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?
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
NM SoS fires critics. Moldova voter roll hacked. Military Voters get your ballot!
Lawyers’ Committee Condemns DOJ and Georgia’s Maneuvers to Preclear New Registration Procedures...Hinds Co Mississippi to buy 300 used optical scanners for $350 ea...New Mexico SOS fires whistleblowers...WA SOS office straight talk on military vote...Military & Overseas Voters, Submit your Ballot Request for the Gen Election!. Get big discounts on express delivery of voted ballots back to the US with help of Overseas Vote Foundation & FedEx Express...Hacker attack on Moldova's digital voter rolls caused electoral confusion...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Editor Note: If you have friends in military, or US friends overseas, please pass on this newsletter or the articles about military voting so that they can get their ballot on time. Thanks!
AR: Rural mail changes cause voting problems * (absentee mail ballots)
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2010/sep/07/rural-mail-changes-cause-voting-problems/
Recent changes to rural residents’ mailing addresses led to a voting fiasco on Election Day when people arriving at the polls complained they never received early voting ballots.
...
County officials became aware of the problem when the recorder’s office started receiving returned ballots. Starting July 1, the post office stopped delivering mail to highway carrier (HC) addresses. Residents must use physical addresses.
...
All told, 1,414 registered voters had highway carrier addresses, and roughly 250 of those voters are on the permanent early ballot list.
During the election, those on the early ballot list had to vote provisionally, and then county officials had to make sure those voters hadn’t already cast ballots.
AZ: Republican Runs Street People on Green Ticket
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/us/politics/07candidates.html?_r=2&ref=republican_party
Arizona’s Democratic Party has filed a formal complaint with local, state and federal prosecutors in an effort to have the candidates removed from the ballot, and the Green Party has urged its supporters to steer clear of the rogue candidates.
CA: Alameda County braces for ranked-choice voting
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15980147
Years after voters approved it, ranked-choice voting has come to Alameda County.
Voters in three cities -- Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro -- will use the new voting method in electing local officials, such as mayor and city council members.
DC: DC LEARNS ABOUT THE WEEK-LONG “ELECTION DAY”
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3296
GA: Lawyers’ Committee Condemns DOJ and Georgia’s Maneuvers to Preclear New Registration Procedures
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/projects/voting_rights/page?id=0062
These maneuvers by the State and the Justice Department represent a departure from past practice and were apparently undertaken solely to prevent minority citizens of Georgia, as intervenors, from contesting preclearance.
MS: Hinds Hires New Administrator; Debates Voting Machines
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/hinds_hires_
new_administrator_debates_voting_machines_090710/ http://tinyurl.com/2v7lmyq
Supervisors also spent over half an hour discussing a request from the county Election Commission to purchase 300 used voting machines. Election Commissioners Lelia Rhodes and Marilyn Avery urged the board to approve buying the two-year-old machines, at a cost of $350 per machine. New voting machines can cost $3,000 each, Rhodes said. The machines would arrive by Dec.1, after the November congressional elections but in time to be used for the 2011 statewide elections, she added.
The purchase would come out of the $1.722 million remaining in a federal grant for election equipment. Supervisors approved the purchase of scanners for the Election Commission earlier this summer.
NM: Secretary of State Mary Herrera axes critics
Ex-exempt workers may sue, citing whistle-blower law http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Secretary-of-State-Herrera-axes-critics-in-her-office
Secretary of State Mary Herrera has fired two of her administrators who talked to the FBI about possible wrongdoing in her office.
The Española lawyer representing both Manny Vildasol and James Flores on Tuesday formally notified the state Risk Management Division that his clients might be suing, claiming the terminations violate the Whistleblower Protection Act.
...
"As you are aware, they reported to the FBI what they believed to be criminal acts within her office and immediately after the media reported they had spoken to the FBI, they were both placed on administrative leave and now, FIRED!" Rudy Martin said in his letter to Risk Management.
TX: VOTING RIGHTS ACT ODDITY
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016934.html According to this story, American Traffic Solutions, which owns and operates cameras monitoring traffic compliance at intersections, sued to stop an upcoming city referendum on the cameras in Baytown, TX
TX: We Didn’t Start the Fire: Texas Loses Thousands of Voting Machines in Inferno
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/09/08/we-didnt-start-the-fire-texas-loses-thousands-of-voting-machines-in-inferno/ Though no official ruling has been made about whether the fire was arson, that has not stopped some from speculating about its origin.
WA: Military voting: `45 days to receive, mark & return’
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/09/military-voting-45-days-to-receive-mark-return/ Doug Chapin, a nationally prominent, independent elections analyst, writes at electionline.org that the common thread for Washington and the four other states that got a federal waiver was that all meet the test of providing at least 45 days for military and overseas voters to “receive, mark and return” their ballots.
WV: West Virginia Supreme Court Hears Argument on Secrecy of Names and Addresses of Petition Signers http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/08/west-virginia-supreme-court-hears-argument-on-secrecy-of-names-and-addresses-of-petition-signers/
National
Overseas Vote Foundation's blog » It's Back: Express Your Vote for 94 Countries!
https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/Express-Your-Vote-2010
...we have teamed up again this year with FedEx Express to offer Express Your Vote in 94 countries. (Four more than in 2008!) The one-of-its-kind Express Your Vote program provides highly discounted rates for express delivery of voted ballots back to local election offices in the United States.
Military and Overseas Voters, Submit your Ballot Request for the General Election!
http://www.fvap.gov/global/news/nr22-2010.html There are only eight weeks until the November 2nd general election! If you have not already requested your absentee ballot, do so immediately. It's simple and it’s fast. Go to FVAP.gov and use our online registration and absentee ballot assistant to have your forms completed, printed out, and ready to send back home in less than 10 minutes.
International
Australia: Blind voter loses electoral challenge
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/08/3005771.htm David Rankin took the Electoral Office to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal in South Australia, claiming his only option was to ask someone else to fill out his ballot paper.
He wanted to vote using a computer or braille.
Moldova: Hacker attacks electronic voting counting system in Moldova*
http://focus-fen.net/?id=n229660
Chisinau. A hacker has attacked the electronic system for vote counting in Moldova as the country is holding a referendum, News Moldova reports.
“As a result of the interference, the source of which is being identified by the competent bodies, the data in the system has doubled. But there is parallel vote counting and we keep in contact with all polling stations across the country,” said Central Electoral Commission Chairperson Evgeniya Shtirbu
Moldova faces light turnout, hacker attack during referendum - Summary*
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/342827,attack-referendum-summary.html
The poll was the first-ever Moldovan national vote using computerized voter rolls. But CEC officials said a hacker attack led to morning delays in the operation of its website and damaged some digitally stored voter rolls.
The CEC was instead using manual vote counts and relying on paper- based voter roll data, but voting results would "be available only a little later than expected," CEC leader Evgeny Stirbu said.
Communist officials opposing the referendum's passage had alleged that the government was using the computer system to inflate turnout numbers artificially.
"This is why the (CEC) computers are having problems," Communist Party spokesman Yury Muntian had said earlier in the day, according to an Infotag news agency report. "This will allow them to falsify the vote result."
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at
Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Editor Note: If you have friends in military, or US friends overseas, please pass on this newsletter or the articles about military voting so that they can get their ballot on time. Thanks!
AR: Rural mail changes cause voting problems * (absentee mail ballots)
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2010/sep/07/rural-mail-changes-cause-voting-problems/
Recent changes to rural residents’ mailing addresses led to a voting fiasco on Election Day when people arriving at the polls complained they never received early voting ballots.
...
County officials became aware of the problem when the recorder’s office started receiving returned ballots. Starting July 1, the post office stopped delivering mail to highway carrier (HC) addresses. Residents must use physical addresses.
...
All told, 1,414 registered voters had highway carrier addresses, and roughly 250 of those voters are on the permanent early ballot list.
During the election, those on the early ballot list had to vote provisionally, and then county officials had to make sure those voters hadn’t already cast ballots.
AZ: Republican Runs Street People on Green Ticket
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/us/politics/07candidates.html?_r=2&ref=republican_party
Arizona’s Democratic Party has filed a formal complaint with local, state and federal prosecutors in an effort to have the candidates removed from the ballot, and the Green Party has urged its supporters to steer clear of the rogue candidates.
CA: Alameda County braces for ranked-choice voting
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15980147
Years after voters approved it, ranked-choice voting has come to Alameda County.
Voters in three cities -- Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro -- will use the new voting method in electing local officials, such as mayor and city council members.
DC: DC LEARNS ABOUT THE WEEK-LONG “ELECTION DAY”
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3296
GA: Lawyers’ Committee Condemns DOJ and Georgia’s Maneuvers to Preclear New Registration Procedures
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/projects/voting_rights/page?id=0062
These maneuvers by the State and the Justice Department represent a departure from past practice and were apparently undertaken solely to prevent minority citizens of Georgia, as intervenors, from contesting preclearance.
MS: Hinds Hires New Administrator; Debates Voting Machines
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/hinds_hires_
new_administrator_debates_voting_machines_090710/ http://tinyurl.com/2v7lmyq
Supervisors also spent over half an hour discussing a request from the county Election Commission to purchase 300 used voting machines. Election Commissioners Lelia Rhodes and Marilyn Avery urged the board to approve buying the two-year-old machines, at a cost of $350 per machine. New voting machines can cost $3,000 each, Rhodes said. The machines would arrive by Dec.1, after the November congressional elections but in time to be used for the 2011 statewide elections, she added.
The purchase would come out of the $1.722 million remaining in a federal grant for election equipment. Supervisors approved the purchase of scanners for the Election Commission earlier this summer.
NM: Secretary of State Mary Herrera axes critics
Ex-exempt workers may sue, citing whistle-blower law http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Secretary-of-State-Herrera-axes-critics-in-her-office
Secretary of State Mary Herrera has fired two of her administrators who talked to the FBI about possible wrongdoing in her office.
The Española lawyer representing both Manny Vildasol and James Flores on Tuesday formally notified the state Risk Management Division that his clients might be suing, claiming the terminations violate the Whistleblower Protection Act.
...
"As you are aware, they reported to the FBI what they believed to be criminal acts within her office and immediately after the media reported they had spoken to the FBI, they were both placed on administrative leave and now, FIRED!" Rudy Martin said in his letter to Risk Management.
TX: VOTING RIGHTS ACT ODDITY
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016934.html According to this story, American Traffic Solutions, which owns and operates cameras monitoring traffic compliance at intersections, sued to stop an upcoming city referendum on the cameras in Baytown, TX
TX: We Didn’t Start the Fire: Texas Loses Thousands of Voting Machines in Inferno
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/09/08/we-didnt-start-the-fire-texas-loses-thousands-of-voting-machines-in-inferno/ Though no official ruling has been made about whether the fire was arson, that has not stopped some from speculating about its origin.
