Touchscreens in 2 NC Counties flip votes from GOP to DEM. 866-OUR-VOTE

Chuck Tyson, chair of Craven Cnty NC GOP about touchscreen machines: "They never work, they're late reporting, they screw up, they ain't worth a damn and we ought to go back to paper ballots," ....Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to get help & report problems...Security Fears Mount as E-Voting Comes of Age: "I think these systems can be compromised," says Pam Smith, Pres of Verified Voting. "It might not happen this year, it might be in a close presidential election." Voters in Philippines told not to use crayons on ballots..

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

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AZ: Rumors about voter fraud by Raul Grijalva? FALSE!
http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2010/10/24/rumors-about-voter-fraud-by-raul-grijalva-false/
The County Recorder’s office has to verify every voter first of all, and if the person is not a real person, then they don’t get their voter ID. They found 65% are not valid, and those people don’t get to vote, and thus no fraud has been committed.

A more accurate question would be is “is voter REGISTRATION fraud taking place.”

CT: Post-Election Audit Report: Incremental Improvement – New Integrity Concern
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/aug-10-post-election-audit-report-incremental-improvement-new-integrity-concern/ Citizen observation and analysis shows some improvements along with a newly uncovered problem with the random selection process…We conclude that August post-election audits still do not inspire confidence..

IL: You Can Still Register to Vote in Illinois Through Tuesday, October 26
http://www.enewspf.com/index.php/latest-news/latest-local/19433-you-can-still-register-to-vote-in-illinois

NC: Problems at the ballot box
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/today-91666-ballot-box.html
The voting result in Craven County will now forever be in doubt because of this.

NC: [UPDATED] Touch-Screens in Two NC Counties Flip Straight-Party Votes Repeatedly from GOP to Dem http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8143
County GOP Chair: The ES&S machines 'ain't worth a damn, we ought to go back to paper ballots'. One voter says: 'I pressed confirm and screen went totally black'..

NC: Voter reports problem with ballot machine*
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/10/23/5087612.htm Sun Journal -- A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended

Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said.
Then he asked for and received help from election staff.

"They pushed it twice and the same thing happened," Laughinghouse said. "That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted."
...
Tyson reported other problems as well, including long lines waiting for just two voting machines in Havelock, and machines reporting 250 ballots cast where 400 voters had signed in to vote.

NM: Overseas voters granted extension
http://www.cnjonline.com/news/voters-40546-overseas-granted.html Overseas voters from New Mexico have been granted an extension after ballots in six counties, including Curry County, were sent out past deadline for the Nov. 2 General Election.

OH: GOP pressures Franklin Co. auditor to fix ballot problem
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-gop-pressures-frankl-co-auditor-fix-ballot-problem-/2010/10/23/5087641.htm Lenhart said the state Republican Party has been pressuring her office to mail notices to voters after an unusual number of voters requested replacement ballots this week.


Internet Voting Watch

Canada: Twitter responses to Tony Clement on Internet voting
http://papervotecanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/twitter-responses-to-tony-clement-on.html

Canada: Town's Internet voting system has drawbacks
http://www.yorkregion.com/opinion/letters/article/892129--town-s-internet-voting-system-has-drawbacks How come that if one votes by Internet, you cannot just vote for candidates that in your opinion are worthy of election?
...
Also, should residents have moved away from Markham and are still on the voters' list, it is possible to get an Internet voting PIN for them and vote fraudulently.

US: Internet voting system easily hacked - giving ability to change votes
http://www.examiner.com/internet-trends-in-pittsburgh/internet-voting-system-easily-hacked-giving-ability-ability-to-change-votes
Should overseas and military voters have the convenience and speed of voting online, when their votes can easily be changed, and their personal information obtained by hackers?
Do we want quick results or correct results?

Security Fears Mount as E-Voting Comes of Age
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-e-voting-age-mount.html
Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, said vulnerability questions remain, whether the systems accept votes directly online of by email or fax.
...
Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president of the Overseas Vote Foundation which helps Americans abroad in elections, said the group is not ready to endorse online voting.

"At this point, there really isn't any proven, safe ballot return over the Internet that has gone through any certification that is agreed upon," she said.

National

Voters get polling place wait times, absentee ballots online in 2010
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/10/voters-get-polling-place-wait-times.html

Election protection resources (get help, report probs for natl database)
http://www.866ourvote.org/ Hotline set up by Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights for any voting problems: 1-866-Our-Vote

Fundamental voting rights and voting rights of disabled citizens
http://www.retiredamericans.org/issues/Voter_Protection

Of use to State Groups: "Hotsheets" for the Nov 2, 2010 election, Roy Lipscomb, of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, has developed a Hotsheet for citizens to report election irregularities directly to the public, and is offering to clone and customize the Hotsheet for other election integrity groups and individuals. http://www.handcountedpaperballots.org/


International

Canada: Telephone voter cut off
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2814119
The 71-year-old city resident, a former telephone operator, said she cast only two votes before her call was cut short, possibly because she pushed the wrong button.

India: Bihar polls: 53 per cent votes cast in Phase II amidst reports of Naxal violence http://www.ndtv.com/article/assembly%20polls/bihar-polls-voting-on-in-phase-ii-amidst-reports-of-naxal-violence-61936
Stray incidents of violence occurred in Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts. Heavily-armed Maoists raided a polling centre at Subaigarh in Runisaidpur constituency and burnt down the electronic voting machines besides other materials early this morning before voting began, SP Rakesh Rathi told PTI.

Ireland: Gender Quotas
http://aceproject.org/today/forum/gender-quotas The parliamentary Justice Committee in Ireland proposed to introduce gender quotas for political parties, and an intense debate followed.

Philippines: Voters told not to use crayons
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=623851&publicationSubCategoryId=200
“Marked ballots mean you set [them] apart in some way from the rest of the ballots, so the canvasser can easily determine that [these] comes from [certain voters],” Jimenez explained.



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