Feds, TBI called on TN election. FL mail ballot fiasco. '3 Idiots' and India elections

Prof. David Wagner (UC Berkeley)"There is no known way to audit Internet voting. UOCAVA votes might fall 'under a cloud of suspicion.'”..Lee Co FL Ballot blunder could keep votes from counting; envelope design to blame..Shelby Co asks TBI, FEDS to find out "Did someone intentionally load the wrong poll data onto the electronic poll books?"..David Dill: “all voting systems that have been claimed to be secure have been proved to be insecure. And all systems that have been alleged to be insecure by critics have been proved to be insecure.” in article "'3 Idiots' determine Indian election results"..Primaries Aug 17: WA & WY. Aug 24: AZ, VT, FL & AK...

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

AZ: Mesa election switch confuses some voters
http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2010/08/11/20100811mesa-election-changes-voters0811.html

CO: City not exonerated
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/141951 While the recent DA’s opinion on Aspen election issues did not find any violations worthy of criminal prosecution, it did cite numerous “technical law violations,” “rule violations,” instances of “bad practice,” “serious errors,” “unwise practice,” “violation of duty” and “appearances of impropriety.” This is hardly an exoneration of the city.

CT: UCONN: Failed memory cards caused by weak batteries, inadequate design
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/uconn-failed-memory-cards-caused-by-weak-batteries-poor-engineering/ We suggest that $10 per year per card is well worth avoiding most of the problems associated with the current huge, unacceptable failure rate.

FL: Ballot blunder could keep votes from counting; envelope design to blame*
http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2010-08-11/Ballot-blunder-could-keep-votes-from-counting It could be happening across Lee County. Over 40,000 absentee ballots were requested, and all sent out with the same faulty return envelope design. Lee County Elections officials are working with USPS on the problem. Still, the ballot blunder is a sorespot for many, who are trying to make their vote count in the upcoming election.

FL: Absentee ballots returned to sender * (Lee Co)
Votes boomerang thanks to automatic sorters
http://www.news-press.com/article/20100811/NEWS0107/8110373/1075/Absentee-ballots-returned-to-sender Turns out a design flaw in the envelopes causes post office machines to scan a voter's return address instead of the destination address.

GA: Faye Coffield Will Appeal Georgia Ballot Access Case to U.S. Supreme Court
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/11/faye-coffield-will-appeal-georgia-ballot-access-case-to-u-s-supreme-court/
“Does the U.S. Constitution protect the ability of minor party and independent candidates to run for the U.S. House of Representatives?”"

MI: High Humidity Causes Issues With Voting Machines
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1691664.shtml?cat=1
A voting machine at a polling location in Cottage Grove is rejecting ballots due to the humidity.

NC: Ballot printer charges more, has big advantage
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/05/616405/ballot-printer-charges-more-has.html

NC: Unfair 'fun'
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/11/623217/unfair-fun.html
The News & Observer had great fun with a gotcha story about state elections director Gary Bartlett and with a follow-up Aug. 7 about all the Democrats and Republicans who denounced election officials. You cited only three denouncers who had quotes that fit your story line; you avoided people like me who might ask more probing questions.

Through the muddle, there was enough information to see that neither Bartlett nor Bev Perdue selected the vendor and that counties are free to buy ballots from other printers. Ironically, the push by citizen advocates (and N&O editorialists) to avoid a Florida fiasco by enacting rigo

NY: Fear New Machines Will Confuse Voters
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703435104575421982778514628.html
Electronic Scanners Replace Levers at N.Y. Polls Next Month

OH: Cuyahoga County elections board can't reach agreement on bilingual ballots
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2010/08/cuyahoga_ lections_board_cant_reach_agreement_on_bilingual_ballots.html
http://tinyurl.com/33rw4qr

OH: Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Ohio secretary of state advise elections board on bilingual ballot demand
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2010/08/cuyahoga_county _prosecutor_ohio_secretary_of_state_advise_elections_board_
on_bilingual_ballot_demand.html http://tinyurl.com/37q5ksy

PA: Chesco polling place to relocate after lawsuit
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100811_ Chesco_ polling_place_to_relocate_after_lawsuit.html http://tinyurl.com/2an3tj4
A small but significant victory has been won by Chester County voters who waited for hours in the rain to take part in a historic presidential election.

