Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, FRI. 11/24/06

[rumpel]

Thanks to all those volunteers and monitors, who are still doing their best to obtain an "accurate" count, and to identify the problems, hopefully culminating in true reform as we head towards the 2008 elections.

mere example:
CA Los Angeles - McCormack apparently decided to do a 1% audit of Absentee Votes afterall.

Info on the November 7, 2006 General Election
PUBLIC NOTICE: Beginning on Monday, November 20, 2006, the 1% Manual Tally will begin at 8:00 a.m. on the 7th floor, room 7001 and continue daily, including Saturdays and Sundays until concluded (Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., Fridays 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.). This office will be closed on Thursday, November 23, 2006 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. All operations will resume on Friday, November 24, 2006. Hours of operation may change due to increase in workload.
http://lavote.net/

What is happening with provisionals......
1% Audit schedule in MS & pdf posted on web site

Well, as long as people elligible to vote were not placed into the database by 11/7/06 -
As long as people did not receive their absentee ballots in time -
As long as people can not verify whether their electronic vote is indeed in the tally
As long as people having to vote provisional have no mechanism to properly verify and contest if their vote was not counted

how accurate and fair are the elections?


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[rumpel]

1. AR: Election commission can’t yet certify election results

Northwest Arkansas Times

BY TRISH HOLLENBECK Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Thursday, November 23, 2006

The Washington County Election Commission met Wednesday afternoon, but was unable to certify the Nov. 7 election because of a problem matching election results with totals from polling places entered via computer into the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office.

Commissioners did sign an affidavit of compliance required by the State Board of Election Commissioners and stated that they could not yet certify the Washington County election results. They were in compliance in every other respect, according to John Logan Burrow, chairman of the election commission.

Nancy Varvil, election coordinator, said there are discrepancies between the totals reported from the Nov. 7 election and totals from tabulated tallies from polling places. There are 57 polling places and 117 precincts.

http://nwanews.com/nwat/News/47398/

[rumpel]

2. MN: On ballot-box passion, hot duds, and more

Pioneer Press

Posted on Fri, Nov. 24, 2006

CERTIFIED GRACE

At about 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, the Minnesota election was officially decided.

In a meeting room in the nether regions of the State Office Building, the State Canvassing Board, made up of Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, two Supreme Court judges and two district court judges, approved the official canvass of the Nov. 7 general election results.

That's "canvass'' in the sense of examining something closely, not the "canvas'' artists paint on. It's a word that's mainly used after elections, to indicate the formal vote-total checking that takes place throughout the state.

Technically, the candidates proclaimed as victors on election night have not legally won until the canvassing board certifies the results. The next step is the formal handover of power, which occurs when the new office-holders take over — or incumbents are sworn in again — in January.

There are three state House races still being recounted, all of them in which incumbent Republicans lost to Democratic-Farmer-Labor challengers by razor-thin margins. The incumbents are Reps. Phil Krinkie, R-Lino Lakes; Ray Cox, R-Northfield; and Greg Davids, R-Preston. The board will have another meeting in December to certify those results once the recounts are finished.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/16084832.htm

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3. WY: Candidate says ballot violated law

Jackson Hole Start Tribune

By WHITNEY ROYSTER
Star-Tribune staff writer Friday, November 24, 2006

JACKSON -- Concerns raised about the election for the Alpine Town Council show a need to clarify state law, one of the candidates says.

Jim Blittersdorf charges that the town violated election laws by only making two council seats eligible for the election.

Blittersdorf said all four council seats should have been on the ballot, as two council seats not on this year's ballot are filled by appointees -- the result of resignations. He said those seats could have been put on the ballot before the town clerk certified the candidate slate.

Candidates must file to run in May. Four candidates filed for the two open seats, including Blittersdorf -- who finished fourth in the election.

In July, one council member resigned, and a new council member was appointed. In September, Mayor Dave Lloyd resigned, and a council member was appointed to his seat. Then, someone else was appointed to that council member's seat.

But Blittersdorf argues that according to Wyoming law, when someone is appointed to an elected position, that seat is subject to election during the next election cycle. He said the town clerk's failure to certify those two seats as open "is a clear violation of the law."

But Alpine's town attorney, Elizabeth Koeckeritz, disagrees. She said the filing deadline ends in May. At that time, there were two council seats up for election. The other two resignations occurred after the filing deadline.

"In both instances it's very clear the timing didn't work to get those two seats open," she said. "The filing deadlines were well past."

Those two seats to which people were appointed will be open for election during the 2008 election cycle, she said.

Blittersdorf disagrees, and said the town clerk certifies the election ballot 41 days before the election. At that time, both council members had resigned, and the seats could have been offered as open for election.

