Diebold audit log bug under investigation, Why ES&S Diebold merger bad for NY and US, Election official touts open source

California investigating Diebold audit log bugs...Absentee ballot blues: 7% of Route County CO absentee ballots undeliverable...Tennessee Judge may force state To provide voting paper Trail and election officials get course on running paper ballot elections....Sequoia voting source code story hits mainstream media...why the ES&S/Premier merger is bad for New York State and the Country...Election official touts the benefits of Open Source programming...Election officials deliver Afghan runoff ballots...Impasse over Iraqi election law may slow U.S. withdrawal...Complaints of tampering with the E-voting machines in India...

All of that and more in today's Voting News below...

CA: California Investigating Problems With Voting-Machine Audit Logs
October 22, 2009 ...The investigation is examining what the audit logs record and whether they can be easily altered or deleted, according to Secretary of State Debra Bowen
...
The state confirmed the problems in a report it released about a month later in which it also found that some versions of the GEMS software had a Clear button that allows anyone with access to the system to permanently delete certain audit logs “that would be essential to reconstruct operator actions during the vote-tallying process.”
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/audit-log/

Voting Machines With Disappearing Logs Finally Under Investigation
http://gizmodo.com/5388025/voting-machines-with-disappearing-logs-finally-under-investigation

CA: Tweet - smcvote Sequoia WinEDS v. 3.1.012 Revised Conditional Reapproval http://bit.ly/22iQOV
http://twitter.com/smcvote/status/5051346000

CO: Don’t forget: Ballots need extra postage
October 22, 2009 AURORA County officials are urging voters to take a close look at the postal rates spelled out on mail-in ballots for November’s local election.
...
“Our official policy is that the voters are supposed to put the postage on the ballot. Sixty-one cents is the amount this year,” ...
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2009/10/22/news/metro_aurora/doc4ae0af6aa6b6e770115288.txt

CO: Clerk: Only 5 percent of voters have completed, returned ballots *
Less than 700 completed ballots received; 1,022 undeliverable
...as of Wednesday afternoon, her office had received only 682 of the 13,440 ballots sent to voters in Routt County’s first mail-only election.
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/oct/23/county_clerk_
only_5_percent_voters_have_returned_b/#
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/absenteeball

MN: St. Paul residents debate instant runoff voting
October 22, 2009 St. Paul, Minn. — Supporters and opponents of instant runoff voting faced off in St. Paul Wednesday night for their first and only formal public debate
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/22/st-paul-instant-runoff-voting/#

Audio of debate here http://twi.cc/qEhB

MN: Election night wins might be tough to call in Minneapolis
The winners in some races in Minneapolis won't be known instantly under the new ranked-choice voting system.
October 22, 2009. Not only will it take weeks before all results are known from the first attempt at ranked-choice voting in Minneapolis, but some of the election-night results will be misleading.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/local/65698537.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUoaK7D_V_eDc87DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

MN: Instant runoff voting and buyer's remorse
October 23, 2009 Chuck Repke, St. Paul, works in neighborhood development and government relations.
He is co-chair of the No Bad Ballots Committee, which is organized to oppose IRV.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/23/repke/

NY: why the ES&S/Premier merger is bad for New York State
October 23 2009 Bad for the country, bad for New York
...Is it so hard to imagine a scenario where ES&S makes an offer they can’t refuse and swallows Dominion, bringing New York State’s voting machine contracts under its exclusive control?
...
...it is also critical that local election officials and state Attorneys General weigh in on this, as they are in the best position to represent the interests of voting machine customers and the public.
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2009/10/on-the-proposed-ess-merger/

TN: Judge May Force State To Provide Voting Paper Trail (also has video)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Davidson County judge may force the state to buy new voting machines that would provide a paper trail in the event of allegations of voter fraud.
http://www.wsmv.com/news/21394315/detail.html

TN: Optical scan voting machines discussed
Thursday, October 22, 2009 A group of election officials from across Tennessee held detailed discussions last week about how to properly conduct elections using paper ballots.
...
Committee members also had detailed discussions about the proper chain of custody for ballots before, during and after elections.
http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=33015

TX: Poll watchers filed criminal complaint against election judge
October 23, 2009...Stevens, Hyatt and Magid said Middleton failed to grant them "the access necessary to observe the processing of voters at the Collin College Spring Creek campus during the early voting period of the November 2008 election as required by Texas Election Code, Sections 33.056 through 33.061," the statement said.
http://www.scntx.com/articles/2009/10/23/news_update/49.txt#

TX: Battle Brewing Over How Upshur County Clerk Handles Elections
...The court voted to request that she have county employees transport election equipment to and from polling places in the Nov. 3 state Constitutional amendment election. Ms. LaGrone rejected it, meaning election judges will continue hauling the equipment.
...The clerk has said having county workers do so instead would put "too much liability" on the county.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091022/NEWS01/910220329#


VA: Va. police investigating voter fraud by felons
RICHMOND Virginia State Police are investigating whether any felons illegally voted in last November's election. Police and election officials aren't saying how many possible offenders are under investigation
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/va-police-investigating-voter-fraud-felons

VT: Vermont Legislative Research Shop
Instant Runoff Voting. An Assessment Prepared by Anthony Gierzynski, PhD,
Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont
http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/IRVassessment.pdf

Sequoia Source Code - Voting News does applaud
Election Defense Alliance for the amazing success of their FOIA request

Secret Computer Election Codes Made Public
Oct 21, 2009
...The makers of the voting machines tell News Channel 3, "We did remove the proprietary information but did not thoroughly redact it, leaving text base remnants of various database level code "

They add, "Sequoia regrets this error as we work diligently to protect our existing proprietary copyrighted material."
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=11357302#

Sequoia e-voting code reveals possible FEC rule violations
October 21, 2009. An election integrity advocacy group has found extensive voting machine source code in election databases that were provided in response to public records requests. The code, which powers Sequoia voting machines, is said to be a possible a violation of Federal Election Commission rules.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/sequoia-evoting-code-reveals-possible-fec-rule-violations.ars

Election Defense Alliance findings on Sequoia Code http://studysequoia.wikispaces.com/

Sequoia Voting System database laid bare but no secrets found
The Linux Distillery.22 October 2009 ... The Daily Kos sensationally claimed the database violated Federal voting law. A closer examination gives a different story....
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/28715/1141/1/0/

Sequoia Voting System Witch Hunt, err... Study Project
Posted At : October 21, 2009
http://www.codersrevolution.com/index.cfm/2009/10/21/Sequoia-Voting-System-Witch-Hunt-err-Study-Project

National

The Benefits of Open Source Programming
Champaign County Clerk
Open source programming for government provides an opportunity for cost savings, greater efficiency and flexibility, and greatly enhanced services to the public.
...
To begin, government is not in competition with anyone (or shouldn’t be). Unlike the private sector, governments have no vested interest in denying cost effective solutions to others
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2009/10/23/the-benefits-of-open-source-programming/

Voting Information Project
Cool initiative for those of us trying to make polling place information easily available to our constituents online -

The Voting Information Project has developed an open data format with which state election divisions can publish their voting information.
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2009/10/voting-information-project.html

Voting Technology in the U.S. and Abroad
OCTOBER 21, 2009. The ongoing debate over the role of technology in elections has provoked a great deal of research on the topic. A recent conference on voting technology featured 11 papers examining evidence in a number of countries and a new working paper discusses the current state of research and development in voting technology.
http://www.electionreformproject.org/Features/4d429767-ea43-48d1-87df-c089c8be60ff/r1/Detail.aspx


Fixing Our Broken Democracy
October 22, 2009 ...Reduce the Role of Money - At Least a Little...Getting the Count Right...Solving the Spoiler Problem
http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~unger/articles/brokenDem.html

