Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday, Feb. 12

[MelissaB]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x412550

Many previous daily threads are available here:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

[MelissaB]

1. County in denial on e-voting

County in denial on e-voting

By: PAUL JACOBS - For The Californian

The Riverside Board of Supervisors should be in Egypt, because when it comes to Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore's job performance, they are immersed in "denial."

Two dozen fellow members of Democracy for America, Temecula Valley, attended last Tuesday morning's board meeting presenting formidable questions regarding the county's impulsive single-source replacement of voting machines.

DFA-TV members explained that some of the election software remains uncertified by the state, possibly exposing the county to the full purchase price of an unusable system. It hadn't occurred to the registrar to include performance language into the contract that would relieve county taxpayers from the contract if the software fails certification.

The board delayed the item until after lunch so the registrar could get assurances from the vendor that the county will be refunded should the software fail certification. Predictably, Dunmore accepted a verbal agreement from a Sequoia Voting Systems representative, producing nothing on paper.

The registrar admitted unfamiliarity with current election law and didn't consider competitors' voting machines, yet the $13 million expenditure gained unanimous approval anyway.

...snip

Like most detractors of electronic voting, I started out loving the technology. As a tree-hugger, I embraced the paperless voting technology.

Voters were told that electronic voting would save the county $600,000 spent annually on paper ballots, because the internal memory within the touch-screen machines was available for audits and recounts.

...snip

Transparency in the counting of the votes is the core of any legitimate democracy. With electronic voting, we must trust whatever goes on behind the closed curtain of proprietary software and equipment in the hands of election officials in tight-knit relationships with vendors.

The red flag with all this electronic voting enthusiasm is green. Motivations can waver as tens of millions of dollars get shifted about and those in elected and appointed positions are pressured to defend questionable purchases.

Electronic voting in Riverside County has cost taxpayers $27 million in less than seven years, not including the registrar's salary.

More: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/02/12/opinion/jacobs/18_00_412_11_06.txt

[MelissaB]

2. 'Daily Voting News' - Top 5 Stories from the Past Week!

'Daily Voting News' - Top 5 Stories from the Past Week!

Guest Blogged by John Gideon, of VotersUnite and VoteTrustUSA The "DVN Top 5" is a feature in the weekly voting newsletter of VoteTrustUSA . The February 07 edition can be...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon, of VotersUnite and VoteTrustUSA

The "DVN Top 5" is a feature in the weekly voting newsletter of VoteTrustUSA. The February 07 edition can be found here. The selection of what will be the "Top 5" for each week and where it goes on the list is all mine. The fact that you may disagree with my choices is great because it shows that you have been reading the DVN articles that I've posted throughout the week here on The BRAD BLOG!...
#5 – The Chicago Tribune reported that Chicago and suburban Cook County have a deal worked out with the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. In this deal Chicago-Cook Co. will use presently federally qualified and state certified Sequoia DREs and optical-scan machines in the March primary. 4,000 machines will then be shipped to Las Vegas where they will be used in the future. Chicago-Cook Co. will then take possession of brand new, not yet federally qualified or state certified Sequoia DREs. These new DREs are different in size and features from their predecessors. Thus, Chicago and suburban Cook Co., Illinois will be 'beta testing' this new voting system in a real election with real voters casting real votes.

#4 – The city of Carlisle, Ohio had to hold a re-vote for an EMS levy; the second vote on this issue in three months. The reason? The cities only Montgomery County precinct reported more votes cast than there were voters registered in that precinct. As reported by the Middletown Journal, this single precinct is the only precinct in the city that uses DREs (Diebold TSx) while the Warren County precincts all use optical-scan. As tends to be normal the Montgomery County elections officials blamed the problem on poll workers, ignoring the fact that if they had used optical-scan machines they could have done a simple hand recount of the ballots and the vote would have been completed three months ago.

#3 - USA Today and the Associated Press both had reports with information from electionline.org and Election Data Services. Both articles refer to 2006 as being "the year of the glitch" due to the roll out of new voting technology. Unfortunately neither news organization or neither of the organizations featured in the articles addressed the fact that many, if not most, of the glitches would be from voting systems that are being 'beta tested' in real elections with real votes. Instead, both articles point the fingers at the voters and poll workers who will be blamed for the mistakes. DREs are completely trouble-free. It is the voters and poll workers who are flawed and error prone.

#2 – Diebold seems to be in perpetual trouble. Scott & Scott LLC will file a Motion for Lead Plaintiff and Lead Counsel on February 13, 2006. The action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The Class is defined in the complaint drafted by Scott+Scott as those who purchased Diebold securities between October 22, 2003, and September 21, 2005, inclusive.
Meanwhile, both VoteTrustUSA and BRAD BLOG have reported on the news reports regarding statements by Diebold CEO Thomas Swidarski that he may be willing to divest the company of their elections unit. To be sure class-action lawsuits and questions about their software and hackability of their machines will help in any decision made by the company.

#1 – 'Legislation and the Courts' has to be the big story for the week. A New Jersey Appeals Court has reinstated a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of electronic voting machines. This is huge news because this lawsuit can help in other states. In fact, the court opinion was used within a day later in a settlement conference in Washington.
Also in news from the courts the National Federation of the Blind lawsuit against Volusia Co., Florida was dismissed by the courts. And in Ohio the Cobb-Badnarik lawsuit over the recount of the Nov. 2004 federal election was dismissed by a state court.
In the legislature many states have bills going through the legislative process. Notable this week is a real paper ballot bill in New Mexico that has garnered Senate committee approval as well as backing from the Governor and the Secretary of State. And in Maryland SB-713 was introduced with 22 cosponsors and bi-partisan support. This bill is a companion to the House bill, HB-244, which has near unanimous support. Both of these bills will require all voting systems used in the state to produce or require the use of a voter verified paper record. The bill also calls for hand counted audits of a percentage of the votes by each election board in the state.

Link: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002408.htm

[MelissaB]

3. DIEBOLD UNDER REVIEW

DIEBOLD UNDER REVIEW

Friday, February 10, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com

by staff reports
Diebold’s new chief executive, Thomas Swidarski, said he wants to cut $100 million in costs over three years. In an interview with the Associated Press, Swidarski said one of his decisions is whether the company should continue investing in its electronic voting business.

"There's pieces and aspects of each of our businesses that I'm going to be looking at with a very critical eye in terms of what the future holds for us," said Swidarski. The CEO insists that the e-voting machines are safe and reliable despite the controversy surrounding the 2000 election and other reported election glitches. There have been numerous eyewitness reports of vote tampering using the machines which, for some reason, do not provide a paper trail.

Last week, Diebold reported earnings fell 76 percent to $14.6 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Company-wide restructuring and other big changes explain the earnings drop.

Link: http://www.freemarketnews.com/Feedback.asp?nid=4432

[MelissaB]

4. Study: New Machines Await 4 in 5 Voters

Study: New Machines Await 4 in 5 Voters

By ROBERT TANNER
The Associated Press

Fewer voters will cast their ballots by punching a card or pulling a lever in this November's elections as the country continues to turn to newer, electronic machines, according to a study released Monday.

While the study says old systems that were prone to error are on their way out, experts also note that means many Americans will be voting on unfamiliar equipment this fall.

At least four out of five registered voters will use the newer generation of machines _ either ATM-style touchscreen machines or ones that ask voters to fill in the blanks, a vast change from the contested 2000 presidential election that spurred states and Congress to push for improved equipment.

...snip

The changes have created new controversies, especially with accusations that touchscreen-style machines are vulnerable to manipulation. In response, 25 states have passed laws requiring election administrators to use machines that allow voters to verify their vote has been accurately counted, and that create paper receipts for a recount.

Those paper trails _ called voter-verified paper audit trails _ are creating their own challenges, as manufacturers try to respond to lawmakers' demands for the equipment, Brace said.



More: http://www.tribune-democrat.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8FK022OA.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

[MelissaB]

5. N.Y. may fall short of voting guidelines

N.Y. may fall short of voting guidelines
State officials say missing mark for new machines is very likely

Joseph Spector
Staff writer


(February 11, 2006) — State elections officials are just about conceding that they won't be able to meet federal guidelines that require new voting machines for this year's election.

Lee Daghlian, spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said this week that the timeline to buy new machines and have election inspectors trained by the September primary is simply becoming too tight.

"We're going to try, but I don't think there is going to be enough time for training and such," he said.

If the deadline is blown, the state faces losing some of the roughly $220 million designated by the federal government for the machines and training. It also means that the old mechanical lever machines that date back decades will once again be used this year.


More: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060211/NEWS01/602110321/1002/NEWS

[MelissaB]

6. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. takes Bay State politicians to task

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. takes Bay State politicians to task

By Adrienne P. Samuels, Globe Staff | February 11, 2006



Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. yesterday used an appearance at Freedom House in Roxbury to chide the state's politicians and to endorse a Democrat who hopes to topple Secretary of State William F. Galvin.

''I want to reflect upon not the necessity or need to vote," said Jackson, an Illinois Democrat who is the son of the famous civil rights activist. ''I want to comment on the condition of Roxbury, where, from my perspective, nothing ever changes."

It is important for people to vote, he said, to make Massachusetts politicians accountable to improve conditions in economically depressed areas such as Roxbury. He was quick to add, however, that he was not encouraging the crowd to vote Republican.

Many in the crowd stopped eating their eggs, bacon, and breakfast potatoes to applaud Jackson's statements at the nonpartisan town hall meeting, which was sponsored by Freedom House and the voting rights organization Dunk the Vote.

Jackson also endorsed John Bonifaz for secretary of state, saying that Bonifaz was uniquely qualified for the state's top elections position because of his decade of working to improve voting rights across the country.

Bonifaz told the crowd that, if elected, he would work to improve voting machines here. He also chastised Boston and other Massachusetts communities for failing to provide adequate voting rights protections; Boston settled a Justice Department lawsuit last year alleging voting rights violations.

''Massachusetts ought to be a model for free and fair elections throughout the country," said Bonifaz, the lead lawyer in a 2003 lawsuit challenging President Bush's constitutional authority to invade Iraq. ''The state needs to be enforcing the Voting Rights Act, not the Bush administration."

More: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/11/rep_jesse_jackson_jr_takes_bay_state_politicians_to_task/

[MelissaB]

7. Discussion

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x412638

[MelissaB]

8. Blackwell watch

[MelissaB]

9. Money, voters have kept Ohio under GOP governor

This is an interesting article, and I couldn't decide what to post.

Money, voters have kept Ohio under GOP governor

Sunday, February 12, 2006 By JOHN McCARTHY ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

BOB TAFT

COLUMBUS - Twelve years after the GOP reigned in five industrial, mainly Midwestern states, only Ohio is still governed by a Republican.

Democrats lead Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin but have been shut out in Ohio since Richard Celeste left office in 1991. Geography, finances and political farm systems have played a role.

This year’s race for Ohio governor is open for the first time since 1998. It is vying for voters’ attention with state and national ethics scandals two years after the Republican stronghold returned President Bush to the White House.

...snip

Republicans acknowledge borrowing Democrats’ tactics to get out the vote. However, while Democrats rely on outside forces such as unions for help, the Republicans do it within their own ranks.

“The Republicans keep beating the Democrats at their own game,” Blumberg said.


More: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=268945&Category=13

[MelissaB]

10. Campaign gifts by those tied to online charter jumpDonations rare till sch

Campaign gifts by those tied to online charter jump
Donations rare till school created; in 5 ½ years since, Republicans in Ohio reap most of $330,000

By Dennis J. Willard and Doug Oplinger
Beacon Journal staff writers

COLUMBUS - Many of the people who run the state's largest charter school, Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, weren't big donors to state and federal political campaigns before the school was created in 2000 -- if they donated at all.

But from the time the controversial online school received its first monthly payment from the Ohio Department of Education -- $736,198 in taxpayer dollars in August 2000 -- that has changed.

Individuals and their spouses associated with the school and its management company, Altair Learning Management, have given more than $330,000 since then -- half of that delivered last year -- according to a Beacon Journal analysis of state and federal data.

Most has gone to Ohio House Republicans, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Petro and U.S. Rep. Patrick Tiberi, a Columbus Republican who sits on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and has been a longtime advocate of school choice.

From the day it was proposed, ECOT has stirred controversy.

More: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/13853888.htm

[MelissaB]

11. William Hershey: Candidates pick a No. 2 to look out for a No. 1

William Hershey: Candidates pick a No. 2 to look out for a No. 1

By William Hershey

Dayton Daily News

...snip

Unless something unusual happens, Ohio voters will make their choice for governor mainly on the basis of the person at the top of the ticket, not the running mate.

In the meantime, however, there are reasons behind the selection of Raga and the others.

Blackwell, by picking Raga, showed he has friends in the Republican-controlled legislature. Blackwell never served in the General Assembly and from time to time has engaged in what might be called unfriendly dialogue with his fellow Republicans who control the House and Senate.

Raga, however, is a legislative insider. He's vice chairman of the House Finance Committee and, probably more importantly, personal and political friends with House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, and Rep. Kevin DeWine, R-Fairborn, House assistant majority floor leader, the No. 4 leadership spot.

More: http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/columns/daily/0212hershey.html

[MelissaB]

12. Sound off, moderate Christians!

Sound off, moderate Christians!

