Election Reform, Fraud and Related News. 04/10/08

[EFerrari]

April 10, 2008 2:02 PM PDT
Expert says flawed e-voting systems need constant audits
Posted by Elinor Mills | Post a comment

Elections departments around the country have spent millions on electronic voting systems that are flawed and officials aren't about to throw them out and start all over. The only solution is to conduct audits to verify the count after every election, a researcher and expert on electronic voting said at RSA 2008 on Thursday.

David Wagner, computer science professor at University of California, Berkeley, led a state of California-commissioned study last year of the three major electronic voting systems. The study found serious vulnerabilities in each system that would allow someone with access to just one of the machines to spread a virus that would infect all the other machines in the system and essentially control the outcome, he said in a panel discussion electronic voting.

The systems have architectural weaknesses, implementation flaws, and defects, similar to problems in commercial software that isn't designed with security in mind, according to Wagner.

"This puts our election officials in a terrible position," he said, adding that officials are stuck using the machines. As a result, audits are the only solution.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9916426-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1023_3-0-10



Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread. If you can:


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[EFerrari]

1. National.

[EFerrari]

12. Voter Registration Surges, But Fuels Voter Suppression Attempts

April 10, 2008

Voter Registration Surges, But Fuels Voter Suppression Attempts In State Legislatures

By Project Vote

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns

Voter registration applications continue to pour into elections offices across the country at record breaking rates, contributing to unprecedented turnout over the course of the presidential primary season so far. The closely contested primaries, especially on the Democratic side, are one factor behind the surge. Another includes a spark of political interest in young people. Whatever factors are involved, the bottom line is that more Americans are engaging in the electoral process. This reality of exploding participation in American democracy should be closely considered by lawmakers when evaluating legislation that could expand or restrict access to the polls this November.

"This year's presidential battle has brought a record of voters to the polls. So far, primaries in 23 states and the District of Columbia have broken turnout records for at least one party," Martha T. Moore of USA Today reported this week. Primary turnout this year "is on pace to eclipse the record set in 1972, when nearly 26% of eligible citizens cast ballots," Curtis Gans, director of Center for the Study on the American Electorate at American University, told Moore.

In state after state, the electorates are expanding as voter registration forms flood elections offices. North Carolina experienced a "nearly 3% jump in total registration" since January with more than 165,000 new voters. Registration and turnout could be even greater in North Carolina, which passed a form of Election Day Registration last year that allows voters to both register and vote during a "One Stop Voting" period. The state's primary is May 6.

Indiana, which also holds its primary on May 6, is seeing some of its counties struggle under the stress of massive voter registration, while others take proactive steps. Understaffed Delaware County, which received a "flood of applications" Monday is experiencing flare-ups of partisan friction according to the Muncie Star Press. State Republican Party chairperson, Kaye Whitehead, refuses to appoint a third Republican in order to balance out the staff that currently consists of three Democratic appointees and two Republicans. The Star Press reports there is fear that some applications may not be processed in time for voting in the primary, Most of the applications being received are from "Democratic sources."



http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_project__080410_voter_registration_s.htm

[EFerrari]

14. Hart InterCivic may move on Sequoia as early as Tuesday

Hart InterCivic may move on Sequoia as early as Tuesday
By Brad Friedman

April 10, 2008 (Computerworld) A flurry of attempts by Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. to avoid a hostile takeover by electronic-voting competitor Hart InterCivic Inc. has not only failed to stave off the acquisition, according to reports, but also led to a series of legal maneuvers that a Delaware judge has described in terms such as "too outlandish to survive summary judgment."

According to court documents, Hart notified Sequoia of its intention to purchase the $2 million note held by Smartmatic Corp. on Feb. 15, giving the group of owners and shareholders of Sequoia 60 days to match the offer.

Sequoia lawyers filed multiple motions to stymie Hart's bid, but their efforts have failed to impress Vice Chancellor Stephen P. Lamb of the Court of Chancery in Delaware.

In a rather testy opinion letter (download PDF) filed last Friday, Lamb shot down every legal challenge posed by Sequoia, writing that he would "not play referee to the parties' contract negotiations" and critiquing various points in the filing as "allegations ... insufficient as a matter of law," "baseless," "completely frivolous," a "truly odd claim" and "too outlandish to survive summary judgment."

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9076758&intsrc=news_ts_head

[EFerrari]

21. Discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x500364

[EFerrari]

16. VA Secretary says registering voters in VA facilities is a "partisan" distraction.

Voter Registration for Injured Vets
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted April 10, 2008.

VA Secretary says registering voters in VA facilities is a "partisan" distraction.

On the same day the Pentagon's commander in Iraq told the Senate that new troop withdrawals could not considered for months, Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B. Peake told two Democratic senators that his department will not help injured veterans at VA facilities to register to vote before the 2008 election.

"VA remains opposed to becoming a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, as this designation would divert substantial resources from our primary mission," Peake said in an April 8th letter to Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA). He was referring to a 1993 federal law that allows government agencies to host voter registration efforts.

Both Sens. Feinstein and Kerry said they were frustrated with Peake's position.

http://alternet.org/democracy/81935/

[EFerrari]

17. Vote Counting Failures in Ohio and New Jersey Violate Federal Law

BLOGGED BY Ellen Theisen ON 4/10/2008 7:04AM
Accuracy Mandates
Does Anybody Care? Will the EAC or DoJ - or Even State Officials - Take Action Before the November General Election?
Error Rates Found to be MORE THAN 40 THOUSAND PERCENT HIGHER Than Allowed by Law...

Guest blogged by Ellen Theisen, VotersUnite.Org

Over two years ago, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against New York State to force the state to comply with the federal requirement to equip every polling place with voting systems that are accessible to people with disabilities, as mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

Meanwhile, the DoJ has taken no action at all to stop any state from using voting equipment that has been proven to violate HAVA’s requirement for accurate vote-counting.

While it's important for every citizen, disabled or not, to be able to vote privately, a private vote is meaningless if that vote is not counted accurately. Despite the equal weight HAVA gave to both important mandates, the federal requirement for accurate vote-counting is being wholly ignored by the states, and even the federal government.

Two recent incidents which have been making headlines --- in New Jersey and Ohio --- illustrate clear, undeniable violations of the federal accuracy requirement. They are impossible to deny or ignore. For the moment, however, federal officials are doing exactly that...

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5884

[EFerrari]

2. States.

[EFerrari]

5. NJ: New Jersey voting machines are subpoenaed for testing

New Jersey voting machines are subpoenaed for testing

Something is rotten in the state of New Jersey
By Egan Orion: Thursday, 10 April 2008, 11:51 AM

YESTERDAY a court subpoenaed electronic voting machines in six New Jersey counties that had exhibited discrepancies during the recent primary election.

Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg ordered the counties' elections officials to produce the machines no later than next Tuesday for testing by an independent computer expert.

Elections clerks had discovered vote tabulation discrepancies in 60 machines when they checked vote tallies following New Jersey's presidential primary held on February 5th. The counts of Democratic and Republican voters recorded on cartridge printouts didn't match the paper tape backups inside the machines.

Voting activists opposed to "black box" touch screen electronic voting machines then sought to have the machines examined. Representing them, Penny Venetis of the Rutgers University law clinic argued, "We're entitled to this. In order to succeed in our case and show Sequoia machines are insecure and can be hacked into, we need to look at these machines."

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/10/jersey-voting-machines

[EFerrari]

6. MD: Elections Official Tells Congress Voting Needs Stability

Md. Elections Official Tells Congress Voting Needs Stability

Find more services
By BEN MEYERSON, Capital News Service
Published April 09, 2008

WASHINGTON - Recent, frequent changes in voting methods are throwing the election process into disarray, Prince George's County's top elections official told a House committee Wednesday.

Election offices need more time, more funding and fewer changes in the voting system to be effective, Prince George's County Election Administrator Alisha Alexander told the Committee on House Administration, which held the hearing to discuss how the 2008 primary cycle had fared to date.