WA: Military voting: `45 days to receive, mark & return’
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/09/military-voting-45-days-to-receive-mark-return/ Doug Chapin, a nationally prominent, independent elections analyst, writes at electionline.org that the common thread for Washington and the four other states that got a federal waiver was that all meet the test of providing at least 45 days for military and overseas voters to “receive, mark and return” their ballots.
WV: West Virginia Supreme Court Hears Argument on Secrecy of Names and Addresses of Petition Signers http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/08/west-virginia-supreme-court-hears-argument-on-secrecy-of-names-and-addresses-of-petition-signers/
National
Overseas Vote Foundation's blog » It's Back: Express Your Vote for 94 Countries!
https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/Express-Your-Vote-2010
...we have teamed up again this year with FedEx Express to offer Express Your Vote in 94 countries. (Four more than in 2008!) The one-of-its-kind Express Your Vote program provides highly discounted rates for express delivery of voted ballots back to local election offices in the United States.
Military and Overseas Voters, Submit your Ballot Request for the General Election!
http://www.fvap.gov/global/news/nr22-2010.html There are only eight weeks until the November 2nd general election! If you have not already requested your absentee ballot, do so immediately. It's simple and it’s fast. Go to FVAP.gov and use our online registration and absentee ballot assistant to have your forms completed, printed out, and ready to send back home in less than 10 minutes.
International
Australia: Blind voter loses electoral challenge
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/08/3005771.htm David Rankin took the Electoral Office to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal in South Australia, claiming his only option was to ask someone else to fill out his ballot paper.
He wanted to vote using a computer or braille.
Moldova: Hacker attacks electronic voting counting system in Moldova*
http://focus-fen.net/?id=n229660
Chisinau. A hacker has attacked the electronic system for vote counting in Moldova as the country is holding a referendum, News Moldova reports.
“As a result of the interference, the source of which is being identified by the competent bodies, the data in the system has doubled. But there is parallel vote counting and we keep in contact with all polling stations across the country,” said Central Electoral Commission Chairperson Evgeniya Shtirbu
Moldova faces light turnout, hacker attack during referendum - Summary*
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/342827,attack-referendum-summary.html
The poll was the first-ever Moldovan national vote using computerized voter rolls. But CEC officials said a hacker attack led to morning delays in the operation of its website and damaged some digitally stored voter rolls.
The CEC was instead using manual vote counts and relying on paper- based voter roll data, but voting results would "be available only a little later than expected," CEC leader Evgeny Stirbu said.
Communist officials opposing the referendum's passage had alleged that the government was using the computer system to inflate turnout numbers artificially.
"This is why the (CEC) computers are having problems," Communist Party spokesman Yury Muntian had said earlier in the day, according to an Infotag news agency report. "This will allow them to falsify the vote result."
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at
Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
NY ballots fine print. 1600 Hawaii ballots missing contest. Internet Voting Pt 3
CTVoter series on Common Sense Election Integrity...Sarasota FL election sup Kathy Dent shrugs of another lawsuit, no wonder since taxpayers foot the bill either way...Putting troops votes at risk: NJ lawmakers have two bills for internet/military voting...NY New Ballot Type Too Small...Paper V Plastic debate heats up in Tenn...Fox anchor accuses WA State of trying to disenfranchise military vote...Lawsuit over electronic voting in Virgin Islands...Verified Voting's Internet Voting Part 3 is online...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
CA: Woman says her name was forged on voter cards
http://www.ocregister.com/news/-264906--.html
A political signature gathering firm that's been accused of wrongdoing in seven states registered dozens of Orange County residents to vote in February under the name of a 69-year-old woman who insists she was in Puerto Rico the entire time.
CO: Election Commission seeking to allow more time for voters
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100903/NEWS/100909954/1077&ParentProfile=1058
Fellow Election Commissioner Bob Leatherman said all processes need to be formalized in Aspen city elections in light of a large number of extensive complaints the commission is reviewing about the May 2009 election...
CT: Common Sense Election Integrity
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/common-sense-election-integrity/
DC: 30 HELP/FIELD TECHNICIANS NEEDED FOR ELECTION DAY! (WASHINGTON, DC)
http://telecommutejoblist.com/30-helpfield-technicians-needed-election-day-washington-dc
FL: SRQ Elections Chief: Lawsuits part of the job
http://legal-ease.blogs.heraldtribune.com/10512/srq-elections-chief-lawsuits-part-of-the-job/?tc=ar "It’s sad that we citizens/ taxpayers don’t have a level playing field. We’re paying to protect our voting rights and candidate rights via this lawsuit that I initiated. Mrs. Dent will be using our taxpayer dollars to defend her actions. We pay for both sides"
Guam: 14% of Ballots Spoiled*
http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=13105638
Despite public outreach encouraging voters to stay on one side of the ballot, more than 14% of those voters who came out spoiled their ballot by crossing-over.
HI: New absentee ballots to be sent after misprint (absentee ballots)
http://www.khon2.com/content/news/developingstories/story/New-absentee-ballots-to-be-sent-after-misprint/wLU51S7qkUyLtLqAAcU3Nw.cspx
The original ballot is missing all of the District 25 Senate candidates.
...
The 1,600 voters either live in Portlock or the Kokohead side of Lunalilo Home Road.
MD: Fake Democratic Ballots Circulating in Prince George's County Maryland
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/fake-ballots-circulating-in-pg-county-090510
(Fake sample ballot)
MD: A silly signature rule stymies Montgomery petitioners
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/05/AR2010090502906.html
For years, this confusing jumble of words was interpreted by the Maryland State Board of Elections loosely but straightforwardly: Print your name and sign...
NJ: Bill: Let military vote via Web (never mind security or secrecy issues)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100906/NEWS01/9060326/-1/archive
NM: EDITORIAL: Secret Ballot 'Cure' Worse Than Problem
http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10624937
Herrera wants to add blind eyes to the mix, closing the door to public inspection but opening it to myriad behind-the-scenes post-Election Day shenanigans. A public meeting is scheduled Sept. 15 on her proposed change. New Mexico's voters should make sure she understands more secrecy doesn't ensure election accuracy or accountability, much less protect voters.
NV: Online voter registration launched in southern NV
http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=13092145
Nevada is the 9th state to launch an online voter registration system.
NY: NY Candidate Says New Ballot Type Too Small*
http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/09/07/ny-candidate-says-new-ballot-type-too-small/
The print on ballots in next week’s New York primaries is so small the New York City Board of Elections will have magnifying glasses at polling places.
RI: Volunteer for candidate Grebien charged with tampering with voter registration cards (phone ns & e-mail addresses were redacted) http://www.projo.com/news/content/PAWTUCKET_VOTETAMPER_CHARGE_09-03-10_MFJP2NM_v144.253987a.html Registrar Kenneth R. McGill said that, of the 64 voters whose original forms had redacted information, 32 have returned new cards. If more affected voters want to register, they would need to use provisional ballots at their polling places, he said.
TN: Debate over paper vs. electronic ballots heats up after primary mistake
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100903/NEWS02/9030328/1009/NEWS01
TN: "John Doe" Says Election Commission Knew About Memphis Voting Problems
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/John-Doe-Says-Election-Commission-Knew-About/PlH-4YBP2kCHG1OXShM_Wg.cspx (Video available)
TN: Democrats Get Fired-Up at Meeting on Election Lawsuit
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Democrats-Get-Fired-Up-at-Meeting-on-Election/abD5C8hifESVHtDwQG6BNg.cspx?rss=59
TN: Booker: Newfangled ideas - Women get right to vote
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/sep/07/newfangled-ideas-women-get-right-to-vote/
Ninety-one years ago yesterday women voted in Knoxville for the very first time
...
The Knoxville Journal and Tribune of Sept. 7, 1919, reported, "Voting held no terrors for Knoxville women yesterday. The polls instead of being places where men gathered to drink, fight and swear, as men at the polls are popularly supposed to do, became 'voting booths' of a quite, dignified character...
TX: LULAC Texas and LULAC National Pass Resolution for Hand-Counted Paper Ballot Elections! http://www.opednews.com/articles/TX-and-NATIONAL-Latino-Org-by-Karen-Renick-100906-864.html "All votes cast in Travis County are being counted secretly behind closed doors with no possible way for public observation of the actual counting process..."stated Karen Renick, Founder and Co-Director of VoteRescue..
TX: Democrats sue Harris County Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez for alleged violations of voter registration laws http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/09/democrats-sue-harris-county-voter-registrar-leo-vasquez-for/1283465820.column
As it did in 2008, the Texas Democratic Party has sued the Harris County voter registrar in federal district court for what it says are violations of voter registration laws, political favoritism and violations of voter privacy.
TX: Letters: Fire ignites voting ideas (some good, some really bad)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7186880.html
Virgin Islands: Candidate files suit over electronic voting
http://virginislandsdailynews.com/candidate-files-suit-over-electronic-voting-1.994808
Adelbert Bryan has filed two lawsuits against the government — one in U.S. District Court and one in the V.I. Superior Court — stating that his right to vote with a paper ballot has been violated.
WA: More phony outrage over state's overseas ballot plan
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/03/1326303/more-phony-outrage-over-states.html
WA: States Struggling to Meet Deadline for Military Voters (youtube of Fox News)
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=fZoKGcBYQnc&feature=channel
Internet Voting Watch
NJ: Bill: Let military vote via Web [2 internet voting bills]
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100906/NEWS01/9060326/Bill-Let-military-vote-via-Web
"This bill would give democracy a 21st century makeover to make voting more accessible," said Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, D-Mercer,. She's sponsoring the measure Assemblymen Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, Wayne P. DeAngelo, D-Mercer, and Nelson Albano and Matthew W. Milam, both D-Cape May.
The measure, which was introduced in June, has been referred to the Assembly's State Government Committee, which has not yet scheduled a hearing on it. Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, is sponsoring identical legislation in that chamber.
Verified Voting: How the Internet Works
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/09/07/827
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Internet Voting
Prof. Ron Rivest (MIT)presentation at NIST's UOCAVA workshop (repost)
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/UOCAVA/2010/Presentations/RIVEST_2010-08-05-uocava.pdf
“What are best practices for internet voting?” to me sounds like “Pleash jush help me inshert the key in the lock, (hic), and I’ll be on my way…”
...
Remote voting is trade-off between franchise and risk
The risks of “internet voting” more than negate any possible benefits from an increase in franchise
National: How to Make Sure Your 2010 Ballot Is On Its Way
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/671692/954f50fe58/ARCHIVE
New regulations for overseas voting are in effect for 2010. To be sure you get your ballot, we strongly encourage overseas voters to refile the official registration/ballot request form every election year, starting this year. It is always best to file this form as early as possible!
International
India: Election Commission flunks the openness test on EVMs
http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/main-article_election-commission-flunks-the-openness-test-on-evms_1434122 However, in several cases, EVMs have been found wanting, and this has led to bans in countries like the US, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Germans found that EVMs violated their constitution, because the system is obliged to prove to the voter that his vote is registered as per his intent, and EVMs cannot guarantee that.
EC to call all-party meeting to discuss EVM issue
http://www.hindustantimes.com/EC-to-call-all-party-meeting-to-discuss-EVM-issue/Article1-596859.aspx
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
CA: Woman says her name was forged on voter cards
http://www.ocregister.com/news/-264906--.html
A political signature gathering firm that's been accused of wrongdoing in seven states registered dozens of Orange County residents to vote in February under the name of a 69-year-old woman who insists she was in Puerto Rico the entire time.
CO: Election Commission seeking to allow more time for voters
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100903/NEWS/100909954/1077&ParentProfile=1058
Fellow Election Commissioner Bob Leatherman said all processes need to be formalized in Aspen city elections in light of a large number of extensive complaints the commission is reviewing about the May 2009 election...
CT: Common Sense Election Integrity
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/common-sense-election-integrity/
DC: 30 HELP/FIELD TECHNICIANS NEEDED FOR ELECTION DAY! (WASHINGTON, DC)
http://telecommutejoblist.com/30-helpfield-technicians-needed-election-day-washington-dc
FL: SRQ Elections Chief: Lawsuits part of the job
http://legal-ease.blogs.heraldtribune.com/10512/srq-elections-chief-lawsuits-part-of-the-job/?tc=ar "It’s sad that we citizens/ taxpayers don’t have a level playing field. We’re paying to protect our voting rights and candidate rights via this lawsuit that I initiated. Mrs. Dent will be using our taxpayer dollars to defend her actions. We pay for both sides"
Guam: 14% of Ballots Spoiled*
http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=13105638
Despite public outreach encouraging voters to stay on one side of the ballot, more than 14% of those voters who came out spoiled their ballot by crossing-over.
HI: New absentee ballots to be sent after misprint (absentee ballots)
http://www.khon2.com/content/news/developingstories/story/New-absentee-ballots-to-be-sent-after-misprint/wLU51S7qkUyLtLqAAcU3Nw.cspx
The original ballot is missing all of the District 25 Senate candidates.
...
The 1,600 voters either live in Portlock or the Kokohead side of Lunalilo Home Road.
MD: Fake Democratic Ballots Circulating in Prince George's County Maryland
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/fake-ballots-circulating-in-pg-county-090510
(Fake sample ballot)
MD: A silly signature rule stymies Montgomery petitioners
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/05/AR2010090502906.html
For years, this confusing jumble of words was interpreted by the Maryland State Board of Elections loosely but straightforwardly: Print your name and sign...
NJ: Bill: Let military vote via Web (never mind security or secrecy issues)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100906/NEWS01/9060326/-1/archive
NM: EDITORIAL: Secret Ballot 'Cure' Worse Than Problem
http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10624937
Herrera wants to add blind eyes to the mix, closing the door to public inspection but opening it to myriad behind-the-scenes post-Election Day shenanigans. A public meeting is scheduled Sept. 15 on her proposed change. New Mexico's voters should make sure she understands more secrecy doesn't ensure election accuracy or accountability, much less protect voters.
NV: Online voter registration launched in southern NV
http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=13092145
Nevada is the 9th state to launch an online voter registration system.
NY: NY Candidate Says New Ballot Type Too Small*
http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/09/07/ny-candidate-says-new-ballot-type-too-small/
The print on ballots in next week’s New York primaries is so small the New York City Board of Elections will have magnifying glasses at polling places.
RI: Volunteer for candidate Grebien charged with tampering with voter registration cards (phone ns & e-mail addresses were redacted) http://www.projo.com/news/content/PAWTUCKET_VOTETAMPER_CHARGE_09-03-10_MFJP2NM_v144.253987a.html Registrar Kenneth R. McGill said that, of the 64 voters whose original forms had redacted information, 32 have returned new cards. If more affected voters want to register, they would need to use provisional ballots at their polling places, he said.
TN: Debate over paper vs. electronic ballots heats up after primary mistake
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100903/NEWS02/9030328/1009/NEWS01
TN: "John Doe" Says Election Commission Knew About Memphis Voting Problems
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/John-Doe-Says-Election-Commission-Knew-About/PlH-4YBP2kCHG1OXShM_Wg.cspx (Video available)
TN: Democrats Get Fired-Up at Meeting on Election Lawsuit
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Democrats-Get-Fired-Up-at-Meeting-on-Election/abD5C8hifESVHtDwQG6BNg.cspx?rss=59
TN: Booker: Newfangled ideas - Women get right to vote
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/sep/07/newfangled-ideas-women-get-right-to-vote/
Ninety-one years ago yesterday women voted in Knoxville for the very first time
...
The Knoxville Journal and Tribune of Sept. 7, 1919, reported, "Voting held no terrors for Knoxville women yesterday. The polls instead of being places where men gathered to drink, fight and swear, as men at the polls are popularly supposed to do, became 'voting booths' of a quite, dignified character...
TX: LULAC Texas and LULAC National Pass Resolution for Hand-Counted Paper Ballot Elections! http://www.opednews.com/articles/TX-and-NATIONAL-Latino-Org-by-Karen-Renick-100906-864.html "All votes cast in Travis County are being counted secretly behind closed doors with no possible way for public observation of the actual counting process..."stated Karen Renick, Founder and Co-Director of VoteRescue..
TX: Democrats sue Harris County Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez for alleged violations of voter registration laws http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/09/democrats-sue-harris-county-voter-registrar-leo-vasquez-for/1283465820.column
As it did in 2008, the Texas Democratic Party has sued the Harris County voter registrar in federal district court for what it says are violations of voter registration laws, political favoritism and violations of voter privacy.
TX: Letters: Fire ignites voting ideas (some good, some really bad)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7186880.html
Virgin Islands: Candidate files suit over electronic voting
http://virginislandsdailynews.com/candidate-files-suit-over-electronic-voting-1.994808
Adelbert Bryan has filed two lawsuits against the government — one in U.S. District Court and one in the V.I. Superior Court — stating that his right to vote with a paper ballot has been violated.
WA: More phony outrage over state's overseas ballot plan
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/03/1326303/more-phony-outrage-over-states.html
WA: States Struggling to Meet Deadline for Military Voters (youtube of Fox News)
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=fZoKGcBYQnc&feature=channel
Internet Voting Watch
NJ: Bill: Let military vote via Web [2 internet voting bills]
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100906/NEWS01/9060326/Bill-Let-military-vote-via-Web
"This bill would give democracy a 21st century makeover to make voting more accessible," said Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, D-Mercer,. She's sponsoring the measure Assemblymen Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, Wayne P. DeAngelo, D-Mercer, and Nelson Albano and Matthew W. Milam, both D-Cape May.
The measure, which was introduced in June, has been referred to the Assembly's State Government Committee, which has not yet scheduled a hearing on it. Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, is sponsoring identical legislation in that chamber.
Verified Voting: How the Internet Works
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/09/07/827
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Internet Voting
Prof. Ron Rivest (MIT)presentation at NIST's UOCAVA workshop (repost)
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/UOCAVA/2010/Presentations/RIVEST_2010-08-05-uocava.pdf
“What are best practices for internet voting?” to me sounds like “Pleash jush help me inshert the key in the lock, (hic), and I’ll be on my way…”
...
Remote voting is trade-off between franchise and risk
The risks of “internet voting” more than negate any possible benefits from an increase in franchise
National: How to Make Sure Your 2010 Ballot Is On Its Way
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/671692/954f50fe58/ARCHIVE
New regulations for overseas voting are in effect for 2010. To be sure you get your ballot, we strongly encourage overseas voters to refile the official registration/ballot request form every election year, starting this year. It is always best to file this form as early as possible!
International
India: Election Commission flunks the openness test on EVMs
http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/main-article_election-commission-flunks-the-openness-test-on-evms_1434122 However, in several cases, EVMs have been found wanting, and this has led to bans in countries like the US, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Germans found that EVMs violated their constitution, because the system is obliged to prove to the voter that his vote is registered as per his intent, and EVMs cannot guarantee that.
EC to call all-party meeting to discuss EVM issue
http://www.hindustantimes.com/EC-to-call-all-party-meeting-to-discuss-EVM-issue/Article1-596859.aspx
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
New York warned of 'Electoral Chaos'. Sarasota Fl - Recounts belong to the voters
On Sarasota FL: Tom Lyons says "Recounts belong to the voters" and not a tired candidate or election supervisor...New York Warned of 'Electoral Chaos' in Transition to Electronic Voting: In the Wednesday hearing.."It seems to me that these new machines are more prone to fraud on a mass scale than a lever machine,"~Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs...Harris County Texas Update on the dueling vote fraud press conferences...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
CA: Lawsuit over Identity of the Officers of the American Independent Party Moves Ahead http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/02/lawsuit-over-identity-of-the-officers-of-the-american-independent-party-moves-ahead/
CA: Berkeley council race draws three out candidates
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=5040
As San Francisco has seen, the implementation of IRV tends to draw more challengers to a race but has not hurt incumbents. And only rarely does the top vote-getter in the first round lose the election.
CO: Obama, McCain and IRV
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/142290
DC: Glitch affects 7,500 D.C. voters * (voter reg card)
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/dc/glitch-affects-7500-dc-voters.html
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics - grappling with early voting and new machines - announced that 7,529 voters in four precincts were issued registration cards that listed them as living in the wrong ward,
DE: Delaware prison-based gerrymandering bill signed
http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/news/2010/09/01/de_signed/
FL: LYONS: Election recount belongs to voters
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100902/COLUMNIST/9021085&tc=email_newsletter
Of course Dent would rather not have to do a recount. Ever. What supervisor of elections would? It is extra work. There is some chance of an embarrassing result.
And Dent, especially, has long expressed too much confidence in her voting systems, including the virtually uncheckable touch-screen machines that voters made her get rid of because the public did not share her confidence.
GA: Former Twiggs sheriff, son being investigated for voter fraud (absentee)
http://www.macon.com/2010/09/02/1249522/former-sheriff-in-vote-probe.html
A former Twiggs County sheriff and his son, who ran unsuccessfully for that office in 2008, are facing allegations of voter fraud.
Former Sheriff Doyle Stone and his son Greg Stone have been investigated for allegedly interfering with absentee ballots from some of the county’s voters, according to state officials.
GA: Election officials probing vote fraud in 4 counties (absentee)
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2010/09/02/election-officials-probing-vote-fraud-in-4-counties/
A dozen people, including a former sheriff, mishandled scores of absentee ballots cast in elections in four Georgia counties in 2008, state elections officials were told this week.
HI: Ninth Circuit Upholds Disparity in Hawaii Ballot Access Petitions
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/02/ninth-circuit-upholds-disparity-in-hawaii-ballot-access-petitions/ On September 1, the 9th circuit upheld the disparity in Hawaii’s petition requirements for the two different ways to get on the ballot for president. Nader v Cronin, 08-16444. Here is the 9-page decision...
NY: NY Warned of 'Electoral Chaos' in Transition to Electronic Voting
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/02/30069.htm
MANHATTAN (CN) - In a hearing before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli warned that the transition from lever-pull to electronic voting machines will cause "electoral chaos" in the primaries, and that all it will take to "fix" an election is a flash drive that anyone can buy at Staples. Ciampoli said a person with a flash drive would need "approximately 5 minutes of access" to fix an election.
RI: Judge refuses to ban party-line voting option
http://www.projo.com/news/content/HEALEY_HEARING_09-02-10_BVJONE4_v23.21ce431.html
One testifying plaintiff had actually won his elections, Smith said, and another could only say he thought party-line voting might have been a factor in his 2008 defeat.
TN: Hawkins election officials squabble over blame for snafu;
http://timesnews.net/article.php?id=9025939 ROGERSVILLE — There was a lengthy argument during Monday’s Hawkins County Election Commission meeting about who is at fault for failing to hold the minimum number of Saturday early voting dates prior to the Aug. 5 election.
TN: Editorial: Election panel not out of mess
http://www.dnj.com/article/20100902/OPINION01/9020324
As the old saying goes, better late than never.
That's our initial reaction to Monday's vote by the Rutherford County Election Commission to reverse course a bit and reinstate longtime Administrator Hooper Penuel after his abrupt firing last week amid likely Sunshine Law violations.
TX: Update on the dueling vote fraud press conferences
http://www.bloghouston.net/item/8545 Indeed, the most damning data points in the story emerged on the day the story originally broke: The documents posted by voter registrar Leo Vasquez in support of his criticism of the Houston Votes registration efforts
TX: Tax assessor, nonprofit spar over Harris County voter rolls
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7182556.html
Both sides have called for the U.S. Department of Justice to referee the dispute. Whatever the outcome, the public posturing could mark the start of a replay of the 2008 election season, which culminated with the state Democratic Party alleging in a lawsuit that then-registrar Paul Bettencourt was too slow and too picky in processing voter registration applications. The suit eventually was settled with no admission of wrongdoing.
VA: VITA says state computers fixed
http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2010/sep/01/vita-says-state-computers-fixed-ar-483786/ “Getting the ballots ready is pretty much done for Culpeper — they’re nearly ready to go. The hang-up is sending my overseas ballots,” said White, who assumed the registrar’s role in 2007.
White said the bigger problem for her has been the lack of access to VERIS, the state’s election and registration information system. That’s a problem because address information from the post office is used to update voter rolls.
WA: Military voting: 51-day transit exceeds feds’ 45-day rule
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/09/military-voting-51-day-transit-exceeds-feds-45-day-rule/
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: Should Toronto introduce online voting?
http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/09/should_toronto_introduce_online_voting/
India: Internet voting an option, says Ravi
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=383345&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22
The Election Commission will explore ways to implement a new law adopted by the parliament this week giving voting rights to non-resident Indians, a senior minister said yesterday.
US: New on VoxPopuLII: Hall on Electronic Voting and Direct Democracy
http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/new-on-voxpopulii-hall-on-electronic-voting-and-direct-democracy/ In his post, Dr. Hall describes the shortcomings of current electronic voting and Internet voting (e-voting) technology, and how those shortcomings are magnified when that technology is applied to citizen lawmaking processes, such as ballot initiatives.
National
Foreclosures Could Pose Trouble on Election Day
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/us/politics/02voting.html?_r=1&ref=politics
Each state differs in its definition of a citizen’s “domicile.” Certain states allow people to vote from an old address, if they have not established a new one; others do not. Some allow voters to update their voting registration up until Election Day, while others enforce a deadline of 30 days before. Only a handful of states provide additional leeway for voters who move into the state at the last minute.
International
Afghanistan: NDI Afghanistan election update
http://digest.electionguide.org/2010/09/02/ndi-afghanistan-election-update/
The UN spent over $100 million (including $65 million from the U.S.) to improve voter registration in 2009, but election officials told NDI that some candidates paid women in particular to obtain multiple voting cards because no photo is required for the female card. Also, on July 22, the AIHRC reported, “in some southeastern provinces, such as Paktia and Khost, candidates are buying voter cards for 200 to 500 Pakistani rupees ($2.31 to $5.77).
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
CA: Lawsuit over Identity of the Officers of the American Independent Party Moves Ahead http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/02/lawsuit-over-identity-of-the-officers-of-the-american-independent-party-moves-ahead/
CA: Berkeley council race draws three out candidates
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=5040
As San Francisco has seen, the implementation of IRV tends to draw more challengers to a race but has not hurt incumbents. And only rarely does the top vote-getter in the first round lose the election.
CO: Obama, McCain and IRV
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/142290
DC: Glitch affects 7,500 D.C. voters * (voter reg card)
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/dc/glitch-affects-7500-dc-voters.html
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics - grappling with early voting and new machines - announced that 7,529 voters in four precincts were issued registration cards that listed them as living in the wrong ward,
DE: Delaware prison-based gerrymandering bill signed
http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/news/2010/09/01/de_signed/
FL: LYONS: Election recount belongs to voters
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100902/COLUMNIST/9021085&tc=email_newsletter
Of course Dent would rather not have to do a recount. Ever. What supervisor of elections would? It is extra work. There is some chance of an embarrassing result.
And Dent, especially, has long expressed too much confidence in her voting systems, including the virtually uncheckable touch-screen machines that voters made her get rid of because the public did not share her confidence.
GA: Former Twiggs sheriff, son being investigated for voter fraud (absentee)
http://www.macon.com/2010/09/02/1249522/former-sheriff-in-vote-probe.html
A former Twiggs County sheriff and his son, who ran unsuccessfully for that office in 2008, are facing allegations of voter fraud.
Former Sheriff Doyle Stone and his son Greg Stone have been investigated for allegedly interfering with absentee ballots from some of the county’s voters, according to state officials.
GA: Election officials probing vote fraud in 4 counties (absentee)
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2010/09/02/election-officials-probing-vote-fraud-in-4-counties/
A dozen people, including a former sheriff, mishandled scores of absentee ballots cast in elections in four Georgia counties in 2008, state elections officials were told this week.
HI: Ninth Circuit Upholds Disparity in Hawaii Ballot Access Petitions
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/02/ninth-circuit-upholds-disparity-in-hawaii-ballot-access-petitions/ On September 1, the 9th circuit upheld the disparity in Hawaii’s petition requirements for the two different ways to get on the ballot for president. Nader v Cronin, 08-16444. Here is the 9-page decision...
NY: NY Warned of 'Electoral Chaos' in Transition to Electronic Voting
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/02/30069.htm
MANHATTAN (CN) - In a hearing before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli warned that the transition from lever-pull to electronic voting machines will cause "electoral chaos" in the primaries, and that all it will take to "fix" an election is a flash drive that anyone can buy at Staples. Ciampoli said a person with a flash drive would need "approximately 5 minutes of access" to fix an election.
RI: Judge refuses to ban party-line voting option
http://www.projo.com/news/content/HEALEY_HEARING_09-02-10_BVJONE4_v23.21ce431.html
One testifying plaintiff had actually won his elections, Smith said, and another could only say he thought party-line voting might have been a factor in his 2008 defeat.
TN: Hawkins election officials squabble over blame for snafu;
http://timesnews.net/article.php?id=9025939 ROGERSVILLE — There was a lengthy argument during Monday’s Hawkins County Election Commission meeting about who is at fault for failing to hold the minimum number of Saturday early voting dates prior to the Aug. 5 election.
TN: Editorial: Election panel not out of mess
http://www.dnj.com/article/20100902/OPINION01/9020324
As the old saying goes, better late than never.
That's our initial reaction to Monday's vote by the Rutherford County Election Commission to reverse course a bit and reinstate longtime Administrator Hooper Penuel after his abrupt firing last week amid likely Sunshine Law violations.
TX: Update on the dueling vote fraud press conferences
http://www.bloghouston.net/item/8545 Indeed, the most damning data points in the story emerged on the day the story originally broke: The documents posted by voter registrar Leo Vasquez in support of his criticism of the Houston Votes registration efforts
TX: Tax assessor, nonprofit spar over Harris County voter rolls
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7182556.html
Both sides have called for the U.S. Department of Justice to referee the dispute. Whatever the outcome, the public posturing could mark the start of a replay of the 2008 election season, which culminated with the state Democratic Party alleging in a lawsuit that then-registrar Paul Bettencourt was too slow and too picky in processing voter registration applications. The suit eventually was settled with no admission of wrongdoing.
VA: VITA says state computers fixed
http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2010/sep/01/vita-says-state-computers-fixed-ar-483786/ “Getting the ballots ready is pretty much done for Culpeper — they’re nearly ready to go. The hang-up is sending my overseas ballots,” said White, who assumed the registrar’s role in 2007.
White said the bigger problem for her has been the lack of access to VERIS, the state’s election and registration information system. That’s a problem because address information from the post office is used to update voter rolls.
WA: Military voting: 51-day transit exceeds feds’ 45-day rule
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/09/military-voting-51-day-transit-exceeds-feds-45-day-rule/
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: Should Toronto introduce online voting?
http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/09/should_toronto_introduce_online_voting/
India: Internet voting an option, says Ravi
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=383345&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22
The Election Commission will explore ways to implement a new law adopted by the parliament this week giving voting rights to non-resident Indians, a senior minister said yesterday.
US: New on VoxPopuLII: Hall on Electronic Voting and Direct Democracy
http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/new-on-voxpopulii-hall-on-electronic-voting-and-direct-democracy/ In his post, Dr. Hall describes the shortcomings of current electronic voting and Internet voting (e-voting) technology, and how those shortcomings are magnified when that technology is applied to citizen lawmaking processes, such as ballot initiatives.
National
Foreclosures Could Pose Trouble on Election Day
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/us/politics/02voting.html?_r=1&ref=politics
Each state differs in its definition of a citizen’s “domicile.” Certain states allow people to vote from an old address, if they have not established a new one; others do not. Some allow voters to update their voting registration up until Election Day, while others enforce a deadline of 30 days before. Only a handful of states provide additional leeway for voters who move into the state at the last minute.
International
Afghanistan: NDI Afghanistan election update
http://digest.electionguide.org/2010/09/02/ndi-afghanistan-election-update/
The UN spent over $100 million (including $65 million from the U.S.) to improve voter registration in 2009, but election officials told NDI that some candidates paid women in particular to obtain multiple voting cards because no photo is required for the female card. Also, on July 22, the AIHRC reported, “in some southeastern provinces, such as Paktia and Khost, candidates are buying voter cards for 200 to 500 Pakistani rupees ($2.31 to $5.77).
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I-Voting, direct democracy. 'Hack is Wack'. Sarasota Election Sup faces class action?
