step recommended by the commission's executive director, included independent Gary Scaramazzo and Republicans Carl Kunasek and Royann Parker. Democrats Marcia Busching and Jolley voted in opposition.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/22255.php

[livvy]

4. No Investigation For Munsil Deals

Tucson Region
No investigation for Munsil deals
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.11.2006

PHOENIX — The Citizens Clean Elections Commission voted Thursday not to investigate Republican gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil's financial dealings with two consultants.

On a 3-2 vote the panel agreed to accept the sworn statements of the consultants and others that there was no deal for them to keep working in April — after Munsil's campaign ran out of its "seed" money — and then get paid the following month after Munsil qualified for public financing of his campaign.

Thursday's vote came over the recommendations of Todd Lang, the commission's executive director. He had asked the panel to vote there is "reason to believe" that the law may have been broken. That would have let him conduct a full-blown probe.
But the majority said they were swayed by sworn statements by Munsil as well as consultants Nathan Sproul and Vernon Parker, who said they had an understanding the work performed would be reduced during April because the money was running out.


>one more line which states that the commissioners who did not agree with the situation would like a further inquiry due to the fact that both of the consulting firms were right back on the payroll by May.



http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/141660

[livvy]

5. Panel Dismisses Dems' Complaint Against Munsil

Panel dismisses Dems' complaint against Munsil

PHOENIX A sharply divided state commission today dismissed a campaign finance complaint that the state Democratic Party had filed against Len Munsil, one of four candidates for the Republican nomination for governor.
The Democrats' complaint contended that Munsil's publicly funded campaign apparently broke state law by either improperly delaying payments or consultants or receiving unreported contributions through the consultants' services.

But the Citizens Clean Elections Commission voted 3-to-2 to dismiss the complaint after Munsil's campaign responded that it reduced its use of consultants' services during the period in question when the campaign had yet to receive its public funding.

Commissioners in the majority of today's vote cited sworn statements provided by Munsil, his treasurer and two consultants about their financial arrangements.


>one more line about the two dissenting commissioners and their concerns about the consultants either returning to work or increasing their work for Munsil once he got his public funding.

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5265803&nav=HMO6

[livvy]

6. Opinion: CES Shouldn't Determine What Qualifies as News

The Clean Elections Commission shouldn't determine what qualifies as news
By Goldwater Institute: (08/11/2006)

What started as a simple political endorsement in March by J&G Gun Sales has resulted in a state investigation. In its regular catalog, J&G outlined its support for Republican primary gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil, because he supports the constitutional right to own and carry firearms. The investigatory hubbub centers around how to interpret the endorsement under Arizona's Clean Elections Act.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission will decide whether the endorsement is deemed an "independent expenditure," which might trigger matching funds, or a press expenditure, which would be exempt from regulation. In doing so, the Commission places itself in the position of deciding what qualifies as a legitimate news source.

> more

http://americandaily.com/article/15014

[livvy]

7. OH: Dems Will Oppose Any Padgett Run

Dems will oppose any Padgett run
Saturday, August 12, 2006

The party believes the 'sore loser' law still applies.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The process of replacing Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Ney on the November ballot has gone according to script — the Democrats' script.

The next act likely will take place in a courtroom.

Ohio law allows Republicans to run a candidate who lost a race earlier this year or simply appoint her to take Ney's place on the ballot, the state's attorney general said Thursday.

Secretary of State Ken Blackwell sought Attorney General Jim Petro's legal opinion on state Sen. Joy Padgett's eligibility as Republicans consider how to replace Ney, who announced Monday he would not seek re-election amid a congressional lobbying scandal in Washington.

>more
http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/317710028707027.php

[livvy]

8. A Nebulous Brew (Political polls)

Saturday, August 12, 2006

A nebulous brew
A pinch of loaded questions, a dash of biased sample... experts say it pays to be skeptical of poltical polls, because the ingredients can determine whether the numbers are potable or poisonous.

By Dan Hassert
Post staff reporter

Back in 2000, when he was the lead strategist on the Jefferson County-Louisville merger campaign, Mike Shea read polls showing that white males in the southwestern part of the county were against the merger.

Proponents couldn't seem to reach them.

Then activist Jesse Jackson, visiting to campaign in an unrelated congressional race, urged residents to vote against the merger. But white males rebelled against Jackson, Shea said, and four days later a poll showed support in that demographic had risen 20 points. That helped tip the balance, and the revolutionary ballot measure passed.

Shea, a veteran GOP consultant, tells that story to illustrate a point: Political polls should be taken "with a grain of salt," because things change fast. "When you're talking poll numbers in August, it doesn't mean a whole lot," he said. "We are an eon away from the election."

>more

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS02/608120314/1014

[livvy]

9. Three Cheers For Ned Lamont - Maybe Not When You Know Where He Stands

August 12, 2006

Three Cheers For Ned Lamont - Maybe Not When You Know Where He Stands

By Stephen Lendman

Ned Lamont just beat incumbent US Senator Joe Lieberman in the August 8 Connecticut primary election to be the Democrat candidate for that post in November. Anti-war believers and activists are ecstatic as Lieberman is George Bush's favorite Democrat and no wonder. He supports about everything the Bush administration has proposed including the ongoing, out-of-control losing war in Iraq and the one fast becoming more of the same in Afghanistan - both in violation of international law as in both cases this country committed "the supreme international crime" of illegal aggression against two nations posing no threat to the US. The UN Charter allows a country to use force only under two conditions - when authorized to do so by the UN Security Council or under Article 51 that permits a nation to defend itself when attacked. Neither of those conditions were met in the US unwarranted preemptive "shock and awe" blitzkriegs against Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ned Lamont may just be a political-hopeful-come-lately who saw a lost cause in Iraq and knew from his polling data it could be a winning issue against incumbent Lieberman who never met a US-instigated war he didn't love because the wealth and power interests he represents and who fund him liberally want them. Why? Because wars are great for business, which is why we wage so many of them.

But just who is Ned Lamont, and why should anyone think if he's elected in November Connecticut will have a man in the Senate representing them and their interests? Opportunistically, he decided to run as a single-issue candidate and just ordinary guy. But despite the man-of-the-people persona he tries to portray, Lamont is a 52 year old millionaire entrepreneur who founded Lamont Digital that builds cable TV systems for universities and gated communities. He's also a fifth generation Lamont to have attended the elitist Phillips Exeter Academy prep school followed by Harvard and Yale's School of Management for his master's degree. Does that trio of schools sound familiar? Well, almost, because George W. Bush attended the elitist sister Phillips Andover Academy followed by Yale and then Harvard for his MBA.

While no one should judge a candidate by the schools he attended, close attention should be paid to where he or she stands on the issues. So what do we know about Ned Lamont? Although he opposed the war in Iraq and wants our forces brought home, he never said the war is illegal and only said he's concerned they're in harm's way and we should "start" bringing home our combat troops, apparently, in his words, leaving others there "on the periphery" (whatever that is). Lamont's stand on the Iraq war is a bit contradictory as it's in stark contrast to his views about the military. He's been very clear on that indicating he's very much a hawk who believes the US should have the strongest and most unchallengeable military in the world. Left unsaid, of course, is that the US should be ready to use it as a president sees fit, making one wonder if the real Ned Lamont would have been an Iraq-hawk if the US were winning and not losing that illegal war.

>more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__060812_three_cheers_for_ned.htm

Note on page by OpEd:
See this page for links to articles on OpEdNEws that articulate both sides on the issues in the middle east. It is the goal of OpEdNews to air opinions from both sides to stretch the envelope of discussion and communication. Hate statements are not accepted. Discussions of issues and new ideas for solutions are encouraged. .

[livvy]

11. Lamont's Votes Prove High in Area Towns

Lamont's votes prove high in area towns

By Doug Dalena
Staff Writer

August 12, 2006

STAMFORD -- Democrats who might know Joseph Lieberman and Ned Lamont better than anyone else in the state voted much more heavily in favor of Lamont in Tuesday's Senate primary.

