'Dan Rather Reports' new investigative report on E-Voting Tues Oct. 26th @ 8pm...Tech-Savvy College Students wanted as Poll Workers..Early voting by itself depresses the vote?...Texas E-Voting Suit Reveals Frailties of the Ballot Box..CNN asks Does Your Vote Count?.. Vote flipping: "This is a known class of problems with touch screen voting machines." ~ Alex Halderman, computer scientist @ U. of Michigan...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Find us on internet at http://votingnews.blogspot.com
CA: Bowen defends cautious approach to elections technology*
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/25/3128929/bowen-defends-cautious-approach.html
Bowen also warns against jumping headfirst into online or mobile voter registration without certainty that signatures sent electronically could be verified against handwritten signatures on initiative petitions or vote-by-mail ballots.
CO: Daily News endorsements: Do away with IRV
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/columnist/143275
DC: Adrian Fenty Volunteers Are Handing Out Rubber Stamps to Facilitate Write-in Votes http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/25/adrian-fenty-volunteers-are-handing-out-rubber-stamps-to-facilitate-write-in-votes/
FL: Sarasota Democratic chair calls early vote glitch ‘voter suppression’ (Sarasota)
http://floridaindependent.com/11485/sarasota-democratic-chair-calls-early-vote-glitch-voter-suppression ...Ferrandino can’t say how many at the rally actually attempted to vote, but says that “mysteriously, the computers went down right when the voters went in.”
FL: Machine glitch delays early voting after Meek rally (Sarasota)
http://floridaindependent.com/11442/machine-glitch-delays-early-voting-after-kendrick-meek-rally Dent says the library lost “connectivity” with her office, meaning poll workers couldn’t look up voters’ information to provide them with their correct precinct ballots...Dent says, adding that as far as she knows, “everybody was able to vote” by 4:50 p.m., 40 minutes after the original failure.
IL: Green Party to discuss botched ballots at Monday event
www.detnews.com/article/20101024/POLITICS02/10240320/1409/METRO08
Detroit - The Green Party plans to take advantage Monday of a mistake that left off the November ballot two of its candidates for Wayne County Commission.
...
The county notified local and state officials of the error and new ballots are to be printed and mailed to every absentee voter in the 5th and 6th districts, including those who already mailed in their completed ballots. If a new ballot isn't returned, clerks will count the first ballot, said West, who wasn't certain how much the new printing and mailing will cost.
IL: Cook County Clerk: Voter Fraud Fears 'Totally Blown Out Of Whack'
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/cook_county_clerk_voter_
fraud_fears_totally_blown.php http://tinyurl.com/33p4ybm
IL: Illinois GOP seeks to block DOJ consent decree
http://electionlawcenter.com/2010/10/22/illinois-gop-seeks-to-block-doj-consent-decree.aspx?ref=rss They want more than a one day extension of the deadline in Illinois.
IN: Randolph County to be reimbursed for first electronic voting machines
http://www.winchesternewsgazette.com/articles/2010/10/25/news/doc4c
c5a4bd584e4826819484.txt http://tinyurl.com/3y7fyse
Randolph is one of four Indiana counties to purchase electronic voting machines from Voting Technologies International (VTI) which closed its doors in 2007, leaving its customers without software updates or technical guidance.(Also Boone, Cass & Parke)
MA: Report faults voter registration system
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1273025804/Report-faults-voter-registration-system More than 2 million eligible voters will stay home next Tuesday, with some skipping the election because voter registration is inconvenient and outdated, according to a MassVOTE report disputed by the state’s top elections official
NC: Voting Machine Demonstration For Skeptical Voters
http://www.wcti12.com/news/25508020/detail.html
Republican Party Chairman Chuck Tyson says he would like to see the county go back to paper ballots for early voting. Democrat Party Chairman Rachel Parnell believes the problems have been solved and sees no problem with the machines.
ND: Judge orders reservation polling sites open
http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/121781/
A federal judge has ruled that Benson County must open two polling sites on the Spirit Lake reservation for the Nov. 2 election.
...
“It’s my view that no one in our state should be making it harder for people to vote,” Dorgan added. “I support voting by mail, but it should not be a reason to shut down polling locations on Election Day..."
NV: Tea Party ballot mistake could throw small wrench in election
http://www.rgj.com/article/20101024/NEWS19/10240338/1321/news
In the newsprint portion of the voter's guide, the party abbreviation for Tea Party of Nevada candidate Scott Ashjian is erroneously listed as TPA. But the Tea Party of Nevada is correctly listed as TPN on the sample ballot itself..
OH: Cast ballot early for election, free ride to polls on Election Day
http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=530315
OR: Ore. parties send attorneys to watch vote count
http://www.katu.com/news/politics/105592288.html
OR: About 1,000 NE PDX voters receive wrong ballot* (NE Portland, Multnomah Co)
http://northeastportland.katu.com/content/about-1000-ne-pdx-voters-receive-wrong-ballot Scott said if people vote with the wrong ballot, those ballots will be flagged. He said the county will wait to see if the second, correct ballot eventually comes in. If not, they’ll count every vote they can from the first ballot.
PA: Behind the Scenes of DOJ’s Black Panther Case
http://volokh.com/2010/10/24/behind-the-scenes-of-dojs-black-panther-case/
TX: E-Voting Suit Reveals Frailties of the Ballot Box
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/texas-political-news/e-voting-suit-reveals-frailties-of-the-ballot-box/
Without a way to independently audit votes, DRE systems are especially vulnerable to malfunction or tampering, according to Rice University professor Dan Wallach,
TX: The Future of Voting in Travis County
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/10914/the-future-of-voting-in-travis-county
[See the report that led to Travis Co report recommending switch to optical scan)
TX: Electric touch screen glitch caught on tape* (podcast available)
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/10/25/am-electric-touch-screen-glitch-caught-on-tape/ When Don Relyea, a Dallas area computer programmer, attempted to vote on an electronic touch screen machine, he got a bit of a surprise. The machine changed his vote.
...
However, Alex Halderman, a computer scientist at the University of Michigan who has spent years studying voting machines, was surprised by Sherbert's reaction. "This is a known class of problems with touch screen voting machines."
TX: Ector Co. Election Officials Address Voting Issue
http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=22126 It’s a problem that could derail the $68.5 Million Odessa College Bond Election and it has election officials taking action.
...
"There have been a few concerns saying that they didn't think they voted on it or they just missed it", says Ector County Elections Administrator, Mitzi Scheible.
TX: Voting snafus can be avoided* (wrong ballot issued in super precincts)
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/185834
Montgomery isn’t the first — and likely not the last — voter to get the wrong ballot during an election in Galveston County. While there are lots of advantages to the county’s super precinct system used during early voting, the possibility of a voter being given the wrong ballot is there.
US Virgin Islands: Testing on voting machines begins
http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/testing-on-voting-machines-begins-1.1053752
The Shouptronic voting machines used in the Virgin Islands were build in 1984 and have no way to be connected to the internet or accessed remotely.
WA: Ballots go missing in Franklin County
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/10/22/1392236/ballots-go-missing-in-franklin.html
Auditor Zona Lenhart said the office hasn't determined yet if the ballots went missing at the printer or during the mailing process.
WA: 2010 General Election: Live video feed from Ballot Opening Area
http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/aboutus/webcam.aspx
Internet Voting Watch
US. Analysis: Professor exposes more voting system flaws
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/25/voting.system.flaws/index.html
"While we were in control of these systems we observed other attack attempts originating from computers in Iran and China. These attackers were attempting to guess the same master password that we did. And since it was only four letters long, they would likely have soon succeeded."
Canada: Voting glitch in Port Hope*
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2806669
PORT HOPE - ...there was a 25-minute period during which people weren't able to electronically vote Tuesday morning.
A problem with a server controlled by the firm that looks after the software and voting program for the town, Dominion Voting, is cited as the culprit.
...
She said people voting at the time would not have their vote counted but would if they tried later.
National
Trailer: HDNet's 'Dan Rather Reports' to Run Another Investigative Report on E-Voting Tuesday http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8145 The premiere showing will be Tuesday, Oct. 26th @ 8pm (video)
CNN: Does Your Vote Count? (video)
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/25/does-your-vote-count/ After Florida's hanging chad fiasco in the 2000 Presidential Election, you think we would have gotten it right by now. Think again
OFFER TO DONATE AN "ELECTION INCIDENTS HOTSHEET" (Press release)
http://ballot-integrity.org/hotsheet-offer-press-release.pdf
An Election Incident Hotsheet is an Internet "bullhorn." It's a central outlet where citizens can directly alert fellow citizens to problems occurring at the polls.
...
We're now offering to clone our Hotsheet by other groups--at absolutely no cost.
Election Officials Eye Tech-Savvy College Students to Serve as Poll Workers
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/election-officials-eye-tech-savvy-college-students-to-serve-as-poll-workers-105445868.html Election officials cite many reasons for targeting college students, such as their flexibility, energy, and enthusiasm for public service, but the reason they most often give is students' comfort level and experience with technology.
NetFlix-for-Voting Startup Tries to Make Democracy Easy
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/netflix-for-voting-startup-tries-to-make-democracy-easy/65113/
Voting Early, but Not So Often
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/opinion/25mayer.html?_r=2&th&emc=th
...But a thorough look at the data shows that the opposite is true: early voting depresses turnout by several percentage points.
...
...there is a way to improve turnout and keep the convenience of early voting. Our research shows that when early voting is combined with same-day registration — that is, you can register to vote and cast an early ballot on the same day — the depressive effect of early voting disappears.
MORE BREATHLESS (MIS)INTERPRETATION OF EARLY EARLY VOTING NUMBERS
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3367
The EAC has published a new map showing which US states are using federally qualified voting systems at http://www.eac.gov/testing_and_certification/default.aspx
The Lawyer’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Election Protection seeks lawyers, paralegals and law students to volunteer on Election Day, November 2 (and November 1 in some locations) to staff the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline and volunteer in the field to monitor polling places and address issues as they arise.
http://signup.lawyerscommittee.org/t/5631/signUp.jsp?key=2983
Calling All Hackers And IT Specialists: $20,000 Reward For Information About Vote Tabulation Manipulation In 2010 Election
http://protectourelections.org/index.php?q=node/57
Engaging Students in the Election -- 45 Ways Faculty and Administrators Can Still Make a Difference
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/engaging-students-in-the_b_768284.html
International
Philippines: Same problems dog barangay polls
Voters complain about long lines, missing names
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20101026-299766/Same-problems-dog-barangay-polls
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Touchscreens in 2 NC Counties flip votes from GOP to DEM. 866-OUR-VOTE
Chuck Tyson, chair of Craven Cnty NC GOP about touchscreen machines: "They never work, they're late reporting, they screw up, they ain't worth a damn and we ought to go back to paper ballots," ....Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to get help & report problems...Security Fears Mount as E-Voting Comes of Age: "I think these systems can be compromised," says Pam Smith, Pres of Verified Voting. "It might not happen this year, it might be in a close presidential election." Voters in Philippines told not to use crayons on ballots..
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Note from the editor: Does the Voting News help you? The Voting News is a labor of love, but takes a lot of time to compile each day. You can help keep the Voting News keep going by making a tax deductible donation either online or by check. See this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn If you are unable to donate, please help by sharing Voting News with a friend. Thanks!
AZ: Rumors about voter fraud by Raul Grijalva? FALSE!
http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2010/10/24/rumors-about-voter-fraud-by-raul-grijalva-false/
The County Recorder’s office has to verify every voter first of all, and if the person is not a real person, then they don’t get their voter ID. They found 65% are not valid, and those people don’t get to vote, and thus no fraud has been committed.
A more accurate question would be is “is voter REGISTRATION fraud taking place.”
CT: Post-Election Audit Report: Incremental Improvement – New Integrity Concern
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/aug-10-post-election-audit-report-incremental-improvement-new-integrity-concern/ Citizen observation and analysis shows some improvements along with a newly uncovered problem with the random selection process…We conclude that August post-election audits still do not inspire confidence..
IL: You Can Still Register to Vote in Illinois Through Tuesday, October 26
http://www.enewspf.com/index.php/latest-news/latest-local/19433-you-can-still-register-to-vote-in-illinois
NC: Problems at the ballot box
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/today-91666-ballot-box.html
The voting result in Craven County will now forever be in doubt because of this.
