Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Saturday 10/8/05

[Melissa G]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Saturday 10/8/05

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

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 "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

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

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



If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396312

All previous daily threads are available here:
http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm





Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[Melissa G]

1. Miers earned reputation for handling corporation law

Miers earned reputation for handling corporation law

BY SUDEEP REDDY

The Dallas Morning News


DALLAS - (KRT) - Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, who could be ruling on the nation's most contentious legal issues, from abortion to affirmative action, earned her professional spurs in high-dollar battles among corporations.

snip
In announcing Miers' nomination Monday, President Bush said his 60-year-old White House counsel "has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice." Among her achievements, the White House cited her work on behalf of Microsoft, Walt Disney Co. and SunGard Data Systems.

snip

In the legal battle after the 2000 presidential election, she was one of many lawyers hired to knock down claims that Vice President-elect Dick Cheney was a Texas resident, preventing delegates from backing the GOP ticket.

Cheney had been chief executive officer of Halliburton Corp., then based in Dallas and held a Texas drivers license. To avoid a constitutional issue, Cheney successfully claimed residency in Wyoming, which he had represented as a congressman and where he owned a vacation house.


http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/nation/12842152.htm

[Melissa G]

2. So....About Volunteering on that Daily news thread...

Original message
So....About Volunteering on that Daily news thread... Where are we?
I thought I'd do a status thread.. since it has been a while since we chatted on this subject. The way it stands right now. We have a coordinator job... Currently held by your truly, Melissa G ( also known as she who herds cats )

We have a Monday-Thursday shift currently held by autoank...
Weekends have been rotating between MelissaB and Melissa G. We have lately been rescued by help from the Magnificent Wilms and support from the Great Foger Rox.

Many Thanks to Everyone who Regularly Keeps the Daily News Thread going!!! Many Thanks to Everyone who occasionally posts and makes it easier for the regulars while educating the masses.

THANK YOU FOR BEING THE MEDIA!!!

More at Link below......Check it out!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396300

[Melissa G]

3. Former Chicago official pleads innocent

Former Chicago official pleads innocent

MIKE ROBINSON

Associated Press


CHICAGO - Mayor Richard M. Daley's former patronage chief pleaded not guilty Friday to violating Chicago's ban on political patronage hiring, claiming the federal charges don't even add up to a violation of the law.

Along with Robert Sorich, three other former city officials also entered not guilty pleas.

snip
The four are accused of using fraud to violate the court-ordered Shakman Decree, which bans political patronage as a basis for hiring all but about 1,000 of the 38,000 city employees.
snip
The case strikes at the heart of Daley's political empire, long manned by doorbell-ringing precinct workers who get out the Democratic vote on election day.



http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/12845287.htm

[Melissa G]

4. Senate plans its own version of vote by mail ahead of ballot question

Senate plans its own version of vote by mail ahead of ballot question




COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Senate Republicans, seeking to pre-empt one of the Democratic-backed constitutional amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot, plan to introduce legislation next week to allow any Ohio voter to request an absentee ballot.


The "no-fault" absentee balloting bill would contain safeguards against fraud that are missing from the proposed constitutional amendment, Senate President Bill Harris said in a release.

The constitutional amendment would remain on the ballot even if a law passed, but opponents could then campaign that the ballot question is no longer needed, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

Amendment backers said they worried lawmakers might repeal the vote-by-mail right after passing a law, while the Ohio Constitution is harder to change.
http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=3952682&nav=Ls19Lsgn

[Melissa G]

5. Democrats' Senate competition raises Ohio's 2006 election profile

Democrats' Senate competition raises Ohio's 2006 election profile



WASHINGTON -- The prospect of a high-profile Democratic primary for a once-safe Republican U.S. Senate seat is sharpening the national focus on Ohio for the 2006 election.


Two candidates announced plans this week to run against Sen. Mike DeWine _ U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown and political upstart Paul Hackett.

Ohio already was targeted by national Democrats for 2006 as a chance to take advantage of scandals plaguing the Republican administration of Gov. Bob Taft. Now, with controversy hanging over more national Republicans, Democrats are looking for their first Senate victory since three-term incumbent John Glenn held off a challenge from DeWine in 1992.

"In the national struggle between Democrats and Republicans, Ohio is ground zero," said Craig Smith, a political consultant who ran presidential campaigns for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman. He now advises Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman in his race for Ohio governor.

http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=3952311&nav=Ls19Lsgn

[Melissa G]

6. Voting reform facing test in Ohio

Voting reform facing test in Ohio

Friday, October 7, 2005

By JOHN McCARTHY
ASSOCIATED PRESS



COLUMBUS, Ohio - Democrats pushing an overhaul of the election system in Ohio - the state that swung the White House race to President Bush last year - are hoping timing truly is everything.

