Open Thread Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 3/25/08

[Melissa G]

Open Thread !!! Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 3/25/08
Have to go to city council tonight so help is much appreciated! :hi:

Invisible Ink edition! Go to post 5 for details...

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

If you can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

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



If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391


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

[Melissa G]

1. States n/t

[Melissa G]

5. Chicago election officials probe votes cast using ‘magic’ invisibile ink pens

This may be one of my sad, but bizaare, favorite vote theft stories... :eyes:

Chicago election officials probe votes cast using ‘magic’ invisibile ink pens
Poll workers told incredulous voters that the stylus used for touch-screen voting was actually an inkless pen to fill out paper ballots.
191 Reads
via Chicago Tribune } Published February 5, 2008

Chicago election officials Tuesday afternoon were trying to unravel the mystery of the incredible invisible ink.

It’s no Agatha Christie novel but a real case for election investigators sent to the 49th Ward’s 42nd precinct Tuesday morning, after 20 ballots were cast with “magic” invisible ink pens.

Election officials just smirked, shook their heads in disbelief and called it the most bizarre election snafu in recent memory.

Apparently, said city election board spokesman James Allen, the poll workers told incredulous voters—including one spouse of an election judge—that the stylus used for touch-screen voting was actually an inkless pen to fill out paper ballots.

“You spend months trying to prepare for every contingency,” Allen said. “Trying to anticipate every possible way people might be confused . . . then this? Incredible.”

http://www.methodsreporter.com/2008/02/05/chicago-election-officials-probe-votes-cast-using-magic-invisibile-ink-pens/

[Melissa G]

6. Questions linger on reliability of electronic voting in N.J.

Questions linger on reliability of electronic voting in N.J.

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI | Associated Press Writer
March 25, 2008

TRENTON, N.J. - A trial to decide whether touch-screen voting machines are reliable or should be scrapped has been set for May, but the outcome almost certainly will come too late to change how millions of New Jerseyans vote in the presidential election.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg has been asked to decide if the state's 10,000 electronic voting machines should continue to be used in elections, as the state contends, or whether New Jerseyans deserve a better voting system, as voting rights advocates argue.

"As to whether or not DREs (Direct Electronic Recording system) are scientifically reliable, the court will conduct a full hearing," Feinberg said while ruling on pretrial motions Tuesday and setting a May 19 trial date.

However, since no decision on the lawsuit expected before September, New Jerseyans will vote electronically without a paper trail in November unless the governor or attorney general intervenes.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--votingmachines0325mar25,0,4433641.story

[Melissa G]

7. Ohio Plans Recount of Some Primary Votes

Ohio Plans Recount of Some Primary Votes

By JULIE CARR SMYTH – 2 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's elections chief wants a fraction of the state's Democratic and Republican presidential primary votes recounted.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has asked county election boards to volunteer to re-examine 7 percent of their results from the March 4 primary so she can find and fix any problems in preparation for the November general election.

Her request involves the first election since a $1.9 million study determined electronic voting machines in use in much of the state are at risk of tampering. Brunner has ordered a return to paper ballots in time for the November election.

She doesn't want a repeat of the protests and lawsuits over Ohio's 2004 presidential election, which swung the White House contest to President Bush. Voting rights advocates criticized directives they saw as obstacles to voter registration and poll access, and later sued over the accuracy of the vote totals in some precincts using electronic machines.

The audit would involve hand recounts of paper ballots tallied on optical scan machines and matching the results against tabulator totals. Results from touch-screen machines also would be cross-checked against ticker tapes that voters can examine for errors before leaving a voting booth.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ia1rxdCY8Ie5-V1XDLWqfJhdZTlAD8VKM5002

[Melissa G]

9. New Jersey Clerks Want Sequoia E-Voting Investigated

New Jersey Clerks Want Sequoia E-Voting Investigated

By Jennifer Bosavage, ChannelWeb
6:03 PM EDT Mon. Mar. 24, 2008
Reports of e-voting discrepancies revolving around a state primary election are causing a dust-up between the solution provider, Sequoia Voting Systems, and the State of New Jersey.

The records from the voting machines -- tapes similar to cash register tapes -- indicate that the number of ballots cast does not agree with the machines' printouts.

Last week, the New Jersey association of county clerks called on New Jersey's Attorney General to investigate possible discrepancies in e-voting machines used in February's presidential primary election. The clerks in six counties reported discrepancies in the tallies generated by some 60 Sequoia devices during the Feb. 5 election, according to the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Sequoia maintains the discrepancies were the result of human error.

However, Sequoia informed the county clerks that such an independent analysis would violate the licensing agreement between the provider of voting machines and software, and the county. The company's position is that the voting machine software is a trade secret and cannot be handed over to any third party. Union County had planned to have an independent study of the machines conducted by Edward Felten, a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University. The threat of legal action has resulted in the third-party investigation being dropped.
On his blog, Felten has photos of the voting machine records, and notes that the vendor's explanation is insufficient.
http://www.crn.com/government/206905445

[Melissa G]

11. OH- Presidential votes to be rechecked in 11 counties

Presidential votes to be rechecked in 11 counties

Associated Press - March 25, 2008 11:25 AM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio's elections chief wants a fraction of the state's presidential vote recounted in at least 11 counties, as part of an unprecedented audit aimed at verifying there were no major snags in the election.

With the closely divided state getting much national attention, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (BREW'-nuhr) has asked county election boards to volunteer for the audit. They would recheck at least 7% of the March 4 vote by hand.

Under the rules Brunner has laid out, the audits must take place within five days of the official certification of the vote on April 4. The procedure would check paper ballots counted by optical scan machines and votes cast on electronic touch-screen machines.

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8065683

[tbyg52]

16. TX: Voter fraud alleged in Jim Wells County

Officials in Jim Wells County have filed a formal complaint with the attorney general's office alleging voter fraud in the March 4 primary election.

District Attorney Joe Frank Garza, who lost his bid for a fifth term in the 79th District by 350 votes, said most of the complaints have focused on mail-in ballots.

About 2,300 mail-in ballots were sent out, and only 1,500 were returned. Yet a lot of people who came in to vote were told they had already voted by mail, Garza said.

More:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5646924.html

[Melissa G]

26. Thanks, tbyg52! Sounds like election fraud , not voter fraud, to me.

Appreciate the assist!:hug: :hi:

[Mnemosyne]

29. I've noticed it being branded that way quite often lately.

Just more BS to wade through. :)

And many people only read headlines these days. :(

[tbyg52]

32. Absolutely!

These headline writers need to get some ejication!

[tbyg52]

18. Miss. Senate Votes To Let ID Bill Be Filed

Voter identification is still an issue at the Mississippi Capitol as the Senate voted Tuesday to let a new bill dealing with ID and other election measures be filed.

The 36-13 vote was on a resolution to suspend the rules and allow the legislation to be filed past the deadline when bills can be introduced. The resolution has to be approved by two-thirds of the House before Senate Elections Committee Chairman Terry Burton, R-Newton, can file the bill. Some voter ID legislation already has died this session.

During debate, a laundry list of reasons were given about why any attempts at voter ID should be abandoned. They included a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a lack of evidence to support the suspicion that voter fraud is a significant problem at the polls, and the nuisance it could become on election day.

More:
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=8067864&nav=menu40_2

[Melissa G]

2. National n/t

[Melissa G]

10. Paying the Price For Looking Too Closely at the Siegelman Case

Thanks to kpete for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3056989

Paying the Price For Looking Too Closely at the Siegelman Case Updated at 12:23 PM

Headlined on 3/24/08:
Paying the Price For Looking Too Closely at the Siegelman Case

Here's an email from Roger Shuler, whose excellent blog, Legal Schnauzer,
has shed a lot of light on the Don Siegelman affair--too much light, as far
as Alabama's ruling party is concerned. They've gone after Shuler with their
usual ferocity.

Check it out.

Mark:
Thanks so much for your reference to my Legal Schnauzer blog in Alabama. Enjoy following your work.

The GOP is really on the prowl in our state, and it goes beyond the Siegelman case.

Republican authorities are threatening to seize my house, in a thinly veiled attempt to shut down my blog. I think this has a lot to do with U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, who led the first effort to go after Don Siegelman.

I had an interesting e-mail exchange with Ms. Martin a few weeks back about her refusal to investigate judicial corruption (by Republicans) that I have witnessed. She didn't know I was a blogger at the time, but she now knows I am going to be writing about these e-mails, which clearly show how she practices selective prosecution.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_roger_sh_080324_fallout_from_looking.htm
http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/03/jack-booted-thugs-part-ii.html#links

[tbyg52]

14. Senate bill seeks to restrict vote caging

snip

A new bill proposed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) seeks to limit the practice by requiring anyone who challenges the eligibility of voters to present evidence disproving each individual voter’s eligibility — such as verifiable proof that a voter has moved or died — rather than making a blanket claim about the supposed ineligibility of a large group of voters.

Vote caging can have a disproportionate impact on young people. Sometimes that is the explicit purpose of the voter challenges, as it was in Statesboro; at the time of the challenges there, one of the challengers was quoted in the local newspaper saying that “young college students here just to go to college” and that their “primary interest is in their hometowns.”

More:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9194.html

[Melissa G]

3. International n/t

[Melissa G]

8. WORLDBEAT - Taiwan eschews e-voting machines for now

WORLDBEAT - Taiwan eschews e-voting machines for now
By Dan Nystedt , IDG News Service , 03/25/2008


People in Taiwan voted a new president into office on Saturday by stamping their chops -- engraved signatures -- on paper ballots. And despite a reputation for being technologically savvy, the island isn't planning to try out electronic voting machines anytime soon.

"We've looked into electronic voting systems. They may be right for some countries, but they don't really fit our situation right now," said Masa J.S. Chang, chief commissioner of Taiwan's Central Election Commission.
Read the latest WhitePaper - Delivering Fortune 100 Messaging on an SMB Budget

The island has done everything it can to make voting straightforward and simple for a people wary of government cheating. Taiwan suffered under heavy-handed rule by the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), particularly the martial law era from about 1947 to 1987. Free legislative elections weren't held in Taiwan until 1992, and the first free presidential election wasn't until 1996. Counting that first election, Taiwan has had four free presidential elections, one every four years.

Because of the lack of voting freedom, the people of Taiwan prefer to keep things simple.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/032508-worldbeat-taiwan-eschews-e-voting-machines.html

[tbyg52]

17. Nova Scotia, Canada: E-voting may be in Windsor -- soon

From the "Oh dear" department....

Imagine simply picking up a phone or logging on to the Internet to cast your ballot. No travel to a polling station, no line-ups, no waiting. If a staff report is adopted, Windsor voters may have the choice of voting electronically in 2008.

It is too early to know if town council will adopt electronic voting before October’s poll, but staff is recommending the option.

Dartmouth’s Intelivote Systems presented the concept to council’s Committee of the Whole (COW) March 11. Vice president marketing Mike Pollard promised that his company’s services could increase voter turnout, while making voting day easier for staff and candidates.

If hired, Intelivote would be involved in producing, updating and managing Windsor’s electoral roll and would issue a personal identification number (PIN) to each registered voter. On voting day, each PIN holder would have one vote -- from phone, cell phone, Internet or in person at the polling station.

More:
http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-196118-Evoting-may-be-in-Windsor-soon.html

[Melissa G]

4. Editorial n/t

[Melissa G]

12. Checking 'Paper Trail' Receipts Against Touch-Screen Numbers, However, May Offer Deceptive Findings

Checking 'Paper Trail' Receipts Against Touch-Screen Numbers, However, May Offer Deceptive Findings
ALSO: Random Audit Must Actually be Random This Time...

Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is planning "a first-of-its-kind audit of votes from the March 4 presidential primaries, saying the outcome should help ensure the integrity of future elections," according to a report this morning from the Columbus Dispatch.

"Brunner is calling on 11 counties to volunteer for the audit, in which at least 7 percent of the votes cast in each county would be rechecked by hand," the paper reports.

That's good. But there are a couple of points that we hope she is well aware of, since such post-election audits can offer a deceptive result in a number of cases...especially on touch-screen machines...and especially in Ohio...

The report from the Dispatch notes:
Brunner's audit would cover both paper ballots read by optical scanners and electronic touch-screen voting machines. Brunner has proposed eliminating electronic voting before the November general election.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5838#more-5838

[tbyg52]

13. One man, one vote . . . but only if it's the right vote

With the presidential election already dominating the news it is worth considering how the Bush administration has tried to put its thumb on the scale of the nation's elections. Figuring out inventive ways to reduce the number of minority and low-income voters who tend to lean Democratic has been the great sport of the loyal Bushies in the Justice Department and they've done a yeoman's job.

You probably know that some of the U.S. attorneys who lost their jobs in the purge did so in part because they failed to bring weak voter fraud cases. What you might not know are some of the details of the cases brought by those offices that went along.

Republican officials like to claim that legions of people are trying to game the system by voting illegally. This allows them to justify tough voting identification measures that tend to throw up barriers for low-income and minority voters.

The problem is, the Republicans are making it up. Just ask Lorraine Minnite, assistant professor in the political science department of Barnard College, who did a six-year comprehensive study on voter fraud. Her findings are that it ''is rare, and the cure is worse than the disease.''

More:
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8677531

[tbyg52]

15. New Jersey deserves a Better Voting System

The New Jersey Legislature passed a requirement for a voter-verifiable paper record of each vote cast nearly three years ago. The 2005 law required voter- verified paper records by January 2008, an eminently feasible deadline. (It even added a cutting-edge audit law this January, requiring random checks on the paper records to make sure the machines are counting accurately.)

Yet, in spite of these forward- thinking precautions designed to safeguard the integrity of the vote this November, New Jersey's citizens will be voting on a paperless, unverifiable voting system -- one that can't be audited or recounted -- again. The Legislature has just voted to extend, for a second time, the deadline for a voter-verifiable system until January 2009.

Some lawmakers grasp the problem -- the Senate vote of 27-12 in favor of the extension was much closer than the Assembly vote, and some spoke eloquently before the vote about the problem of having no way to confirm that the votes are counted as cast. Though they are learning that verifiable voting systems are available right now, they act as if their hands are tied, as if they don't realize that a solu tion has been available all along. New Jersey's voters deserve better. Gov. Jon Corzine should veto the delay.

More:
http://www.nj.com/opinion/times/editorials/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1206417956270390.xml&coll=5

[tbyg52]

19. LTTE: Time for another look at electoral system

As the primary season unfolds and the coming election of '08 nears, I wonder how many members of the voting public are aware of how we elect our presidents.

Our system is a two-tiered system. We vote for our candidate, and if he or she wins, they get our state electoral vote. It is winner take all. The winner must receive a total of 240 electoral votes to become president.

The electoral college system was invented by a group of men who had never envisioned how it would turn out. The system was flawed from the start — and is flawed now. Yet it works. Maybe we wished it worked better, or that it should be done away with. It has always been prey to those that try to manipulate it.

For example, Alexander Hamilton jiggled with it to make sure Washington was elected. It has led to several disputed elections; the last being George Bush in 2000. He lost the popular vote, but won the electoral vote. This sent us off screaming to the Supreme Court, which named Bush. Then we screamed even louder about the court.

More:
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/puopinion/local_story_085062839.html

[tbyg52]

20. Thank you, Melissa, and may we have a few more recs, please?

:hi:

[Kurovski]

21. OMG, I forgot to rec today.

I feel like a drunk who gambled away my kids' milk and shoe money. :blush:

Demon GD: P!

[tbyg52]

23. All is forgiven, come on home..... ;-> nt

[Kurovski]

24. !

:rofl:

[Melissa G]

27. LOL!

:rofl: :hi:

[Kurovski]

22. And now...

now I forgot to say "thank you".

Forgive me Melissa, :cry: you're too good for me.

Thanks! :hug:

[Melissa G]

28. !

:hug: :loveya:

[Kurovski]

30. I promise I'll never do it again, baby!

Daddy's home :cry: Daddy's sorry.

:loveya: :D

[Peace Patriot]

25. I always read these ER threads. This is where our democracy is being reborn--

in all the citizen efforts around the country to restore transparent vote counting, and the spotlights we are able to get in the corporate news monopolies on this vital matter. Great work, citizens! Great work, Melissa G. and other ER posters!

[Mnemosyne]

31. AM kick! Invisible ink?

What will they think of next? Don't answer that, too scary to imagine. :crazy:

:hi: