Monday, December 27, 2010

MD report shows paper ballots cost less than DREs, IA Justices deny separate ballot for judge retention

We're back from a short holiday break! Tonight's edition covers news published since our last full edition on Monday December 20. State news is organized by state and then by date. State news is followed by sections for national, Internet voting, and international news. Internationally, online voting in Ahmedabad, India is provoking discussion. At home the EAC has released data on HAVA appropriations, and as we reported in our holiday note, an independent cost study ordered by the Maryland General Assembly has found that the state could save $10 million by replacing its electronic voting machines with optical scanners and paper ballots. (Note: we have included one among a great many news articles published on the Alaska US Senate race.)

All this and more in today's Voting News below.

AK: Miller won't back Murkowski Senate certification [Dec. 27]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101227/ap_on_re_us/us_alaska_senate

CA: 2011 Ushers In Boosts to Transparency in Election Security and Campaign Finance [Media Release, Dec. 21]
http://www.sos.ca.gov/admin/press-releases/2010/db10-120.pdf

CO: Premier AccuVote Machines Missed 0.4% of Votes in Aspen Elections [Dec. 27]
http://www.fairvote.org/premier-accuvote-machines-missed-0-4-of-ballots-in-aspen-elections

CO: SOS sends mixed signals on certification [Dec. 26]
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-colorado-springs/sos-sends-mixed-signals-on-certification

IA: Justices say no to quest to block removal [Dec. 21]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20101221/NEWS/12210357/-1/caucus/Justices-say-no-to-quest-to-block-removal
University of Iowa computer science professor Doug Jones, who studies voting technology and practices, said a separate ballot for the justices runs contrary to state history.

"You create a bureaucratic monster when you double the amount of paper involved in an election," Jones said. "If each judicial retention race is a separate piece of paper, which is the most extreme reading I can imagine, that's an awful snow flurry of paper. County election offices are already strapped for money."

IN: Recount commission did its job fairly and honestly [Opinion, Dec. 24]
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101224/Opinion/101229802/-1/googleNews
"The recount commission was greatly served in its duty by current county Clerk Rita Glenn, several county voting machine technicians and Keith McGinnis from Illinois-based service contractor RBM Consulting to make the process run efficiently and smoothly. All of these individuals have my profound gratitude for their dedication to our work."

KY: Trimble to buy new voting machines [Dec. 21]
http://madisoncourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=178&SubSectionID=270&ArticleID=60332

MD: Report: Scanners cost less than touch-screen machines [Dec. 24]
http://www.gazette.net/stories/12242010/polinew172811_32537.php
The independent analysis, conducted by a North Carolina research firm for the Department of Legislative Services, appears to confirm what supporters of a voter-verified paper trail system have long argued: It costs more money to maintain the current equipment than to purchase new
machines that allow voters to print out paper receipts of their selections.

MN: St. Paul preps for voting via ranked choice [Dec. 25]

http://www.startribune.com/politics/local/112459654.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUoaK7D_V_eDc87DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUoD3aPc:_27EQU

MS:Hinds rejects used voting machines [Dec. 21]
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101221/NEWS/12210320/Hinds+rejects+used+voting+machines
Hinds County supervisors say they want to discard the county's 8-year-old, $1.5 million voting system and start anew.

The Board of Supervisors denied a request Monday by some election commissioners to purchase 300 used voting machines. Instead, the board wants the commission to shop for a new system, such as an optical scanning system that would allow for better auditing of records.

MO: KC legislator may be denied seat over fraud allegations [Dec. 27]
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_498eb9fd-e146-5986-878f-9c52a97a8f86.html

NY: Columbia County Elections Commissioner Lauded
[Dec. 27]
http://newsroom.wgxc.org/archives/6189

NY: ETC Names 'Election Integrity Hero' For Heading Hand Ballot Count [Dec. 27]
http://registerstar.com/articles/2010/12/27/news/doc4d16b8af18d9c073786898.txt

NY: Paper trail paid for, but not used [Dec. 23]
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101221/INS/101229984

NY: Heights votes correctly counted in final tally [Dec. 23]
http://shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com/2010/12/5002/heights-votes-correctly-counted-in-final-tally/

NY: Paper Ballots: NY Courts Don't Get It [Opinion, Dec. 21]
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/12/paper-ballots-ny-courts-dont-get-it/

NY, AK: NY, AK Election Contests Demonstrate, Again, Why Paper Ballots Actually Need to be Counted [Opinion, Dec. 21]
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8260

NC: Concession after N.C. Court of Appeals recount widens lead [Dec. 20]
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/12/concession-after-nc-court-appeals-recount-widens-lead

OH: Secretary of State Directive 2010-85: Post-Election Audits of the November 2, 2010 General Election [Dec. 16]
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Upload/elections/directives/2010/Dir2010-85.pdf


National

Reapportionment: A New Portrait of America: First 2010 Census Results [Dec. 21]
http://2010.census.gov/news/press-kits/apportionment/apport.html

EAC: Appropriation and Distribution of HAVA Payments to States [Dec. 22]
http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Appropriation%20&%20Distribution%20of%20HAVA%20Payments%20to%20States_12.22.2010.pdf

EAC: Federal Advisory Committee Act; Board of Advisors Charter Renewal [Dec. 21]
http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/12/21/2010-31938/federal-advisory-committee-act-board-of-advisors-charter-renewal


Internet Voting Watch

Internet Voting Only Makes Sense [Opinion, Dec. 22]
http://northfork.patch.com/articles/op-ed-internet-voting-only-makes-sense

Online Voting: A sincere, but vulnerable initiative [Opinion, Dec. 26]
http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/column_online-voting-a-sincere-but-vulnerable-initiative_1486244


International


Bangladesh: E-voting likely in by-elections [Dec. 23]
http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=182441&cid=2

Brazil: Brazil orders more voting machines from Diebold [Dec. 22]
http://www.atmmarketplace.com/article/178434/Brazil-orders-more-voting-machines-from-Diebold

Peru: Some 2,500 Peruvians to vote electronically in 2011 Presidential elections [Dec. 27]
http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=vXwD3PssM4Y=

India: Faulty EVMs, chill delay voting in State [Dec. 28]
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/123953/faulty-evms-chill-delay-voting.html

India: Efforts needed to make EVMs fool-proof [Dec. 23]
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Efforts_needed_to_make_EVMs_foolproof_-nid-76061-cid-1.html

India: Lalu to meet election panel in irregularities over EVMs [Dec. 22]
http://www.sify.com/news/lalu-to-meet-election-panel-over-irregularities-in-evms-news-national-kmwlOnjceih.html

India: Questioning the reliability of EVMs [Dec. 21]
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article967488.ece

India, Russia: India, Russia sign agreements on cooperation in diverse areas [Dec. 21]
http://netindian.in/news/2010/12/21/0009422/india-russia-sign-agreements-cooperation-diverse-areas

Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews =============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vnDisclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.

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