Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tue. 02/ 21/2006 Rendell Day, D,PA

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Gov. Ed Rendell, D, PA VETOES VOTER ID LAW
MAN OF THE WEEK. It's starting...the backlash begins...
Thanks Gov. Rendel!!!

House Bill 1318 amends the Pennsylvania Election Code in ways that impose new requirements on voters and counties – some of which I believe violate the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions.

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday, February 21, 2006 Rendell Day, D, PA

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
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for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

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1. PA: RENDELL VETOES VOTER ID LAW—UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

PA: RENDEL VETOES VOTER ID LAW—UNCONSTITUTIONAL.



http://www.governor.state.pa.us/governor/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=445679




February 2006 ( Public Government Document, Copyright does NOT apply )

TO THE HONORABLE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA:

I am returning House Bill 1318 without my approval.

Elements of this bill will cause significant interference with the fundamental right to vote and violate the U. S. Constitution as well as Article I, Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which states: “Elections shall be free and equal; and no power civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.” I, therefore, must veto this legislation.

At a time of growing apathy and cynicism among our citizens regarding elections, I believe that the government should be doing everything it can to encourage greater participation in the electoral process, not discouraging participation by placing additional limitations on the right to cast a vote. Moreover, without compelling evidence of a problem with the current system of voter identification in Pennsylvania, I see no reason to enact laws that will result in voter confusion and disenfranchise legitimately registered voters. Beyond the basic constitutional threshold, House Bill 1318 unnecessarily requires every voter to provide identification before casting a vote in every primary and general election.

Some proponents of the bill claim that no one is actually being denied the right to vote – that voters are merely being asked to comply with a simple requirement meant to reduce the instances of voter fraud. They point to the various acceptable forms of identification that are listed in the bill as support for their defense that the provision is not an attempt to suppress voter turnout. Regardless of how long the list of acceptable forms of identification is, there are people who may not be in a position to produce any of them; people who live in a household where the lease and utility bills are in someone else’s name, people in nursing homes, and those who may have been temporarily displaced from their residences, to name just a few. As federal judge Harold Murphy very eloquently stated in a recent case discussing a similar bill enacted in Georgia, “For those citizens, the character and magnitude of their injury – the loss of the right to vote – is undeniably demoralizing and extreme, as those citizens are likely to have no other realistic or effective means of protecting their rights.”

Others have suggested that this voter identification provision is needed to reduce the instances of voter fraud in Pennsylvania. However, I have not seen any evidence of widespread voter impersonation in Pennsylvania that would justify imposing this additional burden on voters. Elizabeth Milner, the Chair of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, agrees. In her letter urging a veto, Ms. Milner says, “Show us the fraud. Proponents of House Bill 1318 have failed to document a single instance in which the outcome of a Pennsylvania election was affected by individuals posing as registered voters. Indeed, the National Commission on Election Reform found that there is no evidence that the fraudulent acts the voter ID provision seeks to address exists anywhere in the United States.”

The Pennsylvania method of signing voters in and comparing their signatures to what is on file with the County Election Board has been in effect for more than 70 years. It is a tried and proven method of ensuring that a bona fide voter has appeared at the polling place to vote. In fact, the current voter identification system works so well that neither the poll workers, who manage our Election Day operations, nor our County Commissioners, to whom we entrust the oversight of the election process, believe that it needs to be changed.

This bill would also slow down the voting process and create longer waiting periods before citizens could cast their votes. During the 2004 election, we all saw many voters leave their polling places without casting votes because of the long lines they faced. As the Pennsylvania Chapter of the AARP said in their letter to me urging a veto: “Equally troubling is the negative impact this law would have on the voting process. Requiring voters to produce identification cards will significantly increase the time needed for overworked poll workers to process each voter. The end result will be longer lines and increased wait times to vote, which may serve to disenfranchise voters and lower voter turnout.”