By Robyn Blumner
Sunday, February 12, 2006

With Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court, it is not just abortion rights that are endangered. Sandra Day O'Connor often joined the liberal wing of the court in keeping church and state separate. Alito won't.

...snip

And those voices need to be raised soon. Because the threat of fundamentalism directing government is growing, even as the bulwarks against it are weakening.

If you want to see the culmination of Jerry Falwell's and Pat Robertson's dream -- the church as party headquarters -- go to Ohio. There, two preachers, the Rev. Russell Johnson of Fairfield Christian Church and the Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church, are diligently working to build an army of conservative Christian voters who will dominate the Republican Party, then Ohio government, then Washington.

Johnson, who calls those to his left "secular jihadists" and condemns public schools for not teaching that Hitler was "an avid evolutionist," has founded the Ohio Restoration Project. Its mission is to sign up 2,000 religious leaders as "Patriot Pastors" who will sign up hundreds of thousands of new voters and mobilize an activist corps within their flocks.

Parsley, an Ohio televangelist with a megachurch of 10,000 weekly worshipers, has launched Reformation Ohio, an organization with similar goals.

While they expect their efforts to pay off with multiple election victories, in the short term Johnson and Parsley want to elect Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell governor in November. Blackwell is a black Christian conservative who led a successful ballot initiative in 2004 to ban same-sex marriage.

Johnson and Parsley say their institutions do not endorse candidates. But they have engaged in transparent electioneering on behalf of Blackwell, exclusively featuring him at events and in educational materials.


Much more: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/columnists/guests/s_422729.html

[MelissaB]

13. Discussion

in GD here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x392795

[MelissaB]

14. LTTE: Ohio Restoration Project’s goal is to control state government from

Ohio Restoration Project’s goal is to control state government from its pulpits
Saturday, February 11, 2006 “Blackwell urges Christians to be politically active” (Jan. 18) was another article on the radical religious-right organization called the Ohio Restoration Project and its support of Ken Blackwell for governor.

The article stated that this organization is mobilizing a plan to take back our country for Christ through its religious philosophy concerning marriage, abortion, school prayer, etc. After researching more about this organization, I’ve learned that its goal seems to be to take over all three branches of Ohio government and run them through its pulpits.

It is this organization that has made numerous unfounded rhetorical statements attacking democracy in our public schools. They blame public schools for banning the teachings of creationism, Bible reading and prayer. Didn’t the Supreme Court do this?

They say that the nation’s youth must be taught Christian religious-right values. What about teaching the democratic values of our nation, established by our Founding Fathers in our public schools regardless of religion? What about the rights of all religions in America that our U.S. Constitution guarantees?

More: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=268721

[MelissaB]

15. Gubernatorial front-runners come out swinging at debate

Gubernatorial front-runners come out swinging at debate
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Joe Hallett
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


FRED SQUILLANTE | DISPATCH PHOTOS
Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, far left, raises his finger to make a point to U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, far right, at a five-way debate among candidates for governor. Also pictured are state Rep. Eric Fingerhut, in left photo, and Attorney General Jim Petro.



Attorney General Jim Petro piled on Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell who piled on U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland who told Blackwell to stop wagging a finger at him.

The first debate featuring Ohio’s five announced candidates for governor didn’t disintegrate into a slugfest, but the rhetorical sparring was lively entertainment for more than 100 editors and reporters at ringside while in town yesterday for the annual Ohio Newspaper Association convention.

GOP candidates Blackwell and Petro, and Democratic candidates Strickland, state Sen. Eric D. Fingerhut and former state Rep. Bryan Flannery engaged in a surprisingly substantive exchange that focused heavily on Blackwell’s controversial tax and expenditure limitation, or TEL, amendment headed for the Nov. 7 ballot.

Blackwell wasted little time trying to define the race as a contest between him and Strickland, the Democratic front-runner, by scolding the congressman for showing "your unsophisticated inexperience at the state level." Strickland fired back after Blackwell sought to distance himself from a Republican-controlled state government awash in scandal.

"Mr. Blackwell," he said, "when you point your finger at me, don’t mention the word corruption. You should probably be pointing your finger in some other direction."


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/02/11/20060211-A1-03.html

[MelissaB]

16. Auditor race is questioned

Auditor race is questioned
Rule could trip up GOP legislator from Green in statewide contest

By Lisa A. AbrahamBeacon Journal staff writer

Ohio Republicans scrambled Friday to figure out whether the law they crafted to control paid petition circulators has come back to bite their only candidate for state auditor: state Rep. Mary Taylor of Green.

Questions arose when Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell -- a Republican candidate for governor -- issued a memo to both state political parties Thursday, reminding them of a new law that requires the filing of a special form by anyone who is paid to circulate petitions for a candidate for statewide office or a statewide issue.

The law, which took effect in March, was written by Republicans seeking to control the kind of effort that Democrats organized in the 2004 presidential election, when paid circulators swarmed Ohio to help register voters and circulate petitions for state issues.

The law states that the form must be filed by ``any person who will receive compensation, or any person who compensates a person for supervising, managing, or otherwise organizing any effort to obtain signatures for a statewide election petition.''

Known as Form 14, it must be filed before a candidate's petitions are circulated.


More: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/13847436.htm

[MelissaB]

17. Partisan churches

Partisan churches
What others say

From a Monday editorial in the Toledo Blade: Political candidates have for decades appeared at churches to try to convince the faithful - both partisan and religious - to vote for them. However, what a couple of central Ohio churches are doing is different.

They have unabashedly endorsed one Republican gubernatorial candidate, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. Other denominations don't like the obvious electioneering and are right to complain to the Internal Revenue Service.

Indeed, it's no secret that pastors have long urged their flocks to be sure to vote on Election Day.


But nonpartisan involvement is not what the World Harvest Church of Columbus and the Fairfield Christian Church of Lancaster are up to. They and affiliated groups, the Center for Moral Clarity and Reformation Ohio, leave no doubt that they want to elect Blackwell as governor.

Asking the IRS to investigate is not petty or anti-faith. Rather, it's a stand against those who blatantly and openly favor a candidate or a slate of candidates without reservation and in violation of the tax code. Any group that wants to do that should have the integrity to give up its tax-exempt status.


More: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060208/EDIT02/602080336/1090

[MelissaB]

18. Pastors May Face IRS over Political Squabble

Pastors May Face IRS over Political Squabble

By Paul Strand
Washington Sr. Correspondent


CWNews.com – COLUMBUS, Ohio - Churches in times past have faced trouble with the irs for getting too involved in politics.

But rarely -- if ever -- did clergymen ask the irs to come down on someone else's church.

That is just what is happening right here in Columbus, Ohio now.

Rod Parsley is one of America's most famous pastors, preaching on the hot moral and political issues of today to the 12,000 members of World Harvest Church.

Much the same goes on at Pastor Russell Johnson's 3,500-member Fairfield Christian Church.

Both men are leading Ohio conservatives.

...snip

Their main charges were that Parsley's and Johnson's groups have sponsored events highlighting just one candidate for governor: Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a conservative Christian; and that Parsley and Johnson are waging a partisan campaign to register 400,000 new voters to support Blackwell.

More: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/archived-060201/cwn/060203a_focus.asp

[MelissaB]

19. Ohioans pessimistic... (This is from a conservative site.)

Ohioans pessimistic; Taft's legacy defined by recession and scandal, a new Zogby International telephone survey shows

Monday, February 06 2006 @ 11:56 PM EST

Views: 151

Zogby: Ohio Democrats Gaining Ground, Taft Dragging Republicans

Zogby via BBSNews 2006-02-06 -- With just one in four Ohioans saying the state is headed in the right direction, the political winds appear to be shifting in favor of out-of-power Democrats, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.

After controlling the governor's office for 15 years, the survey of 601 likely voters shows that Republicans are in a dogfight to hang onto it for another four. In prospective races, Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland runs slightly ahead or dead even with two well-known Republican opponents. Against Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a fixture on the statewide ballot since the mid-1990s, Strickland leads slightly, 38% to 35%. GOP Attorney General James Petro is deadlocked with Strickland at 36%, the survey shows.

About a quarter of respondents in both prospective races said they were undecided.

The poll showed widespread disaffection for embattled incumbent Republican Gov. Bob Taft. His job approval rating has climbed out of the single digits over the past 10 weeks, but still remains abysmal.


More: http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20060206235641493

[MelissaB]

20. It's like tuna sleepwalking through quicksand: Data-mining our blogs

It's like tuna sleepwalking through quicksand: Data-mining our blogs

by Jane Stillwater

http://www.opednews.com


"Those damn bloggers...." Poor Karl Rove. If it wasn't for bloggers, he wouldn't have to be hiding out in the back room of the White House right now. "They almost stopped the Alito nomination. If it wasn't for them, no one would have noticed the WMD lies. And why do they keep bringing up Diebold?"

The Bush bureaucracy hates bloggers. Something has to be done.

Ha. Something is already being done. Just ask AOL. It's called "data-mining". Just ask my friend Joe Thompson.

"Every time I use certain words in my e-mails to friends, AOL bounces them back." I bet he's a victim of data-mining.


More: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jane_sti_060211_it_s_like_tuna_sleep.htm

[MelissaB]

21. France: Scott+Scott, LLC to File Lead Plaintiff Motion in Class Against Di

Scott+Scott, LLC to File Lead Plaintiff Motion in Class Against Diebold Inc. This Monday

COLCHESTER, Conn., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Scott+Scott, LLC (http://www.scott-scott.com/), which initiated on December 13, 2005 the first securities fraud class action against Diebold, Inc. ("Diebold" or the "Company") and certain of its officers and directors, will file a Motion for Lead Plaintiff and Lead Counsel this Monday, February 13, 2006. The action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (No. 05CV2873). The Class is defined in the complaint drafted by Scott+Scott as those who purchased Diebold securities between October 22, 2003, and September 21, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period"). However, any purchaser of Diebold securities can contact the firm as the Class Period may change as information is revealed. Diebold engages in the development, manufacture, sale, and service of systems, software, and various products used to equip bank facilities such as automatic teller machines.

On February 7, 2006, M.R. Kropko, an Associated Press business writer quoted Diebold CEO Thomas Swidarski as stating, "there's pieces and aspects of each of our businesses that I'm going to be looking at with a very critical eye in terms of what the future holds for us." Kropko also wrote in his article that "Diebold's former chairman and CEO, Walden O'Dell, resigned Dec 12 after several years of controversy surrounding Diebold's touch-screen voting machines and O'Dell's financial contributions to President Bush's campaign."

If you wish to discuss this action or have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Scott+Scott for more information. Scott+Scott will provide class members with case materials, answer all questions regarding participation and rights and assist with other services the firm provides. There is no cost or fee to you. Contact Scott+Scott partner David R. Scott ([e-mail]) at 800/404-7770 or 800/332-2259. Diebold investors may also contact the firm at [e-mail]. The Firm has offices in Ohio, Connecticut, and California.

The complaint alleges that defendants violated provisions of the United States securities laws, causing artificial inflation of the Company's stock price. According to the complaint, during the Class Period, the Company lacked a credible state of internal controls and corporate compliance and remained unable to assure the quality and working order of its voting machine products. It is further alleged that the Company's false and misleading statements served to conceal the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company, impacting product quality, strategic planning, forecasting and guidance and culminating in false representations of astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate restructuring charges for the 2005 fiscal year, which grossly understated the true costs and problems defendants faced to restructure the Company. The complaint also alleges over $2.7 million of insider trading proceeds obtained by individual defendants during the Class Period.


More: http://www.boursorama.com/infos/actualites/detail_actu_societes.phtml?news=3259408

[Wilms]

22. LandShark: Sequoia, Snohomish County, And The Constitutionality of DREs

Sequoia, Snohomish County,And The Constitutionality of DREs

By Paul Lehto

February 11, 2006

snip

Fast forward to February 10, 2006, when, after Sequoia and the County got their removal of my lawsuit to federal court tossed out of federal court, they asked to convene a settlement conference to see where things were at. Just this past month, the County had voted to get rid of the touch screens and go to vote by mail, so the impact of this move on the litigation had to be assessed. The County and Sequoia requested a settlement conference, which I attended on February 10 along with Randy Gordon. The defendants were apparently interested to find out what we wanted in the case, and to share their opinion once again that our litigation is moot because the County voted to get rid of the DREs on January 5, 2006. We were able to give them a copy of the New Jersey Appellate Court opinion of February 9, 2006, with which they were unaware, after they expressed their confidence that the courts will take their side next time, despite the fact that the courts have now failed to do so 3 times in a row.

Both defendants purport to be baffled as to why we continue to sue them over "moot" issues, so we had to point out that the constitution is, in fact, of continuing and recurring importance and has therefore not been rendered "moot" by a reversible decision to mothball certain totally secret DRE vote counting machines, in favor of the use of largely secret optical scan vote counting machines, albeit optical scan machines capable of a hand recount of the paper ballots under transparent conditions if provided for and requested by the few parties able to trigger this process.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=904&Itemid=113


See the New Jersey Appellate Court opinion reinstating the lawsuit challenging constitutionality of electronic voting machines.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x412385


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x412594

[Wilms]

23. .