Scahill on 'The ACORN Standard'; Grayson on ACORN Bill
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7481

electionlineWeekly — October 22, 2009 Newsletter (and classified ad for internet vendor salesman)
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewcenteronthestatesorg/
Reports/Electionline_Reports/electionlineWeekly10.22.09.pdf
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/pew102209


Pew Applauds Congress for Including Military and Overseas Voting Solutions in Final Defense Authorization Bill
Thu Oct 22, 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS256934+22-Oct-2009+PRN20091022


Congress approves bill to remove obstacles to military and overseas voting
10/22/09...The legislation would require that states provide military and other overseas voters with ballots at least 45 days ahead of an election to ensure there is enough time to complete and return them. States also must provide registration forms, absentee ballot request forms and emergency ballots electronically — meaning the forms could be downloaded online or sent over e-mail.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/politics/ap/65652797.html#

International

Afghanistan: Election officials deliver Afghan runoff ballots (AP)
October 22nd, 2009 ...International election monitors called on authorities to avert the widespread fraud that marred the first round of voting in August. Scores of election staff accused of misconduct have been axed, and new personnel need to be hired.
http://www.rssnewsonline.com/rssnews/election-officials-deliver-afghan-runoff-ballots-ap.html#

Germany: A Censored Headline and why it Matters: German High Court Outlaws Electronic Voting
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 On March 3, 2009, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared that the electronic voting machines used in the 2005 Bundestag elections for the German national parliament were outside of the bounds of the German Constitution.
http://www.inteldaily.com/news/173/ARTICLE/12343/2009-10-21.html

India: BJP blames Electronic Voting Machines for its poor performance
New Delhi, Oct 22 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been turned into the Electronic Victory Machines by the Congress in the recently held assembly elections.

‘We have received numerous complaints of tampering with the EVMs and bulk voting by the Congress from many regions,’ said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/63468.htm

India: EVMs not responsible for Haryana defeat: BJP’s Goel
NEW DELHI - There is no one reason or one person responsible for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) defeat in the Haryana assembly elections, its general secretary Vijay Goel said Thursday contradicting a senior party colleague.
http://blog.taragana.com/n/evms-not-responsible-for-haryana-defeat-bjps-goel-203101/

Iraq: Impasse over Iraqi election law may slow U.S. withdrawal
...lawmakers remained deadlocked over how January's scheduled parliamentary elections should be conducted in oil-rich northern Kirkuk province.
http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/1521860.html


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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Pima CO fights ballot audit, 9,000 Absentee ballots returned-to-sender, Sequoia laid bare

Is a Fair Election in Afghanistan Possible?...Tuscon wants hand count audit, Pima County says NO...9000 absentee ballots undeliverable in El Paso County Colorado... Indiana Secy of State gives up on criminalizing use of election data...Nevada is prosecuting ACORN itself, not just individuals...Employee for Ohio pro casino group indicted on 5 counts voter registration fraud -Casino group not blamed... Group complains about WVA's electronic voting machines... National Academy of Sciences reviews voter registration databases... McCain, Feingold Speak on Senate Floor About Citizens United...Sequoia Voting System database laid bare...

All of that and more in today's Voting News below.

AZ: City, Pima at odds over vote hand-count
Dispute over audit of ballots could affect Nov. 3 tallies
Tucson, Arizona 10.21.2009. A dispute between Tucson and Pima County could lead to no hand-count of November's election results — a practice that could help uncover voting machine malfunctions and fraud.
...
The heads of the Pima County Republican and Democratic parties asked the council to take the hard line to force a hand count, given the county's history with the 2006 Regional Transportation Authority election, where some observers alleged votes were flipped to change the outcome of the election, and the county was forced to pay $230,000 in attorney's fees for losing a public records suit.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/314130

CO: No ballot? No problem, contact county clerk *
October 20, 2009 If you’re a registered voter but didn’t get a ballot in the mail last week, it’s probably because you moved but didn’t update your address with the county clerk’s office.

The office of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, Bob Balink, said Tuesday that out of 278,000 ballots mailed last week for the Nov. 3 election, about 9,000 ballots had been returned as undeliverable. To cut down on voting fraud, the Postal Service is forbidden by law to forward ballots
http://www.gazette.com/articles/ballot-64099-clerk-contact.html

CT: Al Lenge Named Director of State Elections Enforcement Commission
October 21, 2009
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2474

IN: Funding for new voting machines approved
21, 2009 The Harrison County Council Tuesday, Oct. 13, unanimously approved new voting equipment for the county.
The machines, produced by Hart Intercivic based in Lexington, Ky., and Harp Interprises, were purchased for a reduced price of $227,250 because they were used for one election cycle in Hawaii.
...
New voting machines became an issue after Election Systems & Software, the company which provided upkeep for the county's 40 Optech Eagle machines, said technical support no longer will be available for the machines.
http://www.corydondemocrat.com/Articles-i-2009-10-20-212291.114125_Funding_for_new_voting_machines_approved.html#

IN: Rokita rolls out redistricting proposal
Secretary of State Todd Rokita today urged lawmakers to change how Indiana draws legislative and congressional districts.

But he backed off an earlier recommendation that they make it a felony to consider political data, including the addresses of incumbents and the voting history of constituents
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091020/NEWS05/910200367/
Rokita+rolls+out+redistricting+proposal
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/yjqx9gh

IN: Ind. Decisions - Petitions to transfer filed in the Indiana voter ID case
Briefs have now been filed re the Court of Appeals decision in League of Women Voters v. Todd Rokita, the voter ID case decided on state constitutional grounds.
http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2009/10/ind_decisions_p_30.html

MD: New voting system will have long-term savings, benefits
To the Editor: Cumberland Times-News
...
there will be an 80 percent reduction in voting machinery, and the costs associated with maintaining them.

More significant than resulting cost savings, a new voting system will restore the confidence of Maryland voters in the integrity of the voting system and permit meaningful and accurate audits and recounts.
http://www.times-news.com/opinion/local_story_291211841.html

MN: IRV: Not So Fast, Not Simple
October 21, 2009. We have several concerns with Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). At first it seems simple and appealing, however, a closer look reveals concerns and unappreciated consequences, including...
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2471

NM: Group fights voter fraud
No photo ID? No problem.
You just have to give your name, address and birth date, and you can vote in New Mexico.
This means anyone with a phone book can go to the polls and vote illegally in the place of registered voters, according to Hispanos Unidos, a small citizens group formed in Doña Ana County that fights voter fraud in New Mexico.
...
Denise Lamb, deputy clerk in charge of elections in Santa Fe County, said the county has not experienced any instances of voter impersonation.

Additionally, Lamb said, “we were easily able to thwart an attempt (at such fraud) in last spring’s City Council election.”

Lamb is referring to Santa Fe real-estate agent Teresa Monahan, now serving probation after she admitted to voter fraud in the city’s special election over a proposed tax on sales of expensive homes.
http://www.nmfreepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=861:group-fights-voter-fraud&catid=2:0309

NV: Nevada is prosecuting ACORN itself, not just individuals in it
Oct. 19, 2009
For more than 40 years ACORN has helped the nation’s poor solve their own problems.
...
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, faces still another high-stakes challenge — and more embarrassment — in Nevada, where it has been charged with 13 felony counts related to potential voter registration fraud during the 2008 campaign.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/oct/19/nevadas-threat-acorn-unique/

OH: Deters: Voter fraud was to 'impress bosses' *
October 21, 2009. A Montgomery man who was working a $10-an-hour job in the pro-casino committee’s Cincinnati campaign office has been indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury on five felony counts of filing false absentee ballot applications.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091021/NEWS0108/
310210042/Deters++Fraud+was+to+impress+boss
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/ylopjeg

OH: Field Worker Indicted On Voter Fraud Charges *
Prosecutor: Pro-Casino Group Not Tied To Wrongdoing
CINCINNATI -- A "rogue employee" for a group tied to Ohio's pro-casino effort was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on charges that he forged applications for absentee ballots, a prosecutor said.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said an investigation concluded that 27-year-old Walter Sullivan, of Montgomery, acted alone.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/21360574/detail.html

WA: Franklin County can vote on technology's edge
Franklin County voters should take advantage of a pilot program for online voting.
...
...we are not allowed to vote online -- yet.

With this project voters can mark an online ballot, but they still have to print it out and mail it in.
...
Only 67 people gave the program a test run in the primary elections
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinions/story/759926.html

WA: For primary, vote scanners fixed in the nick of time (we just found this article)
Sept 3, 2009. Arnold will have her hands full as King County Election Department tries to get its new Premier scanners running properly before the November election. The equipment failed to correctly read ballots in the August Primary. The problem was caught and procedures put in place to compensate for it
...
A few days into processing ballots for the August Primary, a King County Elections worker compared an actual ballot to its scanned image and noticed that a vote, clearly visible on the ballot, was not shown on the scanned image.

As election workers began exploring what went wrong, two problems emerged. First it was found that the scanners could not read ovals that were lightly filled or not completely filled in. Then it was discovered that minuscule amounts of ink and debris were being scrubbed off as ballots passed over the scanner. This debris would build up until the scanner could no longer see the votes under the line of built-up ink, even though the build-up not visible to the eye.
http://www.queenannenews.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=28995&SectionID=26&SubSectionID=248&S=1

WV: Group complains about electronic voting machines
A local leader of the conservative Constitution Party asked Raleigh County Commission members Tuesday to stop using the Election Systems & Software (iVotronic touch-screen voting machines currently used in West Virginia.
...
Gene Stalnaker presented Commission president John Humphrey and Commissioner John Aliff with the Ohio Project EVEREST voting study.

According to the study, the voting machines are intrinsically flawed.
http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_293222536.html

National

McCain, Feingold Speak on Senate Floor About Citizens United
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/014612.html

National Academy of Sciences Releases EAC-funded Report on Statewide Voter Registration Databases
Washington – The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) today released its Improving State Voter Registration Databases report, funded by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The report, available on the EAC Web site, includes data gathered from the states about their databases and short-term and long-term recommendations for improving and implementing them.
http://www.eac.gov/News/national-academy-of-sciences-releases-eac-funded-report-on-statewide-voter-registration-databases

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita to testify before U.S. House Subcommittee on Elections
10/21/2009 Secretary Rokita to outline concerns about H.R. 1719, the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2009
...H.R. 1719 outlines requirements for states to modernize their election registration processes. The bill requires states to provide for online voter registration. However, it does not require or permit states to use existing databases to verify information.
http://www.munciefreepress.com/node/21481

U.S. District Court in New Jersey Finds Lack of Standing for Plaintiffs Challenging Presidential Qualifications October 21st, 2009
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/21/u-s-district-court-in-new-jersey-finds-lack-of-standing-for-plaintiffs-challenging-presidential-qualifications/

Federal Election Commission Publishes 2008 Election Returns Book
October 21st, 2009 The Federal Election Commission has just released its book, “Federal Elections 2008″, which has election returns for President and Congress. There is no publication that takes greater pains to capture write-in votes.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/21/federal-election-commission-publishes-2008-election-returns-book/

Sequoia Code

An election integrity first: public copy of e-voting code
...Apparently,the company, Sequoia Voting Systems, tried to make the code inoperative before releasing it, but according to Jim March, a major player in Arizona's election integrity community, the company failed.
http://arizona.typepad.com/blog/2009/10/an-election-integrity-first-public-copy-of-evoting-code.html

Sequoia Voting System database laid bare but no secrets found
The Linux Distillery.22 October 2009
Liberal US shock-blog Daily Kos gained legal access to the database used by electronic voting machines produced by Sequoia Voting Systems. The Daily Kos sensationally claimed the database violated Federal voting law. A closer examination gives a different story....
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/28715/1141/1/0/


International

Is a Fair Election in Afghanistan Possible?
New York Times. "A runoff is in no one’s interests. The Afghan people are tired and disgusted, and no second round is going to redeem the democratic process in their eyes. The turnout is likely be miniscule – under 20 percent – making any talk of government legitimacy more than a little absurd."
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/is-a-fair-election-in-afghanistan-possible/

Afghanistan's Election Runoff: Logistical Trainwreck (worth reading)
Wired News. Afghanistan’s recent national election took months to plan - and it was still corrupt and lame. Now, there’s going to be a second round. But this time, U.S., NATO and Afghan officials will only have three weeks to prep. Logistical trainwreck, anyone?
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/10/afghanistans-election-runoff-logistical-trainwreck/

Nicaragua court opens way for Daniel Ortega re-election
Oct 20. ...The court's constitutional arm issued a ruling blocking restrictions on a president running for another term, following a petition from Ortega and a group of mayors last week, and the country's electoral court said it would comply with the move.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE59J11820091020

Niger legislative elections end smoothly (great photos of voters casting ballots)
2009-10-21 ...West African economic bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday said it will not recognise the results of the controversial legislative elections in Niger and suspended the country from its ranks.
...
The opposition which was united under the name Forces for Democracy and the Republic (CFDR) boycotted the elections, challenging the legality of the referendum which allows Tandja to run for another term of office.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/21/content_12288378.htm


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to receive the Voting News by email by visiting this link:
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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."
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Sequoia e-voting code out, Vote flipping in Tennessee, Will Afghan voters turnout for do-over?

Aspen Colorado citizen wins effort to stop destruction of May 5 ballots...New Jersey's anti-exit polling law...Election Defense Alliance has election databases from Riverside County that Sequoia insisted on "redacting" first, Sequoia Voting Systems inadvertently released the SQL code for its voting databases...Wow! Diebold (OSX) scanners are picky about ink colors on ballots..."The next question is whether these machines can actually count." ~ Voting Matters Blog...Touch Screen Vote flipping in Franklin Tennessee...Breaking: Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit, Reimposes Stay in Washington Referendum Signer Case...Afghan Leader Said to Accept Runoff After Election Audit, Do-over? “Neither Karzai nor Abdullah are worth the lives of our children.” ~ Sadruddin Khan, a tribal elder in Kandahar.. Oh goodie Nigeria wants e-voting...

AZ: City of Prescott appeals election ruling
...Claiming "irreparable harm," the city filed a request this morning for a stay of the ruling that Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Michael Bluff issued this past Thursday, prohibiting the city from continuing with its November general election.

...The case centers on the city's decision in September not to place City Council candidate Paul Katan's name on the general election ballot. Katan, the seventh-place finisher in the Sept. 1 city primary, maintained that he should have moved up and onto the ballot after fifth-place finisher Bob Bell withdrew from the race in mid-September.
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=73637

CA: E-Voting Code to Receive 'First-Ever' Public Scrutiny Following Public Records Request Sequoia's 'proprietary' source code now available on the Internet
ALSO: Company yet to come clean to federal investigators, election officials, public about Chavez-tied Venezuelan firm's ownership of vote machine Intellectual Property...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7477

CA: The Election Defense Alliance filed a public records request under California law for a copy of the final election databases from recent elections in Riverside County California. Riverside coughed them up, after sending them first to Sequoia for "redaction of trade secrets" and forcing EDA to pay a substantial amount for this "service."

As near as we can tell, instead of stripping out proprietary stuff of any sort, Sequoia simply committed vandalism:
http://studysequoia.wikispaces.com/

CO: Ballots will be kept past Nov. deadline
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A judge has issued an order requiring the city of Aspen to keep ballots from the May election past the November date when they otherwise would have been destroyed.

The ruling, issued Friday by District Court Judge James B. Boyd, granted a preliminary injunction sought by Marilyn Marks in her lawsuit against the city, which has the ultimate goal of forcing the city to release the ballots.
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/137091

GA: Ballot confusion: Candidates, issues, polling places vary in Nov. 3 voting
The Nov. 3 Douglas County election presents a variety of candidates and issues, and the ballots that voters receive depend upon their city or county locations.

This may cause confusion for some voters, Laurie Fulton, county election supervisor, confirmed Friday.

“Voters in city precincts must request both city and county ballots,” Fulton said. “Signs are posted at these locations showing the two separate voting places.”
http://www.times-georgian.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Ballot+confusion-+Candidates-+issues-+polling+places+vary+in+Nov-+3+voting%20&id=4038469-Ballot+confusion-+Candidates-+issues-+polling+places+vary+in+Nov-+3+voting&instance=west_ga_news

MN: Not-so-instant runoff voting
Results of the first IRV city election may not be in for weeks.
10/19/2009 Editorial Board. On Nov. 3, Minneapolis residents going to the polls will face a new voting system that lets voters rank their top three choices for each municipal office.
...
Fortunately, the city attorney has assured elections officials that they can use Microsoft Excel to help tally
http://www.mndaily.com/2009/10/19/not-so-instant-runoff-voting

MN: Joe Soucheray: Don't think IRV would be a mess? Just ask my friend Dave Thune!
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_13581415#

MN: New Way of Voting in Minneapolis
19 Oct 2009 MINNEAPOLIS - Two weeks from Tuesday, voters in Minneapolis will be making history with a new way of voting, called ranked choice voting. It is similar to a primary and general election all rolled into one.

And in the city's sixth ward in south Minneapolis, it's leading to some very interesting strategies and political alliances.

Councilman Robert Lilligren is not only running for reelection, he's also explaining a new way to vote.
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/New_Way_of_Voting_in_Minneapolis_oct_19_2009

NC: The Problems with Vote Centers
...Any jurisdictions considering Vote Centers must be warned that they run an increased risk for voting machine malfunction and error and an increased risk for fraud. Officials also must consider the impact on vulnerable populations when their neighborhood polling places are eliminated.
http://ncvoters.blogspot.com/2009/10/problems-with-vote-centers.html

NC: Elections official: Easley hearing not a trial
...Easley's campaign finances also are the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. In addition to his travel and use of vehicles, the grand jury is looking into his purchase of a waterfront lot in Carteret County at a below-market price, a high-paying job his wife landed at North Carolina State University, decisions by the state Division of Motor Vehicles that might have benefited a political contributor and the sale of a Southport marina to a group that included some political contributors.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/6248457/#

NJ: News groups fight ruling that bans exit polling near N.J. voting sites
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Six of the nation's largest news organizations filed a federal lawsuit yesterday challenging a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that bars them from conducting exit polls near voting sites
...
During the last three decades, 10 states, including Ohio, Florida and Nevada, have enacted laws to prevent exit polling within 100 feet of voting sites.

All 10 were struck down by federal judges.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1255735509286960.xml&coll=1

NY: 'They Tried to Steal an Election,' N.Y. Voter Fraud Case Heats Up * October 20, 2009. Thirty-eight forged or fraudulent ballots have been thrown out, according to records at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, N.Y. Enough votes, an election official admits, to likely have tipped the November election to the Democrats.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/20/tried-steal-election-ny-voter-fraud-case-heats/

OH: Issue 6 calls for special election, to cost the county $4 million
October 19, 2009. CLEVELAND, Ohio — If Issue 6 passes, it will cost Cuyahoga County an extra $4 million to stage a primary election next September to whittle down candidates for new county offices.
...
Jones criticized the extra election required for Issue 6.

"This is inexplicable why they would not have that primary at the same time as all the other primary elections," he said.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/10/issue_6_calls_for_special_elec.html


OH: Bill to improve Ohio elections hangs in the balance
Oct 20, 2009 - Despite being the product of months of review and discussion, a wide-ranging proposal to try to improve Ohio's elections hangs in the balance as the Ohio House and Senate struggle to work together.
...
The bill would shrink the state's early voting period but expand the number of sites in each county, simplify voter identification laws and try to reduce the number of provisional ballots cast.
http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-73/1255893380274440.xml&storylist=cleveland

PA: Voters to see double at the polls this fall
Voters who opt to use the eScan machines at their polling places will receive two sheets of paper instead of one.
...
"People are going to be encouraged to fill out all three sides and scan both sheets of paper in the scanners," Stehman said.
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/243632#

TN: Franklin voting machine pulled off-line after complaint in early voting *ES&S iVotronic Touch Screen machines
Early voting in city election will end Thursday

October 20, 2009 FRANKLIN — State and local officials say they're satisfied with remedies to separate complaints made by two supporters of Franklin aldermanic candidates in the city's upcoming elections.
...
Ward 3 voter Karen Carter complained to Beard and state election officials when she tried to vote for Alderman Mike Skinner on one of the electronic machines and said the machine displayed another candidate's name.

She eventually voted for Skinner using another machine. However, she and Beard disagree about the source of the problem.

Beard said she believes Carter inadvertently voted for another candidate on that machine, but Carter maintains the iVotronic machine is in error.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091020/COUNTY090101/910200308/-1/RSS05

TX: Called to Service: NSERL to Double as Polling Place (Vote Center)
Research Lab to Host University's First Ballot Station Amid Collin County Test
Oct. 20, 2009 On Nov. 3, during a statewide Special Election, registered Collin County voters may vote at any of the 57 designated polling places in the county. Just as early voting allows registered voters to cast ballots at any polling place before Election Day, the pilot program works in the same way for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 Special Election, at 57 different locations.
http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/20-001.php

WA: U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates Temporary Ban on Releasing Names on Petitions by Vote of 8-1
October 20th, 2009
On the afternoon of October 20, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 8-1 to forbid the Secretary of State of Washington from releasing the names and addresses of people who signed the R-71 Referendum petition. The dissenter is Justice John Paul Stevens.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/20/u-s-supreme-court-reinstates-temporary-ban-on-releasing-petitions-on-names-by-vote-of-8-1/

WA: Breaking News: Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit, Reimposes Stay in Washington Referendum Signer Case
...
The stay remains in effect until a petition for cert. is considered in timely fashion, with the result being that the information will not be disclosed until (at the least) after the election. That is somewhat problematic, not for formal mootness grounds, but because the interests in disclosure are different before and after the election.
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/014602.html

National

Wow! Diebold scanners are picky about ink colors on ballots (Diebold OSX) ...If you feed your carefully marked ballot through a scanner from Diebold sometimes it just “sees” a blank piece of paper. And you’ll never know when a Diebold scanner will fail to do its basic job of scanning for filled-in ovals on a sheet of paper. Sometimes it works just fine and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes your vote will count — and sometimes it just won’t...
http://votingmatters.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/wow-diebold-scanners-are-picky-about-ink-colors-on-ballots/

International

Afghanistan: Afghan election investigation released
The Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission released their report about their investigation of electoral fraud allegations in the recent Afghan presidential election. Their order is here. The first finding indicates the wide extent of the potential problems in the election: “the EEC has ordered the IEC to invalidate 210 polling stations around the country where the EEC found clear and convincing evidence of fraud.”
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=2925

Afghanistan: ‘We will not risk our lives to vote again’
Voting is a risky business in Afghanistan. During the period when Afghanis cast their ballots more than two months ago the Taliban launched grenade attacks at polling places. They also punished voters who sported the ink-stained finger that is proof of voting in Afghanistan by amputating that finger.
http://votingmatters.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/we-will-not-risk-our-lives-to-vote-again/#more-261

Afghan Leader Said to Accept Runoff After Election Audit
NY Times. KABUL, Afghanistan — Under heavy international pressure, President Hamid Karzai appears set to concede as early as Tuesday that he fell short of a first-round victory in the nation’s disputed presidential election, but the path to ensuring that the country has credible leadership remains uncertain, American and European officials said Monday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/world/asia/20afghan.html?_r=1&hp

Nigeria: Use local voting machines in 2011, association urges FG
Mr. Okon Essien, president, Association of Nigerian Inventors, has advised the federal government to consider the use of locally-invented voting machines for the 2011 general elections.
...
He said the use of locally made voting and monitoring instruments would ensure credibility, free and fair elections.

Essien said the machine did not need electricity to function but required only a 12-volt battery and could be operated anywhere by anybody.

He said that the era of spending millions of dollars printing ballot papers abroad and importing ballot boxes was over as the system would not require ballot papers.
http://www.triumphnewspapers.com/use19102009.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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Calls for Open Source voting systems, Diebold OSX WARNING, Afghanistan election disaster

SOS project call on Sen Schumer for Open Source voting machines... Pre-Election Diebold Op-Scan Failure in FL; 'Reform' or Legislative Obscenity? - WARNING on Diebold OSX optical scanner...California considers how to regulate electronic campaigning...DOJ spikes Georgia voter voter registration matching/citizenship checks again...Washington State OP: "Ballot secrecy is being eroded."...Afghanistan: anatomy of an election disaster...Estonia automatically registers voters at 18 but also issues national ID, the latter controversial in the US...India goes to polls and 18 killed in violence, candidate alleges that e-voting machines were rigged...



All of that and more in today's Voting News below...

CA: State watchdogs consider regulating campaigns’ electronic messages
October 19, 2009 Between tweeting, YouTube videos and text messaging, the age of the Internet means political candidates now rely on more than snail mail to reach voters, and California's ethics watchdog agency is responding to the changing times.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/state-watchdogs-consider-regulating-campaigns-electronic-messages.html


CT: The Day: New London has problem with math
October 19, 2009 New London has problem with math...Actually it is more a problem of complexity and communications:
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2468

D.C: Voting Plan Could Be Attached To Defense Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) A plan to give D.C. residents a voting member of Congress could be attached to a defense funding bill.
http://wjz.com/local/DC.voting.plan.2.1253234.html

FL: Pre-Election Diebold Op-Scan Failure in FL; 'Reform' or Legislative Obsenity?...
Diebold's Optical-Scan System FAILS in Sarasota, FL
County election director Kathy Dent's 'solution' as bad or worse than the actual problem...as usual...
...
Today, it's our old friends in Sarasota, under the continuing and now-legendarily failed direction of Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent and her latest failed voting system, this one an optical-scan system made by Diebold, featured in the Charlotte Sun's "Scanning glitch in vote machine test":
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7472

FL: Scanning glitch in vote machine test * Premier’s OSX can't read blue ink (Premier Release 1.20.2, Version 1 Gems 1.20.2 Accuvote OSX)
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/pnnews.aspx?NewsID=70156&a=newsarchive3/101709/vn1.htm&pnpg=0

FL: Sarasota's Diebold scanners flunk test, fail to read blue ink on ballots *
Saturday, October 17, 2009 VOTING NEWS BLOG
WARNING: Voters in jurisdictions that use the newer Diebold/Premier optical scanners OSX with 1.0.2 firmware should use black ink to mark their ballots. The machines may not read markings made with blue ink. The OSC also has trouble reading markings by a number 2 pencil according to other reports. This is an intermittent problem.
http://votingnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/sarasotas-diebold-scanners-flunk-test.html

GA: Voting Checks Rejected Again
ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice has rejected Georgia’s voter verification process for the second time. Last May, the DOJ ruled the process has "a discriminatory effect" on minority voters.
http://www.gpb.org/news/2009/10/16/ga-voting-checks-rejected-again

GA: DOJ spikes Ga. voter citizenship checks again
ATLANTA -- The U.S. Department of Justice has for the second time rejected Georgia's system of using Social Security numbers and driver's license data to check whether prospective voters are citizens.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/ga/story/875653.html

IN: State voter ID law could go before Supreme Court
October 16, 2009 A The question of whether Indiana can require voters to show government-issued ID could be headed to the state Supreme Court.

State Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a petition to bring it before the high court Friday, after the Indiana Court of Appeals declared the state’s voter ID law unconstitutional last month.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091016/NEWS05/91016041/

State+voter+ID+law+could+go+before+Supreme+Court

or use this tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/yjnyexu


MA: Quincy investigating complaint about officer on election day
Oct 17, 2009, QUINCY - The police department is investigating complaints that a Quincy police officer violated the law by wearing a T-shirt supporting Mayor Thomas Koch’s election opponent at a polling station during the Sept. 22 preliminary
...
State law prohibits campaign paraphernalia within 150 feet of a polling place.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/quincy/news/police_and_fire/x824164610/Quincy-investigating-complaint-about-officer-on-election-day

MN: Minneapolis to educate baffled voters about Instant Runoff Voting
Oct. 19 2009
In the dark about how this Instant Runoff Voting jive actually works? Unsure what Instant Runoff Voting even means? Fret not. The city of Minneapolis has got you covered.
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/10/mpls_to_educate.php

NC: Kids Voting needs volunteers on Election Day
October 19, 2009 ASHEVILLE — Kids Voting Buncombe County, a nonpartisan nonprofit that gives children a hands-on civics lesson every Election Day, needs community volunteers to serve as precinct captains, poll staffers and vote counters on Nov. 3.

The Kids Voting program, a nationwide effort, encourages parents to bring their children along to polling stations, where they can fill out ballots identical to their parents’.
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091019/NEWS01/910190310

OH: Caller poses as worker: Elections director files complaint with Secretary of State's office *
October 17, 2009 LORAIN — Someone posing as a Lorain County Board of Elections worker called a voter about absentee ballots, prompting elections Director Jose Candelario to contact the Ohio Secretary of State's office.

Candelario said he knows the caller was not an elections worker because the voter who was called is employed by the board of elections
http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/10/17/news/mj1764247.txt

PA: Election ballot can’t be updated for change
This is the second time this year that a candidate can’t be removed from ballot.
WILKES-BARRE – Assuming Allen Bellas resigns from the Wyoming Valley West School Board and is ineligible to hold office if re-elected Nov. 3, he will be the second school official this year who shouldn’t have appeared on the ballot but could not be removed because of the timing of charges against him. Can changes be made to keep it from happening in the future?
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Election_ballot_can_rsquo_t_be_updated_for_change_10-18-2009.html

VA: BALLOTS MUST BE COUNTED! Mil & overseas citizen voting rights UPHELD - little ink given to big story http://ow.ly/v2B1 & http://ow.ly/v2Bq


VA:Va. Violated voting rights, Judge rules a second time
Oct 19, 2009 - A federal judge in Richmond has ruled for the second time that Virginia violated the voting rights of American military personnel and overseas citizens by failing to mail absentee ballots in sufficient time for them to be counted in last year's presidential election
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/VOTE17_20091016-222406/299882/

WA: Ballot secrecy is being eroded
...
The onset of electronic voting machines, while helpful for charting voter accountability and fighting voting fraud, brought into question the sincerity of the “secret ballot.”

Then there was the period where voters were forced to declare a party, also a threat to the concept of the “secret ballot.”
...
The mandatory mail-in ballot is a threat to the secret ballot concept of our American democracy, and so is publishing names of petition signers.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091019/OPINION02/710199841

National

Justice Kennedy Tells Washington State Not to Release Names and Addresses on Petition Yet
October 19th, 2009
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/19/justice-kennedy-tells-washington-state-not-to-release-names-and-addresses-on-petition-yet/

Sandra Day O’Connor Participates in 9th circuit Oral Argument in Voting Rights Case
October 19th, 2009
On October 19, the 9th circuit held oral arguments in Coronado v Brewer, 08-17567. The main issue is whether the 24th Amendment requires Arizona to let ex-felons register to vote, even if that ex-felon owes restitution or fines.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/19/sandra-day-oconnor-participates-in-9th-circuit-oral-argument-in-voting-rights-case/

Demand Open Source Voting Machines
Secretary of State Project. (Take Action)
This just in - Senator Chuck Schumer announced that the Senate Rules and Administration Committee will be investigating the Diebold/ES&S sale, signaling that election reform is a possibility if we demand it now!

We have Senator Schumer's attention - now is the time to tell the committee to make the open source voting machine software a focus of its investigation of the Diebold / ES&S deal.
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1356/t/5231/content.jsp?content_KEY=2913

Tweet this: http://twitter.com/?status=@ChuckSchumer:+I+want+open+source+voting+machines!+SIGN:+http://bit.ly/4nG6zx+%28h/t+@sosproject%29

Electoral Laws and Turnout: 1972-2008
This paper examines the impact of electoral laws on turnout in elections. The authors find that by aggregating turnout among different demographic groups, they can estimate the impact of electoral reforms over time.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1443556

International

Afghanistan: anatomy of an election disaster
It was, everybody agrees, a tawdry and inept attempt to rig an election. But are we in the west as much to blame as anyone?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/20/afghanistan-election

Estonia E-Voting — Voter Registration
We had a great discussion with various people in Estonia about the country’s voter registration system. In Estonia, when you turn 18, you are automatically registered to vote at your address at that time. In addition, the person obtains a national identification card that has both a photo identification component and a digital signature.
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=2924

India: Third Front's candidate to take EVM matter to court
Aurangabad, Oct 17 (PTI) Alleging manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Republican Left Democratic Committee (RLDC) candidate from Latur City Assembly Constituency said today that he will take the matter to court.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/335856_Third-Front-s-candidate-to-take-EVM-matter-to-court

India goes to polls and 18 killed in violence
October 17, 2009 , Posted by Actress and Models at 6:47 AM
The first phase of Indian parliamentary elections yesterday was marred by Naxalite violence in four states killing 18 people, including five polling officials and 10 security personnel, and it witnessed a voter turnout of 60 percent.

A landmine set up by Naxals destroyed a bus carrying Border Security Force personnel in Jharkhand state killing seven of them and two civilians.
http://portugal-actress.blogspot.com/2009/10/news-india-goes-to-polls-and-18-killed.html

Switzerland: E-voting makes slow but sure progress
October 18, 2009. Sixteen cantons want to make e-voting possible, but the path to implementation is complex and time-consuming because of Switzerland's federal structure.

"It will be decades before internet voting becomes nationwide and at all levels. E-voting cannot be compared with e-banking," Hans-Urs Wili, head of a federal electronic voting project, told swissinfo.ch.
...
Basel City will introduce online voting for the anti-minaret initiative on November 29 and Zurich will launch e-voting for non-residents in a pilot in 13 communes from June next year.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/E_voting_makes_slow_but_sure_progress.html?siteSect=105&sid=11357408&cKey=1255883148000&ty=st


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to receive the Voting News by email by visiting this link:
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=============================================
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Sarasota's Diebold scanners flunk test, fail to read blue ink on ballots

WARNING: Voters in jurisdictions that use the newer Diebold/Premier optical scanners OSX with 1.0.2 firmware should use black ink to mark their ballots. The machines may not read markings made with blue ink. The OSX also has trouble reading markings by a number 2 pencil according to other reports. This is an intermittent problem.

In the logic and accuracy testing of Premier Optical Scanners, which will be used in Sarasota elections beginning October 19th, test ballots were run with blue marking of ovals. The result was an under vote in races where blue ink was used to fully fill out voting ovals. The machine tested was the Diebold/Premier AccuVote OSX Digital Scan Tabulator (Hardware Model A) with Firmware 1.0.2 .

Scanning glitch in vote machine test Saturday, October 17, 2009
A voting machine test this week didn't go off without a hitch.

A handful of individuals were on hand this week at the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office where Supervisor Kathy Dent and staff tested 16 ballot scanners that will be used in the Nov. 3 city council election.

In one test a ballot with both blue and black ink was unable to be scanned. Officials pulled that scanner from service and substituted another. It didn't work either.
...
"One big factor is this is an intermittent problem," Parish said. "Until the defect in the pickup of votes is discovered and fixed and then tested to stress levels, you will not have a solution. To do that the state needs to go after the problem and get it fixed."

According to the SOS website, the machine tested, is the AccuVote OSX Digital Scan Tabulator (Hardware Model A) with Firmware 1.0.2 (WCER7-500.3.1, BLR7-1.3.9)

The following counties are listed by the FL SOS website as having the Premier AccuVote OSX model optical scan machine :

HILLSBOROUGH*, LEON, LEVY, MADISON, MONROE, OKALOOSA (some), OKEECHOBEE, OSCEOLA, PUTNAM, SARASOTA*, SEMINOLE, TAYLOR,VOLUSIA, AND WALTON. Only Hillsborough and Sarasota use the Premier/Diebold OSX exclusively for in person and absentee.

Another snafu in the making? Sarasota Florida is challenged once again with a flawed system under the leadership of Election Supervisor Kathy Dent. This is same Kathy Dent who presided over the Sarasota FL 13 2006 Jennings/Buchanan Race election debacle. Sarasota suffered a shocking 18,000 under votes causing doubt of the election outcome, and resulted in investigations, lawsuits and national embarrassment

The debacle might have been avoidable: Kathy Dent failed to heed the warning letter that the voting vendor sent August 15th. ES&S warned of a problem with the touch-screen smoothing filter that could cause voters to under vote. The letter urged Dent:

"train your poll workers and voters to expect this slightly delayed response time for their highlighted selections. We have included with this mailing a sample voting booth instruction sign for your review and use."

But Kathy Dent did not put the signs up in polling booths. During that same election, there was a initiative on the ballot to get rid of the paperless touch-screens and replace them with paper ballot based systems.

The GAO concluded somehow that the touchscreens were not to blame. (In spite of the fact that the vendor felt it necessary to warn officials of potential undervotes on the systems). Factors including ballot design and the voters. of course, were left holding the blame.

Does your state use the Diebold OSX? If so, have extensive tests been run on it to check scanning ability for various types and colors of ink?

No new voting systems should be certified and or sold until testing is sufficent to protect the public from voting systems that aren't ready for prime time.


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to receive the Voting News by email by visiting this link:
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Florida hogs HAVA $ that counties need, Virginia violated overseas voters rights, Aghanistan runoff?

Interview with Dr. Ulrich Wiesner who won Germany lawsuit claiming E-Voting unconstitutional...Colorado mail elections raise issue of electioneering at the post office...Show us the money, SOS Browning: Florida State earns interest on $67 million in HAVA funds while counties like Bradford and Miami Dade can't afford new paper ballot systems...Judge Says Virginia Violated Rights of Overseas Voters...Afghans Await Election Fraud Report and there may be a runoff election...Are you checking twitter for election news?...Voting news is light today...Remember you can visit Voting News on the web...Did we miss something? Send to us at ncvoter (at) gmail.com

All of that and more in today's Voting News below...


CA: (Tweet) smcvote San Mateo County on Twitter: Hopefully you've already started following the Elections Office on Twitter at @smcvote.. http://bit.ly/35284A

CO: Mail-in vote blurs the lines
Steamboat Springs, Routt County. Postal Service spokesman: Campaigning at post office illegal Routt County’s first mail-only election is forcing elections and Postal Service officials to take a closer look at election law and oversight
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/oct/16/mail_vote_blurs_lines/

CT: Volunteer 1 Day For Democracy: Sign-Up for the November Post-Election Audits Now!
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2460

FL: Supervisors want extension on new voting machine purchases
October 16, 2009. Bradford Supervisor of Elections Terry Vaughan is joining other elections supervisors in the state by calling for an extension of the deadline to have new voting equipment in place for the disabled.
The requirement grew out of the move to make all ballots paper ballots, which is in itself an outgrowth of the mistrust many have of all-digital voting systems.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20379808&BRD=2150&PAG=461&dept_id=403301&rfi=6

FL. Miami Dade may have to fork over $7 million next year for voting systems
(REPOST)...County commissioners voted Tuesday to urge the Legislature to extend its deadline to 2016 ­ unless the state agrees to pay for the new equipment it's requiring...commissioners lashed out at the state for not only requiring new equipment without paying for it, but also for holding on to federal money passed to the state years ago to reimburse localities for past equipment switches.
The state still has $67 million "that in our opinion belongs to the counties," Mr. Sola said.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/12625 archived (original link requires subscription )

MO: Voting Rights Groups Set Record Straight on Lawsuit Targeted by State Republican Party FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2009
...Today the voting rights organizations Dēmos, Project Vote, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following joint statement in response:

As organizations with a longstanding commitment to protecting the voting rights of all Americans, we are disappointed that the Missouri Republican State Committee has created an ad and website that seek to use the vital issue of voting rights for political gain...
...
Through this lawsuit and the settlement, Missouri is once again becoming a leader in this area after years of neglect by previous administrations, with some 147,000 low-income Missourians joining the democratic process...
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/newsroom/press_releases?id=0048

NC: Candidates fear voter registration may skew election results
October 16, 2009. There is concern circulating that people who don't live on Wrightsville Beach are voting on Wrightsville Beach.
That's the issue currently being debated between three Wrightsville Beach candidates and the New Hanover County Board of Elections office.
http://www.luminanews.com/article.asp?aid=5198&iid=188&sud=30

Watts, Bartlett protest election
Complaints may affect voting for runoffs
October 15, 2009. Two unsuccessful city council candidates have formally challenged the outcome of the Oct. 6 election in Elizabeth City’s 4th Ward, charging the results were tainted by “unqualified or fraudulent voters” casting ballots and by “false and inflammatory remarks” spread to specific voters prior to the election.
http://www.dailyadvance.com/news/watts-bartlett-protest-election-901869.html

NJ: Heart of reform is in drawing political maps, not finance, some say
...A Senate committee held a public hearing on redistricting this week in Carbondale, the group’s fourth since July. The General Assembly will either draw new lines in 2012 or leave the process up to a computer and independent commission, as some suggest
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=142273

VA: Judge Says Virginia Violated Rights of Overseas Voters *
Virginia’s state government violated the rights of overseas voters by failing to mail out their absentee ballots at least 30 days before the 2008 election, a federal judge ruled yesterday.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/10/judge-says-virginia-violated-rights-of-overseas-voters-.html

VA: Federal Court Tells Virginia to Count Some More Ballots from November 2008 *
October 16th, 2009
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/16/federal-court-tells-virginia-to-count-some-more-ballots-from-november-2008/

VA: New law can help troops vote, but is it enough?
Members of the armed services currently stationed out of state can receive absentee ballots via e-mail for the first time in the upcoming election.

The change in state law was sponsored by Del. Paula Miller, D- Norfolk. Previously, service members had to be stationed outside the continental United States.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_absentee_1016oct16,0,7524009.story

National

National Conference of State Legislatures Posts Chart on 2010 Primary Dates
October 16th, 2009
The National Conference of State Legislatures’ web page has this chart, showing 2010 primary dates in each state.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/16/national-conference-of-state-legislatures-posts-chart-on-2010-primary-dates/

Acorn’s Woes Strain Its Ties to Democrats
October 15, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/us/politics/16acorn.html?_r=1

electionlineWeekly--October 15, 2009
Oct 16, 2009 - EAC addresses accessible voting challenges, opportunities
$5M initiative will support research and technology
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=55459


International

Afghanistan: Afghans Await Election Fraud Report
Afghans are awaiting the imminent release of a report by a United Nations-backed panel, which could lead to a run-off presidential vote.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-16-voa9.cfm

Estonia: Election Audits
I had an interesting conversation this morning with some private sector auditors here in Estonia. One interesting part of the discussion was a bit of a hypothetical–how would they audit election day voting?
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=2923

Germany: An Interview with Dr. Ulrich Wiesner (Dr. Wiesner Filed a Lawsuit in Germany Claiming E-Voting Unconstitutional AND WON
...When did secrecy take precedence over transparency in the counting of our votes in America through the use of electronic voting systems and, more importantly, why? What the majority of Americans have NOT heard about, but most election reform advocates are already aware of,isthe German Constitutional Court's recent decision to ban electronic voting in Germany by ruling it “unconstitutional.”
http://www.opednews.com/articles/An-Interview-with-Dr-Ulri-by-Kathleen-Wynne-091015-701.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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FVAP: unsecure means ok for troop vote, Scientists blast approval of faulty voting systems, Citizens assail GA Supreme Court ruling

October 15. Who will stand up for our troops vote? Soldiers to Choose Risking Democracy on Electronic Voting - FVAP says ok for troops send ballots by "unsecure electronic means" as long as its voluntary...CA Computer Scientists Charge U.S. EAC Misused Security Findings from Landmark E-Voting Study...Citizens Assail GA Supreme Court Voting Decision...Applause: NC State Board of Elections asks DOD to become voter registration agency...Guilty pleas in Atlantic City NJ absentee ballot fraud...Clermont County OH says vote by mail or you might get swine flu...Real cause of low turnout: lack of issues, disconnect with voters...
Irony warning: Tennessee SOS Tres Hargett says state can comply with voting machine law by 2010 if court orders him to...Ireland finally planning disposal of its banned e-voting machines...Plenty of internet voting whack-a-mole today...

All of that and more in today's Voting News below..

AK: Recount scheduled in North Pole mayor race
October 15, 2009 NORTH POLE, Alaska (AP) - North Pole City Clerk Kathy Weber says the city will conduct a recount in the mayor's race.
...
Jacobson tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that an election worker told him the city's voting machine malfunctioned on Election Day.
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=11317627

CA: CA Computer Scientists Charge U.S. EAC Misused Security Findings from Landmark E-Voting Study
In letter to federal Election Assistance Commission, investigators from CA's unprecedented e-vote review blast the approval of flawed protocols in certification tests for new Diebold e-voting system...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7470

CA: (Tweet)smcvote Can you increase turnout using emails & texts from a Chief Elections Officer-Drs. Michaelson/CSU East Bay & Malhotra/Stanford will find out.
(No link just go to www.twitter.com type in smcvote)

GA: Citizens Assail GA Supreme Court Voting Decision
October 15, 2009 Press Release
...Plaintiff Mark Sawyer stated: “This decision authorizes the Secretary of State to continue pretending to conduct elections. Not one of the 100+ million actual votes that have been cast on Election Day since 2002 can be audited for correctness of vote recording. No state election official can prove that any election result ever produced by these machines is correct.”
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Citizens-Assail-GA-Supreme-by-Garland-Favorito-091015-216.html

IA: Recount Board Verifies Results of Davenport Third Ward Primary
...The following process was used to recount the votes in each precinct.

Each board member reviewed each ballot and agreed on the candidate for which the ballot was cast. As the board reviewed each ballot the ballots were separated by candidates. After all ballots had been reviewed for a particular precinct each board member hand counted the results. Each board member then publically stated the vote total for each candidate.
http://scottcountyauditor.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/recount-board-verifies-results-of-davenport-third-ward-primary/

MD: Maryland Delegate plans revision to state law allowing felons to vote
October 14 ...Once introduced, Impallaria’s bill will require ex-convicts to register with the State Board of Elections as a “restored voting rights felon,” and the felon will only be permitted to vote by absentee ballot.
http://www.examiner.com/x-9913-Maryland-Statehouse-Examiner~y2009m10d14-Maryland-Delegate-plans-revision-to-state-law-allowing-felons-to-vote

MI: Michigan considers e-mailing absentee ballots overseas
House bill would allow U.S. military, others out of the country more time to cast votes
Lansing -- Chances of getting their votes counted are so slim for U.S. military personnel overseas, many servicemen and women don't bother to vote, according to testimony today on a bill to allow e-ballots in the state
http://www.detnews.com/article/20091015/POLITICS02/910150406/1024/POLITICS03/Michigan-considers-e-mailing-absentee-ballots-overseas

NC: Soldiers to Choose Risking Democracy on Electronic Voting
In a letter to the NC State Board of Elections, the Federal Voting Assistance Program has recommended that individual soldiers be left to determine the viability of returning their votes by email.
...
We see some problems with this.
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2451

NC: FVAP recommends 4 changes to NC law to help overseas military voters Four good ideas, one really bad one. The Federal Voting Assistance Program also endorses having troops send voted ballots by "unsecure electronic means" as long as the troops volunteer.
...
FVAP recommendations are in this letter dated Oct 7. See excerpts below, and note that short term FVAP oks troops sending votes unsecured online, as volunteers, and long term goal is to transmit voted ballots electronically :
http://ncvoters.blogspot.com/2009/10/fvap-recommends-4-changes-to-nc-law-to.html

NC: Letter to DOD, help us help troops vote says North Carolina State Board of Elections
Our overseas troops need help voting, and the North Carolina State Board of Elections is seeking options.
...
"I request that the Department of Defense, in its operation of military pay/personnel offices in North Carolina, agree to be designated as a voter registration agency."
http://ncvoters.blogspot.com/2009/10/letter-to-dod-help-us-help-troops-vote.html

NJ: Will vote fraud guilty pleas and court dates of AC Dems affect Corzine’s GOTV efforts? *
October 14, 2009 Ronald Harris of Atlantic City, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy in an absentee-ballot fraud case. He was among 13 people charged with engaging in ballot fraud on behalf of City Councilman Marty Small’s mayoral campaign, including David Callaway and Small himself.
http://www.electionjournal.org/2009/10/14/will-vote-fraud-guilty-pleas-and-court-dates-of-ac-dems-affect-corzines-gotv-efforts/

OH: Board: Vote early - to avoid H1N1
October 14, 2009 One local election board is urging people to vote early - to avoid H1N1...Clermont County elections director Judy Miller wants more people to vote by mail rather than in person to cut down on the spread of illness, particularly the H1N1 flu.
http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20091014/NEWS01/910150305

OH: Double check ballot requests: Absentee voters can only obtain them by going through Board of Elections
October 15, 2009...paid solicitors who call homes trying to get voters to support their issues told them they would be added to a list of people who requested an absentee ballot. Candelario said voters will only receive absentee ballots directly requested from the Board of Elections, not an outside third party.
http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/10/15/news/mj1754598.txt

OH: Summit elections board chairman tells Brunner he won't quit
Oct 14, 2009 Summit County elections board chairman Jack Morrison Jr. is refusing Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's request that he resign because of his convictions on ethics charges.
...
Morrison told Brunner she doesn't have the authority to remove him from the board without a formal complaint and a hearing.
http://www.ohio.com/news/64305042.html

TN: Fair elections top Hargett's list
Tennessee secretary of state speaks to Rotary Club Secretary of State Tre Hargett said he's convinced he has the best job in government.
...
Whatever legislators and courts decide to do with the voter equipment standards, Hargett said the division of elections will be prepared
http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20091015/NEWS01/910150305/Fair+elections+top+Hargett+s+list

TN: Tre Hargett’s Christmas Present
October 14, 2009. The war on fair elections comes earlier and earlier every year. Secretary of State Tre Hargett got a shiny new present for Christmas and the voters of Bedford, Lincoln, and Rutherford counties got lumps of coal.
...
Secretary of State Hargett knows that 93 out of 95 counties cast votes on these machines and yet he continues to want us to use them in election after election. Why, as the guardian of our democratic process, doesn’t he want to fix our broken election system?
http://www.liberadio.com/2009/10/14/tre-hargetts-christmas-present/

TN: Facts About Voting Machine Technology from the National Association of Secretaries of State
October 15. According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, jurisdictions in 49 states use the kinds of voting technology that Tre Hargett says we cannot use.
http://www.liberadio.com/2009/10/15/facts-about-voting-machine-technology-from-the-national-association-of-secretaries-of-state/

Prevent Election Fiascoes in Tennessee – Enact Paper Ballot Law Now
August 11, 2009
A perfect storm is brewing for Tennessee voters for the 2010 election
...Unless the Secretary of State Hargett takes swift and certain prompt action, thousands of votes will be at risk in the 2010 election.
http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/tag/electronic-voting-machines/

WA: Pierce charter amendment supporters, opponents squabble over campaign cash
Posted By David Wickert on October 15
Supporters and opponents of three proposed Pierce County charter amendments have been trading jabs recently.
Alex Hays, president of the Pierce County Better Government League, which supports the three amendments, has accused opponents of accepting “secret campaign cash” from an out-of-state group.
http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2009/10/15/pierce-charter-amendemnt-supporters-opponents-squabble-over-campaign-cash/

International

Canada (Durham, Ontario): Clarington voters may cast ballot online in 2010
Voters may have the option of traditional or Internet voting, and election signs may only be placed on Regional roads, if council follows two staff recommendations on how to run the 2010 municipal election.
http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/article/137648

Estonia: Almost 10% of Estonian voters cast their votes electronically
Oct 14...Estonian electronic voting is possible thanks to the ID-cards which bear an electronic microchip. People who want to vote electronically – i.e. without leaving their computers – have to stick the card into a smartcard reader, type in their secret PIN for authentication, make a selection in their constituency, and then confirm the vote with another secret PIN for signing. ID-cards cannot be used for voting – or any other such activity – without those PINs.
http://www.empirechronicles.co.uk/2009/10/14/almost-10-of-estonian-voters-cast-their-votes-electronically

India: Lack of issues, disconnect with voters cause for low turnout
PUNE: A lack of issues and an apparent disconnect between voters and candidates have been cited by political and social experts as some of the main
factors behinds large-scale apathy towards voting among urban residents
...
He added that voters can now choose the None Of The Above' (NOTA) option, though not many are aware of it. "If the NOTA option is included in the electronic voting machines themselves, voter turnout will be higher,"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Lack-of-issues-disconnect-with-voters-cause-for-low-turnout-/articleshow/5125288.cms

Ireland: Group plans disposal of e-voting machines
A GOVERNMENT task force is trying to decide how to dispose of electronic voting machines, following the scrapping of the scheme which cost over €51 million to develop, the Dáil was told.
...
Storage costs last year amounted to €204,000, lower than those for previous years, said Mr Gormley. Costs for the years 2004 to 2007 were €658,000, €696,000, €706,000 and €489,000 respectively.
...
“This was factored into the analysis and informed the decision to end the electronic voting project.’’
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1015/1224256691641.html


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to receive the Voting News by email by visiting this link:
http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=VotingNews&loc=en_US
email comments, questions us at ncvoter (at) gmail.com

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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:
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