Wednesday 2/2 Election Fraud, Reform, & Updates Thread

[MelissaB]

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to reform, fraud, protests, and other items. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping with this project.


Link to the thread from yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x312174

[Timebound]

1. Keep up the good work! :) n/t

[dzika]

2. Send Barbara Boxer a Rose on Valentine's Day!

Send Barbara Boxer a Rose on Valentine's Day!

Senator Barbara Boxer has recently emerged as the leading
voice in the fight against the Bush mandate of imperialism
abroad and destruction of civil liberties at home. She has
disputed the Ohio 2004 election vote, elegantly denied
Condoleezza Rice a confirmation vote, and almost singlehandedly
stood up for the principles of freedom, truth, and
accountability that we all hold so dear. She has started
what some are calling “The New Boxer Rebellion” - and
other Senators are starting to follow her lead.
Now is the time to let her know she has our full support,
admiration and thanks.

I have arranged for a national online florist, Coast to
Coast Florist, to take $10 pledges from callers up until
Feb.12th for three red roses, which, in a mass delivery,
will be taken on Feb 14th to the Hart Senate Building
office of Barbara Boxer in Washington DC.
This message will be included with the flowers:

Dear Senator Boxer:

We the people have sent these flowers to you this day in
thanks for your unwavering courage and determination to
stand up for the principles of freedom and truth in the
United States Senate. You are a shining example of what a
civil servant can, and should, be, and we, your
constituents and supporters, deeply appreciate your heroic
charge to bring accountability, responsibility and honesty
back into our government.

Here is the order/delivery information:

Call Coast to Coast Florist at 1-888-501-ROSE(7673).
This is a dedicated phone line, created only for this
order, a representative will answer “Barbara Boxer Rose
Campaign.” Press #1 to order and #2 for more information.
Give the representative your credit card number—you will
only be charged $10.00 for your roses. I am picking up the
delivery fee.

That’s it. The cut-off date for orders is Saturday, Feb.
12th. That only gives us TWO weeks!

Also included in this delivery will be a rose dipped in 22k
gold for her to keep. This fee I am also paying for.
(You may check out coasttocoastflorist.com online for your
own verification purposes — they have an informational link
on their customer service page, in the middle of the page
on the drop down menu about this - but please make orders
only on the toll-free number to ensure your order is
included in the mass delivery.)

Sen. Boxer is an emerging hero to liberals everywhere and a
grand public thank you is in order. This action will also
send a message to other Democratic senators and
representatives that we, the people, are watching - and we
will support, thank, and reelect those who stand up for our
democratic principles. Think of what a million roses could
mean! (And, once the roses lose their luster, we would
respectfully ask the Senator to donate the deceased to a
local manure manufacturer to be made into mulch - we're
green, too!)

Feel free to verify all of the above information with this
florist - who has taken a chance on this incredible idea
and showed tremendous enthusiasm and support. Please email
me directly if you need more verification of this movement.
This is not spam! We can only do it with your help! Make it
happen!

Thanks,
Stacy Davies
Citizen
Claremont, California
[e-mail]


The original email can be viewed in PDF Format:
http://members.cox.net/crankylittleblog/BBRC%20Email.pdf

[Peace Patriot]

11. It's a beautiful idea! I'm doing it today! nt

[dzika]

3. The Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign

The Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign

by clb8
Sat Jan 29th, 2005 at 16:39:38 PST

The Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign. I can'’t believe that I am the only one who can feel strongly about the statement it makes and the opportunity it provides to help reframe the image of liberals. Get ready for an impassioned argument and plea for your participation.

Update <2005-1-30 1:32:31 by clb8>: Coast-to-Coast Florist coordinated with the campaign's originator for the special price of $10 for three red roses and has provided a dedicated line at: 1-888-501-7673. The last date to order is February 12th. All roses will be delivered, en masse, to Senator Boxer's office at the Hart Building in Washington D.C. on Valentine's Day, February 14th. If you've already heard about this campaign, or are otherwise convinced that you want to participate, skip my diary and read the original email in which Stacy describes the campaign and delivery details as well as her reasons for initiating this inspired and heartfelt act of appreciation (in PDF) here. If you're not convinced, read my diary, then join us - it feels sooooo good!

Update <2005-1-30 20:09:23 by clb8>: The florist is able to handle the load, and Boxer's office is ready to receive them.

Diaries :: clb8's diary ::

First, I heard about the campaign on the Mike Malloy show Friday night (the 28th) while driving. It was a simple idea: for $10 anyone calling a dedicated 888 number at Coast-to-Coast Florists could send Barbara Boxer 3 roses, to be delivered on Valentine’'s Day (with the delivery fee picked up by a sponsor). I was struck by the sheer sweetness of the idea –- very ‘squishy ’-– as a friend of mine might say.

After the squishiness subsided my Practical Voice showed up to remind me that $10 could be better spent on anything in these political times than roses. Then my Pessimistic Voice showed up to suggest that the campaign was a ploy by an opportunistic Republican florist out to milk the bleeding-heart's of liberals. But a third voice convinced Squishy to memorize the toll-free number anyway, and I got on with my evening.

Later (much later) I searched the web and dKos for the Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign and came up with nothing. NADA. Curious, I called the 888 number. A prerecorded message stating that I had reached the Barbara Boxer Rose Campaign confirmed that at least the florist knew what was going on. Satisfied I was looking for something real, I posted a comment on the late-evening dKos Open Thread and expected in the morning to find a dozen replies pointing out at least as many links (as well as my poor research skills). I got one reply. ONE. From someone whose Practical Voice reminded me that as nice as the idea was, $10 could be better spent on blah, blah, blah. Now that third voice from the night before showed up, the one I have as yet identified to you - my Smart Marketing Voice -– loudly demanding to know how anyone could not see the reframing opportunity for liberals here. Aren't we having an image problem? Aren't we seen as cranky, protesting, stick-in-the-muds who don't stand for anything to which average Americans can relate? Okay, so who can't relate to a consumer-friendly, feel-good holiday, kick-of-color-and-fragrance, joyful bouquet of bright beautiful ROSES? About 10,000 or so? On television? What ratings-savvy media employee can pass up a stunning, bright, up-beat story? Well, besides FOX that is. Now I had to know the campaign originator’s intention - – send a nice (big) bouquet to Senator Boxer or create a brilliant media photo-op.

