PA e-voting court victory, DoJ Now Investigating Diebold/ES&S Merger

Pennsylvania Case Challenging the Use of Electronic Voting Machines Now Moves Toward Trial: “We now look forward to moving this case toward trial,” says Mary Kohart, a partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, one of the lawyers representing the voters. “There is overwhelming evidence showing that electronic voting machines are unreliable and insecure for the counting and recording of votes..."

Comments to the FCC on Internet Voting by Candice Hoke: “The Internet voting pilot programs were structured by for-profit vendors, who also reported on their “success” without any independent evaluation and transparency on some critical dimensions.

All this and much more in today's voting news below....

CO: *Marks provides important service*
http://bit.ly/8MNp80
Dear Editor: Litigation has been filed in Aspen regarding the issue of the public
right to examine anonymous digital ballot images. This issue, of
national importance, offers an important improvement to voting rights
introduced by computerized voting machines, which conceal counting of
the vote.

GA: Roswell: Close vote shows need for a ballot paper trail
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/roswell-close-vote-shows-246777.html
December 18, 2009 ...The problem is that whatever is contained on those plastic cards is what is recounted, whether it is accurate information reflecting the voter’s choices — or not. But apparently recount is the wrong term to use with respect to these cards, as they can only be “recanvassed,” which means that the totals will be exactly the same as the previously unverifiable results.

IL: Use eVoter at your peril
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2009/12/21/use-evoter-at-your-peril/
Champaign County Clerk A company has begun trying to make money off of our voter registration data. When I first heard about their effort, I had concerns.
...
Unfortunately, their site only adds an unnecessary and burdensome step for Champaign County voters.

MI: Michigan Residency Requirement for Recall Petitioners Struck Down
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/12/20/michigan-residency-requirement-for-recall-petitioners-struck-down/

MN: SOS Mark Ritchie Proposed Permanent Rules Relating to Elections
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=753
Including Amendments to Rules Governing Petitions, Absentee Ballots, Certification and Testing of Voting Systems, Recounts, Election Judge Training Program, Ballot Preparation and Redistricting, Minnesota Rules, chapters 8205, 8210, 8220, 8230, 8235, 8240, 8250 and 8255.

MT: Gazette opinion: Consolidating voting at Metra makes sense
http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/article_4d61f042-ed23-11de-8039-001cc4c03286.html
December 20, 2009 ...Many people had misgivings about consolidating 28 polling places into one. Critics predicted long lines and chaos. They were wrong.

NC: State orders new election in Fair Bluff mayor's race *
http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/12/18/961620
Mayor Spruell R. Britt lost the election by just two votes - 191 to 189 - to challenger Chris Scott. Testimony and affidavits presented to the county board showed that five people voted who later acknowledged that they did not live within the town limits.

PA: PA: Pennsylvania Court Ruling Banfield Order 121509
http://voteraction.org/files/Banfield%20Order%20121509.pdf
Protective order for ES&S and Sequoia - denied. Petitioners (Banfield and clients) have 20 days to arrive at a mutually satisfactory protective order.
background.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE SUPREME COURT ALLOWS VOTING RIGHTS CASE TO PROCEED
http://www.voteraction.org/node/776
Dec 18 2008 State’s Highest Court Denies Pennsylvania Secretary of State Permission to Appeal Lower Court Ruling in Voters’ Favor Case Challenging the Use of Electronic Voting Machines Now Moves Toward Trial


WI: Clerks critical of Wisconsin's early voting law
http://www.fox21online.com/news/clerks-critical-wisconsins-early-voting-law
12/20/2009 MADISON State election officials got an earful from county clerks Thursday (12/17) on a plan to make it easier for voters to cast their ballots before Election Day.


National

U.S. opens probe of Diebold unit sale -report
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1925508020091219?type=marketsNews
Dec 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice and 14 states have opened investigations into the sale of Diebold Inc's voting machines business to Election Systems & Software that could lead to the unwinding of the September sale, the New York Post said on Saturday.

DoJ Now Investigating Diebold/ES&S Merger
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7592
Anti-trust probes also said underway in 14 states...
And while there are other "Justice Department investigation[s]" that Diebold is also cooperating with --- as The BRAD BLOG noted early this year, when the company's Chief Financial Officer was forced to stop down: "[Diebold has been] been facing a class-action securities fraud lawsuit from shareholders since 2005; under SEC investigation since 2006; and under DoJ investigation since 2007; and admitted overstating '07 earnings in early 2008" --- Reuters coverage of the story offers more direct confirmation of the DoJ probe of this particular matter

Candice Hoke Comments to the FCC on Internet Voting
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2009/12/21/314
December 21, 2009 In her response to an FCC’s question about what can we learn from pilot projects that have tested online voting, she observed that none of the domestic internet voting pilot projects have been properly structured to test for and approximate the risks that would be posed to domestic US elections.

“Hackathon” Takes On Absentee Voting For Soldiers
http://www.whytuesday.org/2009/12/20/hackathon-takes-on-absentee-voting-for-soldiers/
One neat little outgrowth of this weekend’s Great American Hackathon…is a widget in the works that — driven by state and local election data from the rather promising Voting Information Project — would spit out what’s called a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot for military members living overseas, customized for their home voting location...

milvoteoverseas: "...bold step by the Pentagon to turn U.S. military bases into one-stop shops for troops who wish to vote..." http://ow.ly/NECZ

The Wonder That Was The 2009 VIP Gadget
http://www.votinginfoproject.org/blog/index.cfm/2009/12/15/The-Wonder-That-Was-The-2009-VIP-Gadget
As you already know, our good friends Paul Stenbjorn and Bihvani Gollu along with the rest of the team at the Virginia Board of Elections put together an XML feed of voting information for Virginia for their statewide election this Fall. Our partner Google, created an awesome, embeddable gadget.

Voting via the Internet?
http://hubpages.com/hub/Voting-via-the-Internet
...To compromise the "One person, One vote" process of individuals marking their ballot in a private polling booth by placing their 'X' on a ballot is inviting disaster, and potentially abandoning our most important freedom, on a scale which the 'hanging chad' would be dwarfed one-hundred fold. The question is, Who will determine whether or not Internet voting will be adopted or not?

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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