"It is sad that something as important as elections is grossly underfunded and understaffed," Alexander said. "But yet, we, as elections officials, are expected to conduct flawless elections."

The numerous changes in voting systems nationwide since the 2000 presidential election have gummed up the process, and widely used electronic voting systems are more complicated to set up than their paper predecessors, she said.

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/04_09-50/REG

[EFerrari]

8. NJ: Voting machine dispute back in court

Voting machine dispute back in court
Thursday, April 10, 2008
BY MEIR RINDE

The company that makes vot ing machines used in Mercer County and around the state has moved to stop efforts to conduct an independent investigation into voting discrepancies found in some devices in the Feb. 5 presidential primary.

Sequoia Voting Systems filed legal motions this week to block subpoenas ordering counties to turn over a few of their machines to activists who want to investigate the discrepancies. As many as 30 of Mercer County's 600 machines were affected.

Mercer County attorney Arthur Sypek said he received the motion Tuesday and had been in discussion with the state Attorney General's Office. The county received the original subpoena about two weeks ago, he said.

A hearing is scheduled for April 25 before Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg in Trenton, Sypek said.

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1207800374252940.xml&coll=5

[EFerrari]

9. TX: County considers scan voting machines

County considers scan voting machines
By Stephen Palkot
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 3:19 PM CDT


Critics of the electronic voting machines used in Fort Bend County might have another option at their disposal this November. The Fort Bend County Commissioners Court took a step Tuesday toward the purchase of optical scanning machines, which would be used in addition to electronic voting machines.

The commissioners court in 2005 approved the purchase of about 800 voting machines in 2005 at a cost of $2.5 million, with the state of Texas funding $1.9 million of that. The commissioners court in 2005 chose what are called eSlate voting machines, manufactured by Austin-based Hart InterCivic.

Tuesday's vote called for the county's purchasing agent to examine the possibility of purchasing scan-card readers, also manufactured by Hart InterCivic, that would be placed at each polling station in Fort Bend County.

The scan-card readers, called eScan, would allow voters to fill out a paper ballot and feed them into the reader, which would compile results. Two of these would be placed at each voting location on regular election days, and would augment the existing eSlate machines.

http://www.herald-coaster.com/articles/2008/04/09/news/news04.txt

[EFerrari]

10. IA: English-only Ruling For Votes Draws Fire In Iowa

English-only Ruling For Votes Draws Fire In Iowa

Apr 10, 2008

(UWIRE.com) This story was written by Shawn Gude, The Daily IowanRep. Steve King, a Republican who represents western Iowa, has long been a controversial figure in political circles. While earning the praise of some for his lack of so-called "political correctness," others have chastised his actions, labeling them as nativistic and xenophobic.

Last week's ruling on a 2006 lawsuit brought by King continued that swirling controversy, when 5th District Judge Douglas Staskal decided printing Iowa voting forms in languages other than English violated a 2002 state law.

"There's a lot of room for debate," University of Iowa Law Professor Todd Pettys said about the ruling. "It's not clearly right, it's not clearly wrong ... It's hard to predict how the Supreme Court would resolve it."

The Supreme Court has set a precedent that "all citizens have a fundamental right to vote, and states cannot interfere with that right unless they have a compelling reason," he noted.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/10/politics/uwire/main4007930.shtml

[EFerrari]

18. CO: Voting machine opponents speak out

April 10, 2008
Voting machine opponents speak out
By Ryan Parker

The debate over which method is a more accurate way to vote — paper or electronic ballots — still rages on as some Jefferson County residents attempt to enlighten others on the possible problems accompanied with technology.

Opponents of electronic voting machines assert that some simply cannot be trusted. Numerous lawsuits have been filed nationwide, including Conroy v. Dennis, which was filed in Denver District Court in 2006.

A group of Colorado voters filed the suit to challenge the state's certification of the direct-recording electronic (DRE) machines, alleging the use of those systems violate citizens' fundamental right to vote under the Colorado Constitution.

"We are very concerned about election integrity, and the fact that these machines don't work and are very corruptible," said Cliff West, member of the Coloradans for Voting Integrity and Voter Action.

http://www.milehighnews.com/Articles-i-2008-04-10-206103.114125_Voting_machine_opponents_speak_out.html

[EFerrari]

19. VA: Chesterfield registrar takes blame for ballot shortage

Chesterfield registrar takes blame for ballot shortage
He says his handling of Feb. primary does not merit resignation

Thursday, Apr 10, 2008 - 12:08 AM Updated: 07:53 AM

By TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Lawrence C. Haake III said he based ballot purchases on past voting trends in Chesterfield.

Chesterfield County's registrar, Lawrence C. Haake III, took full blame yesterday for the county's shortage of Democratic ballots during Virginia's Feb. 12 presidential primary.

"I didn't have enough ballots there, that's the long and short of it, and let me tell you, no one regrets that more than I do," Haake said in an interview with editors and reporters at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Haake, the county's registrar since 1995, said he based the paper-ballot purchases for the primary on past voting trends. He said he knew that people were voting in far heavier numbers than usual in pre-Virginia primaries, but "we've never had the trickle-down effect in Chesterfield."

He didn't realize he had made a mistake until the afternoon of the primary, when he got reports of long lines.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-04-10-0154.html

[flashl]

24. MN: ACLU files lawsuit over access to ballot

HELENA - The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the state over ballot access rules for independent and minor-party candidates, seeking to get an independent candidate eligible for the U.S. Senate race.

The ACLU says its federal lawsuit charges that Montana's system for such candidates to get on the ballot is burdensome and unconstitutional. It is asking a federal court to ban enforcement of the laws for this year's election and to put Steve Kelly on the ballot.

...

"Montana's rules stack the deck against candidates who don't belong to a major party," Kelly said in a release.
The Montana attorney general's office said it had not yet been served with the lawsuit and would comment when the agency responds in court.

The ACLU said the minor-party candidates need to gather signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes the previous winner of that office received in the prior election. A new state law also increased the filing fee and moved the deadline from June to March.

Billingsgazette

[EFerrari]

3. International.

[EFerrari]

7. Polling in Nepal begins

Polling in Nepal begins
Sanjaya Dhakal
10 April 2008

Ek Jug Ma Ek Din (One day in an era) - is the much borrowed line from a poem of late poet Gopal Prasad Rimal to describe the Constituent Assembly (CA) election.

And the day has arrived. Polling centers across the country have opened from 7 am Thursday allowing the 17.6 million registered voters to cast their ballot that is expected to shape the destiny of their nation.


The CA election is so historic that it is expected to change the face of the nation - which till date has always been a monarchical one in one form or the other - by voting out the 240-year old Shah dynasty's rule in favour of a federal democratic republic.

In fact, the fate of the monarchy was sealed much earlier when the major political parties - who are expected to hold their mandate with this election - had decided that the first meeting of the elected CA will implement their decision to vote out the institution by simple majority.

http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159626/1/1893

[EFerrari]

11. Zimbabwe: Our hands are tied:

Our hands are tied: ZEC

Herald Reporters

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says its hands are tied with regard to the release of the presidential poll results because the matter is still before the High Court.

Breaking its silence since announcing the last Senate results, ZEC said it was not in a position to comment on the presidential election results as the issue was now the subject of legal proceedings in the High Court.

In a statement, ZEC said pending the determination by the court, it was unable to comment on the matter.

"The commission wishes to advise the public that the question of the results of the presidential election is now the subject of legal proceedings in the High Court.

http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx

[EFerrari]

4. OpEd.

[EFerrari]

13. Wexler: A Lone Hero at the Petraeus/Crocker Hearings

April 10, 2008

Wexler: A Lone Hero at the Petraeus/Crocker Hearings

By Kevin Gosztola

The silence and complicity of Congress is stunning. The way that Congress has allowed Bush and his Executive Branch to usurp its power over this war willfully is a blatant insult to our democracy and the American people. That the silence and complicity is intentional and not just a result of Congress trusting the Bush administration to "do the right thing" is even more insulting to this so-called free nation we Americans live in.

The Congress' hearings with Petraeus/Crocker were yet another example to add to the potpourri of instances where Congress has outright failed America and its people.

The questions asked by Republicans were virtually all along the lines of being able to continue the "mission" or occupation of Iraq with full support and what America needed to do or think in order to support the operations

If they were from Democrats, it was even worse. The Democrats, seeking to continue their insidious electoral plan to come off as a purely anti-war party despite their acceptance of campaign contributions from defense contractors, their support of military contractors over in the Middle East, and their refusal to filibuster and stop funding of the Iraq war, asked questions that outright betrayed all the knowledge that Americans have of this war.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_go_080410_wexler_3a_a_lone_hero_.htm

[EFerrari]

15. Lndorff: On Waking Sleeping Giants

April 10, 2008

On Waking Sleeping Giants
By Dave Lindorff

During my six-year sojourn in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, one of the things I came away with was a sense of how generally un-nationalistic and non-patriotic the Chinese people were.

Caught up in the struggle first to simply survive and then, in the mid-90s, to try and grab onto the moving train that was China’s new Great Leap into Capitalism, average mainland Chinese, whether out in the remote farmlands of western Anhui Province or in the rundown house lining the hutongs of Shanghai or Beijing, had no time for patriotic displays or nationalistic concerns.

When Chinese Communist Party leaders in Beijing would beat the drum of nationalism over Taiwanese independence efforts in the 1990s, it evoked mostly yawns among average Chinese people, and in fact, to Beijing’s embarrassment, a popular computer game featured a war-game in which Taiwan defeated the People’s Liberation Army.

That all started to change when the US, early in the first term of President George W. Bush, taunted the Chinese by flying a spy plane into Chinese airspace, damaging a Chinese fighter jet that flew up to intercept it, and getting forced down itself on Hainan Island. That incident aroused a lot of anger among ordinary Chinese who felt that the US was pushing their country around, and who felt pride at their country’s willingness and ability to stand tough and take the American plane hostage.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_dave_lin_080410_on_waking_sleeping_g.htm

[EFerrari]

20. Sen. Herb Kohl: Weekend voting would ensure people are heard

Weekend voting would ensure people are heard
Sen. Herb Kohl — 4/10/2008 6:45 am

With the 2008 presidential elections fast approaching, we should not forget the unique and important role voters have in choosing our next president. After all is said and done, a democracy is only as strong as the participation in it.

That said, it is troubling to see a decline in voter turnout in our national elections. For the last three presidential elections, barely more than half (51.9 percent) of the voting age population even voted. And yet little has been done to correct perhaps the most serious obstacle to voting in the United States: the fact that Election Day is inconveniently scheduled in the middle of the week -- a Tuesday -- when voting for most people means taking off time from work, school or child care. Holding elections on a Tuesday is a historical anachronism from the horse and buggy era of the 19th century -- a day that is completely unsuited for our modern society.

That is why earlier this year I reintroduced legislation to change our national Election Day to the weekend with the goal of encouraging greater participation. Under my bill, congressional and presidential elections would be moved from the first Tuesday in November to both days on the first weekend in November.

Holding our federal elections on a weekend is both common sense and good for our democracy. It would ensure that voters have an opportunity to cast ballots on the days that they have the most free time and would help end the gridlock at polling places, which threatens to undermine our elections.

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/280999

[Melissa G]

22. Thank you, sfexpat2000!

:yourock:
sfexpat2000 is doing Double Duty this week as we are still in need of More Daily News Editors.

Please volunteer on this thread if you are so inclined, or post any questions you might have here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x500208

[EFerrari]

23. My pleasure! Hope it was okay -- so much more going on during the week!

:hi:

[Mnemosyne]

25. Lady, do you ever sleep?

Thanks for all you do! :hug::hi: