Ohio CD-18 recount. Double voting in Jefferson WV? Smartmatics alarming admission

Ohio SoS orders recount in 18th Congressional District, 16 counties must schedule by June 4..Are chicken costumes a form of free speech?..Montgomery Co TX will have recount on paperless machines and of course the result is unlikely to change...Some Bullit KY voters were given the wrong ballot...Internet voting spreads to another Canadian muni...Smartmatic admission of 'innocent' program errors alarms Philippine lawmakers. Errors include time stamp results with date earlier than election, number of voters inflated to 5x actual...More complex elections for UK may mean more complex solutions...

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

CA: Signature fraud alleged in 4 Valley campaigns
Fresno Co. elections officials question petitions.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/05/21/1942529/fraud-alleged-in-4-valley-campaigns.html
Workers in four local campaigns used questionable signatures to get their candidate on the June 8 ballot, authorities say -- including one endorsed by a voter who is dead.

CT: More Connecticut reports for Voting System Clearinghouse
Connecticut has submitted three more reports to EAC's Voting System Reports Clearinghouse http://www.eac.gov/program-areas/research-resources-and-reports/copy_of_docs/state-local-voting-system-reports

CT: Registrar of Voters Primary, Bristol Connecticut
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3239 The Registrar of Voters can make a difference in election integrity, voter access, and candidate service.

KY: Some Bullitt residents voted in another city's election, changing outcome*
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100526/ZONE10/5260396/Some+
Bullitt+residents+voted+in+another+city+s+election++changing+outcome
http://is.gd/cqE3A

MD: Cordish lawyers push to invalidate signatures
Judge denies expert testimony
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/bs-md-ar-slots-trial-signatures-20100525,0,5891160.story

MI: Military vote reform good step forward
http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100526/OPINION01/5260324/Military-vote-reform-good-step-forward
uniformed service members can request absentee ballots for immediate delivery by email. The ballots themselves would be printed out and returned by regular mail.

MS: Suit filed against consent decree
http://gwcommonwealth.com/articles/2010/05/26/news/top_stories/
05262010news01.txt http://is.gd/cqE7o
David Jordan and Robert Moore are requesting that a judge dismiss or modify a consent decree signed by the Leflore County Election Commission and Mississippi Republican Party to settle a lawsuit.

In a motion filed Tuesday in Leflore County Circuit Court, the two public officials, both Democrats, allege “several major fallacies” in the consent decree, including..

NC: Runoff elections a waste of time ?
http://www.thepilot.com/news/2010/may/26/runoff-elections-waste-time/

NV: Letter to secretary of state asks chicken suits be allowed at polls
http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/politics/Letter_to_secretary_of_state_asks_
chicken_suits_be_allowed_at_polls.html?ref=554 http://is.gd/cqE5B
ProgressNow Nevada, in its letter to the secretary of state, said there is no law prohibiting dress that includes costumes at the polls.

PA: COUNTY OF MERCER v. UNILECT CORPORATION
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=infco20100525152
The County of Mercer, Pennsylvania appeals the District Court's summary judgment in favor of UniLect Corporation. We will affirm.

OH: State orders recount in 18th Congressional District
http://www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x2084265569/State-orders-recount-in-18th-Congressional-District The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections...
...The Board of Elections in each of the 16 counties in the 18th District must schedule the recount no later than 10 days from Tuesday, which would be June 4.

PA: Write-in candidate challenges results of York County Republican Committeewoman race * http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/05/write-in_candidate_challenges.html
The write-in candidate who challenged the controversial winner of a race for York County Republican committeewoman from Newberry Twp. filed a complaint Wednesday with the York County Election Bureau, claiming there was a problem with the voting machines. Maxine Kauffman, who challenged Christina Conley for the office, has asked Nikki Suchanic, director of voter registration, to put both of their names on the November ballot.

She wrote: “Some elderly folks indicated that they gave up in frustration because of the problems they experienced. During the weekend, I received additional feedback from voters advising me of machine malfunctions. I am sure you can confirm these problems with the polling place as some of the machines were shut down.”

PA: Candidate Requests No Recount in Close Lt. Governor Primary
http://newsblaze.com/story/2010052614390200002.pnw/topstory.html
Decision Saves State $500,000 During Difficult Financial Times

TX: Gaultney: Re-count may bring no change (Hart Intercivic eSlate paperless)
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/05/25/conroe_
courier/news/hewett052610.txt http://is.gd/cqE8B
Montgomery Co. There will be three teams, with four people on each team, who will have the capability to retrieve paper records from the electronic voting machines.

TX: Former candidates question election procedures* (Hart Intercivic)
http://weatherforddemocrat.com/homepage/x2023219504/Former-candidates-question-election-procedures WEATHERFORD — Sherry Watson, a candidate for mayor, and Joshua Tarbay and Eric Matthews, who ran for Place 3 and Place 4 council seats, made the open records request via a hand delivered letter dated May 17. The candidates are asking that election results be retained on the voting machines rather than having the data erased and the machines prepared for the next election.
...
Responding to questions about state requirements for the testing of voting machines, Parten told The Weatherford Democrat he had violated a statute that dictates the second of three reliability tests be done immediately before the ballots are scheduled to be cast. Instead, he said the second test was completed after the ballots were cast.

“We did that incorrectly,” he said.

The first test was completed before the ballots were cast, Parten said, but not immediately before, “probably April 22 or 23.”

TX: District judge overturns May 2009 alcohol election in Denton County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2
http://friscoblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/05/district-judge-overturns-may-2.html
Since 1989, Texas law has required that historic boundaries be used in alcohol elections involving justice of the peace precincts if those precincts went dry in the past.

WV: Surkamp questions past vote irregularities *
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/537369.html?nav=5006
CHARLES TOWN - A Jefferson County commissioner who faces two misdemeanor counts following an alleged attempt to cast a second ballot in a November referendum says others have voted twice in numerous local elections.

"Nine people voted twice, not just 'tried.' Their double votes were all treated as provisional ballots. ... There were no actions taken against the double-voters," Commissioner Jim Surkamp stated in a recent e-mail to The Journal.
...
Typically, she said, when an individual casts a second vote, one of their ballots is discarded. No additional action is usually taken.
...
In Surkamp's case, Maghan said the matter was taken out of the county's hands. Following complaints that were filed with the Secretary of State's Office by four individuals, an investigation was conducted regarding the situation.

National

The EAC has posted the public comments to the Overseas Vote Pilot Program Manual:
http://www.eac.gov/program-areas/voting-systems/military-and-overseas-voting-pilot-project/uocava-pilot-program-testing-requirements-comments-submitted

Examining the paradox of voter engagement
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/05/examining-paradox-of-voter-engagement_26.html

Internet voting watch:

Canada: Internet X’s
http://www.quintenews.com/2010/05/internet-xs/ Voting on-line is going to happen in this Fall’s municipal election in Prince Edward County.

UK: Robert McLaughlin: Whether we have PR or not, e-voting can boost participation
http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Robert-McLaughlin-Whether-we-have.6322354.jp
THE recent election has brought into sharp focus the process of voting and in particular the possible change in the voting system after a proposed referendum.
The additional complexity of a transferable vote will force a review of the process of running elections in the UK.


International

India: EVMs are vulnerable to fraud, reiterates Swamy
http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/evms-are-vulnerable-to-fraud-reiterates-swamy/ MADURAI: Electronic voting machines (EVM) used in the country are vulnerable to fraud, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said here on Monday.
...
Professor J. Alex Halderman of the University of Michigan and his computer science students had claimed that they were able to hack into the EVMs for manipulating the results.

Philippines: Smartmatic admission of 'innocent' program errors alarms lawmakers *
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/26/10/smartmatic-admission-innocent-program-errors-alarm-lawmakers
"The number of voters was multiplied by 5--our mistake," Flores said.
...
The time stamps, on the other hand, were a result of the clock of the PCOS machines going wrong, Flores said.

Philippines: Comelec asks DoJ to probe ‘Hello, Ronnie’
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100527-272271/Comelec-asks-DoJ-to-probe-Hello-Ronnie “Hello Ronnie,” the alleged wiretapped phone conversation between Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Election Commissioner Nicodemus Ferrer will be investigated by the Department of Justice.

Philippines: Deadline set to end poll fraud probe
http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=1156 2
THE DEPARTMENT of Justice and Philippine National Police, functioning as the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) deputized agencies, on Wednesday set a mid-June deadline to complete the investigation of poll irregularities.


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Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.