The Election Center, a group that promoted the use of paperless voting, will meet Jan 7 & 8 to discuss voter reg, provisional ballots, and "the continued push to eliminate or restrict use of DREs" (The Election Center is a group that advises election officials while accepting donations from voting vendors)...Voter Action letter to Senate Rules committee about ES&S's purchase of Diebold: "With this acquisition, ES&S has even less of an incentive to respond to the growing demand for improved accountability and product reliability."...
...Did you know that the MOVE act guarantees free expedited mail service to return troops' ballots?...Hawaii Uh-OH: "This (upcoming election) is a slow-moving train wreck and we're still far enough away that we can get everything off the track," says attorney Lance Collins. The state's elections department is grossly underfunded, considering cutting polling places in half, and is in process of making new election rules: Bob Babson hopes rules will ban sending any election results via the Internet or telephone lines...Learn more about Tennessee's proposed voting machines...
All this and more in today's voting news below.....
CA: Voter ID intiative backers get green light in California
Dec 10, 2009 - Backers of an initiative that would require voters to produce identification at the polls were given approval to begin gathering signatures Tuesday by Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
http://www.presstelegram.com/breakingnews/ci_13959475
CA: Council votes to delay decision on ranked-choice voting
12/09/2009
SAN LEANDRO — The City Council has delayed a decision on whether to use ranked-choice voting in its 2010 elections until Oakland decides if it will hold a similar ranked-choice election next year — giving San Leandro more time to explore ways to mitigate the costs of such an election.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13955369
GA: Oops: Group charging voting fraud admits mistake
“I acknowledge we had a huge misunderstanding about the data we were working with,” said Erica Long, co-chair of Citizens for Fair Atlanta Elections. "I would not have raised the issue with the Secretary of State if I did not believe it was correct."
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/oops-group-charging-voting-234563.html
HI: State proposes major revision of election rules
Dec 10, 2009 ...Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza decided that the state needs to hold a public hearing to come up with administrative rules governing electronic voting before new voting machines can be used in next year's elections.
...
Written testimony can be e-mailed to elections@hawaii.gov or faxed to 453-6006. Written testimony will be accepted for the next two days.
"This (upcoming election) is a slow-moving train wreck and we're still far enough away that we can get everything off the track," Collins said.
...
Bob Babson, the lead plaintiff in the Maui lawsuit, said he is opposed to sending any election results via the Internet or telephone lines.
"It's not secure," Babson said. "They could easily just put it on a jet and fly it over."
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20091210_
state_proposes_major_revision_of_election_rules.html
or use this url http://bit.ly/6tvKZz
Il: County to follow law on voting issue (machine notify voters of undervote in certain contests)
Iroquois County Clerk Lisa Fancher said she wants voters prepared for a new change in the election equipment.
December 10, 2009 Iroquois County will "follow the law" in the upcoming election.
Chips have been installed in voting machines which will let voters know when they have undervoted in a contest. The chips will update the county's election equipment in regards to a 2007 law which has not been enforced, until now
http://newsbug.info/articles/2009/12/10/watseka_times_republic/local_news/doc4b202ce7b36ad689080754.txt
KS: New law makes it easier for troops overseas to vote
Under the legislation, troops stationed overseas must be able to register or obtain ballots for federal elections by e-mail or fax.
Service members also are guaranteed free expedited mail service to return those ballots, and states must maintain Web sites where troops can check that their ballots were received
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/1616851.html
NC: Exit poll Hendersonville instant runoff voting shows mixed results
http://bit.ly/7E9zq9
OH: Ohio Senate Passes Bill to Provide for Registration Into Political Parties on Voter Registration Form
December 10th, 2009... The Senate bill provides that the voter registration form would ask voters if they wish to join a political party.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/12/10/ohio-senate-passes-bill-to-provide-for-registration-into-political-parties-on-voter-registration-form/
PA: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Again Refuses to Hear Nader Appeal Over $80,000 Fees From 2004
December 10th, 2009 ...On December 9, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court again refused to hear Ralph Nader’s request for a rehearing in the matter of whether he must pay approximately $80,000 in court costs stemming from the 2004 challenge to his petitions.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/12/10/pennsylvania-supreme-court-again-refuses-to-hear-nader-appeal-over-80000-fees-from-2004/
TN: Tennessee Secretary of State Says Up-to-Date Voting Machines Available for TVCA But Costs Still Prohibitive
Dec 9, 2009 ...“I think we’ve got a 2005-quality machine
...Hargett would go on to identify the apparatus in question as one about to be marketed by Unisyn Voting Solutions, a California-based company
http://www.memphisflyer.com/JacksonBaker/archives/2009/12/09/tennessee-secretary-of-state-says-up-to-date-machines-available-for-tvca-but-costs-still-prohibitive
about the voting machines: Unisyn. OpenElect Voting System
OpenElect Voting System. Digital-scan voting products and election management services deliver exceptional value, enhanced security and assure voter confidence.
Advantages of the Unisyn OpenElect® Voting System. 2005 VVSG Certified. Unisyn will be the first to meet the United States Election Assistance Commission's 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. Secure Linux Platform. Our digital scan voting products are the only ones built on a streamlined and hardened Linux and Java base. Transparency. As part of a jurisdiction's procurement process, we will provide our source code for independent review
http://www.unisynvoting.com/
TN: Court rules 23 people voted illegally in Oakland election, orders new vote *
Ferguson and his attorney, Chris Patterson, were able to prove that 23 people who voted should not have because they live outside the city limits. The town has about 4,500 residents.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/dec/09/court-rules-23-people-voted-illegally-oakland-elec/
TN: What Unites Tennesseans: The Bi-Partisan, Fiscally Responsible, Paper Ballot Edition.
December 10, 2009
http://www.liberadio.com/2009/12/10/what-unites-tennesseans-the-bi-partisan-fiscally-responsible-paper-ballot-edition/
TX: Recent patent infringement cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas
12/10/2009
Franklin Inventions LLC vs. Election Systems & Software Inc., et al
The plaintiff Franklin Inventions claims to own the rights to several patents for Computer Enhanced Voting System Including Voter Verifiable, Custom Printed Ballots Imprinted to the Specifications of Each Voter.
...
The allegedly infringing products include ES&S iVotronic and iVotronic Real Time Audit Log, Hart e-Slate and Disabled Access Unit e-Slate and Verifiable Ballot Option, Premier AccuVote-TSX and AccuView Printer Module, Sequoia Edge2Plus and AVC Edge...
http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/223588-recent-patent-infringement-cases-filed-in-the-eastern-district-of-texas
WI: Green Bay to help maintain voting machines (OpTech Eagle Optical Scanners)
Election officials throughout Brown County have forged a new partnership to ensure more than 150 voting machines work properly when the polls open.
The arrangement became necessary when contractor ES&S Inc. announced it no longer would provide routine maintenance on the aging Eagle-brand voting machines used here.
...
Green Bay's election staff has been maintaining its own machinery for years, and the city offered to serve neighboring communities for $32 per machine per election.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091209/GPG0101/912090625/Green-Bay-to-help-maintain-voting-machines-in-county
National
Voter Action Letter to Senate Rules Commitee
Dec 9 2009
Regarding Antitrust Concerns Raised by the ES&S Acquisition of Diebold's Premier
http://www.voteraction.org/news-article/2009/voter-action-letter-senate-rules-commitee
Election Center
JEOLC Meeting January 7 & 8, 2010 Fairfax on Embassy Row, 2100 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, D.C. Potential Amendments to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and additional legislation...The discussion this year will be about both voter registration and elections administration. Early indications of items Congress may consider are federal voter registration and government responsibility for VR; federal requirement for Election Day Registration; federal requirements on how to administer voter information mismatches in VR; uniform definition of how provisional ballots are to be administered; federal requirements on ballot design and layout; potential legislation for restrictions on challenging eligibility of voters; and the continued push to eliminate or restrict use of DREs; potential requirements to make absentee mail balloting to any voter; and a whole host of other ideas.
http://www.electioncenter.org/events/JEOLC%20Meeting%201-%202010.pdf
The Fair Elections Now Act
Legislation that would reform public financing of congressional elections was recently introduced in the House and Senate.
...
Under this legislation, funds would be allocated equally to House candidates and based on population of the states in Senate elections. According to Sen. Durbin, the legislation would allow candidates to focus on the issues instead of spending "every waking moment begging for money."...
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2009/12/fair-elections-now-act.html
International
Canada: 2010 budget could be finalized Dec. 14 (internet voting non secret ballot)
Dec 10, 2009 Ontario...In previous drafts, the cost of the election, including taking on new phone and Internet voting, was listed as $45,000. However, following a report by clerk/director of corporate services, Cahl Pominville, at Monday's Committee of the Whole, that figure is now slightly higher, sitting at $49,650.
http://www.emckemptville.ca/20091210/news/2010+budget+could+be+finalized+Dec.+14
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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