Brennan Ctr to vote vendors- report malfunctions. SC cnty stalls election FOIAs

California's new law SB1404 requires vote vendors to report problems...Bo Lipari's testimony on NY primary...Brennan Ctr letter asks vendors to self report probs...South Carolina Straight ticket warning..Charleston Co SC election office drags feet on FOIAS..Mary Mancini's "The Worst Legislation in Tennessee!"..Fox says 7 states violating the MOVE act, may disenfranchise overseas & military voters. But FVAP Director says "To date, all states have complied with their waiver requirements."..Violence & Fraud in 2010 Afghanistan Elections..

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

AR: Ballot fixed after voter spots error*
http://arkansasleader.blogspot.com/2010/09/top-story-ballot-fixed-after-voter.html
The 80 Jacksonville residents who mistakenly received absentee ballots without all four aldermanic races have been sent supplemental ballots, according to Melinda Allen, Pulaski County election director

CA: Governor signed SB 1404 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) - Elections: ballot cards and voting systems. http://www.gov.ca.gov/press-release/16072/
The Bill here http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_1401-1450/sb_1404_bill_20100927_chaptered.html

CT: A Tale In Three Ballots
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/a-tale-in-three-ballots/
Luther Weeks compares CT, MN & NY ballots and issue of ballot design

DC: Experts Warn Against D.C.'s Planned, Insane Internet Voting Scheme
As if U.S. elections aren't disastrous enough as is...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8097

IN: General election ballots are incorrect ($ to subscribe/read full article)
http://www.carrollcountycomet.com/news/2010-09-29/Front_Page/General_election_ballots_are_incorrect.html
The Carroll County Election Board... a special meeting was scheduled for Thursday to discuss a problem that was also an issue in the May primary election. It was discovered that ballots are incorrect as printed.

NC: Hand count may be needed for some NC ballots
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/8373469/
The State Board of Elections finalized details Wednesday on the method used to identify the Court of Appeals race winner being decided through instant runoff voting.

The board decided workers in 24 counties with electronic machines will have to read the register tape generated by each electronic vote should second and third choices be counted. Optical scan ballots used elsewhere will be run through their usual tabulation machines. (editor note-optical scan tally will not be usual)

NY: TESTIMONY ON THE PRIMARY TO THE SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/09/testimony-on-the-primary-to-the-senate-elections-committee/ By far the largest number of problem reports were administrative and legislative issues. These reports broke down into a few main categories – Privacy Issues; Poll Worker Training; Late Poll Openings; Machine Problems; and Hard to read Ballots.

OR: Oregon voters can register on state website
http://www.kcby.com/news/local/103955764.html

OR: Cutting off voters for no good reason (opinion)
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/09/cutting_off_voters_for_no_good.html

SC: More Emails, More Foot-Dragging from Election Officials
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2010/09/29/more-emails-more-foot-dragging-from-election-officials Addendum to my Sept. 29 City Paper column on problems with Charleston County voting machines:

SC: Marilyn Bowers' Letter of Resignation from Board of Elections
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2010/09/29/marilyn-bowers-letter-of-resignation-from-board-of-elections (Charleston County)

SC: 'Straight ticket' voting could cause problems in November elections
http://www2.scnow.com/news/2010/sep/29/straight-ticket-voting-could-cause-problems-novemb-ar-895519/ Voters who use electronic voting equipment have the option to select only candidates from one political party by choosing a “select all” option. However, if voters do so, they must make sure to view non-partisan ballot items, such as questions or local races where a political party affiliation is not required.

TN: "The Worst Legislation in Tennessee!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KoQShuQQYQ Mary Mancini on the bill that gutted and delayed the "Tennessee Voter Confidence Act."

Internet Voting Watch

Ireland: Where’s the Irish Mandela to lead us back into the Commonwealth?
http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/stephen-king/wheres-the-irish-mandela-to-lead-us-back-into-the-commonwealth-132012.html
So if internet voting would encourage more young people – or older people, or the physically disabled for that matter – to vote, I am, in principle, open to the idea.

Or I was. It was two weeks ago that it struck me: if people can send emails and text messages they live to regret from their mobile phone or Blackberry on a night’s drinking, what if people could vote from the comfort of the bar?

National

Letter to Voting Sytem Vendors Regarding Voluntary Database
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/letter_to_voting_sytem
_vendors_regarding_voluntary_database/ http://tinyurl.com/25b6yzm
The Brennan Center for Justice sent the following letter to Dominion Voting Systems, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), Hart InterCivic, and Microvote -- the major voting system vendors in the country -- calling on the companies to create voluntary databases of known equipment malfunctions prior to this fall's elections.

U.S. Voters Abroad Test Efforts To Expedite Balloting
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130209616 Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat runs the Overseas Vote Foundation, a group dedicated to easing the process. "Really, the entire landscape of U.S. overseas and military voting has transformed," she says.
...
A few jurisdictions, like some counties in West Virginia, are even experimenting with online voting. That has some voter groups concerned, though, about ballot security

EXCLUSIVE: Advocates Cite Purported MOVE Act Violations in Seven More States
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/29/exclusive-law-suit-protect-maryland-military-voters-just-tip-iceberg/ "States granted waivers must certify the delivery of ballots in accordance with their waiver plans and must report post-election on a broad range of statistics regarding ballot delivery and returns. All of those requirements notices, and responses as we receive them, are on FVAP's website at http://www.fvap.gov/reference/laws/waivers.html . To date, all states have complied with their waiver requirements."

International

Bombing Democracy: Violence and Fraud in the 2010 Afghanistan Elections
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/09/29/bombing-democracy/
Because winning the seat is so lucrative, many candidates took to buying votes for between $1-$18 per ballot, with the average hovering around $5.

India: EVM theft: Mukund Lagoo let out on bail
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/evm-theft-mukund-lagoo-let-out-on-bail/689790/
Pune-based social activist Mukund Lagoo, arrested for his alleged role in procuring an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) from the Collector’s office and handing it over to Hyderabad-based researcher Hari Prasad, was released on bail Tuesday.


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