Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Monday 1/21/08 - MLK Day

[tbyg52]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Monday 1/21/08

Esteemed DUer's, please consider taking a moment (or more)
to graciously participate by posting Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

Letter From a Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King, Jr.

April 16, 1963

MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN:

snip

Let me give another explanation. An unjust law is a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because they did not have the unhampered right to vote. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up the segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout the state of Alabama all types of conniving methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters and there are some counties without a single Negro registered to vote despite the fact that the Negro constitutes a majority of the population. Can any law set up in such a state be considered democratically structured?

These are just a few examples of unjust and just laws. There are some instances when a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I was arrested Friday on a charge of parading without a permit. Now there is nothing wrong with an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade, but when the ordinance is used to preserve segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest, then it becomes unjust.

More:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/letter_from_a_birmingham_jail.html


If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.



2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.



4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.


Recommendations always appreciated!

[tbyg52]

1. States nt

[tbyg52]

9. AR: Officials Expect Few Electronic Voting Problems

Nearly two years after their disappointing debut in the May 2006 primary election, Arkansas’ touch-screen voting machines are expected to perform much better in the state’s Feb. 5 presidential primary, state and county election officials.

Early voting for the primary begins Jan. 29.

“We’ve had five statewide elections since the implementation of this new equipment, and every election is better and smoother than the one before,” said Natasha Naragon, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Charlie Daniels.

More:
http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2008/01/21/week_in_review/news/sunday/news01.txt

[tbyg52]

10. RI: Can R.I. count on its voting machines?

The company that Rhode Island depends on to record and count its votes in elections has seen its equipment decertified in one state and heavily criticized in another. It is also the target of a $15-million lawsuit by a third state.

Election Systems and Software, based in Nebraska, is one of the handful of major suppliers of election systems.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections relies heavily on ES&S, both for supplying and maintaining its election hardware and software and for operating the system during elections.

More:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/ELECTION_MACHINES_01-21-08_1A8M47E_v17.2a2fe5f.html

[tbyg52]

11. NY: Breakthrough at the Board?

NY Could Vote on Paper Ballots

Pressure from Judge Gary Sharpe’s order for the State to put Ballot Marking Devices in place for the 2008 Election may at last force the New York State Board of Elections to authorize a single state wide paper ballot marker and scanner system. Unquestionably, there are many benefits to using only one voting system throughout the state, and it’s obvious that touch screen voting machines, or DREs, are the worst possible choice for New York in light of huge costs and the number of states rapidly abandoning failed DRE technology. But so far the State Board has refused to do what’s right for New York’s voters and have kept DRE vendor hopes alive, even going so far as to recklessly allow vendors to submit DREs to use as Ballot Marking Devices – a purpose they are not designed for, can’t fulfill (see why here, here, and here) and which was protested by NYVV and a coalition of advocacy organizations.

But sources at the State Board of Elections tell me that the small number of submitted systems, and the Board’s inability to agree on what actually constitutes a Ballot Marking Device, could result in only one system being authorized at the Board’s crucial meeting on Wednesday, 1/23/08 – a combination ballot marker and scanner which would virtually guarantee that New Yorkers will vote on paper ballots when lever machines are retired in 2009.

More:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bo_lipar_080120_breakthrough_at_the_.htm

[Wilms]

17. I'm not sure why, but Bo Lipari hates lever machines and loves OpScan. n/t

(Possible) Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x495422

[tbyg52]

14. FL: Florida prepares to unplug touchscreen voting machines

After next week, voting in Florida will be less like withdrawing money from an ATM and more like taking the SAT.

After less than six years, the state is pulling the plug on most of its 25,000 touch-screen voting machines — once heralded as a way to prevent messy, embarrassing elections.

Instead, the technology proved expensive for the 15 counties that adopted it after the 2000 presidential election thrust Florida into the national spotlight for the pregnant, hanging and dimpled chads on its paper ballots.

Officials promise the new method will be better. Most voters will fill in ovals on a paper ballot and a scanner will verify their vote before they leave the precinct.

More:
http://www.sun-herald.com/floridanews.cfm?id=2034

[tbyg52]

15. OH: New election rules will cost

It would cost the four counties in Southwest Ohio at least $6.5 million to meet Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's plan to overhaul their voting systems.

Some changes - such as a costly move to count all paper ballots in central locations, rather than precincts - even Brunner admits aren't likely to happen this year.

But one change she is pushing hard is scrapping touch-screen voting machines before Nov. 4. That would force Butler County to scrounge up an entirely new voting system in a presidential election year.

Butler County could be forced to pay $1.5 million, and possibly millions more, depending on how many new optical scanners it buys, and where the county decides to count votes.

This after the county spent $10 million to buy 1,668 touch-screen machines for the 2005 election

More:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080121/NEWS01/801210307

[tbyg52]

20. NC: Redistricting Lawsuit Threatens N.C. Primary Schedule

It's another election season and North Carolina voters could again be confused by a redistricting lawsuit that alleges state legislative boundaries drawn by the General Assembly are illegal.

If a federal three-judge panel in New Bern sides this week with a group of Republican voters who sued after a state Supreme Court decision last year involving one state House district, the May 6 primary election could be delayed.

And not just the legislative races - state law requires that primaries for governor, Council of State races, U.S. Senate and U.S. House also would have to be rescheduled for the same date. And the presidential primaries also set for May 6 would be in jeopardy.

More:
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/2330659/

[tbyg52]

24. CA: Mail-in ballots get most votes

http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_8032123?nclick_check=1Wen Zhuang votes by mail because she doesn't want to have to scramble to vote before picking up her daughter at school.

Christina Ramirez wants time to mull over her vote - even though it'll probably be for Barack Obama.

And Roberta Allen, who's already voted for Fred Thompson, never really trusted those voting machines and sometimes had trouble finding her polling place.

Voters like these are behind an explosion in Santa Clara County of what used to be called absentee voting, now dubbed Vote By Mail.

More:
http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_8032123?nclick_check=1

[tbyg52]

34. NE: Cass County Resident With ALS Fights With State Over ID

State Agrees To Get Special Help For Incapacitated Man

A Nebraska man said he is fighting red tape as a disease steals his strength.

Louis Yando has Lou Gehrig's disease and is unable to move from his bed. He said the state of Nebraska has told him that the only way he can get a legal state identification was to show up at a state office in person.

Yando, 64, moved from Ohio to Cass County Nebraska two years ago. He hasn't left his attic bedroom since.

More:
http://www.ketv.com/news/15101762/detail.html

[tbyg52]

38. NH: Recount turns up a few human errors

The recount of Democratic ballots cast in New Hampshire's presidential primary has turned up instances of human error.

A recount of ballots cast in Nashua's Ward 5 show that Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Joe Biden received a total of 110 votes less than originally reported because of human error.

(A little) more:
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080121/NEWS01/801210369/1043

[tbyg52]

42. SC: Vote results further delayed

Officials vow to fix machine issues by Saturday

More than a day after the polls closed, Horry County still could not release full results in a Republican presidential primary plagued by county and state election commission mistakes.

Officials vowed Sunday to ensure that the problems that marred the Republican primary would not be an issue for the Democratic presidential primary, slated for Saturday.

Four of the county's 118 precincts had yet to be counted late Sunday night, said Sandy Martin, the county's elections director. She expected final results to be released before noon today.

The S.C. State Election Commission estimated that 20,000 voters, or 15 percent, turned out in the county. That's down from 2000, the year the last Republican primary was held, when 24 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

More:
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/321972.html

[tbyg52]

44. NV: Fairness of caucus questioned

The aftermath of the Nevada caucus turned bitter Sunday as the campaigns of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama said they would complain to the Democratic Party of the other side's strong-arm tactics at caucus sites.

Obama's campaign complained that the Clinton camp distributed a rule book to supporters that said caucus site doors would close at 11:30 a.m., unfairly shutting out Obama supporters who had until noon to register.

"It could have had an effect on the vote," Obama counsel Bob Bauer said on a conference call, adding that the campaign was looking into 300 incident reports.

"There was a clear, disenfranchising effect," Bauer said. "We want a full review of this."

More:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_8032931?nclick_check=1

[tbyg52]

46. FL: Absentee ballot requests in Broward three times higher than 2004

Broward County voters have requested almost three times as many absentee ballots for the Jan. 29 primary compared to 2004, as an increasing number of people choose the convenience of leisurely casting their ballots and avoiding Election Day lines and touch-screen voting machines.

Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes said 36,857 ballots had been requested as of Thursday vs. 13,000 at the same point during early voting in the 2004 primary, which had no GOP contest.

More:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbearlyvote0121sbjan21,0,950033.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout

[tbyg52]

47. AL: 'Let My People Vote' campaign

Civil rights advocates will be visiting state prisons and county jails today in an effort to restore felons a right that was likely snatched away from them in ignorance to a century-old law.

The leaders, part of the “Let My People Vote” campaign organized by the Rev. Kenny Glasgow, will be taking voter re-instatement and registration forms into the facilities to register prisoners for the upcoming presidential election.

More:
http://www.dothaneagle.com/gulfcoasteast/dea/local_news.apx.-content-articles-DEA-2008-01-21-0004.html

[tbyg52]

48. SC: County, state to blame for Horry County voting machine errors

The polls weren't open long in Horry County Saturday before the first signs of trouble started hitting home for election officials.

Many voters in the county said they were turned away when they went to vote in the Republican Primary.

The reason was, mistakes were made in the initial set up of the machines which started at the state and local level.

Gary Baum, South Carolina Election Commission's Director of Public Information, said the state produced two packages for Horry County, one for the Republican Primary and one for the Democratic Primary.

Baum said the mistake came when the election database, which is the software installed in the voting machines that tells the machine when voting should begin and end, had the wrong date in for the Republican Primary.

More:
http://www.scnow.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-BTW-2008-01-21-0011.html

[tbyg52]

2. National nt

[tbyg52]

12. WHY OBAMA AND CLINTON ARE DEBATING VOTER SUPPRESSION..

They aren't just fighting for delegates anymore. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are now battling at the boundaries of democracy, trading allegations of voter suppression from the Nevada fallout. Look closely, though, and much of this boils down to turnout.

Clinton now leads most of the centrist coalition that her husband built. That includes working class moderates, pro-trade centrists, liberal hawks, Latinos and most of the traditional Democratic-progressive establishment – an alliance that delivered two winning pluralities for Bill Clinton. Obama is trying to build a new, bigger coalition on the fly. His success depends on mobilizing largely untested voting blocs, such as people under 30, apolitical independents and cross-over Republicans -- those "Obamacans" -- while consolidating his base of affluent liberals and Blacks.

The first three contests suggest that either tack can work.

More:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=273280

[tbyg52]

13. First Online Voting for Americans Abroad

For the first time American Democrats living abroad will be able to cast ballots in U.S. elections, using the Internet.

Democrats Abroad, an official branch of the party representing overseas voters, plans to hold its first global primary Feb. 5 - 12, with ex-pats voting for the candidate of their choice - by Internet, fax and in-person polling places in over 100 countries.

(A little) more:
http://www.newsroomamerica.com/usa/story.php?id=406060

[tbyg52]

35. Americans abroad can now vote online

This year, for the first time, expatriate Democrats can cast their ballots on the Internet in a presidential primary for people living outside the United States.

Democrats Abroad, an official branch of the party representing overseas voters, will hold its first global presidential preference primary from Feb. 5 to 12, with ex-pats selecting the candidate of their choice by Internet as well as fax, mail and in-person at polling places in more than 100 countries.

Democrats Abroad is particularly proud of the online voting option - which provides a new alternative to the usual process of voting from overseas, a system made difficult by complicated voter registration paperwork, early deadlines and unreliable foreign mail service.

"The online system is incredibly secure: That was one of our biggest goals," said Lindsey Reynolds, executive director of Democrats Abroad. "And it does allow access to folks who ordinarily wouldn't get to participate."

More:
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2008/01/21/abroad.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

[tbyg52]

19. How to Vote From Abroad

U.S. citizens living abroad who want to participate in the 2008 primary elections have a number of options.

More:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gzuYWMzK4RBtB4K2LDA6nyfUba3QD8UA63G00

[tbyg52]

21. Military absentee voting 'primary' concern for officials

For Federal Voting Assistance Program officials, getting deployed troops and their families engaged in the current election season is a primary goal.

Ahead of the November general election, officials with the FVAP, which fosters voting participation by uniformed and U.S. citizens abroad, are assisting eligible absentee voters who wish to cast ballots in their states' primary election.

"It's important that voters participate in the upcoming primary elections," said Polli Brunelli, the program's chief. "We have over 20 primaries occurring in February, so now is the time, if you've received your ballot, to vote and get it back by the state deadlines."

More:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123083029

[tbyg52]

3. International nt

[tbyg52]

6. Nigeria: Chime’s election nullification confirms widespread electoral fraud across Nigeria

Action Congress (AC) has stated that the nullification of the election of Enugu State governor, Sullivan Chime, has confirmed the widespread view that no voting took place in the state as well as several other states across the federation, during the April general elections.

The party, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated that the judgment of the tribunal has again confirmed the fearlessness and fairness of the judiciary.

It said the conclusion of the tribunal that the election was not conducted substantially in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2006’ was a big blow to INEC, which had hitherto argued that previous nullifications were done on technical grounds.

More:
http://www.tribune.com.ng/21012008/news/news11.html

[tbyg52]

18. Thailand: A system of checks remains essential

The supremacy of the rule of law provides the single most important underpinning of the democracy that Thailand is now trying to rebuild. The administrative, legislative and judicial branches of government must coexist, function and interact in a way that ensures an effective system of checks and balances. This is essential in a parliamentary democracy in which the same group of people holding sway in the administration also dominates the legislature. The Democrat Party, the second-largest political party, is set to become the sole opposition party in the House of Representatives. The party, also the country's oldest, appears up to the task of keeping the government on its toes.

But the opposition can only do so much to scrutinise the government's policies, monitor its performance, and even sway public opinion by using its powers of persuasion. The judiciary plays a crucial role in guaranteeing that all - from the most powerful politicians and the wealthiest businessmen to common citizens and the underprivileged - are equal in the eyes of the law. Even politicians who have taken office through democratic elections are expected to strictly obey the law both as private citizens and as holders of public office.

Despite the establishment of parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy 75 years ago, Thai politics continues to be mired in corruption and there is still a criminal element among politicians, as reflected in widespread vote-buying and electoral fraud.

More:
http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/22/opinion/opinion_30062978.php

[tbyg52]

22. Lithuania: Controversy around the introduction of internet voting in Lithuania

A bill for changing the electoral law to enable online voting via the internet did not obtain a majority in the Lithuanian Parliament. An attempt by the Lithuanian Government lead by Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas to rescue the bill and pass it on to the Information Society Development Committee for revision also failed.

(A little) more:
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/102124

[tbyg52]

23. Indonesia: Youth easy victims of election violence: Expert

Young people were often made the victims of election-related violence in Indonesia because they were too easy to mobilize, experts and politicians said.

"Riots start because young people are mobilized by the political elite," Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) director Hadar Gumay told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Indonesia's first-ever direct legislative and presidential elections were held in 2004.

Since then, direct elections have been held in various provinces, regencies and municipalities across the country.

Some of these elections were followed by riots, mostly carried out by the supporters of losing candidates.

More:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20080121.A06&irec=5

[tbyg52]

40. Georgia: Election results contested: Whose president is he?

The results of elections showed that although Saakashvili won his second term presidency, he did not win elections by nearly the margin he had in 2004. He lost in the capital but won by a landslide in regions populated with ethnic (national) minorities, like Marneuli. The results evoked cynical statements from the opposition that Saakashvili is not a president for everyone, but a president for Marneuli.

A member of the opposition coalition, Kakha Kukava states Saakasvvili received the majority of votes in Marneuli (50,000). “They say that it is not important who won in Tbilisi, Samegrelo, Imereti, or Adjara, but everything is decided in Marneuli. Marneuli outweighed all other regions. That is why I am saying that Saakashvili is the president of Marneuli,” he explained.

According to Kukava, while elections were held with more or less transparency in Poti, Batumi and other parts, they were entirely falsified in Marneuli and other ethnically populated regions.

More:
http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=8860

[tbyg52]

4. Blogs, Editorials, LTTEs, etc. nt

[tbyg52]

7. Voter ID allies betray King and democracy

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a charismatic and eloquent young minister from Atlanta, founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. In doing so, he promised a "crusade for citizenship," which included encouraging voter registration for African-Americans. One of the first goals of his organization was to register 2 million to 3 million new black voters before the 1960 presidential election. As King asked rhetorically at the second Youth March on Washington in 1959, "Do you realize what would happen ... if 3 million Negro voters were added to the rolls in the South?"

Southern whites certainly did. They successfully disfranchised blacks in the aftermath of Reconstruction through such devices as literacy tests, poll taxes and the white primary. In response to the new threat to white supremacy posed by King and the civil rights movement, Southern states scurried to enact new restrictions on registration and voting. Mississippi required the names of new voter applicants to be published in newspapers prior to acceptance to give people an opportunity to object. Another new law allowed already registered voters to object to the "moral character" of applicants. Georgia enacted a new "good character and citizenship" test for voting, which required new applicants to answer correctly a series of obscure questions.

More:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/01/21/mcdonalded_0121.html

[tbyg52]

8. Voter ID would have no effect at all on voter fraud

The push for a voter ID law is a solution in search of a problem. No one who favors such a law has been able to document even one instance of in-person voter fraud - someone coming to the polls to vote and claiming to be someone he/she is not.

Most voter fraud that has been documented comes from absentee voting. Laws requiring people coming to the polls to vote to produce identification won't affect that problem at all.

More:
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080121/OPINION02/801210310

[tbyg52]

16. A dream for making sure every vote counts

Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a time to reflect on the integrity of the ballot.

When Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil-rights movement in the 1960s, his constant reference to equality meant a lot of things. Equality in the work place, education, housing, public facilities and politics, to name a few. Central to his dream of equality was the right to vote.

But lately equality at the ballot box has been threatened by technology. It is technology that instead of counting votes accurately can distort them, as was the case in Florida in the 2000 presidential race, and as is the case today with states that have tried to transition to new voting machines only to learn that they have potentially serious flaws.

More:
http://www.stargazettenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080121/OPINION01/801210314

[tbyg52]

25. Congress must ensure vote integrity

In December 2000, slightly more than seven years ago, I'd have bet my mortgage that the country would make it a priority to fix the voting system that left the outcome of that year's presidential election in limbo for weeks.

Obviously, I'd have lost my house. Because here we are on the eve of the second presidential election since then, and we still haven't.

For five years, Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th) has been trying to get Congress to pass a law that would ensure verifiable, transparent elections -- for the express purpose of preventing any recurrence of the balloting discrepancies and uncertainties that occurred in 2000 in Florida.

Congress did pass the Help America Vote Act in 2002 requiring states to replace all punch-card and lever machines but many felt it didn't do enough to ensure the integrity of the vote count. Holt's proposed legislation would set a national standard for voting to make the election process both secure and verifiable. He has introduced variations of his bill into each of the last three Congresses.

None has passed.

More:
http://www.nj.com/njvoices/index.ssf/2008/01/congress_must_ensure_vote_inte.html

[tbyg52]

32. Video - oops, meant to reply to OP

Oh well, here it is anyway....

[tbyg52]

33. Jon Stewart interviews author of “How To Rig An Election”.

Needless to say, I haven't actually *seen* this, on my dialup.... ;)

http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/jon-stewart-interviews-allen-raymond-author-of-how-to-rig-an-election/

[sonias]

53. A prank on democracy if you will

Ha! I just finished reading his book. It's a quick read.

One thing that stuck out for me is that he says that he thinks the whole thing may have been a setup. That the RNC wanted to use this phone-jamming as a test case. I would say that makes some sense on a voter suppression side of things. They picked this guy Raymond since he wasn't a loyal bushie and obviously had no qualms about then letting the bush DOJ convict him too. He became an embarrassment.

Don't get me wrong, I have no sympathy for this guy. He has few morals. It does go to show you however, there is also no such thing as loyalty on their side either.

I've been so several training classes for candidates I have worked for. Good training classes presented by Democracy for America and Emily's List. These classes teach you important things like how to earn free press and developing your voter contact database. Never in my life have I ever heard anything in these training sessions about doing anything you could get away with legally. The republicans do just that. They must be so insecure about winning that their plans always include some kind of voter suppression tactics.

They are despicable.! :grr:

Sonia

[tbyg52]

36. Will your vote count? The electronic voting debate continues

As Super Tuesday approaches, Chicago officials say updates to electronic voting make it the most foolproof mode of casting a ballot. But others fear the window is wider than ever to rig the vote.

Area elections officials say electronic voting machines that will be used for the Feb. 5 primary should provide the most accurate results to date, but not everyone is so confident.

Some groups claim the increasing complexity of machine technology makes tampering with and hacking into the machines easier than ever.

“The process is no longer transparent,” said Melisa Urda, vice chairman of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project. “We have no confidence that they’re tallying the vote correctly.”

More:
http://www.methodsreporter.com/2008/01/21/electronic-voting-fruad-debate/

[tbyg52]

37. Open-Source vs. Closed-Source And Why Democracy Depends On It

snip

Source Code and Voting Machines
I could drone on about how the closed-source development model is responsible for almost all of the most damaging computer worms, but instead let’s look at how these two development models apply to voting machines. This is actually very simple. Every computerized voting machine I have ever seen implemented operates using closed-source software that runs on closed-source operating systems. As long as that’s the case, worrying about physical security and chain-of-custody is almost pointless. As soon as someone finds a way to exploit a mistake in the software, he could exploit the mistake to manipulate the voting machine.

Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems, Inc or DESI) has the lion’s share of the computerized voting machine market. Their source code, which was written using the closed-source development model, has been leaked more than once. A book could be written about the security flaws in their code, but suffice to say that anyone with access to a voting terminal (read: tech-savvy voters) could completely change the ballot file.

Closed-source software has no place on public voting machines! The very notion is ridiculous, but it’s a growing trend in the United States.

More:
http://www.chrisbrunner.com/2008/01/21/open-source-vs-closed-source-and-why-democracy-depends-on-it/

[tbyg52]

39. The recount: Kucinich goes for answers

REP. Dennis Kucinich was right to request -- and pay for -- a recount of the ballots in the Democratic presidential primary.

We say that not because we think there is strong evidence of voter fraud. Secretary of State Bill Gardner was probably correct when he said a recount would reveal a fair election.

Kucinich's recount, however, will answer some questions and put to rest some of the conspiracy theories being circulated. OK, it won't end all the conspiracy theories. Some people are impervious to facts. But it will show whether the "irregularities" Kucinich and others think they have found are real.

(A little) more:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=The+recount%3A+Kucinich+goes+for+answers&articleId=8813e51e-89a1-4cc1-a917-f39324575beb

[tbyg52]

43. Elections chief finds surprises in first year

A new secretary of state has to get off to a good start: First, hire a staff and organize field offices around the state. Then, meet 132 lawmakers _ many of them new at the job. Also, clean out the board of elections in the state's largest county.

Oh, and change the voting systems in 57 of Ohio's 88 counties for the second time in three years.

Jennifer Brunner certainly didn't walk into her office after winning election as Ohio's top elections official with her eyes glazed. But after one year on the job, she's drawn a new portrait of Ohio's electoral landscape _ and drawn the criticism that goes with it.

More:
http://www.ohio.com/news/ap?articleID=350291&c=y

[tbyg52]

5. The Youth Vote nt

[tbyg52]

26. Youths throw efforts into campaigns

College sophomore Duncan Carey spends two to three hours a day spreading the word about Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

The Arizona State University student makes his own "Ron Paul Revolution" signs with spray paint and a stencil. He talks with other Paul supporters online and is planning a campus march.

"We're broke college students, but whatever we have, we're spending on Ron Paul," the 20-year-old marketing major declares.

Just as fervent is ASU Students for Barack Obama, one of the largest campus chapters in the country for the Democratic hopeful. With more than 300 students, the group holds weekly meetings, mans an information table outside the Memorial Union and canvasses potential voters.

The political activity is a contrast to the college protests of the late '60s and early '70s, but it indicates that young people again are plugging in eagerly to national events. While baby boomers often seemed angry and Generation X tuned out, members of today's millennial generation, in their late teens and 20s, seem to embrace more optimistic convictions.

More:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0121electionyouth0121.html

[tbyg52]

27. Candidates take note as young Americans re-embrace politics

America's youth are undergoing a political rebirth, and politicians have noticed.

People under 30 are flocking to the polls and leaving their mark on the 2008 White House race. Long moribund activist groups are being revived. Nickelodeon, a television station geared to teens, is holding mock primaries.

"We've been hearing for years, 'Where is the youth movement?' Well, it's been growing slowly and now it's here," said Samantha Miller, 22, who helped to revive Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a left-wing group that has lain dormant since the late 1960s.

A report issued late last year by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation showed that university students in the United States today are "hungry for political conversation" that is "free of 'spin'."

That contrasts sharply with the attitudes of students surveyed by a parallel study in 1993, who said politics were "irrelevant to their lives", the report said.

More:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j_ot3hjhyZT4GiXJ6I-1x3fuPs8A

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28. Western Pa. teens push state to allow some 17-year-olds to vote

State lawmakers are pushing for hearing on a proposal to let 17-year-olds vote in Pennsylvania's primary elections, an idea that began as a civics projects by three high school students.

The students want 17-year-olds to be able to vote in the April 22 primary if they will be 18 , old enough to vote , before November's general election.

"If we can pick between those final two candidates, we should be able to help pick who they are," said Julia Hazlet, who developed the project with Fox Chapel Area High School classmates Doug Weisband and Kevin Pflumm.

Hazlet turns 18 in March, so she'll be old enough to vote in both elections, even if the proposal doesn't become state law.

"In the very beginning, it was just a civics-fair entry," Weisband said. "Day by day, it got more real."

More:
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20080121_ap_westernpateenspushstatetoallowsome17yearoldstovote.html

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29. The demographic party

Could young adults make a difference in the election? Just roll David Burstein's film.

He raised his right hand and solemnly swore to bear faith and true allegiance. And on that day last January, Scott Merrick joined dozens of other legislators in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
more stories like this

While it marked the beginning of his second term, any onlooker would have agreed that he still didn't blend in - if not for his age than for his idealism.

Afterward, the newly reelected 22-year-old Tufts University senior spoke astutely into a camcorder about those he represented. He was referring to Generation Y.

"When I was a sophomore in high school, I went down to Washington, D.C., with my mother to lobby for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation," Merrick explained to the 19-year-old behind the lens. "During those three days, I realized just how important our voice is."

More:
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/01/21/the_demographic_party/

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30. Students at UCF, other Florida schools more fired up than in earlier elections

Walk across the University of Central Florida's tidy grounds and you won't easily find a "Ron Paul Revolution" or "Hot for Hillary" T-shirt.

Signs around campus hawk Smoothie King and job fairs, not John Edwards or Rudy Giuliani.

But though student political activism at Florida's college campuses hasn't reached a crescendo, there is a distinct buzz in the air for the Jan. 29 primary.

"We have opinions, and we voice them, and we're not always heard," said Zach Moller, 20, president of the University of Florida College Democrats.

"This year, we are going to be heard."

More:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-campuspop2108jan21,0,4723472.story

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31. Young activists mobilize against ID law

Opponents of Indiana’s law requiring voter identification at the polls usually argue it places an unfair burden on the poor, the elderly, minorities, inner-city residents and the disabled.

But some activists predict another group will be affected in November: young people and college students.

A coalition of youth groups including Rock the Vote and the National Black Law Students Association filed an amicus brief to the Indiana state Democratic Party lawsuit urging the Supreme Court to find the law unconstitutional.

“The Indiana case has far-reaching consequences for students and other young people who move frequently, making current ID hard to come by, or who do not possess a driver's license,” wrote Alexandra Acker, executive director of the Young Democrats of America.

More:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/8001.html

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41. Chicago teens train to be election judges

More young people are getting involved in the voting process in Chicago. High school students are being trained to serve as election judges for the Illinois primary on February 5.

A large group of the over 1,800 Chicago high schools students slated to be student election judges are getting ready for Illinois' February 5 primary. They learned the ins and outs of working election equipment, setting up the ballot box, and what to do if there's a problem.

Experts say the renewed interest in the process by young people is not only due to the charismatic personality of Illinois Senator Barack Obama, but also the historical implications of the 2008 presidental election. Either way, teens want adults to know they are not only a part of the political process but they hope to change it for the better.

More:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5904596

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45. League official decries young voter rule as 'outrageous'

A last-minute decision to bar 17-year-olds who register as unaffiliated or independent from voting in nonpartisan contests such as Howard County's school board election has angered and embarrassed county League of Women Voters officials.

"I find this so outrageous, I'm beside myself," said Grace Kubofcik, a league co-president, who has been visiting county high schools to encourage 17-year-olds to register before the 9 p.m. Tuesday deadline. Some registered as independents, knowing that they would not be able to vote for a presidential candidate in the Feb. 12 primary if they didn't choose to be either Republicans or Democrats.

More:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.politics20jan20,0,1843358.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout

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49. That's all folks! - may I have (at least) one more rec for the news? nt

[tbyg52]

50. Hello? Is anybody (or at least one more kind soul) there? nt

[sonias]

51. Great job!

And on a holiday no less.

thank you!

Sonia

[tbyg52]

52. Thank *you* for (I'm assuming) the 5th! nt