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/11/24/news/wyoming/4091bde9715f051c8725722f00268e7f.txt

[rumpel]

4. KS: Some results uncertified

The Topeka Capital News

Published Friday, November 24, 2006

The Associated Press
HOXIE -- The Sheridan County Commission race was still undecided Wednesday after a canvassing board refused to certify a recount that changed the outcome announced election night.

The recount showed Vic Bielser defeating incumbent Ron Schamberger by seven votes.

Bielser's 227 votes were 13 more than on election night, while Schamberger's total of 220 votes didn't change from election night.

http://cjonline.com/stories/112406/kan_uncertified.shtml

[rumpel]

5. OK: Candidate loses by 1M, but seeks recount (Lugar race)

The New Hope Courier

2006/11

Wed Nov 22, 9:29 PM ET

LaPORTE, Ind. - A Libertarian candidate who lost to U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar by more than 1 million votes in the Nov. 7 election has asked for a recount in 10 precincts.

Osborn, who ran for Congress twice before, received 168,773 votes — about 13 percent of the vote — compared with 1,171,256 for Lugar, who won his sixth term in the Senate. Lugar is so popular that Indiana Democrats did not field a candidate this year to challenge him.

http://www.onelocalnews.com/newhopecourier/ViewArticle.aspx?id=28717&source=2

[rumpel]

6. TX: Russell Grant requests recount in Gonzales commissioner's election

Victoria Advocate

November 24, 2006 - Posted at 11:23 a.m.
BY SONNY LONG
GONZALES – Russell Grant, a Gonzales city councilman who earlier this month lost a race for county commissioner to a write-in candidate, has filed for a recount of the votes.
The recount, which will be supervised by Gonzales County Judge David Bird, will be at 9 a.m., Tuesday at the Gonzales County Courthouse Annex on Sarah DeWitt Boulevard.

Grant, who ousted incumbent Precinct 2 Commissioner Jim Kelso in the Democratic primary, fell short in the general election to Donnie Brzozowski by 146 votes, 743-597. Brzozowski’s name was not on the ballot and became the first write-in candidate to win a political race for a Gonzales County office.

http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/428/story/12637.html

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7. WI: Hixson maintains lead in recount

Gazette Extra

(Published Friday, November 24, 2006 11:06:13 AM CST)

By Chris Schultz
Gazette Staff

Dane and Jefferson counties are done recounting ballots in the 43rd Assembly District race between incumbent Republican Debi Towns and Democratic challenger Kim Hixson.

Hixson has a slight edge, but Rock and Walworth counties, with their heavier numbers of ballots, still have to weigh in.

Rock and Walworth county recounts will go into next week, and Rock County may take longer.

Towns requested the recount when the final unofficial returns showed Hixson with an 11-vote advantage, 10,289-10,278.

The recount showed that Towns carried the Dane County part of District 43, but that was not unexpected. In the tiny sliver of Main Street in Edgerton that pokes into Dane County, the recount showed Towns with a 3-1 advantage.

http://www.gazetteextra.com/eln_43rdrecount112406.asp

[rumpel]

8. Asia Week: Campaign 2006 In Review

Nov 24, 2006

Campaign 2006 was a good one overall for Asian Pacific Americans. Here is a quick overview of what happened:

The APA contingent in Congress grew. Sen. Daniel Akaka was re-elected in the Senate, as were members of Congress Honda, Jindal, Matsui and Wu. While Tammy Duckworth narrowly lost the chance to represent the people of Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, former Lt. Governor Mazie Hirono won Patsy Mink’s former seat.

More APAs became elected officials in more places than ever before. John Chiang became only the fourth APA to win a statewide position in California when he became the new State Controller. Meanwhile, we can now welcome new APA state legislators in states like Idaho (democrat Sue Chew), Ohio (democrat Jay Goyal), Kansas (democrat Raj Goyle), New Hampshire (republican Saghir Tahir) and Connecticut (democrat William Tong).

Our influence grew to the point where we were the deciding factor in the democratic takeover of the United States Senate. In turning Sen. Allen’s “macaca” slur into a call to action, Real Virginians for Webb (RVFW) members created an inclusive coalition that included minorities, immigrants and whites who did not sympathize with Allen’s barely hidden racism. RVFW members have started a new nationally focused grassroots group, Real Americans for Democracy, which could be a factor in the 2008 elections and beyond.

http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=ec058dc49ba86eafad5319127b1f4bc7

[rumpel]

9. more to come - I'll be back

:)

[bagrman]

10. OR: Opps thats right we vote by mail, nice paper trail.

Fix the 08 elections now. Change your states voting process to vote by mail. Get a refund for the electronic vote machines.

