WV overseas internet election- 54 votes for 5 counties, cost about $75K

Hale Co Alabama officials worry absentee mail ballot fraud is back...Vote totals were off, Caroll Co Arkansas officials recounted the votes after a power surge that may have skewed the election day results...Allegations of fraud and irregularities fly back and forth in Lucas Co Ohio...York County official says evidence anything with Newberry Twp. voting machines in spite of reports that least one machine froze up...Trial focuses on murky mail-in ballot methods in Fort Worth TX...The WVA SoS considers 5 county internet overseas voting pilot a success where 54 ballots were cast, & may have cost $75-$150K...

All this and more in todays voting news below...

AL: Hale County officials worry voter fraud is back
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100528/NEWS/
100529584/1007/news?p=1&tc=pg http://is.gd/ctHNb
Faye Cochran, head of the Hale County Board of Registrars, said many of those casting absentee ballots got help from a man convicted of voter fraud in 1998 and a woman now awaiting trial on voter fraud charges.

AR: Ballots recounted, runoff voting begins *
http://www.carrollconews.com/story/1638615.html
Carroll County BERRYVILLE -- Certification of election results from the May 18 Preferential Primary are set to take place today.
...
Thrown into the mix at the last minute was a re-run of election day paper ballots. That process was ordered for yesterday evening because of a discrepancy discovered during the vote count reconciliation process.

According to Election Coordinator Bethe Henley, paper tapes taken off the 650 paper ballot vote-counting machine showed there was a possible power surge during the ballot count on election eve, May 18.

She said the power surge might have affected the count.

AZ: Court ruling OKs Ariz. law on non-voting by felons
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles
/2010/05/27/20100527arizona-ruling-on-felons-voting.html http://is.gd/ctHL0
TUCSON - Arizona's law barring convicted felons from voting until after they've served their sentences has been upheld in court.

CA: Tuteur agrees to fix mistake
http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2010/05/27/news/local/
doc4bfdd1a257b90439850820.txt http://is.gd/ctHQ9 Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur will reverse course on correcting the mistaken listing of a Democratic candidate for state Senate as a Republican.

Tuteur said he will send all 69,000 registered voters in Napa County a correction postcard

CA: Sutter Creek homeowner claims harassment over voter registration (Amador Co)
http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/news/newsview.asp?c=270197&topStory=1

CA: MontereyVote June 22, Special Primary Election for vacancy on Senatorial District 15. Do you live in the District? See the map at: http://bit.ly/cv6a4c

CA: Prop. 15: Public finance of state elections (video available)
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/politics/local_elections&id=7466671
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- On June 8, California voters will decide whether to pass Proposition 15. Backers call it the "Fair Elections Act." It's designed to get politicians out of the fundraising game. But opponents say it could cost taxpayers.

CA: California Bill to Use Instant Runoff Voting in Special Legislative Elections Does Not Pass Fiscal Committee
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/05/28/california-bill-to-use-instant-runoff-voting-in-special-legislative-elections-does-not-pass-fiscal-committee/

IA: Only one vote cast at Luther satellite station; cost is $500
http://www.decorahnewspapers.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=13&ArticleID=22560

NC: Dead people haunt county’s voter rolls
http://www.thecountycompass.com/cc/node/458
BAYBORO. The Board of Elections, comprised of Democrats David Cox and Ed Credle and Republican Judith Smith, agreed ‘probable cause’ exists to nix at least six former voters – including one who apparently died in 2003.

NM: Justice Department to Monitor Elections in New Mexico
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/justice-department-to-monitor-elections-in-new-mexico-95123574.html

OH: Stainbrook ally wants elections board probe
Board investigating fraud charges against Republican chairman
http://toledoblade.com/article/20100527/NEWS16/5270400
A day after the Lucas County Board of Elections said it would investigate voter fraud charges against allies of Lucas County Republican Chairman Jon Stainbrook, his camp demanded a wide-ranging investigation of "irregularities" by the board.

PA: York County solicitor says there is no evidence anything was wrong with Newberry Twp. voting machines http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/05/
york_county_solicitor_says_the.html http://is.gd/ctHVd

PA: Unsuccessful Newberry Twp. candidate blames voting machines *
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_15181988
Even so, officials investigated and determined that, although one machine froze, there didn't appear to be any problems that affected the vote count.

Flannelly said the voter who was using the machine when it froze was able to vote using a different machine. The votes already on the machine were not lost, the machine was rebooted and was used for the remainder of the day.

SC: Beaufort cobbler known as the 'sole saver' and voting advocate
http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/05/27/1254475/beaufort-cobbler-known-as-the.html
Now the shoe's on the other foot.

It's a new generation's turn to contribute as much to the American dream as did Beaufort cobbler James W. Richardson, who died Wednesday at age 91.

Here was a man who was denied the right to vote after serving his country in World War II but waited on the courthouse steps day after day until he finally got the voting credential he so valued. Ultimately, Richardson served 34 years on the Beaufort County voter registration board, much of it as chairman.

TN: Former Union commissioner sentence for vote buying *
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=122663&catid=2
71-year-old Charlie Edward Cox pleaded guilty to buying votes during a 2006 election. Cox admitted he drove six people to the polling location, paid them $10 each, and told them which candidate to vote for

TX: Trial focuses on murky mail-in ballot methods
http://startelegram.typepad.com/politex/2010/05/trial-focuses-on-murky-mailin-ballot-lisa-woodard-charlotte-hogan-price.html#ixzz0pEbaOhl8
Questions over the unusual outcome of a runoff election in southeast Fort Worth made its way into a courtroom Wednesday.

TX: Texas attorney general investigators going door-to-door in Oak Cliff to investigate voter fraud (Absentee mail ballot fraud)
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/05/texas-attorney-general-investi.html
And according to at least one person who was questioned by them, the investigators are turning up some troublesome discrepancies.

The AG is responding to complaints of ballot shenanigans by so-called "vote harvesters."

VA: McDonnell streamlines restoration of rights
http://www2.staffordcountysun.com/scs/news/state_regional
/article/mcdonnell_streamlines_restoration_of_rights/58234/
http://is.gd/ctHWX

WA: Port of Seattle CEO voted where he worked, not where he lived
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/
2011972282_portchief28m.html http://is.gd/ctHZz

WY: County Asks Judge To Amend Voting Rights Ruling
http://cbs4denver.com/wireapnewswy/Fremont.County.asks.2.1719627.html
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) ― Lawyers for Fremont County asked a federal judge on Thursday to modify a recent order requiring the county to abandon its system of electing county commissioners at large and to start electing them from single-member districts

Internet Voting Watch

Electionline Newsletter May 20-2010
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/
wwwpewcenteronthestatesorg/Reports/Electionline_Reports/
electionlineWeekly05.20.10.pdf http://is.gd/ctI2d (pdf file)
Five counties in the Mountain State — Jackson, Kanawha, Marshall, Monongalia, and Wood —participated in an online voting pilot project for military and overseas voters during last week’s election and even though turnout was comparatively small, everyone agrees the program was a success.
...
The state allocated up to $150,000 for the project. But after everything is said and done Tennant said she doesn’t believe the state will have spent even half that.
[Eline report ballots cast online by County: Kanawha-11, Marshall-12,& Wood- 22] thats 45, missing some co reports.

West Virginia's Internet Voting Pilot Program Featured In Pew Center Newsletter (says total 54 ballots cast )
http://www.sos.wv.gov/news/topics/elections-candidates/Pages/WestVirginia'sInternetVotingPilotProgram
FeaturedInPewCenterNewsletter.aspx http://is.gd/ctI4c With four counties reporting their returns, 68 overseas voters and military personnel requested an online ballot. 54 of those ballots were voted and returned, or about 80 percent.

USAF Transforms 3,000 Officers to Cyberspace Security Experts
http://www.pinewswire.net/2010/05/usaf-transforms-3000-officers-to-cyberspace-security-experts/
Cyber security is a major initiative for the U.S. military now that cyber attacks from China, North Korea, Eastern Europe, and other nations have been launched


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