With the exception of Stamford, voters closest to Lieberman and Lamont's hometowns chose Lamont by a much larger margin than the rest of Fairfield County.

Stamford, where Lieberman grew up, was the sole town he won of nine in coastal Fairfield County.

In every other town between Greenwich and Fairfield, Lamont garnered 56.1 percent of the vote -- in Weston -- to 68.3 percent, in his hometown of Greenwich.

>more

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.numbers2aug12,0,4687806.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines

[livvy]

12. More Politicians Should Buck Party Lines

More politicians should buck party lines
By the Paradise Post Editorial Board
Paradise Post

ALTHOUGH Connecticut is about as far away from California as you can get in the 48 continental states our eyes were on that state's Democratic primary Tuesday. We felt it could be a bellwether for the November election. And we were a bit surprised by the outcome.

While early polls had challenger Ned Lamont well ahead, later polls had Sen. Joe Lieberman closing the gap. We had expected the seasoned politician to pull it out.

>snip

Today both political parties seem to be polarized and speak with only one voice. Dissenters are looked at with disdain by the party faithful. Even such a popular politician as Sen. John McCain has bent under this pressure to accept the party line. Neither party apparently accepts mavericks gladly.

Nevertheless, we believe Lieberman's decision to run as an independent is misguided. His effort will ensure that the person who wins, is elected without majority support. Probably the Democratic vote will be split and even if Lieberman does win a three-way race, he will have lost his influence. He will be relegated to being a back-bencher with little clout.

>a bit more

http://www.paradisepost.com/columns/ci_4173216

[livvy]

13. Commentary

Commentary

The Boston Globe

August 12, 2006

Everyone in Washington supports democracy - until they don't like the results. U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman's defeat by the antiwar challenger Ned Lamont in the Connecticut Democratic primary this week has provoked a dark response from prominent Republicans, who have gone so far as to say that it could encourage America's enemies.

Trying to change the subject from what was clearly a referendum on Bush administration policies in Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney said of the Lieberman upset: "... from the standpoint of our adversaries, if you will, in this conflict, and the Al Qaida types, they clearly are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people."

Lieberman also is refusing to accept the verdict of the majority, vowing to run again as an independent in November and telling Connecticut voters they made a big mistake....The difference is that Lieberman's angry comments came at an emotional moment of personal defeat, while Cheney's are a cool political calculation to paint Democrats as soft on defense.

Statements that demean the choice of 52 percent of the Democratic electorate — along with Lieberman's insistence on a do-over — only serve to discourage voters, reducing turnout in elections and further polarizing results. This may be what some Republicans are aiming for; a government paralyzed by partisanship reinforces the belief that government is the problem, not the solution. Still, the system works best when the vast middle participates, not just excitable fringes.

>just one closing line about Democracy, though "messy" at times, is still the best system around, and if it's good enough for Iraq then it should be good enough for CT as well.

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS/608120323/1024/OPINION04

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14. The President's Hit Men Smear Anti-War Opponents

August 12, 2006

E.J. Dionne
The president's hit men smear anti-war opponents
August 12, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Oh my goodness, as Don Rumsfeld might say. Support for the Iraq war hits a record low, and all the president's hit men decide that it's time to smear their opponents as defeatists who give aid and comfort to the enemy.

Of course they didn't mention the poll on Iraq released by CNN on Wednesday. As a basis for their guilt-by-association campaign, they used the fact that Democratic voters in Tuesday's Connecticut primary favored antiwar businessman Ned Lamont over Sen. Joe Lieberman.

The gentlemen who have gotten us into a mess in Iraq prefer not to explain how they'll fix things. They would rather use national security for partisan purposes, and they were all out there on Wednesday, spewing incendiary talking points. Hey, they may not have sent enough troops to win a war, but they sure know how to win mid-term elections.

In a telephone call with journalists, Vice President Dick Cheney came close to suggesting that there is a new political blog out there called "al-Qaida for Ned." His words have not received nearly the attention they deserve.

>more

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/OPINION/608120303/1002

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15. Lieberman's Loss Makes Cheney TalkTerror- Arianna Huffington gets it right

There are a ton of editorials about this issue in today's news. I think I'm going to let Arianna Huffington have the last word on this. This is an excellent read. She says it best. Recommend!