Latr

[rumpel]

11. :)

:)

[rumpel]

12. NC: More problems discovered at polls in Lenoir

Goldsboro News Argus

Lenoir County voters experienced voting irregularities for the third time this year after 207 voters were given the wrong ballot in one of Kinston's precincts, election officials said.

Lenoir County Board of Elections Director Dana King said poll workers in the K-5 precinct gave those who tried to vote in the Nov. 7 general election the wrong ballots.

The K-5 precinct is split between the 10th and 12th North Carolina House of Representatives seats. The 10th District House race was between Democrat Van Braxton and Republican Willie Ray Starling, which Braxton won by more than 1,300 votes. District 10 includes all of Greene County and parts of Lenoir and Wayne counties.

Rep. William Wainwright, D-District 12, won his ninth consecutive term to the N.C. House by beating Republican John Pearcy Wetherington by about 1,500 votes.

The initial 207 voters at the K-5 precinct were given a 10th House ballot instead of a 12th House ballot, Mrs. King said.

http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2006/11/24/more_problems_discovered_at_polls_in_lenoir/index.shtml

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13. NH: Shea-Porter's win poignant political irony

The Hampton Union

My wife and I accepted an invitation to two Democratic congressional receptions held in Washington, D.C. a week after the recent election. I don't want you to think our trip was some political junket. We paid for our airfare, hotel room, and food and local transportation. So there.

Upon meeting members of Congress, my overriding impression was they are pretty much like us. That's not really so surprising; we are a representative democracy after all. Our elected officials are supposed to be like us. Also, living in New Hampshire, we come in contact with so many politicians who aspire to be president that, after a while, we are no longer in awe of them.

At the second reception, we met our newly elected congresswoman, Carol Shea-Porter. She was full of interesting stories about her first days in Washington. In one of those political ironies that are more common than you might expect, Carol had her picture taken with President Bush and his wife, Laura, at an orientation held for all congressional freshmen. The photo is a required ritual for all incoming members of Congress. Irony stems from how Laura Bush was sent to our district just before the election to prop up Jeb Bradley's faltering campaign. So, we had the First Lady and the candidate she was sent to defeat smiling at one another in a photo-op. That's politics.

Also, Shea-Porter had a sweet moment of political revenge. You may remember the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee refused to give her money to support her campaign either before the primary or general election. The DCCC considered her unelectable. Not only did a member of the group apologize to her, he offered to help retire her campaign debt. Carol explained she had no campaign debt. The $250,000 she raised from private citizens (one-quarter the $1 million collected by Bradley) covered her low-budget campaign. Apparently, Washington insiders are not accustomed to frugal Granite Staters.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/hampton/11242006/opinionletters-h-col-patton1124.html

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14. MD: Recount Likely In Close Delegate Race

WBAL Channel 11 (NBC)

POSTED: 10:27 am EST November 24, 2006
UPDATED: 10:30 am EST November 24, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Delegate Joan Cadden is likely to request a recount in the tightly contested race for the third House seat in a northern Anne Arundel County district.

After absentee and provisional ballots were counted, Cadden, a Democrat, trailed Republican Delegate Don Dwyer in District 31 by just 28 votes.
Cadden initially led Dwyer by 719 votes, and county elections officials are anticipating a recount. "I'm pretty sure we're going to ask for one," Cadden said Wednesday.

Delegate John Leopold did not seek re-election in the district, instead running successfully for county executive in another close race. A victory by Dwyer would complete a Republican sweep alongside GOP newcomers Steve Schuh and Nicholaus Kipke.
Dwyer, first elected in 2002, said he viewed the election as an affirmation of his conservative values and proof that Cadden "does not represent the voters."
"I think this shows clearly that, especially as close as it is - whether they were Republican, Democrat or independent - the issues that I hold represent the people of District 31 and the people of Anne Arundel as a whole," he said.

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/10390429/detail.html

[rumpel]

15. VT: Three Recounts Scheduled At Courthouse

The Caledonian Record

By JAMES JARDINE Staff Writer
Friday November 24, 2006

CALEDONIA COUNTY VERMONT
Residents of the Caledonia County state Senate district won't know for certain who one of their state senators will be until Dec. 13.

That's when the two-day recount will be completed at the Caledonia County Courthouse in St. Johnsbury.

The state Senate recount is one of three to be done at the courthouse this election.

In the second recount, St. Johnsbury voters will learn who will hold one of the two seats in the St. Johnsbury House District after a recount on Nov. 29.

The third recount will be to determine the winner of an extremely close race for the state auditor of accounts office. The statewide recount will be conducted on Dec. 5 and 6 with the Caledonia Courthouse responsible for tallying all the votes cast by Caledonia residents.

http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/local_news/story/3a7da0009

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16. IN: Election final, no changes

Dearborn County Register

By Erika Schmidt Russell, News Editor
11/24/2006

Two weeks later, and the election is final. Dearborn County sent its final certification documents to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Dearborn County Clerk of Courts Phil Weaver said the county had 13 provisional ballots cast, three of which were counted when voters brought in the required identification.
That brings the total number of ballots cast in the Tuesday, Nov. 7, general election to 13,447, and no change in who won contested races in Dearborn County elections.
Proportionally, Dearborn County and Indiana seemed to have fewer provisional ballots than neighboring Hamilton County and the State of Ohio.
“For example Dearborn County had 1,051 absentee ballots, compared to about 50,000 for Hamilton County,” said Weaver.
Poll workers were encouraged in training to explain people’s options when it came to voting, he said.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17507831&BRD=2076&PAG=461&dept_id=384100&rfi=6

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17. HuffPo: Convicted Whistleblower Speaks Out on Diebold, May

Have Sentence Reduced (Brad Friedman)

11.24.2006

Whistleblower Stephen Heller Says 'Diebold Cannot be Trusted to Run Elections in America'

Plea Deal for 'Wobbly Felony' Conviction, 3-Years Probation, May be Reduced to Misdemeanor after One Year of Good Behavior

In an exclusive statement sent to us earlier today, excoriating the privatization of America's voting system, whistleblower Stephen Heller, says "Diebold has shown they cannot be trusted to run elections in America."

He oughta know.

As we reported last night, Heller pled guilty yesterday, in an agreement with Los Angeles prosecutors, after his arrest earlier this year on felony charges related to his release of attorney-client privileged documents he obtained while working as a temporary word-processor at Diebold's law firm, Jones Day.

The agreement, which required he sign an apology, pay $10,000 in restitution and not discuss the documents he released, may also allow Heller's felony conviction to be reduced to a misdemeanor charge after one year of "good behavior."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman/exclusive-convicted-whis_b_34815.html

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18. IL: An Electronic Canary

Real Clear Politics

November 24, 2006

By E. J. Dionne
WASHINGTON -- Americans can be grateful that Sarasota County is in Florida and not in Montana or Virginia.

There's nothing wrong with Sarasota, a lovely place. But if the voting snafus in the contest for Florida's 13th Congressional District had hung up either of this year's two closest Senate races, we would still not know which party had won control of the Senate.

Supporters of new voting technologies have been patting themselves on the back, saying there were no big voting problems this year.

Let them go to Sarasota.

Here's the story so far: The official vote count in the battle for -- you won't believe this -- Katherine Harris' seat put Republican Vern Buchanan 369 votes ahead of Democrat Christine Jennings out of just under 238,000 votes cast.

But in Sarasota County, there was an ``undervote'' of more than 18,000 -- meaning that those voters supposedly didn't choose to record votes in the Buchanan-Jennings race. Jennings carried the county by 53 percent to 47 percent.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/11/a_paper_trail_would_be_helpful.html

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19. NC: Kissell wants ballots inspected by state board

The Stanly News & Press

Published: November 24, 2006 08:41 am

By Joel Barrett, Managing Editor
Thursday, November 23, 2006 — Democratic challenger Larry Kissell is down but he’s not out.

The candidate for the District 8 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives said Tuesday night he’ll seek a manual count of ballots in what turned out to be the closest House race in the U.S.

"Today's machine recount of ballots in the remaining counties of the 8th District continued to narrow the gap in this tightening race, but more importantly clearly indicated to me there remains uncounted votes in the Congressional election,” Kissell said.

Kissell pointed to Cabarrus County , where “merely by repeating the exact same process of feeding the ballots through the same machines, 28 previously uncounted preferences for Congress once counted as ‘undervote’ ballots with regard to the top of the ticket, were recorded.”

http://www.thesnaponline.com/local/local_story_328084139.html

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20. Another Florida 'undervote' offers an urgent opportunity

Election technology must be trustworthy
Concord Monitor

By E.J. DIONNE JR.
Washington Post Writers Group
November 24. 2006 8:00AM

Americans can be grateful that Sarasota County is in Florida and not in Montana or Virginia. There's nothing wrong with Sarasota, a lovely place. But if the voting snafus in the contest for Florida's 13th Congressional District had hung up either of this year's two closest Senate races, we would still not know which party had won control of the Senate.

Supporters of new voting technology have been patting themselves on the back, saying there were no big voting problems this year.

Let them go to Sarasota.

Here's the story so far: The official vote count in the battle for - you won't believe this - Katherine Harris's seat put Republican Vern Buchanan 369 votes ahead of Democrat Christine Jennings out of just under 238,000 votes cast.

But in Sarasota County, there was an "undervote" of more than 18,000 - meaning that those voters supposedly didn't choose to record votes in the Buchanan-Jennings race. Jennings carried the county by 53 percent to 47 percent.

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/REPOSITORY/611240337/1028/OPINION02

[rumpel]

21. OK: Clearly Confusing

Straight-party option can be trouble
Fri November 24, 2006

The Oklahoman Editorial


AS THE newest member of the state House of Representatives takes office, he can be thankful in part to Oklahoma's sometimes confusing ballots.
odd Thomsen, a Republican, won the House District 25 seat this week after a recount gave him a two-vote margin over Democrat Darrell Nemecek, who had emerged on election night with an apparent two-vote victory. A judge in Hughes County tossed out four votes for Nemecek because the voters who cast those ballots weren't registered to vote in the district.

Oklahoma has escaped most challenges to election results based on vote totals because our optical scanning system has worked so well. You'll find no Florida-like hanging chads around here — only hard-paper ballots that are scanned and tabulated by machine, with the original ballots retained as a backstop. While some states continue to struggle with elections, Oklahoma rolls along nicely with a uniform and reliable system.

http://www.newsok.com/article/2975928/

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22. IL: Eligible absentee ballots not enough to change election results

Ceacon News

Written by Jenny Barkley
Fri, 24 Nov 2006
All eligible absentee ballots have been received by the Edgar County Clerk and are ready to be counted.
The final tally, scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 27, at the Edgar County Court House, will officially determine the outcome of the “too close to call” county treasurer’s race.

The tight race between Republican Don Wiseman and Democrat Alice Pinkston has been hanging in the balance since Election Night.

Wiseman and Pinkston were only eight votes apart at the close of tabulation, with Wisemen in the lead. The position of treasurer was vacated by Linda Lane upon her retirement at the end of the term.

County Clerk Becky Kraemer explained Election Night that absentee ballots would be honored if postmarked by midnight Nov. 6, and received by the county clerk by Nov. 21, with tabulation scheduled for Nov. 28.

http://www.parisbeacon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3577&Itemid=146

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23. ME: Timson, Cervone gracious in recount

Friday, November 24, 2006

We're not sure whether it's harder to lose an election by a lot of votes or a very few votes. What we do know is that Hallowell mayoral candidate Ed Cervone has shown us all how to do the latter gracefully and with spirit.
Cervone's is joined in that graceful spirit by mayor-elect Barry Timson. The two encountered each other at last week's ballot recount in Hallowell, where the official, election-night tally of votes showed that out of a field of four candidates, Timson had won the election, beating next-place candidate Cervone by 412 to 408.

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/3353211.html

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24. NV: It's official: Richards is Justice of the Peace

The Fallon Star Press

ANNE MCMILLIN
FALLON STAR PRESS
Posted: 11/24/2006

A recount effort initiated this week by Justice of the Peace candidate Martin Crowley confirmed the race results as determined by the voters on Nov. 7 with Mike Richards coming out on top again by the same margin.
Richards garnered 3,867 votes or 50.17 percent to Crowley's 3,841 or 49.83 percent during the Nov. 7 general election. The difference of 26 votes remained intact after Tuesday's recount.
"I had confidence in the system; it is a pretty good system," said Richards from the Churchill County Commissioners Chambers Tuesday after hearing that the results from the Nov. 7 election hadn't changed after the recount.
The formal recount effort began Nov. 16 when Crowley requested it in writing to the Churchill County Clerk-Treasurer's office. Part of that formal request included his choice of which three precincts would be recounted and he selected Precincts 7, 15 and 18.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/FALLON/611240304/1029

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25. UT: Recount process ready to go

Salt Lake Tribune

Three races hang in the balance, but initial outcome is unlikely to change
By Derek P. Jensen
and Matt Canham
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:11/24/2006 01:03:19 AM MST

They won't have to sweat for long.
Utah politicians - including House Speaker Greg Curtis - whose slim election leads warrant recounts, may learn their fate as early as next week.
Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen says it should take her staff two days to tally both paper and computer ballots, then another two to three days for an audit. Her team will start the recount as soon as the candidates file a request.
Nearly 10,000 outstanding ballots - a blend of absentee, provisional and paper votes - were added to the election night totals during Tuesday's canvass. The new margins cast three races into a recount - two House districts in Sandy and a Jordan School Board seat. The highest profile is Curtis' House District 49.
A troupe of Republican operatives, including Curtis' campaign manager, the county GOP chairman, lobbyists and an attorney hired by the state party to oversee the vote count crammed into a meeting room for the canvass Tuesday. Most sat expressionless but clearly were nervous. The speaker led by just 46 votes with 265 ballots to tabulate. Seconds after the announcement he had survived - by 19 votes - the politicos pounced on their BlackBerries.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4714289

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26. OH: Vote count edges toward finale

Cincinnati Enquirer

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Democrats and Republicans watching over a count of ballots held over from Election Day because of voter identification problems said they have found no reason to challenge the tally so far.

Election workers have spent the week reviewing about 38,500 absentee and provisional ballots. About 500 have been rejected because they were cast by ineligible voters, said Franklin County Elections Director Matt Damschroder.

The official, final tally is expected to be announced Monday, along with the winner of the 15th Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, a member of the House Republican leadership, has a lead of 3,717 votes over Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy in ballots counted so far.

About 19,500 absentee and provisional ballots from Franklin County are being counted in that race.

A conflict over voter ID arose on Election Day when poll workers did not allow some voters with proper ID to cast regular ballots, instead forcing them to cast provisional ballots.

Under an agreement with state officials, approved by U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley, provisional ballots cast in error can be counted.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/NEWS01/311240018/1077/COL02

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27. OH: Board making sense of 40,000 confused votes

The Columbus Dispatch

Friday, November 24, 2006
Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ted Strickland will get the vote of the person who marked absentee-ballot ovals for everyone running for governor, then wrote "yes" next to his name and "no" next to the others.

J. Kenneth Blackwell will get the vote of the person who filled in the oval properly but also added him as a write-in candidate.

The absentee ballots spit out by computerized scanners because of improper marks are among tens of thousands of votes that went uncounted in Franklin County on election night, but they are making their way into a second, this-time-official tally to be announced on Monday.

The official canvass is usually a little-noticed punctuation mark at the end of an election season, the certification of numbers that will be recorded for posterity.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/11/24/20061124-A1-02.html

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28. CA: Return to paper ballots and provide proof of voting (Letters)

Lake County Record Bee

Article Last Updated:11/24/2006 06:38:20 AM PST

We should always be able to have proof that we voted, and proof that our votes were counted. We also need to have paper ballots available for recount by hand. The recent fiasco in Mendocino County, where a memory stick went corrupt, losing thousands of votes, is just a minor example of how fallable electronic devices are. Heck! Ask anyone who owns a computer!

When I went into the polls on election day, there were many voting booths made of inexpensive cardboard they must have cost at most $50. In the corner was the touch-screen computer voting device must have cost thousands! I asked the trained (at public expense) poll worker about it and he assured me it was foolproof. I was dying to find out until I saw the tampering warning. He mentioned that it was made in Texas a sure sign of its quality! It seems to me that the "Help America Vote" act was just a scam to keep companies like Diebold (and their investors) in the long green.

http://www.record-bee.com/letters/ci_4712718

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29. OH: Wulsin hangs on, Schmidt moves on

Cincinnati Enquirer

BY ROB DOWDY | COMMUNITY PRESS STAFF WRITER
INDIAN HILL - To many in Ohio's 2nd District, the congressional race between incumbent Jean Schmidt (R) and challenger Victoria Wulsin (D) is over, but votes are still being counted and Wulsin is still holding out hope for victory.

Schmidt led Wulsin Election Day, Nov. 7, by about 2,300 votes, but Wulsin refused to concede until all the provisional ballots were counted. Two weeks later, the number of provisional ballots counted continued to increase Schmidt's lead.

According to the Associated Press Nov. 21, Schmidt's lead had increased to more than 3,000 votes with the provisional ballot count with only a few thousand votes left to be counted.

"We don't have every vote counted and as long as we don't have every vote counted ... I won't concede," Wulsin said.

Schmidt, on the other hand, is claiming victory.

"I've worked hard in Congress for the people of southern Ohio and I look forward to continuing that work thanks to the confidence that the voters of the 2nd District have shown in me," she said.

http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061124/NEWS01/611240314/1078/Local

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30. AZ: County Board OKs Canvass Of Election

AZ Journal, Navaho County Publishers

November 24, 2006

By Tammy Gray-Searles

The Navajo County Board of Supervisors approved the canvass of the general election held Nov. 7, making the results reported by the election department official.

Elections Director Kelly Dastrup told the board that 1,145 provisional ballots were verified and counted after the election, but that number was not great enough to overturn any of the results provided election night. She also explained that the few write-in votes received and counted did not have any effect on the outcome of the election.

According to Dastrup, voter turnout for the election was down significantly from 2004, but she also noted that it was an unfair comparison because there was a presidential election in 2004. Compared to the 2002 general election, voter turnout was down by .4 percent, with 27,090, or 47.3 percent, of the 57,599 registered voters in Navajo County participating in the election. In 2002, 24,223 of the 50,745 registered voters in Navajo County turned out to vote.

Supervisor Jesse Thompson asked how the public responded to the voter identification requirement.

http://www.azjournal.com/pages/news/2006/November06/112406BOScanvass.html

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31. CO: GarCo clerk certifies election results

Post Independent

Donna Gray
Post Independent Staff
November 23, 2006



GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Garfield County Clerk Mildred Alsdorf officially certified the 2006 election results Tuesday, releasing a report that shows election results for each of the county's 27 precincts. The report totaled votes cast in each of the precincts and excluded absentee and provisional votes. Deputy County Clerk Marian Clayton said voters cast a total of 15,307 votes in the 2006 election.

There were 9,292 absentee votes cast and 150 provisional votes, giving a total of 5,856 votes cast in each precinct either by electronic voting machine or paper ballot on Nov. 7.

In the county commissioner race between incumbent Trési Houpt, a Democrat, and Republican Steve Reynolds, Houpt won handily in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale. Voters put Reynolds ahead in New Castle, Silt, Rifle, Parachute and Battlement Mesa, however the wider margins in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale gave Houpt the overall majority.

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20061123/VALLEYNEWS/111230040/0/FRONTPAGE

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32. GUAM: Primary challenge papers filed (it's not over...)

By Steve Limtiaco
Pacific Daily News
[e-mail]

Voters and candidates who want a new Primary Election filed their final papers with the Supreme Court of Guam yesterday, setting the stage for next Tuesday's oral arguments in the election challenge.

Democratic legislative candidates Trini Torres and Robert Benavente and voters James T. McDonald, Frank D. Cruz and Peter A. San Nicolas have challenged the conduct of the Sept. 2 Primary Election, alleging that the Guam Election Commission broke federal and local laws.

Superior Court of Guam Judge Arthur Barcinas ruled against them on Nov. 4, finding that the alleged problems would not have affected the outcome of the election.

The challengers appealed to the Supreme Court of Guam, which agreed to hear the matter quickly.
If the challengers are successful, there could be a new Primary Election and General Election to determine who should be governor, senators, school board members, utilities commission members, attorney general and mayor of Merizo.

The Guam Election Commission's attorney, in a brief filed with the court earlier this week, argued that it was inappropriate for justices to consider allegations about mistabulated ballots during the Primary Election because that issue had not been raised in the lower court.

http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061125/NEWS01/611250317/1002

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33. NY: Touch Screen Trauma: Concern Grows Over New Voting Machines

Canarsie Digest

By Helen Klein
11/24/2006

As New York moves forward to select new voting machines, groups across the city are raising concerns about the touch screen models that are among those being considered.

“The problem is that not all of the machines are equal,” noted State Senator Velmanette Montgomery during a briefing on the various systems being considered by New York State that was held in the State Office Building, 55 Hanson Place.

“Some are more advantageous as relates to the security of votes, some as relates to simplicity, so people are not turned off when they go to vote. I want to make sure, in the event there is a question around voting and we need to do a recount, that is a record we can refer to, to verify the results of any election,” Montgomery asserted.

The League of Women Voters has come out against the current crop of touch screen voting machines, also known as DREs (Direct Recording Electronic), in favor of paper ballots and optical scanners.

http://www.canarsiedigest.com/site/tab3.cfm?newsid=17509518&BRD=2384&PAG=461&dept_id=552849&rfi=6

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34. CO: Poll workers in dark on backup to Web system

Each voting center had laptop with total list of registrations

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
November 24, 2006
The Denver Election Commission had a backup plan in case the Internet-based voter-registration system failed, as it did on Election Day.
They just didn't use it.

Poll workers could have checked voters' registration against a complete list stored inside a computer laptop at each voting center, possibly shortening the hours-long wait for thousands of voters.

But the backup lists were never used, election operations director Matt Crane said - even as lines snaked outside and down the block when the main system slowed and stopped. An estimated 18,000 voters left without casting a ballot.

Poll workers from three vote centers say that no one told them about the backup system.

Instead, they waited in frustration as long as 20 minutes for the Internet-based system to confirm each voter's registration and check off on the centralized database that he or she was voting.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5166391,00.html

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35. AL: Ms. Worley should go ahead and leave office

Friday, November 24, 2006
NANCY WORLEY would do the citizens of Alabama a service by resigning now from her elected position as secretary of state.

Voters have elected a capable replacement in Beth Chapman, who will officially take over on Jan. 15. But if Ms. Worley were to do the right thing, Gov. Bob Riley could appoint Ms. Chapman to take over now.

Ms. Worley's failure to cooperate in carrying out a federal mandate to create a statewide voter database has reached the point that a federal judge has threatened to have Gov. Bob Riley and his staff search her offices and warehouse, looking for documents the judge believes she hasn't turned over as ordered.

Ms. Worley says she's working on it, but thinks she has already "turned in everything that needs to be turned in." Nonetheless, she says she sent employees back to the warehouse to look again.

She may be telling the truth, but the problem is, she has no credibility left.

As secretary of state, Ms. Worley is in charge of state elections and their administration. But she missed the Jan. 1 deadline to complete a statewide voter registration database required by the federal Help America Vote Act, known as HAVA.

http://www.al.com/opinion/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1164363908225010.xml&coll=3

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36. CA: Court rules the county must hold special election in DA's race

The Willits News

By Mike A'Dair/TWN Staff Writer
Article Launched:11/24/2006 11:31:55 AM PST

The First District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Mendocino County must hold a special election to determine who will be the next district attorney.

In the ruling, the court found against Meredith Lintott and the County of Mendocino, both of whom argued against the necessity of a special election, and in favor of Mendocino County Interim District Attorney Keith Faulder, who filed the suit with the state.

The ruling stems from the September 21 death of Norman Vroman, the incumbent seeking a third term as the county's district attorney. After his death, Mendocino County Counsel Jeanine Nadel discovered Section 15402 of the state's Elections Code, which provided that when a candidate dies within 68 days of an election, the dead candidate's name goes on the ballot and the election goes forward as planned.

http://www.willitsnews.com/localnews/ci_4716789

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37. KY: Lawsuit says 81 voted with only 69 registered

Lexington Herald Leader

Posted on Fri, Nov. 24, 2006

LOSING CANDIDATE SOUGHT TO DISSOLVE CHARTER FOR TINY ALLEN IN E. KENTUCKY
By Lee Mueller
EASTERN KENTUCKY BUREAU
ALLEN - On Election Day, with the future of the city of Allen at stake, voters in this tiny Eastern Kentucky town really turned out, a lawsuit filed this week says.

But they didn't add up.

"I'm not much at math, but when I put one and one together and they don't make two, something's wrong," said commissioner Jerome Kinzer, who lost his effort to dissolve the 93-year-old city's charter by a vote of 59 to 22.

The problem is there were 81 votes cast in a town with only 69 registered voters, Kinzer said in an election-contest suit filed Wednesday in Floyd Circuit Court.

"That's a 120 percent turnout," Kinzer said drolly. "That's pretty good, I'd say. It's also a little outrageous."

The lawsuit names Allen city officials -- nearly all of them related -- along with Floyd County Clerk Chris Waugh (a former Allen mayor) and the county's board of elections.

The plaintiffs -- Kinzer, 66, and fellow candidate Pauline Bentley, 57, his sister-in-law -- lost bids for seats on the city commission by one vote.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/16086721.htm

[stellanoir]

38. wows rumpel

Are you ever thorough. :)

Happily K & R'd

[rumpel]

39. thanks, Stella - I now have this urge...to add one more....

:)

[rumpel]

40. drumroll please - our next San Diego: CA more sleepovers -no, abandoned?

Valley News

Failures during elections bring registrar’s policies into question

By Peter Surowski
11/24/2006 6:01:29 PM

Voting machines with insufficient paper, insufficient staff to maintain the machines, unreasonably long lines and voting machines left unguarded in public places for days have raised the eyebrows of many poll workers and public officials in the week following the mid-term elections.

The problem was endemic in Riverside County, according to Tom Courbat, founder of Democracy for America. Courbat, a longtime poll worker and current poll inspector and member of the Official Election Observer Panel, founded Democracy for America in July of 2004.

“The machines were constantly running out of paper,” said Flavia Krieg, a poll worker in Anza and member of Democracy for America. “We had long lines – out the door.” Krieg said the registrar ordered her and her fellow poll workers not to offer people a paper ballot, of which they only had 25 per precinct. Those who did request a paper ballot were offered no privacy as they filled it out, sitting at a bench in plain view of the surrounding crowd.

Paul Jacobs, Commissioner of Public/Traffic and Safety in the City of Temecula, brought this to the attention of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors at the last meeting on Tuesday, November 14. “The inexplicable stubbornness and refusal to include citizens in the conduct of the people’s elections is an obstruction of… the necessary right of every person in this county,” Jacobs told the supervisors. He said he had brought this subject to the attention of the Board of Supervisors before, with no result.

http://www.temeculavalleynews.com/story.asp?story_ID=18974

[EFerrari]

41. Go, Riverside County!

:toast:

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42. .....

:toast: