Help needed in audits of 8 undecided Cong. races with less than 2000 vote margins

[philb]

There will be recounts in many of these but they should not be decided just by recounting the votes. There almost surely
was manipulation and irregularities that would have affecte this number of votes, based on the experience of the EIRS monitoring of the 2004 elections in these areas.

The campaigns need to do or have help doing the following:

Before conceding in a close race, due to recent widespread manipulation I would audit the results.

The most common way to swing elections in recent years are touch screen manipulation and absentee ballot stuffing. Regarding absentees, look at absentees accepted(similar % to reg.election?, pattern of when requested and when received, were they all received in big group?), absentees rejected(why?balance?, ) balance/bias is absentees requested and sent?


In general there are also a lot of Dem votes lost by manipultion of registrations, purges, dirty tricks, provisionals.

Regarding touch screen results, look at the state website for number of undervotes and overvotes. Follow up in unusual precincts.

The Jennings District 13 race in Florida appears to have been hacked this year by touch screen "switch to blank" hacks(results in high undervotes). That happened in lots of areas in 2004 races. You can also look for precincts with unusual percentages, indicative of "switching".

there have also been swings due to "illegal purges" of Dems for questionable reasons, manipulation of registrations, disinformation and dirty tricks resulting in rejection of provisionals of minority voters, etc.

If there are questions contact someone like me or the Verified Voting or VotersUnited people who have been involved in the election protection process.


Anyone have updated info on these races? A littel audit help could swing any of them.

[philb]

1. Madrid(Dem) vs Wilson(Repub) in Arizona

Repub incumbent Wilson proclaims re-election victory, Patricia Madrid(Dem) says it's premature; won't concede
By Kate Nash (Contact) Updated 12:09 p.m., November 10, 2006
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/nov/10/wilson-declares-victory/
While Wilson's people say they had an insurmountable lead of 1,600 votes as of Thursday night, Madrid's campaign says there are still about 4,000 uncounted ballots. They will wait until all the votes are counted

New Mexico had such a large amount of irregularities in 2004 that the irregularities were enough to swing the election from Kerry to Bush there are likely similar types of problems this time

www.flcv.com/newmex.html
www.flcv.com/bernalil.html this county very important in this election, minority county

[philb]

11. Anyone have info on irregularities in any of these? or 2006 EIRS data

or does anyone know how to get access to the Common Cause hotline database info in these areas?
CC likely has the most info on irregularities in these elections if anyone knows how to access their info???

[philb]

22. Illegal dirty tricks again in minority precincts in New Mexico

Illegal dirty tricks in minority precincts again:
Some New Mexico voters complained they had received phone calls giving them incorrect information about where in vote. http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/voting.problems.ap/index.html

[philb]

45. lots of mass mailings to minorities in Bernalillo Co. telling them the wrong polling place again

as in 2004, to cause them to not get their vote counted

The DU software does not allow posting the full URL
so go to http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do
and click on New Mexico, then Polling Place problems


huge problems in 2004
www.flcv.com/newmex.html

[LeahD]

26. Republicans are on the offensive this year in NM.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/nov/07/wilson-republicans-cry-foul-precincts-run-out-ball/


U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson and an attorney for the state Republican Party said at least two heavily Republican precincts in the Northeast Heights received only a fraction of the paper ballots needed, a move they called a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise GOP voters.

A spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office said it appeared to be a numerical error in which a zero was dropped. Two precincts that should have received 1,500 and 1,700 ballots, respectively, instead got 150 and 170.

[philb]

39. Don't officials know enough to check if they have what might be needed before an election

Are partisan SOEs paying more attention to campaigning than to insuring a reliable, transparent result?

[philb]

49. Ruling that Madrid would have to front full cost of recount in extremely close race means no full

recount; but partial recount possible due to the large amount of irregularities reported in the election
Ruling was that recount will cost $7000 per precinct; making large recount prohibitory

http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/11/21/cq_1976.html


Some of the types of irregularities reproted in the bitter hard fought race are found in EIRS reports for 2006

http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do
click New Mexico

[philb]

50. Ruling that Madrid would have to front full cost of recount in extremely close race means no full

recount; but partial recount possible due to the large amount of irregularities reported in the election
Ruling was that recount will cost $7000 per precinct; making large recount prohibitory

http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/11/21/cq_1976.html


Some of the types of irregularities reproted in the bitter hard fought race are found in EIRS reports for 2006

http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do
click New Mexico

[philb]

53. Requirement for full prepayment of recount cost again results in no recount of close election inNM

ALBUQUERQUE — More than a week after Republican Rep. Heather A. Wilson claimed a razor-thin election victory, her Democratic challenger conceded Tuesday, saying a recount would cost too much and there was no guarantee it would reverse the result.

