DOJ approves GA voter check system. Rutherford TN election official fired

Brennan Center report: "Voting After You Move: A Guide"...Hawaii cuts 97 polling places..Tennessee mis-fires: The Rutherford TN election chief was fired for not having early voting on 1 Saturday, but has anyone been fired for the Shelby Co fiasco where e-poll books blocked thousands of voters?...Deputies of "Houston Votes" submitted thousands of fraudulent voter registration apps...

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


AZ: Are Arizona's Political Leaders Deliberately Blocking Electronic Voting Machine Transparency? http://www.truth-out.org/are-arizonas-political-leaders-deliberately-blocking-electronic-voting-machine-transparency62569
Bill Risner, Democratic Party attorney for Pima County, is no stranger to election procedure battles. In 41-years of practice, he says the central problem of the current computerized systems is they are easy to cheat. "When the fact of 'easy to cheat' is combined with the 'impossibility of challenge' and 'nobody is looking,' the seriousness of the present vulnerability of our election system is obvious," he says.

CA: Ballot creates security fray (SAN FRANCISCO)
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Ballot-creates-security-fray-101356429.html
The Sheriff’s Department could be barred from protecting November ballots because the results of a measure could effect the personal income of the deputies

CO: Aspen narrows in on how voters will vote
Runoff and ‘winner-take-all' likely options for November ballot question
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100824/NEWS/100829929/1077&ParentProfile=1058

CO: Voting on how to vote, again
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/142147

FL: A few glitches reported as Floridians cast votes*
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/24/1789548_p2/few-glitches-reported-as-voting.html
Problems surfaced first thing in the morning in Miami Shores, where a mix-up delayed a precinct's opening, and again throughout the day.
At Arcola Park in Miami, 46 voters waited into the early evening in an unmoving line for 90 minutes, delayed by what at first was said to be technical problems, Michael Graham said.
Then at about 6:30 p.m., a voter in the front of the line announced the precinct was out of ballots, he said.
...
n Miami Shores, the Catholic Community Center polling place located at 9900 NE Second Ave. was up and running normally after a morning mix-up that delayed its 7 a.m. opening.
...
But Miami Shores resident Christopher Bellows said he went to the polling place at about 7:20 a.m. and it was still closed, with no voting booths set up inside.
``They're lying,'' Bellows said of elections officials. ``There was a lady there who was leaving, who said she's not going to be able to vote now.''
...
Some voters in South Florida complained Tuesday that they were given the wrong ballot.
Richard J. Curry, a Democrat from Dania Beach, said he was given the ballot for unaffiliated voters.

FL: CBS4 I-Team Reveals Early Voting Is Costly
http://cbs4.com/local/early.voting.florida.2.1874936.html

GA: Justice Department clears Ga. voter checks system
http://www.sfexaminer.com/nation/doj-clears-ga-voter-checks-system-101309359.html
ATLANTA — The Justice Department has given Georgia approval to again verify voters' identity and citizenship, Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced on Monday.
...
The modified plan that won DOJ approval includes all first-time voter registration applicants, including those seeking to register in person. It eliminates those who've already registered but are seeking to make changes, Carrothers said.

HI: Hawaii: State cuts 97 polling places
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20100823_State_cuts_97_polling_places.html

MI: County clerk claims McManus pressured her to approve flawed election forms
http://michiganmessenger.com/41220/county-clerk-claims-mcmanus-pressured-her-to-approve-flawed-election-forms Grand Traverse County Clerk Linda Coburn, a Republican, claims that Secretary of State candidate Michelle McManus, the Republican state senator from Lake Leelanau, and her father Mike McManus, tried to pressure her into approving flawed affidavits from candidates seeking election as precinct delegates.

MO: Royster Campaign Files Voter Fraud Lawsuit
http://www.kctv5.com/news/24746993/detail.html KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Allegations of voter fraud have arisen in the race for District 40 state representative.
...
The lawsuit claims a Somali interpreter went into the voting booth with voters and influenced their votes.

NY: Will New Voting Machines Oversimplify New York Ballots?
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/23/will-new-voting-machines-oversimplify-new-york-ballots/
New election machines making their debut in citywide elections next month may sharply limit how many questions the New York City Charter Revision Commission can fit on the ballot this November. The issue is prompting serious concerns that voters won’t be able to pass individual judgments on the myriad issues slated for review this fall.

TN: BREAKING: Election Commission fires Penuel over early voting mistake
http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20100823/NEWS01/100823034/BREAKING++Election+
Commission+fires+Penuel+over+early+voting+mistake http://tinyurl.com/2fsxa87 Rutherford County .
The firing comes after Penuel's admission that his office erred in not holding early voting on July 17 as required by state law. However, Rutherford County offered early voting hours well above the minimum required by state law.

TX: Allegations of voter fraud in Harris County* (voter registration applications)
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7627656
The investigation found 1,597 instances of multiple applications for the same voter, 1,014 applications for folks already registered to vote, 325 for teenagers who are too young to register and even 25 from folks who admitted on the application they are not even US citizens.

"My office has been forced to expend countless hours and thousands of dollars of taxpayer money trying to sift through the garbage being dumped into our voter registration system," Vasquez explained.

Internet Voting Watch

Australia: E-vote gets nod from majority
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2010/08/24/e-vote-gets-nod-from-majority/
Gwen Petty said no to E-voting. “There’s too much fraud possibility and the net is not secure enough,”


National

"Voting After You Move: A Guide"
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/pages/voting_after_you_move_a_guide
When Americans register to vote, their voter registrations are linked to their residential address

International

India: Electronic Voting Researcher Arrested Over Anonymous Source
http://www.voteraction.org/news-article/2010/electronic-voting-researcher-arrested-over-anonymous-source

Kenya: Sriram and Brown on the ICC and post-election violence in Kenya
http://digest.electionguide.org/2010/08/24/sriram-and-brown-on-accountability-for-post-election-violence-in-kenya/

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