Snoop Dogg fights cyber crime, see 'Hack is Wack'...Dr.Joseph Lorenzo Hall writes about Electronic Voting and Direct Democracy...Class Action Lawsuit Being Filed Against Sarasota Elections Sup Kathy Dent?...Missing ballot ovals confuse Billings Montana voters...New Jersey lawmaker wants military internet voting experiment...18,000 Wisconsin voters could be cut from rolls...Fox News article: Online Voting For Military Serving Overseas...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AL: Ex-clerk guilty in voter fraud case* (absentee ballot)
Former Hale County official could spend up to a year in jail
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100901/NEWS/100839921/1007?Title=Ex-clerk-guilty-in-voter-fraud-case
Before Bryan, Tinker — through her attorney — admitted to falsely certifying the absentee ballots of five voters. The ballots, her attorney said, were notarized by her despite inconsistencies in signatures and spelling.
CA: RivCo and Postal Service near agreement to prevent election snafu (mail ballots)
http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-08-31/news/rivco-and-postal-service-near-agreement-to-prevent-election-snafu Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore and the USPS regional district manager, Dallas Keck, have reached a tentative understanding as to how absentee ballots will be handled in the weeks and days leading up to the Nov. 2 general election, according to Executive Officer Bill Luna.
CA: San Joaquin County looking into absentee-only voting ballot
http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_719096da-59e7-5da5-afa0-09ad0c69c300.html
County officials are exploring the idea of a vote-by-mail-only system because it could save the county considerable money, Registrar of Voters Austin Erdman told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Co: Most counties deny Marks ballot inspection
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/142266 According to a statement released by a group advocating for disclosure of ballots, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink supports public disclosure of ballots as a crucial oversight mechanism.
CO: Repeal Instant Runoff Voting (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/142277
Richie argues that IRV produces 50 percent-plus winners for city council while the proposed traditional runoff requires only 45 percent support. Look at 2009 reality, not theory: 2,510 voters voted in the council race. Torre won with 1073 votes, or 42.7 percent of the 2,510, while Derek Johnson won with 49 percent.
DC: Voting Card Error Affects 7,500 Voters*
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/voting-101986473.html
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics announced that a barcode error printed on voter cards affected 7,579 people, the AP reports. Though the voter card is not necessary to vote, the barcode speeds up the voting process.
FL: Class Action Lawsuit Being Filed Against Sarasota Supervisor of Elections?
http://redcounty.com/content/class-action-lawsuit-being-filed-against-sarasota-supervisor-elections (Kathy Dent again)
FL: Return to controversy (Sarasota SoE Kathy Dent)
Recount dispute shows elections are still subject to human error
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100901/OPINION/9011018/2198/OPINION&tc=email_newsletter?p=1&tc=pg
Dent, now in her third term of office, has known her share of controversies. Among them: She once championed touch-screen election machines that later were outlawed. She waged (and won) a legal battle against a voter-approved requirement for manual, post-election audits. In 2008, her office failed to quickly notify candidates whose names inadvertently had been left off several dozen absentee ballots.
GA: State election board sends Temple voter case to AG
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/9339940/article-State-election-board-sends-Temple-voter-case-to-AG?instance=TG_home_story_offset
IL: Preparing The Ballot This Year
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/08/31/preparing-the-ballot-this-year/
Champaign County Clerk...A few things have changed in the election law that are making the job of preparing ballots a little easier. At the same time, the number of referenda on the ballot is adding some complications.
Last year Congress passed legislation that requires military ballots to go out at least 45 days prior to the election. In the past, that was a goal of ours, but often one that we couldn’t meet because of the certification date for state candidates. Thankfully, the legislature amended the Election Code to move that certification date.
MA: County clerk lays blame for ballot snafu*
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100901/NEWS/9010308/-1/newsmap Barnstable County Clerk of Courts Scott Nickerson has blamed a lack of money to pay for election work as one of the reasons five candidates were left off the Nov. 2 ballot.
Nickerson also said an unnamed county employee he trained to cover election work in his absence gave out wrong information.
ME: Secretary of State Matt Dunlap Announces Launch of Enhanced Online Absentee Ballot Request Service http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100818005280&newsLang=en
Absentee Ballot Request Service Enhanced to Comply with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act Enacted by Congress
MT: BALLOT OVALS * (absentee mail ballot)
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/Ballot-Ovals-101934488.html
BILLINGS - Some mail-in ballots have left people confused about how to vote. The ovals on some of the ballots are missing or extremely faded. The ballots are for the School District Two’s bond election.
Yellowstone County election officials said it was a printing mishap. They ask that voters put a check or an x by their choice. They said the machine will either read the mark or set it aside for hand counting.
NY: Nassau County Challenges Feds, State to Beat Back Electronic Voting
http://www.examiner.com/populist-in-long-island/nassau-county-challenges-feds-state-to-beat-back-electronic-voting
But more significantly he will argue the ease with which the machines are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation - something the good ol' lever machines are not.
"The fact is that the machines don't meet the requirements of the law," Ciampoli says: "Sooner or later, people will lose their right to vote."
...
"You have a private, for-profit company, with no responsibility, not elected, controlling the machines, the software," says William Biamonte...
OH: Cuyahoga county has agreement for next week’s elections
http://hispanicohio.northcoastnow.com/2010/08/31/cuyahoga-county-has-agreement-for-next-weeks-elections/ The special elections, which will be Sept. 7, will have both English and Spanish versions. Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner’s office will pick up the extra cost needed to have both languages.
TX: Pulling together
Elected officials, party leaders and voters must cooperate to conduct smooth election
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7180473.html
On Monday, Harris County Commissioners' Court approved an emergency expenditure of $13.6 million to purchase 2,325 new voting machines and other equipment. Kaufman plans to have 1.4 million paper ballots printed as backup if limited numbers of machines generate long lines at some polling places. She's promising to have all precincts staffed on election day.
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade also pledged to help provide whatever the county needs from the state to successfully stage the election.
TX: Bexar offers old voting equipment to fire-stricken county (to Harris County)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/bexar_offers_old_voting_equipment_to_fire-stricken_county_101947648.html ...the county has offered up its old equipment, including paper ballot boxes and portable booths. The devices won't be shipped until Harris County formally requests them after they get Justice Department approval. Fort Bend and Tarrant counties have offered similar backup equipment...
VT: Recount pushes state’s election staff up against a Sept. 20 ballot delivery date
http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/politics/2010/08/31/recount-pushes-state%E2%80%99s-election-staff-up-against-a-sept-20-ballot-delivery-date/
WA: State getting bad rap on military voting waiver
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/spincontrol/2010/aug/31/state-getting-bad-rap-military-voting-waiver/
WI: 18,000 could be cut from voter rolls
Letters sent about mismatched information were undeliverable
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/101819378.html
The state tried to contact the voters because their names, birth dates or driver's license numbers do not match information in other government databases. If marked as ineligible to vote in the voter database, they would have to re-register to vote with municipal clerks or at the polls before they could cast ballots.
Internet Voting Watch
Electronic Voting and Direct Democracy (Dr. Joseph Lorenzo Hall)
http://blog.law.cornell.edu/voxpop/2010/09/01/electronic-voting-and-direct-democracy/
To be sure, there is a lot of momentum behind moving parts of our elections processes online. In some cases, such as online voter registration, the security and reliability risks are small and the net benefits are particularly high. However, I can’t say the same about internet voting, especially in the sense that elements of direct democracy may be particularly attractive to powerful foreign interests and parties outside our collective jurisdiction
"Hack is Wack” (how about a hack the vote rap video?)
http://www.hackiswack.com/ Snoop teams up with Norton (Symantec) to raise awareness about cybercrime. “Hack is Wack” gives you the opportunity to create and enter a 2-minute rap video and win exciting prizes
NJ: NJ LAWMAKER WANTS TO LET OUR TROOPS USE THE INTERNET TO VOTE
http://www.nj1015.com/NJ-Lawmaker-Wants-to-Let-Our-Troops-Use-the-Intern/7968244
(Assemblyman Paul)"Moriarty adds this kind of a program could eventually open the door to internet voting - for all Jersey residents."
Fox News: Online Voting For Military Serving Overseas
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/01/online-voting-military-serving-overseas
(This article manages to make computer scientists opposition to internet voting
sound like support FOR internet voting. )
India: Lengthy form deters voters from e-voting in Gujarat civic polls
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_lengthy-form-deters-voters-from-e-voting-in-gujarat-civic-polls_1431854
Even after the deadline to enroll for e-voting and online voting was extended twice, Amdavadis have given thumbs down to the concept with only 274 people coming forward to register under e-voting (from e-booths) and 88 people opting for online voting (from home).
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AL: Ex-clerk guilty in voter fraud case* (absentee ballot)
Former Hale County official could spend up to a year in jail
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100901/NEWS/100839921/1007?Title=Ex-clerk-guilty-in-voter-fraud-case
Before Bryan, Tinker — through her attorney — admitted to falsely certifying the absentee ballots of five voters. The ballots, her attorney said, were notarized by her despite inconsistencies in signatures and spelling.
CA: RivCo and Postal Service near agreement to prevent election snafu (mail ballots)
http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-08-31/news/rivco-and-postal-service-near-agreement-to-prevent-election-snafu Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore and the USPS regional district manager, Dallas Keck, have reached a tentative understanding as to how absentee ballots will be handled in the weeks and days leading up to the Nov. 2 general election, according to Executive Officer Bill Luna.
CA: San Joaquin County looking into absentee-only voting ballot
http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_719096da-59e7-5da5-afa0-09ad0c69c300.html
County officials are exploring the idea of a vote-by-mail-only system because it could save the county considerable money, Registrar of Voters Austin Erdman told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Co: Most counties deny Marks ballot inspection
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/142266 According to a statement released by a group advocating for disclosure of ballots, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink supports public disclosure of ballots as a crucial oversight mechanism.
CO: Repeal Instant Runoff Voting (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/142277
Richie argues that IRV produces 50 percent-plus winners for city council while the proposed traditional runoff requires only 45 percent support. Look at 2009 reality, not theory: 2,510 voters voted in the council race. Torre won with 1073 votes, or 42.7 percent of the 2,510, while Derek Johnson won with 49 percent.
DC: Voting Card Error Affects 7,500 Voters*
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/voting-101986473.html
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics announced that a barcode error printed on voter cards affected 7,579 people, the AP reports. Though the voter card is not necessary to vote, the barcode speeds up the voting process.
FL: Class Action Lawsuit Being Filed Against Sarasota Supervisor of Elections?
http://redcounty.com/content/class-action-lawsuit-being-filed-against-sarasota-supervisor-elections (Kathy Dent again)
FL: Return to controversy (Sarasota SoE Kathy Dent)
Recount dispute shows elections are still subject to human error
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100901/OPINION/9011018/2198/OPINION&tc=email_newsletter?p=1&tc=pg
Dent, now in her third term of office, has known her share of controversies. Among them: She once championed touch-screen election machines that later were outlawed. She waged (and won) a legal battle against a voter-approved requirement for manual, post-election audits. In 2008, her office failed to quickly notify candidates whose names inadvertently had been left off several dozen absentee ballots.
GA: State election board sends Temple voter case to AG
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/9339940/article-State-election-board-sends-Temple-voter-case-to-AG?instance=TG_home_story_offset
IL: Preparing The Ballot This Year
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/08/31/preparing-the-ballot-this-year/
Champaign County Clerk...A few things have changed in the election law that are making the job of preparing ballots a little easier. At the same time, the number of referenda on the ballot is adding some complications.
Last year Congress passed legislation that requires military ballots to go out at least 45 days prior to the election. In the past, that was a goal of ours, but often one that we couldn’t meet because of the certification date for state candidates. Thankfully, the legislature amended the Election Code to move that certification date.
MA: County clerk lays blame for ballot snafu*
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100901/NEWS/9010308/-1/newsmap Barnstable County Clerk of Courts Scott Nickerson has blamed a lack of money to pay for election work as one of the reasons five candidates were left off the Nov. 2 ballot.
Nickerson also said an unnamed county employee he trained to cover election work in his absence gave out wrong information.
ME: Secretary of State Matt Dunlap Announces Launch of Enhanced Online Absentee Ballot Request Service http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100818005280&newsLang=en
Absentee Ballot Request Service Enhanced to Comply with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act Enacted by Congress
MT: BALLOT OVALS * (absentee mail ballot)
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/Ballot-Ovals-101934488.html
BILLINGS - Some mail-in ballots have left people confused about how to vote. The ovals on some of the ballots are missing or extremely faded. The ballots are for the School District Two’s bond election.
Yellowstone County election officials said it was a printing mishap. They ask that voters put a check or an x by their choice. They said the machine will either read the mark or set it aside for hand counting.
NY: Nassau County Challenges Feds, State to Beat Back Electronic Voting
http://www.examiner.com/populist-in-long-island/nassau-county-challenges-feds-state-to-beat-back-electronic-voting
But more significantly he will argue the ease with which the machines are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation - something the good ol' lever machines are not.
"The fact is that the machines don't meet the requirements of the law," Ciampoli says: "Sooner or later, people will lose their right to vote."
...
"You have a private, for-profit company, with no responsibility, not elected, controlling the machines, the software," says William Biamonte...
OH: Cuyahoga county has agreement for next week’s elections
http://hispanicohio.northcoastnow.com/2010/08/31/cuyahoga-county-has-agreement-for-next-weeks-elections/ The special elections, which will be Sept. 7, will have both English and Spanish versions. Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner’s office will pick up the extra cost needed to have both languages.
TX: Pulling together
Elected officials, party leaders and voters must cooperate to conduct smooth election
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7180473.html
On Monday, Harris County Commissioners' Court approved an emergency expenditure of $13.6 million to purchase 2,325 new voting machines and other equipment. Kaufman plans to have 1.4 million paper ballots printed as backup if limited numbers of machines generate long lines at some polling places. She's promising to have all precincts staffed on election day.
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade also pledged to help provide whatever the county needs from the state to successfully stage the election.
TX: Bexar offers old voting equipment to fire-stricken county (to Harris County)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/bexar_offers_old_voting_equipment_to_fire-stricken_county_101947648.html ...the county has offered up its old equipment, including paper ballot boxes and portable booths. The devices won't be shipped until Harris County formally requests them after they get Justice Department approval. Fort Bend and Tarrant counties have offered similar backup equipment...
VT: Recount pushes state’s election staff up against a Sept. 20 ballot delivery date
http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/politics/2010/08/31/recount-pushes-state%E2%80%99s-election-staff-up-against-a-sept-20-ballot-delivery-date/
WA: State getting bad rap on military voting waiver
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/spincontrol/2010/aug/31/state-getting-bad-rap-military-voting-waiver/
WI: 18,000 could be cut from voter rolls
Letters sent about mismatched information were undeliverable
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/101819378.html
The state tried to contact the voters because their names, birth dates or driver's license numbers do not match information in other government databases. If marked as ineligible to vote in the voter database, they would have to re-register to vote with municipal clerks or at the polls before they could cast ballots.
Internet Voting Watch
Electronic Voting and Direct Democracy (Dr. Joseph Lorenzo Hall)
http://blog.law.cornell.edu/voxpop/2010/09/01/electronic-voting-and-direct-democracy/
To be sure, there is a lot of momentum behind moving parts of our elections processes online. In some cases, such as online voter registration, the security and reliability risks are small and the net benefits are particularly high. However, I can’t say the same about internet voting, especially in the sense that elements of direct democracy may be particularly attractive to powerful foreign interests and parties outside our collective jurisdiction
"Hack is Wack” (how about a hack the vote rap video?)
http://www.hackiswack.com/ Snoop teams up with Norton (Symantec) to raise awareness about cybercrime. “Hack is Wack” gives you the opportunity to create and enter a 2-minute rap video and win exciting prizes
NJ: NJ LAWMAKER WANTS TO LET OUR TROOPS USE THE INTERNET TO VOTE
http://www.nj1015.com/NJ-Lawmaker-Wants-to-Let-Our-Troops-Use-the-Intern/7968244
(Assemblyman Paul)"Moriarty adds this kind of a program could eventually open the door to internet voting - for all Jersey residents."
Fox News: Online Voting For Military Serving Overseas
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/01/online-voting-military-serving-overseas
(This article manages to make computer scientists opposition to internet voting
sound like support FOR internet voting. )
India: Lengthy form deters voters from e-voting in Gujarat civic polls
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_lengthy-form-deters-voters-from-e-voting-in-gujarat-civic-polls_1431854
Even after the deadline to enroll for e-voting and online voting was extended twice, Amdavadis have given thumbs down to the concept with only 274 people coming forward to register under e-voting (from e-booths) and 88 people opting for online voting (from home).
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Virginia State Election server still down. DC internet vote experiment delayed
13 candidates file for statewide contest for NC appeals court, to be tallied by IRV and counties don't yet have procedures...TrustTheVote announces that District of Columbia will delay their internet voting experiment that uses overseas troops as guinea pigs. DC has advertised this pilot as "Digital Vote By Mail Service", but it still is internet voting, inherently insecure. Overseas military votes will instead be experimented with in November...NASS Designates September National Voter Registration Month...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AK: Senate race grows heated over ballot counting
http://www.adn.com/2010/08/30/1431794/miller-calls-for-trooper-guard.html
Elections officials said Roman did request access to the computer with the state's voter registration system but was not allowed. Alaska Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said he would have not been able to compromise the system anyway. "There is no GEMS server in the Wasilla office, so there's no way the state ballot tabulation system was compromised," Fenumiai said.
AR: Early voting controversy in Cabot gets heated (video available)
http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Early-voting-controversy-in-Cabot-gets-heated/8LM42oBqaUG9SEGy8ruT0Q.cspx?rss=315
One election commission chair says it was a big misunderstanding that actually had one commissioner fearing for her safety. After a heated meeting, voters in Cabot will keep their early voting, just not all of it.
AZ: Arizona Democratic Party alleges voter fraud
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/08/31/20100831arizona-democratic-party-voter-fraud.html
The state Democratic Party is alleging possible voter fraud in what it called a scheme to undermine its candidates by recruiting "sham" Green Party hopefuls.
CA: San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors will consider response to grand jury report
http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_ce5bb451-2869-5447-b524-69e1549116f5.html
...The Grand Jury recommends that the county seek state legislation allowing it to conduct elections by mail only...The Grand Jury also advised the county to reduce the number of precincts with voting machines for special-needs voters to five.
CT: Hand count in Brookfield shows voting machines were accurate
http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Hand-count-in-Brookfield-shows-voting-machines-639226.php The results of audits will be analyzed by the University of Connecticut and then presented to the secretary of the state's office and the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
FL: Edge to conduct own ballot review in Port St. Lucie mayor's race *
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/aug/30/edge-to-conduct-own-ballot-review-in-port-st /
“I just have some issues with the care, custody and control of the ballots,” Edge said. “Where did we get 257 missing ballots all of the sudden? At the very least, there’s a problem with the issue of an accurate count. If we go with the numbers from Saturday night, they have to order a state-mandated manual recount
FL: Fla. Supreme Court Rejects Last-Minute Challenge to Redistricting Initiative
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016851.html
IL: Judge strikes down nonprofit's bid to keep donors private
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0831-chicago-law-20100831,0,6013130.column Center for Individual Freedom had challenged Illinois law requiring disclosure of campaign contributions
NC: 13 candidates file for open NC appeals court job
http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/08/31/1666901/13-candidates-file-for-open-nc.html
Voters will receive optical scan ballots for this race even if they are in a county that uses touch-screen machines. (there is no legal software to tally IRV and North Carolina and counties do not yet have tallying procedures)
OH: 5,800 dead in Ohio still on voter rolls
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/08/30/copy/5800-dead-in-ohio-still-on-voter-rolls.html
The process to cancel a registration starts after a voter doesn't cast a ballot for four years or two federal elections. Counties also remove deceased voters after getting a monthly report of deaths from the state Department of Health.
But spokeswoman Jen House said that when an Ohioan dies outside the state - and about 3,000 do each year - it can take months or even into the next year for the other state to notify the Department of Health about the death.
TN: More on Election Day Glitches
http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2010/08/more-on-election-day-glitches.html
Meanwhile, in Memphis. Jackson Baker gives an overview of how the Aug. 5 election "refuses to go away" in Shelby County.
TX: Vote fraud vs. voter supression debate returns to Texas
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/08/six-years-ago-attorney-general.html
VA: Update: Some State Computers back up: DMV still affected* (5 days so far)
24 of 27 state agencies back online (Video)
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-story-roanoke-state-computers-down-083010,0,6417013.story
Three agencies are still having troubles, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Taxation and the State Board of Elections
...
But the state board of elections also can't submit any absentee applications or voter registration forms; all of this the result of a massive server failure in Richmond where all state agencies share space.
Internet Voting Watch
D.C. Resets Timeline for Digital Vote By Mail Service
http://www.trustthevote.org/d-c-resets-timeline-for-digital-vote-by-mail-service
... The project has been given some breathing room and will launch during the general election in November as publicly announced this morning.
...
Meanwhile the D.C. Elections Executive Director Rokey Suleman stated earlier this morning:
We are delaying this project to take the time to properly configure the hardware and software, conduct a public evaluation and feedback period, and educate overseas voters about their choices.
National
OVF Research Newsletter July - August 2010
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?OverseasVoteFoundati/f3b2bb489b/6892a3d86f/0b8b5a32ef
The American Diaspora by Judith Murray, These are our numbers: Civilian Americans Overseas and Voter Turnout by Dr. Claire M. Smith,When Citizenship Doesn’t Equal Voting Rights
NASS Designates September National Voter Registration Month
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/08/nass-designates-september-national.html
The goal of designating September 2010 as National Voter Registration Month is to make eligible voters aware of registration deadlines and requirements for this year's November 2 general election.
...
For more information visit www.canivote.org and http://www.nonprofitvote.org/ .
International
India: Hari Prasad to present his ‘EVM paper’ at Chicago
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hari-prasad-to-present-his-evm-paper-at-chicago/674796/
Two days after his release on bail, Hyderabad-based researcher Hari Prasad is busy preparing for a presentation of his controversial paper on security aspects of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) at a conference in Chicago on October 5
Philippines: Prisoners gain freedom to vote
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/274283/prisoners-gain-freedom-vote
The Bureau of Jail and Management and Penology (BJMP) said that inmates can now decide the fate of local candidates in the next local election citing that the 20,000 detainees who registered for the May 10 national elections and the newly registered inmate voters is enough to make a difference in the next elections.
Philippines: CA upholds Comelec execs suspension tied to poll folder
http://www.mb.com.ph/node/274273/ca-uphold
The six-month suspension slapped by the Office of the Ombudsman against Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials linked to the botched P690-million ballot secrecy folder (BSF) contract remains in effect.
This developed as the Court of Appeals (CA) refused to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Ombudsman and order placing the Comelec executives under preventive suspension for the alleged overpriced contract for folders that were supposed to be used in the May 10 automated elections
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
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=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
Monday, August 30, 2010
VA Election Site IT outage. Kathy Dent recount flap. AK's 11,200 iffy mail ballots
Luther Weeks on Connecticut elections: "State recanvass law inadequate for close elections"...Alaska mail ballots - Over 20,000 Votes Still To Be Counted, 11,200 are 'question' ballots...Sarasota FL Election Sup Kathy Dent accused of influencing election in recount...Virginia's State Board of Elections still affected by IT outage that began last week in a data center run by outsourcer Northrop Grumman...Wasted opportunity: Harris County TX replaces paperless voting machines with more paperless voting machines....
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AK: Over 20,000 Votes Still To Be Counted *(absentee mail ballots)
http://www.ktva.com/ci_15917459
On Friday, the Alaska Division of Elections said there are more than 20,000 ballots that have not yet been counted. Over 11,200 are absentee ballots with much of the rest being question ballots.
...
All ballots have to be postmarked election day, and if it's postmarked within the United States, it has ten days following the day of the election to be received, which would be September 3, and if it's postmarked outside the U.S., fifteen days to be received, which is September 8,"
AK: Miller's lawyer warns of vote tampering by Murkowski campaign
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/blogs/political-animal/6598-millers-lawyer-warns-of-voter-tampering-by-murkowski-campaign In the letter, Miller attorney Thomas Van Flein accuses the observer, who he calls Mike, of accessing the Division of Elections computer database for 20 minutes to "check voter records." That Mike had access to private data was bad enough, Van Flein said in a letter, but the Diebold voter software used by the state is also vulnerable to voter hijacking.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AK: Over 20,000 Votes Still To Be Counted *(absentee mail ballots)
http://www.ktva.com/ci_15917459
On Friday, the Alaska Division of Elections said there are more than 20,000 ballots that have not yet been counted. Over 11,200 are absentee ballots with much of the rest being question ballots.
...
All ballots have to be postmarked election day, and if it's postmarked within the United States, it has ten days following the day of the election to be received, which would be September 3, and if it's postmarked outside the U.S., fifteen days to be received, which is September 8,"
AK: Miller's lawyer warns of vote tampering by Murkowski campaign
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/blogs/political-animal/6598-millers-lawyer-warns-of-voter-tampering-by-murkowski-campaign In the letter, Miller attorney Thomas Van Flein accuses the observer, who he calls Mike, of accessing the Division of Elections computer database for 20 minutes to "check voter records." That Mike had access to private data was bad enough, Van Flein said in a letter, but the Diebold voter software used by the state is also vulnerable to voter hijacking.
AK: More accusations made in close Alaska Senate race (SENATE RACE)
http://www.adn.com/2010/08/28/1429399/absentee-ballots.html
Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto said in an e-mail Saturday that there are many calls going out to Alaskans who voted absentee ballots, asking them who they voted for in the primary.
...
"I believe, and time will prove it, (the calls) are being done for nefarious purposes," DeSoto said in the e-mail. "It is definitely not being done by the Joe Miller campaign. It is being done, I believe, by the National Republican Senatorial Committee or someone they contracted with as the beginning of a legal battle to throw out ballots."
AZ: Election Watcher Files Affidavit Saying He Saw Sequoia Employee Illegally Connect To E-Voting Tabulator* http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100824/11150310763.shtml
...He then includes the affidavit he filed. Basically, he spotted a Sequoia employee hooked into the central tabulator, via an ethernet cable from his own laptop, and he saw that the laptop had an EVDO card from Sprint...
CA: Ballots redesigned for machine to verify them (Riverside CO absentee mail)
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100830/NEWS0301/8300305/Ballots-redesigned-for-machine-to-verify-them The system, which banks also use to verify signatures on checks, is supposed to cut down the steps it takes to manually verify and process the increasingly popular vote-by-mail ballots.
CO: (Aspen) Election Commission Inherits Complaints from 2009 Election
http://www.glassballotbox.org/storage/Times8.27.10EC.pdf
CO: State sues Arapahoe County over election ballot drops
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2010/08/30/news/metro_aurora/doc4c78262dd9241177562425.txt
Officials from the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s office have said the legislation amounts to an unfunded mandate from the state, insisting that providing drop-off mail facilities at more than 200 polling places would cost the county at least $80,000 in 2010.
CT: State recanvass law inadequate for close elections (Luther Weeks OP)
http://ctmirror.org/node/7495 Experience shows that the current law is not well understood by election officials, candidates, and the media. The recanvass is often referred to as a recount, yet it is a far cry from the thorough, transparent, and adversarial recount process in other states.
FL: Dent accused of influencing election in recount flap
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100830/BREAKING/100839986/2055/NEWS?Title=Dent-accused-of-influencing-election-in-recount-flap Not only is Bolam requesting a recount, but she claims Dent influenced her decision and consequently the election results by suggesting that moving forward with a recount probably would not make a difference in the vote count anyway and would have forced her staff to work the weekend.
IN: Vanderburgh County Commissioners reconsidering how contracts awarded *
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/aug/29/primary-to-see-new-voting-machines-county-clerk/
(voting machines damaged,late) ...County Clerk Susan Kirk warned the commissioners that using a first-time vendor in such a specialized job could result in broken machines at a cost as high as $5,000 each. She begged them to select second-lowest bidder Kinder Moving and Storage, which has experience moving the county's voting machines.
...
Now the commissioners find themselves asking PD&S for $802.50 for repairing four machines that were dropped.
...
Armed with the unanimous support of the bipartisan Vanderburgh County Election Board and a list of alleged mistakes and contract violations by PD&S, Kirk plans to ask the commissioners not to engage the company again.
The alleged violations include failing to deliver voting machines to all 101 polling places by 6 p.m. the day before the primary.
MA: Clerical error keeps county candidates off November ballot*
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100827/NEWS/8270313
Five people vying for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates will have to wage write-in campaigns after a combination of errors left their names off the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
The five candidates had errors in their paperwork that were initially overlooked by a county election official but identified earlier this week, after a critical state elections deadline had passed, Barnstable County Clerk of Courts Scott Nickerson said
MD: Absentee voting glitch? *
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-early-vote-glitch-letter-20100830,0,1456545.story I attempted to access the on-line ballot and it won't pull up. I am fairly computer knowledgeable and it frustrates me so I can only imagine how this is going to put other people off and limit the number folks who use the service.
MD: Md. withdraws military voting act waiver request
http://www.cecilwhig.com/news/statenews/article_7549bc84-b1fe-11df-b653-001cc4c002e0.html
...the Defense Department found Maryland in compliance with the new law's mandate...
NC: Several candidates for N.C. judge mean ranked voting
http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/08/30/article/several_candidates_for_nc_judge_mean_ranked_voting
Voters must use instant runoff voting when so many candidates run for a vacancy close to Election Day. The voters rank their top three candidates in order of preference. Second-place votes are counted if no one gets a majority of first-place votes. (No legal software to tally the election)
N.J. ignores voting integrity issues
http://www.nj.com/gloucester/voices/index.ssf/2010/08/nj_ignores_voting_integrity_is.html
The late Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is often quoted as saying, “The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.” New Jersey goes Stalin one better. There is not even a pretense of counting votes, because the votes are invisible.
OR: Lawsuit Filed to Prevent Oregon Election Officials from Using Three-Letter Party Abbreviations on November Ballot http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/30/lawsuit-filed-to-prevent-oregon-election-officials-from-using-three-letter-party-abbreviations-on-november-ballot/
PA: Pennsylvania Breakthrough on Ballot Access Reform?
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/27/pennsylvania-breakthrough-on-ballot-access-reform/
TN: Rutherford County Election Admin Gets Job Back
Election Commission Rescinds Hooper Penuel's Firing
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/24817852/detail.html
TN: The Status of Ballot Box Access in Tennessee
http://www.tnca.org/2010/08/30/the-status-of-ballot-box-access-in-tennessee/
My question to Mr. Goins is, why can’t the State Election Commission do both – clean up the rolls and ensure that every vote is counted fair and accurately? Surely the two are not mutually exclusive?
TX: Williamson County, Texas Awards Hart Ballot Printing Contract
County will save money with Hart printing ES&S Optical Scan Ballots
http://www.hartic.com/pr/100
TX: 'Attack' alleged on local voter rolls
Nonprofit disputes claims made against it by county official
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7170826.html
TX: Back To Paper Ballots For Some Of Harris County
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/08/paper_ballots.php
The paper ballots will be the same as the ones regularly used by mail-in voters, and will be two-pages long for the November 2 election. Kaufman is urging residents to vote by mail and use the early voting period, which begins October 18.
TX: County OKs $13.6M purchase of new voting machines
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/facebook/7178331.html
Commissioners Court approved Kaufman’s emergency plan this afternoon to spend $13.6 million to buy 2,325 electronic voting machines and supporting equipment.
...
Kaufman’s request included 1.4 million paper ballots, which will be distributed to polling stations as a backup in case a shortage of machines leads to long lines.
TX: Harris County commissioners OK emergency voting machines plan after fire destroyed equipment
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/07/harris-county-commissioners-ok-emergency-voting-machines/1280611560 .column The measure was amended to specify that the county would seek eSlate machines like those destroyed Friday in a fire.
VA: Update: Virginia's IT outage continues, 3 agencies still affected*
A memory card within a SAN caused the outage *
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9182719/Update_Virginia_s_
IT_outage_continues_3_agencies_still_affected?taxonomyId=147 http://tinyurl.com/2apcqlm
Several Virginia state agencies continue to experience problems with data access due to an outage related to problems in a storage-area network (SAN) that began last week in a data center run by outsourcer Northrop Grumman.
...
Late today, VITA issued a statement saying that only three of the 27 agencies initially affected by the outage were still without service. Those agencies are the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Department of Taxation and the State Board of Elections.
WA: Feds’ OK of waiver request will help state’s military voters
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/08/feds-ok-of-waiver-request-will-help-states-military-voters/ “Washington’s military voters can actually vote on Election Day and still get a ballot back in time to be counted since Washington does not certify the election until 21 days after Election Day. In other states, voters must vote and mail the ballot weeks before Election Day.
WI: Thousands of state voters don't match lists *
http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/daily_updates/article_b4e4dd5c-b478-11df-a261-001cc4c002e0.html Wisconsin election officials say more than 66,000 entries in their voter registration system still do not match information contained in other state databases.
Of those, about 18,000 could be made ineligible to vote because letters sent to them were returned as undeliverable. If that happens, the voters could re-register on election day.
WV: Mountain Party Primary Turnout is Better than Primary Turnout for Either Major Party in West Virginia
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/28/mountain-party-primary-turnout-is-better-than-primary-turnout-for-either-major-party-in-west-virginia/
National
Are Election Outcomes Publicly-Verifiably Accurate?
11 Fundamentals of Auditing Vote Tallies
http://kathydopp.com/wordpress/?p=119
*All* of the following post-election auditing (pea) procedures are
necessary to avoid certifying incorrect election outcomes..
International
Australia: Hung Parliament - Where to From Here?
http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2010/08/hung-parliament-where-to-from-here.html
India: ECI’s conduct and “conspiracy” theories make the EVMs suspect
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=430
Hari Prasad’s arrest brought the issue to national focus. The manner it was done has shocked the general public and technologists in particular and raised uncomfortable questions over the ECI’s role in the issue. The ECI’s claim of “fully tamper proof” EVMs does not have many takers any longer. Its own standing as an autonomous institution has also taken a big knock. It is time the ECI realized this hard reality and reformed its ways.
India: Indian voting machine hacker released
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1730208/indian-voting-machine-hacker-released
Seven days in jail for showing up election fraud
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News,
please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net =============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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-vn
Disclaimer: 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.
http://www.adn.com/2010/08/28/1429399/absentee-ballots.html
Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto said in an e-mail Saturday that there are many calls going out to Alaskans who voted absentee ballots, asking them who they voted for in the primary.
...
"I believe, and time will prove it, (the calls) are being done for nefarious purposes," DeSoto said in the e-mail. "It is definitely not being done by the Joe Miller campaign. It is being done, I believe, by the National Republican Senatorial Committee or someone they contracted with as the beginning of a legal battle to throw out ballots."
AZ: Election Watcher Files Affidavit Saying He Saw Sequoia Employee Illegally Connect To E-Voting Tabulator* http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100824/11150310763.shtml
...He then includes the affidavit he filed. Basically, he spotted a Sequoia employee hooked into the central tabulator, via an ethernet cable from his own laptop, and he saw that the laptop had an EVDO card from Sprint...
CA: Ballots redesigned for machine to verify them (Riverside CO absentee mail)
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100830/NEWS0301/8300305/Ballots-redesigned-for-machine-to-verify-them The system, which banks also use to verify signatures on checks, is supposed to cut down the steps it takes to manually verify and process the increasingly popular vote-by-mail ballots.
CO: (Aspen) Election Commission Inherits Complaints from 2009 Election
http://www.glassballotbox.org/storage/Times8.27.10EC.pdf
CO: State sues Arapahoe County over election ballot drops
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2010/08/30/news/metro_aurora/doc4c78262dd9241177562425.txt
Officials from the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s office have said the legislation amounts to an unfunded mandate from the state, insisting that providing drop-off mail facilities at more than 200 polling places would cost the county at least $80,000 in 2010.
CT: State recanvass law inadequate for close elections (Luther Weeks OP)
http://ctmirror.org/node/7495 Experience shows that the current law is not well understood by election officials, candidates, and the media. The recanvass is often referred to as a recount, yet it is a far cry from the thorough, transparent, and adversarial recount process in other states.
FL: Dent accused of influencing election in recount flap
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100830/BREAKING/100839986/2055/NEWS?Title=Dent-accused-of-influencing-election-in-recount-flap Not only is Bolam requesting a recount, but she claims Dent influenced her decision and consequently the election results by suggesting that moving forward with a recount probably would not make a difference in the vote count anyway and would have forced her staff to work the weekend.
IN: Vanderburgh County Commissioners reconsidering how contracts awarded *
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/aug/29/primary-to-see-new-voting-machines-county-clerk/
(voting machines damaged,late) ...County Clerk Susan Kirk warned the commissioners that using a first-time vendor in such a specialized job could result in broken machines at a cost as high as $5,000 each. She begged them to select second-lowest bidder Kinder Moving and Storage, which has experience moving the county's voting machines.
...
Now the commissioners find themselves asking PD&S for $802.50 for repairing four machines that were dropped.
...
Armed with the unanimous support of the bipartisan Vanderburgh County Election Board and a list of alleged mistakes and contract violations by PD&S, Kirk plans to ask the commissioners not to engage the company again.
The alleged violations include failing to deliver voting machines to all 101 polling places by 6 p.m. the day before the primary.
MA: Clerical error keeps county candidates off November ballot*
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100827/NEWS/8270313
Five people vying for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates will have to wage write-in campaigns after a combination of errors left their names off the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
The five candidates had errors in their paperwork that were initially overlooked by a county election official but identified earlier this week, after a critical state elections deadline had passed, Barnstable County Clerk of Courts Scott Nickerson said
MD: Absentee voting glitch? *
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-early-vote-glitch-letter-20100830,0,1456545.story I attempted to access the on-line ballot and it won't pull up. I am fairly computer knowledgeable and it frustrates me so I can only imagine how this is going to put other people off and limit the number folks who use the service.
MD: Md. withdraws military voting act waiver request
http://www.cecilwhig.com/news/statenews/article_7549bc84-b1fe-11df-b653-001cc4c002e0.html
...the Defense Department found Maryland in compliance with the new law's mandate...
NC: Several candidates for N.C. judge mean ranked voting
http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/08/30/article/several_candidates_for_nc_judge_mean_ranked_voting
Voters must use instant runoff voting when so many candidates run for a vacancy close to Election Day. The voters rank their top three candidates in order of preference. Second-place votes are counted if no one gets a majority of first-place votes. (No legal software to tally the election)
N.J. ignores voting integrity issues
http://www.nj.com/gloucester/voices/index.ssf/2010/08/nj_ignores_voting_integrity_is.html
The late Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is often quoted as saying, “The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.” New Jersey goes Stalin one better. There is not even a pretense of counting votes, because the votes are invisible.
OR: Lawsuit Filed to Prevent Oregon Election Officials from Using Three-Letter Party Abbreviations on November Ballot http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/30/lawsuit-filed-to-prevent-oregon-election-officials-from-using-three-letter-party-abbreviations-on-november-ballot/
PA: Pennsylvania Breakthrough on Ballot Access Reform?
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/27/pennsylvania-breakthrough-on-ballot-access-reform/
TN: Rutherford County Election Admin Gets Job Back
Election Commission Rescinds Hooper Penuel's Firing
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/24817852/detail.html
TN: The Status of Ballot Box Access in Tennessee
http://www.tnca.org/2010/08/30/the-status-of-ballot-box-access-in-tennessee/
My question to Mr. Goins is, why can’t the State Election Commission do both – clean up the rolls and ensure that every vote is counted fair and accurately? Surely the two are not mutually exclusive?
TX: Williamson County, Texas Awards Hart Ballot Printing Contract
County will save money with Hart printing ES&S Optical Scan Ballots
http://www.hartic.com/pr/100
TX: 'Attack' alleged on local voter rolls
Nonprofit disputes claims made against it by county official
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7170826.html
TX: Back To Paper Ballots For Some Of Harris County
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/08/paper_ballots.php
The paper ballots will be the same as the ones regularly used by mail-in voters, and will be two-pages long for the November 2 election. Kaufman is urging residents to vote by mail and use the early voting period, which begins October 18.
TX: County OKs $13.6M purchase of new voting machines
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/facebook/7178331.html
Commissioners Court approved Kaufman’s emergency plan this afternoon to spend $13.6 million to buy 2,325 electronic voting machines and supporting equipment.
...
Kaufman’s request included 1.4 million paper ballots, which will be distributed to polling stations as a backup in case a shortage of machines leads to long lines.
TX: Harris County commissioners OK emergency voting machines plan after fire destroyed equipment
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/07/harris-county-commissioners-ok-emergency-voting-machines/1280611560 .column The measure was amended to specify that the county would seek eSlate machines like those destroyed Friday in a fire.
VA: Update: Virginia's IT outage continues, 3 agencies still affected*
A memory card within a SAN caused the outage *
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9182719/Update_Virginia_s_
IT_outage_continues_3_agencies_still_affected?taxonomyId=147 http://tinyurl.com/2apcqlm
Several Virginia state agencies continue to experience problems with data access due to an outage related to problems in a storage-area network (SAN) that began last week in a data center run by outsourcer Northrop Grumman.
...
Late today, VITA issued a statement saying that only three of the 27 agencies initially affected by the outage were still without service. Those agencies are the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Department of Taxation and the State Board of Elections.
WA: Feds’ OK of waiver request will help state’s military voters
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/08/feds-ok-of-waiver-request-will-help-states-military-voters/ “Washington’s military voters can actually vote on Election Day and still get a ballot back in time to be counted since Washington does not certify the election until 21 days after Election Day. In other states, voters must vote and mail the ballot weeks before Election Day.
WI: Thousands of state voters don't match lists *
http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/daily_updates/article_b4e4dd5c-b478-11df-a261-001cc4c002e0.html Wisconsin election officials say more than 66,000 entries in their voter registration system still do not match information contained in other state databases.
Of those, about 18,000 could be made ineligible to vote because letters sent to them were returned as undeliverable. If that happens, the voters could re-register on election day.
WV: Mountain Party Primary Turnout is Better than Primary Turnout for Either Major Party in West Virginia
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/08/28/mountain-party-primary-turnout-is-better-than-primary-turnout-for-either-major-party-in-west-virginia/
National
Are Election Outcomes Publicly-Verifiably Accurate?
11 Fundamentals of Auditing Vote Tallies
http://kathydopp.com/wordpress/?p=119
*All* of the following post-election auditing (pea) procedures are
necessary to avoid certifying incorrect election outcomes..
International
Australia: Hung Parliament - Where to From Here?
http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2010/08/hung-parliament-where-to-from-here.html
India: ECI’s conduct and “conspiracy” theories make the EVMs suspect
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=430
Hari Prasad’s arrest brought the issue to national focus. The manner it was done has shocked the general public and technologists in particular and raised uncomfortable questions over the ECI’s role in the issue. The ECI’s claim of “fully tamper proof” EVMs does not have many takers any longer. Its own standing as an autonomous institution has also taken a big knock. It is time the ECI realized this hard reality and reformed its ways.
India: Indian voting machine hacker released
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1730208/indian-voting-machine-hacker-released
Seven days in jail for showing up election fraud
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