If Democrats can't effectively repudiate the GOP's fear-mongering strategy of linking Iraq to national security, they can kiss 2006 -- and 2008 -- good-bye.

Lieberman's Loss Makes Cheney Talk Terror
By Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost.com
Posted on August 12, 2006, Printed on August 12, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/40231/

At a time when the real enemies in the war on terror have reared their murderous heads (exploding shampoo? no need to sex that up), to hear Dick Cheney and company using illogical, over-the-top, fear-mongering rhetoric conflating Ned Lamont's victory with the war on terror is as deeply offensive as it is jaw-droppingly outrageous.

Chutzpah doesn't even begin to describe the Vice President of the United States suggesting that the outcome of the Connecticut primary might embolden "al Qaeda types". Sure, and the final tally on So You Think You Can Dance will really give them the greenlight: "Travis beat Benji? The infidels must die!"

The argument is as phony as Joe Lieberman's claim that he's running as an independent for the sake of his party and his country.

The GOP message machine knows how ludicrous it is to keep tying the war in Iraq to the war on terror, but they also know how effective it has been. So there they go again, with Cheney claiming that Lieberman was "pushed aside because of his willingness to support an aggressive posture in terms of our national security."

>more
http://www.alternet.org/story/40231/

[livvy]

10. A Primary Lesson

Article published August 12, 2006

A primary lesson

THE results of this week’s primary elections in a handful of states have to make incumbent politicians nervous. While certainly much can happen in the closing months of midterm campaigns, the outcome of select primary races clearly suggests voters want change in November.

Whether that change will be as dramatic on Capitol Hill as it was more than a decade ago is unknown, but a trend toward “throwing the bums out” definitely appears to have been established in some early contests.

Chief among those was the Democratic primary election in Connecticut, where Joe Lieberman, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Senate, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000, and a 2004 presidential candidate, was defeated by a political neophyte.

It was a stunning chapter in the political career of Senator Lieberman and one that could indicate equally striking consequences in the general election.

>more

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/OPINION02/60812015

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16. Alaska: Touch Screen Voting Too Risky For Upcoming Elections

Alaska: Touch Screen Voting Too Risky For Upcoming Elections

By Kay Brown, Alaska Democratic Party
August 11, 2006
Diebold's Federal Certification May Not Be Valid



The Division of Elections should not use Diebold touch screen voting machines in upcoming elections due to reports that Diebold fraudulently obtained certification, the Alaska Democratic Party said today.

Alaska's electronic voting machine vendor, Diebold Elections Systems, may have defrauded the federal certification process for its touch screen voting machines by withholding source code from review, according to a report published by Vote Trust USA, a national non-partisan, non-profit group devoted to ensuring the integrity of elections.

Under Alaska law, voting machines and vote tally systems must be in compliance with the voting system standards approved by the Federal Election Commission before they can be used in a state election.

Given the potential that Diebold’s touch screen machines depend on software that has been reviewed by no one except Diebold, and the potential that federal certification requirements have not been met, the Democratic Party urged the Division of Elections not to use its Accuvote TSx touch screen machines in the upcoming elections.

>more

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1661&Itemid=113

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17. Alaska Voting Must Be Made Secure

Alaska Voting Must Be Made Secure

By Kay Brown
August 11, 2006

Alaska's vote-counting system has flaws that could threaten the integrity of upcoming elections, according to voting technology experts.

A report on how to protect elections in an electronic world was issued in June by a task force on voting security at the Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law. This nonpartisan think tank's report details how Diebold's optical-scan and touch-screen machines could be attacked and votes manipulated (www.brennancenter.org).

The task force found more than 120 security threats that affect the three most common electronic voting systems. Alaska has two of these systems -- 1) Diebold optical scanners and 2) Diebold touch-screen machines with voter verified paper trail, to be used here for the first time in August.

The touch-screen machines are particularly unreliable, insecure and vulnerable to attack. Diebold's ubiquitous optical scanners also are vulnerable.

In Alaska, questions remain about the vote counts from Diebold's optical scanners that showed a massive misreporting of votes in Alaska's 2004 general election, with turnout reported at more than 200 percent in 16 of the 40 State House districts and other anomalies. The Alaska Democratic Party has sued the Division of Elections in an effort to get public records from that election. A court hearing will begin Sept. 25 that will determine whether the state must release the electronic database containing those votes.

>more

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=8&Itemid=113

[livvy]

18. Arizona: Brennan Center Commends Pima Co. For Implementing Security...

Arizona: Brennan Center Commends Pima Co. For Implementing Security Procedures For Electronic Voting
By Brennan Center for Justice
August 10, 2006

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law has commended the Pima County Board of Supervisors (AZ) for adopting rigorous security procedures for electronic voting machines being deployed for the first time in September's primary election.

Pima County's action comes less then two months after the Brennan Center's Task Force on Voting System Security released a report and policy proposals concluding that all three of the nation's most commonly purchased electronic voting systems are vulnerable to software attacks that could threaten the integrity of a state or national election. Pima County's security newly enacted security protocols follow many of the security recommendations of the Task Force's report.

"As electronic voting machines become the norm on Election Day, voters are more and more concerned that these machines are susceptible to fraud," said Michael Waldman (pictured at left), the Brennan Center's Executive Director. "These machines are vulnerable to attack. That's the bad news. The good news is that jurisdictions like Pima County are taking steps to protect the vote and reduce the risks of software attacks."

Last week, after authorizing the purchase of the Diebold TS-X touch-screen voting machines to comply with the Help America Vote Act's requirement for a private and independent voting experience for people with disabilities, the Pima County Board of Supervisors announced security procedures to minimize the threat of a software attack against these machines. According to Pima County's Office of Strategic Technology Planning, the back panels of the machines will be sealed to prevent tampering and no wireless connections will be used in conjunction with the machines. The Board of Supervisors also announced that they would require a routine random audit of all electronic votes to ensure their accuracy.

>more

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1656&Itemid=113

[livvy]

19. FL: What's New in Volusia? Not Bilingual Ballots

Posted on Fri, Aug. 11, 2006


What's new in Volusia? Not bilingual ballots
Preparing for new voting machines left no time, official says
DENISE-MARIE BALONA
The Orlando Sentinel

Volusia voters won't get bilingual ballots this year after all.

Several months ago, Volusia County Elections Supervisor Ann McFall announced that residents would be able to vote in either English or Spanish this election season. But now she says she must put off plans for bilingual ballots because her office is so busy preparing for an election using new touch-screen voting machines.

The announcement drew mixed comments from some Hispanic community leaders who had hoped bilingual ballots would encourage more Spanish-speakers to vote.

McFall said Tuesday that getting ready for this year's election has taken longer than expected in part because the new voting machines didn't arrive until late May. She said she decided not to offer bilingual ballots two weeks ago, when she realized she didn't have enough time to print ballots in Spanish and hire a private company to translate the "audio ballots" used by the blind and those who can't read.

She said she plans to begin offering Spanish ballots in 2008. Meanwhile, she has started printing information such as how to register to vote in Spanish. She will continue offering sample ballots in Spanish, however, and posting bilingual poll workers in voting locations.

>more

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/15246979.htm

[livvy]

20. MD: Early Vote Plan Is Rejected By Court

From Saturday's Sun

Early vote plan is rejected by court
Judge says it violates Maryland Constitution

By Andrew A. Green
Sun Reporter

August 11, 2006, 9:42 PM EDT

An Anne Arundel County circuit judge ruled Friday that the General Assembly's plan to allow voters to cast ballots in the week before Election Day is unconstitutional, a victory for the governor who has made opposition to early voting a central issue in the fall campaign.

Circuit Judge Robert A. Silkworth ruled that the General Assembly's plan violated the clear language of the Maryland Constitution, which says citizens may vote in their local election districts on a specific day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

"Maryland can adopt early voting if it wants by a constitutional amendment," said M. Albert Figinski, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case. "What it can't do, in my view and apparently the judge's view, is to do it by legislation."

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. said in a statement that he has already filed an appeal of the decision, and both sides say the issue will be settled by the Court of Appeals, Maryland's highest court. Curran said he expects briefs to be filed within 10 days and oral arguments by the end of this month.

>more

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-voting0811,0,4644026.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

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21. OH: Cuyahoga Commissioners Encourage Absentee Voting

Cuyahoga commissioners encourage absentee voting
Friday, August 11, 2006
By M.R. KROPKO Associated Press Writer

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

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

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

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

>more

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=301560&Category=13

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22. TN: Elam Thinks Early Voting Setup Cost Her Votes

Thursday, 08/10/06
Elam thinks early voting setup cost her votes

By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer

Wilson County voters had two early voting sites to choose from: one at the county Election Commission headquarters in Lebanon and the other in Mt. Juliet. Those using the Lebanon site had twice as long to vote, however, and Mt. Juliet Mayor Linda Elam thinks that might have affected the outcome.

Mt. Juliet officials asked the county to staff the site there because of a long ballot in local races and paid $10,000 for the service, Elam said. She said that request came in 85 days before early voting started, a time frame she considered sufficient for the county to staff Mt. Juliet the entire period of early voting, which was two weeks.

But because the county used two different voting machines — some old and some new — and because the equipment arrived in late June, leaving little time for training, the Election Commission was able to staff Mt. Juliet for only the second of the two weeks, said Lynn Harris, county election administrator.

One of the most heated races was for the county mayor's seat between the incumbent Robert Dedman and Elam, who lost.

>more

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS01/608100397

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23. TX: Investigation Into Fraud Allegations Begins

The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/

Investigation into fraud allegations begins
August 11, 2006
Kaitlin Bell
Monitor Staff Writer

EDINBURG — A grand jury investigation into the Alton city elections may begin soon, after county elections officials opened a locked ballot box on Thursday to look for evidence of voter fraud.

Armed with a judge’s order authorizing her to open the locked ballot box, Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro separated 85 disputed mail-in ballots from various voter tallies, sign-in sheets, unused ballots and other materials mixed in since the May elections.

Sheriff’s deputies seized the locked box from Alton City Hall in mid-June, but Navarro said she had held off opening the box until she knew there was a "strong likelihood" a grand jury would investigate the city’s elections.

Navarro’s office has received more than 20 official complaints, including some from elderly residents alleging the mayor’s wife took their mail-in ballots before they had selected a candidate.

>more

http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=14764&Section=Valley

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24. Texas Mayor Files For Delay's Seat

Posted on Fri, Aug. 11, 2006


Texas mayor files for Delay's seat

APRIL CASTRO
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas - Sugar Land's Republican mayor on Friday became the first person to file as a write-in candidate on the ballot for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who resigned from Congress in June amid allegations of money laundering.

DeLay tried to render himself ineligible for the race by moving to Virginia so that another Republican could replace him on the ballot for the suburban Houston seat.

But a federal appeals court ruled last week that DeLay, who won the March Republican primary election, is still eligible and must remain on the Nov. 7 ballot, leaving state Republicans to organize behind a write-in candidate.

Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace filed his application Friday. Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs has said she would run for the seat only if the GOP said it would backed her.

A spokeswoman for the state GOP, Gretchen Essell, said party leaders had not determined which candidate they would support in the race.

The Democratic candidate on the ballot will be former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson.

>more

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/15255136.htm

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25. AZ: Dems Called More Business-Friendly

Local News
Dems called more business-friendly
By Dennis Welch, Tribune
August 12, 2006

One of the state’s most influential business groups flunked a majority of East Valley Republicans in its latest legislative report card. Democrats, on the other hand, passed with flying colors.

The East Valley Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 5,500 businesses, handed out failing grades to 10 of the region’s 17 GOP lawmakers in a report released this week.

Tom Dorn, who lobbies for the alliance, said the report shows a disconnect between the needs of East Valley businesses and the follow-through of Republican lawmakers.

Dorn said the group meets with lawmakers to outline their priorities before the beginning of each legislative session. The grades were based on each lawmaker’s voting record.

>more
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=71543

[livvy]

26. NC: Voting Machines Working Well (except for the stands)

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Voting machines working well

By Alex Keown

Daily Times Staff Writer

The county's new voting machines got off to a wobbly start in May, but elections officials are expecting a sturdier November.

The performance of the new electronic voting machines themselves isn't the issue, it's the stands they were affixed to.

A majority of the stands used in the primary wobbled slightly, although none collapsed.

Ann Cone, director of elections for Wilson County, said the wobble factor is the fault of the booths' legs. The legs built for the plastic stands provided by Electronic Systems and Software, the company that built the machines, would never fit easily into the slots they were designed for, making most stands unstable.

>more

http://www.wilsondaily.com/Wil_region/Local_News/317706393277977.php

[livvy]

27. Advocate Offers Voting Fraud Solutions

Advocate offers voting fraud solutions

By Amy Hillenburg
[e-mail]

Saturday August 12, 2006

MOORESVILLE

Cindy Hoffman said she couldn't live without her computer, but every day finds evidence of scams in her email inbox.

Hoffman, guest speaker Wednesday at the Democracy for Morgan County meeting, said a belief in the infallibility of computers is misplaced. Computers are programmed by humans and are more prone to error than people think.

"Even banks make mistakes on the computer," Hoffman said.

Hoffman is a citizen's advocate for ending voter fraud. She teaches physics and introduction to psychology at Indiana University. Armed with voting facts and statistics from the Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause and Voters Unite, Hoffman discussed the imperfections of electronic voting systems.

>more

http://www.reporter-times.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=34493&format=html

[livvy]

28. Secretaries of State: Flashpoint in '06?

Saturday, August 12, 2006
Secretaries of state: Flashpoint in '06?
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer

Ohio’s top election official, J. Kenneth Blackwell, has handed over some of his election duties to an aide while he campaigns to be that state’s first black governor, hoping to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Blackwell, a Republican, is among 20 secretaries of state running for office this year while also serving as the state’s chief election official. Unlike Blackwell, most other secretaries of state with their name on the ballot don’t recuse themselves from key election duties.

Democrat Chet Culver of Iowa has kept his duties as secretary of state while running for governor. In Georgia, Cathy Cox (D) also opted not to relinquish her secretary of state responsibilities during her unsuccessful primary bid again Lt.Gov. Mark Taylor, who will face Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue in November.

The controversy over “hanging chads” and voter irregularities during the 2000 presidential election in Florida thrust the secretary of state into the public spotlight as never before. This year, races for secretary of state are emerging as a new flash point for bitter partisan struggles over how balloting is run.

>more



http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=133959

[livvy]

29. WV:Outdated voting machines — Online auction of equipment makes ‘cents’

Outdated voting machines — Online auction of equipment makes ‘cents’

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

When new technology makes old tools obsolete, government entities may be faced with the dilemma of storing useless equipment that gathers dust and takes up valuable space.

Confronted with this very scenario, Tazewell County officials are thinking outside of the box to clear areas of outdated lever-style voting machines — and, perhaps, make a few bucks in the process.

After completing a state-mandated update to new electronic machines, county officials are hoping to sell the old machines on the ever-popular online auction site, eBay.

Currently, there are about 50 to 75 old voting machines in the county. Some are stored in schools, and plans are to get the machines moved to a centralized location for inventory before classes resume.

he county Board of Supervisors is hoping to display some of the lever machines at the Historic Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell.
And, the rest — well, it will be up to the online bidders.

>more

http://www.bdtonline.com/editorials/local_story_223151956.html?keyword=topstory

[freedomfries]

30. K & R

Thanks for all the great info livvy!

[blue4barb]

31. one more k/r

Thanks livvy.

[livvy]

32. Thanks, blue! Glad to see you in Election Reform!

:hi: It was nice chatting with you at the meetup!

[blue4barb]

33. My most passionate forum! Great photo of you and SharonRB

from Washington. Really enjoyed meeting you last week. :-)

I don't post much, but I frequent this forum.