Election Reform, Fraud & News SAT-1/5/08, GOP Already at Work to Keep Obama Voters From the Polls

[rumpel]

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted January 5, 2008.

GOP-backed election laws in many states pose barriers to Obama's supporters.

Barack Obama's winning coalition in Iowa drew on new voters, students, minorities and poor people, according to polls and other snapshots of Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses.

The new voters, particularly college students, defied former President Bill Clinton, his candidate wife Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen, all who decried their efforts to vote because, while legal, they apparently were not Iowan enough. Needless to say, these Obama supporters did not take heed.

But if Obama -- or any Democrat -- is going to repeat his higher-than-expected turnout in other states, their supporters may have to surmount significant new voting rights barriers as the campaign moves through the primaries and into the fall election.

That is because the new voters, young people, minorities and the poor who turned out for Obama in Iowa are the very voters targeted by numerous Republican-led "ballot security" laws that have been adopted across the country since 2004. While some of these laws have been overturned, they include tough new voter ID requirements, restrictions on registering voters and even penalties for helping people with absentee ballots.

http://www.alternet.org/story/72748/

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[rumpel]

1. WA: Postponement of all-mail election urged

Seattle Times

Saturday, January 5, 2008 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

By Keith Ervin

Seattle Times staff reporter

King County should put off a move to all-mail elections until 2009, County Councilmember Larry Phillips said Friday, citing delays in obtaining high-volume tabulation equipment.

Phillips, D-Seattle, wrote in a letter to County Executive Ron Sims that it would be "logistically difficult" to conduct the November presidential election by mail. "Where accuracy of elections is concerned, we cannot afford to make any mistakes," he wrote.

A supporter of vote-by-mail elections, Phillips said in an interview he was disappointed to conclude that the federal government was unlikely to certify the new equipment in time and that the county's existing equipment is inadequate to count up to 900,000 mail ballots.

Sims reported to the County Council on Monday that the county's 10-year-old tabulating machines and computer database aren't up to the job of counting nearly all ballots in a central location.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004108647_elections05m.html

[rumpel]

2. KY: Stumbo has 'no regrets' as he leaves office

Herald-Leader

Posted on Sat, Jan. 05, 2008

ATTORNEY GENERAL HEADED INVESTIGATION THAT LED TO FLETCHER'S INDICTMENT
By Jack Brammer

FRANKFORT --
History will remember Greg Stumbo's four-year tenure as state attorney general for the investigation and prosecution that brought down a governor.

Stumbo, who left office Friday as the state's chief law-enforcement official and longs to continue his political career by returning to the state House, says he hopes "history will remember us as being not afraid to enforce the law and that we took this job seriously."

The well-known Democratic politician from Floyd County said in a wide-ranging interview that he has "no regrets" how his office handled the state hiring investigation that led to the indictment of former Gov. Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher and others.

He also said he believes the outcome of the investigation and possibly last year's governor's race, which Fletcher lost to Democrat Steve Beshear, would have been different if Fletcher "had worked with us as he first said he would."

http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/277022.html

[rumpel]

3. Related: Ky. Man Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud

Forbes

Associated Press

By ROGER ALFORD 01.04.08, 2:52 PM ET


FRANKFORT, Ky. -

A Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions to a number of candidates in last year's governor's race, including former Gov. Ernie Fletcher who was defeated in his re-election bid.

The case against Phillip Dufour, an employee of state road contractor Elmo Greer & Sons of London, was resolved Friday by an agreement that required him to pay a $10,000 fine. In addition, Elmo Greer and Sons agreed to pay $250,000 to cover the cost of the investigation.

The agreement also requires the company to cooperate in further investigations by providing names of others who may have been involved, Attorney General Greg Stumbo said.

"Protecting our political process is essential to freedom," Stumbo said in a statement. "With this criminal plea and significant fine, we have fired a shot across the bow of all who seek to taint elections with illegal contributions."

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/04/ap4496164.html

[rumpel]

4. TX: Rosenthal officially not seeking re-election after e-mail scandal

Jan. 4, 2008, 7:47PM

© 2008 The Associated Press

HOUSTON — Disgraced Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal is not running for re-election, after all.

Last month, as part of a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the Sheriff's Department, more than 100 e-mails were briefly released that detailed an affectionate relationship between Rosenthal and his secretary, Kerry Stevens.

Pressured by fellow Republicans after the scandal surfaced, Rosenthal withdrew his name Wednesday from the March primary.

Then the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday that Rosenthal was reconsidering that decision. However, Friday's extended filing deadline passed without Rosenthal throwing his hat back into the ring.

Some questions remained, however, over Rosenthal's withdrawal, the Chronicle reported on its Web site Friday night.

The district attorney's one-sentence letter asked that his "nomination" be withdrawn, even though he would have had to win the primary to get the GOP nomination. It also wasn't notarized.

Harris County Democratic Chairman Gerald Birnberg said the lack of notarization made the letter invalid and that the GOP is obligated to keep Rosenthal on the ballot.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5429646.html

[rumpel]

5. NY: Another year for Westchester agreement on Spanish-speaking voters

Newsday

4:55 PM EST, January 4, 2008

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) _ Westchester County's agreement with the federal government to make sure voters can get assistance in Spanish has been extended through this year, the U.S. attorney announced Friday.

The agreement, reached in 2005, ended a civil lawsuit filed by the government that said the county was not conforming with the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act. Those measures require Spanish-language information and assistance at the polls, and access to provisional ballots when voters are blocked from casting ballots at polls.

The agreement was to expire in 2007 along with the Voting Rights Act, but the act was renewed in 2006 and the government asked for an extension of the Westchester decree through 2008. A three-judge panel agreed, saying Westchester "has made marked improvements" but the government needs to monitor compliance for another general election cycle.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--westchestervoting0104jan04,0,7621943.story

[Bitwit1234]

6. That is the biggest bullshit bullshit I have ever seen

ANY INTELLIGENT person knows damn well republicans want Obama. Else they wouldn't be swiftboating, panning and flaming Hillary.

The press has not said one thing about Obama, they have not told any thing about his abysmal voting record, his wanting to do away with unions and labor. Calling respected senators names. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. They know good and well if Obama is the candidate they will win in a landslide.
And he thinks he is doing something. I guess Liberman continues to fill his mentor's head full of bull and he eats it up.

[rumpel]

7. Guam: U.S. Attorney's office will be fielding complaints

By Stephanie Godlewski
Pacific Daily News


U.S. Attorney's office will be fielding complaints
By Stephanie Godlewski
Pacific Daily News
[e-mail]

With so much riding on today's special election, it is imperative that the integrity of the election is maintained, so if you suspect any type of voter fraud or abuse, the U.S. Attorney General's Office will be fielding complaints.

The office has designated Assistant U.S. Attorney Marivic David as the district election officer for the special election. David can be contacted tomorrow while the polls are open.

In addition to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also will be taking any complaints.
If you have an issue concerning access to ballots or discrimination, the office recommends contacting the Civil Rights Division's Voting Section in Washington D.C.

http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS01/801050309/1002

[rumpel]

8. IL: Whiteside, Lee join election lawsuit

Published on: Saturday, January 05, 2008

BY ANDREW WALTERS
SVN REPORTER

Lee and Whiteside have joined the six other counties in U.S. Congressional District 14 that are suing the state over the special election called to fill the term of former Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Plano, who resigned in November.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich set the special election primary for Feb. 5, the same day as the presidential primary. The special election is March 8, for District 14 voters alone.

County election officials contend, though, that the 31 days between the two does not give them enough time to follow state election guidelines.

"Basically, the governor set the date so close to the primary we can not follow state statutes," Lee County Clerk Nancy Nelson. "We need to have ballots ready and absentee voting ready for the March election, and there isn't enough time."

Also, March 8 falls on a Saturday, which makes it harder to find volunteers to staff polling places.

The suit was filed Wednesday in federal court in DuPage County.

It asks the judge to suspend state election laws, so that more time can be had. In the absence of such a suspension, the judge could decide to back up the special election date, but only to a certain extent. Law requires it be held within 115 days of when the vacancy was declared, which would make March 21 the latest date it could be held.

http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2008/01/05/news/local/180213898576723.txt

[rumpel]

9. NYT to blast e-voting; TACIR urges verifiable votes in Tennessee

Clarksville Online (TN)

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 5, 2008

“A long way from where we started…”

With those words activist Bernie Ellis, a staunch advocate for traceable, verifiable voting records, cited a BRAD BLOG report announcing the publication of a major New York Times article on the issues surrounding electronic voting.

According to The BRAD BLOG, the NYT article includes a graphic of an exploding voting booth and a warning that your vote may be “lost, destroyed, miscounted, wrongly attributed of hacked.” The story is reportedly titled “The Bugs in the Machine.” The story reportedly claims that electronic voting machines may create far greater problems than hanging chads and cites a ten percent failure of electronic voting machines. http://www.bradblog.com

Just over a month ago, Ellis appeared at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for a screening of the David Earnhardt film, UnCounted, which offered a scathing indictment of electronic voting machines and the disenfranchising of entire blocks of voters.

