Why Pac-Man voting hack matters.FL vote problems. Citizens United aftershocks

Broward FL elections sup Dr. Snipes neglects to tell voters about polling place change...The BRAD BLOG Informs NBC's Chuck Todd That Ballots Are Not Actually Counted by Humans...Pac-Man for president: Hack highlights e-voting flaws.University researchers remind people that electronic voting machines are still easy to manipulate by loading the venerable Pac-Man video game...'Too close to call' Australian election result...Afghan vote runs up against fear, disenchantment...

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


CO: On Aspen's November ballot: Runoff elections vs. IRV
Council rejects winner-take-all method
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100825/NEWS/100829906/1077&ParentProfile=1058

FL: Broward elections supervisor Dr. Snipes neglects to tell voters about polling place change* http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/08/broward_elections_supervisor_d_1.html
Dr. Brenda Snipes admitted Monday that her office did not advise voters in precinct R31 in Fort Lauderdale that they no longer vote at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center (GLCC) on Andrews Avenue

FL: Suspicious package closes Brevard precinct* (Brevard)
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/24/1789727/suspicious-package-closes-brevard.html
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. -- A precinct on Florida' Space Coast was shut down for several hours after a suspicious package was found outside it.

FL: Three polling places report minor issues; voting not affected* (Alachua Cnty)
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100824/ARTICLES/100829745/1002
When Fred Posner walked up to the ballot machine at Precinct 22 at about 8 a.m. Tuesday, he was disturbed when a poll worker told him the machine wasn't working and then slid his ballot into what's known as an "emergency bin" inside the machine.
...
a metal bar on the ballot box, which was in place to prevent vote fraud, had not been unlocked. Once poll workers realized that, they switched the key to the proper position and ran through Posner's ballot, along with several others that had not been counted.

FL: 4 Palm Beach County Voters Given Wrong Ballot* (at 6 or 7 precincts?)
Supervisor Of Elections Says Poll Workers Reassigned, Relieved Of Duties
http://www.wpbf.com/r/24747331/detail.html
"Regretfully, we have about six or seven locations where voters were supposed to be issued a partisan ballot and, unfortunately, they were issued a non-partisan ballot," Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told WPBF 25 News' Meredith McDonough.

FL: Elections Chief Edwards Rolls to Victory in Primary
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100824/NEWS/8245068/1338?p=1&tc=pg
BARTOW Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards refrained from handling ballots Tuesday night, but she manhandled her opponent in their primary race for a congressional seat.

FL: Audit to help decide 'two very close races' (PANAMA CITY — Bay County)
http://www.newsherald.com/news/panama-86444-audit-races.html
... Andersen said the county didn’t know how many provisional ballots were out.
“That’s what tomorrow’s audit is for,” Andersen said.

IL: Auditor Referendum Will Not Be on November Ballot
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/08/24/auditor-referendum-will-not-be-on-november-ballot/ Champaign County Clerk
I have determined that the County Board’s action to place a referendum on the ballot eliminating the elected County Auditor’s office does not conform to the requirements of Illinois Election law and will thus not be on the November Ballot.

This is a difficult decision because refusing to certify a question or candidate is an extraordinary remedy. However, no other one exists.

KY: Two Kentucky Republicans Sue to Remove Libertarian and Constitution Party Nominees http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/25/two-kentucky-republicans-sue-to-remove-libertarian-and-constitution-party-nominees/

NC: A few more reasons not to elect judges
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/22/1636392/a-few-more-reasons-not-to-elect.html
Belk, heir to a fortune, had never practiced law before his election in 2008, when he ran hoping to oust one of the judges who presided over his divorce.

NC: Filing begins for vacated NC appeals court seat
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/25/1642801/filing-begins-for-vacated-nc-appeals.html
Voters would rank candidates by preference if more than three people seek the job through a process called instant runoff voting. It would be the first time instant runoff voting has been used statewide.
[there is no IRV software certified to state standards]

NC: Ex-candidate for mayor accused of voting twice* (LUMBERTON)
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/08/24/1024521?sac=Home

TN: Shelby County Democrats file new Chancery Court lawsuit challenging election
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/aug/24/shelby-county-democrats-file-new-chancery-court-la/

WA: Primary turnout breaks modern record
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/08/primary-turnout-breaks-modern-record/ The word from the State Elections Division is that voter turnout for last week’s Primary Election cracked the 40 percent mark today, exceeding the 38 percent turnout that Secretary of State Sam Reed predicted.

Internet Voting Watch

MO: Skelton, Hartzler, clash over voting record following new ad
http://politicmo.com/2010/08/22/skelton-hartzler-clash-over-voting-record-following-new-ad/
Regarding HB 1381, a bill focused on Internet Voting, Walsh said it “raised security concerns – not only with Vicky Hartzler but with the Democrat-controlled Senate – where the bill died.”

The Skelton campaign points to the 1998 Journal of the House of Representatives, which called the bill “a pilot project to allow persons in federal overseas service,” including the military, “to vote via the internet.”

Walsh says, “It was also of great concern to then-Secretary of State Bekki Cook, a Democrat, over security issues.”
[Hartzler attacked by opponent because of opposition to internet voting]

National

The BRAD BLOG Informs NBC's Chuck Todd That Ballots Are Not Actually
Counted by Humans http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8003

Pac-Man for president: Hack highlights e-voting flaws
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6771
University researchers remind people that electronic voting machines are still easy to manipulate by loading the venerable Pac-Man video game

Citizens United aftershocks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082405642.html
In the mean time, corporations are free to do a lot more than just donate to less-regulated 527's. They have a blank check.

Statelight: Transparency in a Box, Pt. 3
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/08/24/statelight-transparency-in-a-box-pt-3/
As we set the stage for advocating on local and state transparency issues and highlight some policies issues of note, inevitably the question comes:

How exactly do you go about learning more about policies in your state?

International

Afghanistan: Afghan vote runs up against fear, disenchantment
http://www.optimum.net/News/AP/Article?fmId=11530880
"I'm not going to vote. I can't risk my life for nothing," says 31-year-old Hekmatullah as he calls out prices for lipstick and nail polish to women shuffling through the store in burqas.
...
"We don't know if we will be alive tomorrow and you are talking about the election?"

Australia: 'Too close to call': Australian election result won't be known for days as hung parliament looms http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304959/Australian-election--Hung-parliament-looks-increasingly-likely.html
Australia is heading for its first hung Parliament since WWII after both British-born
party leaders failed to gain enough votes for victory.


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