New Mexico's Wilson won by 875 votes — the final tally showed the five-term congresswoman with 105,921 votes to 105,046 votes for Democrat Patricia Madrid, the state attorney general.

The difference was less than one-half of 1%, which in some states would have triggered an automatic recount, but New Mexico does not have an automatic recount law. Madrid could have requested a recount, but she would have had to pay for it, and she estimated a districtwide recount could reach $300,000.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-results22nov22,1,1415741.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true


Some states deal with this issue by requiring a hand recount in a percentage of precincts.
Then requiring a full recount if the sample recount provides evidence a full recount might change the result.

[philb]

60. State Republican Party calls voters and tells them of incorrect polling place changes in New Mexico

State Republican Party calls voters and tells them of incorrect polling place changes in New Mexico

Part of Major voter suppression efforts in minority areas
Is criminal activity relevant to the close Madrid/Wilson Congressional race in this county?

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3730

[alittlelark]

15. Uh, that race is NM, not AZ

I grew up there.

[texpatriot2004]

16. FYI The Madrid Wilson race is in NM not AZ nm

[philb]

18. Computer glitch problems cause long lines in New Mexico

Across the state. The computer system used to verify voter registrations at early voting sites across the state malfunctioned, causing major problems and long lines. Story Archive
http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?ID=17959

[philb]

48. Ruling that Madrid would have to front full cost of recount in extremely close race means no full

recount; but partial recount possible due to the large amount of irregularities reported in the election
Ruling was that recount will cost $7000 per precinct; making large recount prohibitory

http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/11/21/cq_1976.html


Some of the types of irregularities reproted in the bitter hard fought race are found in EIRS reports for 2006

http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do
click New Mexico

[philb]

2. 2 undecided Ohio Congressional races- Dems trailing slightly in both

With 20,000 ballots still uncounted and her lead just 2,835 votes, Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce yesterday declared victory over Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy in their hard-fought race for Congress http://www.dispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/11/09/20061109-A1-02.html

************************************************************************************************************
Ohio Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt, who called Democratic Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) a coward, is ahead of her challenger by 2,862 votes. Wulsin not ready to concede
2nd District candidates wait for provisional ballot count.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061109/NEWS01/611090415
********************************

There was a huge amount of election irregularities in Ohio in 2004, and likely was also in 2006. For the types of problems to look for see:
www.flcv.com/ohiosum.html & www.flcv.com/greenrc.html

there should be problems to find of the manitude of these leads

[roseBudd]

17. I would focus on Clermont for Mean Jean, her special election involved 91 precincts

that were tabulated later after it was proclaimed that moisture prevented them from being tabulated before the Hamilton County (more populous) returns were in. Autorank may have data.

Clermont also got caught with stickers on ballots in '04. 04, 05 and 06 were all ES&S Optiscan.

[philb]

19. Lots of machine problems in Ohio again; which of these affect the Cong. races?

Ohio
Athens County. ES&S 650 misfed ballots until repaired by a technician. Story http://www.athensmessenger.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=1787&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=273&S=1

Franklin County. ES&S Model 100 couldn't read ballots. Poll worker set them aside to be scanned later. Polls opened late in states biggest Democratic area. Democrats sue Cuyahoga County. Story Archive http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/15950479.htm

Cuyahoga County. Forty-three of the county’s 573 voting places either failed to open on time or couldn’t get some or all of their electronic voting machines to work. Voters were turned away. Story Archive http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6749

Cuyahoga County. Candice Hoke, director of Cleveland State’s Center for Election Integrity, said some of her public monitors reported that poll workers were incorrectly requiring some voters who used paper ballots to fill out a provisional voter form. Voting results for any of those forms won’t be counted until the official count begins 11 days after the election. Story Archive http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/election/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_vpdebate/archives/2006_11.html#201826
Cuyahoga County. Voter's name wasn't on the rolls, even though he had a card telling him his polling place. County officials determined that he was classified as an inactive voter, even though he voted in the May primary. Story Archive http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/15950479.htm

