VoterGA legal surprise, "No Paper, No Problem", Ted Kennedy's contributions

"We are a better, more inclusive and democratic nation because of the contributions of Edward Moore Kennedy. Let us pay tribute to his work expanding the franchise." -Voting Matters. Aspen's former finance director says that "The road to Aspen’s May 2009 election is strewn with the wreckage of credibility-eroding acts".
Connecticut's public funding law held unconstitutional. VoterGA case reveals that the law (when Diebold machines purchased) said that new voting machines "shall have an independent audit trail of each vote cast". Petition drives reveal more cracks in PA's voter registration database. "No paper, no problem! Yet, also less integrity and no credibility!" - Luther Weeks, CTVoter. Pakistan to address flaws in its online voter rolls. Economy again: Talahassee FL changes charter mid-game to avoid a special election that might cost "from $342,000 to $680,000."

CO. GUEST OPINION *The city’s waning credibility*
A35 SATURDAY AUGUST 29, 2009 THE ASPENTIMES. COM •
...Maintaining election credibility is crucial to a free society. Once elections lose their credibility so does everything else, except for the use of force as a means for imposing political will.
The road to Aspen’s May 2009 election is strewn with the wreckage of credibility-eroding acts in the City Council’s drive to implement instant runoff voting (IRV). Early analysis to date has identified, among other discrepancies, the following:
http://votingnews.blogspot.com/2009/08/aspen-times-citys-waning-credibility.html

CO. Election glitches report on the way
County clerk wrapping up investigation Augu 29.(They use Hart Intercivic Optical Scanners) BOULDER — Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall is wrapping up her investigation into the problems that slowed the counting of county voters’ ballots cast in November’s general election...Hall said this week that she has reached some preliminary conclusions about what went wrong in 2008, when Boulder County officials delayed their announcement of preliminary vote totals until nearly three nights after the Nov. 4 polls had closed.
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=17804


CT. Connecticut Public Funding Law Held Unconstitutional Because it Discriminates Severely Against Minor Parties & Independent Candidates
August 27th, 2009
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/08/27/connecticut-public-funding-law-held-unconstitutional-because-it-discriminates-severely-against-minor-parties-independent-candidates/

FL. Tallahassee City Commission retroactively disenfranchises voters at last minute
August 27. Until yesterday the city charter "called for a special election if a vacancy comes up before November in an odd-numbered, off-election year" according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
During yesterday's city commission meeting this provision of the charter was unanimously retroactively removed ...because of "economic conditions" and the fact that a special election may cost the city anywhere from $342,000 to $680,000...
http://www.examiner.com/x-16781-Tallahassee-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m8d27-Tallahassee-City-Commission-retroactively-disenfranchises-voters-at-last-minute


GA and MA. Why Vote On Paper? Tales from Georgia and Massachusetts
August 26, 2009 In Georgia they are claiming that all electronic voting is unconstitutional...Questions will always remain about the 2002 election in Georgia when Max Cleland was defeated for the Senate and Sunny Perdue was elected Governor.
...Contrast this to Massachusetts where Recounts of ballots can occur. Mistakes happen but they don’t have to result in the voters’ intent being bypassed
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2324

GA. UPDATE on 2004 E-Voting Machine Lawsuit: Voter GA Case History and Status
August 28, 2009
Here is the most recent update on the VoterGA E-Voting Machine Lawsuit from Garland Favorito:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/amanda_lang/2009/08/update-on-2004-e-voting-machin.php?ref=reccafe

NY. New York’s 2010 Primary Could Arrive a Little Early
August 28, 2009 ...The possible date change is the byproduct of a little-noticed amendment sponsored by Senator Charles E. Schumer in the annual defense authorization bill, which passed the Senate on July 23 and is now in a House-Senate conference committee. The amendment’s goal was to give those serving overseas in the military more time — 45 days, to be exact — to receive their absentee ballots for the general election on Nov. 2, 2010, and to mail them back in
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/nyregion/29primary.html?_r=1

PA. Pennsylvania Official on Warpath Against Petition-Checking Flaws
August 28th, 2009 Wieslaw Niemoczynski, the Monroe County (Pennsylvania) Chief Public Defender, says in this news story that he will challenge the system for checking signatures in Pennsylvania. http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/08/28/pennsylvania-official-on-warpath-aagainst-petition-checking-flaws/

VA. Virginia to Hear Public Comment on Proposed Residency Regulations
Voter registration in the Commonwealth of Virginia is changing - hopefully for the better. Despite the hard work of Election Protection and our partners last year, countless students and other voters were disenfranchised thanks to confusion about registration. Across the state students dealt with misinformation about their ability to register - at Virginia Polytechnic Institute rumors circulated that all out-of-state students who tried to vote in Virginia would put their financial aid in jeopardy, and in Montgomery County the registrar sent out a release incorrectly warning Virginia Tech students that they might be dropped from their parents' health insurance if they registered in Virginia.
http://866ourvote.articulatedman.com/newsroom/news?id=0238

WV. Non-partisan election of judges helps, speaker says
August 29, 2009 HUNTINGTON -- A North Carolina appellate judge spoke Friday about the increased voter confidence that followed that state's judicial campaign reform at a hearing Friday in Huntington...Concerns about the influence of politics and big money on the West Virginia court system have been voiced for years, but the millions spent in the 2004 and 2008 Supreme Court elections brought new calls for reform.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x265520397/Non-partisan-election-of-judges-helps-speaker-says


US. 08.28.09 Ted Kennedy: Champion of Voting Rights
Amidst all the eulogies for the “liberal lion” of the Senate — Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts — one important part of his legacy is often mentioned in passing, if it gets mentioned at all. That legacy is Senator Kennedy’s role in expanding and protecting voting rights for all Americans. Because of Ted Kennedy’s work, millions of American voters are able to participate in the most basic function of a citizen in a democracy:
http://votingmatters.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/ted-kennedy-champion-of-voting-rights/

US. "RNC Attorney Faces Skeptical Judges In Bid to End 'Soft Money' Restrictions" August 28, 2009 http://electionlawblog.org/archives/014336.html

US. EAC seeks scientific and technical experts
EAC is seeking qualified individuals interested in serving as scientific and technical experts on the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC).
http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/eac-seeks-scientific-and-technical-experts

Pakistan. ECP initiates corrections in voting process
Sunday, August 30, 2009 ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has convened a meeting of the Electoral Rolls Council at the office of the Punjab Election Commissioner in Lahore on August 31 to discuss the computerised voting system and its working...serious discrepancies have been found between the CERS database and printed electoral rolls of 2007...the discrepancies include wrong district and Tehsil names, wrong electoral area (EA) names and placement of EAs in wrong Tehsils, etc
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=195703


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