Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday, 2/01/2008

[Mnemosyne]

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 new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240



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








Please Feel Free to "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below). Thanks!




Good afternoon all! Hope everyone is doing well today! :hi:

[Mnemosyne]

1. National. n't

[Mnemosyne]

9. Six States at 'High' Risk for Voting Machine Mishaps on Super Tuesday

Six States at 'High' Risk for Voting Machine Mishaps on Super Tuesday

Posted by: philcrosby on Friday, February 1, 2008
Topic Public Works and Advocacy


snip>

The ratings for the 15 states holding presidential primaries on voting machines on Super Tuesday are below. Forty states, including the District of Columbia, are reviewed inside the report. The remaining states were not reviewed since they hold caucuses and do not use electronic voting machines.

Risk Level: HIGH


* Arkansas
* Delaware
* Georgia
* New Jersey
* New York
* Tennessee


Risk Level: MID


* Alabama
* Arizona
* Massachusetts
* Utah
* Oklahoma


Risk Level: LOW


* California
* Connecticut
* Illinois
* Missouri


In addition to assessing the risk level, Common Cause and Verified Voting call on Congress to pass the Emergency Election Assistance for Secure Elections Act, which would authorize critically needed funding for states that want to convert from paperless systems to paper-based systems by the general election in November.

http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=7962&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Link to full report :

http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7Bfb3c17e2-cdd1-4df6-92be-bd4429893665%7D/VOTINGATRISK.PDF

[Mnemosyne]

13. Potential voting woes loom for Super Tuesday

Potential voting woes loom for Super Tuesday
Record 24 states' primaries, caucuses open field for confusion, delays

updated 6:35 p.m. ET, Thurs., Jan. 31, 2008

Long lines, a shortage of poll workers and unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots could delay vote counts in the biggest-ever Super Tuesday in American politics — a day in which nearly half the nation will cast ballots.

A record 24 states hold primaries and caucuses Tuesday, the result of a stampede by states to gain prestige and wield clout by moving up voting dates in the Democratic and Republican nominating races for the White House. These all-out charges toward Tuesday provide ample opportunities for confusion and stalled tallies, voting advocates say.

Adding to the list of possible delays: expectations of record-breaking voter turnout in contests expected to be close. Many of the states that moved up primaries have never been involved in one with meaningful impact, often resulting in low turnout in the past, said Tova Wang of The Century Foundation think tank.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

So on Super Duper Tuesday, or Tsunami Tuesday, as some also have called it, voters across the country could face a number of difficulties — some new, some reincarnations of elections past.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22939218/

[Mnemosyne]

14. Fortify Software Offers States Free Security Analysis of E-Voting Machines

Press Release Source: Fortify Software

Fortify Software Offers States Free Security Analysis of E-Voting Machines

Thursday January 31, 5:00 am ET
Secretaries of State offered - at no cost - award-winning source code analyzer to ensure security of state-owned electronic voting systems

SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortify Software, the market leader in enterprise application security solutions, announced today that it is offering a free copy of Fortify® SCA 5.0, its award-winning source code analysis software, to every Secretary of State in the United States of America in response to increasing evidence of the deployment of insecure e-voting machines in national elections. Registration for the complimentary offer is available online at http://www.fortifysoftware.com/landing/extra/evoting.html.

ADVERTISEMENT
click here
Fortify's gesture is an effort to give each state the ability to ensure that the e-voting systems used in the upcoming November presidential elections are designed to protect both voter privacy and the integrity of election results.

"We're donating our products to states so they can find places where their machines' software is vulnerable to attack," said John M. Jack, Fortify's CEO. "These coding mistakes open the door for a malicious voter or polling location volunteer to change your vote or even cast multiple votes; corrupting an election could be as easy as inserting a carefully programmed cartridge or a bogus ballot into the machine."

Recent security analyses of electronic voting machines by the state departments of California, Florida and Ohio point to fundamental vulnerabilities in the software running their machines. These states used Fortify SCA in separate and independent source code reviews, and uncovered numerous code-level flaws that could have proved fatal to the election process.

"Our assessment found security vulnerabilities in the software of these systems," said Matt Bishop, a professor of computer science at UC Davis and member of Fortify's Technical Advisory Board participating in the California and Florida reviews. "This security review provides information that analysts can use to find these problems, and developers can use to eliminate them."

"The security assessment that led to the de-certification of e-voting machines in California is just one example that software on these machines is not secure," Jack added. "The world's largest banks, government agencies and telecommunications companies use our analysis tools to guard against attack, and we encourage electronic voting machine vendors to take the same precautions to ensure the security of their services."

Fortify's security technology incorporates feedback from the company's worldwide customer base to bring collaboration, customization and more comprehensive protection to the Software Development Lifecycle (SDL).

"We invite every Secretary of State to take us up on our offer to be proactive in mitigating these types of security risks," commented Jack. "A voting machine that has been hacked looks just like a voting machine that hasn't been hacked. If we can't trust our election results, our democratic system doesn't work."

Product information for Fortify SCA 5.0 is available at http://www.fortify.com/products/sca/.

For more information on the assessments in California, Florida and Ohio visit:

California - http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vsr.htm
Florida - http://election.dos.state.fl.us/pdf/FinalAudRepSAIT.pdf
Ohio - http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/info/everest.aspx

About Fortify Software, Inc.

Fortify® Software products protect companies from the threats posed by security flaws in business-critical software applications. Its software security products -- Fortify SCA, Fortify Manager, Fortify Tracer and Fortify Defender -- drive down costs and security risks by automating key processes of developing and deploying secure applications. Fortify Software's customers include government agencies and FORTUNE 500 companies in a wide variety of industries, such as financial services, healthcare, e-commerce, telecommunications, publishing, insurance, systems integration and information management. The company is backed by world-class teams of software security experts and partners. More information is available at www.fortify.com.


Source: Fortify Software

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080131/aqth099.html?.v=34

[Mnemosyne]

2. States. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

11. CA: Switch from e-voting may slow results for weeks

Switch from e-voting may slow results for weeks

By JILLIAN JONES
Register Staff Writer
Friday, February 01, 2008

Thousands of Napa County ballots will go uncounted on election night Tuesday, potentially complicating the county’s ability to accurately call the election until as late as Feb. 21.

With record numbers of voters turning out at polling places across the nation for the presidential primary, some counties are adding extra polling places just to keep up.
But in Napa County, where Registrar of Voters John Tuteur said voter turnout usually surpasses the statewide projection by 10 to 15 percent, polling places are down from 99 locations last year to only 58.

Those 41 Napa County precincts will instead require voters to vote by mail. The change, Tuteur has said, is part of an effort to eliminate long lines like those seen at polling places in November 2006 when some voters were turned away on election day.

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/02/01/news/local/doc47a2c7177b876276071812.txt

[Mnemosyne]

12. CO: Election uncertainty not weighing on Broomfield

Election uncertainty not weighing on Broomfield

By Jolie Breeden (Contact)
Friday, February 1, 2008

BROOMFIELD -- In the topsy-turvy world of Colorado voting, Broomfield has remained a veritable sea of tranquillity -- and a plan by Colorado lawmakers to hold paper-ballot elections isn't likely to make waves.

The plan could leave many county clerks across the state without a paddle as they struggle to find the money to buy ballot-counting devices. But Broomfield should be able to weather any coming storms, City and County Clerk Russ Ragsdale said.

"We've stayed pretty agile here in Broomfield," he said. "We've not made any huge investment or locked ourselves into any particular system."

The push for paper ballots was introduced last week by Gov. Bill Ritter and legislators in hopes of defining a system that would allow votes to be cast without possible technology failures.

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/01/election-uncertainty-not-weighing-on-broomfield/?partner=yahoo

[Mnemosyne]

15. FL: Software blamed for late election results in Palm Beach County

Software blamed for late election results in Palm Beach County
Elections chief says glitch can be fixed before spring

By Josh Hafenbrack | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 31, 2008

Plagued by persistent problems reporting election-night results, Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said Wednesday he would upgrade the county's voting software system to try to head off problems in the future.

A faulty early voting cartridge was blamed for a glitch that kept precinct totals from being reported until 11 p.m. Tuesday night, four hours after the polls closed. While other counties, including Broward, were reporting results with precinct information, Palm Beach County didn't show precinct totals. That left people to guess at how much of the vote had come in, especially in municipal races.

"I understand it's a small glitch, but other counties seem to be able to work these things out," said Lake Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens, who was following three referendums in his city. "Maybe someone needs to drive to Broward to take some lessons."

Anderson said he would make system upgrades in time for the March municipal elections, when 31 cities vote.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpanderson0131pnjan31,0,3069023.story?track=rss

[Mnemosyne]

18. HI: State picks voting machines

Posted on: Friday, February 1, 2008

State picks voting machines

Advertiser Staff

Hart InterCivic's eSlate machines, used by Hawai'i's disabled voters in the 2004 and 2006, will be available again for the 2008 elections.

