Delayed - Tennessee paper ballot law, GA SOS hopeful blasts state undercounts

The US Dept of Justice readies lawsuit to undo voting machine merger...Libertarian candidate for Georgia SOS blasts Diebold machines and state-wide vote undercounts...Votes and Doubts in Detroit....Bill to Delay Tennessee Voter Confidence Act until 2012 Passes......Please check out the "Universal" Ballot Counter by Mitch Trachtenberg...For sale on Internet - Ukraine's election votes...

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


CO: How Aspen Violated Colorado Ranked Choice Voting Rules
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-aspen-violated-colorado-ranked.html
[Mike LaBonte, an election quality advocate from Massachusetts posted the following summary of one portion of his work related to the Aspen election...

GA: Libertarian Secretary of State Candidate David Chastain Blasts Georgia's Infamous Diebold Electronic Voting Machines
http://bludgeonandskewer.blogspot.com/2010/01/libertarian-secretary-of-state.html
So it looks like our good old Diebold's are dropping votes. Lots of votes. Which is a rotten shame considering that the votes were cast by citizens who went to the polls in good faith to perform their civic duty.

GA: SOS candidate informs Cobb group of state-wide vote undercounts
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/January/11/David_Chastain.html
...In December, Chastain spent a day in the research room of the State Archives studying election records from county referendums around Georgia. He focused on single-issue referendums where there is only one question on the ballot

IL: Voters will find fewer polling places as funds, judges become scarce
http://bit.ly/6yDcsm
January 10, 2010 DECATUR - Voters are going to be casting their ballots at a smaller number of polling locations, starting with the February primary election, Macon County Clerk Steve Bean said.
MI: Votes and doubts
http://metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=14701
Barrow demands recounts, then an investigation. Here's why.
Asserting that "probable cause exists" to believe that a criminal conspiracy involving "vote tampering, ballot box stuffing and electronic vote manipulation" occurred, Barrow has asked authorities at every level to investigate. Among those sent the complaint were state Attorney General Mike Cox, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

NJ: Essex County elections chief back to work after being charged in employee pay scheme
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/essex_county_elections_chief_b.html
January 11, 2010 NEWARK -- Carmine Casciano, the veteran Essex County superintendent of elections, was back on the job today, just days after he was charged with official misconduct in a scheme to give paid days off to employees who worked on political campaigns.

TN: Bill to Delay Tennessee Voter Confidence Act Passes
http://www.liberadio.com/2010/01/12/bill-to-delay-tennessee-voter-confidence-act-passes/
The bill to delay the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act passes (mostly along party lines) in the Senate, 22-10. It now goes to the Governor for his signature...

TN: Republicans Delay Voter Confidence Act
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2010/01/senate_votes_to_delay_voter_co.php
...the Senate voted 22-10 to delay implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act until the 2012 elections.
...
With great fanfare, Republicans and Democrats alike embraced this law in 2008 to eliminate the hazards of paperless, unverified electronic voting.

TN: What Would Jesus Do If He Were a Tennessee State Senator?
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2010/01/what_would_jesus_do_if_he_were.php
There is only one correct, moral, patriotic decision left to make. That is to keep the Voter Confidence Act intact and on-track for 2010.

TX: Voter fraud may be topic for grand jury: District attorney can't comment on rare request for special session
http://www.gonzalesinquirer.com/articles/2010/01/11/news/news01.txt
It is possible a Gonzales city council member and a local preacher could be the subject of a special grand jury which will meet on Jan. 22.

TX: County Considers Request for New Voter Registration Database
http://bit.ly/63g5IT
11 January 2010...Young then began describing the current voter registration database, “TEAMS” (Texas Election Administration Management System) that is used by the county and available from the State of Texas. The system was described by Young as “not user friendly” and very “unreliable”. She further stated that it had many issues in the past of going offline during elections when election workers needed to verify voter registration cards that were not on their paper lists at the polls.

WI: Man accused of voting fraud
http://www.wiscnews.com/bdc/news/469367
JUNEAU — A Fox Lake man may face more than three years in prison for voting in a special election in the city of Fox Lake in November.

Delmar A. Kreier, 49, is charged with election fraud for allegedly casting a ballot when he was on probation for a felony. He was released on a signature bond following his initial court appearance Monday.

National

Obama voting block - Diebold suit nears
http://bit.ly/7522bP
January 11, 2010 The Department of Justice is expected to file a lawsuit at month's end to block the already-completed merger of the nation's two largest voting-machine makers, including one that will service the city, The Post has learned.

According to a person close to the situation, the Justice Department's lawsuit, if successful, would effectively undo the merger of Diebold's Premier Elections Solutions with Election Systems & Software, a $5 million deal completed in September.

"Universal" Ballot Counter. Mitch Trachtenberg
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgxf37nt_174d37hvghf
...The program should be able to process ballots at a time scale of no more than two seconds per ballot when running on sub-$1,000 consumer computer equipment, the faster the better. Because computer speed continues to increase and computer prices continue to decrease, this is an intentionally dynamic measurement.

All Things Considered, Not Such A Good MOVE?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2766
January 12, 2010 ...Now we learn of a flaw in the bill which will actually make it more difficult for military and overseas voters to vote this year. Direct from the Stars and Stripes: Overseas military will have to register again to get ballots this year

International

For sale on Internet - Ukraine's election votes
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE60B0N020100112?type=marketsNews
Jan 12, 2010 Offers to sell Ukrainian votes appear on Internet
"I don't believe in our democracy and so I am selling my vote in the elections. Maybe there will be 10 other votes for sale. The only discussion on price will be upwards,"

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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