To the Democrats' delight, the four overhaul measures will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot at a time when the long-ruling Republican Party is engulfed in both an ethics scandal and a furor over an ill-fated state investment in rare coins.


"I think the biggest argument for these amendments happens to be the fact that the Republicans are out there saying, 'Well, we don't have a problem,'Ÿ" said Paul Tipps, a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.

snip
In Ohio, unions and citizens groups calling themselves Reform Ohio Now are promoting the election overhaul measures as necessary to restore people's faith in state government.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3ODczODkmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky

[Melissa G]

7. Blumenthal argues to keep lever voting machines

Newsday.com

Blumenthal argues to keep lever voting machines

October 7, 2005, 5:18 PM EDT


HARTFORD, Conn. -- Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is disputing a federal opinion that could force Connecticut to replace its 3,300 lever-style voting machines before the 2006 gubernatorial election.

In an advisory opinion issued in September, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission found that the mechanical voting machines don't comply with federal law.

This week, Blumenthal argued in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice that Connecticut's machines do comply and should not be replaced before next year's election. The letter was released Friday.

If local election leaders can't use the old lever machines, they'll be forced _ in a matter of months _ to acquire more modern voting machines such as touch screen or optical devices that scan ballots filled in by hand.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--votingmachines1007oct07,0,3150499.story?coll=ny-region-apconnecticut

[Wilms]

8. E-voting fraud is an American issue

Article Last Updated: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 - 11:44:08 pm PDT

E-voting fraud is an American issue

So many topics, so little column space. And yet soooooo much e-mail. In the media, we talk of a story having ”legs,“ meaning that it just keeps running. It seems the topic of electronic voting fraud is a centipede.

I've accumulated a mountain of studies and reports on Diebold's electronic voting machines since I wrote the Dieb-Throat columns, all pointing to the same conclusion: The software can be hacked - undetected - relatively easily by someone with the technology skills. I also received a ”rebuttal“ study done by the Caltech/Massachusetts Institute of Technology denying this conclusion, a sentiment echoed in a letter written by Diebold's president. It's become a case of software ”he said, she said.“ I'm not a software engineer. I won't even pretend to understand the software analyses littering my desktop.

I'm also not a mathematician, so I won't pretend to understand the detailed statistical study regarding the discrepancy between the exit polls and final tallies in the 2004 Presidential race. However, I understood this paragraph regarding that study just fine: ”The findings of the analysis are telling and thought provoking: In 40 states, the actual election results turned out to be more favorable to Mr. Bush than the exit polls. The probability of such discrepancies occurring by chance is less than one in 10 million.“

Why isn't the national media all over this topic like stink on a monkey? Why are we hearing about Brad and Angelina rather than a story that may shatter the foundation of American democracy if it's true? Maybe it's just not sexy enough. Maybe it won't move enough Viagra. Or maybe the grotesquely wealthy owners of the national media don't want this issue to come to light.

snip/more

http://www.dailyrepublic.com/articles/2005/10/07/opinion_columnists/opinloguerico.txt

[Wilms]

9. E-voting hobbled by security concerns

E-voting hobbled by security concerns

By Declan McCullagh

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: October 6, 2005, 4:00 AM PDT

It's been nearly five years since Americans received a painful education on the perils of traditional voting machines in Florida and almost one year since the 2004 election revealed perplexing irregularities in Ohio's vote tabulation methods.

Yet no uniform security standards exist for electronic voting machines. Even though they were used to tabulate a third of the votes in last year's presidential run, nearly all electronic voting machines in use today remain black boxes without external methods of verifying that the results have not been altered or sabotaged.

Possible threats to an accurate electronic vote tally are legion. They include everything from worms and viruses infecting Microsoft Windows-equipped systems to equipment tampering, code alteration and ballot box stuffing. On Friday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is charged with researching voting security, is convening a conference in Gaithersburg, Md., to explore technological countermeasures.

snip/more

http://news.com.com/E-voting+hobbled+by+security+concerns/2100-1028_3-5889705.html

[Wilms]

10. (NIST) Panel: E-Voting Vulnerable

Panel: E-voting vulnerable

By Anne Broache, CNET News.com

Published on ZDNet News: October 7, 2005, 2:34 PM PT

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--Overlooked bugs and malicious code pose a plausible threat to software on electronic voting machines, a panel of election experts said Friday.

At a conference held by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Commerce Department, election officials, computer scientists and academics weighed in on steps that should be taken before, during and after elections to protect the voting systems against software-related problems. Voting has gone increasingly electronic during the past couple of election cycles, but the devices remain without national, uniform security standards.

Keeping electronics systems safe is not just about fending off hackers, members of the panel said.

"All of you running voting systems now are assuredly running software that has bugs in it--presumably in most cases not malicious--but software is buggy," Ron Rivest, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the audience, composed largely of election officials from various parts of the country.

It's those bugs, the panel suggested, that are probably most likely to blame for irregularities in election outcomes. The problem can be quelled to an extent, the panel said, by insisting on a meticulous, higher-quality approach to software development, by certifying all products, and by openly disclosing the source code used.

snip/more

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-5891237.html

[Wilms]

11. Voting Rights Advocates Ask Federal Court to Block Georgia Photo ID Law

Voting Rights Advocates Ask Federal Court to Block Georgia Photo ID Law

Legal Brief Details Why Georgia Law Violates State and Federal Constitutions, Voting Rights Act and Other Laws

Thursday, Oct. 6, ATLANTA -

Voting rights advocates filed documents in federal court in Rome, Georgia, today in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of Georgia’s photo identification requirement for voting. The filing consists of the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, a 74-page brief in support of the motion, and 31 sworn declarations attesting to the negative impact of House Bill 244 on Georgia voters.

The case, Common Cause/Georgia v. Billups, 4:05-cv-201, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division, on September 19, 2005 and was assigned to the Hon. Harold Murphy.

Click on the links below to download all the latest court filings.

The next hearing in the case will be at 10 a.m. on October 12th in Room 300 of the federal courthouse in Rome, Georgia.

snip/links

http://www.votingrights.org/news/?newsitem=31

[Wilms]

12. CA: Governor Schwarzenegger signs SB 370!

Friday, October 07, 2005

Governor Schwarzenegger signs SB 370!

This evening at 8:45 p.m. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger notified the California State Senate that he has signed Senate Bill 370, which requires voter verified paper audit trails to be used to verify the accuracy of software vote counts from electronic voting machines.

The enactment of SB 370 is a huge leap forward for election integrity in our state. I am deeply grateful to the governor for signing this bill despite opposition from the Secretary of State and county election officials. Many Californians -- hundreds, possibly thousands -- contacted the Governor and urged him to sign SB 370. This grassroots activism surely helped overcome opposition to the bill and win the Governor's signature. Congratulations to Senator Debra Bowen, who authored SB 370, and to the numerous organizations and activists who worked hard to achieve this victory! For more information about SB 370, see the California Voter Foundation's letter to the Governor urging his support.

snip/more

http://calvoter.org/news/blog/2005_10_01_blogarchive.html#112874809726244557

Thanks to Einsteinia for posting

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396416

[Wilms]

13. Potential threats to new statewide voter registration systems

Friday, October 07, 2005

Potential threats to new statewide voter registration systems

by Michael Alvarez

I submitted another short paper on voting system threats to the NIST "Threats to Voting Systems" workshop organizers yesterday, on "Potential Threats to Statewide Voter Registration Systems." As many of the threat reports that were submitted for the NIST workshop were focused primarily on ballot casting and tabulation, I thought that it was important to point out that both the new HAVA-compliant statewide voter registration lists might introduce potential new threats to voter registration systems that had not necessarily been discussed. This follows the short paper that I sent to the NIST organizers earlier this week on threats to precinct voting.

In my discussion of potential threats to statewide voter registration lists, I discuss four general potential threats:

1. Authenticity of the registration file.

2. Secrecy of the registration file.

3. Integrity of the registration file.

4. Potential voter registration system failures.

snip/more

http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2005/10/potential-threats-to-new-statewide.html

[babsbunny]

14. GOP Tries To Clip Ballot Issue: Columbus Dispatch 10/8/05

Legislature to Rush Along Absentee-Voting Change. In an effort to undercut a proposed Constitutional ammendment that Ohioans will face on Nov.8, Republican legislative leaders plan to rush through a State law permitting "no fault" absentee voting in Ohio.
www.dispatch.com (you must register)

[Wilms]

15. CO: County voting faces more woes

Longmont fyi

Publish Date: 10/8/2005

County voting faces more woes

Equipment has trouble reading folded ballots

By Brad Turner
The Daily Times-Call

BOULDER — Despite assurances that Boulder County’s $1.4 million ballot-counting system would operate smoothly in the upcoming election, the equipment will not be trusted to properly read ballots where a fold passes through a ballot item, elections officials said Friday.

Election workers discovered the glitch Thursday while running 429 ballots through Hart
InterCivic scanners during a test, elections coordinator Josh Liss said Friday.

“Depending on how the ballot is folded, if the fold crosses an option box, it’s possible the machine could misread it,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll affect many votes.”

Folds running through ballot items caused the scanners to misread seven of the 429 test ballots incorrectly, he said.

snip/more

http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=4040


Thanks to JohnGideon for posting:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x396467