South Carolina's frail election system. VV best practices for overseas vote. India elections - PC or MAC?

VV Comments on Best Practices for Voting Systems Supporting Military and Overseas Voters...Bid to overturn South Carolina election is over. "The issues we raised about the lack of election integrity in South Carolina are real, and they are not going away unless people act. I assure you that I will continue to speak out about our frail and vulnerable election system in the months to come."~ Judge Vic Rawl....They are still counting votes in California..Loopholes Grow in Bill to Offset Ruling on Campaigns..Mac or PC? Microsoft bids to run Gujarat India munis internet elections in Oct 2010...

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

AL: Concerns Are Brewing About The Recount Between Tim James And Robert Bentley
http://www.whnt.com/news/politics/whnt-recount-james-bentley-061510,0,6730857.story
(recount is by machine)

CA: Want to know if your vote was counted? Check website
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100618/NEWS0301/6180305/1006/
 news01/Want+to+know+if+your+vote+was+counted?+Check+website
http://is.gd/cUMwD  Worried voters can check if their ballot was counted in the June 8 primary election at a county website. Voters can visit www.sos.ca.gov/ elections/ballot-status t

CA: UPDATE: Ballots still being counted in supervisor race for second place (10,000)
http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/266509-update-ballots-still-being-counted-in-supervisor-race-for-second-place  (Clara County)
It is estimated 10,000 ballots remain, 7,000 of which are provisional and the remaining are vote-by-mail that were dropped off at precincts June 8. Vote-by-mail ballots are scanned to verify the voter's signature while provisional ballots require more thorough and stringent study

CA: 13,000 ballots still uncounted
http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2010/06/17/news/local/doc4c
 198419e95d9535799674.txt http://is.gd/cUMyb
The Napa County elections office is still counting about 13,600 ballots — or 42 percent of the votes cast in last Tuesday’s election — and is not expected to release official results until June 24...
...
“The large number of vote-by-mail ballots delivered after Friday, June 4, represents a greater percentage than usual,” Tuteur said, adding Napa County’s last-minute swell in votes is consistent with voting trends across the state.

CA: Tulare County absentee ballots done, but more votes to count
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20100617/NEWS01/6170314

CA: Deluge of late absentee ballots, mail changes blamed for vote counting delay
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/48736/  (Riverside County)

CA: Few Yoloans make use of early voting
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_15250070
...mail-in voting is well on its way to becoming the leading way of voicing one's political opinion, with more than 40 percent of Yolo voters taking advantage of the system.

CT: Bysiewicz hears problems disabled face when voting
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bysiewicz-hears-problems-disabled-face-when-voting-527813.php

CT: SOTS Candidates Forum, Hartford Public Library
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3268

HI: Tax Dollars Paid For Djou's Robo-Calls
Voter Offended By Telephone Survey
http://www.kitv.com/news/23928538/detail.html
Hawaii’s newest congressman, Republican Rep. Charles Djou, was elected in a special election after campaigning for restraint in spending government money. Now he has offended some voters, by using taxpayer money for automated telephone calls that some say sound like campaigning.

MN: PHOTO ID RAISES COSTS AND BURDENS TO SOLVE A VOTING PROBLEM MINNESOTA DOESN'T HAVE
http://www.ceimn.org/Minnesota_elections_photo_ID_voting_Pioneer_Press

NJ: 11,000 voters left spots blank on Trenton City Council ballot
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/06/17/news/doc4c1af305e6d3f571075720.txt
“In order to ensure their person is elected, they may just bullet vote,” Sollami Covello said. “It is definitely a strategic way of voting if you want to ensure someone is elected in that top three. It happens in every election where you have more than one candidate.”

NJ:Lawyer requests probe into election
http://www.northjersey.com/news/passaic_morris/061710_Lawyer_requests
 _probe_into_election.html http://is.gd/cUMzG
PATERSON — A lawyer for Councilman Rigo Rodriguez has called for a federal investigation into possible voter discrimination, citing the roles played by Sheriff Jerry Speziale and the county Democratic chairman in allegedly intimidating Latino voters.

NY: MEDIA MATTERS ON FOX ON PORT CHESTER VOTE
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016233.html

SC: It's over
Dems deny Rawl's bid to overturn Greene win *
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jun/18/itsover/
...In Lancaster County, for example, Rawl won the absentee vote by an 80 percent margin but lost the general election by 17 percent, Ludwig said.

Anne Jett Owens, a Rawl staffer, said she fielded about 25 complaints from voters around the state who had difficulty casting votes for him. Three of those voters told the committee their stories.

Susan Turner of James Island said after she cast her vote, a gray screen with a strange type font appeared on the machine indicating a vote had been registered for Greene. She went back and made sure her vote went to Rawl before finishing, she said.

Belinda Dickerson of Mount Pleasant said her voting screen did not list Rawl's name on the ballot.
...
Computer forensic expert Steve Abrams said he tried to examine flash cards in Berkeley County's machines as part of his examination, but was denied access. While there, he noticed that the machines appeared to be connected to the Internet, a security gaffe that could allow someone to remotely alter the software, he said.

SC: Democrats uphold Greene’s nomination for Senate
http://www.thestate.com/2010/06/17/1337480/will-democrats-overturn-us-senate.html
...committee members could not get past a few key points, including:
• Why was the U.S. Senate primary the only one apparently affected by voting machine problems?
• If the primary results were overturned, what response would Greene and his voters have?
• And, finally, what specific proof existed that votes counted for Greene were actually cast for Rawl?

SC: 'Lack of Election Integrity in SC': Rawl's Statement on State Dems Protest Rejection
Ends U.S. Senate campaign, vows to 'speak out about frail, vulnerable election system'..
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7902
SC: Did South Carolina Use Second-Hand E-Voting Machines That Louisiana Decertified?
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100615/1102449830.shtml

SC: S.C. Independent candidate may challenge Greene, DeMint in November
http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/18/s-c-independent-candidate-may-challenge-greene-demint-in-november/  The South Carolina Democratic Party may have decided to keep Senate candidate Alvin Greene on the ballot for the November election, but that doesn’t mean they plan to support him. An effort is underway to get an Independent Party candidate on the ballot to challenge Greene and the incumbent, Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.

SC: Ketner may join Senate race
http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=12670404 
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Linda Ketner supporters want the local business woman to run against Alvin Greene and Senator Jim DeMint in November.

Ketner ran as a Democrat in 2008 and almost defeated incumbent Republican Congressman Henry Brown.

TX: Precinct 8 justice of the peace case in judge's hands
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/17/2274525/precinct-8-justice-of-the-peace.html
...
"Texans voting by mail-in ballot are supposed to sign their ballot and across the flap of the envelope. Wyde said more than 100 ballots were accepted even though the voter's signature was underneath the flap."
...
"Raborn insisted that hand-delivered ballots wouldn't have been accepted."

TX: Rowlett council results stand; no late ballots make it by deadline
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories/DN-rowrunoff_18met.ART.State.Edition1.297867a.html

TX: Election officials asking for voter input (on vote centers)
http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/news/local/story/election-administrators-november-general/rXUbNPSREE2J0krtrMLOlQ.cspx  The elections office here in downtown Lubbock is soon to play host to citizens interested in getting involved in the process.

VT: IRV Vote Change
http://www.wptz.com/editorials/23945648/detail.html
Changes already? Not so fast!

Internet Voting Watch

VV Comments on Best Practices for Voting Systems Supporting Military and Overseas Voters
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/06/18/684
A summary of security standards and guidelines “deemed most applicable for jurisdictions using IT systems to support UOCAVA voting” is indeed necessary at a time when many states are moving forward with Internet based voting, too often with insufficient thought to the security implications of casting votes online.
...
While the limitations and scope of topics are clearly laid out, the remaining gaps, particularly those related to online return of voted ballots, are too large and too important to ignore.

India: Gujarat ready to click, take first step in e-voting
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Gujarat-ready-to-click--take-first-step-in-e-voting/635417
Counter-measures are being put in place against hacking, virus attacks and possible parallel websites to misguide voters.

India: E-voting: Seven IT majors vie to provide online solution http://www.indianexpress.com/news/E-voting--Seven-IT-majors-vie-to-provide-online-solution/635802 The bidders include Microsoft, IBM, TCS, Wipro, CMC, HCL and ILNFS. The tenders will be opened on June 22.

National

Loopholes Grow in Bill to Offset Ruling on Campaigns
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18ads.html?ref=politics

MORE ON DISCLOSE/NRA
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016235.html

OVER ONE MILLION VISITS TO THE ELECTION LAW BLOG
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016227.html

electionlineWeekly--June 17, 2010
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=59570
Jun 18, 2010 - News Analysis: Primary elections still making headlines in several states
Recounts, slow vote tallies and questionable results highlight outstanding issues

International

EVMs are unconstitutional; that’s why they would go soon
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=267   And in the meanwhile, we seem to have become a role model for many dubious democracies of the world to follow our non-transparent, unverifiable, eminently “riggable” electronic voting system. This is a taunt that must make the mandarins of the Election Commission to squirm in discomfort.


Voting News by Joyce McCloy. Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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