NC: [UPDATED] Touch-Screens in Two NC Counties Flip Straight-Party Votes Repeatedly from GOP to Dem http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8143
County GOP Chair: The ES&S machines 'ain't worth a damn, we ought to go back to paper ballots'. One voter says: 'I pressed confirm and screen went totally black'..
NC: Voter reports problem with ballot machine*
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/10/23/5087612.htm Sun Journal -- A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended
Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said.
Then he asked for and received help from election staff.
"They pushed it twice and the same thing happened," Laughinghouse said. "That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted."
...
Tyson reported other problems as well, including long lines waiting for just two voting machines in Havelock, and machines reporting 250 ballots cast where 400 voters had signed in to vote.
NM: Overseas voters granted extension
http://www.cnjonline.com/news/voters-40546-overseas-granted.html Overseas voters from New Mexico have been granted an extension after ballots in six counties, including Curry County, were sent out past deadline for the Nov. 2 General Election.
OH: GOP pressures Franklin Co. auditor to fix ballot problem
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-gop-pressures-frankl-co-auditor-fix-ballot-problem-/2010/10/23/5087641.htm Lenhart said the state Republican Party has been pressuring her office to mail notices to voters after an unusual number of voters requested replacement ballots this week.
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: Twitter responses to Tony Clement on Internet voting
http://papervotecanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/twitter-responses-to-tony-clement-on.html
Canada: Town's Internet voting system has drawbacks
http://www.yorkregion.com/opinion/letters/article/892129--town-s-internet-voting-system-has-drawbacks How come that if one votes by Internet, you cannot just vote for candidates that in your opinion are worthy of election?
...
Also, should residents have moved away from Markham and are still on the voters' list, it is possible to get an Internet voting PIN for them and vote fraudulently.
US: Internet voting system easily hacked - giving ability to change votes
http://www.examiner.com/internet-trends-in-pittsburgh/internet-voting-system-easily-hacked-giving-ability-ability-to-change-votes
Should overseas and military voters have the convenience and speed of voting online, when their votes can easily be changed, and their personal information obtained by hackers?
Do we want quick results or correct results?
Security Fears Mount as E-Voting Comes of Age
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-e-voting-age-mount.html
Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, said vulnerability questions remain, whether the systems accept votes directly online of by email or fax.
...
Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president of the Overseas Vote Foundation which helps Americans abroad in elections, said the group is not ready to endorse online voting.
"At this point, there really isn't any proven, safe ballot return over the Internet that has gone through any certification that is agreed upon," she said.
National
Voters get polling place wait times, absentee ballots online in 2010
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/10/voters-get-polling-place-wait-times.html
Election protection resources (get help, report probs for natl database)
http://www.866ourvote.org/ Hotline set up by Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights for any voting problems: 1-866-Our-Vote
Fundamental voting rights and voting rights of disabled citizens
http://www.retiredamericans.org/issues/Voter_Protection
Of use to State Groups: "Hotsheets" for the Nov 2, 2010 election, Roy Lipscomb, of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, has developed a Hotsheet for citizens to report election irregularities directly to the public, and is offering to clone and customize the Hotsheet for other election integrity groups and individuals. http://www.handcountedpaperballots.org/
International
Canada: Telephone voter cut off
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2814119
The 71-year-old city resident, a former telephone operator, said she cast only two votes before her call was cut short, possibly because she pushed the wrong button.
India: Bihar polls: 53 per cent votes cast in Phase II amidst reports of Naxal violence http://www.ndtv.com/article/assembly%20polls/bihar-polls-voting-on-in-phase-ii-amidst-reports-of-naxal-violence-61936
Stray incidents of violence occurred in Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts. Heavily-armed Maoists raided a polling centre at Subaigarh in Runisaidpur constituency and burnt down the electronic voting machines besides other materials early this morning before voting began, SP Rakesh Rathi told PTI.
Ireland: Gender Quotas
http://aceproject.org/today/forum/gender-quotas The parliamentary Justice Committee in Ireland proposed to introduce gender quotas for political parties, and an intense debate followed.
Philippines: Voters told not to use crayons
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=623851&publicationSubCategoryId=200
“Marked ballots mean you set [them] apart in some way from the rest of the ballots, so the canvasser can easily determine that [these] comes from [certain voters],” Jimenez explained.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Note from the editor: Does the Voting News help you? The Voting News is a labor of love, but takes a lot of time to compile each day. You can help keep the Voting News keep going by making a tax deductible donation either online or by check. See this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn If you are unable to donate, please help by sharing Voting News with a friend. Thanks!
AZ: Rumors about voter fraud by Raul Grijalva? FALSE!
http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2010/10/24/rumors-about-voter-fraud-by-raul-grijalva-false/
The County Recorder’s office has to verify every voter first of all, and if the person is not a real person, then they don’t get their voter ID. They found 65% are not valid, and those people don’t get to vote, and thus no fraud has been committed.
A more accurate question would be is “is voter REGISTRATION fraud taking place.”
CT: Post-Election Audit Report: Incremental Improvement – New Integrity Concern
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/aug-10-post-election-audit-report-incremental-improvement-new-integrity-concern/ Citizen observation and analysis shows some improvements along with a newly uncovered problem with the random selection process…We conclude that August post-election audits still do not inspire confidence..
IL: You Can Still Register to Vote in Illinois Through Tuesday, October 26
http://www.enewspf.com/index.php/latest-news/latest-local/19433-you-can-still-register-to-vote-in-illinois
NC: Problems at the ballot box
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/today-91666-ballot-box.html
The voting result in Craven County will now forever be in doubt because of this.
NC: [UPDATED] Touch-Screens in Two NC Counties Flip Straight-Party Votes Repeatedly from GOP to Dem http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8143
County GOP Chair: The ES&S machines 'ain't worth a damn, we ought to go back to paper ballots'. One voter says: 'I pressed confirm and screen went totally black'..
NC: Voter reports problem with ballot machine*
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/10/23/5087612.htm Sun Journal -- A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended
Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said.
Then he asked for and received help from election staff.
"They pushed it twice and the same thing happened," Laughinghouse said. "That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted."
...
Tyson reported other problems as well, including long lines waiting for just two voting machines in Havelock, and machines reporting 250 ballots cast where 400 voters had signed in to vote.
NM: Overseas voters granted extension
http://www.cnjonline.com/news/voters-40546-overseas-granted.html Overseas voters from New Mexico have been granted an extension after ballots in six counties, including Curry County, were sent out past deadline for the Nov. 2 General Election.
OH: GOP pressures Franklin Co. auditor to fix ballot problem
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-gop-pressures-frankl-co-auditor-fix-ballot-problem-/2010/10/23/5087641.htm Lenhart said the state Republican Party has been pressuring her office to mail notices to voters after an unusual number of voters requested replacement ballots this week.
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: Twitter responses to Tony Clement on Internet voting
http://papervotecanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/twitter-responses-to-tony-clement-on.html
Canada: Town's Internet voting system has drawbacks
http://www.yorkregion.com/opinion/letters/article/892129--town-s-internet-voting-system-has-drawbacks How come that if one votes by Internet, you cannot just vote for candidates that in your opinion are worthy of election?
...
Also, should residents have moved away from Markham and are still on the voters' list, it is possible to get an Internet voting PIN for them and vote fraudulently.
US: Internet voting system easily hacked - giving ability to change votes
http://www.examiner.com/internet-trends-in-pittsburgh/internet-voting-system-easily-hacked-giving-ability-ability-to-change-votes
Should overseas and military voters have the convenience and speed of voting online, when their votes can easily be changed, and their personal information obtained by hackers?
Do we want quick results or correct results?
Security Fears Mount as E-Voting Comes of Age
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-e-voting-age-mount.html
Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, said vulnerability questions remain, whether the systems accept votes directly online of by email or fax.
...
Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president of the Overseas Vote Foundation which helps Americans abroad in elections, said the group is not ready to endorse online voting.
"At this point, there really isn't any proven, safe ballot return over the Internet that has gone through any certification that is agreed upon," she said.
National
Voters get polling place wait times, absentee ballots online in 2010
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/10/voters-get-polling-place-wait-times.html
Election protection resources (get help, report probs for natl database)
http://www.866ourvote.org/ Hotline set up by Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights for any voting problems: 1-866-Our-Vote
Fundamental voting rights and voting rights of disabled citizens
http://www.retiredamericans.org/issues/Voter_Protection
Of use to State Groups: "Hotsheets" for the Nov 2, 2010 election, Roy Lipscomb, of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, has developed a Hotsheet for citizens to report election irregularities directly to the public, and is offering to clone and customize the Hotsheet for other election integrity groups and individuals. http://www.handcountedpaperballots.org/
International
Canada: Telephone voter cut off
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2814119
The 71-year-old city resident, a former telephone operator, said she cast only two votes before her call was cut short, possibly because she pushed the wrong button.
India: Bihar polls: 53 per cent votes cast in Phase II amidst reports of Naxal violence http://www.ndtv.com/article/assembly%20polls/bihar-polls-voting-on-in-phase-ii-amidst-reports-of-naxal-violence-61936
Stray incidents of violence occurred in Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts. Heavily-armed Maoists raided a polling centre at Subaigarh in Runisaidpur constituency and burnt down the electronic voting machines besides other materials early this morning before voting began, SP Rakesh Rathi told PTI.
Ireland: Gender Quotas
http://aceproject.org/today/forum/gender-quotas The parliamentary Justice Committee in Ireland proposed to introduce gender quotas for political parties, and an intense debate followed.
Philippines: Voters told not to use crayons
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=623851&publicationSubCategoryId=200
“Marked ballots mean you set [them] apart in some way from the rest of the ballots, so the canvasser can easily determine that [these] comes from [certain voters],” Jimenez explained.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Touchscreens flip votes in N.Carolina, Texas. NY City flubs ballot instructions
Voting absentee by mail? Check postage!..Riverside CO CA starts 24 hour work days processing absentee ballots for Nov 2 election...Touchscreen voting flipping in Craven County NC, also in Dallas and Collin County TX..New York City's Nov 2 ballots instructions may disenfranchise voters...Beware hinky vote by mail applications sent out in NY ...Open Source Non profit group Trust the Vote comments on the DC internet voting hack in "D.C. Reality Check – The Opportunities and Challenges of Transparency"..
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AK: Democrats threaten to sue state over write-in lists
http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-2010elect-democrat-write-in-lawsuit-threat-102110,0,1747796.story ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Democratic Party says it may go to court if the state Division of Elections continues to provide the names of write-in candidates to voters at polling places.
CA: RivCo Registrar of Voters office to start 24-hour operations on Friday
http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-10-21/news/rivco-registrar-of-voters-office-to-start-24-hour-operations-on-friday Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore has predicted about half of the votes cast will be done by mail.
Beginning tomorrow, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters’ Office will go into 24-hour mode to start processing absentee ballots cast in the Nov. 2 general election.
CA: Misinformation from Registrar Could Disenfranchise Voters in San Diego
http://www.projectvote.org/blog/?p=1010 Until this week, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters wrongfully denied the federal voter registration form that thousands of San Diegans completed after downloading it from the California Secretary of State Web site, including CityBeat reporter and voter hopeful, Dave Maass, who contacted Project Vote director of advocacy, Estelle Rogers, after his voter application was rejected, twice.
CA: Ballot mishap*
http://www.martinezgazette.com/news/story/i1586/2010/10/21/ballot-mishap
Two Martinez voters residing on Augustine Drive alerted the Contra Costa County Elections Division this week that they received their permanent vote-by-mail ballots as usual. However, the ballots listed Walnut Creek races instead of Martinez.
CO: Larimer County clerk reveals ballot processing center’s inner workings
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?id=29875
CO: Mail-in ballots will be delivered despite postage confusion
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20101022/NEWS03/10220345
When Larimer County voters take their ballots to the post office for mailing, they'll be charged 44 cents. Or 61 cents.
...
"We took our ballot package and went to the Old Town Post Office, and it was 61 cents. When we went to Boardwalk, it was 44 cents," said Doyle, who expressed frustration about the situation.
FL: Hanging Chads II: Is Palm Beach Worthy of Suspicion or Just Incompetent?
Glitch-plagued county last in state to report returned absentee ballots
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/hanging-chads-ii-palm-beach-stalls-absentee-ballots ...The reports show Bucher's office has accounted for just 14.55 percent of the domestic absentee ballots and only 10.48 percent of the military/overseas and non-Florida ballots.
That compares to a statewide average of 33.56 percent and 29.21 percent.
GA: State of Georgia Successfully Increasing Voting Opportunities for Military and Overseas Voters http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/October/21/Overseas_Voters.html
IL: Justice Department agreement with Illinois officials extends time to count military ballots http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/10/justice_department_agreement_w.html
IL: Oddities With Illinois Elections
http://illinois.statehousenewsonline.com/4357/oddities-with-illinois-elections/
SPRINGFIELD – Hidden within the seriousness of the election time period are some unique tidbits for Illinois voters to ruminate over.
MN: 5 charged in Clay County with felony voter fraud say they didn't know they couldn't vote http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/295798/
Five convicted felons told Clay County authorities they voted in the 2008 general election, but each also said they didn’t know they weren’t allowed to vote.
MN: Supreme Court hear KSTP-TV's absentee ballot case
http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=13367359
The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear KSTP-TV's attempt to gain access to rejected absentee ballots that were never counted in the 2008 U.S. Senate race.
NC: Voting Machines Marking Ballots For The Wrong Candidates*
http://www.wcti12.com/news/25482180/detail.html
New Bern -- Voters in Craven County are complaining that voting machines are selecting people they do not want to vote for. Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern and Diana Creel say the machines marked off candidates they did not want to vote for when they touched the screens on the voting machines.
NC: Problems At The Polls* (video)
http://www.wcti12.com/news/25483049/detail.html
Creel says a red flag went up for her while voting in Havelock when the woman in front of her began having problems with the voting machine.
"She had problems, whenever she checked a candidate, it always popped to another one," says Creel.
Creel says she had the same problem and she notified an election official who helped her sort out the machine, but then...
"I pressed confirm and the screen went totally black," tells Creel.
Now she says she isn't sure if her vote was counted.
NC: Voting irregularities discovered in Craven
http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-c-2010-10-22-248252.112112-Voting-irregularities-discovered-in-Craven.html It has been reported that some voting machines in the state are malfunctioning. But we have been told by Kellie Hopkins, Elections Director of Beaufort County that no such problems have been identified in Beaufort County. Beaufort County does not use the same kinds of machines that have been reported to be causing problems.
(also talks about DC internet voting pilot hack)
NC: Political E-Mails Spark Complaints at Winston-Salem State U.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/political-e-mail-messages-spark-complaints-at-winston-salem-state-u/27779 ...The Republican Party has also asked the Forsyth County Board of Elections to take Winston-Salem State University off its list of eight early-voting sites scheduled to open on October 25.
...
The county’s elections director, Robert H. Coffman, said the university, which has been hosting early voting on its campus since 2004, simply provides a venue for voting. Closing the site will affect everyone in the surrounding community, he said, not just the university. “I’m confused on the logic on exactly who’s being punished,” he said.
ND: Secretary of State finishes reviewing voter fraud allegations against Charlie White http://www.indystar.com/article/20101022/NEWS05/101022017/Secretary-of-State-finishes-reviewing-voter-fraud-allegations-against-Charlie-White?odyssey=tabtopnewstextIndyStar.com Rokita’s office didn’t make any recommendations on the matter because Hamilton County has appointed two special prosecutors to decide if charges should be filed, according to a statement Rokita’s office released this afternoon.
NY: It's another 'royal screwup' as sample ballots are printed with wrong directions for voters http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_its_royal_screwup_redux_as_sample_ballots_are_printed_with_wrong_instructions_el.html
A vote for Republican Carl Paladino could actually be a vote for Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins - if you follow the directions printed on the November ballot.
NY: Board of Elections Practices Damage Control For Their Incorrect Ballots*
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/127583/voting-instructions-incorrect-on-ballots
NY: About those "Vote by Mail" applications hitting statewide...* (scans included)
http://www.thealbanyproject.com/diary/8981/about-those-vote-by-mail-applications-hitting-statewide These mailers claim that they are "vote by mail" applications. New York doesn't have voting by mail last time I checked. They also include no "paid for" information and no return address, only the address of the local county Board of Elections.
They have so far turned up in Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Capitol Region, the Southern Tier, WNY and the North Country. They're showing up everywhere and I hear some local BoEs have even started to receive them with the propaganda still attached.
OH: Board of Elections continuing its voting machine lawsuit
http://www.journal-news.com/news/hamilton-news/board-of-elections-continuing-its-voting-machine-lawsuit-983331.html
HAMILTON — The Butler County Board of Elections made no decision Thursday to opt into the Ohio secretary of state’s settlement with Premier Elections Solutions regarding faulty voting machines, so it will continue with its own lawsuit.
OK: It's Official: No Problems for State Military Voters
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1744208903/Official-No-problems-for-state-military-voters
OH: A LEADER IN OUR EFFORTS TO SERVE MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS
http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2010/10/secretary-brunner-ohio-a-leader-in-our-efforts-to-serve-military-and-overseas-voters.html
PA: Republicans cry foul over letters to voters
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times/courier_times_news
_details/article/28/2010/october/22/republicans
-cry-foul-over-letters-to-voters.html http://tinyurl.com/26v9lg4
Party leaders said a series of letters the Democratic Party sent to Bucks County voters urging them to apply for absentee ballots appeared to be part of a scheme to screen out applications by GOP voters.
TN: State task force on the watch for election trouble
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/oct/23/state-task-force-on-the-watch-for-election/
(for voter fraud, no mention of probs with voting machines, voter reg, access to vote)
TX: Video Shows Touch-Screen Voting Machine Purportedly Flipping Vote From Republican Perry to Green Party Candidates in Dallas County, TX* http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8141
Incident challenged by election official, reported to D.A., highlights familiar problem with unverifiable machines
ALSO: Vote said flipped from Dem to Repub in Collin County..
TX: Paperless Voting to Continue, for a While
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/News/Blogs/index.html/objID1101367/blogID/
If you distrust Travis County’s electronic, paperless voting machines, you’re out of luck until at least 2013.
...
"Although optical/digital-scan ballots systems are on the market now, they do not meet the Group’s standards for security, software design, and cost effectiveness," the report noted.
TX: RUD voter fraud information gets shipped to Austin
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/10/23/conroe_courier/news/voterfraud102310.txt
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has submitted information to the Texas Secretary of State for possible prosecution relating to potential voter fraud crimes in The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1 election.
...
In June, visiting Senior District Judge P.K. Reiter ruled there was “clear and convincing” evidence that the 10 Montgomery County residents who voted for the three challengers – Richard McDuffie, Peter Goeddertz and Bill Berntsen – did not reside within the boundaries of the RUD.
TX: New voter complaints surface (Harris County)
Charges of intimidation fly from both parties during early balloting
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7258517.html
Allegations continued to surface on Thursday of poll watchers intimidating voters and of poll watchers themselves being harassed.
WA: GOP pressures Franklin County auditor to fix ballot problem
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/10/23/1393503/gop-pressures-franklin-county.html
Lenhart said the state Republican Party has been pressuring her office to mail notices to voters after an unusual number of voters requested replacement ballots this week.
Internet Voting Watch
D.C. Reality Check – The Opportunities and Challenges of Transparency
http://www.trustthevote.org/d-c-reality-check-%E2%80%93-the-opportunities-and-challenges-of-transparency ..We advocated for the public review, cautioning that the digital ballot return aspect should be restricted to qualified overseas “UOCAVA” voters, but at all times, the BoEE, and the D.C. I.T. organization “called the shots” on their program.
And to go on record with an obvious but important point: we did not have any access to the ballot server, marked ballots, handling of voter data, or any control over any services for the same. And no live data was used for testing.
Internet Voting Watch
Canada's Minister of Industry uses Internet voting
http://papervotecanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/canadas-minister-of-industry-uses.html
Tony Clement, Canada's Minister of Industry and head of Canada's Digital Economy Strategy, used Internet voting in his municipal election and found it convenient.
National
Watch out for voter suppression efforts!
http://www.866ourvote.org/newsroom/news?id=0263
International
India: Modis office tampered EVMs, alleges Congress
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a176227.html
“People noticed that whatever button they pressed, the vote was going to the BJP. Fortyfour votes had been cast but when the machine was brought to zero, it showed 110 votes,” Prakash said.
India: Excuses and EVMs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Excuses-and-EVMs/701233
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AK: Democrats threaten to sue state over write-in lists
http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-2010elect-democrat-write-in-lawsuit-threat-102110,0,1747796.story ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Democratic Party says it may go to court if the state Division of Elections continues to provide the names of write-in candidates to voters at polling places.
CA: RivCo Registrar of Voters office to start 24-hour operations on Friday
http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-10-21/news/rivco-registrar-of-voters-office-to-start-24-hour-operations-on-friday Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore has predicted about half of the votes cast will be done by mail.
Beginning tomorrow, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters’ Office will go into 24-hour mode to start processing absentee ballots cast in the Nov. 2 general election.
CA: Misinformation from Registrar Could Disenfranchise Voters in San Diego
http://www.projectvote.org/blog/?p=1010 Until this week, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters wrongfully denied the federal voter registration form that thousands of San Diegans completed after downloading it from the California Secretary of State Web site, including CityBeat reporter and voter hopeful, Dave Maass, who contacted Project Vote director of advocacy, Estelle Rogers, after his voter application was rejected, twice.
CA: Ballot mishap*
http://www.martinezgazette.com/news/story/i1586/2010/10/21/ballot-mishap
Two Martinez voters residing on Augustine Drive alerted the Contra Costa County Elections Division this week that they received their permanent vote-by-mail ballots as usual. However, the ballots listed Walnut Creek races instead of Martinez.
CO: Larimer County clerk reveals ballot processing center’s inner workings
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?id=29875
CO: Mail-in ballots will be delivered despite postage confusion
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20101022/NEWS03/10220345
When Larimer County voters take their ballots to the post office for mailing, they'll be charged 44 cents. Or 61 cents.
...
"We took our ballot package and went to the Old Town Post Office, and it was 61 cents. When we went to Boardwalk, it was 44 cents," said Doyle, who expressed frustration about the situation.
FL: Hanging Chads II: Is Palm Beach Worthy of Suspicion or Just Incompetent?
Glitch-plagued county last in state to report returned absentee ballots
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/hanging-chads-ii-palm-beach-stalls-absentee-ballots ...The reports show Bucher's office has accounted for just 14.55 percent of the domestic absentee ballots and only 10.48 percent of the military/overseas and non-Florida ballots.
That compares to a statewide average of 33.56 percent and 29.21 percent.
GA: State of Georgia Successfully Increasing Voting Opportunities for Military and Overseas Voters http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/October/21/Overseas_Voters.html
IL: Justice Department agreement with Illinois officials extends time to count military ballots http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/10/justice_department_agreement_w.html
IL: Oddities With Illinois Elections
http://illinois.statehousenewsonline.com/4357/oddities-with-illinois-elections/
SPRINGFIELD – Hidden within the seriousness of the election time period are some unique tidbits for Illinois voters to ruminate over.
MN: 5 charged in Clay County with felony voter fraud say they didn't know they couldn't vote http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/295798/
Five convicted felons told Clay County authorities they voted in the 2008 general election, but each also said they didn’t know they weren’t allowed to vote.
MN: Supreme Court hear KSTP-TV's absentee ballot case
http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=13367359
The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear KSTP-TV's attempt to gain access to rejected absentee ballots that were never counted in the 2008 U.S. Senate race.
NC: Voting Machines Marking Ballots For The Wrong Candidates*
http://www.wcti12.com/news/25482180/detail.html
New Bern -- Voters in Craven County are complaining that voting machines are selecting people they do not want to vote for. Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern and Diana Creel say the machines marked off candidates they did not want to vote for when they touched the screens on the voting machines.
NC: Problems At The Polls* (video)
http://www.wcti12.com/news/25483049/detail.html
Creel says a red flag went up for her while voting in Havelock when the woman in front of her began having problems with the voting machine.
"She had problems, whenever she checked a candidate, it always popped to another one," says Creel.
Creel says she had the same problem and she notified an election official who helped her sort out the machine, but then...
"I pressed confirm and the screen went totally black," tells Creel.
Now she says she isn't sure if her vote was counted.
NC: Voting irregularities discovered in Craven
http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-c-2010-10-22-248252.112112-Voting-irregularities-discovered-in-Craven.html It has been reported that some voting machines in the state are malfunctioning. But we have been told by Kellie Hopkins, Elections Director of Beaufort County that no such problems have been identified in Beaufort County. Beaufort County does not use the same kinds of machines that have been reported to be causing problems.
(also talks about DC internet voting pilot hack)
NC: Political E-Mails Spark Complaints at Winston-Salem State U.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/political-e-mail-messages-spark-complaints-at-winston-salem-state-u/27779 ...The Republican Party has also asked the Forsyth County Board of Elections to take Winston-Salem State University off its list of eight early-voting sites scheduled to open on October 25.
...
The county’s elections director, Robert H. Coffman, said the university, which has been hosting early voting on its campus since 2004, simply provides a venue for voting. Closing the site will affect everyone in the surrounding community, he said, not just the university. “I’m confused on the logic on exactly who’s being punished,” he said.
ND: Secretary of State finishes reviewing voter fraud allegations against Charlie White http://www.indystar.com/article/20101022/NEWS05/101022017/Secretary-of-State-finishes-reviewing-voter-fraud-allegations-against-Charlie-White?odyssey=tabtopnewstextIndyStar.com Rokita’s office didn’t make any recommendations on the matter because Hamilton County has appointed two special prosecutors to decide if charges should be filed, according to a statement Rokita’s office released this afternoon.
NY: It's another 'royal screwup' as sample ballots are printed with wrong directions for voters http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_its_royal_screwup_redux_as_sample_ballots_are_printed_with_wrong_instructions_el.html
A vote for Republican Carl Paladino could actually be a vote for Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins - if you follow the directions printed on the November ballot.
NY: Board of Elections Practices Damage Control For Their Incorrect Ballots*
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/127583/voting-instructions-incorrect-on-ballots
NY: About those "Vote by Mail" applications hitting statewide...* (scans included)
http://www.thealbanyproject.com/diary/8981/about-those-vote-by-mail-applications-hitting-statewide These mailers claim that they are "vote by mail" applications. New York doesn't have voting by mail last time I checked. They also include no "paid for" information and no return address, only the address of the local county Board of Elections.
They have so far turned up in Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Capitol Region, the Southern Tier, WNY and the North Country. They're showing up everywhere and I hear some local BoEs have even started to receive them with the propaganda still attached.
OH: Board of Elections continuing its voting machine lawsuit
http://www.journal-news.com/news/hamilton-news/board-of-elections-continuing-its-voting-machine-lawsuit-983331.html
HAMILTON — The Butler County Board of Elections made no decision Thursday to opt into the Ohio secretary of state’s settlement with Premier Elections Solutions regarding faulty voting machines, so it will continue with its own lawsuit.
OK: It's Official: No Problems for State Military Voters
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1744208903/Official-No-problems-for-state-military-voters
OH: A LEADER IN OUR EFFORTS TO SERVE MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS
http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2010/10/secretary-brunner-ohio-a-leader-in-our-efforts-to-serve-military-and-overseas-voters.html
PA: Republicans cry foul over letters to voters
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times/courier_times_news
_details/article/28/2010/october/22/republicans
-cry-foul-over-letters-to-voters.html http://tinyurl.com/26v9lg4
Party leaders said a series of letters the Democratic Party sent to Bucks County voters urging them to apply for absentee ballots appeared to be part of a scheme to screen out applications by GOP voters.
TN: State task force on the watch for election trouble
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/oct/23/state-task-force-on-the-watch-for-election/
(for voter fraud, no mention of probs with voting machines, voter reg, access to vote)
TX: Video Shows Touch-Screen Voting Machine Purportedly Flipping Vote From Republican Perry to Green Party Candidates in Dallas County, TX* http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8141
Incident challenged by election official, reported to D.A., highlights familiar problem with unverifiable machines
ALSO: Vote said flipped from Dem to Repub in Collin County..
TX: Paperless Voting to Continue, for a While
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/News/Blogs/index.html/objID1101367/blogID/
If you distrust Travis County’s electronic, paperless voting machines, you’re out of luck until at least 2013.
...
"Although optical/digital-scan ballots systems are on the market now, they do not meet the Group’s standards for security, software design, and cost effectiveness," the report noted.
TX: RUD voter fraud information gets shipped to Austin
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/10/23/conroe_courier/news/voterfraud102310.txt
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has submitted information to the Texas Secretary of State for possible prosecution relating to potential voter fraud crimes in The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1 election.
...
In June, visiting Senior District Judge P.K. Reiter ruled there was “clear and convincing” evidence that the 10 Montgomery County residents who voted for the three challengers – Richard McDuffie, Peter Goeddertz and Bill Berntsen – did not reside within the boundaries of the RUD.
TX: New voter complaints surface (Harris County)
Charges of intimidation fly from both parties during early balloting
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7258517.html
Allegations continued to surface on Thursday of poll watchers intimidating voters and of poll watchers themselves being harassed.
WA: GOP pressures Franklin County auditor to fix ballot problem
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/10/23/1393503/gop-pressures-franklin-county.html
Lenhart said the state Republican Party has been pressuring her office to mail notices to voters after an unusual number of voters requested replacement ballots this week.
Internet Voting Watch
D.C. Reality Check – The Opportunities and Challenges of Transparency
http://www.trustthevote.org/d-c-reality-check-%E2%80%93-the-opportunities-and-challenges-of-transparency ..We advocated for the public review, cautioning that the digital ballot return aspect should be restricted to qualified overseas “UOCAVA” voters, but at all times, the BoEE, and the D.C. I.T. organization “called the shots” on their program.
And to go on record with an obvious but important point: we did not have any access to the ballot server, marked ballots, handling of voter data, or any control over any services for the same. And no live data was used for testing.
Internet Voting Watch
Canada's Minister of Industry uses Internet voting
http://papervotecanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/canadas-minister-of-industry-uses.html
Tony Clement, Canada's Minister of Industry and head of Canada's Digital Economy Strategy, used Internet voting in his municipal election and found it convenient.
National
Watch out for voter suppression efforts!
http://www.866ourvote.org/newsroom/news?id=0263
International
India: Modis office tampered EVMs, alleges Congress
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a176227.html
“People noticed that whatever button they pressed, the vote was going to the BJP. Fortyfour votes had been cast but when the machine was brought to zero, it showed 110 votes,” Prakash said.
India: Excuses and EVMs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Excuses-and-EVMs/701233
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Internet Voting - A Real Possibility? iPhone App for reporting voter fraud
Where's My Ballot? There's Still Time for Overseas Voters in 2010...Report Voter Fraud: There’s an App for that...Comprehensive Map of US Voting Equipment Released...Routt County Colorado must copy mailed ballots after error..There's an iPhone app to report voter fraud, how about one to report voting machine failures or voter disenfranchisement?...Internet Voting — A Real Possibility? Podcast with Jeremy Epstein, Senior Computer Scientist...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AZ: U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Injunctive Relief, Lets Voter Wear a Tea Party T-Shirt http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/21/u-s-district-court-in-arizona-grants-injunctive-relief-lets-voter-wear-a-tea-party-t-shirt/
CO: Ballots Disqualified After Voting System Glitch*
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/25464786/detail.html
Thousands Affected During Early Voting In Routt County
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- An encryption error resulted in thousands of ballots in Routt County to be null and void during the early voting period for November's general election.
Kay Weinland, Routt County Clerk and Recorder, said her department has fixed the problem but as a result, 5,772 ballots that were mailed out to voters are no longer good.
"We have 3 ECM keys, which are the encryption code keys," she said. "We broke one of them. While we were working on fixing that, we then discovered the other two had basically been corrupted."
Weinland said that the voting system itself was not damaged, and there wasn't a problem with the ballots mailed out. However the computer glitch caused the Clerk and Recorder office to lose its voting database.
The problem was spotted in the middle of last week.
The office worked on remedying the problem before coming to the conclusion that the early ballots were no longer good.
"Because we had to re-create the database," Weinland said. "The system will not recognize the ballots we initially scanned."
CO: Routt County must copy mailed ballots after error*
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2010/oct/20/error-causes-security-issue-mail-ballots/?breaking Steamboat Springs — A coding error in the Routt County Clerk and Recorder’s Office means the 5,773 ballots mailed to voters before Tuesday will not be recognized by election databases and will have to be replicated by election judges who will work in teams of four under video camera surveillance.
...
The 5,773 ballots mailed to all voters who had requested mail-in ballots no longer will be recognized by the election database.
Every completed ballot already mailed back to the county — about 500, Weinland said — will be counted for the election. But they will be copied onto a new ballot first.
CO: Marks appeals court ruling in Aspen election suit
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101021/NEWS/101029964/1077&ParentProfile=1058
DENVER — Local elections activist Marilyn Marks sent her lawsuit against the city of Aspen over its refusal to release ballot images from the May 2009 election to the Colorado Court of Appeals, just short of Tuesday night's deadline.
CO: Fight for election transparency
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/143182
Secretary of State Buescher, the current Democratic SoS candidate, and the state’s top election official, has recently issued opinions to attempt prevent such public and press efforts, proclaiming, as Aspen city officials do, that our region’s voted ballots are “secrets” to be known only by local government officials and hand-picked Republican and Democrat election judges.
IL: Some preprinted absentee ballot forms inaccurate* (request forms)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-absenteeballotpro,0,5499569.story
this week's Chicago Reader is aimed at encouraging younger city voters to fill out a preprinted, mail-in request for an absentee ballot. But the form contained the wrong address for the Chicago Board of Elections.
IL: No evidence of big overseas military problem in Illinois, despite GOP claims
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/10/no_evidence_of_big_overseas_mi.html
IL: Illinois Absentee Voters Only Get One-day Extension
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/10/20/illinois-absentee-voters-only-get-one-day-extension-0
NC: Run-off system draws fire
http://www.yourdailyjournal.com/view/full_story_news_sports_opinion/9986842/article-Run-off--system-draws-fire?instance=newssecondary_stories_left_column
NY: Absentee Ballot Deadline for Military/Overseas Voters Extended
http://www.madisoncountycourier.com/veterans-corner/absentee-ballot-deadline-for-militaryoverseas-voters-extended-19313/
OH: Election expert weighs in on good, bad, ugly of 2010 elections in Ohio, nation
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6791
But some problems still require fixing. Among them, Hoke said is that a majority of Ohio voters still cast ballots on insecure DREs [Direct Recording Equipment].
...
While other states are dabbling in expanding absentee voting by mail, Hoke argues that doing so raises the prospects of vote buying and fraud, and increases the possibilities of duress and coercion within the home or nursing homes.
PA: Pennsylvania Minor Parties File Brief in 3rd Circuit
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/20/pennsylvania-minor-parties-file-brief-in-3rd-circuit/ On October 20, the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties of Pennsylvania filed this 39-page brief in the Third Circuit...The issues are the Pennsylvania challenge system that subjects minor parties and independent candidates to the risk of paying up to $100,000 if they submit a petition that is insufficient;
TN: KETRON: Military voting act working
http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20101022/NEWS01/101022001/KETRON++Military+voting+act+working
Tennessee’s new law authorizes county election commissions to e-mail ballots to members of the armed forces and other citizens temporarily living outside the United States who are entitled to vote and who have submitted valid applications for ballots.
Internet Voting Watch
Internet Voting — A Real Possibility? (Podcast)
Speaker: Jeremy Epstein, Senior Computer Scientist, SRI International
http://sri.com/news/podcasts/podcast_Epstein.html What is Internet voting - and where has it been successfully used? And if we can bank and shop online, why isn't it as easy to vote online? In this podcast, hear about important issues relating to online voting
D.C. hacking raises questions about future of online voting
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=522635
the state of Arizona and eight counties in West Virginia aren’t giving up plans to go ahead with their own online voting experiments on November 2.
National
Comprehensive Map of US Voting Equipment Released
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/10/20/1145
Voter-marked paper ballots dominate among U.S. voting methods, but one fourth of voters still depend on unverifiable equipment
Volunteer Discusses the High School Voter Registration Project
http://www.projectvote.org/component/content/article/598-volunteer-discusses-the-high-school-voter-registration-project.html
“Not many other people are talking to young adults about voting and what it means to them and their country,” says LWV volunteer Raymundo Estrada in the video. “It feels good to be that person in their lives.”
The Bottom Line: Absentee Voting
http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/10/the-bottom-line-absentee-voting/
Now the Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program is making it easier by providing an online absentee voting wizard.
Where's My Ballot? There's Still Time for Overseas Voters in 2010
http://www.banderasnews.com/1010/nw-ovf19.htm
You requested your ballot but didn't receive it yet? Or maybe you just procrastinated? Fortunately, you still have time to vote in 2010 if you remember one little acronym: FWAB
...
The OVF online tools make using the FWAB easy. Enter your voting address and the FWAB wizard will automatically list the candidates running in your Congressional district. Want to know more about a particular candidate? Look up his or her bio in the OVF Candidate Finder which is powered by Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan resource for information about candidates.
Midterm Worries: Election Laws Good and Bad
http://www.ideasactionblog.org/2010/10/midterm-worries-election-laws-good-and.html
Report Voter Fraud: There’s an App for that
http://pawatercooler.com/?p=21124
Election 2010: Facebook friends show off their ballots
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_16400875
International
Canada: Lack of ballots leaves some Calgary voters disappointed
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Lack+ballots+leaves+voters+disappointed/3698347/story.html Ward 14 station ran out hour before polls closed
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News,
please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
AZ: U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Injunctive Relief, Lets Voter Wear a Tea Party T-Shirt http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/21/u-s-district-court-in-arizona-grants-injunctive-relief-lets-voter-wear-a-tea-party-t-shirt/
CO: Ballots Disqualified After Voting System Glitch*
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/25464786/detail.html
Thousands Affected During Early Voting In Routt County
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- An encryption error resulted in thousands of ballots in Routt County to be null and void during the early voting period for November's general election.
Kay Weinland, Routt County Clerk and Recorder, said her department has fixed the problem but as a result, 5,772 ballots that were mailed out to voters are no longer good.
"We have 3 ECM keys, which are the encryption code keys," she said. "We broke one of them. While we were working on fixing that, we then discovered the other two had basically been corrupted."
Weinland said that the voting system itself was not damaged, and there wasn't a problem with the ballots mailed out. However the computer glitch caused the Clerk and Recorder office to lose its voting database.
The problem was spotted in the middle of last week.
The office worked on remedying the problem before coming to the conclusion that the early ballots were no longer good.
"Because we had to re-create the database," Weinland said. "The system will not recognize the ballots we initially scanned."
CO: Routt County must copy mailed ballots after error*
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2010/oct/20/error-causes-security-issue-mail-ballots/?breaking Steamboat Springs — A coding error in the Routt County Clerk and Recorder’s Office means the 5,773 ballots mailed to voters before Tuesday will not be recognized by election databases and will have to be replicated by election judges who will work in teams of four under video camera surveillance.
...
The 5,773 ballots mailed to all voters who had requested mail-in ballots no longer will be recognized by the election database.
Every completed ballot already mailed back to the county — about 500, Weinland said — will be counted for the election. But they will be copied onto a new ballot first.
CO: Marks appeals court ruling in Aspen election suit
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101021/NEWS/101029964/1077&ParentProfile=1058
DENVER — Local elections activist Marilyn Marks sent her lawsuit against the city of Aspen over its refusal to release ballot images from the May 2009 election to the Colorado Court of Appeals, just short of Tuesday night's deadline.
CO: Fight for election transparency
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/143182
Secretary of State Buescher, the current Democratic SoS candidate, and the state’s top election official, has recently issued opinions to attempt prevent such public and press efforts, proclaiming, as Aspen city officials do, that our region’s voted ballots are “secrets” to be known only by local government officials and hand-picked Republican and Democrat election judges.
IL: Some preprinted absentee ballot forms inaccurate* (request forms)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-absenteeballotpro,0,5499569.story
this week's Chicago Reader is aimed at encouraging younger city voters to fill out a preprinted, mail-in request for an absentee ballot. But the form contained the wrong address for the Chicago Board of Elections.
IL: No evidence of big overseas military problem in Illinois, despite GOP claims
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/10/no_evidence_of_big_overseas_mi.html
IL: Illinois Absentee Voters Only Get One-day Extension
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/10/20/illinois-absentee-voters-only-get-one-day-extension-0
NC: Run-off system draws fire
http://www.yourdailyjournal.com/view/full_story_news_sports_opinion/9986842/article-Run-off--system-draws-fire?instance=newssecondary_stories_left_column
NY: Absentee Ballot Deadline for Military/Overseas Voters Extended
http://www.madisoncountycourier.com/veterans-corner/absentee-ballot-deadline-for-militaryoverseas-voters-extended-19313/
OH: Election expert weighs in on good, bad, ugly of 2010 elections in Ohio, nation
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6791
But some problems still require fixing. Among them, Hoke said is that a majority of Ohio voters still cast ballots on insecure DREs [Direct Recording Equipment].
...
While other states are dabbling in expanding absentee voting by mail, Hoke argues that doing so raises the prospects of vote buying and fraud, and increases the possibilities of duress and coercion within the home or nursing homes.
PA: Pennsylvania Minor Parties File Brief in 3rd Circuit
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/20/pennsylvania-minor-parties-file-brief-in-3rd-circuit/ On October 20, the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties of Pennsylvania filed this 39-page brief in the Third Circuit...The issues are the Pennsylvania challenge system that subjects minor parties and independent candidates to the risk of paying up to $100,000 if they submit a petition that is insufficient;
TN: KETRON: Military voting act working
http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20101022/NEWS01/101022001/KETRON++Military+voting+act+working
Tennessee’s new law authorizes county election commissions to e-mail ballots to members of the armed forces and other citizens temporarily living outside the United States who are entitled to vote and who have submitted valid applications for ballots.
Internet Voting Watch
Internet Voting — A Real Possibility? (Podcast)
Speaker: Jeremy Epstein, Senior Computer Scientist, SRI International
http://sri.com/news/podcasts/podcast_Epstein.html What is Internet voting - and where has it been successfully used? And if we can bank and shop online, why isn't it as easy to vote online? In this podcast, hear about important issues relating to online voting
D.C. hacking raises questions about future of online voting
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=522635
the state of Arizona and eight counties in West Virginia aren’t giving up plans to go ahead with their own online voting experiments on November 2.
National
Comprehensive Map of US Voting Equipment Released
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/10/20/1145
Voter-marked paper ballots dominate among U.S. voting methods, but one fourth of voters still depend on unverifiable equipment
Volunteer Discusses the High School Voter Registration Project
http://www.projectvote.org/component/content/article/598-volunteer-discusses-the-high-school-voter-registration-project.html
“Not many other people are talking to young adults about voting and what it means to them and their country,” says LWV volunteer Raymundo Estrada in the video. “It feels good to be that person in their lives.”
The Bottom Line: Absentee Voting
http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/10/the-bottom-line-absentee-voting/
Now the Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program is making it easier by providing an online absentee voting wizard.
Where's My Ballot? There's Still Time for Overseas Voters in 2010
http://www.banderasnews.com/1010/nw-ovf19.htm
You requested your ballot but didn't receive it yet? Or maybe you just procrastinated? Fortunately, you still have time to vote in 2010 if you remember one little acronym: FWAB
...
The OVF online tools make using the FWAB easy. Enter your voting address and the FWAB wizard will automatically list the candidates running in your Congressional district. Want to know more about a particular candidate? Look up his or her bio in the OVF Candidate Finder which is powered by Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan resource for information about candidates.
Midterm Worries: Election Laws Good and Bad
http://www.ideasactionblog.org/2010/10/midterm-worries-election-laws-good-and.html
Report Voter Fraud: There’s an App for that
http://pawatercooler.com/?p=21124
Election 2010: Facebook friends show off their ballots
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_16400875
International
Canada: Lack of ballots leaves some Calgary voters disappointed
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Lack+ballots+leaves+voters+disappointed/3698347/story.html Ward 14 station ran out hour before polls closed
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News,
please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
"Halderman's Hackers": How safe, online voting? Vote by mail - 1 in 5 ballots 'lost'
“Halderman’s Hackers”: How Safe is Online Voting?..Consider the hidden costs to voting by mail. A study of 2008 election shows a "lost rate" of 20% for vote by mail ballots...Small Improvements & New Problem in Connecticut Post-Election Audits..Travis County officials OK change to paper ballot after 2012..WA State Under Fire for Emailed Overseas Ballots..Afghanistan rules 1.3m parliamentary votes invalid..Security of India's electronic voting machines is questioned..
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Like voting news? We're on the net at http://votingnews.blogspot.com
CA: Ranked-choice voting may delay results
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16380203?nclick_check=1
Macdonald said his office will release regular vote tally numbers starting late Tuesday night in all races, like it always does, but will not run the first ranked-choice voting algorithm until Friday -- when most of the votes should be in and counted...
CO: Judge won't reinstate 6,000 purged voters(voters would get provisional ballot)
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16382570 When a new voter registers in Colorado, the secretary of state mails a nonforwardable notice of disposition that the voter's registration has been received. If the notice comes back undeliverable in the mail, then clerks deem the voter's registration inactive within 20 days.
...
James Finberg, an attorney representing voting and labor groups, said voters are harmed because sometimes the voter cards are returned through no fault of their own.
CO: IRV: Thanks, but no thanks (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/143158
CT: Coalition Finds Small Improvements and New Problem in
Connecticut Post-Election Audits
http://ctelectionaudit.org/aug-10-election-observation-report-incremental-improvement-new-integrity-issue/ Citizen observation and analysis shows some improvements along with a newly uncovered problem with the random selection process
NC: Voters, candidates continue talk of voting problems*
http://www.wwaytv3.com/voters_candidates_continue_talk_voting_problems/10/2010
Some New Hanover County voters have complained about voting machines not registering their votes correctly. One voter, who did not want to go on camera, told us he raised his hand for help, but it never came.
NC: Editorial: One seat, three votes
http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/10/20/article/one_seat_three_votes
In better circumstances, the special election for a seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals wouldn't be happening. Bad timing and an unwise provision in the state constitution put it on the ballot.
NM: New Mexico Pay to Play: Ending the Corruption? (passed House but not Senate)
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/10/20/new-mexico-pay-to-play-ending-the-corruption/
The text of NM House Bill 118 widely prohibits lobbyists and government contractors from donating to a political candidate or any political committee. It also prohibits “seekers of targeted subsidies” from political donations.
NY: Missing deadline for military mail, election boards hope for the best
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/niagara-county/article224177.ece
“New York State should have an earlier primary. We don’t have a heck of a lot of time between certifying our primary elections to the state Board of Elections, given the variables of contested primaries and vote recounts,”
TX: Travis County Commissioners OK change to paper ballot after 2012
http://impactnews.com/northwest-austin/256-recent-news/10224-travis-county-commissioners-ok-change-to-paper-ballot-after-2012
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir told the court she believes the system is secure, but said the county is looking to purchase a paper ballot system as soon as possible.
TX: All eyes on Houston, Pt. 2: Lawsuits, fraud & huge ballot challenge elections
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-houston/all-eyes-on-houston-pt-2-lawsuits-fraud-huge-ballot-challenge-elections
TX: DOJ Probes TX Voter Intimidation Complaints During Tea Party Anti-Voter Fraud Drive (video)*
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/the_texas_democratic_party_expanded.php
Poll watchers in Harris County, Texas -- where a Tea Party group launched an aggressive anti-voter fraud effort -- were accused of "hovering over" voters, "getting into election workers' faces" and blocking or disrupting lines of voters who were waiting to cast their ballots as early voting got underway yesterday.
[video interview of voter turned away even though he brought 2 forms of voter id]
TX: Dallas County to have election monitors Nov. 2
http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=13355216
WA: State Under Fire for Emailed Overseas Ballots (audio podcast available)
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1715073/KPLU.Local.
News/State.Under.Fire.for.Emailed.Overseas.Ballots http://tinyurl.com/26negk8
The groups Voter Action, Common Cause and Verified Voting have sent Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed what amounts to a cease and desist letter. They say Reed should stop accepting ballots from outside the country - including from members of the military - in PDF form via email. Holly Jacobson with Voter Action says even though this isn't technically on-line voting, it still jeopardizes ballot integrity
WI: Tosa woman sentenced to prison for illegal vote
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/105302508.html
A Wauwatosa woman who voted illegally in the 2008 presidential primary was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison after a stern lecture from the judge about the impact of voter fraud, even if doesn't turn an election.
Internet Voting Watch
“Halderman’s Hackers”: How Safe is Online Voting?
http://thefightback.org/2010/10/haldermans-hackers-how-safe-is-online-voting/#more-1039 Jeremy Epstein is a computer security and voting systems expert with SRI International. After testifying alongside Halderman at the D.C. Council, he said, “Internet voting is inherently not a good idea. There’s just too many problems… Every system, every website is just too easy for the bad guys to get in. We don’t have the technology today to provide the level of security that you need for an honest election.”
India: State EC floats SMS voting idea in Gujarat
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/state-ec-floats-sms-voting-idea-in-gujarat/699896/
Ahmedabad Gujarat, which set up the country’s first e-voting insfrastructure, is now ready for voting from mobile phones, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).
Though just 124 persons in the state opted to use e-voting facility set up at a a cost of Rs 37 crore during the last civic polls, SEC K C Kapoor said the state is now fully equipped to go a step farther from online voting to enabling voters to text their votes in through mobile phones.
WA: State Under Fire for Emailed Overseas Ballots (audio podcast available)
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1715073/KPLU .
Local.News/State.Under.Fire.for.Emailed.Overseas.Ballots http://tinyurl.com/26negk8
The groups Voter Action, Common Cause and Verified Voting have sent Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed what amounts to a cease and desist letter. They say Reed should stop accepting ballots from outside the country - including from members of the military - in PDF form via email. Holly Jacobson with Voter Action says even though this isn't technically on-line voting, it still jeopardizes ballot integrity
National
More Voting by Mail? First, Consider the Hidden Costs
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=7717
In these difficult economic times, isn’t a cheaper, administratively simpler method of voting a no-brainer?
Not if the policy costs outweigh the savings. Unfortunately, the policy costs — which come in the form of lost votes, decreased legitimacy, and a further skewing of the composition of the electorate — are real.
...
Still, what if the “real” lost vote rate for absentee ballots wasn’t 20%, but just 2%? It would still be greater than the in-precinct lost vote rate.
Today’s foreign money round-up
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/10/20/todays-foreign-money-round-up/
International
Afghanistan rules 1.3m parliamentary votes are invalid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11582690
"Turnout is around 5,600,000, the valid vote is 4,265,347, and the invalid vote is around 1,300,000," Fazil Ahmad Manawi, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), said on Wednesday.
...
Meanwhile, the UN-backed Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission is investigating more than 4,000 formal complaints.
India: Security of India's electronic voting machines is questioned
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/19/AR2010101907602.html
Ram Kishan Yadav lost a race for Teekli village council head in July. He and others allege tampering with an electronic voting machine.
...
But a growing number of critics are questioning the reliability of the machines, and some voters complain that buttons stick and lights flash on the wrong candidate when they cast ballots electronically. Some politicians have expressed doubts about the results of elections in the past two years.
UK: Under pressure David Cameron faces calls for a new EU vote
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1322019/David-Cameron-faces-calls-new-EU-vote.html
David Cameron was under fresh pressure to hold a referendum on Europe last night - as France and Germany called for the controversial Lisbon Treaty to be redrawn.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
Like voting news? We're on the net at http://votingnews.blogspot.com
CA: Ranked-choice voting may delay results
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16380203?nclick_check=1
Macdonald said his office will release regular vote tally numbers starting late Tuesday night in all races, like it always does, but will not run the first ranked-choice voting algorithm until Friday -- when most of the votes should be in and counted...
CO: Judge won't reinstate 6,000 purged voters(voters would get provisional ballot)
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16382570 When a new voter registers in Colorado, the secretary of state mails a nonforwardable notice of disposition that the voter's registration has been received. If the notice comes back undeliverable in the mail, then clerks deem the voter's registration inactive within 20 days.
...
James Finberg, an attorney representing voting and labor groups, said voters are harmed because sometimes the voter cards are returned through no fault of their own.
CO: IRV: Thanks, but no thanks (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/143158
CT: Coalition Finds Small Improvements and New Problem in
Connecticut Post-Election Audits
http://ctelectionaudit.org/aug-10-election-observation-report-incremental-improvement-new-integrity-issue/ Citizen observation and analysis shows some improvements along with a newly uncovered problem with the random selection process
NC: Voters, candidates continue talk of voting problems*
http://www.wwaytv3.com/voters_candidates_continue_talk_voting_problems/10/2010
Some New Hanover County voters have complained about voting machines not registering their votes correctly. One voter, who did not want to go on camera, told us he raised his hand for help, but it never came.
NC: Editorial: One seat, three votes
http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/10/20/article/one_seat_three_votes
In better circumstances, the special election for a seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals wouldn't be happening. Bad timing and an unwise provision in the state constitution put it on the ballot.
NM: New Mexico Pay to Play: Ending the Corruption? (passed House but not Senate)
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/10/20/new-mexico-pay-to-play-ending-the-corruption/
The text of NM House Bill 118 widely prohibits lobbyists and government contractors from donating to a political candidate or any political committee. It also prohibits “seekers of targeted subsidies” from political donations.
NY: Missing deadline for military mail, election boards hope for the best
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/niagara-county/article224177.ece
“New York State should have an earlier primary. We don’t have a heck of a lot of time between certifying our primary elections to the state Board of Elections, given the variables of contested primaries and vote recounts,”
TX: Travis County Commissioners OK change to paper ballot after 2012
http://impactnews.com/northwest-austin/256-recent-news/10224-travis-county-commissioners-ok-change-to-paper-ballot-after-2012
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir told the court she believes the system is secure, but said the county is looking to purchase a paper ballot system as soon as possible.
TX: All eyes on Houston, Pt. 2: Lawsuits, fraud & huge ballot challenge elections
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-houston/all-eyes-on-houston-pt-2-lawsuits-fraud-huge-ballot-challenge-elections
TX: DOJ Probes TX Voter Intimidation Complaints During Tea Party Anti-Voter Fraud Drive (video)*
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/the_texas_democratic_party_expanded.php
Poll watchers in Harris County, Texas -- where a Tea Party group launched an aggressive anti-voter fraud effort -- were accused of "hovering over" voters, "getting into election workers' faces" and blocking or disrupting lines of voters who were waiting to cast their ballots as early voting got underway yesterday.
[video interview of voter turned away even though he brought 2 forms of voter id]
TX: Dallas County to have election monitors Nov. 2
http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=13355216
WA: State Under Fire for Emailed Overseas Ballots (audio podcast available)
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1715073/KPLU.Local.
News/State.Under.Fire.for.Emailed.Overseas.Ballots http://tinyurl.com/26negk8
The groups Voter Action, Common Cause and Verified Voting have sent Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed what amounts to a cease and desist letter. They say Reed should stop accepting ballots from outside the country - including from members of the military - in PDF form via email. Holly Jacobson with Voter Action says even though this isn't technically on-line voting, it still jeopardizes ballot integrity
WI: Tosa woman sentenced to prison for illegal vote
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/105302508.html
A Wauwatosa woman who voted illegally in the 2008 presidential primary was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison after a stern lecture from the judge about the impact of voter fraud, even if doesn't turn an election.
Internet Voting Watch
“Halderman’s Hackers”: How Safe is Online Voting?
http://thefightback.org/2010/10/haldermans-hackers-how-safe-is-online-voting/#more-1039 Jeremy Epstein is a computer security and voting systems expert with SRI International. After testifying alongside Halderman at the D.C. Council, he said, “Internet voting is inherently not a good idea. There’s just too many problems… Every system, every website is just too easy for the bad guys to get in. We don’t have the technology today to provide the level of security that you need for an honest election.”
India: State EC floats SMS voting idea in Gujarat
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/state-ec-floats-sms-voting-idea-in-gujarat/699896/
Ahmedabad Gujarat, which set up the country’s first e-voting insfrastructure, is now ready for voting from mobile phones, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).
Though just 124 persons in the state opted to use e-voting facility set up at a a cost of Rs 37 crore during the last civic polls, SEC K C Kapoor said the state is now fully equipped to go a step farther from online voting to enabling voters to text their votes in through mobile phones.
WA: State Under Fire for Emailed Overseas Ballots (audio podcast available)
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1715073/KPLU .
Local.News/State.Under.Fire.for.Emailed.Overseas.Ballots http://tinyurl.com/26negk8
The groups Voter Action, Common Cause and Verified Voting have sent Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed what amounts to a cease and desist letter. They say Reed should stop accepting ballots from outside the country - including from members of the military - in PDF form via email. Holly Jacobson with Voter Action says even though this isn't technically on-line voting, it still jeopardizes ballot integrity
National
More Voting by Mail? First, Consider the Hidden Costs
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=7717
In these difficult economic times, isn’t a cheaper, administratively simpler method of voting a no-brainer?
Not if the policy costs outweigh the savings. Unfortunately, the policy costs — which come in the form of lost votes, decreased legitimacy, and a further skewing of the composition of the electorate — are real.
...
Still, what if the “real” lost vote rate for absentee ballots wasn’t 20%, but just 2%? It would still be greater than the in-precinct lost vote rate.
Today’s foreign money round-up
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/10/20/todays-foreign-money-round-up/
International
Afghanistan rules 1.3m parliamentary votes are invalid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11582690
"Turnout is around 5,600,000, the valid vote is 4,265,347, and the invalid vote is around 1,300,000," Fazil Ahmad Manawi, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), said on Wednesday.
...
Meanwhile, the UN-backed Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission is investigating more than 4,000 formal complaints.
India: Security of India's electronic voting machines is questioned
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/19/AR2010101907602.html
Ram Kishan Yadav lost a race for Teekli village council head in July. He and others allege tampering with an electronic voting machine.
...
But a growing number of critics are questioning the reliability of the machines, and some voters complain that buttons stick and lights flash on the wrong candidate when they cast ballots electronically. Some politicians have expressed doubts about the results of elections in the past two years.
UK: Under pressure David Cameron faces calls for a new EU vote
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1322019/David-Cameron-faces-calls-new-EU-vote.html
David Cameron was under fresh pressure to hold a referendum on Europe last night - as France and Germany called for the controversial Lisbon Treaty to be redrawn.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Can Internet Voting withstand public test? Can S. Carolina 'count on machines?'
DC allowed a public test of their internet voting system and shut it down after computer scientists took over the system. Other states that allow email or internet balloting for overseas voters should see if their systems can withstand a public test too..Sarasota FL's controversial Election Sup Kathy Dent may not run again...India e-voting researcher Hari Prasad is 1 of the winners of 2010 EFF Pioneer award...Afghanistan tosses out thousands of votes..866-OUR-VOTE wants volunteers...
All this and more in today's voting news below...
*Editor's correction. I mis-spelled Illinois Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate's name in Sunday's voting news. Unfortunately I can't blame the voting vendor. The correct spelling is Rich WhitNey, not Whitley.
AL: Official: 71 voters received ‘bad’ ballots
http://www.sandmountainreporter.com/news/local/article_f7864c5e-daf7-11df-bd53-001cc4c03286.html Mistakes on absentee ballots may cause citizens to cast the wrong vote...On Oct. 9, a letter was sent to the 71 voters explaining the mistake along with a new, corrected ballot. Those voters are asked to fill out the entire “good” ballot and return both the “bad” and the “good” ballots.
AR: Voting Machines Cause Problems In Benton County*
http://www.4029tv.com/news/25435089/detail.html
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Those who vote early will likely come across electronic voting machines, but those machines were the source a major problem that could have seriously affected the election schedule in Benton County.
They all need a device called a PEB, or a personal electronic ballot in order to work correctly. They’re used to test voting machines before Election Day to make sure there aren’t any errors with their programming.
But just a few days ago, Benton County officials realized those PEBs hadn’t come in the mail yet, and they might not be ready for early voting, which started on Monday.
CA: Fresno Co. candidate levels voting rights charges
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/10/18/2123218/sterling-levels-voting-rights.html
Fresno County cuts polling sites in half
..
The county is reducing the number of precincts from 405 in June to 205 next month because of budget cuts,
CO: Black-box issue sheds light
http://www.aspentimes.com/ARTICLE/20101016/LETTER/101019869/
CT: Vote With a Click?
Candidates for Secretary of the State say they want to make voting easier, perhaps online. http://westport.patch.com/articles/vote-with-a-click-2
"Because elections must be free of the possibility of fraud, every method of voting must have a "paper trail", where, even if initially tabulated by a computer, there is still an actual paper ballot to examine if there is a question of fraud," Farrell said in the Patch Voter Guide.
DC: Flaws in D.C.'s online voting system should serve as a warning to all states*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804529.html
Verified Voting, a nonprofit that works to ensure reliable elections, called the District's experiment "a visceral demonstration of just how serious the threats really are." (cross posted in Internet Voting Watch)
FL: Elections supervisor Kathy Dent may not run again
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101018/COLUMNIST/10181032/2055/NEWS?Title=Elections-supervisor-Kathy-Dent-may-not-run-again#
Dent has had a challenging fall. She was criticized for allegedly influencing a county charter review board candidate to not seek a recount in an August primary that was decided by just 151 votes. The candidate, Kathy Bolam, has since sued Dent.
Then weeks later Dent drew the ire of Democrats and some Republican candidates for unexpectedly moving up the day to send out absentee ballots to voters with little notice to candidates.
...
Dent is no stranger to criticism. In 2006 she was a frequent target and was ultimately sued because of the hotly contested congressional race that had 18,000 undervotes and made Sarasota County a national symbol for problems with touch-screen voting systems.
FL: FLORIDA VOTER PROTECTION LAWS IN A NUTSHELL
http://www.advancementproject.org/digital-library/publications/florida-voter-protection-laws-in-a-nutshell-0
GUAM: Overseas Service Members Can Email or Download Absentee Ballot for Delegate Race http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8693:election-commission-files-&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156
IL: Handful of Illinois counties miss military ballot deadline, GOP threatens lawsuit
http://ballotnews.org/2010/10/15/handful-of-illinois-counties-miss-military-ballot-deadline-gop-threatens-lawsuit/
IL: Ballots will be fixed to read 'Whitney' instead of 'Whitey' *
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/10/ballots-will-be-fixed-to-read-whitney-instead-of-whitey.html Chicago election officials say crews will work overtime to reprogram thousands of electronic voting machines that mistakenly list a gubernatorial candidate's name as "Rich Whitey" instead of Rich Whitney.
Chicago elections board chairman Langdon Neal said 530 machines being used for early voting and an additional 4,200 destined for the Nov. 2 election will be reprogrammed and retested.
IL: It’s Expensive to Fix ‘Rich Whitey’ on Chicago Ballots*
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/10/16/its-expensive-to-fix-rich-whitey-on-chicago-ballots/
A computer programmer’s glitch left the Chicago Board of Elections with an embarrassing ballot problem — and a big headache to get it fixed.
Early voters in Chicago found that Green Party candidate for governor, Rich Whitney, appeared as “R. Whitey” on the electronic voting machine’s screen that asked them to review all the candidates they had picked before pressing a button to cast their ballot.
...
Now the board has to reprogram and test some 4,200 voting machines in the 1,400 precincts. The effort is expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars, a sum that Election Board spokesman Jim Allen says the board will try to recover from the the company that set up the machines, Dominion Voting Systems.
KS: Another error found on ballot*
http://www.winfieldcourier.com/articles/2010/10/19/news/news/doc4cbdd58
4344c1776149232.txt http://tinyurl.com/35ea48d In resetting the electronic voting machines recently to correct a minor omission from the ballot for the Nov. 2 general election, the Cowley County clerk’s office lost some of its earlier work, including the italics on a key portion of a special question.
MA: Supreme Court rejects Massachusetts felons' voting rights challenge
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/1018/Supreme-Court-rejects-Massachusetts-felons-voting-rights-challenge
Three Massachusetts felons alleged that the commonwealth violated the Voting Rights Act when it passed a referendum stripping incarcerated felons of the right to vote.
NY: More Widespread Voting Machine Problems
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/nyc/More-Widespread-Voting-Machine-Problems-20101019-APX
NY: Constantia town judge candidate cancels voter registration after story reveals he lives in the wrong county http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/constantia_town_judge_candidat.html
Felice, a private investigator who says aliens rescued him from the Pacific Ocean
30 years ago, will remain on the ballot as the Democratic candidate for Constantia town judge, Wart said. State law requires only that on Election Day a candidate live in the district that includes the seat for which he’s running, Wart said.
NY: State extends overseas absentee-ballot deadline
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2010/10/15/state-extends-overseas-absentee-ballot-deadline/
NV: Univision shuts down 'Don't Vote' ad
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1010/Univision_shuts_down_Dont_Vote_ad.html
The Spanish-language network Univision has refused to air an ad from a GOP-led Hispanic group telling Hispanic voters to sit out the race between Sharron Angle and Harry Reid.
OH: OE making sure your absentee ballot counts
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/politics&id=7731371
But these workers could use your help too. As of today, more than 400 absentee ballots are in the challenged pile because they lack the correct information, which means they won't be counted unless their fixed
SC: Can we count on machines?
Electronic voting is easy, but critics question accuracy
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/oct/18/can-we-count-on-machines/
South Carolina election officials insist the machines voters will use Nov. 2 will give an accurate tally, but a growing number of people are less sure.
...
"A lot of people have said we've had no problems, but no one can say we've had no problems because no one knows what the truth really was," Buell said.
SC: DOJ Vows To Protect Voters Rights To Cast Election Ballots
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/oct/18/doj-vows-protect-voters-rights-cast-election-ballo-ar-977872/
TX: Tea Party Group Accused of Voter Intimidation in Houston Early Voting
http://www.mediaite.com/online/tea-party-group-accused-of-voter-intimidation-in-houston-early-voting/
In a story that’s sure to draw comparisons to the New Black Panther Party member who brandished a nightstick at a Philadelphia polling place in 2008, a Tea Party group called the King Street Patriots has been accused of “1960s style” voter intimidation in primarily minority precincts on the first day of early voting in Texas.
TX: Democrats Sue Houston Area Tea Party Group (complaint linked)
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/texas-political-news/democrats-sue-houston-area-tea-party-group/ The Texas Democratic Party added its name today to the list of parties suing the King Street Patriots for offenses connected to their pre-election activities in Harris County.
TX: Some Harris County early voters upset by poll watchers
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7253109.html
Complaints coming mainly from minority precincts
VA: Va. Beach to forgo use of laptops at polls Nov. 2
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/va-beach-forgo-use-laptops-polls-nov-2
Hampered by delays, defective batteries and too little room for storing and testing the machines, the city's board of elections decided to forgo electronic poll books this year.
...
Virginia Beach ordered 300 laptops in July 2009 but received only 236 working units, Harrington said. The most recent shipment of 121 computers included 18 that had to be returned because of battery problems or other hardware defects
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: Voting "hiccup" in Cobourgz8 *
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2805160
COBOURG — A problem with one of 13 voting computer servers operated by Intelivote affected Internet and telephone municipal voting for about five minutes in Cobourg shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 18, says company president Dean Smith.
The Nova Scotian company is handling municipal election voting at this time for 34 Ontario municipalities including Cobourg, Smith said in an interview. Monday was Cobourg's first day.
What happened to people attempting to use their PIN (personal identification number) to vote when the system "shut down" about 10:11 a.m. was to "spit them out:" with a message either stating on the computer screen or over the telephone that they were "experiencing technical problems" and to try again, he said. Attempting again would put them onto one of the other dozen servers and they could proceed to vote, Smith said.
DC: Flaws in D.C.'s online voting system should serve as a warning to all states*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804529.html
Verified Voting, a nonprofit that works to ensure reliable elections, called the District's experiment "a visceral demonstration of just how serious the threats really are."
...
D.C. officials shouldn't be embarrassed, because their willingness to have a public test is an important wake-up call about the potential dangers of Internet voting. States rushing to implement online voting should pause, lest they put the nation's elections at risk.
National
India e-voting researcher Hari Prasad is 1 of the winners of 2010 EFF Pioneer award
https://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer
Public Citizen Unveils Database to Track Record Amounts of Secret Money Being Funneled Into November Elections http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=4542
10 years after Bush v. Gore, new concerns about voting
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2010-10-19-1Avoting19_CV_N.htm
Electoral Coup d'Etats
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Electoral-Coup-d-Etats-by-Stephen-Lendman-101018-594.html
The Risk of Voter Suppression
Are election fraud watchdogs crossing the line?
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/po_20101018_7902.php
OUTREACH
Americans still have time to vote
http://www.yucatanliving.com/daily-life/americans-still-have-time-to-vote.htm
Online Ballots Can Help Overseas Votes Count
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=61332 For anxious voters, an alternative to mailed ballots is a few mouse-clicks away. New York and Illinois ballots -- and those of 29 other states -- are available online at the voting assistance program’s website, http://www.fvap.gov.
STARS & STRIPES Guest Column They protect democracy. Let's protect their votes
http://www.stripes.com/they-protect-democracy-let-s-protect-their-votes-1.122167
Military and Overseas Voters Are Still Routinely Disenfranchised (Guest Voice)
http://southcapitolstreet.com/2010/10/15/military-and-overseas-voters-are-still-routinely-disenfranchised-guest-voice/
ABC NEWS Absentee Ballots Mailed Late to Overseas Voters
Federal Government Cracking Down on States that Miss Ballot Deadlines
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/absentee-ballots-mailed-late-overseas-voters/story?id=11891603&page=2
Election Protection is the country’s largest non-partisan coalition that includes the 866-OUR-VOTE and 888-Ve-Y-Vota national voter hotline, as well as a field program in critical locations. Volunteers must attend in-person a brief training session and are asked to sign up for a several hour shift. Volunteers are particularly needed for the first shift as most problems occur in the early morning. Materials will be provided. To volunteer, please sign-up directly at
http://signup.lawyerscommittee.org/t/5631/signUp.jsp?key=2983
WashPo: Felon voting rights expanded in 23 states
http://protectourelections.org/index.php?q=node/50
International
Afghanistan: Afghanistan tosses out thousands of votes amid fraud probe
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-vote-fraud-20101019,0,3296354.story Ballots from 10% of the nation's voting centers have been nullified as widespread complaints of vote irregularities are investigated. Preliminary results may be delayed again.
Canada: Chris Vander Doelen: Mail-in chaos
Did I sign my ballot?
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Vander+Doelen+Mail+chaos/3691217/story.html
India: Plea questioning reliability of voting machines dismissed
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a175625.html
India: Why it is necessary to make ‘Paper Trail’ work for India’s EVMs?
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=511
The choice before the ECI is not whether the paper trail is feasible or not. The real question is how to make Indian elections transparent and verifiable. In my opinion, that ought to have been the terms of reference for the Expert Committee examining the “feasibility” of introducing voter verified paper audit trail.
Sweden: Hacking Sweden's election with pen and paper
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-09/24/sweden-election-hack
While most people use pre-printed ballot papers to vote with, the country's election law dictates that you're allowed to write your vote out by hand, and one person appears to have attempted to take advantage of this, to use an SQL injection to destroy the database.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
All this and more in today's voting news below...
*Editor's correction. I mis-spelled Illinois Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate's name in Sunday's voting news. Unfortunately I can't blame the voting vendor. The correct spelling is Rich WhitNey, not Whitley.
AL: Official: 71 voters received ‘bad’ ballots
http://www.sandmountainreporter.com/news/local/article_f7864c5e-daf7-11df-bd53-001cc4c03286.html Mistakes on absentee ballots may cause citizens to cast the wrong vote...On Oct. 9, a letter was sent to the 71 voters explaining the mistake along with a new, corrected ballot. Those voters are asked to fill out the entire “good” ballot and return both the “bad” and the “good” ballots.
AR: Voting Machines Cause Problems In Benton County*
http://www.4029tv.com/news/25435089/detail.html
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Those who vote early will likely come across electronic voting machines, but those machines were the source a major problem that could have seriously affected the election schedule in Benton County.
They all need a device called a PEB, or a personal electronic ballot in order to work correctly. They’re used to test voting machines before Election Day to make sure there aren’t any errors with their programming.
But just a few days ago, Benton County officials realized those PEBs hadn’t come in the mail yet, and they might not be ready for early voting, which started on Monday.
CA: Fresno Co. candidate levels voting rights charges
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/10/18/2123218/sterling-levels-voting-rights.html
Fresno County cuts polling sites in half
..
The county is reducing the number of precincts from 405 in June to 205 next month because of budget cuts,
CO: Black-box issue sheds light
http://www.aspentimes.com/ARTICLE/20101016/LETTER/101019869/
CT: Vote With a Click?
Candidates for Secretary of the State say they want to make voting easier, perhaps online. http://westport.patch.com/articles/vote-with-a-click-2
"Because elections must be free of the possibility of fraud, every method of voting must have a "paper trail", where, even if initially tabulated by a computer, there is still an actual paper ballot to examine if there is a question of fraud," Farrell said in the Patch Voter Guide.
DC: Flaws in D.C.'s online voting system should serve as a warning to all states*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804529.html
Verified Voting, a nonprofit that works to ensure reliable elections, called the District's experiment "a visceral demonstration of just how serious the threats really are." (cross posted in Internet Voting Watch)
FL: Elections supervisor Kathy Dent may not run again
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101018/COLUMNIST/10181032/2055/NEWS?Title=Elections-supervisor-Kathy-Dent-may-not-run-again#
Dent has had a challenging fall. She was criticized for allegedly influencing a county charter review board candidate to not seek a recount in an August primary that was decided by just 151 votes. The candidate, Kathy Bolam, has since sued Dent.
Then weeks later Dent drew the ire of Democrats and some Republican candidates for unexpectedly moving up the day to send out absentee ballots to voters with little notice to candidates.
...
Dent is no stranger to criticism. In 2006 she was a frequent target and was ultimately sued because of the hotly contested congressional race that had 18,000 undervotes and made Sarasota County a national symbol for problems with touch-screen voting systems.
FL: FLORIDA VOTER PROTECTION LAWS IN A NUTSHELL
http://www.advancementproject.org/digital-library/publications/florida-voter-protection-laws-in-a-nutshell-0
GUAM: Overseas Service Members Can Email or Download Absentee Ballot for Delegate Race http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8693:election-commission-files-&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156
IL: Handful of Illinois counties miss military ballot deadline, GOP threatens lawsuit
http://ballotnews.org/2010/10/15/handful-of-illinois-counties-miss-military-ballot-deadline-gop-threatens-lawsuit/
IL: Ballots will be fixed to read 'Whitney' instead of 'Whitey' *
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/10/ballots-will-be-fixed-to-read-whitney-instead-of-whitey.html Chicago election officials say crews will work overtime to reprogram thousands of electronic voting machines that mistakenly list a gubernatorial candidate's name as "Rich Whitey" instead of Rich Whitney.
Chicago elections board chairman Langdon Neal said 530 machines being used for early voting and an additional 4,200 destined for the Nov. 2 election will be reprogrammed and retested.
IL: It’s Expensive to Fix ‘Rich Whitey’ on Chicago Ballots*
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/10/16/its-expensive-to-fix-rich-whitey-on-chicago-ballots/
A computer programmer’s glitch left the Chicago Board of Elections with an embarrassing ballot problem — and a big headache to get it fixed.
Early voters in Chicago found that Green Party candidate for governor, Rich Whitney, appeared as “R. Whitey” on the electronic voting machine’s screen that asked them to review all the candidates they had picked before pressing a button to cast their ballot.
...
Now the board has to reprogram and test some 4,200 voting machines in the 1,400 precincts. The effort is expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars, a sum that Election Board spokesman Jim Allen says the board will try to recover from the the company that set up the machines, Dominion Voting Systems.
KS: Another error found on ballot*
http://www.winfieldcourier.com/articles/2010/10/19/news/news/doc4cbdd58
4344c1776149232.txt http://tinyurl.com/35ea48d In resetting the electronic voting machines recently to correct a minor omission from the ballot for the Nov. 2 general election, the Cowley County clerk’s office lost some of its earlier work, including the italics on a key portion of a special question.
MA: Supreme Court rejects Massachusetts felons' voting rights challenge
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/1018/Supreme-Court-rejects-Massachusetts-felons-voting-rights-challenge
Three Massachusetts felons alleged that the commonwealth violated the Voting Rights Act when it passed a referendum stripping incarcerated felons of the right to vote.
NY: More Widespread Voting Machine Problems
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/nyc/More-Widespread-Voting-Machine-Problems-20101019-APX
NY: Constantia town judge candidate cancels voter registration after story reveals he lives in the wrong county http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/constantia_town_judge_candidat.html
Felice, a private investigator who says aliens rescued him from the Pacific Ocean
30 years ago, will remain on the ballot as the Democratic candidate for Constantia town judge, Wart said. State law requires only that on Election Day a candidate live in the district that includes the seat for which he’s running, Wart said.
NY: State extends overseas absentee-ballot deadline
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2010/10/15/state-extends-overseas-absentee-ballot-deadline/
NV: Univision shuts down 'Don't Vote' ad
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1010/Univision_shuts_down_Dont_Vote_ad.html
The Spanish-language network Univision has refused to air an ad from a GOP-led Hispanic group telling Hispanic voters to sit out the race between Sharron Angle and Harry Reid.
OH: OE making sure your absentee ballot counts
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/politics&id=7731371
But these workers could use your help too. As of today, more than 400 absentee ballots are in the challenged pile because they lack the correct information, which means they won't be counted unless their fixed
SC: Can we count on machines?
Electronic voting is easy, but critics question accuracy
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/oct/18/can-we-count-on-machines/
South Carolina election officials insist the machines voters will use Nov. 2 will give an accurate tally, but a growing number of people are less sure.
...
"A lot of people have said we've had no problems, but no one can say we've had no problems because no one knows what the truth really was," Buell said.
SC: DOJ Vows To Protect Voters Rights To Cast Election Ballots
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/oct/18/doj-vows-protect-voters-rights-cast-election-ballo-ar-977872/
TX: Tea Party Group Accused of Voter Intimidation in Houston Early Voting
http://www.mediaite.com/online/tea-party-group-accused-of-voter-intimidation-in-houston-early-voting/
In a story that’s sure to draw comparisons to the New Black Panther Party member who brandished a nightstick at a Philadelphia polling place in 2008, a Tea Party group called the King Street Patriots has been accused of “1960s style” voter intimidation in primarily minority precincts on the first day of early voting in Texas.
TX: Democrats Sue Houston Area Tea Party Group (complaint linked)
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/texas-political-news/democrats-sue-houston-area-tea-party-group/ The Texas Democratic Party added its name today to the list of parties suing the King Street Patriots for offenses connected to their pre-election activities in Harris County.
TX: Some Harris County early voters upset by poll watchers
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7253109.html
Complaints coming mainly from minority precincts
VA: Va. Beach to forgo use of laptops at polls Nov. 2
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/va-beach-forgo-use-laptops-polls-nov-2
Hampered by delays, defective batteries and too little room for storing and testing the machines, the city's board of elections decided to forgo electronic poll books this year.
...
Virginia Beach ordered 300 laptops in July 2009 but received only 236 working units, Harrington said. The most recent shipment of 121 computers included 18 that had to be returned because of battery problems or other hardware defects
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: Voting "hiccup" in Cobourgz8 *
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2805160
COBOURG — A problem with one of 13 voting computer servers operated by Intelivote affected Internet and telephone municipal voting for about five minutes in Cobourg shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 18, says company president Dean Smith.
The Nova Scotian company is handling municipal election voting at this time for 34 Ontario municipalities including Cobourg, Smith said in an interview. Monday was Cobourg's first day.
What happened to people attempting to use their PIN (personal identification number) to vote when the system "shut down" about 10:11 a.m. was to "spit them out:" with a message either stating on the computer screen or over the telephone that they were "experiencing technical problems" and to try again, he said. Attempting again would put them onto one of the other dozen servers and they could proceed to vote, Smith said.
DC: Flaws in D.C.'s online voting system should serve as a warning to all states*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804529.html
Verified Voting, a nonprofit that works to ensure reliable elections, called the District's experiment "a visceral demonstration of just how serious the threats really are."
...
D.C. officials shouldn't be embarrassed, because their willingness to have a public test is an important wake-up call about the potential dangers of Internet voting. States rushing to implement online voting should pause, lest they put the nation's elections at risk.
National
India e-voting researcher Hari Prasad is 1 of the winners of 2010 EFF Pioneer award
https://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer
Public Citizen Unveils Database to Track Record Amounts of Secret Money Being Funneled Into November Elections http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=4542
10 years after Bush v. Gore, new concerns about voting
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2010-10-19-1Avoting19_CV_N.htm
Electoral Coup d'Etats
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Electoral-Coup-d-Etats-by-Stephen-Lendman-101018-594.html
The Risk of Voter Suppression
Are election fraud watchdogs crossing the line?
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/po_20101018_7902.php
OUTREACH
Americans still have time to vote
http://www.yucatanliving.com/daily-life/americans-still-have-time-to-vote.htm
Online Ballots Can Help Overseas Votes Count
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=61332 For anxious voters, an alternative to mailed ballots is a few mouse-clicks away. New York and Illinois ballots -- and those of 29 other states -- are available online at the voting assistance program’s website, http://www.fvap.gov.
STARS & STRIPES Guest Column They protect democracy. Let's protect their votes
http://www.stripes.com/they-protect-democracy-let-s-protect-their-votes-1.122167
Military and Overseas Voters Are Still Routinely Disenfranchised (Guest Voice)
http://southcapitolstreet.com/2010/10/15/military-and-overseas-voters-are-still-routinely-disenfranchised-guest-voice/
ABC NEWS Absentee Ballots Mailed Late to Overseas Voters
Federal Government Cracking Down on States that Miss Ballot Deadlines
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/absentee-ballots-mailed-late-overseas-voters/story?id=11891603&page=2
Election Protection is the country’s largest non-partisan coalition that includes the 866-OUR-VOTE and 888-Ve-Y-Vota national voter hotline, as well as a field program in critical locations. Volunteers must attend in-person a brief training session and are asked to sign up for a several hour shift. Volunteers are particularly needed for the first shift as most problems occur in the early morning. Materials will be provided. To volunteer, please sign-up directly at
http://signup.lawyerscommittee.org/t/5631/signUp.jsp?key=2983
WashPo: Felon voting rights expanded in 23 states
http://protectourelections.org/index.php?q=node/50
International
Afghanistan: Afghanistan tosses out thousands of votes amid fraud probe
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-vote-fraud-20101019,0,3296354.story Ballots from 10% of the nation's voting centers have been nullified as widespread complaints of vote irregularities are investigated. Preliminary results may be delayed again.
Canada: Chris Vander Doelen: Mail-in chaos
Did I sign my ballot?
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Vander+Doelen+Mail+chaos/3691217/story.html
India: Plea questioning reliability of voting machines dismissed
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a175625.html
India: Why it is necessary to make ‘Paper Trail’ work for India’s EVMs?
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=511
The choice before the ECI is not whether the paper trail is feasible or not. The real question is how to make Indian elections transparent and verifiable. In my opinion, that ought to have been the terms of reference for the Expert Committee examining the “feasibility” of introducing voter verified paper audit trail.
Sweden: Hacking Sweden's election with pen and paper
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-09/24/sweden-election-hack
While most people use pre-printed ballot papers to vote with, the country's election law dictates that you're allowed to write your vote out by hand, and one person appears to have attempted to take advantage of this, to use an SQL injection to destroy the database.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/VotingNews and
at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn
Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers'ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)