Sarasota officials try to kill election audit. Aspen strikes out at transparency activist.

It is a tough week for election transparency and the activists who work so hard for it. Sarasota FL officials try another tactic to kill the charter mandated election audits that citizens asked for: "It is the duty of the County Commission and the county attorney to protect and defend our county charter, not work to defeat it...This is dirty pool and it's against the interest of the Sarasota County voters." ~ Kindra Muntz,founder,Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, www.safevote.org...The City of Aspen is going after the election activist who sought to have Aspen ballot images made public....

I will be traveling Thursday morning through Sunday evening. If time and my laptop computer cooperate I'll send out news on Friday....

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


CO: Marks v. Koch: last ten days: City brings out big stick: Aspen Transparency Litigation (city goes after activist who sued to get ballot images released to public)
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/marks-v-koch-last-ten-days-city-brings.html

CO: What’s next for Colorado campaign finance law? Possibly more laws
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/?p=8891

FL: Sarasota officials work to kill charter ordered election audits
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/13258
It also appears that the Sarasota County Attorney's office has been working closely with Kathy Dent's attorney and the Florida Secretary of State's office to insert pre-emption language into the current elections bill before the Florida Senate, SB900, to crush our county charter amendment, since they didn't win at the Florida Supreme..

FL: Voters rights watchdog group upset with official's suggestion
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100324/ARTICLE/3241053/-1/NEWSSITEMAP
SARASOTA COUNTY - A voters rights group says a county attorney tried to circumvent the will of the voters and the state Supreme Court and get locally mandated election audits banned by the Legislature.

FL: Candidate who lost challenges Davie vote
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-03-23/news/fl-davie-election-lawsuit-20100323_1_poll-workers-voting-machines-caryl-casey-hattan

DC: DC Board of Elections Announces Award for Voting Equipment to Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/03/24/439

KY: Former judge-executive placed on probation
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/23/1193318/former-perry-judge-executive-is.html

WA: Reed doing well after surgery (SOS)
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/23/1182175/secretary-of-state-reed-doing.html


National

Levitt: Karl Rove Is Right About Importance of Local Elections
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_108/ma_congressional_relations/44522-1.html
Karl Rove has lately been broadcasting the importance of downballot elections in places with names like Brushy Creek. This is not a lesson in civics. It is a lesson in power. And he’s right.

Claims with No Data
Champaign County Clerk at 8:30 am under Elections
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/24/claims-with-no-data/
...Not so the voter registration reform folks. There are two problems, both of which point to a serious disinterest in data.

No, NYT, O'Keefe Didn't 'Pose as a Pimp' Either (ACORN)
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7761 Yet more evidence that O'Keefe did not 'represent himself' as the NYTimes and its Public Editor continue to claim

Abraham M. Rutchick, “Deus Ex Machina: The Influence of Polling Place on Voting Behavior” in Political Psychology
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3138

" New Transparency Bill Would Bring Redistricting Out of Back Rooms: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015557.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.

ES&S Trade Secrets Trial. The 1st Corporate Ad. CT audits election. Why ACORN fell.

"Auditing election results isn’t just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential in order to guarantee the integrity of our elections,” said Connecticut Sec. of State Bysiewicz...Letter to editor criticizing Aspen Times: "An independently owned community newspaper should demand government transparency, not defend the government in demonizing the reformers."...Trial set in Neb. election trade secrets case where former ES&S employees used copyrighted software to help state and local governments manage elections...

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


CT: Bysiewicz draws precincts to have Town Committee Primary results audited
http://bit.ly/abmDWP ...As required by Public Act 07-194, An Act Concerning the Integrity and Security of the Voting Process, ten percent of the polling precincts used in the primaries are subject to an audit.

CT: What could a Secretary of the State Do?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2982 When I talk to candidates for Secretary of the State, one of my main themes is what they could do on their own authority as Secretary of the State to improve election integrity and public confidence...

CO: Protect independent Logic and Accuracy Testing
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/03/protect-independent-logic-and-accuracy.html

CO: A double standard (LTE)
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100323/LETTER/100329964/-1/RSS
Hooper, presumably with your blessing, refused to report the story of the city's cover-up of the election problems, their coordinated efforts to discredit valid concerns of well-known election activists.

CO: The cover-up continues (LTE) http://bit.ly/9Wv6Qm

CO: defender of democracy (LTE)
http://bit.ly/bXrQ6h She (Marks) has asked that the ballot images be released so that those who actually understand the problems with the voting methodology can determine whether there is a problem. The city and its leaders,...do not want to hear the message.

CO: Glass Ballot Box Project--Aspen Election Transparency
http://www.glassballotbox.org/
The Glass Ballot Box Litigation project is an effort to keep election records (including scanned ballot images) as publicly available records.

CO: Council appoints new election 
commission
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/139810

CO: A double standard (LTE)
http://bit.ly/aWjRRN ...Hooper, presumably with your blessing, refused to report the story of the city's cover-up of the election problems, their coordinated efforts to discredit valid concerns of well-known election activists.

GA: Georgia secretary of state weighs in on electronic voting systems
http://bit.ly/9CWsit Most Georgians trust electronic voting systems that have been in place across the state for several years...
...
The elections industry is moving to seek some sort of paper verification system, according to Kemp, because there is a segment of the population out there that doesn’t trust electronic voting.

MA: Learning About Memory Cards
http://bit.ly/bhsfdv Sheila Parks w/Center for Hand-Counted Paper Ballots
This is a non-scientific, non random report about two jurisdictions and what they did with their memory cards both before the election and after the polls closed on election night, January 19, 2010...

MI: Detroit protesters call for city clerk to quit
http://bit.ly/dz0CDg
The Call 'Em Out group contends widespread voter fraud in last fall's mayoral election cost accountant Tom Barrow the race against Dave Bing.

NB: Trial set in Neb. election trade secrets case
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=12180460
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A January 2011 federal trial date has been set in a case in which an Omaha elections systems firm sued former employees over trade secrets.
...
The Omaha company alleges Dalton was using copyrighted software to help state and local governments manage elections...

NC: Elections official hit by car needs surgery on broken wrist (get well Mike!)
http://bit.ly/bEV5lT
DURHAM -- Durham County elections Director Mike Ashe was to undergo surgery on his wrist Monday at Duke Hospital after he was hit by a car Friday..

OH: Elections board member steps down amid ethics concerns (Pickaway County)
http://bit.ly/9SOhA1 ...She circulated candidate's petitions, then OK'd them..

TN: Rep. Borchert, citizens protest election letters *
http://bit.ly/d6qYjt ...According to Borchert, his wife has been voting in Benton County for 48 years, yet she received one of the letters. On her voter registration card she did not mark that she was a United States citizen...
...
The letters in question were sent out to voters who had deficiencies on their voter registration cards.

TN: Accurate count, place to play & city stalling
http://tinyurl.com/yzguwph Clearing up Tennessee voter rolls
The Tennessee Secretary of State says more than 10,000 dead voters have been purged as part of an effort to clean up the election rolls.
...
Tennessee has connected with 14 states to share voter registration and see if some voters are casting ballots in other states...

WA: Get well soon, Sam (you can leave a get well message on the SOS blog)
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/03/get-well-soon-sam/


National

"Fixing prison-based gerrymandering after the 2010 Census: A 50 state guide"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015551.html

NYTIMES RUNS INACCURATE 'CORRECTION' FOR ACORN 'PIMP' HOAX COVERAGE...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7759 Among other things, they they repeat the falsehood that James O'Keefe "posed as a pimp" in ACORN offices. He didn't. He posed as the fake prostitutes law school boyfriend trying to help save her from a pimp...

Why ACORN Fell: The Times, Lies, and Videotape (Written with Peter Dreier)
http://blog.nj.com/njv_john_atlas/2010/03/why_acorn_fell_the_times_lies.html

More NVRA Nonsense
Champaign County Clerk at 10:44 am under Elections
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/22/more-nvra-nonsense/
There is a concerted effort to undo one of the key reforms of the Help America Vote Act. I’ve written about it a couple times...

The First Corporate Ad
http://www.texastribune.org/stories/2010/mar/22/corporate-politics/
The first political ads bought by a corporation in Texas appeared in East Texas newspapers just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended the state's ban

Corporate Campaign Spending: Giving Shareholders A Voice
http://bit.ly/aJVUTZ

OpenEAC portal gives the public an opportunity to provide input on EAC's Open Government Initiative with easy access to high-value data sets, Freedom of Information Act information, grant amounts and recipients, federal voting system certification information and more. http://opengov.eac.gov/

Internet Voting Watch

What are the resistance for Internet Voting for Elections?
http://bit.ly/bgN5yl

Canada unprepared for massive cyber-attack: Expert
http://bit.ly/c1ckJ5

Canada: Online voting backed by council
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2503421
Sarnia... City council approved Mayor Mike Bradley's motion Monday asking staff to examine online and mail-in voting for the 2010 municipal election. Bradley said the city would be the largest provincial centre to proceed with the idea if it's approved. But several councillors voiced concerns about the ability to hack or tamper with online systems.


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.

Sarasota Group: investigate Kathy Dent's no-audit decision. ACORN to end operations. Election integrity v costs

The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent's decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results. "We must hold our elected officials accountable," ~alliance co-founder Kindra Munt....The value of paper ballots demonstrated in Pelham MA after public recount of the March 9 election. "Neither side can say anything. Here it is, this is it. Everybody that's important witnessed it,"~ Mike Pietrillo,resident...Costs: The Indiana SOS wants consolidated Vote Centers in all 92 counties and says they will save money. That may be true but Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes says more study is needed first: “If the election process fails, it doesn't matter if it saved us money or not.”...Al Kolwicz of Colorado Voter Group to Boulder County on the need for preserving polling place voting: "...it is vital that election cost is not awarded a higher priority than election integrity and voter confidence."...

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

CA: Oakland ordinance to set-aside campaign aide money hurts Libby Schaaf
http://bit.ly/czEKXn

CA: The real cost of a special election to replace Newsom ($6.5M counting public finance funds) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?&entry_id=59517
San Francisco: Momentum for a special election to replace Mayor Gavin Newsom if he wins his bid for lieutenant governor has slowed considerably, largely because of its $3.5 million price tag.

CA: Internal Affairs: San Jose council rolled the dice and lost
http://www.mercurynews.com/internal-affairs/ci_14714886?nclick_check=1
...Back in August, the San Jose City Council reached a crossroads in its effort to limit "soft money" in elections by capping contributions to independent political groups...On a 6-5 vote... the council voted to keep the cap.

CO: Ivan C. Meek: No all-mail elections
http://bit.ly/dtRT4r ..."Do we really want to argue that we can’t afford real elections because all-mail is cheaper? If real democracy cost a little more, do we just skip it for an administrative procedure?"~ Ivan C. Meek Louisville

CO: Polling place voting is more secure and more accurate than mail ballots
http://bit.ly/9FS1za

CO: Bullet Voting in Aspen's IRV Election - Memo by Millard Zimet
http://bit.ly/cQ1AAm ...purpose of this memo is to observe the actual voting data generated by Aspen’s May 2009 Mayoral and City Council IRV elections with regards to bullet voting, and to observe whether bullet voting impacted the outcomes...

DE: Delaware Minor Parties Get Publicity for Complaint Against Implementing Tougher Ballot Access Rules in 2010
http://bit.ly/abCjWg ...The bill instantly removed several minor parties from the ballot, including the Constitution, Green, and Working Families Parties

FL: Group wants action on no-audit decision
http://bit.ly/aiGqGP SARASOTA COUNTY - The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent's decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results.

FL: Florida Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Case on Petitioning at the Polls
http://bit.ly/bFNagE

HI: Hawaii Considers Law To Combat Obama 'Birthers'
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/Hawai.obama.birth.2.1568916.html
If Passed, State Would Be Allowed To Ignore Repeated Requests For President's Birth Certificate

IN: Election costs to rise if pilot vote center program dies
http://bit.ly/axWxGE

KY: Testimony ends in Clay vote-buying trial
http://bit.ly/cCxwrg With that accomplished, prosecution and defense attorneys will present closing arguments Monday and Tuesday, and jurors will begin deliberating Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves said.

KY: No conflict of interest for Grayson (he can oversee his own election)
http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4791736

MA: Pelham recount upholds outcome
http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_078024835.html
About 40 people sat at tables in a cordoned off area in Pelham High School's library to recount the two warrant articles from the March 9 ballot...

MD: Thefts of laptops mistakenly sent to election center remain unsolved
http://bit.ly/aYHVWL It is still a mystery two years later exactly what happened to 60 laptop computers that were stolen from the Montgomery County Election Center.

NC: Felons For Sheriff
http://bit.ly/a2EWST An election is coming up for all 100 sheriff's in the state. Six of the people running for the position are convicted felons.
The North Carolina Sheriff's Association just voted to support a bill that would keep felons from running

NC: Officials want tighter TV rules
http://bit.ly/9KbVnL Weinbrecht, Frantz compromise on public access squabble.
CARY - Town officials want to keep some politicians from hogging air time on Cary's public access television station.

NH: VIDEO: Lyndeborough bans computerized voting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXOg3OZfGpw

NH: Trujillo named new state elections director
http://tinyurl.com/yd8xmzd

WV: Mountain Party of West Virginia Has Five Candidates This Year
http://bit.ly/c00tY0
The Mountain Party of West Virginia is that state’s affiliate of the Green Party.
...
Five individuals filed, either for the state legislature, or for partisan county...

WV: Constitution Party Petitioning for one West Virginia U.S. House Seat
http://bit.ly/c3hHsl

WV: Tennant Discusses International Voting Summit Live From Germany Via Skype
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/state/100321-staff-statevotingsummit.html
Tennant delivered a presentation on West Virginia's online voting pilot program for military and overseas voters. Five counties - Jackson, Kanawha, Marshall, Monongalia, and Wood - are participating in the pilot program.

National

BREAKING: ACORN Announces Intentions to 'Bring Operations to a Close'
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7757
Just one day after the New York Time's Public Editor Clark Hoyt finally admitting that both he and his paper were "wrong" in the way, for the last six months

NYT PUBLIC EDITOR FINALLY ADMITS: 'TIMES WAS WRONG, I WAS WRONG' ON ACORN COVERAGE
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7755

"Acorn on Brink of Bankruptcy, Officials Say"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015533.html

Ex-Offenders and the Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/opinion/22mon3.html?ref=opinion
...Congress held hearings last week on a bill, the Democracy Restoration Act, that would allow released ex-felons to vote in federal elections. It would also require the states, which administer elections, to give them appropriate notice that this right has been restored.
...
There is no good reason to deny former prisoners the vote. Once they are back in the community — paying taxes, working, raising families — they have the same concerns as other voters, and they should have the same say in who represents them.

International

Canada: Mayor floats online voting
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2496835
Sarnia...Mike Bradley has asked city council to give staff the go-ahead to investigate Internet and mailin voting as a way to shake off voter apathy

Guam: Vendor's billing dispute led to hand-counting (ES&S)
http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=12176853

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.

Birther run for CA Sec of State. Irrational Exuberance for Internet Voting. Auto Voter Registration?

An interesting candidate to run for California Secretary of State, Orly Taitz...Oakland, CA debates whether to use funds from campaign finance towards educating voters about instant runoff voting...Wisconsin considers a bill to automatically register drivers...CNN has an "article" advocating for internet voting. (It reads like a vendor issued press release). CNN's expert? Not a computer technologist or internet security expert but Everyone Counts CEO Lori Steel whose background is in finance. Steel worked as a private wealth advisor at Solomon Smith Barney. Steel bought Everyone Counts in 2006...

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

CA: 'Birther Queen' Orly Taitz to Run for CA Sec. of State
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7751
If elected, plans 'investigation' of Obama birth certificate

CA: California Judge Tentatively Rules Against Electronic Signatures on Petitions
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/19/california-judge-tentatively-rules-against-electronic-signatures-on-petitions/

CA: Should Oakland spend $255K for voter education? Mayor Dellums' vote will be the tie breaker at city a council meeting next month.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/detail?entry_id=59490
On Tuesday night, an Oakland City Council vote about whether or not to redirect $255,000 earmarked for public campaign financing to educate Oakland residents about the city's new voting system resulted in a tie.

CA: De La Fuente Offers New Campaign Finance Plan
http://bit.ly/b8gfTS

FL: Fla. House passes election law changes
http://bit.ly/caTi4o It would still require some groups or individuals engaged in "election-related activities" to register with the state if they raise more than $5,000, but not those focused only on issues.

MT: Montana secretary of state says more election judges needed
http://bit.ly/b8obgT
... to help deal with an anticipated shortage for the fall elections

NC: Beacon Investigates: A closer look at voter registration
http://bit.ly/9pZfAc

SC: Judge may rule on Columbia election today
Arguments for and against April 6 presented
http://bit.ly/adXBbI Columbia City Council schedules an election but makes it impossible for voters to register to vote in that election.

TN: Bill on county election administrators questioned
http://bit.ly/aChQTc State Rep. Bill Dunn's attempt to "clarify" the duties of county election administrators is being criticized as a move to politicize the position and make it easier to fire administrators who were hired by Democrat-controlled election commissions

TX: Dallas County justice of the peace files suit, seeks recount
http://bit.ly/a9Xuvq
The suit alleges mail-in ballots were counted despite procedural violations.

TX: Bickerstaff: The real trouble with corporate cash in campaigns
http://bit.ly/b7whsK the corporate lobbyist is endowed with the implicit threat that, if the officeholder ignores the corporation's legislative needs, the corporation may fund (directly or indirectly) a campaign against the incumbent

WI: Bill would automatically register drivers to vote
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/88416717.html
unless a voter opts out, the state would automatically sign the voter up by sharing information between different databases.

WV: West Virginia Moves on Corporate Campaign Finance Disclosure
http://bit.ly/92Wq0O West Virginia is one of over 20 states affected by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. The state used to ban corporate political expenditures. Now its ban is gone.

Internet Voting Watch

Dust Settles on Internet Voting Debate; Mea Culpa Included
http://bit.ly/cK80bF
We had some intense moments of heated disagreement and heated agreement.

The Looming UOCAVA Internet Voting Debate (includes hate mail)
http://www.trustthevote.org/the-looming-uocava-internet-voting-debate
I am disclosing all of the topics and questions in tomorrow’s (apparently) much anticipated Internet Voting Debate

E-voting to kill hanging chads (reads like advert for internet voting vendor)
http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/18/smallbusiness/everyone_counts/

E-vote for fall poll?
http://bit.ly/aWsjA5 St. Thomas ...That's if St. Thomas council gives the green light to a motion from Ald. Lori Baldwin-Sands to introduce online voting for the 2010 municipal election.

Secretary of State Tennant Attends Summit in Germany
http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=77013
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is representing W.Va. at the Overseas Vote Foundation Summit in Munich, Germany.



National

LIVE WEBCAST: When Corporations Become People
http://bit.ly/a4UEUP

"A way for corporations to contribute to political campaigns and preserve democracy at the same time"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015527.html


International

GEC: Ballots To Be Counted Manually
http://bit.ly/8Y1HRd Guam Election Commission Director John Blas says first results would be expected by late Saturday night but it could be hours longer, because for the first time in years, the ballots will be counted manually.


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.

Sarasota Election Sup silence on issues. NH Town bans e-voting. Ventura on e-voting. Colombia hack contd

"Silence isn't golden for election issue" writes Tom Lyons, FL Herald Tribune. Kathy Dent failed to announce that she would not conduct the charter mandated pre certification election audits. Other examples of Dent's silence: when she left an entire Republican's primary state Senate race off some absentee ballots that had been mailed; and the 2006 Fl 13 Congressional race - Dent ignored advice to warn voters about a problem with the touchscreens that could cause some voters choices to go unrecorded...New articles on Colombian vote hack which might be a denial of service issue and vendor says of course that no votes were changed....

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


CA: Tentative Ruling in Ni v. Slocum Issued By Superior Court
http://bit.ly/bd65Hz
...the Court stated: “The digital image of a purportedly completed initiative petition stored on a USB flash drive does not constitute a petition or paper for purposes of determining what the Elections Office must process.”

CA: Morales pleads guilty to voter fraud
http://bit.ly/d8Zb79 ...Prosecutors say Morales received two mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 special election: one addressed to Molly Janice Morales and another addressed to Molly M. LaPointe

CA: Oakland mayor may break tie on campaign finance
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_14698787
...casting a tiebreaking vote that would preserve $100,000 for the city's public campaign financing program while diverting another $100,000 for voter education, his chief of staff said Wednesday.

FL: Lyons: Silence isn't golden for election issue
http://bit.ly/dpdqG3 Maybe Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent really believed there wasn't time, for the March 16 election, to obey the Sarasota County charter.
...
Why did she dare keep this problem a secret? Why didn't Dent and the county attorney announce that, despite the court ruling, they would still not be complying with the law this time, and explain why?

GA: Georgia debates online voter registration
http://bit.ly/dcRCQe ...SB 406 would help voters, save taxpayer dollars and help prevent voter fraud

GA: Polling places set to move; other Montgomery precincts face consolidation http://bit.ly/b0pJj9 ...Probate Judge Reese McKinney is asking the Montgomery County Commission to consider adopting a comprehensive reorganization plan that would consolidate smaller precincts into super precincts.

NH: Voters: Count ballots by hand
Petition article to prohibit computerized vote counting passes
http://www.ledgertranscript.com/article/voters-count-ballots-by-hand
LYNDEBOROUGH — By approving a petition warrant article at Saturday’s Town Meeting, Lyndeborough voters made their town perhaps the first in the nation to formally prohibit computerized vote counting and ensure the tradition of hand counting paper ballots.

NM: Interesting Ballot Access/Qualifications Issue in New Mexico
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015510.html

NY: Governor may call for special election by Friday
http://bit.ly/dhPVVS ... the old lever machines will be in use for the last time in the special election - except in Allegany, where the districts took part in a pilot plan using the new electronic voting machines last year. The lever machines will be used because not all election workers have been trained in the use of the new electronic voting machines, which scan marked ballots and provide handicapped voters with a viewing...

National

Pew Center Issues Updated Cost Report http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/18/pew-center-issues-update-cost-report/
Champaign County Clerk I’ve written much about the battle by some to radicalize the voter registration process. Part of the battle has been to decry the high cost of maintaining the current voter registration system.

"Citizens United to stop the Citizens [who are] United Against Citizens United"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015505.html

Do electronic voting machines prevent voters from verifying their ballots?
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura wants a receipt.
http://bit.ly/bkgQt4

Colombia Vote Hack (internet transmission of votes disrupted)

Cyberattack Prevents Transmission of Election Results in Colombia
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=353896&CategoryId=12393
He added that a coordinated attack from a network of computers was found to have been orchestrated “to try to crash the Web site of the Registrar’s Office,” which organizes Colombia’s elections.

New company replaces UNE for ballot-counting duties
http://bit.ly/aMtCh1 The official announced that the new company, ASD, will be recounting the votes from last Sunday's election, as well as working on Colombia's presidential elections in May.

Colombian election flaws
http://www.joshuafrens-string.com/2010/03/colombian-election-flaws.html
...include problems with keeping votes secret, vote buying, a confusing and complex voting system, and the potential for distorted preliminary results...


Internet Voting Watch

Canada: Council upholds decision on new voting method
http://www.stratfordgazette.com/news/article/87228
...
At last week’s meeting, council defeated a motion to reconsider the implementation of telephone and Internet voting for this November’s municipal election.
...
Bringing up the issue as new business, Nickel expressed concern that it may be easier to cast a fraudulent vote over the Internet than it would be in person at a polling station.

Europe: Letters: Crucial decisions for the modernisation of our voting system
http://bit.ly/d4gABf ...should be wary of all forms of absentee voting.
...
The evidence is also that online voting is probably impossible to secure fully.

To Battle Computer Hackers, the Pentagon Trains Its Own
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1972896,00.html

Nato help needed to fight cyber war
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/7465535/Nato-help-needed-to-fight-cyber-war.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.

Sarasota officials evade election law. Colombian election hacked. GA E-Voting Oversight

“It's time for elected officials to abide by the law the same way citizens have to abide by the law,” ~ Kindra Muntz, president of Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections. Sarasota FL Election Supervisor Kathy Dent chose not to perform the charter mandated, court upheld, post election audits. Dent said there wasn't enough time (since Feb 11 ruling) for her to hire an auditing team...

Hackers struck the Colombia's legislative elections, disrupting the vote count says the company hired to transmit results of Sunday's voting over the Internet...

Georgia Questioned on E-Voting Problems and Oversight - "The other thing is when former Secretary of State Cathy Cox wanted 54 million dollars to disenfranchise everybody, money was no object. Now when we want to re-enfranchise everybody, they're worried about the cost." ~ Garland Favorito of VoterGA...

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


CA: Yolo's pilot voting project advances - again
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_14690519
A bill that would bring an all-mail voting pilot project to Yolo County overcame another hurdle Tuesday, passing out of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee on a 5-0 vote.

CO: Gardner No. 2 for Balink
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/noted/Content?oid=1640739
Whoever believes that misrepresenting the truth doesn't get you anywhere has never met John Gardner.

For more on the incompetence of John Gardner and his "certification" of Colorado voting equipment see http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-75.htm
John Gardner's role in helping pick Accenture for the failed SCORE I voter registration database is outlined at
http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-95.htm#cocontracts
When Gardner left the Colorado Sec. of State office former Chief Information Officer Brian Balay commented on Gardner's abilities
http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-75.htm#corruption

CT: The Risks of Mail-In and No-Excuse Absentee Voting
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2978

FL: Officials break election law in Sarasota County, FL
http://bit.ly/dyDymM

FL: Criticism comes after elections officials fail to run an audit
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100317/ARTICLE/100319743
Sarasota elections officials drew criticism from a local watchdog group Tuesday because they did not run an audit of the school tax referendum, even though a Florida Supreme Court ruling last month required it.

GA: Georgia Questioned on E-Voting Problems and Oversight
http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0611.html

GA: After battle, Senate OKs online voter registration (to house next)
http://bit.ly/9BBzEw

ID: Photo ID requirement a step closer to law
http://bit.ly/9EOkeY Voters would need to bring identification to the pollsA plan to require Idaho voters to show a photo ID when they show up to vote is a Senate vote and a governor’s signature away from becoming law.

KS: Parkinson names Biggs secretary of state
http://bit.ly/d5nJ9H "...elections need to be open and we need to do everything we can to get people to vote,”

LA: Former Independence Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Causing Deputies to Provide False Voter Registration Information*
http://www.neworleans.com/news/abc-26-news/353833.html
According to the factual basis, Maurer caused his deputies to provide false information on their voter registration forms indicating that they lived in the voting district when, in fact, they did not.

MD: ACORN videos were a sham (LTE)
http://bit.ly/9zUuXu

NM: State voting machines secure at private facility
http://newmexicoindependent.com/49738/state-voting-machines-secure-at-private-facility Automated Election Services (AES) is storing a total of 43 state-owned voting machines without charge at its Rio Rancho facility...

NM: SFR Talk: The State of the Secretary http://sfreporter.com/stories/sfr_talk_the_state_of_the_secretary/5432/
New Mexicans are enjoying yet another ethics scandal involving a powerful elected official.
...
Among other things, Salazar cited political activities conducted during state business hours, solicitation of donations by contractors and improper handling of voting machines.
...
The AG is involved. He can only say a certain amount because he’s a prosecutor...

NM: Former SoS employees who backed Salaza were incompetent Herrera says
http://newmexicoindependent.com/49788/former-sos-employees-who-backed-up-salazar-were-incompetent-herrera-tells-kunm

NY: Fusion Voting in New York, the Working Families Party & Close Elections
http://mayorgraham.blogspot.com/2010/03/swing-state-project-fusion-voting-in.html
The ability to run on separate party lines and have the totals added up is not how its done elsewhere...That's why small minor parties can wheel and deal...

SC: Legislative Happenings — Constituents concerned about school funding, jobs
http://bit.ly/bYOARD ...It proposes to amend the South Carolina Constitution to guarantee a person’s right to vote by secret ballot where local, state, or federal law requires elections for public office or ballot measures, or requires designations or authorizations for employee representation.

TN: Tennessee Bill Advances, Would Permit “Sore Losers”
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/16/tennessee-bill-advances-would-permit-sore-losers/

TX: What They Aren’t Telling You About The eSlate (Electronic Voting)
http://bit.ly/aI8sPh

UT: Small towns to vote by mail
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20100317/NEWS01/3170307
ST. GEORGE - Residents in Washington County communities with less than 500 registered voters will now conduct elections entirely by mail...

VA: Early voting gets another nay
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/03/early-voting-gets-another-nay
The U.S. Constitution doesn't stipulate that citizens stand in long lines before they exercise their right to vote, but Virginia lawmakers can't seem to shake the notion that it does.

VT: IRV defenders outspend opponents in Burlington race
http://bit.ly/bhDmk7 Fifty Percent Matters, the group that fought unsuccessfully to retain the instant-runoff voting system for choosing a mayor in Burlington, outspent Repeal IRV, $14,033to $9,280.

National

NYTimes a No-Show on Historic ACORN Court Ruling;
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7749

Do electronic voting machines prevent voters from verifying their ballots?
http://bit.ly/bkgQt4

Project Vote is pleased to release a new research memo, Election Legislation 2010: Threats and Opportunities Assessment.
http://bit.ly/9vRzF6

Citizens United -- State Reverberations: Lawsuits, Legislation and Legal Opinions
in the States http://bit.ly/95mzNS

"ABC News Exclusive: Study Shows Money Flooding into Campaigns for
State Judgeships"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015507.html

EAC has a new address effective March 22
http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/eac-has-a-new-address-effective-march-22

Interview with Jessica Amunson, Symposium Panelist and Redistricting Expert
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/03/17/interview-with-jessica-amunson-symposium-panelist-and-redistricting-expert/

Internet Voting Watch

Hackers attacked Colombian vote count * (votes transmitted over internet)
http://bit.ly/do39KQ BOGOTA (AFP) Ivan Ribon, spokesman for Arolen, a company hired to transmit results of Sunday's voting over the Internet, told local media Wednesday that hackers struck at the moment polls closed at 2100 GMT.

FCC National Broadband Plan: What It Means For You
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2361421,00.asp
The plan also calls on the Department of Defense to conduct an Internet-based pilot that would let military personnel serving overseas vote online

Canada: City committee endorses new voting methods
http://recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2495293
The on-screen vote is a minor element of city clerk Sandi Seale's proposal to move to an Internet and telephone vote in October.

But it may be the only place left for people who favour traditional voting to place an X beside the name of their favoured candidate.

Norway: Analysis of an internet voting protocol (March 10 pdf file)
http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/KRD/Kampanjer/valgportal/e-valg/Nyheter/core.pdf
The Norwegian government will trial internet voting in the 2011 local government
elections.

Setting a Technology Agenda for Overseas Voting
http://www.trustthevote.org/setting-a-technology-agenda-for-overseas-voting
Technology Pilots: Pros and Cons, Blessing or Curse

Cybersecurity Technologies a Government Priority
http://bit.ly/cT2e3o Senator Thomas. L. Carper. “The issue of Cyber Warfare is not science fiction anymore. It’s reality.”




Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.

Clay KY vote buying contd. Cost vs Ballot integrity. Fed $ for NM voting system upkeep.

"The integrity of our ballots should supersede other considerations." ~ Mary C. Eberle, President, Coloradans for Voting Integrity op-ed in favor of keeping precinct voting in Bolder County, Colorado....Voting activist Harvie Branscomb has an OpEd about judges decision to not hear the ballot image case in Aspen...Former Clay KY official jailed for dining with witness...Budget cutbacks make voting system switch in NY tougher...Cuyahoga County to get $7.5 million in settlement over former voting equipment...Another Bill in Tennessee to Discourage Voting...


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

AL: Voters react to Birmingham election change proposal
http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=12146611
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Birmingham voters spoke out Monday night about the prospect of putting the city council and mayor's races on the same election cycle, giving Mayor William Bell an extra two years in office before he must run for re-election

CA: Plan to educate Oakland on ranked-choice vote
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/15/BANS1CF4F8.DTL
Many city leaders and activists worry that the so-called ranked-choice voting method will confuse voters
...
A proposal from council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Rebecca Kaplan on tonight's council agenda suggests taking $225,000 from the city's limited public financing program and spending it on voter education. That's on top of the $146,000 that the Alameda County Registrar of Voters will use to educate the citizenry.

CO: Guest opinion: Keep Colorado's voting integrityhttp://www.dailycamera.com/ci_14680272#axzz0iMCdFUqO
As County Clerks and Recorders around the state work to garner support for all-mail ballot elections, it is worth reviewing the vulnerabilities of this method of voting and how voting by mail weakens the integrity of our elections.

CO: 16 Colorado towns cancel municipal elections
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22849899/detail.html

CO: Bravo, Marilyn
http://bit.ly/bLWkVn
Elections are unfortunately becoming shrouded in unnecessary additional secrecy, complexity and obscurity. Evidence about election quality is regularly destroyed whether or not required by law, as it is for municipal elections.

CT: One Vote, Or Three Votes They Are All Important
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2973
Two recent interesting stories in the Courant that relate to past posts, both point to the value of individual votes.

FL: Group sues for Spanish ballots - Suit cites voting rights of U.S.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/14/group-sues-for-spanish-ballots.html
..."I've spoken to people, (and) some of them don't vote or don't vote completely because they don't understand it and they are intimidated," Rivera said. "We want them all to understand what they are voting for."

FL: County poll workers will get tested for literacy, blindness
http://www.cbs12.com/news/county-4724704-test-workers.html

GA: Thomas A. Wilson: No voter fraud (LTE)
http://onlineathens.com/stories/031310/let_589346844.shtml

KY: Ex-judge denies steering witness testimony
Maricle testifies for second day in vote-fraud trial
http://bit.ly/9yozhZ

KY: Former Clay official jailed for dining with witness
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/16/1184077/former-clay-official-to-be-jailed.html
FRANKFORT — Former Clay County school Superintendent Douglas C. Adams will spend the next several days in jail for having dinner at a Frankfort restaurant with a witness in the federal vote-fraud case against Adams and others.

NM: Federal agency pays NM’s big maintenance bill for voting machines
http://bit.ly/blmBpA
A federal agency is ponying up around $600,000 this year to provide upkeep for New Mexico’s more than 1,900 voting tabulators and voting machines.

NM: New law settles old issue of who owns NM’s voting machines
http://bit.ly/cXPJ0e
...A bill Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law in recent days renders the fight moot, state and local officials say, by requiring the state to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the voting equipment.

NM: Battle over officials resignation escalates
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1464623.shtml?cat=517

NY: Elections board says budget cuts a setback for e-vote devices
http://bit.ly/cCqMEc

OH: Dimora charges 'contract steering' as Cuyahoga County settles voting machine lawsuit
http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=132506&catid=3
Dimora claims the original purchase of the 5,700 touch-screen Diebold machines was a case of real corruption, "contract steering, blatant and obvious."

OH: Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora casts himself as public watchdog
http://bit.ly/aI6AE3

OH: Cuyahoga County to get $7.5 million in settlement over former voting equipment
http://bit.ly/awcwi7
...The plan also would give the elections board eight years of free software and free maintenance for its voter registration system.

OH: CAC seeks help to secure voting for homebound
http://bit.ly/dezecP

OH: Cuyahoga BOE: 715,995 mail-in ballot applications on their way
http://bit.ly/cg0r0h

TN: Another Bill in Tennessee to Discourage Voting
http://bit.ly/8YkE9g
Step 1, let’s load precinct with 2,500 more voters than we allow now. Step 2, let’s allocate fewer voting machines in each of these precincts with the 2,500 more voters. Mix together and then, Viola!, long lines!

TN: Dead purged from rolls
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20100316/OPINION01/3160308
And yet, the dead voted in a 2005 Shelby County special election to fill the vacant 29th state Senate District seat.

TX: Another Rankin Election - Will Same Voting Machines be Used?
http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=18479
On the heels of the technical error that added 600 extra votes in the primary election tally, voters will decide on a rollback election Tuesday.

TX: Texas Rangers investigate possible voter fraud in Starr County (absentee ballots)
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=430386

WA: King County’s Secret Ballot
http://horsesass.org/?p=25326
The world’s stupidest election has come around again, with the King County Conservation District giving new meaning to the term “secret ballot.” Dozens of voters will gather today at seven libraries throughout the county to cast ballots in a race that nobody but dedicated environmentalists and self-interested developers even know exists

WI: Area couple convicted of voting twice
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_a1d3878e-3090-11df-b6b3-001cc4c002e0.html

National

The American Voting Public Won’t Fall for it (ACORN and Voter Registration)
http://bit.ly/b1UyQ6
Voter registration fraud is more annoying than anything else. But you could fill out one thousand fake forms out to be registered ' but on voting day, none of those one thousand will actually go to the polls and cast a vote. Each person would not get more than one voter registration card. Any suspicious voter registration forms would be frozen and a voter registration card would not be made or sent out.

"Democratic Party Launching $20 Million Redistricting Effort In Key States"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015502.html

Restoring voting rights to millions
http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/restoring_voting_rights_to_millions/
Today Congress is listening to 4 million silenced Americans. Leaders of the House Judiciary Committee are holding a hearing on the Democracy Restoration Act, legislation that seeks to restore the right to vote to people with a criminal records who are out of prison, living in the community.

"Do electronic voting machines improve the voting process?"
Summary of Positions (at ProCon.org)
http://votingmachines.procon.org/source-biographies.php

Internet Voting

Canada: Worldwide ballot box
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2493814
The bilingual municipality of Clarence-Rockland (population 23,000) will be using Internet voting for the third time in the forthcoming election and phone voting for the fourth time after successful past experiences.
...
There were a couple of minor glitches with voter ID but other than that the change went smoothly, she said.
...
It appears Internet voting is mostly used by people who would have gone to traditional polling stations.

UK: A form of madness: trying to vote online
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100317/LIFE/703169962/1197&template=columnists
It is quite possible that the form is designed to put off people too thick to be allowed a vote at all.

What do the Targeted Attack emails look like?
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001908.html

International

Philippines: Security of PCOS machines in jeopardy, says Joey de Venecia III
http://bit.ly/cYy4q2


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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.