The state Office of Elections has awarded a $43.4 million contract with Hart InterCivic to provide eScan and eSlate voting machines.

Voters will have the choice of using the eScan paper ballot or the eSlate electronic machine with a verifiable paper ballot, according to the elections office. The eSlate electronic machines have been used by disabled voters in the 2004 and 2006 elections.

"Hart not only provided the best solution from a voter's point of view, but it also provided the best option as far as administering the election," Rex Quidilla, who led the evaluation committee, said in a written statement.

The contract with Hart, based in Austin, Texas, runs through 2016 with an option to extend to 2018.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Feb/01/ln/hawaii802010361.html

[Mnemosyne]

20. NY: Paper ballot activists rally in Westchester as voting machine ruling looms

Paper ballot activists rally in Westchester as voting machine ruling looms

Nicole Neroulias • The Journal News • February 1, 2008

WHITE PLAINS - What do they want? Paper ballots. When do they want them? Nov. 4, 2008.

Led by Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining, a group of about a dozen local environmentalists, advocates for the disabled and other grassroots activists held a rally outside the Westchester County Board of Elections yesterday, calling for New York's elections officials to stand firm against direct-recording electronic machines, the ATM-style touch-screen voting devices.

The state Board of Elections last week approved three ballot-marking devices, which would let voters mark their preferences on paper ballots that are then optically scanned, for use in this year's presidential election. But two of the devices may not comply with state requirements, and Liberty, a direct-recording electronic company, has applied for a temporary restraining order against the decision.

Awaiting a response from state Supreme Court, Galef said the White Plains rally had turned from a chance to "say hooray, hooray," to an opportunity to reaffirm support for the state board's Jan. 24 decision. All counties must decide which voting devices to purchase by Feb. 8. The state is working to upgrade its election equipment to comply with a federal law.

Other speakers explained they prefer paper ballots because they provide physical evidence of their vote, with fewer technical difficulties than reported on touch-screen machines used in other states.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/NEWS02/802010351

[Mnemosyne]

21. OH: Cuyahoga commissioners give OK to lease vote counting machines

Cuyahoga commissioners give OK to lease vote counting machines

CLEVELAND (AP) — Commissioners in the state’s largest county have voted to lease equipment needed to count votes at a central location for the March 4 presidential primary despite a legal challenge of the new system from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Cuyahoga County’s commissioners Thursday approved a $1.47 million lease through May 31. The county has an option to buy optical scanners to read paper ballots from Omaha, Neb.-based Election Systems & Software. The scanners will be used to tabulate votes gathered from various precincts to one location on election night.

The county’s elections director, Jane Platten, is overseeing a transition from electronic touch-screen voting to paper ballots with centralized counting.

The ACLU has asked a judge to prevent the switch to centralized counting, saying it doesn’t allow voters to correct mistakes. The group says such tabulation does not give voters notice of ballot errors — such as voting for two candidates for one office — at the precinct level, where they would be able to correct a ballot and prevent it from being discounted as invalid.

http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/UPDATES01/80201011

[Mnemosyne]

22. OK: Machines tested for elections

January 31, 2008

Machines tested for elections
Each device manually checked

Susie Williams-Allen [phone]

Purcell, OK -- Manually testing the upcoming election ballots requires a lot of patience and time.
Twenty-six electronic voting devices make up McClain County’s inventory of voting machines. Each one of these has to be tested prior to an election.

Testing has started early at the election board office, with each ballot having to be run separately through each machine four times each.

McClain County Election Board Secretary Marilyn McReynolds said test decks are set up. Four different orientations (front, back, upside down and right side up) have to be sent through each machine.

Each voting machine is also cleaned and the accuracy of each device is checked at this time, McReynolds said. A new printing ribbon is added to each machine.

http://www.purcellregister.com/article-display.asp?idnum=3986

[Mnemosyne]

23. PA: Paper voting ballots possibility in Fayette

Paper voting ballots possibility in Fayette

By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
02/01/2008
Updated 02/01/2008 12:34:59 AM EST


The Fayette County commissioners are considering offering paper ballots at the polls as a way to deal with voter dissatisfaction of the electronic voting machines purchased in 2006 following a federal mandate that made the county's lever machines illegal.

The commissioners will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss purchasing electronic scanners to use in conjunction with paper ballots at each of the county's 103 precincts for the April 22 primary.

During a demonstration of the scanners Thursday afternoon in the public safety building, Adrian Gonzales of Hart Intercivic discussed details of the eScan machine. He said the important thing is a tangible piece of paper that can be used to verify votes if needed.

Gonzales explained that voters choosing to use the machines would get a paper ballot, take it into a privacy booth and vote and then place it in the eScan machine for calculation.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19253315&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

[Mnemosyne]

3. The Youth Vote. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

24. AR: Cabot Middle School Mock Election

Cabot Middle School Mock Election

Reported by: Cecillea Pond-Mayo, KARK 4 News

Thursday, Jan 31, 2008 @09:15am CST

Polls have closed and results are in --at least for one precinct in Cabot. There was a mock election at Cabot Middle School North.

The only thing that was different about this polling place, was girls were on one side.. boys on the other.. but that. was only to keep track of voting trends.. Cabot Middle School North was supplied with real electronic voting machines thanks to the Lonoke County Clerk..

“What party would you like to vote in?” And outside the precinct, you'd find exit polling. “What made you vote for this candidate? War in Iraq.”

The campaign trail leading to this moment has been tough... Homemade signs line the hall... and the candidates... took to the school airwaves.. Students even added the receding hairline for Rudy Giuliani to give it that touch of that authenticity. By lunch, early results were in Huckabee with a big lead... More kids in the republican primary so far This all started when Ms. Weir remembered her mock election.

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=64900

[Mnemosyne]

4. OPED/BLOGS/LTTE. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

8. A Far-Fetched Fix for E-Voting Woes: Open Source

A Far-Fetched Fix for E-Voting Woes: Open Source

By Jack M. Germain
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network
02/01/08 4:00 AM PT

In theory, open source programming of voting machines would remove their veils of secrecy. In practice, though, using open source may not be a viable option if code is not made available. However, a formal effort to work on open source code for voting machines could come at any time from anyone.

The 2008 presidential primaries capture the lion's share of election season media exposure, but an equally critical campaign is running quietly in the background.

The controversial decision to implement various types of electronic voting machines in place of paper ballots is garnering little public attention, while many states hastily implement flawed electronic voting machines and related election procedures, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation Latest News about Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The U.S. lacks a universal voting standard. With federal rule-making limited to federal voting activities, individual states are left to determine their own voting procedures and the type of voting apparatus --electronic or paper -- to use.

http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/61474.html

[Mnemosyne]

19. And Then There Was One (Voting Machine), For Now Anyway

And Then There Was One (Voting Machine), For Now Anyway

By Mike Muller on January 31, 2008, 2:14 pm

After years of indecision, the New York State Board of Elections certified three voting machines for counties to choose amongst, and disabled voters would finally find one machine accessible to them at every polling place. A tempered sigh of relief amongst voting machine advocates ensued: The much maligned touch-screen machines had been avoided, and the disabled had finally found a modicum of support for their voting needs by elections officials, albeit court facilitated.

But it was only a fleeting moment of ease. It took less than a day for that decision amongst election officials - years in the making - to be thrown into question.

Immediately after their vote, makers of the electronic machines filed suit. One suit, filed by machine vendor Liberty Election Systems in State Supreme Court, asked that the Board of Elections be compelled to include their product on the list of certified machines. Bo Lipari of New Yorker’s for Verified Voting could “only gape in awe at Liberty’s unmitigated gall.” While the vendor’s request for a temporary restraining order was denied on Monday, the court will decide whether to force the board to include the machine today.

Then, as the lawsuits went on, the board basically decertified two of the three paper based machines they had approved only days earlier, leaving the only machine certified one that had never been tested in an actual election. The Brennan Center opined that they had “a hard time believing the decision had anything to do with which system was best for disabled voters, or New Yorkers in general.”

http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2008/01/31/and-then-there-was-one-voting-machine-for-now-anyway/

[Mnemosyne]

5. Foreign. n/t

[Mnemosyne]

10. Nepal's polls shrouded in doubt

Feb 1, 2008


Nepal's polls shrouded in doubt

By Dhruba Adhikary

KATHMANDU - Nepal's bid to end the current political transition through an election on April 10 is fraught with pitfalls and doubts persist among Nepalis as to the viability as well as usefulness of the exercise in the present climate of insecurity and deep-seated mistrust between important players.

The Election Commission has been told by the interim government to make preparations to conduct the poll aimed at electing a 601-strong Constituent Assembly which is to write a new constitution. Leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) are enthusiastic about the election because they think their objective of transforming Nepal from a feudal monarchy to a
republic will be achieved within months.

They have even projected their supreme leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda or "the fierce one") , as the first president of the republic. The assembly, they expect, will endorse Prachanda's name once the constitution is promulgated. Maoists' impatience is visible in public forums organized to encourage the 17 million-plus voters scattered across the country of 25 million people.

Another reason behind this newfound Maoist zeal could be their concerted effort to removed doubts that they will not be blamed if the election is postponed for the third time. The previous postponement, in November, was caused by them after they placed two demands as a precondition to the poll: that the interim constitution be amended to declare the country a republic and to change the traditional election system to a proportional representation method. The amendment was accepted, saying that its execution would be done by the assembly once it is elected; a compromise deal was made on the second demand by adopting a mixed method.

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JB01Df03.html

[Mnemosyne]

17. Venezuela Solidarity Network Files for Records on US Funding of Argentine Parties

Venezuela Solidarity Network Files for Records on US Funding of Argentine Parties

January 14th 2008, by Venezuelanalysis.com

The independent US Venezuela Solidarity Network (VSN) on Friday January 11, 2008 filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demands to US government agencies for "all records" of "all grants, payments and/or funds transfers to individuals, groups or political parties in Argentina from January 1, 2006 to date."

FOIA requests were submitted to the US Agency of International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Included in the request to the NED was the demand for records from its core groups, the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, the AFL-CIO's American Center for International Labor Solidarity, and the Chamber of Commerce's Center for International Private Enterprise.

VSN's Interim National Coordinator Chuck Kaufman explained, "When the US government arrested several people in Miami and attacked the Venezuelan government for allegedly sending nearly $800,000 to Argentina for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's campaign, we were struck not only by the flimsy evidence, but by the sheer level of hypocrisy involved. We decided to make public how much money the US government spent on the presidential election in Argentina and who received it."

In 2006 Kaufman led delegations to Nicaragua and Venezuela to investigate US involvement in those countries' presidential elections that year. In Nicaragua US ambassador Paul Trivelli admitted that he had $12 million to spend on the election and an IRI official bragged that "we started" a supposedly independent group that opposed Sandinista candidate Daniel Ortega's candidacy. In Venezuela an embassy official confirmed press reports that USAID was spending $23 million and the NED another $3 million for groups opposed to President Hugo Chavez' candidacy.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3063

[Mnemosyne]

6. Help Wanted! n/t

[Mnemosyne]

7. KY: Poll workers needed for May 20 Election

Poll workers needed for May 20 Election

Posted: Jan 29, 2008 12:19 PM
LOUISVILLE (WAVE) -- Over 2,000 registered Democrat and Republican citizens of Jefferson County are needed to work the polls at over 500 precincts for the Primary Election. The Jefferson County Clerk's Office and the Board of Elections are actively recruiting elections officers for the upcoming spring Primary Election to be held on May 20th, 2008.

Election officers receive $15 for attending a poll worker training session, and $105 for working the polls on Election Day. To be considered for an election officer position, Jefferson County residents should call Robert Dunn at 574-8259 or Jennifer Hutchinson 574-6040.

For additional information, check the Jefferson County website at www.JeffersonCountyClerk.org.

To be eligible for an election officer position, citizens are required to:

* Be registered to vote in Jefferson County

* Attend a 2 ½ hour, paid training session

* Work a full day, 5 a.m.-7 p.m., on Election Day

* Work in the polling location assigned by the Board of Elections (every effort is made to place workers in a voting precinct near their home)

NOTE: Pursuant to KRS 117.045(9), "An election officer shall not be a candidate or the spouse, parent, brother sister or child of a candidate who is to be voted for at the election.

http://www.wave3.com/global/story.asp?s=7790290

[Mnemosyne]

16. CA: Workers needed for election polls

Workers needed for election polls

Secretary of State Debra Bowen encourages registered voters and high school students over the age of 16 to sign up to work at the polls on Election Day.

"Some county elections officials still need poll workers for the Feb. 5 presidential primary election, and I want people to know there is still time to sign up and get involved on the front lines of democracy," said Bowen. "I worked at the polls for a number of years before I ran for office. I can say from firsthand experience that being a poll worker is a fun and easy way to get involved in the electoral process."

A Californian can serve as a poll worker if he or she is a registered voter or a high school student in good standing who is a United States citizen, at least 16 years old and has a gradepoint average of at least 2.5.

Poll workers can earn an average stipend of $100 per day, though rates vary among counties.

For more information, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ pollworker.htm.

http://www.moorparkacorn.com/news/2008/0201/community/013.html

[Kurovski]

25. Kick to the top. Thank you, vickiss.

I hope you are also doing well. :hi:

[Mnemosyne]

26. Very welcome Kurovski!

Twas a fine day, thank you. Hope yours was the same! :hi::hug: