Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News February 20, 2006--Award Day!!!

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Testing equipment Used by UC
Berkeley Computer Scientists
Who Recommend Diebold to CA
Elections Officials .


Everything was on the up and up. No doubt about it. CA Elections Officials
get this weeks Weimar Republic Award for caving in to TYRANTS

Never forget the pursuit of Truth.
Only the deluded & complicit accept
election results on blind faith.

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News February 20, 2006

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.
Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original
4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.
If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Previous daily threads are available here:
http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

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1. CA: Diebold Back In—Kiss CA Good Bye Democrats Unless…

…unless the people rise up and shine a bright light on things. This is total garbage. The decision was made on politics, not reason and evidence. A “buying spree”, how pathetic…buying what, garbage, insecure voting systems. Arnie will get re-elected and the Republicans will pick up seats in the congressional delegation. Just great. What are the two houses of the state legislature doing about this…the two houses controlled by Democrats.

Diebold machines get state approval
Decision is likely to set off a buying spree for as many as 21 counties

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_3526049

By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER

After almost three years, Diebold Election Systems won approval Friday to sell its latest voting machines in California, despite findings by computer scientists that the software inside is probably illegal and has security holes found in earlier Diebold products.

The scientists advised Secretary of State Bruce McPherson this week that those risks were "manageable" and could be "mitigated" by tightening security around Diebold's voting machines.

<snip>

"After rigorous scrutiny, I have determined that these Diebold systems can be used for the 2006 elections," McPherson said in a statement.

The decision is likely to set off a buying spree for as many as 21 counties, more than a third of the state, as local elections officials rush to acquire one of only two voting systems approved for use in the 2006 elections. Registrars and clerks prefer having voting systems for at least six months before conducting a statewide primary like the one in June, partly because it is California's most complicated and error-prone type of election.

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2. CANADA: Liberal Candidate Elected as MP in BC, Defects to Cons after Win

Wow, what a mess. You work your ass of for the “Liberal” and he takes a seat in the cabinet of the newly elected Conservative Prime Minister, yet retains his seat. Happens here from time to time but the Canadians take exception. Remember the 80’s, people like Richard Shelby of AL switched parties with nary a whimper. Give ‘em Hell Canada.

Liberal campaign workers join Emerson protest; demand action from PM

http://www.brooksbulletin.com/news/national_news.asp?itemid=49326
JEREMY HAINSWORTH
Sunday, February 19, 2006

VANCOUVER (CP) - Dozens of constituents were joined by Liberal party faithful who worked on embattled MP David Emerson's re-election campaign Sunday in yet another protest calling for his resignation.

But senior campaign adviser Kevin Chalmers said the spotlight has now moved beyond Emerson and his stunning defection to the Conservatives and is fixed squarely on Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"Our focus is the prime minister," Chalmers said. "This is an opportunity for him to step up on behalf of democracy and correct that mistake."

Emerson crossed the floor to join Harper's cabinet only two weeks after the he was elected as a Liberal in the Vancouver-Kingsway riding.

[nicknameless]

3. Headline correction? Feb. 20th

On edit: D'oh!

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5. Gracias Senor!!!

:hi:

[nicknameless]

9. If you don't change it soon, you'll be stuck with it reading "14th" when

it gets to the Greatest page. (Wish DU would fix that.)

:hi:

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10. Wow, I'm particularly obtuse tonight;)

Thanks again. :blush: then :spank:

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4. Nation: progressiveU.org stands Tall on Election fraud

The progressive Uweb site describes itself as “The new media voice for progressive students and other problem solvers.” It has a great collection of resources. This open letter shows that progressives are in the lead in terms o understanding election fraud.
progressiveU.org Stands Tall on Election fraud
Voting Integrity and my "Invisible Ballots" lending library project
February 19, 2006
http://www.progressiveu.org/133722-voting-integrity-and-my-invisible-ballots-lending-library-project

An open letter to the membership of ProgressiveU.org:

I recently read “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. I highly recommend it. It’s heartening that he feels that change is possible and that “little things can make a big difference.” I find this concept of great interest in terms of promoting social action. I am looking for a tipping point regarding election issues. Art Morgan of ProgressiveU.org suggested that I write a letter to your general membership. He felt that my project might be of interest to you. To me, nothing is more crucial to the public interest, our liberty and justice than the integrity of our electoral system. Without it, our democracy is nothing but an empty shell. Are you familiar with Mark Crispin Miller, the professor of media studies from NYU? Have you read his new book “Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They’ll Do It Again (Unless We Stop Them)”? We cannot afford to be sanguine about 2008. Without fundamental election reform, throwing the scoundrels out will be technically impossible. Please hear me out. I’m interested in your feedback. You and your generation will unfortunately inherit this mess.

After two disputed national elections, whether or not you believe that the various tactics reportedly used to suppress voting (primarily black voters) ultimately affected the election outcome, I hope that you’ll agree that it is in the best interest of all of our citizens if each of us can vote and be assured that that vote is counted accurately. The integrity of our voting system is the cornerstone of our beloved democracy. With all the flurry of controversy about the electronic voting machines, it is disappointing that there is so little discussion in the mainstream press. Since 2000, there have been many claims about voting irregularities. Inevitably, this has led to an increased distrust and cynicism about our politicians and the elections.

Therefore, a thorough investigation of all voting methods and their reliability is not only reasonable, but a must. This summer, I saw a well made, thought provoking, nonpartisan and very disturbing documentary called “Invisible Ballots, A Temptation for Electronic Vote Fraud.” I have urged every member of the press to see it and evaluate its findings. This is the proper time for a lively and exhaustive discussion on voting, election reform and how best to achieve maximal participation with minimal disruption and fraud. There has been a stampede to spend millions (actually billions) of tax dollars before the January 1st deadline and there has been little guidance on what to buy or how reliable it is. (Defying all logic, the guidelines will come out after January 1st.) In the biggest irony, at the same time that some municipalities are making big purchases, others who already had problems with these machines are discarding them. Is this not a tremendous waste of our limited resources?

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6. PA: Cry baby Election Workers Say They won’t Count Paper Ballots

See, it’s all about you isn’t it. The whole election is for the convenience of you, you are the primary concern. Screw democracy, free and fair elections. I guess they’d rather have fixed elections than be part of the solution for free and fair elections. Quit. There are plenty of people who care about democracy.

Westmoreland poll workers threaten to quit
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/news/s_425573.html

By David Hunt
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, February 18, 2006

The prospect of spending long hours counting paper ballots has some Westmoreland County election workers threatening to quit.

If so, some voters could be plucked from the voting line to carry out those duties during the May 16 primary.

Just ask George Sproat, 70, a 15-year Westmoreland County election judge who says he may have to enforce a little-known state law that allows him to draft voters on the spot and press them into service as election workers. That makes for an 18-hour day.

"If we have paper ballots, they're going to go," Sproat said of poll workers at the 1,015-voter precinct of North Washington in Washington Township. "If they should resign, as the judge I can petition the first three people to work for me."

:nopity: Wow, they might have to actually work. :spank:

[Wilms]

13. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413668

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7. Paper Ballots Explained in Simple Terms

The Westmoreland County workers should read this column. Copy it and give it to a newbie.

Paper Ballots and Optical Scanners Explained, Again
Tell A Friend

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_marjorie_060219_paper_ballots_and_op.htm

by Marjorie Gersten
February 19, 2006

PROS EXPLAINED, AGAIN.

Simply said, if we lose control of our vote, we lose everything we value about our Democracy.

We want Paper Ballots and Optical Scanners as our new voting technology, and not electronic voting. A short action, requiring just a return reply, will be asked of you tomorrow.

New York must replace our mechanical lever voting machines by 9/1/07 with only these two options, but decisions as early as next month. (1) PBOS, Paper Ballots with precinct-based Optical Scanners, with accessibility to voters with disabilities and language minorities, or (2) DREs, "Direct Recording Electronic" voting machines with a touch screen or pushbuttons.

Paper Ballots, with precinct-based Optical Scanners, has the advantages of electronic voting, increased accessibility and quick election-day results, with LESS COST and LESS RISK.

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8. MD: State Capitol Newspaper Doesn’t Get Paper Ballots

And they’re not out of the ordinary. Look at this sentence: “The new machines functioned smoothly, and there was no evidence of fraud or abuse.” The new machines were Diebold DRE’s. They were not available for examination as to “software and methods” and they produced no real paper audit trail. What a concept they have of “smoothly.” They paper is in a snit because “paper ballots” where by voters “verify” their vote will cost $28 million to add to the Diebolds. How stupid can they be. The paper ballots mean nothing because they’re only used in the case of a recount. They are not available for public examination, like the machines. Maybe the paper and other know-nothings spouting off should learn about the issue—you need to verify that the votes are taken and counted fairly through examination of the ballots or voting system; AND the public has a right to examine the results to KNOW THAT THEIR "LEADERS" WERE ACTUALLY ELECTED FAIR AND SQUARE.



Our say: Voting system changes cannot be hurried
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/02_19-34/OPN

By THE CAPITAL EDITORIAL BOARD


Until last week, Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. backed the state Board of Elections' decision to spend $56 million on new electronic voting machines that don't generate a paper trail. He even vetoed a bill mandating a study of a paper backup.

So why did the governor make a dramatic flip-flop? Did he notice that many states have passed legislation to require paper trails? Perhaps, but you don't have to be a hard-core State House cynic to think that what's really annoying him is the General Assembly's decision to override his vetoes of election legislation. He's particularly upset by a new law that will allow voters to cast ballots at a limited number of precincts during the week before the September primary and the general election.

So he wrote the Board of Elections that "right now, the state of Maryland is not prepared to conduct an election, let alone early voting" and that he has no confidence in the board's "ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006."

If Mr. Ehrlich wants to worry that the new rules make chicanery easier, that's his prerogative. But the Board of Elections didn't deserve the governor's blast. What in the 2004 elections justified it? The new machines functioned smoothly, and there was no evidence of fraud or abuse.

The national drive to add a paper backup to electronic voting machines is picking up momentum, and we expect it will result in passage of state legislation this session. So at some point we're likely to see printers attached to the voting machines. A receipt will be printed for each electronic ballot. Voters will be able to look at the receipts through a piece of glass, before they go into a lockbox – saved in the event there's a challenge to the electronic totals The cost? If you go by an estimate in failed legislation last year, at least another $28 million.

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11. Your Nations Capitol: Controlling Lobbyists Loses Steam—I’m shocked!!!

How can we hope for any reform, electoral or otherwise, as long as there is legalized bribery.

Promise to Shore Up Ethics Loses Speed
GOP Schedule Slips In House; Senate Panels to Act Soon

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021801060.html

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 19, 2006; Page A05

The rush to revise ethics laws in the wake of the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal has turned into more of a saunter.

A month ago, Republican leaders in Congress called legislation on the topic their first priority, and promised quick action on a measure that would alter the rules governing the interaction between lawmakers and lobbyists.


In the wake of the Abramoff corruption scandal, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, left, proposed broad new restrictions on lobbying, but Majority Leader John A. Boehner, right, has taken issue with parts of the speaker's plan.


In the wake of the Abramoff corruption scandal, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, left, proposed broad new restrictions on lobbying, but Majority Leader John A. Boehner, right, has taken issue with parts of the speaker's plan. (By Jonathan Ernst -- Reuters)

<snip>

The primary holdup is in the House. Republican lawmakers left Thursday for a week-long recess without agreeing on a proposal that would serve as a starting point for debate. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) had been working with House Rules

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12. Great CD—Videos and Documentation/Pamphlets –FREE from Solarbus.org.

From http://www.solarbus.org

2004 Election Truth CD-ROM (2005). SolarBus.Org
http://www.archive.org/details/election2004-video-CD
Video and comprehensive print materials.
Videos:
Votergate, the movie (30 minutes)
Mark Crispin Miller interview on CSPAN 11/05
Congressman P. King admitting they would steal the election (1 minute)
Howard Dean and Bev Harris demonstrating an election theft (10 minutes)
Invisible Ballots, the movie (5 minute trailer)
Illegitimate Election (20 minutes)
Electile Dysfunction, the movie (3 minute trailer)
Lectures/Teach-ins:
Bev Harris, electronic voting expert
Bob Fitrakis, Ohio lawyer
Wayne Madsen, investigative reporter
Rep. Cynthia McKinney
2 videos of Election Day in Ohio
Vote Fraud for Democracy (25 minutes)
Jon Stewart segment on electronic voting
Voting Machine - the Music Video
Liar, Liar - Flash movie on stolen election

[Wilms]

14. MD: Paper-Trail Politics

Paper-Trail Politics

Monday, February 20, 2006; Page A20

AFTER DAWDLING for a good two years and defending a certifiably untrustworthy voting process in Maryland, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) announced last week that he, too, has lost confidence in the state's ability to conduct fair and secure elections this fall. A curiously tardy call, Governor, but welcome aboard: Time is short, but now an all-out effort to clean up the system before the elections can and should begin.

snip

Instead of picking up on Mr. Ehrlich's change of heart, some Democratic leaders changed their political tune. They are now belittling the main problem. As reported by The Post's Ann E. Marimow, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) charged that Mr. Ehrlich's comments were an attempt to "create confusion and chaos" to dissuade the General Assembly from moving ahead on early voting. Oh, maybe; but if the Democrats are serious about creating trust in the system for this year's elections, and if Mr. Ehrlich really is on the same page, five additional days of voting shouldn't be an insurmountable hurdle. If the five-day voting initiative did develop preparation difficulties of its own, it might have to be postponed, as Mr. Ehrlich has urged. Similarly, costs of retooling might put some limitations on how much could be done by fall.

Still, machines that produce paper trails are a must. The political dickering and dueling that compounded this mess has got to be cut short. The integrity of Maryland's voting process is at stake. It must not be imperiled as voters prepare to record their preferences in some of the most important state and local elections in years.


snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901155.html

[Wilms]

15. CYBEREYE: Help America Vote: Trust but Verify

CYBEREYE: Help America Vote: Trust but Verify

02/20/06; Vol. 25 No. 4

by William Jackson

snip

But the voluntary guidelines have a glaring flaw: They are voluntary. States may use them or not as they see fit, an important caveat as more states migrate toward electronic voting systems, opening up new avenues for wholesale vote tampering.

Fortunately, many states intend to use the new guidelines. According to EAC, about 39 states already use the current Federal Election Commission guidelines that will be superseded by EAC’s new iteration next year. But there is no guarantee of a uniform national standard for voting system security.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002, passed in the wake of the tortuous 2000 presidential election, requires EAC to write new guidelines and oversee certification of voting systems. Until now, the National Association of State Election Directors has overseen national certification. But HAVA does not require national certification. Some states use the national certification program, some have their own programs, some do both and some do neither.

snip

The electronic-voting machine industry likes to point out that paper ballots have been abused for years, and that there is no evidence that their products have been compromised to throw an election. But that does not mean it cannot happen. In fact, voting officials and IT security experts have proven it can. And just because paper ballots are not perfect does not mean an electronic system isn’t better off with a paper audit trail.

snip

http://www.gcn.com/25_4/tech-report/38254-1.html

[Algorem]

16. OH- Hey,they're cancelling a pre-primary poll,should it seem suspicious?

or should I be comfortably numb?

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/

The Nohio Poll

Don't look for an Ohio Poll later this spring as the GOP primany race for governor between Jim Petro and Ken Blackwell roars to its May 2 denouement. Pollsters at the University of Cincinnati say they just don't have the money to sample the public's pulse and predict a winner.

The Ohio Poll, which began in the 1980s, is an independent survey that's been remarkably reliable over the years: In November 2004, last-minute numbers showed President Bush would beat John Kerry in Ohio, a correct call that contradicted some national polls coloring the state blue.

There will only be 4 or 5 Ohio Polls in 2006, says Eric Rademacher, the U.C. professor who runs it. He'll put one out in March, then save the rest for after the primary.

''It's money," he lamented. "In some years we've done up to 12 polls, but not this year. It would really be nice to predict who's going to win the primary."

--Bill Sloat