Stark County. Diebold touch screens weren't working, and voters were told they would have to vote provisional ballots, which aren't counted until 10 days after the election. In some polling locations, voters had to touch the screen as many as 15 times to get it to register a vote. Story Archive http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=9&ID=317947&subCategoryID=0
Trumbull County and elsewhere in the state. Diebold touch screens fail to display one of the pages of text for Issue 2 when they are in "large-text mode". Story Archive
http://community.vindy.com/profile.php?refer=www.vindy.com%2Fcontent%2Flocal_regional%2F308822736017290.php
Cuyahoga County. Diebold scanner fails one of four pre-election tests. Michael Vu said, "It's not unusual in the testing that we find an anomaly. Our testing is going over and beyond the normal testing of the past." The officials will check the calibration. Some machines may be too sensitive and will be set aside and replaced. Story Archive http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/15924909.htm
Cuyahoga County. Severe security lapse. County officials used ordinary laptops, vulnerable to viruses, to retrieve and archive data from memory cards, which Princeton researchers have shown are capable of carrying viruses that would infect voting machines. “I first raised concerns to the Cuyahoga County Board of Election in mid-Summer, after Secretary of State Blackwell released an advisory about transferring electronic election data to CD ROM. After I witnessed the transfer, I raised concerns a potential security breach to Cuyahoga Board of Elections Chairman Bennett and the rest of the board on October 2nd,” said Adele Eisner. “Unfortunately, the board simply defended its dangerous practice." Story http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3715#more-3715
Summit County. A printer certified by ES&S sent 22,000 misprinted ballots to the county. Already late, the delay will make absentee voters wait even longer for their ballots. "When the ballots arrived at the Summit County Board of Elections on Thursday, staff members discovered the second page was fraught with typographical errors." No QA at the printer, it appears. Story Archive
10/21/06 - Ballot are supposed to arrive today. The same typographical errors were found on the poll-site ballots, so they will be reprinted, too. A "computer problem" cause the printing error. Story Archive http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15814784.htm

[philb]

24. Test Spits Out Wrong Results At Board Of Elections in Cuyahoga County – glitch cited

Test Spits Out Wrong Results At Board Of Elections in Cuyahoga County – glitch cited
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wews/20061103/lo_wews/10234918

[philb]

43. Columbus Ohio: ballots found that were not counted, affecting Pryce/Kilroy race

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x459979

[philb]

44. Cuyahoga had huge glitch/manipulation problems again- what races affected by those problems?

http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do

huge amount of irregularity reports in other Ohio counties also

[philb]

46. Huge amount of polling place problems in Franklin Co.- hurt Kilroys vote total

Major problems in Franklin Co.-Kilroy's strong base area-
polling place problems, machine problems, long lines, compilers not working properly,etc.


http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do
click Ohio and polling place problems, other problems , polling place inquiries, etc.

similar to major problems in Franklin in 2004
www.flcv.com/franklin.html

[philb]

47. Lots of polling place problems, irregularities reported in Hamilton Co. hurt Wulsin's total in CD2

Major problems in Franklin Co.-Victoria Wulsin's strong base area-
polling place problems, machine problems, long lines, compilers not working properly,etc.


http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do
click Ohio and polling place problems, other problems , polling place inquiries, etc.

similar to major problems in hamilton in 2004
www.flcv.com/hamilton.html

[philb]

3. Wyoming Congress race- Repub encumben Cubin

Rep. Barbara Cubin (news, bio, voting record), who threatened to slap her wheelchair-bound Libertarian opponent after a debate, is ahead by fewer than a thousand votes in her Wyoming contest. CHEYENNE - Gary Trauner, the Democrat who challenged U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., for her seat in Congress, is not ending his bid just yet.

http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2006/11/10/news/local_news/03local_11-10-06.txt

[philb]

23. CNN Exit poll showed Trauner with a narrow lead; official results don't reflect that

Wyoming Dist 1
TOTAL Cubin Trauner
Male (50%) 51% 49%
Female (50%) 48% 52%
Details:
http://webmail.pas.earthlink.net/wam/msg.jsp?msgid=50378&folder=INBOX&x=1566187255

[emlev]

28. Do you have a better link for this? EOM

[philb]

29. There's a thread on the CNN exit poll; and easy to find by search

[emlev]

27. More info on the WY race

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x458932

[hlthe2b]

30. Must be a firewall issue... I could NOT open from work, but could

on my home connection...:shrug:

[philb]

54. Trauner: Change law to allow hand counts; Wyoming law would not allow recount in close race

Trauner: Change law to allow hand counts
CHEYENNE -- Because Wyoming law does not allow for hand counting of ballots, Democrat Gary Trauner didn't think there would be any change in the outcome of the U.S. House race by simply having a recount by machine.
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2006/11/19/news/wyoming/609a665bf26f56068725722900043474.txt


Another option: hand recounts in random or select precincts with full recount if possibility of change in results is indicated

[philb]

4. Connectcut Cong. race- Courtney(Dem) vs Simmons(Repub)

Of the eight uncalled races, only one — Joe Courtney's challenge to Republican Rep. Rob Simmons in Connecticut — gives a Democratic challenger the lead. In that race, Courtney is ahead by a scant 166 votes. Recounts were scheduled in 74 other towns through the weekend.

[Bill Bored]

12. CT is mostly lever machines.

No recount possible except for manually double-checking the totals. Unless there are high undervote rates, there are not likely to be problems with these machines. Undervotes are the tipoff though -- switching is impossible.

But there were 25 towns with optical scanners this year for the first time, which are hackable. These ballots can of course be recounted and should be.

Anyone know if this race was "scanned" or what the undervote rate is?

[philb]

40. Dem wins Connicut recount by mere 83 votes

Dem wins Connicut recount by mere 83 votes

Subject: NY Times Editorial: A Photo Finish in
Connecticut
To: Open Voting Consortium discussion list


< http://www.nytimes.com/>


November 18, 2006
EDITORIAL

A Photo Finish in Connecticut

Platitudes like "every vote matters" became meaningful in
Connecticut's Second Congressional District this week when a recount
showed that Joe Courtney, a Democrat, had defeated the incumbent,
Representative Rob Simmons, a Republican, by a mere 83 votes out of
nearly a quarter-million cast.

The recount, which both sides praised for being both methodical and
transparent, didn't change the original verdict on Nov. 7, which
favored Mr. Courtney. But because the margin of victory was so thin
in the sprawling 65-town district, the day-by-day fluctuations as
each town counted ballots again seemed especially dramatic.

As various human errors were uncovered, Mr. Simmons gained 100 votes
in one town alone. He lost ground when the vote totals in three other
towns changed by more than 30 votes each. A difference of less than
two votes in each town would have changed the result of the election.

Close races are nothing new to the Second District. In 1994, only
four votes separated the totals of two Congressional candidates, with
Sam Gejdenson, the Democratic incumbent, edging out Ed Munster, the
Republican challenger. Recounts and a court decision increased the
lead to 21 votes. It was the second-closest Congressional race in the
20th century.

Next year, Connecticut will get rid of its lever voting machines,
which many towns have used since Prohibition, in favor of
optical-scan machines that will register votes marked on paper
ballots.

Connecticut's secretary of the state, Susan Bysiewicz, said the new
machines will make voter recounts slower but more accurate. That is
because voter intent is clearer on paper ballots, while the current
machines show only totals and provide no paper record of each vote
cast.

But no method of voting will entirely eliminate mistakes as long as
people, and not machines, are in charge of elections.


<http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html >Copyright
2006 <http://www.nytco.com/>The New York Times Company

[philb]

5. Georgia Cong. race- Barrow vs Burns(Repub)

In Georgia, first-term Democratic Rep. John Barrow, facing a rematch against former Republican Rep. Max Burns (news, bio, voting record), leads by fewer than 600 votes. John Stone, spokesman for the Burns campaign, said his candidate was still waiting for the final numbers
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/15965455.htm?source=rss&channel=macon_politics

Georgia has all touch screens and lots of stuff in 2004 (likewise in 2002)
www.flcv.com/georgia.html

[philb]

20. Glitches, switching,machine malfuctions, long lines affect Cong. race in Ga.

Georgia
Bibb County. Vote-switching on Diebold touch screens. Malfunctioning machine taken out of service. Absentee and compiler problems. Story Archive http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/15965334.htm
Bibb County. Problems reading memory cards. "The server receiving data from the memory cards had the incorrect host name and wouldn't read the information, Carr said. Technicians were able to fix the problem, which also happened during the July primary." Story Archive
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/15965334.htm

Bibb County. Malfunctioning Diebold machine taken out of service, put back into use when lines get long. The machine was initially shut down, but when long lines started to develop during the day, it was brought back into use, she said. Voters were told to be careful selecting their candidates and to review their ballots, she said, adding that she didn't think any voters cast incorrect ballots. Story Archive
Jackson County. Long lines in Randolph precinct kept the polling place open two hours past closing time. Story http://www.mainstreetnews.com/2006/November/J1108A.html
DeKalb, Fulton, and Cobb Counties. Vote-switching on the Diebold touch screen machines. By mid afternoon, 30-40 voters reported that votes for Democrats are switched to Republicans on the screen. Story Archive http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2006/11/08/metproblems1108b.html?UrAuth=aN%60NUOcN%5dUbTTUWUXUWUZTZU%60UWU%5eUVUZU%5CUcUcTYWVVZV&urcm=y
DeKalb County. Diebold touch screen machines broke down causing long lines and dozens of voters leaving without voting. A judge ordered voting hours extended at one polling place. Story Archive
http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6826
Effingham County. Undefined Diebold voting machine problems. And, a computer malfunction prevented transmission of the results from nine precincts. Technicians retrieved results through other means. Ga. 12th Cong. Dist. Affected Story Archive Story2 Archive2 http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5652422

http://savannahnow.com/node/176699
Clayton County. Diebold touch screen problems caused delays. Polling places stayed open late. Story http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/15953232.htm

[philb]

52. Machines switching to blank; undervotes; like in Sarasota Florida- poll workers say voter error

http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayStateCatSummary.do?catCol=placeProb&state=Georgia

Polling Place Problems; other problems, Polling Place inquires
http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do

[philb]

61. Technicans called in to determine who got how many votes in Ga. race after glitches

A combination of high-tech glitches and national politics ended when state computer experts slowly extracted vote tallies crucial to the battle for control of Congress on Wednesday afternoon. Officials emphasized results were tentative and still could not be sent to the Secretary of State's office because of the computer problems.

At the time, Democratic incumbent Rep. John Barrow of Savannah was locked in a tight contest for the 12th Congressional District with Republican challenger Max Burns of Sylvania. As of 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Barrow was leading Burns 70,913-69,861. Details about the cause and nature of the computer failures from state experts were pending Thursday.
Burns has not conceded, and indicated he'll expect a re-count following http://savannahnow.com/node/176699

[philb]

6. Washington Seattle District- Reichert(Repub) vs Burner(Dem)

In Washington state, the count in a suburban Seattle district was delayed by heavy flooding, leaving incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Reichert ahead of challenger Darcy Burner three days after voting ended.

[philb]

7. North Carolina- Hayes(Repub encumbent) vs Kissel(independent Dem)

North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes (news, bio, voting record)' campaign against Larry Kissell, is separated by 449 votes; http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-786367.html

Kissel has been running a grassroots campaign with little funding or support from the Dem party.
Qualified by petition; no major funding, no major party support, but the race is extremely close.

We had a lot of them like this in Florida that also came close, and with a little support from the party likely would have won.

[philb]

10. Kissel running low budget grassroots campaign-not accepting spec. int. contrib.

It would be refreshing if he or others doing this could win, not accepting special interest contributions,
not running TV ads, not doing negative advertising.
This one would be really great if someone could win like that in these big money/special interest days

[philb]

25. Machine problems, disappearing votes reported in NC, see the other NC thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x458728

[philb]

42. Overvotes, Machine problems found inLenoir Co. N.C.

Voting irregularities found again in Lenoir
November 17,2006
BOB SHILES
STAFF WRITER
For the third consecutive election, more than the usual number of voting irregularities have been recorded in Lenoir County. The biggest error came in one voting district where 232 ballots were cast in a district that has only 85 registered voters.

“I don’t know what all the issues are, but it is safe to say that we (commissioners) will be meeting with the Board of Elections,” George Graham, chairman of the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners, said Thursday. “We need to discuss what’s been happening so that better service can be provided to voters in the future.”

http://www.kinston.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=40497&Section=Local

[philb]

51. Some switching to blank, undervotes in Mechlenburg Co.-Kissels main vote area similar to Sarasota

http://eirs.cs.net:8080/EIRS_WEB/Reporting/displayUSReport.do

North Carolina
Polling Place Problems

[philb]

55. NC 8th District race tightens; hand recount in sampled precincts to begin

8th District race tightens slightly as recount continues

The recount Monday and Tuesday in all 10 of the district's counties shaved Hayes' lead to 331 votes — out of more than 121,000 cast — thanks to a net gain of eight votes for Kissell. The State Board of Elections today showed Hayes leading Kissell by 60,924 votes to 60,593.
John Wallace, a lawyer for the state Democratic Party and the Kissell campaign, said he filed paperwork Tuesday requesting the hand recount, which will be carried out next week in 3 percent of the district's precincts.
Under state election law, a full hand recount would be ordered if the results in the sampled precincts varied enough from the machine recount's results to potentially reverse the race's outcome if they were extrapolated to the entire district.
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661122032

[BeFree]

8. Philb

Can you list the congressional district numbers of these 8 races? I know of only two. When I have those I can find the TIA polling numbers reposted to get an idea of the expected results. Thanks.

[philb]

9. Here they are- district numbers

TIAs poll data will only match results if there isn't much manipulation and irregularities; thats unlikely in some of these.

Wilson/Madrid is District 1 (New Mexico)

Pryce/Kilroy is Ohio District 15

Schmidt/Wulsin are in Ohio District 2

Cubin/Trauner are Wyoming at Large

Burns/Barrow are Georgia Dist 12

Reichert/Darcy Burner are in Washington Dist 8

Hayes/Kissel are in North Carolina Dist 8

[understandinglife]

13. Vote # 4 - I hope it gets a # 5 ...

NOT ONE LINE OF SOFTWARE BETWEEN A VOTER AND A VALID ELECTION.

[Melissa G]

14. Oh... I gave it a 5! n/t

[philb]

21. How many of these machine glitches/excess votes affect Ark. Anderson/Boozman Cong. race?

Ark
Carroll County. Officials had trouble merging totals from early voting, absentee ballots, and election day. ES&S technician didn't know how to help them. Story Archive
Faulkner County. Problems merging early voting totals with election day cause officials to call ES&S to walk them through the process. Initially, the early vote totals were added twice to the totals. Story Archive
Clark County. Unity software compiling results from the ES&S iVotronics added in the test ballots. Same thing happened in the primary. Story Archive
Sharp County. Votes tabulated on the ES&S software showed up multiple times. Some iVotronics had paper jams, delaying voting. The program glitch was allowing votes from precincts which had been counted earlier to show up on the tally sheet multiple times, as the votes from each succeeding precinct were counted. Story Archive
Benton County. Possible computer error with ES&S iVotronics. McCarthy said some indicators from the election results Tuesday led him to wonder whether the summary reports from voting machines reflected actual vote totals. He said he did not want to elaborate on what those indicators were. A recount could affect every race, he said. Story Archive
11/09/06 update -- The problem may be corrupted result data. Story Archive
11/10/06 update -- ES&S tabulation software subtracted votes as new totals were added. "Each time the election workers submit new precincts, votes already recorded were lost." The corrected totals show a change in the outcomes of 8 races. Story Archive
11/11/06 update -- Questions remain as some towns report more votes than the entire population of the town. Others report unusually low turnout. The countywide turnout is reported at 83%, which many agree is not believable. McCarthy is working with ES&S to determine what has happened. Story Archive Story2 Archive2
11/08/06Lawrence County. Undefined problems with the ES&S iVotronics forced some voters to use paper ballots. Story Archive
Garland County. Undefined problems with ES&S iVotronics and optical scanners. Charles Tapp, chairman of the Garland County Election Commission, said Tuesday that voting "is not going smoothly" and that three technicians and three commissioners are working to correct problems. Story Archive
Washington County. ES&S iVotronic screen does not match paper printout. Clerk Karen Combs Pritchard said that, for the first two days of early voting in that county, the machines' paper printouts listed the wrong district number for a state representative candidate, although the number appeared correctly on the screen. Story Archive
Washington County. Ballot programming error. The voter-verifiable paper record printed the wrong district for the voter's choice. The candidate himself noticed that his paper record said he was in District 87, rather than the correct District 92. ES&S is reprogramming the ballots so the record will print the correct District. Election Coordinator Nancy Varvil said, "This never affected the tallying of the votes. The fix just puts the correct district on the audit trail.” Story Archive
Sebastian County Clerk says the ES&S iVotronic machines, purported to be accessible to people with disabilities, aren't. The new electronic iVotronics voting machines supplied by Election Systems and Software are not user-friendly for the visually or hearing impaired, she said. During the primary election, she said, a visually impaired voter became frustrated when he had difficulty following the lengthy and complicated screen navigation instructions. Story Archive
http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp?offset=0&sort=&selectstate=&selectproblemtype=


Across the state. The computer system used to verify voter registrations at early voting sites across the state malfunctioned, causing major problems and long lines. Story Archive
http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?ID=17959

[philb]

31. DNC Sees Six Undecided U.S. House Elections Still to be 'Winnable', Planning Challenges

BLOGGED BY Brad ON 11/14/2006 3:22PM
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3790
SOURCE: DNC Sees Six Undecided U.S. House Elections Still to be 'Winnable', Planning Challenges

Legal Resources Being Gathered by National Party to Challenge Close Elections Where Dems Currently Trail
Other Candidates, Citing Concerns About Voting Machine Failures, Also Refusing to Concede Until All Votes Can Be Verified…
Just off the phone from a DNC insider — in very much a position to know — who says the following races are being considered, as of this afternoon, to still be very much in play by the DNC (* = Incumbent, Results shown latest reported by state websites as available):
NC-8: Larry Kissel (D) 60,016 / Robin Hayes (R)* 60,481
CT-2: Joe Courtney (D) 121,321 / Rob Simmons (R)* 121,151
FL-13: Christine Jennings (D) 118,739 / Vern Buchanan (R) 119,116
NM-1: Patricia A. Madrid (D) 103,376 / Heather Wilson (R)* 104,863
OH-15: Mary Jo Kilroy (D) 98,100 / Deborah Pryce (R)* 101,636
OH-2: Victoria Wulson (D) 112,952 / Jean Schmidt (R)* 115,817
The source believes that all of the above races, each of them currently very very close are winnable and the feeling is that they "could easily win three of those six."
In each, the Democratic candidate is currently trailing as absentees, provisionals and paper ballots are still be canvassed. As well, challenges and recounts are underway in some of those races (we hope to have more detail shortly here on a couple of those races).

[philb]

32. Denver election meltdown may cost Dems the SOE race, but audit of that mess is needed

(UPDATE: Several readers have written to ask if other races beyond those mentioned above — such as the U.S. House race in Washington state's 8th Congressional district between Democrat Darcy Burner and Republican Dave Reichert — are now off the table as far as the DNC is concerned. The races reported above are the only ones named explicitly to us by the DNC sources. However, two different sources there have confirmed that they are largely driven by the folks on the ground in the states, and would encourage noise be made locally — and loud enough that higher-ups might hear it at the DNC — in order to gain more attention from the national party to other such races still of concern.)

The source also adds that the DNC is considering whether or not to ask for contributions from the public to a legal fund to assure they will have the funds needed to provide full legal resources to thoroughly challenge each of those races.
As well, The BRAD BLOG has also learned the DNC is still keeping their eyes on the Colorado Secretary of State race between Ken Gordon (D) and Mike Coffman (R), given the problems revealed in Colorado's disasterous certification procedures for voting machines prior to the election, and their massive meltdowns on Election Day in Denver and elsewhere which caused thousands of voters to be turned away from the polls due to machine malfunction.
AP is reporting today that Coffman's lead is beginning to look insurmountable, though given the fact that Gordon's numbers in Denver alone outpace Coffman's by some 70 to 30 percent, the fact that Denver voters, specifically, were disenfranchised at such an alarming rate due to equipment failure on Election Day, certainly "exemplifies", as the source put it, the need for Election Reform across the country and the importance of Secretary of State races.

[LeahD]

33. Update for Madrid/Wilson - NM

Counting of Provisional and In Lieu Of Ballots continues Friday.


This from ABQ Tribune, Thursday, Nov. 16.......
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/nov/16/madrid-pulls-closer-ballot-counting-goes/

Madrid pulls closer as ballot counting goes on

Latest Count
Wilson: 105,156
Madrid: 103,992
Uncounted: About 1,500
Source: Associated Press

State Attorney General Patricia Madrid gained on U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson by 323 votes but still needs a vast majority of the remaining 1,500 or so ballots to catch the Republican incumbent.

[philb]

34. Are they auditing for UVs, OVs, glitches, switching,absentee probs, etc.

They are much more likely to find 1500 votes there than in provionals

There were huge problems in NM in 2004, likely some problems this time similar to 2004
www.flcv.com/newmex.html

[LeahD]

35. I haven't heard anything about auditing for undervotes, etc.

This from the same ABQ Tribune article mentioned above:

"Provisional ballots were disqualified primarily because the person who cast them was not registered to vote or was registered in another district, officials said."

[philb]

36. Which was deliberate manipulation to cost specific types of voters their vote

When such occurs there is virtually always obvious dirty tricks or malfeasance involved.
The poll workers have means to know the proper precinct that a person should vote in.
If they deliberately let a voter vote in the wrong precinct to cost the voter their vote, they should be punished in some manner. This occurred on a huge level in 2004 in a deliberate conspiracy between election officials and party operatives to deny over a million minority voters of their vote. State SOS put in place regs that voting in the wrong precinct doesn't count. Then there were massive and widespread efforts to purge legal minority voters, change voting precincts in minority areas just prior to the election, widespread and common illegal dirty tricks to confuse minorities about their correct precinct, polling place marking and other irregularites in minority precincts.

www.flcv.com/summary.html

[philb]

37. Anyone can go to the SOE and SOS web site and audit undervotes and OV,etc.

If the webpage doesn't have the undervotes and overvotes listed on the results,
you can calculate them by first getting the number of voters by precinct or race from the turnout data.
Then use this in junction with the number of official votes to calculate UVs or OVs.
Its also useful to do this by election day, early voting, absentees, provisionals where the info is available.

You can also compare party registrations to the vote data to see if it seems reasonable.

[LeahD]

38. Announced Fri., Nov. 17.....Wilson Declared Winner by 879

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/breaking//apwilson11-17-06.htm

Friday, November 17, 2006

Wilson Declared Winner by 879

By Tim Korte/
Associated Press

“The overall statewide tally showed 105,916 votes for Wilson and 105,037 for Madrid. That gave Wilson a winning margin of 879 votes — with roughly 211,000 ballots cast in the race.”

<snip>

“Herrera said the results from Bernalillo included all but just over 500 provisional votes that were disqualified. Voters who cast those ballots will be notified by certified mail that they can protest their disqualification at hearings Nov. 22 and 27.”

[philb]

41. Any news of other close races? Any audit news, reports of irregularities?

[philb]

56. Two Democrats in Indiana who lost by 7 and 19 votes ask for recount due to irregularities

A Democratic state representative who lost his re-election bid by seven votes is filing for a recount. Ed Mahern lost the District 97 race to Republican challenger Jon Elrod.
Mahern cited malfunctioning voting machines and other ballot irregularities in his request. He said some poll workers recreated ballots without the voters present when the original ballots were rejected by the electronic scanner. He also says some absentee voters at a nursing home were given the wrong ballot.


The Associated Press left a message Tuesday at Elrod's office seeking comment. Monday, Democrat Larry Hile of Hartford City filed for a recount in his District 31 race to unseat Republican Representative Timothy Harris of Marion. Hile lost by 19 votes.
http://www.fox28.com/News/index.php?ID=8381

[salin]

57. I voted (maybe) in this district.

I voted an hour after the polls opened. Had never voted before in the county and on these machines. I filled out an optical scal ballot in a 'private booth'. When I came out I wasn't sure what to do with the ballot (it wasn't clear). I looked towards a machine that looked like a copier machine - and asked, what am I supposed to do with this (waving my ballot to make the question clear.) Oh, says a poll worker, usually it would go through that machine (the copier looking thing, was a scanner - feed in the ballot - and then the ballot stays, secure, in the machine) - but it isn't working yet. We will feed these through the machine as soon as it works... and my ballot was taken and put on a stack of unsecured, unprivate (votes showing) pile of ballots on the edge of a table. I asked what the problem was and if a technician was coming to fix it. She said they weren't sure what the problem was, but it may just still be "warming up" (an hour after the polls opened) - but a technician was on the way.

I had to go to work - and couldn't wait to see what happened. I registered the concern with the national database of problems. This was in an open room, people filing in and out. Big industrial blowers used to keep the room warm. Can I count the scenarios in which ballots could get 'disappeared'? Gust of wind blows ballots off of the table - and since the votes are visible to all - selective recollection of ballots with some getting lost? I could go on and on. This is the first time I have ever voted where I had a big question as to whether or not my vote would be counted. Seriously, a stack of ballots - out in the open - on the edge of a table. And a real seeming lack of concern by those working. Nice, appologetic, but not really concerned.


There were tons of problems in Marion County. Mr. Mahern is right to be contesting the vote.

[freedomfries]

58. today's editorial

hi salin
today's editorial gives you a good entry for aletter to the editor that may get printed
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/OPINION/611240325/-1/ZONES04
:patriot:

[salin]

59. Thanks freedomfries,

I tend to ignore the Star and would have missed this editorial. You are so correct that this opens the door for a LTTE that can be "heard" in the sense that it is in response to the Editorial rather than viewed as a partisan missive (and in this town - folks are open to discussion, if it seems to be on an event or issue, rather than on something that folks seem to feel is partisan, in which case they shut down - and don't read/think/etc.

Thanks for showing me an opening. I will think about how to craft an appropriate response as a LTTE that might actually be read/heard.

[philb]

62. Summary of irregularities reported to EP hotline in 2006 for N.C. and over 20 states

includes info on 2 of the counties in the N.C. Congressional race being recounted

www.flcv.com/eirstss6.html touch screen switching and glitches
www.flcv.com/eirsppp6.html polling place problems, machine problems, long lines, registration problems, ID problems
www.flcv.com/eirsdt6.html illegal dirty tricks, Robo-calls
www.flcv.com/eirsoth6.html student suppression, ID problems, intimidation, etc.