Hacking India's Voting Machines, A voting rights case to watch, Internet voting spreads

"Our research proved something which we really never doubted: with some preparation anyone with even momentary access to paperless voting machines can own the country." ~ Rop Gonggrijp after examining e-voting machines used in India...Investigators to monitor KY polls...TN House Leader Odom solicits probe of Benton voter purge ...Supreme Court Weighs Petition-Signers' Anonymity...Is section 5 of Voting Rights Act at risk?...More Canadian municipalities trade their secretly cast, openly counted, paper ballots for a pin number and elections that can't be validated

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

AL: A Voting-Rights Case to Watch [Hans A. von Spakovsky]
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjdkZTIwZDU3NjNhMzNhNjk1Zjg0MWU4YjMyYmNiYTA=
Both the Kinston case and the Shelby County case stand a good chance of ending up before the Supreme Court. Given the evidence, it will be very difficult for the Court to uphold the constitutionality of this law.

AZ: Crunch time for the Arizona birther bill
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/04/crunch_time_for_the_arizona_bi.html
...bill requiring more proof of citizenship from presidential candidates

CA: Schwarzenegger won't consolidate elections
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest
/2010/04/schwarzenegger-165.html http://bit.ly/cHJyuy

CO: Tipton wants change in law
http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2010/
04/28/Tipton_wants_change_in_law/ http://bit.ly/d3PKyk
The Hatch Act prohibits partisan political activity by government employees who oversee the spending of federal dollars. The law has caused havoc ...

CT: Bysiewicz: “Optical scanners were remarkably accurate”
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3135 Remarkable? We do NOT agree that phoning election officials and getting them to agree that they counted inaccurately provides much confidence in the audit, least of all proof that the machines counted accurately. Nor does disregarding incomplete reports create credibility.

GA: Ballot misprint found, corrected
http://times-journal.com/story.lasso?ewcd=7d59ff31ec7fd802
A misprint on the Democratic primary ballot for DeKalb County won’t affect the absentee voting process, according to DeKalb County Probate Judge Ronnie Osborn.

HI: Lawsuit challenges English-only congressional ballot
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100427/
BREAKING01/100427061/Lawsuit+challenges+English-only+congressional+ballot
http://bit.ly/cKWgSU The state is required by federal law to provide bilingual ballots in Honolulu County in the Chinese, Japanese and Ilocano languages and in Ilocano in Maui county, the suit alleged.

HI: Legislature approves moving Hawaii election date up in 2012
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100427/BREAKING01/100427057
The measure would move the primary to the second Saturday of August starting in 2012

HI: Lawmakers allocate $390000 for 2010 Hawaii elections
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100427/BREAKING
01/100427043/+Lawmakers+allocate++390+000+for+2010+Hawaii+elections
http://bit.ly/aRbHfz

HI: Hawaii Legislature Votes to Ignore Birther Requests
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/hawaii-legislature-votes-to-ignore-birther-requests/19457343

KY: Authorities to be on the lookout for voter fraud
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/28/1242530/officials-to-outline-plans-to.html
Investigators will be monitoring polling places on Election Day across Kentucky, a state that has seen its share of voting irregularities in recent years
...
Investigators routinely hear accusations of elections being tainted by people trading cash or even whiskey for votes.

NC: Poll workers told to take more care identifying voters who may need help
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/apr/27/poll-workers-told-take-more-care-identifying-voter/ Poll workers are being told to be more careful in identifying voters who need help voting, after elections officials received complaints about candidates or their supporters helping people cast ballots.

NM: Court challenge means ballots not yet printed
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2010/04April/042610ballots.html
Absentee balloting begins May 4, but McKinley County election officials still have not given a complete list of the candidates to the printers..

NY: Term Limits, Party Politics On Bloomberg Charter Panel's Menu
http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/3963/term-limits-party-politics-on-bloomberg-charter-panel After the first round of hearings on how to revise the city's charter, a list has emerged of what New Yorkers want to change about their government.

OH: Clermont replacement ballots a headache(names on ballot not rotated by precinct)
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100427/NEWS0108/4280346/ Replacement+ballots+a+headache http://bit.ly/9YXRYS It will cost about $14,000 to reprint about 56,000 ballots—including both absentee and Election Day ballots for the GOP primary

OK: Henry Signs Bill To Up Election Fraud Penalties
http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=12386211

SD: Feds, SD county reach voting agreement (Shannon County)
http://nativetimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3478:feds-sd-county-reach-voting-agreement&catid=51&Itemid=27 The agreement requires the county to provide election materials and information in Lakota for voters who speak that language, and to have trained bilingual election officials at polling sites.

TN: House Leader Odom solicits TBI probe
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=319&NewsID=979170&CategoryID=8373&show=localnews&om=1
House Democratic Leader Gary Odom sent a letter to Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director Mark Gwyn requesting a formal investigation be conducted into possible violations of Tennessee law regarding the recent attempts to purge qualified voters in Benton County.

TX: Texas attorney general investigating fraud allegations in Dallas County race
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/
stories/042810dnmetagprobe.415b8db.html http://bit.ly/8ZYXHp Allegations of mail-in ballot fraud in a Democratic primary in Dallas County are being investigated by the Texas attorney general's office, state and county officials said Tuesday.

VA: Groups ask McDonnell to drop letter requirement, revamp rights restoration process for felons
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/04/ a_trio_of_national_groups.html http://bit.ly/bohh4x

National

Supreme Court Weighs Petition-Signers' Anonymity
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126290385

Court skeptical on keeping petitioner IDs private
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/28/AR2010042800453.html
The case, which will be decided by the court before the end of the summer, could draw a new line between voters' desire for openness in government and the right to political speech unfettered by fear of intimidation.

EAC announces the Voting Technology and Accessibility Research-Military Heroes Initiative http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/eac-announces-the-voting-technology-and-accessibility-research-military-heroes-initiative This $500,000 grant competition is focused on improving voting technology and accessibility for recently injured military personnel.

Internet Voting Watch

Canada: EDITORIAL - Vote should go online (ThunderBay)
http://www.tbnewswatch.com/opinion/Default.aspx?cid=89947&headline=EDITORIAL---Vote-should-go-online

Canada: Greenstone vote going online
http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/89984/Greenstone-vote-going-online
Municipal council in Greenstone have voted to switch to a new internet and telephone voting system for this year's municipal elections.

Canada: Province Of Ontario Lags Behind Cobourg On Voting Accessibility
http://www.northumberlandview.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=2&page_id=2506
ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ALLIANCE UPDATE
AS BILL 231 CREATES MAJOR OBSTACLES IMPEDING THE USE OF ACCESSIBLE TELEPHONE AND INTERNET VOTING IN PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS, SOME ONTARIO MUNICIPALITIES BLAZE THE ACCESSIBILITY TRAIL WITH THESE TECHNOLOGIES

International

India: Hacking India's Voting Machines (Rop Gonggri)
http://rop.gonggri.jp/?p=126

India's Electronic Voting Machines Proven Insecure (video available)
http://indiaevm.org/press.html and http://indiaevm.org/
In a collaborative study, a team of Indian and international experts have revealed that the electronic voting machines used in Indian elections are vulnerable to fraud. Even brief access to the machines, known in India as EVMs, could allow criminals to alter election results


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