The film premiered in Nashville in November and was virtually ignored by mass media with the exception of Clarksville Online. The second Tennessee screening of this film was held in Clarksville and sponsored in part by Clarksville Online.

http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/01/05/nyt-to-blast-e-voting-tacir-urges-verifiable-votes-in-tennessee/

[rumpel]

10. Australia: Officials dismiss election cheating claims

Herald Sun

By Michael Mainville

January 06, 2008 02:51am

GEORGIA'S opposition complained of "serious violations" in a snap presidential poll, but election officials and representatives of incumbent Mikheil Saakashvili dismissed the accusation.

"`We have the problems we expected. We have seen many serious violations," one of the opposition's leaders, Tina Khidasheli, said.

She said the opposition had filmed numerous instances of people voting two or three times and said some ballot boxes had been tampered with by election officials.

She said that election officials were refusing to register the complaints of opposition representatives at polling stations.

"The authorities are trying to remove any legal basis for contesting the election," Ms Khidasheli said.

The opposition's six representatives on Georgia's 13-member Central Election Commission (CEC) also complained of problems.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23013347-5005961,00.html

[rumpel]

11. Georgia: First report on vote count to appear at 11 p.m

TBILISI. Jan 5 (Interfax) - The first report on the vote count following Saturday' presidential election will be provided at midnight (11 p.m., Moscow time,) Georgian Central Election Commission head Levan Tarkhnishvili has announced.

"Figures will be updated once in two hours on the Commission's website," he said.

All complaints filed with the Election Commission will be considered, Tarkhnishvili also said.

Final election returns will be announced four days later, he said. sd

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11941138

[rumpel]

12. Georgian Election a Test of Democracy

By LYNN BERRY and MARIA DANILOVA – 7 hours ago

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgians voted Saturday to determine whether to keep Mikhail Saakashvili as president in the former Soviet republic, where he was once considered a symbol of democratic reform but now faces accusations of authoritarian leanings.

The U.S.-educated Saakashvili led mass street protests that ousted a Communist-era veteran from power following fraudulent elections in late 2003. He won a January 2004 election with more than 96 percent of the vote and set out to transform the bankrupt country into a modern European state.

Now the Rose Revolution hero, who was much lauded in the West, is fighting to stay in office amid opponents' claims that he has ignored the needs of the poor and shown a tendency toward authoritarianism.

The head of an international election monitoring mission said about two hours before the polls were to close that the election to that point appeared to be fair.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5icYmoujQdaDZMg8b4jQ6aWokdyyAD8TVQGDO0

[rumpel]

13. New voting system for US Democrats living in HK

South China Morning Post

Liz Heron
Jan 06, 2008

Supporters of America's Democratic Party living in Hong Kong will be able to help choose their presidential candidate through a new global primary election.

Democrats Abroad, the party's overseas wing, has switched from a worldwide caucus system to a single primary ballot for the presidential campaign, which kicked off in the state of Iowa on Thursday, with Barack Obama winning the Democrat caucus and Mike Huckabee the Republican one.

The group's Hong Kong branch will hold the ballot to choose between Hillary Clinton, Senator Obama or John Edwards at the Lan Kwai Fong watering-hole The Dublin Jack, the haunt that hosts its monthly meeting, and the Flying Pan in Wan Chai, a 24-hour cafe.

The ballots at the Irish pub, on February 5 and 12, will be held from 6pm to 9pm, while the Flying Pan vote will be held from 4pm to 6pm on February 10.

Democratic Party members living outside the US will also be able vote online for the first time this year at www.VoteFromAbroad.org, set up by Democrats Abroad.

http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=d700571124a47110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=Hong+Kong&s=News

[rumpel]

14. Pakistan: ECP mulls iron boxes after plastic burnt

Daily Times

Staff Report

KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is considering using iron ballot boxes in some parts of Sindh for the February 18 general elections after it said at least 12,000 transparent ones were destroyed during the riots after Benazir’s killing.

Sindh Election Commissioner Chaudhry Qamaruz Zaman told Daily Times that it was just an “option” for the office to use its stock of iron boxes but no “final decision” had been taken. Also, now that the elections have been delayed by over a month, the commission may be able to arrange for more transparent boxes from abroad.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had given the commission 430,000 transparent ballot boxes for the 2008 general elections, out of which 97,000 went to Sindh. But now the province is at least 12,000 short.

The commission’s head office in Islamabad will have the final word.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C01%5C06%5Cstory_6-1-2008_pg12_3

[rumpel]

15. On DU: New Jersey's Post-Election Audit Bill and Its Importance to Our Nation

thanks to Wilms

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x488640

[Kurovski]

16. Kick to the top.

Thanks, rumpel! :thumbsup:

[Wilms]

17. Kick n/t