Today I tracked down the originator of the idea, Stacy, an unassuming Californian who doesn'’t work in politics, media or any related field. She wasn't familiar with other email campaigns like "Not One Thin Dime" day (over which, by the way, FOX had a field day. Coulter even referred to it as an "ad for the Republican party"). Stacy hadn't heard of daily KOS either (so couldn't be aware of the dKOS diary Barbara Boxer keeps). She just, well, wants to send a very large bouquet of roses (a "sea" was how she phrased it) to Senator Boxer because she really, really does feel, from her heart, a sincere emotion for the Senator. And she'd like the idea to be a surprise.

Huh?

She doesn’t want the mainstream media to know about it until very close to the delivery date, let alone be interviewed by anyone. She was very reluctant to speak with me. After I assured her I'd be brief (and wasn't from FOX News) I pressed her a little to find out why, if she didn’t want people to know about the campaign, there was a dedicated toll-free number and a mention on Mike Malloy? Turns out her entire broadcasting of the idea began on the 28th and consisted of emails to liberal-leaning websites, including Air America. Mike Malloy just happened to broadcast it first and my hearing it was the kind of low-key happenstance for which she was hoping. My call shocked her because it was the first and seemed to confirm her worst fear, that the media would descend on the idea and their coverage could somehow backfire for Senator Boxer. As Stacy later wrote in an email to me:

I think media coverage closer to the date is fine, but until then, it would be great to get this word out one person to another, on liberal blogs and other "underground media" Internet outlets. That's just my opinion, of course, I can't control what each person does with the information. I guess I envisioned the roses would be a "surprise" to the Senator, but now I see she'll probably get wind of it somehow! I just don't want some jerk on TV saying that she sent them to herself or that a big corporation or other large entity did this--we the people are doing it, and we're doing it for Senator Boxer.

All I can say is that having spoken to her, I think Stacy is about as close as people get to the liberal 'heartland'. She means to do a kind thing, a real thing and a good thing. And by that I am genuinely moved. But I think there is an additional motivation for joining her campaign. It is a way to visually illustrate, in positive beautiful terms, that liberals are just like every other American in our most fundamental emotion of love and our appreciation for those who demonstrate courage, truth and justice - in our name - for the best interest of all.

I'm on board, are you?


clb8's diary on Daily Kos:
http://shaniriver.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/29/193938/517

[dzika]

4. Editorial: Don't rush photo ID law

Feb. 1, 2005

Editorial: Don't rush photo ID law

Wisconsin has long prided itself on easy access to the ballot box. The Legislature is weighing whether to back away from that principle. It mustn't do so rashly.

Disclosures about voting irregularities in Milwaukee have many state residents asking, understandably, whether our electoral system is too open. But answers are forthcoming; probes are under way. The Legislature should restrain itself from acting until the findings come in. Shouldn't the facts, after all, guide the crafting of laws?

Yet Republicans have come up with a cure before the diagnosis. The party has introduced a bill requiring voters to show a photo ID card - specifically, a Wisconsin driver's license or a state or military ID card - each time they go to the polls. Such a requirement makes sense only if identification fraud is a problem in voting, a matter the investigations will doubtless clarify, more or less. Lawmakers should become better acquainted with the virtue of patience while a state audit and a local-federal criminal probe are under way.
...
Necessary or not, requiring a photo ID does put up a barrier to voting. Think of large workplaces that require an employee ID card to enter. Daily, some workers show up without their cards, which they forgot or lost. Yes, these workers are relatively few - perhaps under 1% of employees reporting for work on a given day. Still, typically, workplaces don't send these employees home; employers have alternate procedures for permitting them to enter. But polling sites would just send away voters without the proper ID.

The parallel between the workplace and voting is limited in that thousands of Wisconsin residents old enough to vote never got current driver's licenses or state or military ID cards to begin with. A photo ID requirement would especially put them at a disadvantage. Still, were it shown necessary to do so to stem fraud, we would advocate tightening identification rules.


http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/feb05/298116.asp

[dzika]

5. Political machinations - E-voting fraud comes to the U.K.

Wednesday February 2, 2005

Political machinations

The government is keen to deploy e-voting despite evidence of ballot rigging
Michael Meacher

For the first time, vote-rigging may become a serious issue at a general election - perhaps in just three months' time. With several cases of alleged vote-rigging and fraud already under investigation - in Reading, Birmingham, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire - the Electoral Commission is pressing guidelines on detecting voting fraud on senior police and election officers.

Meanwhile, the government remains keen on electronic voting and is aiming at "an e-enabled election some time after 2006". Will this raise turnout or simply increase the risk of fraud? Several pilots have been held. In 2003, six local authorities electronically counted ballot papers where votes had also been cast electronically. Surprisingly, there has been no manual checking of the e-counting results.

However, a full-blown test run of e-voting has been carried out elsewhere, with very instructive results. It shows that e-voting is neither secure nor tamper-proof, and allegations are surfacing that it may have affected the result. This dry run was the recent US presidential election.

Electronic voting machines made by the Diebold company use the Gems (Global Election Management Systems) software, which was used to count over a third of the votes in three-quarters of the states in the election. It was also used in electronic touch-screen machines predominantly employed in electoral battleground states like Florida.

E-voting machine companies refuse to open up their software for public viewing. The certification of their machines is also kept secret. Computer investigators claim that the machines are extremely insecure and vulnerable to hacking via the internet, particularly via remote modems.

an interesting article:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/egovernment/comment/0,12767,1403546,00.html

[dzika]

6. Iraqis Report a Variety of Complaints About Irregularities on Election Day

February 2, 2005

Iraqis Report a Variety of Complaints About Irregularities on Election Day

By JAMES GLANZ and CHRISTINE HAUSER


In Mosul, Deputy Governor Khasro
Goran on Tuesday accused officials of
trying to suppress Kurdish voting.

ASRA, Iraq, Feb. 1 - As the national euphoria over the high turnout and seemingly smooth operation of the elections on Sunday begins to fade slightly, claims of election irregularities are surfacing around the country.

In northern Iraq, protests have repeatedly broken out over the past few days in several cities where officials claim that hundreds of thousands of citizens, many of them Kurdish Christians, were not able to vote because balloting materials arrived inexplicably late.

A huge crowd of Shiite Muslims returning to southern Iraq from the hajj, their holy pilgrimage to Mecca, said Monday that they and hundreds of others like them had been deliberately kept from coming back to their country in time to vote. "They have wasted our votes," said Jaleel Harran, 41, a pilgrim from the southern city of Nasiriya.

There are also claims that election workers bent the rules to allow unregistered citizens to cast ballots, and one charge that a political party was improperly left off the ballots.


more
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/international/middleeast/02election.html?oref=login

[dzika]

7. Fairfax to Probe Voting Problem Allegations

Wednesday, February 2, 2005; Page B03

Fairfax to Probe Voting Problem Allegations

By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer

The Fairfax County Electoral Board called for an investigation yesterday into balloting problems in last fall's presidential election, including reports that hundreds of absentee ballots were disqualified because they arrived after the Nov. 2 deadline.

"We cannot let these allegations of improprieties go undealt with," said Larry E. Byrne, the board's vice president and one of two Democrats on the three-member board. "There have been serious matters raised as to the performance of the electoral process in Fairfax County."

Byrne said after a four-hour closed-door meeting that workers in the registrar's office reported instances of felons who were not allowed to vote even though their rights had been restored; felons who should not have been allowed to vote but were; and voters who cast ballots in Fairfax and out of state because election workers had not processed the paperwork to transfer their records.

He said it is possible that some voters mailed their absentee ballots too late to meet the deadline. But he said he believes those voters might not have received the ballots from the registrar in time because workers failed to process them in the customary 24 hours. The disqualified ballots would not have changed the election outcome in Fairfax, where John F. Kerry (D) beat President Bush by 32,668 votes.

The two Democrats on the board voted to ask state election officials to conduct the investigation. But Jean R. Jensen, secretary of the State Board of Elections, said that the state would not intervene and that any investigation should be done locally. Informed of Jensen's decision, Byrne said the local board will go forward with a probe.


more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55810-2005Feb1.html

[dzika]

8. Democrats could win Ohio Gov. race with independents, expert says

Feb. 02, 2005

Democrats could win with independents, expert says

JOHN McCARTHY

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The closeness of last year's presidential election in Ohio should give hope to Democrats trying to take back the governor's office next year after more than a decade of Republican rule, an Ohio elections expert says.

If a candidate such as Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, who announced Tuesday he would enter the race, can court enough independent votes, the Democrats have a good shot, said Melanie Blumberg, an associate political science professor at California (Pa.) University.

Democrats proved last year that they can compete with the Republicans on the presidential stage, she said. President Bush beat Democrat John Kerry in Ohio by fewer than 120,000 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast, she said.

"Coleman will be able to mobilize the Democratic base. Can he get enough voters in the general (election) to support him?" said Blumberg, who has worked on Democratic campaigns in northeast Ohio. "If the state is that divided, the question is can Coleman mobilize enough of the independents to vote for him."
...
The Republicans in the race are Attorney General Jim Petro, Auditor Betty Montgomery and Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. All have held at least two statewide offices since 1994. Republicans also control the Legislature, which this year faces a budget deficit that could reach $5 billion. That makes the party vulnerable, Blumberg said, even though the three candidates have little control over how much money the state spends.

"I think that any viable Democratic candidate will have a good chance against any Republican. The reason is because the state is in such dire straits," Blumberg said. "I think people are willing to lay blame."


http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/10792382.htm

[dzika]

9. White House-friendly reporter under scrutiny

February 2, 2005

White House-friendly reporter under scrutiny

By Charlie Savage and Alan Wirzbicki


WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website.

Jeff Gannon calls himself the White House correspondent for TalonNews.com, a website that says it is "committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news coverage to our readers." It is operated by a Texas-based Republican Party delegate and political activist who also runs GOPUSA.com, a website that touts itself as "bringing the conservative message to America."

Called on last week by President Bush at a press conference, Gannon attacked Democratic Senate leaders and called them "divorced from reality." During the presidential campaign, when called on by Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Gannon linked Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, to Jane Fonda and questioned why anyone would dispute Bush's National Guard service.

Now, the question of how Gannon gets into White House press conferences is coming under intense scrutiny from critics who contend that Gannon is not a journalist but rather a White House tool to soften media coverage of Bush. The issue was raised by a media watchdog group and picked up by Internet bloggers, who linked Gannon's presence in White House briefings to recent controversies over whether the administration manipulates the flow of information to the public.

Nonetheless, transcripts of White House briefings indicate that McClellan often calls on Gannon and that the press secretary -- and the president -- have found relief in a question from Gannon after critical lines of questioning from mainstream news organizations.
...
Last year, during the presidential campaign, Gannon's comments could be even more pointed. In a Feb. 10, 2004, briefing with McClellan, for example, Gannon rose to deliver the following:

"Since there have been so many questions about what the president was doing over 30 years ago, what is it that he did after his honorable discharge from the National Guard? Did he make speeches alongside Jane Fonda, denouncing America's racist war in Vietnam? Did he testify before Congress that American troops committed war crimes in Vietnam? And did he throw somebody else's medals at the White House to protest a war America was still fighting?"

more
http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2005/02/02/white_house_friendly_reporter_under_scrutiny?pg=2

[dzika]

17. GOPUSA / Talon news - one in the same

As the above article (and Media Matters) states, Talon News was recently granted white house credentials. They are operated by the same right-wing activist that operates GOPUSA.

I noticed in Today's newsletter from GOPUSA that a Talon News story is the headline.

[dzika]

10. Blackwell says Mongomery County Republican broke no law

Feb. 02, 2005

Blackwell says Mongomery County Republican broke no law

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state's top election official says Montgomery County Republicans broke no campaign finance rules when they used their operating account to pay consultants. But county Democrats plan to continue their examination of the account.

The ruling by Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell clears Sen. Jeff Jacobson, a Dayton-area Republican, who headed the party when the payments were made. Blackwell launched the inquiry after hearing complaints that Jacobson spent operating account money illegally.

The accounts are supposed to be used for things such as rent and utilities but not for campaign ads or other expenses designed to influence elections.
...
Questions about the payments arose after The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported that Nathanson had hired two GOP consultants in part to help promote Jacobson's efforts to become Senate president.

Jacobson withdrew from the race. He now holds the Senate's No. 2 leadership post.

Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Dennis Lieberman said he and other board of elections members plan to continue their examination of the account.

Audit records show the account made a donation to Citizens for Conservative Values, a nonprofit group that hired the same pair of consultants.

Operating accounts are permitted to donate to charitable groups, but Lieberman said CCV was a front for a political action committee that was established to promote local GOP officeholders.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/10792664.htm

[dzika]

12. Blackwell forces decision on new voting machines

02/02/2005

Blackwell forces decision on new voting machines
Officials say they'll pick optical scan vendor, though they don't want to

Lake County elections officials say the county might be forced to change from electronic voting machines to a precinct-count optical scan voting system.

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell has directed Ohio's 88 counties to select either Omaha, Neb.-based Elections Systems and Software (ES and S), or Canton-based Diebold by Feb. 9.
No contracts need to be finalized. Only the choice of vendor must be made.

If a county does not make a choice, Blackwell will.
After a meeting Tuesday with Lake County Prosecutor Charles E. Coulson and Commissioners Robert E. Aufuldish and Raymond E. Sines, the four-member elections board decided to meet Feb. 9 to select an optical scan vendor.

"I think we have to make a choice whether we want to or not," Elections Board Chairman John F. Platz said.

more
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13870323&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21849&rfi=6

[dzika]

13. Hamilton Co. Ohio resists vote system

February 2, 2005

Hamilton Co. resists vote system
Ohio Secretary State requires it, but locals prefer electronic system

By Cindi Andrews
Enquirer staff writer

Hamilton County may ask the Ohio Attorney General's Office whether county elections officials have to select a new voting system, as ordered last month by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
...
Blackwell announced in January that all 88 Ohio counties must choose optical-scan voting systems by Feb. 9. The move was a 180-degree change from 2004, when Blackwell gave counties a choice of three electronic voting systems and two optical-scan systems.

Most counties, including Hamilton, Butler and Warren, went with electronic systems. However, plans to buy new systems statewide came to an abrupt halt in mid-2004 when Ohio's General Assembly required a voter-verifiable paper trail.

Optical scan became the only practical option because it uses paper ballots, Blackwell said. However, Hamilton County Election Director John Williams said he's concerned that optical-scan ballots can't be printed by his staff, which translates into higher paper costs and less flexibility for last-minute changes.

"I don't like to have somebody making a choice for this county," Williams said.
...
Michael Barrett, vice chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Elections, sent Williams a letter last week asking the county prosecutor's office to ask Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro if Blackwell can make Hamilton and other counties switch to optical scan.
...
Blackwell's decision ruling out electronic voting machines cost Hart InterCivic millions because it does not have an optical-scan system approved for use in Ohio. Counties must choose between optical-scan systems made by Diebold Elections Systems and ES&S.

Butler County's Board of Elections is scheduled to meet Friday to select an optical-scan system, and Warren County's board is expected to decide Tuesday, according to election officials in those counties.

If Hamilton County refuses to choose, LoParo said, Blackwell will again make the choice.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050202/NEWS01/502020383/1056

[dzika]

14. Democrats will investigate Ohio vote

February 2, 2005

Democrats will investigate Ohio vote
National party to spend up to $500K

By Carl Weiser


WASHINGTON - The national Democratic Party will spend up to $500,000 to investigate voting problems that critics say might have occurred last year in the battleground state of Ohio, the party's leader said Tuesday.

"I want them to open up the machines," outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe told Gannett News Service and USA Today reporters. "If there's nothing wrong with the machines, we ought to be able to go in and take a look at them."

Since November's presidential election, a small but vocal chorus of liberal activists has complained that the vote in Ohio was miscounted - either through conspiracy or errors - and the wrong man elected president. Had Ohio's 20 electoral votes gone to Sen. John Kerry, he would be president today.
...
But he said the DNC's investigation was a bow to "blogworld," referring to activists who write Web logs about politics and continue to talk about a stolen election. There's even a Web site, www.bushstole04.com, largely about the Ohio vote.

McAuliffe said he has assembled a team of about 20 experts in law, statistics and computer analysis. They'll crunch numbers, file freedom of information requests and talk with election officials.


http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050202/NEWS01/502020378/1056

[meganmonkey]

15. Kick to the top!

[dzika]

16. Company sues Blackwell over voting machines

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Company sues Blackwell over voting machines

By Cindi Andrews
Enquirer staff writer


A Texas-based company sued Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell this morning for ordering county election boards across the state to abandon plans for electronic voting machines.

Hart InterCivic Inc.'s eSlate voting machine was selected in 2004 by Hamilton County and seven other Ohio counties.

However, Blackwell said Jan. 12 that the General Assembly's passage of a bill last May requiring all machines to have a voter verifiable paper trail has made the move to electronic voting too slow and expensive. He ordered all county election boards to instead select an optical-scan system - in which voters fill in ovals with No. 2 pencils - by Feb. 9.

They must choose between optical-scan systems offered by Diebold Elections Systems and ES&S - the only two certified by Blackwell's office. Hart InterCivic is developing an optical-scan system.

Hart InterCivic's lawsuit alleges the company spent $4.3 million working with state and county officials to offer its equipment in Ohio. The case was filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.


http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050202/NEWS01/502030306

[dzika]

18. Train wreck of an election

February 1, 2005

Train wreck of an election

By James Carroll


IN THINKING about the election in Iraq, my mind keeps jumping back to last week's train wreck in California. A deranged man, intending suicide, drove his Jeep Cherokee onto the railroad tracks, where it got stuck. The onrushing train drew near. The man suddenly left his vehicle and leapt out of the way. He watched as the train crashed into his SUV, derailed, jackknifed, and hit another train. Railroad cars crumbled. Eleven people were killed and nearly 200 were injured, some gravely. The deranged man was arrested. Whatever troubles had made him suicidal in the first place paled in comparison to the trouble he had now.

Iraq is a train wreck. The man who caused it is not in trouble. Tomorrow night he will give his State of the Union speech, and the Washington establishment will applaud him. Tens of thousands of Iraqis are dead. More than 1,400 Americans are dead. An Arab nation is humiliated. Islamic hatred of the West is ignited. The American military is emasculated. Lies define the foreign policy of the United States. On all sides of Operation Iraqi Freedom, there is wreckage. In the center, there are the dead, the maimed, the displaced -- those who will be the ghosts of this war for the rest of their days. All for what?

Tomorrow night, like a boy in a bubble, George W. Bush will tell the world it was for "freedom." He will claim the Iraqi election as a stamp of legitimacy for his policy, and many people will affirm it as such. Even critics of the war will mute their objections in response to the image of millions of Iraqis going to polling places, as if that act undoes the Bush catastrophe.
...
Something else about that California train wreck strikes me. As news reports suggested, so many passengers were killed and injured because the locomotive was pushing the train from behind, which put the lightweight passenger coaches vulnerably in front. If, instead, the heavy, track-clearing locomotive had been leading and had hit the Jeep, it could have pushed the vehicle aside. The jack-knifing and derailment would not have occurred. The American war machine is like a train running in "push-mode," with the engineer safely back away from danger. In the train wreck of Iraq, it is passengers who have borne the brunt. The man with his hand on the throttle couldn't be more securely removed from the terrible consequences of his locomotion. Thus, Bush is like the man who caused the wreck, and like the man who was protected from it. Deranged. Detached. Alive and well in the bubble he calls "freedom," receiving applause.



more
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/02/01/train_wreck_of_an_election/

[dzika]

19. ACTION ALERT - Support VIVA 2005, Day Three

From: National Ballot Integrity Project

SUPPORT "VIVA 2005" for Voter Verified Paper Ballots

We need you to call your Senators today!

Action Alert Day Three. This is it!
Tuesday - February 2, 2005

We're back in the halls of the Senate Office Buildings, going into offices and enrolling Republican Senators to co-sponsor Senator Ensign's bill, VIVA 2005 for mandatory Voter Verified Paper Ballots.

Your help is vital to our success. Your phone calls and faxes cause our Senators to want to join this effort for election justice. Let's get this done!

If you already called, thank you! And if not, please do it now: this is our last day.

Please, pick up the phone. Make our collective effort a success.

Do you have Democratic Senators? Call them now, ask them to support this bill, and NOT to support Senator Dodd's bill. Find out why here:

http://www.ballotintegrity.org/action.html

It's a fast, simple phone call. The aides are nice people.

Here's the Capitol Switchboard number: [phone] or toll free [phone]

Senate offices are open 9-5 EST.

If you have already called a Senator or two, please call a friend in a Republican state and ask that they call. Please urge REPUBLICAN co-sponsorship of VIVA 2005 for Voter Verified Paper Ballots.

And, lastly, forward this request, broadly, right now.


Here, again, are the states with Republican Senators:

AL, AZ, AR, CO, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, MO, MT, NB, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WY


Thank you from the halls of power,
and from the bottom of our hearts!
We can't do this without you.

Joan Krawitz, Susan Truitt, Andy Stephenson, Warren Stewart, and Cheryl Lilienstein

For the National Ballot Integrity Project and CASEAmerica

[dzika]

20. SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER REID TO DELIVER DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE AT 10 PM

For Immediate Release

DATE: Wednesday, February 02, 2005
CONTACT: Tessa Hafen 202 224-3545, Sharyn Stein 202 224-1619

SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER REID
TO DELIVER DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Joint appearance with House Democratic Nancy Pelosi
tonight after President’s speech

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will deliver the Democratic response to the President’s State of the Union address tonight. The Leaders will discuss the need to confront the urgent challenges facing our nation at home and abroad.

The speech will air live immediately following the President’s address.


WHO: Democratic Leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi

WHAT: Democratic response to State of the Union Address

WHEN: Wednesday, February 02, 2005; Immediately following President’s address. (Approximately 10:00 p.m. EST).

For the best quality, please roll from your network clean feeds. If you have questions, or need a feed or actuality of Reid’s speech, please contact Sharyn Stein at 202 224-1619.

###

[dzika]

21. You have until Thursday to give your opinion to Congress about Gonzales

You have until Thursday to give your opinion to Congress about Alberto Gonzales

The People's Email Network EXTRA Newsletter

We had multiple requests from you to send another notice on this, as some people wanted another opportunity, and we just added a faster server.

Why are they still trying to tell us this is a done deal even as opposition to Gonzales mounts? MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, has stated they cannot support his confirmation. The Congressional Hispanic has also declined to endorse Mr. Gonzales for attorney general. If enough people demand a filibuster it will happen, of that you can be sure. Tell Congress what you think they should do and believe they will listen.

http://www.usalone.com/gonzales.htm

Do you want our representatives in Washington to stand up for you more often? We must back them up with our vocal support if we expect them to fight for us on this or any issue. The People's Email Network encourages you to speak out and keep speaking out, regardless of your political position, until our representatives truly hear you.

Please post this link everywhere you can to everyone you know.

[dzika]

22. Principal investigator with the CalTech/MIT Study will speak in NC

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
STATE LEGISLATIVE BUILDING

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27601



February 2, 2005

MEMORANDUM

Dr. Ted Selker, one of the principal investigators with the CalTech/MIT Study, will be speaking on Feb. 9, 2005

TO: Members, Joint Select Committee on Electronic Voting Systems

FROM: Senator Austin Allran, Co-Chair
Senator Eleanor Kinnaird, Co-Chair
Representative Verla C. Insko, Co-Chair
Ms. Susan T. Adams, Co-Chair

SUBJECT: Joint Select Committee on Electronic Voting Systems Meeting

There will be a meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Electronic Voting Systems on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 544 of the Legislative Office Building.

send a PM to dzika for more information.

[dzika]

23. Ray Beckerman expands website with http://ohioelection2004.com

Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2005
From: "Ray Beckerman"

Just to let you know I've decided to expand my blog by also setting up a rudimentary website entitled "Ohio Election 2004". The URL is http://ohioelection2004.com.

It will concentrate on evidence, investigation, litigation, and prosecution regarding the Ohio election of 2004, especially concentrating on issues of fraud, disenfranchisement, voter suppression, vote machine tampering, and recount obstruction.

It will better enable me to (a) host documents and images, and (b) organize materials in ways other than chronologically.

There is not much new there yet, as it presently consists mostly of links to my blog, but I'll be working on it.

I continue to be interested in receiving submissions of : (a) evidence, (b) legal documents,
(c) news of legal events, (d) announcements of upcoming legal events, and (e) serious analysis and commentary which refers to and is based upon evidence relating to the Ohio election of 2004. These should be emailed to "[e-mail]".

Thanks.

Best regards,

Ray

http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com
http://ohioelection2004.com

[dzika]

24. Abridging our rights as American Citizens

February 02, 2005

Abridging our rights as American Citizens

By Ryan Sise


When most people hear or think of Fascism, they often contrive images of Benito Mussolini or Adolf Hitler during their reigns in World War II. The Oxford English Dictionary offers this definition: "an extreme right-wing political system or attitude which is in favour of strong central government and which does not allow any opposition," and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a more comprehensive definition: "a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race and stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition." No doubt, both the regimes headed by Hitler and Mussolini showed many - if not all - aspects of Fascism. Both regimes also employed strategies that included heavy use of the military.

Now, fast-forward to 2001. The events that occurred on the 11th of September that year will be forever etched in history as the greatest terrorist attack to happen on U.S. soil. In the months that followed, political leaders garnered support from many nations to find those responsible for this horrific act, and President Bush's approval rating soared with widespread support from American citizens. The Bush Administration sought retribution and named it The War on Terror; they soon called out any country that stood in their way of finding the responsible terrorists.
...
In addition to employing a strong military presence, the Bush Administration has controlled the socioeconomic conditions in the U.S. During his first term, he provided tax cuts to the wealthy Americans, and he has stated many times that he wants to make those cuts permanent. Many of those wealthy Americans are owners of large corporations; with more money available, they can institute greater economic supremacy over the small and medium-sized businesses, or they could use the money from the tax-cuts for lobbying purposes. Bush has also re-written environment protection laws so that energy and manufacturing firms only have to follow them on a voluntary basis, thus poisoning our rivers and air to cut costs. The Bush Administration also gave a no-bid contract to Haliburton for work in Iraq, and Vice President Dick Cheney was a former CEO of Haliburton.

In addition to giving preference to large corporations, Bush seeks to destroy Social Security. Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt created Social Security as a stable pension program for the unemployed, elderly, and those with chronic illnesses. Bush intends to create private investment accounts so that workers can invest in the stock market. The stock market isn't a stable way to invest money because its performance depends on so many unpredictable aspects, and the FDIC doesn't protect investments. As such, President Bush wants to remove what has historically been a very stable aspect of government and have people gamble with their retirement plans. Additionally, brokers will be making commissions from these investments. In any case, the wealthy will continue to get richer while the lower and middle classes struggle to keep up.

The common man is losing representation in governmental bodies. In both 2000 and 2004 (Florida and Ohio respectively), there were many reports of voter fraud, ranging from votes not being counted, voter intimidation, voting booths distributed incorrectly, and many others, so recounts ensued. In Florida, many people in the Bush Campaign pestered the building where the recount was taking place; thus, they never finished the recount and the Electoral Votes went to Bush. In Ohio, members of the Libertarian Party and Green Party raised enough money to pay for a recount themselves. As per Ohio state law, they recounted five percent of the total vote, and if a candidate doesn't win decisively, they count all the votes - including the provisional and absentee ballots. However, they only counted the five percent, and found Bush to be the winner, even though it was only by one or two percentage points. Additionally, secretary of state Ken Blackwell of Ohio and secretary of state Katherine Harris of Florida where chairs of the Bush Campaign in both years; the secretary of state should have nothing to do with any of the presidential campaigns. Of its own accord, the Bush Administration has denied the American people the protection of Amendment XII of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees that every vote must be counted in the elections.

Bush has indirectly suppressed opposition, as well. His administration contains only political personnel that agree with his perspective on how the country should be run; moreover, any points of view that alter from his are quickly and effectively shunned. This also extends to the way he treats the American people with views different from his. Although he doesn't prohibit protesters, he has them moved some distance away from the event, so in effect, he shuns their point of view as well.



more
http://www.sitnews.us/0205Viewpoints/020205_ryan_sise.html

[dzika]

25. Conspiracy theorists

2/1/2005

Conspiracy theorists

By Jolly Roger


Everyone has heard, and has probably used the term “conspiracy theorist,” and the fact of the term being in common use, also indicates that we generally agree on what it means. I saw a movie by that name, and the title character was a raving lunatic who kept his food in thermoses with combination locks to reduce his chances of being poisoned by imaginary enemies.

Regardless of how the stupid movie turned out, what’s important here is the common perception people have of someone to whom that label is applied, and just as important, is who it is that applies the label. The common perception is that someone who is labeled a “conspiracy theorist” is suffering from some type of psychological disorder, and that label is usually applied to people by our government, and our news media. The next thing to consider, is that the label is applied to anyone who questions our government’s version of events in any matter. Doesn’t it logically follow that the media teaching us to assume that anyone who questions the government is insane? When that label is applied to a person, doesn’t it become easy to dismiss everything they say without even hearing it? How convenient for them.

I think the label first became widely used to slander people who questioned the details surrounding the JFK assassination, and forty years later, there aren’t too many thinking people who still believe the Warren Commission’s “lone gunman” explanation. That explanation is doubted by everyone who has taken the time to look into the details, and believed only by people who refuse to.

Which is “theory” and which is fact? In the absence of a full confession, this can only be decided by a preponderance of evidence, and it would be silly to come to a conclusion on any matter without looking at all the evidence available. This is only common sense, just as it is safe to assume some degree of guilt or complicity on the part of anyone who lies about an event, or tries to hide, plant, or destroy any type of evidence.

Conspiracy theories arise from evidence. After the government releases an explanation of a particular event, a conspiracy theory is only born because evidence exists to disprove their explanation, or at least call it into question. There’s nothing insane about it, unless you define sanity as believing whatever the government tells you. In light of the fact that our government lies to us regularly, I would define believing everything they tell you as utter stupidity.
...
Statistical analysts from UCLA and Rutgers University believe that John Kerry won the 2004 presidential election by an estimated 1.3 million votes, and despite that fact that these learned scholars are probably the most qualified people alive to forward such an opinion, our news madia dismisses this as “conspiracy theory.” George W. Bush lost the 2000 election, and he lost the 2004 election, but he’s occupying the White House, shredding our constitution, and stealing our wealth and freedom in a “war on terror” that’s as fraudulent as his presidency because many Americans are too stupid to see it, too lazy to do anything about it, or both.
...
There are disturbing facts regarding the events of September 11 that every American needs to be aware of , but naturally, none of it will be on T.V. I’ve met a lot of people in the 9-11 truth movement, and I can assure you that none of them are crazy, paranoid, or can even “conspiracy theorists.” One generalization I can make about them is that they all seem to be very intelligent. Maybe the smartest thing you could do would be to start listening to them. The Arabs don’t “hate your freedom.” The White House hates your freedom, because it’s the only thing that stands between them, and unlimited power. — Jolly Roger

“Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom” — Thomas Jefferson



http://www.brennick.com/index.php?p=56

[texpatriot2004]

32. Thanks for this post. I love your tag line...

“Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom” — Thomas Jefferson

That says it all. I never thought I would have to protest so that I could be certain that my vote and the votes of all Americans would be counted. How pathetic! In America? I have not been eternally vigilent...until last year I never questioned much about my Government.

I think you're right about the scholars and the statistics, you know, that they are the most qualified to make this determination. I also think you are right about * occupying the white house.

Anyway, thanks for this post.

[dzika]

26. Every Vote Didn't Count

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Every Vote Didn't Count

Consistency, as we’ve noted many times in this space, is not a “Hyman-esque” trait. A case in point comes in Hyman’s latest commentary on voter disenfranchisement in Ohio.

The title of Hyman’s editorial, “Every Vote Counted,” is a lie, even according to Hyman himself. Just days ago, Hyman railed against the injustice of Byzantine procedures that prevented some overseas members of the armed forces from voting. We agreed with him, with the caveat that we can’t be selectively outraged about voter disenfranchisement. The beauty of elections is that everyone’s vote counts equally. Given that, we should be equally outraged when any U.S. citizen is denied the right to vote.

But Hyman tries to cover himself by focusing specifically on the issue of Cleveland, Ohio, suggesting that, at least in that one locale, things really weren’t all that bad as claimed (sure, people might have had to wait for line for hours and hours to vote in predominantly minority precincts, but certainly not 11 hours, as some have said!).

He also suggests that those who have spoken out against long voting lines, antiquated voting machines, and inadequate facilities in certain precincts are claiming the election was “stolen.” In fact, almost no one has said that. The many members of the House and the Senate (including John Kerry himself) who have brought up these issues preface their comments by saying that they do not question the outcome of the vote. That’s not the point. The point is that as soon as we become lackadaisical about disenfranchisement, we’ve abandoned a fundamental principle of representative democracy.

Hyman himself as argued as much, complaining within the last year that voters in the heavily Republican panhandle of Florida were disenfranchised in 2000 by network predictions of an Al Gore victory in the state which came only ten minutes before the polls closed.

If having a network predict a winner only moments before the polls closed supposedly disenfranchised voters, what are we to say about the hours-long lines, out-of-date and inadequate voting machines, illegally purged voting rolls, and polling place irregularities that plagued many places in the country (including Ohio), usually in places with heavy minority populations?

There’s evidence aplenty that, intentionally or unintentionally, thousands and thousands of voters in Ohio alone didn’t have an adequate chance for their vote to count. There’s just no denying this. Public hearings have provided a laundry list of problems with the voting process. This should concern all Americans. The lame rejoinder of “well, it won’t change the outcome” misses the point. Someone else might not have ended up being elected, but to the extent the election results don’t count every person who wanted to vote and had a right to do so, disenfranchisement eats away at the foundation of democracy. As soon as cynicism and suspicion become the order of the day when it comes to elections, democracy dies. The only solution is to investigate and attempt to solve all problems that lead to the disenfranchisement of any voter.

When it comes to ensuring the right to vote, consistency is essential.

And that’s The Counterpoint.


http://thecounterpoint.blogspot.com/2005/02/every-vote-didnt-count.html

[dzika]

27. Diebold recount procedures figure in election contest

Tue Feb 1, 9:39 PM ET

Diebold recount procedures figure in election contest

Attorneys on both sides of the mayoral election trial on Tuesday argued over the significance of an optical scan voting machine vendor manual that directs elections officials to give significant weight to voter intent during manual recounts.

Fred Woocher, the Santa Monica attorney challenging the results of the Nov. 4 election, said Diebold's procedure manual is a binding document that is certified by the secretary of state as a guide for elections officials.

Bob Ottilie, the San Diego attorney representing incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy in the contest, said the procedures are just guidelines that do not trump the law when the two conflict.

The combined law and procedures create two sets of standards for voters -- one for supporters of write-in candidates and another for supporters of candidates whose names appear on the ballot. Woocher said the situation violates the state constitution's equal protection clause.

California elections code section 15342 states that ballots for write-in candidates only count if the voter has written the name of a qualified candidate in the space provided and marked the voting space next to the name -- the oval in this case.

Diebold's procedures state that whenever a voter's intent can be discerned through consistent patterns -- such as circling the names of all candidates instead of filling in the oval -- the vote should be counted during a recount. Under Diebold's procedures, a voter might not mark in the oval at all, even though the directions require it, but still have their vote counted because other consistent marks on the ballot are sufficient to determine intent.

more
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/sddt/20050202/lo_sddt/dieboldrecountproceduresfigureinelectioncontest

[dzika]

28. Conyers and 22 other Reps Asked Congress Research to Investigate Voting

February 2, 2005

Cong. Conyers and 22 other Representatives Have Asked the Congressional Research to Investigate Voting Irregularities

Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and twenty two other Members of Congress, sent the following letter to Daniel Mullhollan, Director of the Congressional Research Service, requesting a 50 state survey of all reported voting irregularities from the past election:

"Dear Mr. Mullhollan:

"We are writing to ask that the Congressional Research Service, (CRS) prepare a 50 state survey of irregularities reported by the media (including internet based media) and compiled by public interest groups, non-profits and academics in the most recent election. We believe that such a study will be a vital resource to Congress as we turn from the controversies of the most recent election to the complex issue of voting reform.

"Though our principal focus is on irregularities relating to the presidential election, we are also interested in learning of significant irregularities concerning other elected offices as well. We would ask that you review media reports involving irregularities and controversies in the pre-election day period (e.g, concerning registration, purging, determination of election day rules); election day (e.g., machine glitches, machine shortages, voter intimidation, ballot confusion, lack of handicapped accessible machinery, and voter misinformation); and post-election (e.g., counting provisional ballots, recount irregularities, litigation).

"We are not asking that you characterize these irregularities. Rather we simply want your staff to complete the research, access the results, and divide by state and by incident. Where possible it would be helpful if you could note how the incident or irregularity was resolved. For example, was an improper purging cured? Was the cause of a machine glitch ascertained? Was the person responsible for disseminating false information pursued, is a case pending?

"We are happy to work with you to develop the most efficacious means of narrowing this request, completing the research, determining the pertinent time periods to review and categories to analyze. We would note that the General Accounting Office is also reviewing the most recent election, however their review is far more narrowly focused on a small number of systemic issues. They are not attempting to survey the complete landscape of irregularities as we are requesting of CRS.

"We are also willing to work with you in developing an agreeable time line for completing this important survey, although we are hopeful that it can be completed in the next several months, so that it may be as helpful as possible to the Congress as we work on voting reform."

source: http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/02/cong-conyers-and-22-other_02.html

[dzika]

29. New Dispute Over November Election Results in Ohio

2/2/2005 5:03:50 PM

New Dispute Over November Election Results

Reported by: Becky Freemal


The presidential election has been over for a while, but allegations of election fraud continue.

Attorneys are looking into concerns centering around the use of stickers to cover markings on ballots in Clermont County.

The questions came up during a December meeting - that's when witnesses to the re-count say they brought up their concerns before the Clermont County Board of Elections.

One witness says he saw stickers placed over the bubbles next to the names of John Kerry and John Edwards. But, he says he never saw any stickers placed over the bubbles next to President George Bush or Dick Cheney.

However, Dan Bare, the director for the Clermont County Board of Elections, tells us those stickers were in fact used over Bush-Cheney bubbles as well.

Bare says since 1995 the county has placed stickers on any extra markings on ballots that may throw off the count.

"I have to say the stickers were used in a discriminatory manner becuse there were many ballots we saw with what could be called extraneous marks for Kerry, that weren't covered," said Bob Drake, who witness the recount.

Dan Bare says he wants to make it clear he stands by his staff, and says they did everything by the book.

Attorneys know the election is certified but are looking into the sticker concerns hoping any irregularities are fixed before another election.


http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/02/02/election.html

[dzika]

30. Conyers on Fire

Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 4:28 PM

Conyers on Fire

Posted by jesselee


Rep. Conyers, ranking Democrat on House Judiciary, has been a busy man today. Perhaps most importantly, he introduced a serious election reform bill. You can read the three page official summary here (pdf), but here's an account emailed in from somebody in the loop:

Congressman Conyers introduced his comprehensive election reform bill today, with 24 house cosponsors. Despite a request to every member of the House, no Republican has signed on yet. He is joined by Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who led the effort to challenge Ohio's electoral votes.

Among other things, it provides for a voter verified paper ballot that will be used for random election day machine audits and recounts, requirements that polling places have a sufficient number of machines, strong protections against the thuggish tactics that were used in 2004 where voters received phony fliers on official looking letterhead providing false information about the date of the election and voter qualifications, tougher penalties and new rights for private citizens to combat voter intimidation, and a nationwide expansion of early voting and same day registration.

Tom DeLay recently claimed that no voter had been disenfranchised in the 2000 or 2004 Presidential election. Republicans want to keep in place the current system that allows Ken Blackwell and Katherine Harris to rig the rules of the election by reserving the most accurate technology for Republican areas, shortchanging democrats out of machines, and turning a blind eye to Jim Crow tactics. We need reform to make sure that never happens again.

Here's the press release summary:

As a result, the VOTER Act will provide for a uniform Federal write-in/absentee ballot; require states to provide for a verifiable audit trail; ensure that provisional ballots cast anywhere in a state are counted; eliminate disparities in the allocation of voting machines and poll workers among a state's precincts; mandate early voting and election day registration procedures; protect against improper purging of registration lists in federal elections; provide for a study regarding making election day a public holiday; ease voter registration requirements; allow voter identification by written affidavit; study eliminating partisan election officials from administering federal elections; enhance training for election officials; require the use of publicly available open source software in voting machines; provide uniform standards for vote recounts; prohibit voting machine companies from engaging in political activities; and enhance legal protections against voter intimidation and threats.

The legislation is supported by the NAACP, the NAACP Voter Fund, the Progressive Democrats of America, the UAW, the Black Leadership Forum, Rainbow Push, and the National Voting Rights Institute. The legislation is the House counterpart to S. 17, legislation introduced in the Senate by Senator Chris Dodd on behalf of the Senate Democratic Leadership.

Indeed, regarding the "rigging of the rules" and in light of President Bush's apparent ignorance of the Voting Rights Act, let's take a look at what DoJ has to say on that piece of legislation:

The legislative hearings showed that the Department of Justice's efforts to eliminate discriminatory election practices by litigation on a case-by-case basis had been unsuccessful in opening up the registration process; as soon as one discriminatory practice or procedure was proven to be unconstitutional and enjoined, a new one would be substituted in its place and litigation would have to commence anew.

Has an eery ring to it, no? In another aggressive move towards election accountability, Conyers and twenty two other Members sent a letter to the Congressional Research Service requesting a 50 state survey of all reported voting irregularities from the past election. You can read that letter in the extended entry, let every vote count!


source: http://blog.dccc.org/mt/archives/002058.html

(Here is the list of signers: John Conyers, Barbara Lee, Chris Van, Hollen, Jim McDermott, Donald Payne, Dennis Kucinich, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Lynn Woolsey, Anthony Weiner, Sam Farr, Major Owens, Chaka Fattah, Bill Clay, Elijah Cummings, Robert Scott, Zoe Lofgren,
Melvin Watt, Corrine Brown, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Sheila Jackson- Lee, Stephanie Tubbs Jones)

[Wilms]

35. Working Link to Reform Summary "Link", above.

<http://blog.dccc.org/mt/archives/conyersreformsummary.pdf>

[Wilms]

31. The Guardian : The (British) government is keen to deploy e-voting

Political machinations

The government is keen to deploy e-voting despite evidence of ballot rigging

Michael Meacher
Wednesday February 2, 2005
The Guardian

For the first time, vote-rigging may become a serious issue at a general election - perhaps in just three months' time. With several cases of alleged vote-rigging and fraud already under investigation - in Reading, Birmingham, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire - the Electoral Commission is pressing guidelines on detecting voting fraud on senior police and election officers.

Meanwhile, the government remains keen on electronic voting and is aiming at "an e-enabled election some time after 2006". Will this raise turnout or simply increase the risk of fraud? Several pilots have been held. In 2003, six local authorities electronically counted ballot papers where votes had also been cast electronically. Surprisingly, there has been no manual checking of the e-counting results.

-snip/more-

<http://politics.guardian.co.uk/egovernment/comment/0,12767,1403546,00.html>

Thanks to PennyMan for the DU Thread:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x313428>

[Wilms]

33. Gainesville Times: Early voting may get extended

Early voting may get extended
February 2, 2005
From staff, wire reports

Georgia's early voting period would be expanded from one week to two under a plan announced Tuesday by Secretary of State Cathy Cox.

A bill introduced on Cox's behalf in the state House also would allow local election officials to hold advanced voting during evening hours and on Saturdays.

Georgia allowed nonabsentee early voting for the first time in the presidential preference primary last March. In the Nov. 2 presidential election, nearly 390,000 people voted the week before the election, just under 12 percent of the total electorate.

-snip/more-

<http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20050202/localnews/72853.shtml>

[berniew1]

34. Documentation of vote machine fraud & dirty tricks in over 20 states

Documentation of thousands of cases of vote machine fraud, dirty tricks, suppression of minorities, manipulation of absentees and provisionals in over 20 states:
http://www.flcv.com/ussumall.html