AZ election lawsuit begins. Hawaii cuts 97 poll sites. Mail ballots dont help turnout

Citizens' suit against Maricopa Co AZ election office begins Sept 10..Los Angeles Co voters prefer that new voting system use paper ballots...Election watchdog report challenges Scott Brown election in Massachusetts...New Mexico SoS Herrera troubles: 4 election chiefs quit so far, Herrera fired 2 whistleblowers last week & SoS office swept for bugs..Virgin Isl voting machine lawsuit dismissed..Do You Know A Military or Overseas Voter? Act Now!!!..THE UGLY FACE OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA (PART-2)

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


AZ: This Case Is About Forcing Maricopa County Election To Follow The Law – Nothing More, Nothing Less. Trial begins Friday, September 10th 2010 at 8:15 AM.
http://audit-az.blogspot.com/2010/09/this-case-is-about-forcing-maricopa_1589.html
[Suit asks that mandated checks & balances be enforced, and voting software checked]

CA: Study to consider alternatives to InkaVote Plus (Los Angeles County)
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_16027251 "In general, there is a strong value placed by voters on having a paper record of their ballot," Logan wrote. "The paper ballot provides them a sense of assurance that, if need be, things could be re-verified to demonstrate accuracy and security."

DC: Dear Votemaster: If You Vote With a Special Ballot
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2010/09/08/dear-votemaster-if-you-vote-with-a-special-ballot/ Those who vote with such special ballots will have to complete a voter registration update/same-day registration form, and sign an “affirmation of eligibility.”

HI: Fewer polls raise fear over turnout
97 polling sites have been closed due to budget cuts
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews /20100908 _Fewer_polls_raise_fear_over_turnout.html http://tinyurl.com/37mfut4

MA: Election watchdog challenges Scott Brown election in Massachusetts over voting machine outcome (Jonathan Simon analysis)
http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-boston/election-watchdog-challenges-scott-brown-election-massachusetts-over-voting-machine-outcome “No systematic audit of the count was performed. No spot-checks of the count were performed. There was no recount of any ballot. There were no exit polls performed. No actual ballots stored within the opscan equipment were examined or permitted to be examined.”

MI: Oakland court impanels grand jury to investigate election fraud
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2010/09/08/news/doc4c8
847653fa9a974987918.txt http://tinyurl.com/326bytq
PONTIAC — Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick has been selected as the one-man grand juror to investigate allegations of election fraud in filings related to the group The Tea Party, which made an unsuccessful attempt to appear as a political party on the Nov. 2 ballot.

MI: OUR VIEW — Allegan County election snafus are intolerable
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/opinions/x863086144/OUR-VIEW-Allegan-County-election-snafus-are-intolerable While the Bureau of Elections report has been forwarded to the state attorney general, it’s hard to imagine anyone would actually be prosecuted in this matter, unless evidence arises that something more than incompetence was involved. The task at hand now is re-establishing credibility in Allegan County.

NM: Herrera's staff turmoil started early
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Herrera-s-staff-turmoil-started-early-
For her part, Herrera in recent weeks asked state police to conduct a sweep for electronic bugs — apparently no such listening devices were found — and filed public-information requests for e-mails of past and present staff members and certain political enemies.

NY: List Maintenance or Voter Purging?
http://reformny.blogspot.com/2010/09/list-maintenance-or-voter-purging.html
[Brennan Ctr urges all NY voters to check their registration record just in case]

NY: Voting scanners a problem for elderly
http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2010/09/08/news/top_
stories/doc4c87cfcb3189e108208913.txt http://tinyurl.com/35ko57e

OH: Security cameras approved for voting location
Action comes as Republicans on elections board urge new site, deny claims of hindering process http://www.ohio.com/news/102413909.html

The Summit County Board of Elections will install video-surveillance equipment at an early-voting location to address security concerns Republican board members have raised.

Virgin Islands: Judge dismisses ballot complaint
http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/judge-dismisses-ballot-complaint-1.1001989
“Based on the lack of substantive justification presented by the Plaintiff in support of his request for injunctive relief, coupled with the realistic result of disrupting the fundamental democratic process of conducting a primary election on September 11 of this year in our Territory, the Court is convinced that denial of the injunction sought by the Plaintiff is the only legally sound, fair and equitable result in this case,” Brady concluded.

Bryan’s complaint contests the legality of the Board of Elections’ decision July 30 to have voters who are not using the electronic voting machines use provisional ballots instead. That decision, Bryan claimed, was a violation of the Help America Vote Act and the V.I. Code.

National

Do You Know A Military or Overseas Voter? Act Now!!!
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/do-you-know-a-military-or-overseas-voter-act-now/

The Down-Ballot Problem: Concurrent Elections and Cognitive Limitations on Voting Behavior http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1643500

Absentee ballots: It's easier to vote, so why aren't more people voting?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2010/0908/Absentee-ballots-It-s-easier-to-vote-so-why-aren-t-more-people-voting
About one-quarter of the electorate used absentee ballots in the 2008 election. But the convenience of mailing it in hasn't done much to boost turnout.


International

THE UGLY FACE OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA (PART-2)
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=446 ...is the Election Commission running scared of a political backlash from parties demanding voting reform? And, what vested interest if any, does the Election Commission have in perpetuating a voting system that has become suspect in the eyes of the political class?

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