In making the decision to veto this bill, I reviewed the many letters I have received from well-respected organizations across the commonwealth. The spectrum of those who urge this veto – from the League of Women Voters to the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, from the AARP to the NAACP, from the Congress de Latinos Unidos to VotePA and Pennsylvania Acorn – is evidence of the public concern regarding this unnecessarily burdensome act being imposed by this legislation.

While the voter identification provision is at the heart of the reason that I am vetoing this bill, there are other provisions that are also seriously problematic.

This legislation requires, by July of this year, the closing of hundreds of locations across the state currently serving as polling places, some of which have been the standard polling place for thousands of voters for decades. Again, without any evidence of a real problem, this legislation bans the use of certain types of buildings as polling locations.

Of course, I believe that the best place to cast a vote is in a building generally accessible to the public. I also know that our County Commissioners do the best they can to find locations in which voters can feel confident that their vote is cast without undue influence. I urge that any restriction upon the type of locations used for polling places occur only after a competent study has been conducted of the existing polling places and of the options available for alternative locations, if such options are necessary. Moreover, if any future action is taken to restrict locations, it is imperative that such action be defined in consultation with our County Boards of Election so that there is certainty that the timeframes for compliance can be achieved without any negative impact upon those seeking to exercise their franchise.

While this bill offers limited improvements to the voting methods for overseas voters, I must point out that this bill does not afford any of the improvements to Pennsylvanians in the military who may be deployed within the borders of the United States. Moreover, the key improvements for all overseas and military voters that will ensure their ability to cast an absentee vote are not included in this legislation. Among those key elements not included are: permitting computer electronic transmissions for absentee ballot applications; earlier filing deadlines for independent candidates so that ballots can be printed earlier and sent overseas in time for the voter to return the ballot before the deadline; and clear deadlines for county absentee ballot preparation so that every appropriately cast vote can be counted. I note that on December 12, 2005, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 544, which I proposed last Memorial Day and which includes all of these protections for our military and overseas voters. If we are serious about protecting the rights of our military and overseas citizens, the Senate should pass this bill immediately so that it can become law.

House Bill 1318 amends the Pennsylvania Election Code in ways that impose new requirements on voters and counties – some of which I believe violate the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions. Other provisions require much more debate, understanding, and most certainly refinement before they can be enacted. Finally, this bill does not provide for the critical elements necessary to ensure that our overseas and military voters have a chance to vote – and to have their votes counted – in every election.

For all these reasons, I must withhold my signature from House Bill 1318.

Sincerely,
Edward G. Rendell
Governor

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2. PA: Rendell, D, PA Gets Strong Support from Philadelphia Inquirer

And he deserves it!!! DU ERD Man of the Week!!!

WORTHY VETO ON PHOTO ID FOR VOTERS
BILL WOULD BE MORE IMPEDIMENT THAN FRAUD-BUSTER

Posted on Mon, Feb. 20, 2006
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/13915613.htm

WITH THE political atmosphere poisoned more than usual with distrust and dubious motives, we support Gov. Rendell's decision to veto House Bill 1318.

It was smelly from the start.

<snip>

It would have prohibited certain buildings, like private houses, from being used as polling places. And polling places could be located as far as two miles from the voting precinct boundaries. (Guess that portion was thrown in as a test of patriotic resolve: If you're a real American and a legitimate voter, you wouldn't mind a two-mile hike to exercise your franchise.)

Proponents presented this bill as a way to fight voter fraud. Goodness knows, that's been a huge problem in the state, right?

WRONG

The Harrisburg Patriot-News last week reported that voter fraud - misrepresentation, people voting more than once - is rare in the state.

Plus, the introduction in 2004 of provisional ballots for those who believe they are eligible to vote and which are later examined by election officers, has also helped offset problems, officials said.

This bill was a diversion. It would erect needless barriers to voting. The problem isn't people voting illegally. The real problems, made particularly clear in recent presidential contests, have been which votes were counted, how and when they were counted, and who was doing the counting.

[Wilms]

12. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413800

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3. AZ: Maricopa County (Phoenix) – Huge Republican Election Fraud Scandal Br

Brad Friedman rocks again. He’s on top of the election fraud scandal in Arizona. Republicans doing it to Republicans (no, it’s not Gannon!) in a primary election. Ballots appearing out of nowhere, charges and counter charges….remember the first ballot for DeLay’s replacement by the Republicans—more votes than House Representatives; they can’t resist themselves.


Blogged by Brad on 1/20/2006 @ 10:35am PT...

Election Fraud Cover-Up/Mystery/Circus, with Potential National Ramifications, Continues to Unravel in Arizona
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002307.htm


439 Ballots Appear Out of Nowhere during 2004 Republican Primary State Senate Recount; Incident Explodes into Bizarre Public Spectacle of Alleged Election Fraud, Failed Electronic Voting Machines and Elected State Officials All Twisting in the Wind...

What are Election Officials in Maricopa County, AZ Hiding and Why Will They Not Allow the Inspection of Ballots Stored (illegally and mysteriously) in an Unguarded, Non-Air Conditioned Cement Blockhouse Near the Airport?

Election Reform advocates have been turning out in droves at several recent public hearings in State Senates around the country. This week, official hearings were held in both California and Arizona concerning the unparalleled mess in which each state now finds itself in regards to Elections and Electronic Voting.

[mom cat]

9. Wonderful! The big fish are eating each other!

[Wilms]

13. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413818

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15. AZ: Feb 9th Phoenix New Times. "Feds Probe District 20"

Well, here we go...great city, great story, hot writer...Brad covers the national aspects and John Dougherty is on point. There will be people donning pink jump suits for Sheriff Joe Araipo's tent city County Jail. Arizona is beautiful this time of year so people may not start sweating until, oh, let's say, early April.

Feds Probe District 20
Whether there was vote tampering is not the most vital question for U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton to answer

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2006-02-09/news/dougherty.html

By John Dougherty
Article Published Feb 9, 2006

Charlton's decision to launch a grand jury investigation into the September 2004 District 20 Republican primary and subsequent recount for a state House seat is a powerful signal that there is something seriously wrong with how our votes are getting counted -- or not counted.

Charlton has stormed onto center stage of the messy District 20 vote-counting scandal at a crucial moment.

For 16 months, Maricopa County elections officials have sought to deflect attention from the inexplicable appearance of 489 votes between the September 7, 2004, primary and a recount two weeks later. The recount changed the outcome of the election.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Recorder Helen Purcell have repeatedly stated there is nothing wrong with the county elections department and that allegations of impropriety are being generated by a wacko state legislator who's in bed with a reckless "tabloid" newspaper willing to do anything for a "scoop."

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16. AZ: Jan 26, Phoenix New Times: "Pressure Tactics"

"Show us the ballots." John Dougherty can write and he also grabs your attention. What a story!

Pressure Tactics
You won’t believe what GOP officials are pulling now to try to keep Senator Jack Harper from discovering the truth about a local election!

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2006-01-26/news/dougherty.html
By John Dougherty
Article Published Jan 26, 2006

Show us the ballots!

That's the only way to get to the bottom of a raging scandal that started with an obscure 2004 Republican primary election in the Ahwatukee Foothills and is now entangling six prominent Republican officials.

Speaker of the Arizona House Jim Weiers, Senate President Ken Bennett, Secretary of State Jan Brewer, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell and Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert all are on the wrong side of this issue.

Instead of doing everything possible to assure the public that Maricopa County and the state are conducting fair and accurate elections, this arrogant cabal is fighting to prevent citizens from exercising a fundamental American right to discover what happened in an election where something clearly went wrong.

The primordial definition of a fair election is the ability to reconstruct it after the fact. We have the ability to do that in the District 20 Republican primary and subsequent recount, where 489 votes inexplicably appeared. The new votes changed the outcome of the primary election for a seat in the state Legislature.

[freedomfries]

17. k & r - thanks for another great thread!

special thanks for posting Gov. Rendell's letter! Must be spread in Voter ID states!

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19. Thank you for what you do too!!! Keep the first burning. n/t

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4. CA: “State Approves Flawed Voting Machines”

Congratulations idiots, you made our case! “State Approves Flawed Voting Machines” – that’s the headline. I wonder what McPherson is thinking of? I wonder who the hell the computer consultants from UC Berkeley are? Thanks for nothing Arnie and McPherson. This is now part of your permanent record!

State OKs flawed voting machines
Units can be used in 2006 elections but Diebold ordered to close security gaps

http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_3528309
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 last week that those risks were "manageable" and could be "mitigated" by tightening security around Diebold's voting machines.

McPherson gave conditional approval to Diebold's latest touch-screen voting machines and optical scanners Friday, while his staff ordered the McKinney, Texas-based company to get rid of the security holes as quickly as possible.

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

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5. MD: Beautiful community invaded by Republican Gang

That would be the Republican House members who are on retreat in Cambridge, MD. They must be getting their rolodex action going to contact the voting machine manufacturers. Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman, has arranged ethics seminars. Wow, how about a course on following the principals of election integrity.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1415218.cms

http://localnewsleader.com/jackson/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=145892

Ethics scandal looms over Republicans‘meeting
Staff and agencies
20 February, 2006


By Thomas Ferraro Fri Feb 10, 1:22 PM ET

CAMBRIDGE, Maryland - Republicans in the House of Representatives, rocked by ethics scandals, met in a secluded Maryland town on Thursday, hoping to regroup under new leadership and position themselves to retain power in November‘s elections.

<snip>.

"I‘m going to tell them they face challenges and opportunities," Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman said shortly before addressing the gathering at a waterfront hotel in Cambridge, a two-hour drive from Washington.

"I‘m going to tell them that the public clearly wants reform -- that the public believes that the country needs to continue reforming things if we are going to be on the right track," Mehlman told reporters, referring to lobbying practices on Capitol Hill and such basics as health care, education and national security.

Lobbying scandals and Justice Department investigations involving Republican lawmakers and former aides threaten the party‘s control of the House, which it has held since 1995.

<snip>

"We‘re going to have, frankly, an ethics seminar for all our members and staff so that they know what the rules are, and I think it‘ll help ensure that members and staff live up to those rules," Boehner said.

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6. Nation: Republicans Used to go after Black Voters—Eisenhower Hesitated

Eisenhower has a historic opportunity; bring large numbers of black voters into the Republican Party. The loss of the 1954 congressional elections handing back power to the Democrats in both houses and the general fear of insurrection caused hesitancy, which in turn lost Republicans the opportunity. Fascinating history.

50 years ago, Ike's team saw civil rights as political issue
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/02/20/50_years_ago_ikes_team_saw_civil_rights_as_political_issue/?page=1

By John Hanna, Associated Press Writer February 20, 2006


President Eisenhower and his staff at the White House couldn't avoid civil rights as an issue, and a big question nagged at them that winter. How could they take advantage of the social ferment, split Northern and Southern Democrats and lure

<snip>

In October 1957 -- after Eisenhower used troops to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in compliance with a federal court order -- the president told Larson, according to the speech writer's notes that Brown went too far. Larson quoted Eisenhower as saying the court should have guaranteed equal opportunities but "to require integration was not necessary."

"For this reason, he preferred to avoid any show of pushing integration as such, beyond doing his constitutional duty of seeing that lawful court orders are obeyed," Larson wrote.

One page of Eisenhower's own handwritten notes from the period said: "Troops -- not to enforce integration but to prevent opposition by violence to orders of a court."

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7. Oldie. CA: 383,000 Missing Votes in Gray Davis Recall – Wow!!!

And 9% of the punch card ballots in Los Angeles were among them. Think that had an impact on the recall. The article sounds like there will be some investigative reporting but, alas, that didn’t happen. The author must have received the “memo” just in tie. Now CA is going to give us Diebold so there will be no lost ballots, just switched votes. That’s the definition of progress.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/state/2003-10-10-voting-anomalies_x.htm

Studies: 383,000 missing votes in recall, most in punch cards

10/1003

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 380,000 ballots cast in the recall election did not have a valid vote on whether to recall Gov. Gray Davis, and most of them were made on punch card systems, according to two independent studies.

Even if the 4.6% of Californians whose ballots did not answer the recall question had voted against it, Davis would have lost. The recall passed by a margin of 10.8%, and Republican actor Arnold Schwarzenegger enjoyed a comfortable victory.

But California's anomalies could resonate nationwide, as counties scramble to modernize election equipment to qualify for federal funding in the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

In Los Angeles County, nearly 9% of people who cast ballots on punch card voting machines — more than 175,000 ballots — did not register a vote on whether to recall Davis, researchers said.

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8. VoteScam’s Victoria Collier: Brief History of American Election Fraud

This is a classic, forward the article and link to your party friends. It’s a wake up call.

Computerized Election Fraud in America: A Brief History

http://www.votescam.com/abriefhistory.php
By Victoria Collier
Editor of www.VoteScam.com
October 25, 2003

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" --Thomas Jefferson

In the 2000 election, George W. Bush stole the presidency by
Combining various forms of vote fraud, not all of which could be
concealed from the American public. The month-long battle in Dade
County ended with open slaughter of the democratic process, and the
occupation of the country by a regime of what may be accurately
described as corporate fascists. That's the bad news.

The good news is, the 2000 election also marked a turning point in
American consciousness. Or, I might venture to say, an awakening.
Before W's coup, most Americans were, for lack of a better
metaphor, asleep at the wheel. This metaphor works just fine,
because our electoral process is the wheel that guides our nation,
the mechanism that allows us to control the engines of power, and
to turn our country in a new direction if, for instance, we are
nearing the edge of a cliff.

Nothing is more important to an American citizen than the right to
cast a ballot.

But modern Americans have been abandoning the voting booth in
droves. Over the past fifty years, less than half of all eligible
voters went to the polls, sometimes less than 25%. However, far
more astounding is that those who voted rarely bothered to wonder
if their vote was counted accurately.

[Wordie]

10. Don't have anything new to post, but proud to offer recommendation #5. eom

And Kudos to Rendell... a veto for voting sanity.

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11. Wordie, thank you!!!!

Rendell is a real Demmocrat!!! Voting rights

[Wilms]

14. Blog for America: Demand Real Voting Reform

Demand Real Voting Reform

Monday, February 06, 2006

The survival of our democracy demands that every vote be counted accurately. That's why Democracy for America members around the country are working with Congress and other organizations every day to ensure the integrity of your vote. We have made some progress. But this is crunch time. The mid-term elections are just eight months away. We must act now to ensure that our voting systems produce accurate and verifiable results every single time.

Unfortunately, the Republican leadership in Congress has resisted every call for real reform. Well, we can't wait any longer for Washington to act. The way to protect our elections is to go right to the source by reaching out to town and county election officials. In most areas, these officials have the power to ensure fair and accurate voting systems even if our federal government won't act.

snip

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/007465.html

Petition
http://tools.democracyforamerica.com/petition/votingreform/


Discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x413811

[Algorem]

18. NPR call-in show discussion of Voting Rights Acts reauthorization,with

Cleveland reporter to discuss 2004 election,on now-

20http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/06/02/21.php#10177

[fooj]

20. This is WONDERFUL news!

Peace.

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21. Something like this would be wonderful to see again too...

[demodonkey]

22. Rendell is NOT taking the lead on VVPR -- he just doesn't GET it!

HB 2000 and SB 977, our two identical bills for VVPR-VVPB in Pennsylvania, are stuck in their respective House and Senate State Government Committees, even though they have over 1/4 of each chamber as co-sponsors.

Yes, Rendell did a good thing on HB 1318, but now he needs to show some leadership on further protecting the vote in PA and call for the VVPR-VVPB issue to get the public hearings by the state legislature that his own Task Force on Election Reform recommended.

Rendell needs to use his power to get SB 977 and / or HB 2000 out of committee AND passed. Pennsylvania needs Voter-Verified Paper Ballots!