Thursday 2/3 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=203x313585

[L. Coyote]

1. OH Sanctions have unintended consequence -- more fraud documentation

Ohio Attorney-General's attack on election protection attorneys draws mountain of documentation on state's stolen election, including new study on exit polls

by Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

February 3, 2005

Stiff legal sanctions sought by Ohio's Republican Attorney General James Petro against four attorneys who have questioned the results of the 2004 presidential balloting here has produced an unintended consequence -- a massive counter-filing that has put on the official record a mountain of contentions by those who argue that election was stolen.

In filings that include well over 1,000 pages of critical documentation, attorneys Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Peter Peckarsky and Cliff Arnebeck have counter-attacked. Their defense motions include renewed assertions that widespread irregularities threw the true outcome of the November vote count into serious doubt. That assertion has now been lent important backing by a major academic study on the exit polls that showed John Kerry winning the November vote count.

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1138


One of the hundreds of links found on the Election Fraud, Irregularity, and Reform Headlines page.

[L. Coyote]

2. Milwaukee Records Discrepancies: More Votes than Voters

Some sites show huge vote gaps
17 wards have at least 100 more votes than voters; 2 miss by over 500
By GREG J. BOROWSKI

Record-keeping surrounding the Nov. 2 presidential election in Milwaukee is so flawed that in 17 wards there were at least 100 more votes recorded than people listed by the city as voting there.

In two wards, one on the south side and one on the north side, the gap is more than 500, with fewer than half the votes cast in each ward accounted for in the city's computer system, a Journal Sentinel review has found.

Such gaps were present at different levels in nearly all of the city wards and could hamper the investigation launched last week by federal and local authorities into possible voter fraud .....

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/298205.asp

=======

Found at VotersUnite! Voting News Articles.

[dzika]

3. Miami Herald article compares US to Ukraine election!

(thanks to helderheid)

Posted on Thu, Feb. 03, 2005

ELECTIONS

Ukraine vote yields important lessons for U.S. democracy

BY LANCE DEHAVEN-SMITH
[e-mail]


Ukraine's 2004 presidential election offers important lessons for American democracy. U.S. election laws and national opinion have yet to catch up with recent developments in election technology and administration. In particular, they are blind to what the Ukraine Supreme Court referred to as ''massive fraud,'' where the integrity of an election is subverted by many small problems that are mutually reinforcing.

When the Ukraine Supreme Court invalidated Ukraine's presidential election, the Court said that a variety of flaws made it impossible for the election 'to determine the voters' will.'' Problems cited by the court included inaccurate voting lists, precinct totals that exceeded the number of registered voters, and a host of bugs in the electronic system for counting votes.

These and similar problems were equally prevalent in the U.S. presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 and probably altered the election outcome in both cases.

• In Florida and Ohio, not enough voting machines were placed in the inner cities, which resulted in long lines and multi-hour delays that inevitably discouraged Democratic turnout.

• Florida's program for felon disenfranchisement was systematically biased against traditionally Democratic constituencies.

• In 2000, Florida officials dragged their feet in conducting legally mandated recounts, and in 2004 Ohio officials behaved similarly.

The main evidence of massive fraud in the Ukrainian election came from exit polls. The pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was initially reported to have defeated his rival Viktor Yushchenko by 1 percent of the votes casts. However, exit polls conducted by Ukrainian research organizations indicated that the election had actually been won by Yushchenko.

more
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/10802297.htm?1c

DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x315306

[dzika]

4. Newsweek on voting machines: Diebold holds out on establishing standards

(thanks to Amaryllis)

Go to the link and read the rest of the article where they talk about how Diebold is holding out on working to establish standards for voting machines, and on working collaboratively with a group devoted to "fair, accurate, inclusive elections" !


MSNBC.com

A Step Forward in the Voting Wars

Why has it taken so long to move toward uniform standards for electronic polling machines?
By Steven Levy
Newsweek

Feb. 7 issue - The polling places in Iraq are front-and-center this week, but the jagged scars of our own election are still far from healed. Part of the problem is that, no matter what the count, many people do not trust results from electronic voting machines. Democracy suffers when there's reason to doubt that the rightful winner is the one who gets sworn into office.

So it's nice to be the first to report a development that might help things out. A renowned cryptographer with a keen interest in voting, David Chaum has persuaded a team of election officials, computer scientists, interest-group advocates and voting-equipment makers to join in a coalition called Voting Systems Performance Rating (VSPR). The goal is to generate a set of voting-system standards that everyone can agree on—sort of a Consumer Reports for election machines. There would be ratings in areas like security, privacy, reliability and accessibility to the elderly and the disabled. After the group does its work, states and counties would have a way to evaluate voting equipment before they buy. Voters could be more effective watchdogs, since VSPR's work would be public. "In voting systems, the thing you need most is transparency," says Chaum.

"Something like this is desperately needed," says Tracy Westen, head of the Center for Governmental Studies, which will participate in another new group, the Voting Systems Institute, that will support and implement the work of the VSPR. "Otherwise we're wandering around in the wilderness."

Uniform standards for voting machines seem like such an obvious step that you may well ask why it's taken so long to get this far. Sadly, instead of working together on behalf of the voters, the various players in the election world have spent much too much time sniping at each other and looking out for their own interests. Computer scientists think that election officials are ignorant when it comes to high-tech security. Election officials think the techies are dilettantes who don't understand the nitty-gritty of voting in the real world. And the equipment makers, while excited about selling expensive new gizmos, don't like sharing the secrets of how their systems work.

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

More: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6885237/site/newsweek/

DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x315250

[dzika]

5. Ohio Voting Defenders still in court! Please donate!

Ohio Voting Defenders still in court! Please donate!

RE: Litigation of Fraudulent Election in Ohio

These 4 defenders of our votes need our immediate help.
They are being sued by the Ohio Inspector General for trying to hold Ohio accountable and they need some funds for bringing documens to court.

Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck and Peter Peckarsky were named by Attorney General James Petro in a filing with the Ohio Supreme Court. Petro charges the November Moss v Bush and Moss v. Moyer filings by the Election Protection legal team were "frivolous." Petro is demanding court sanctions and fines.

"Instead of evidence, contesters offered only theory, conjecture, hypothesis and invective," the Attorney General's January 18th memo about the suit said. "A contest proceeding is not a toy for idle hands. It is not to be used to make a political point, or to be used as a discovery tool, or be used to inconvenience or harass public officials, or to be used as a publicity gimmick."

They need money for copies right now to fight the lawsuit.

Ohio Sanctions Defense Fund
Defend the attorneys against the partisan attack by Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. Read Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from Representative John Conyers, Jr. or Ohio's GOP Attorney-General launches revenge attack on Election Protection legal team for more information and check the site for updates.

donate to the Ohio Sanctions Defense Fund at:
http://freepress.org/store.php#donate

Donations to CICJ are tax deductible.
If you prefer, you can make out a check to the "Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism"
and send it to:

The Free Press
1240 Bryden Road
Columbus, Ohio 43205

[dzika]

6. Ohio Faces Voting Machine Lawsuit

Ohio Faces Voting Machine Lawsuit

Cincinnati



A company which makes computerized voting systems is suing Ohio’s chief elections officer to claim that he unfairly excluded it from the opportunity to provide voting machines to the state.

The lawsuit by Hart Intercivic Incorporated alleges that Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell’s changing of bid specifications cost the company the chance to provide direct recording electronic voting machines to at least six Ohio counties.

Hart says Blackwell’s amended decision to limit vendors to providing optical scan voting machines has frozen Hart out of the process. The Austin, Texas-based company is demanding a trial in state court in Cincinnati to recover at least the $4.3 million it says it spent pursuing Ohio’s business.

A telephone message requesting comment was left Wednesday afternoon with Blackwell’s office in Columbus.

http://www.wytv.com/news/headlines/1223552.html

[dzika]

7. Coleman enters race for Ohio governor

February 03, 2005

Coleman enters race for Ohio governor

Columbus, OH, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Michael Coleman has joined his state's 2006 gubernatorial race with a promise to pull Ohio from what he calls an economic crisis.

"My candidacy will be about creating jobs where there is joblessness and making Ohio great again," the Democrat said, becoming the first of his party to announce for the state's top job.
...
He may not be the last Democrat in the race. Former Cincinnati Mayor and talk show host Jerry Springer, U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, former U.S. Rep. Dennis Eckart and state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, who lost a 2004 U.S. Senate bid to Republican George Voinovich, are all believed to be considering the race.

Three Republicans are also vying for the governorship: state Auditor Betty Montgomery, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Attorney General Jim Petro.

Current GOP Gov. Bob Taft is term limited.

[dzika]

8. St. Paul summit trains students in clean voting laws

Wednesday 02 February @ 18:03:53

Students lead election reform
St. Paul summit trains people in clean voting laws

“The future of our great country is not decided in a single day contest between two men but by what ordinary citizens like us do everyday...” — Scott Fine

by Burt Berlowe


Jim Forrui is still finding his way in the world. Barely out of high school, he voted for the first time in his life on Nov. 2. Adjusting to life at the large University of Minnesota campus is an ongoing challenge for him in his freshman year. He is also the leader of a major campus movement to improve American democracy.

Forrui is one of about 70 college students who attended a statewide summit this past weekend to learn how to change the way political campaigns are financed. The summit, held at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, was co-sponsored by the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action (MAPA), the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) and Democracy Matters (DM), a national organization that represents 80 campuses around the country.

The focal point of the summit was a legislative initiative called the Fair and Clean Elections bill (FACE), currently before the Minnesota state legislature. FACE provides for public financing of local political campaigns, diminishing the impact of corporate money on elections.

Under FACE, candidates for office agree not to accept any private funds in exchange for adhering to spending limits. In order to qualify, they must raise a minimum number of small contributions from constituents between the beginning of the year and the primary election. The money to pay for the campaigns would be raised through closing a tax loophole that allows corporations to pay sales tax on items manufactured but not sold in Minnesota. Two other states — Arizona and Maine, currently have this legislation. Democracy Matters is pushing it in 30 other states, including Minnesota.

Twin Cities resident Andrew Scott, Upper Midwest coordinator for the FACE project and a key organizer of the summit, feels strongly about the need for laws like FACE.

“What we hear from talking to people all around the country is that our electoral system is not serving the needs of all voters and must be reformed,” he said. “Too many people feel shut out of the system and have given up on it. Many qualified candidates can’t run for office because they can’t raise the funds. The candidates who don’t have access to funding lose the money primary. And if they are elected, they feel beholden to funders and that can affect their political decisions. Corporations are running our elections when people should be doing that.”


continued
http://www.pulsetc.com/article.php?sid=1620

[dzika]

9. NAACP finds election problems in Milwaukee suburbs

Posted: Feb. 2, 2005

NAACP finds election problems in suburbs
In 4 communities, vote totals for president outnumber voters

By GEORGIA PABST and AMY RINARD


On the eve of Thursday's hearing in Madison on a proposed voter ID requirement, the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP moved Wednesday to shift the spotlight from Milwaukee to highlighting election problems in several suburbs.

The group said its review of election data in those communities had found irregularities similar to those that have been reported in Milwaukee, such as more votes cast than voters on record in various wards.

Clerks in several of the communities acknowledged errors Wednesday.
...
In its review, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People looked at vote totals for some communities, comparing the number of people listed as voting in each ward or community to the total number of presidential ballots cast. The number of votes in a particular race should not top the total number of people who voted.

Nonetheless, the NAACP said it had found that situation in the towns of Oconomowoc and Vernon, the villages of Hartland, Lac La Belle and Pewaukee in Waukesha County and in several wards in Oak Creek in Milwaukee County.

"Yet Milwaukee is the only community where voters and election officials have been disparaged and accused of incompetence and criminal behavior," local NAACP President Jerry Ann Hamilton said at a news conference. "We are unaware of any ongoing election investigation in these communities. . . . It's unfair to single out Milwaukee."

Hamilton said she believes the voting problems in Milwaukee and elsewhere can be blamed on human error, not fraud. The group opposes the push to institute a photo ID requirement for all voters.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb05/298494.asp

[dzika]

10. Party says it's time to stand and fight

February 3, 2005

Party says it's time to stand and fight

By Alan Fram

WASHINGTON -- Their numbers and power diminished, congressional Democrats hope their vigorous response to President Bush's State of the Union address will help fuel a turnabout from the election miseries of November.
...
Many in the party think Bush has given Democrats a golden opportunity with his idea of letting beneficiaries divert some Social Security revenues to new personal investment accounts, and borrowing money to pay the extra costs.

''The president neither has the mandate he thinks he has, or a majority to make policy" because of worries by moderate Republicans, said Representative Rahm Emanuel, Democrat of Illinois. ''He's making a mistake on both, which is overreaching."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/02/03/party_says_its_time_to_stand_and_fight/

[dzika]

11. Blackwell Keynote speaker at Black History Month Event on Feb. 15

Blackwell Keynote speaker at Black History Month Event on Feb. 15

Sceduled for Feb. 15:

EVANSTON - J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio secretary of state and a Xavier University alumnus, will speak at Xavier's Cintas Center banquet room. His topic is "Adversity, Triumphs, and Lessons Learned" and is part of the XU's observance of Black History Month. The program begins with a reception and benediction at 3:30 p.m.; Blackwell is to speak at 4:05 p.m. The event is by invitation only. To request an invitation, contact Tom Clark at [phone] or [e-mail].

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050203/NEWS01/502030375/1056/news01

[dzika]

12. Ohio County ponders voting switch forced by Blackwell

County ponders voting switch
State-enforced change coming sooner or later

By Kate Giammarise

Nancy Bell's job just doesn't get any easier.

In the wake of a difficult general election, she and the Ross County Board of Elections now are faced with an ultimatum from the Ohio Secretary of State's Office.

They must replace current voting machines with one of two types of new machines selected by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's office. If they don't pick out new machines by Wednesday, Blackwell's office will select the machines for them.
...
Bell said the board still is paying for the machines purchased nearly 10 years ago, in 1996. The board must pay a bill of $6,327 every month for them until September 2006.

Bell said the board is happy with the current machines. They were selected after surveying poll workers and voters and after taking into consideration the potential storage and transportation costs.

The machines now being used are electronic machines made by the company MicroVote. Voters must touch a pad, not the screen, to cast their vote. The machines do not allow an overvote, or a vote for more than one candidate running for the same office. The machines also do not allow the voter to cast a vote until they have looked at all the pages on the ballot.

In addition, the machines record the vote totals with multiple paper printouts, as well as on a computer cartridge inside the machine.

These machines must be replaced with one of the machines selected by Blackwell's office -- Diebold Elections Systems or Election Systems and Software. Both of these machines have what is called a "precinct-count optical scan."
...
But Bell said optical scan machines, which the board currently uses to count absentee ballots, are not as good.

"It has been our experience that the count can change due to some marks being counted one time and not another, by too light of a pencil or too dark of a pencil being used," she said. "Even a piece of dust or lint can affect the count. We have always been relieved and felt blessed that our whole county was not optical scan, just the absentees."

Bell sent a letter to several public officials -- and the editor of the Gazette -- pleading for help.

"We, at the local level feel completely ignored. It seems like we had no voice when the decision was made ... and now we are being forced to use a technology that is inferior to what we presently have. ... We feel as if we have, wasted our Ross County taxpayers money to purchase a system that worked well for us for many years and are now faced with more problems because we had the foresight to step into the future."

The letter was sent to Blackwell's office, and the offices of: U.S. Sens. Mike DeWine and George Voinovich; U.S. Reps. Bob Ney and Dave Hobson; State Sen. John Carey and State Reps. Clyde Evans and John Schlichter. Since she sent the letter Jan. 18, Bell said only Evans and Carey have replied.


http://www.chillicothegazette.com/news/stories/20050203/localnews/1950313.html

[dzika]

13. Blackwell is speaker for Black Heritage awards banquet

February 3, 2005

Blackwell is speaker for Black Heritage awards banquet

Deadline for Black Heritage awards nominees is Friday
The Marion Star


Friday is the deadline for nominations to be submitted to the annual awards committee for the Black Heritage Council of Marion County.

The Council’s month-long celebration of black history culminates at the end of February with the annual awards banquet.

The guest speaker for the banquet, 6 p.m., Feb. 26, at the Marion Country Club, will be Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell. Tickets, which will be limited to 300 people, are $27 each for that event and tables can be reserved.

http://www.marionstar.com/news/updates/11158.html

[dzika]

14. NYT - Blaming the Messengers - Blackwell requests sanctions for activists

(thanks to meganmonkey)

February 3, 2005

Blaming the Messengers

One of the strengths of our democracy is that citizens are free to question the results of an election. But four lawyers who did just that in Ohio, contesting President Bush's victory, are now facing sanctions. These lawyers, and other skeptics, may not have cast significant doubt on the legitimacy of the outcome. But punishing them for trying would send a disturbing message.

Clifford Arnebeck and three other lawyers contested the vote totals in Ohio, whose 20 electoral votes put President Bush over the top. Ohio had many problems on Election Day, including lines of up to 10 hours to vote, and a shortage of voting machines in African-American neighborhoods. But they were nowhere near widespread enough to erase Mr. Bush's margin of more than 118,000 votes. The lawyers also charged fraud, but they never proved their case.

Ohio's attorney general, who represents Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell in the matter, has asked the State Supreme Court to sanction Mr. Arnebeck and the others for mounting a "frivolous" challenge. Even though their case was weak, these lawyers did a public service by raising concerns that many voters shared. The burden put on Ohio's courts by their challenge was minimal. Courts know what to do when they get a weak case: throw it out.

Imposing sanctions would be likely to deter people from raising concerns about future elections, and ultimately undermine public confidence in the electoral process. The Ohio Supreme Court should make it clear that people have the right to challenge election results without fear of retribution.

It is odd that Mr. Blackwell, of all people, is requesting sanctions. He made many bad decisions as Ohio's top elections official, including one to reject voter registrations filed on insufficiently thick paper, an order he later retracted. Mr. Blackwell and the officials responsible for the 10-hour lines have not been held accountable for putting unnecessary obstacles in the way of Ohio voters. It will be a poor reflection on our election system if the only ones punished are the lawyers who tried to point out these deficiencies.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/03/opinion/03thu2.html?oref=login&oref=login

[meganmonkey]

15. Credit to dogindia who started the thread!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x315158

[MelissaB]

16. Some in Fargo find they're not wanted at president's speech

(Do-not-admit list includes City Commissioner, students, a librarian, university professors and more)


February 3rd, 2005 4:52 pm
Some in Fargo find they're not wanted at president's speech


Associated Press

City Commissioner Linda Coates says she was shocked to learn she and her husband were among more than 40 area residents on a list of people barred from attending President Bush's speech here Thursday.

The list was supplied to workers at the two Fargo distribution sites, along with tickets and other forms citizens were asked to fill out, The Forum reported.

The list includes critics of Bush or the war in Iraq. It includes two high school students, a librarian, a deputy Democratic campaign manager and a number of university professors.

Coates said she originally was not planning to attend the president's speech, but got a last-minute ticket Wednesday night from Fargo Mayor Bruce Furness, who offered tickets to all city commissioners.

More here: http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1288

[MelissaB]

17. Rosa Parks/John Conyers connection

Today's HOME-Spun Wisdom

RISMEDIA, Feb. 4 – Today is the birthday of Rosa Parks, pioneer of civil rights. Read more about her life.



Most historians date the beginning of the modern civil rights movement in the United States to December 1, 1955. That was the day when an unknown seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. This brave woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her lonely act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere.

Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama to James McCauley, a carpenter, and Leona McCauley, a teacher. At the age of two she moved to her grandparents' farm in Pine Level, Alabama with her mother and younger brother, Sylvester. At the age of 11 she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, a private school founded by liberal-minded women from the northern United States. The school's philosophy of self-worth was consistent with Leona McCauley's advice to "take advantage of the opportunities, no matter how few they were."

>>>snip

In 1957, Mrs. Parks and her husband moved to Detroit, where Mrs. Parks served on the staff of U.S. Representative John Conyers. The Southern Christian Leadership Council established an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award in her honor.


More here: http://rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/9211/1/1/

[dzika]

18. “SHUT UP!,” in no way constitutes valid rebuttal.

(this may have been previously posted)

February 1, 2005

“SHUT UP!,” THEY EXPLAIN

By Ernest Partridge
Co-Editor, "The Crisis Papers."


“‘Buzz Off’ in no way constitutes valid rebuttal.”
New Yorker Cartoon
(From memory)



Have you noticed?

Those of us who suspect that the election was stolen (a.k.a. “conspiracy nuts”), have presented an impressive array of evidence – statistical, anecdotal and circumstantial – to support our claims. In response to this we have been provided scant rebuttal evidence.

Instead, we have been ridiculed, vilified, and, most damaging of all, ignored. If our concerns are warranted, then the manipulation of the past election (and perhaps the elections of 2000 and 2002 as well) is arguably the most important news event since the founding of our republic, for a fraudulent national election strikes at the very heart of our democracy. If we the people of the United States are no longer able to remove the government through the ballot box, we are no longer ruled “with the consent of the governed.” Government of, by, and for the people is finished.

Furthermore, “the press” (which we now call “the media”) is no longer our defense against tyranny, for it now serves the government.

To be sure, the conventional view that George Bush and the Republicans won the election “fair and square,” is not without a few defenses. But, as I attempted to demonstrate in my previous essay (“Has the Case for Election Fraud been Refuted”), these arguments do not stand up to close inspection. And what, for the most part, is the response when the skeptics confront the media and the “winners” with their questions and their evidence, and demand an explanation?

“Shut Up!,” they explain.

In this essay, I will take a different approach to the issue of electoral integrity. Rather than continue with accusations and evidence, both new and re-iterated, I will pose a series of questions – questions which, for the most part, have been ignored by the media and by the beneficiaries of the past election, the Bush Administration and the Republican Party.

It is far better that we ask questions about the integrity of our elections than make accusations. Accusations soon become tedious and wear out their welcome. But questions put our adversaries on the defensive – which is where they most assuredly belong.

These are questions about the last three elections that must not be allowed to fade away. Not unless and until they are plausibly answered. And if they are not plausibly answered, then decisive action by the American citizens is very much in order. These questions have not been answered, and there is little evidence so far that they ever will be.

“Shut Up!” “Get over it!” “Let’s move on!” Are not answers.


continued
http://www.crisispapers.org/essays-p/shut-up.htm

[dzika]

19. Ohio Attorney-General's attack draws documentation on stolen election

February 3, 2005

Ohio Attorney-General's attack on election protection attorneys draws mountain of documentation on state's stolen election, including new study on exit polls

by Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman


Stiff legal sanctions sought by Ohio's Republican Attorney General James Petro against four attorneys who have questioned the results of the 2004 presidential balloting here has produced an unintended consequence -- a massive counter-filing that has put on the official record a mountain of contentions by those who argue that election was stolen.

In filings that include well over 1,000 pages of critical documentation, attorneys Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Peter Peckarsky and Cliff Arnebeck have counter-attacked. Their defense motions include renewed assertions that widespread irregularities threw the true outcome of the November vote count into serious doubt. That assertion has now been lent important backing by a major academic study on the exit polls that showed John Kerry winning the November vote count.

Petro's suit is widely viewed as an attempt at revenge and intimidation against the grassroots movement that led to the first Congressional challenge to a state's Electoral College delegation since 1876. The attorney general's action was officially requested by Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who administered the Ohio presidential balloting while serving as co-chair of the state's Bush-Cheney campaign. Petro and Blackwell have labeled as "frivolous" the election challenge filing. Their demand for sanctions will be reviewed by the Republican justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Though Petro's filing was aimed at backing down further challenges to the Ohio vote, it has allowed the election protection attorneys to enter into the official archives critical documentation detailing dozens of problems with Ohio's presidential balloting. Among the documents now made part of Ohio's legal archives is a congressional investigation report from Rep. John Conyers that seriously questions the November 2 outcome.


more
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1138

[dzika]

20. Election reform is urgent

Friday, February 4, 2005

Election reform is urgent

by DAN GOLDSTEIN


The irregularities, machine failures, paperless ballots, disenfranchisement, lack of transparency and other issues in the 2000 and 2004 elections underscore an electoral crisis that needs to be fixed right away. Americans are losing confidence in the integrity of our electoral system, and with good reason.

The Washington recount taught us some important lessons. First, counties that used black box electronic voting machines had no way to recount or validate their vote totals. We have to take their results on faith. At the very least, machines should produce paper ballots for a manual recount and for routine audits of results.

It is extremely disturbing to see proposed legislation, HB 1025, moving from 2006 to 2007 the deadline for requiring electronic voting machines to produce a paper record of all votes. Further, this legislation would permit the substitution of auditing software for an actual paper ballot. This approach makes the problem worse.

What we need instead are machines that produce paper ballots and a system to routinely audit the results by comparing the machine results with the paper ballots in randomly selected areas. If there is a significant difference, more investigation will be required, up to a full manual recount.

These machines are also lacking in security measures. A credit card transaction on the Internet is protected much better than voting machines. Voting machines are in many cases connected by modem. Experienced hackers could obtain access by calling the modem. A small group of hackers or a single individual could alter the results in hundreds of locations by as many votes as they thought they could get away with. We don't know if this has actually happened, but if it did, we might never find out.

Second, some counties still use punch cards, which are notoriously prone to error. Voters have a hard time verifying that they actually voted the way they intended. Hand-counted paper ballots used to be used everywhere and provide the greatest confidence in the integrity of the system.


more
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/210631_reform04.html

[texpatriot2004]

21. kick it for the night owls n/t

[Wilms]

22. WCPO: New Dispute Over November Election Results

New Dispute Over November Election Results

Reported by: Becky Freemal
Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller
Photographed by: 9News
2/2/2005 5:03:50 PM

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.

-snip/more-

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