They have persuaded county officials to move a polling place back to the campus of Lincoln University after a lawsuit arising from a chaotic Election Day in November 2008.

TN: US Rep Cohen Asks Feds To Investigate Election Problems *
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/081110-cohen-asks-feds-to-investigate-election-problems The election commission reported that problems occurred after election workers accidentally loaded early voting information from the May election, prompting poll workers to incorrectly tell some people they had already voted in the Aug. 5 election.

TN: Shelby Co DA Asks TBI to Investigate Problems at the Polls *
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Shelby-County-D-A-Asks-TBI-To-Investigate/A38mXTOo1EiaOqOyNG6O9w.cspx
Did someone intentionally load the wrong poll data onto the electronic poll books

TN: Randy Wade Refuses to Concede (video interview about Shelby Co mess)
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/080610-randy-wade-refuses-to-concede
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Candidate for Sheriff Randy Wade said he will not concede until a voting glitch at the polls has been investigated.

WA: PR: Pierce County poll sites open at lower cost
http://www.thesubtimes.com/2010/08/11/pr-pierce-county-poll-sites-open-at-lower-cost/
For the last three years, Ranked Choice Voting prevented the use of precinct tabulators. Since voters repealed Ranked Choice Voting, Pierce County can return to counting ballots at each polling place. This saves considerable time, labor and expense. Pierce County has also saved money with more efficient printing of polling-place materials.

WA: U.S. District Court in Washington State Keeps Names and Addresses of Petition Signers Private for Now http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/11/u-s-district-court-in-washington-state-keeps-names-and-addresses-of-petition-signers-private-for-now/

WI: Election Officials won't Enforce Issue Ad Rules
http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=6659
The new rules took effect this month. They require groups that air so-called issue ads to disclose where they get their money and how they spend it.


Internet Voting Watch

Ontario Canada. Don't make wishes - you might get more than you dreamed of.
http://theburdreport.blogspot.com/2010/08/dont-make-wishes-you-might-get-more.html
This adage comes to mind when it was revealed that paper ballots , in Cobourg, are as dead as the dodo. A dangerous move and one subject to manipulation.

Prof. David Wagner (UC Berkeley):
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/UOCAVA/2010/Presentations/WAGNER_UOCAVA2010.pdf
It is not technologically feasible today to make Internet voting safe against attack.
Operating an Internet voting system safely requires expertise and money way beyond what election officials are likely to have.

Comcast.net Hijacker Gets 4 Months
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/08/comcast-black/

Governments Battle to Stay Ahead of Threats on Internet, 'The Great Leveler'
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec10/cybersec_08-10.html

Suspect in $9 Million RBS WorldPay Hack Extradited to U.S
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/08/tsurikov-extradition/
The hackers compromised RBS WorldPay’s database encryption to raise the amount of funds available on the compromised cards and boost their daily withdrawal limits. In some case, the hackers raised the limits to $500,000.

National

Upcoming Primaries: Last Chance to Vote States
https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/Primary-Deadlines
Overseas Vote Foundation. Wyoming State Primary August 17, Washington August 17
Arizona August 24, Vermont August 24, Florida August 24, Alaska August 24
Did you request your ballot? Did you get it? It is not too late if you act RIGHT NOW.

Statelight: Transparency in a Box, Pt. 1
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/08/11/statelight-transparency-in-a-box-pt-1/
I’m excited to announce a new project from Public Equals Online and the Sunlight Foundation. Over the next few weeks and months, we’ll be developing – in large part through public blog posts such as this one – a curriculum, or guide, on how to do state level organizing and advocacy around transparency and open government.

Voting: The 233-year-old design problem
http://ballotusability.blogspot.com/2010/08/voting-233-year-old-design-problem.html
Did you know that the presidential election in 2000 was not the first - or last - time that design problems affected the outcome of an election?

International

India: “3 Idiots” determine Indian election results
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=387 The three people that I am referring to are junior programmers in the EVM manufacturing companies who have written the EVM software or source code that drive all the functions of the EVMs.

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