Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Monday 02/25/08 - Blackwell may face subpoena

[tbyg52]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Monday 02/25/08

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BREAKING NEWS: Blackwell may face subpoena for election testimony

Former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell could be forced to testify before a House committee looking into problems during the 2004 presidential election.

A subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will discuss Tuesday issuing a subpoena for the Republican Blackwell. He declined to appear in a politically tinged exchange of letters with the committee’s Democratic leadership

More:
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/UPDATES04/80225026/1006/SPORTS


Recommendations always appreciated!

[tbyg52]

1. States nt

[tbyg52]

11. MI: Teens could preregister to vote under new legislation

State Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, introduced legislation last week that will allow 16-year-olds to preregister to vote when they get their driver's license.

According to Brown, the proposed law would allow teens to give all the necessary information to the secretary of state when they get their licenses, and the secretary of state then would send the information to the local clerks on teens' 18th birthdays, allowing them to be automatically registered to vote and added to the qualified voter file.

"Making it easier for young people to register to vote will stimulate interest and increase the chances that they will become regular, lifelong participants in our democracy," Brown said in a news release. "With each election, the youth of our state have their future at stake. We should seize this opportunity to encourage their participation in greater numbers."

More:
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NEWS01/802250311

[tbyg52]

12. TN: Some Lawmakers Want Federal Funds To Swap Voting Machines

The machines may be familiar to anyone who has voted in the state recently, but some are hoping to retire the machines by the November election, Channel 4 reported.

Some lawmakers are proposing a change to optical scan machines. That's where voters fill out a ballot that is then scanned and counted through a machine and then dropped into a sealed container to be stored anonymously in case any recounts are necessary.
Click here to find out more!

While that proposal is moving through the legislature, lawmakers said one of the biggest hurdles has been the $25 million price tag. However, the federal government might be able to pick up that tab.

More:
http://www.wsmv.com/news/15400155/detail.html

[tbyg52]

13. OH: Ohio leads in providing voting access to nursing home residents

Nursing home residents are voting this week under state laws that give them the right to cast a ballot and are designed to prevent fraud.

But do they know what they're doing?

Ohio is near the top in providing voting access for nursing home residents. Almost no one can tell residents they aren't mentally capable to vote.

More:
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1203931962124320.xml&coll=2

[tbyg52]

14. PA: Clean Elections forum set for March 8

Longtime advocates to change in campaign financing, the League of Women Voters of Monroe County is hosting a forum on Clean Elections on Saturday, March 8, at the Hughes Eastern Monroe Public Library, Route 611, Stroudsburg.

Beginning with light breakfast fare from 9:30 to 9:55, the program will begin promptly at 10 a.m. and end at noon.

The concept of Clean Elections is to limit donations to a token amount, say $10 or less. When a candidate has reached a set benchmark of small donors, the campaign then qualifies for state funding.

The idea is to remove the influence that big donors can have on political campaigns.

More:
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NEWS/802250320

[tbyg52]

19. MA: Bay State may allow voters to register on election days

Registering to vote in the Bay State may soon become a whole lot easier.

A change would allow voters to register the day of the Presidential election. But it's a bill that's actually causing some controversy.

(A little) more:
http://capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/111208/bay-state-may-allow-voters-to-register-on-election-days/Default.aspx

[tbyg52]

24. TX: County Leases Voting Machines In Anticipation of Heavy Primary Voter Turnout

My comment: Well, now I'm sorry I voted Saturday. I still can't figure out why Denton doesn't need them itself....

Fort Bend County Commissioners are set to vote Tuesday on whether to lease 200 voting machines from Denton County in order to handle an anticipated heavy voter turnout for the March 4 primary elections.

However, the vote appears to be only a formality, as government sources said county officials actually reached agreement with Denton County for the machines last Friday.

“The programming will be done and the machines distributed to the March 4 voting sites on time,” an email sent from County Judge Bob Hebert’s office on Friday states. “As per the agreement between the two parties, 50 machines will be programmed with the Republican ballot and 150 for the Democratic ballot.”

More:
http://www.fortbendnow.com/pages/full_story?article-County-Leases-Voting-Machines-In-Anticipation-of-Heavy-Primary-Voter-Turnout%20=&page_label=home&id=20119-County-Leases-Voting-Machines-In-Anticipation-of-Heavy-Primary-Voter-Turnout&widget=push&instance=home_news_lead_story&open=&

[sonias]

35. Really, why doesn't Denton think they will need them?

Ha Ha. Fort Bend sees the writing on the wall. 3/4 for the Ds and 1/4 for the Rs.

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

Sonia

[tbyg52]

37. 3/4 for the Ds and 1/4 for the Rs!

I didn't even notice that! (I just skim, copy, paste, skim, copy, paste.... ;) )

[tbyg52]

26. NJ: Vote of no confidence

Concerns about the efficacy of New Jersey's electronic voting machines and their lack of a verifiable paper trail intensified last week.

First, there was the discovery of errors made by a handful of the machines throughout the state.

Then, Attorney General Anne Milgram delivered the news that the state will miss a June deadline to retrofit thousands of electronic voting machines with paper printers.

More:
http://www.nj.com/opinion/times/editorials/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1203915930293260.xml&coll=5

[rumpel]

33. TN: ACLU Sues Over Tennessee’s Felon Disenfranchisement Law

(2/25/2008)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: [e-mail]

Group Says Payment Provision Is A Modern Day ‘Poll Tax’

NASHVILLE – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit today in federal court challenging the state’s 2006 law that made the restoration of voting rights for people convicted of crimes contingent on the payment of all outstanding legal financial obligations (LFOs), namely restitution and child support fees. According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, requiring some individuals to bear an undue financial burden before voting is tantamount to a poll tax in violation of the constitutional right to vote and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

“Reports show that, nationally, over 50 percent of criminal defendants are indigent at the time of sentencing. Therefore, requiring a person with a criminal conviction to pay a fee before restoring their right to vote is nothing more than a modern day poll tax,” said Nancy Abudu, staff counsel with the ACLU Voting Rights Project. “This law locks citizens out of the democratic process when it comes to issues of great concern to them. The result is that the political power of poor people is further diminished and the collateral consequences of poverty multiply.”

http://www.aclu.org/votingrights/gen/34201prs20080225.html

[tbyg52]

2. National nt

[tbyg52]

22. Democrats ask FEC to investigate McCain for campaign finance violations

My comment: This *should* be a huge story. I can dream, can't I?

The Democratic party today asked federal election authorities to investigate presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain for campaign finance violations.

In a complaint filed this afternoon with the Federal Election Commission, the Democratic National Committee said that McCain had pledged future public election funds as collateral for a loan the campaign took out last year. The Democrats say that prevents the Arizona senator from withdrawing from the public funding programme – and the spending limits it imposes.

snip

The Democrats argue further that McCain unduly benefited from his ostensible initial participation in the program. Election law in Ohio and other states allow candidates who are eligible for matching funds to skip costly and time-consuming signature-gathering to gain access to the ballot.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/25/johnmccain.uselections2008?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

[tbyg52]

25. Electionline: Back to Paper

Case study examines five states' efforts to limit paperless voting.

A new report by electionline.org details how five states that implemented electronic voting have chosen or are considering statewide paper-based optical scan systems.

"Back to Paper" explores the process by which California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Ohio -- having adopted electronic voting systems -- subsequently decided to de-certify, re-examine or re-think their use.

Although it focuses on five states, the report describes a growing trend.

More:
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2760&Itemid=26

[tbyg52]

29. Precinct hiccups blamed on poor training

Some complain that huge one-day work force not prepared for vital job

When things go awry at the voting booth, as they have several times in this hectic primary season, much of the blame often falls on ill-trained poll workers who are paid a pittance.

And there have been some head-scratching moments:

* While folks in Washington were waiting hours to vote under record turnout Feb. 12, poll workers hid electronic voting machines because they didn't like the touch-screen devices.
* On Super Tuesday in Chicago, poll workers passed out pens meant for e-voting machines. When those instruments made no mark on paper ballots, election workers said they were full of invisible ink — an explanation that was upheld by onsite precinct judges.

More:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23310210/

[rumpel]

34. Names With Apostrophes Cause Trouble on Airline Flights, Voting

The National Ledger

By Christi Hall
Feb 25, 2008

What if you are Rosie O'Donnell or Jerry O'Connell? You might just be in for a difficult time and it has nothing to do with your disposition. If your name contains an apostrophe you may find that you will have some trouble on airline flights, perhaps when you go to vote or even rent a car. No you are not on any kind of a watch list, it's just that some computers still have problems reading the apostrophe correctly and it might just screw up your reservation or your registration.

Wait - what year is this? The Associated press notes in an article that to can cause real problems for some people and if the computer doesn't read O'Connell or O'Donnell just right you might be sitting out a flight or a vote.

***

That's apostrophe discrimination. It apparently also happens with hyphens as well, which could be construed as an attack on feminists. All kidding aside the AP notes that Michael Rais, director of software development at Permission Data, an online marketing company in New York, said the problem is sloppy programming.

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272619057.shtml

[tbyg52]

3. Foreign nt

[tbyg52]

6. Seventh Nigerian state election annulled over fraud

A Nigerian tribunal overturned the result of a state election over vote-rigging on Monday, the latest in a spate of rulings that have fuelled speculation that the president could be the next to go.

Theodore Orji of southeastern Abia state is the seventh Nigerian state governor to see his victory annulled because of voting irregularities, out of 36 who were elected last April.

The cancellation of Orji's election comes just a day before another tribunal, in the capital Abuja, is to deliver its ruling on whether the victory of President Umaru Yar'Adua was valid.

A few months ago most Nigerians would have considered it unthinkable that a court could overturn a presidential election, but the multiple annulments at state level have increased the suspense ahead of Tuesday's presidential ruling.

More:
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL25378284.html

[tbyg52]

28. Nigeria: Tribunal Nullifies Mark's Election

The election petition tribunal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State, yesterday upheld the petition of Alhaji Usman Dan Maishanu Abubakar of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) against the election of Senate President, Senator David Mark.

The tribunal upheld the results of the election held in seven local government areas of Benue State South Senatorial district and ordered fresh election in Okpokwu and Agatu, whose results have been contentious.

But reacting to the judgment, the respondent, Mark, said: the ruling "has only provided us a fertile ground to go on appeal."

The tribunal, presided over by Justice C. I. Uriri, also nullified the election of the senate president on ground of gross electoral malpractices.

More:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802251255.html

[tbyg52]

7. Thailand's Election Commission to rule on electoral fraud case against House Speaker

Thailand's Election Commission (EC)will on Tuesday rule on an electoral fraud allegation against House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat, which might lead to a legal battle with the newly elected government led by the People Power Party (PPP), to which Yongyuth belongs.

EC Commissioner Prapan Naikowit said Monday there was enough evidence to issue a ruling and there was no need to question any more witness, news network The Nation reported.

A special subcommittee under EC has earlier handed over its findings on the accusations against Yongyuth to the full EC.

According to the subcommittee, 10 village heads and sub-district chiefs of northern province Chiang Rai, where Yongyuth contested victoriously as a PPP party-list MP candidate in the Dec.23 general election, have testified that they had each received 20,000 baht (606 U.S. dollars) in cash during the run-up to the election in exchange for local voters' support for Yongyuth.

More:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/25/content_7668954.htm

[tbyg52]

8. Armenian protest over election persists as opposition faces more arrests

A round-the-clock protest over Armenia's disputed presidential election persisted Monday, while authorities placed several opposition supporters under arrest.

Opposition supporters claim last week's election was rigged in favor of the country's prime minister, Serge Sarkisian, and are demanding a new vote. As in previous days, the crowd protesting in a
square in central Yerevan swelled to some 20,000 people in the afternoon, with hundreds breaking off to march around the city.
Hundreds of protesters have been staying overnight in tents.
The government in the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus mountains says Sarkisian won the presidency with nearly 53 percent of the vote Feb. 19 and has called on the protesters to disperse.

More:
http://www.pr-inside.com/armenian-protest-over-election-persists-as-r455663.htm

[tbyg52]

4. Blogs, Editorials, LTTEs, etc. nt

[tbyg52]

9. The e-voting paradox

Problems aren’t all high-tech, and neither are the solutions Computer scientists and computer writers seem to worry a lot about the security vulnerabilities of electronic voting systems, particularly direct recording electronic (DRE) equipment. But some recent research indicates that security is not the biggest issue on the minds of voters.

Ballot design and system design matter to voters, but it is not the high-tech aspects that bother them, according to Paul Herrnson, director at the Center for American Politics and Citizenship and a professor in the Government and Politics Department at the University of Maryland-College Park.

Herrnson recently joined a panel discussion on election technology hosted by the D.C. Science Writers Association, talking about research done for his new book, Voting Technology: The Not-so-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot.” In field tests of different types of equipment and ballots, usability trumped security in voter concerns, he said. People don’t like the squishy feel of membrane keyboards or glare on screens.

“The kind of ballot you use matters a heck of a lot,” he said, more than the presence of a voter-verifiable paper trail.

More:
http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/45870-1.html

[tbyg52]

10. Ohio national leader in addressing voting machine concerns - By Jennifer Brunner

Ohio's recent election systems review conducted by my office has been called one of the most exhaustive studies in the nation. We were fortunate to have the cooperation of all voting machine manufacturers whose systems are used in our state, a team of both industrial and academic researchers who performed parallel testing, and a group of bipartisan election officials who were instrumental in the review of the report findings and the crafting of recommendations.

My job as secretary of state is to protect the interests of voters in fair and accurate elections in our state. The recent and ongoing debate on what is the best voting system for our state involves what I believe are the best intentions of Ohio's election officials, voting rights activists, nonprofit voting related organizations, members of the legislature and media, and most importantly, Ohio voters.

It is inevitable that, in this discussion differences of opinion will arise on what is best for our state. I welcome that debate, as it is essential for a healthy democracy.

More:
http://xeniagazette.1upmonitor.com/main.asp?SectionID=17&SubSectionID=452&ArticleID=158505&TM=32509.1

[tbyg52]

15. Poll workers facing greater challenges

When things go awry at the voting booth, as they have several times in this hectic primary season, much of the blame often falls on ill-trained poll workers who are paid a pittance.

And there have been some head-scratching moments: While folks in Washington were waiting hours to vote under record turnout Feb. 12, poll workers hid electronic voting machines because they didn’t like the touch-screen devices. On Super Tuesday in Chicago, poll workers passed out pens meant for e-voting machines. When those instruments made no mark on paper ballots, election workers said they were full of invisible ink — an explanation that was upheld by onsite precinct judges.

While some of these snafus defy logic, many can be pinned on poor training, experts say.

“We’re running the most important part of our democracy on the backs of untrained, poorly paid volunteers,” said Lloyd Leonard, who has helped research poll worker issues for the League of Women Voters. “It’s not their fault. Funding is not a priority. They aren’t paid much. They try real hard. We should all volunteer and help them out.”

More:
http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/feb/24/poll-workers-facing-greater-challenges/

[tbyg52]

17. Voting early next time? Not so fast

Thousands of Illinoisans may have "wasted" their primary votes this year by taking advantage of Illinois' early voting laws and supporting candidates who then dropped out before the Feb. 5 election.

The situation highlights a glaring downside to early voting, one that lawmakers may try to address by extending the time voters have to go to the polls early.

This year, both Democrat John Edwards and Republican Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race for president on Jan. 30, the day before early voting closed in Illinois. By then, thousands of early votes had already been cast.

In fact, while an exact statewide breakdown of early votes is yet not available, it's likely many, if not most, of the 39,001 votes for Edwards and 11,341 for Giuliani were cast before the candidates quit.

More:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=141296&src=3

[tbyg52]

18. From the dark humor category: How I learned to stop worrying and love elections

On the surface, it's not terribly ethical but... this year, I am selling my vote.

That's right, my vote is for sale and it won't come cheap either. Ever since my 18th birthday, I have freely offered the only thing I have to set the course of my nation for the next four years. And in nearly each election, all I got for my efforts was more bad government writing more useless, needless and intrusive laws that only served to make life less enjoyable.

Seen from a distance, you might think I was just a glutton for punishment but... honestly, I did do my best to select the candidate that 'promised' to do more for me and less for themselves.

But up close? They lied.

More:
http://tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=4339

[tbyg52]

20. Maybe Voters Should Stand-up to be Counted

The ability to participate in electing government leadership is perhaps an Americans single most precious privilege which has distinguished us from other nations around the world. At election time we are reminded frequently how every single vote counts and can make a difference, which of course is true. However this week the saga of the troubled electronic voting machines continues to make the news and perhaps voters should speak-up and request paper and pencils be provided instead for the next go round.

NJ Attorney General Anne Milgram said that NJ will miss another deadline to retrofit the Sequoia Voting machines with paper printers, intended to allow voters to see a paper record of their ballot selections. It seems that testing of the machines with the new apparatus has been delayed, once again and it will not be possible to have the equipment voter ready for the June 3rd primary.

More:
http://countywatchers.blogspot.com/2008/02/maybe-voters-should-stand-up-to-be.html

[tbyg52]

23. Electronic Voting and Partial Audits -- Let's do the Math - Rebecca Mercuri

did not attend ShmooCon 2008, but I found Robert Vamosi's synopsis of J. Alex Halderman's talk rather curious. I'm sorry to hear that Dr. Felten was ill, but it's dismaying to hear a report of yet another of his Princeton mentees extolling the praises of a hypothetical future crop of acceptable electronic balloting or counting machines.

Keep in mind, I'm actually a long-time Felten fan who stepped up to his defense a while back, when he was inappropriately trashed by an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Felten and his students are well known for their efforts over the years in exposing the vulnerabilities of electronic voting and tabulation equipment.

First, there was the now infamous 2003 report "Analysis of an Electronic Voting System" co-authored by Avi Rubin and Dan Wallach (both Ph.D. alums of Felten) with two of Avi's students (Felten grandchildren?) that blew open the security risks of the Diebold source code that had been leaked onto the Web. And then, Felten and two of his more recent students (Ariel Feldman and J. Alex Halderman) performed a further analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS during 2006 that augmented the earlier list of discovered weaknesses with even more shocking revelations.

More:
http://nobosh.com/sv/25182/

[tbyg52]

5. The Youth Vote nt

[tbyg52]

16. Younger voters heading to the polls

To Lockport High School graduate Nate Ewing, casting his first vote in the Super Tuesday primary was a matter of life and death.

"I'm in the military. I have friends in the military. I know two people who have been killed in Iraq by roadside bombs," said Ewing, an 18-year-old Prairie State College student from Lockport who is in the Army Reserves.

"It's not my right to vote," he said solemnly. "It's my duty."

The Year of the Youth Vote, as Presidential Year 2008 is being billed by Time Magazine, is happening here, Will County's young politicos say.

More:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/810939,4_1_JO25_YOUNG_S1.article

[tbyg52]

21. Political activism sweeping area college campuses

The November election could make history, and not only because the first black or woman president could be elected. This also could be the year that traditionally apathetic young voters begin to have an impact.

Look into the crowds packing 20,000-seat arenas for Democrat Barack Obama. You'll see plenty of those college students we've heard about who are inspired by his candidacy. But it's not just Obama, or even the Democrats, who are stoking young adults' interest in this election.

Students from Rowan University and the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey traveled to New Hampshire to get out the vote for Rudy Giuliani in that state's Republican primary. Students also are reviving college Democratic and Republican clubs on the Rowan campus in Glassboro.

Stockton has hosted voter registration drives. When college staff held an information session just before the Feb. 5 New Jersey presidential primary, more than 200 students packed a large classroom and spilled into the hall.

More:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/109/story/90372.html

[tbyg52]

27. In Primaries Youth Vote Packs a Punch, Finally

Well students, looks like we finally deserve a hearty round of applause for showing up in droves and performing the civic duty that government leaders, celebrities and our parents have been stressing for years. We voted! And it looks like those grown-ups were right after all; the youth vote is actually making a difference in the 2008 primary elections.

Active participation in democracy is every citizen’s fundamental responsibility, and students need to take control of their future by casting their vote for president, both in the primary race and in the November election. In the next four years current college students will likely graduate and begin working in a country led by the candidate chosen from these elections. It’s exciting to see students and young adults finally taking government by the reigns.

The young-voter turnout in this year’s Iowa caucus was up a celebration-worthy 135 percent from the last presidential primary, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article. Not only was Iowa’s youth excited and ready to visit the polls, young people in states across the country — from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, to South Carolina and Georgia, to Nevada and our very own California — also turned out to vote in significantly largeer numbers than in the past.

The question is, why now? The numbers show that young people are turning out in masses to vote for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). And if it is Obama that finally convinced young people to drop by the ballot box, forget the presidency, he deserves national and historic recognition for bringing out the youth — something not even P. Diddy could do with his Rock the Vote campaign back in 2004.

More:
http://ucsdguardian.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9654&Itemid=3

[tbyg52]

30. That's all folks! nt

[tbyg52]

31. Hey there, y'all.....

Just a few more rec's for the news, purdy please? :hi:

[rumpel]

32. off you go...

:)

thanks for the great collection of news, tbyg52!

[tbyg52]

36. I knew I could count on you...!

:hug: