Wednesday 2/16 Election Fraud, Reform, & Updates Thread

[dzika]

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=203x327162

[dzika]

1. Voter Fraud Top Priority For West Virginia

Feb. 15, 2005

Voter Fraud Top Priority For West Virginia

Secretary of State, Betty Ireland says she is marking money in the budget to re-institute four positions called fraud investigators. The four investigators will look into complaints from citizens. One person will look specifically at fraud against senior citizens. And one will be assigned to look at campaign finance.

Ireland says her office will investigate all complaints. She says the first step is educating people on what voter fraud is.

Things like, "somebody tried to buy my vote or I saw someone in the courthouse messing with the ballots or someone's asked me to stuff the ballot box. Those things still go on in certain sections of West Virginia," said Ireland
...
Ireland says people with complaints should visit the state website and fill out the complaint form. Ireland also says she will ask the legislature to allow bi-partisan workers in each court-house to over see the process.


source: http://www.wtov9.com/news/4197724/detail.html

[dzika]

2. Video - Rev. Jackson pushes voter rights in CNN interview - 2/15 @ 4:40

Video - Rev. Jackson pushes voter rights in CNN interview - 2/15 @ 4:40

While being interviewed on CNN's Crossfire, Reverend Jesse Jackson turns conversation from Bush's Faith-based initiative to the true challenges for people of faith. Jackson points out all of Bush's underfunded mandates and the problems of poverty, housing, school grants. Jackson takes several jabs at Bush regarding voter rights and mentions that Bush claims that he has no knowledge of the voter rights Bills being introduced by Congress.



Video in Real Media Format (150k stream/ 5 minutes):
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/cnn_crossfire_jackson_050215-150-01.rm

[Helga Scow Stern]

11. Thank you, dzika! What a great clip.

I would have never known about it had you not posted it. It is so good, you should post it in General Discussion or something. And it should be voted as a "greatest". Or maybe if we vote on this thread?

I love how they focused on that big smile of Jesse's after he told it like it is!

Good stuff! We need to see more of these things.

[dzika]

3. Attorneys Question Miami Mayor Dyer's Staff About Fraud Allegations

February 15, 2005

Attorneys Question Miami Mayor Dyer's Staff About Fraud Allegations

State Attorney Will Meet With Grand Jury In Criminal Portion Of Case


ORLANDO, Fla. -- It's getting down to the wire in both the criminal and civil cases involving Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's campaign.

Nearly a year after Dyer won re-election, the prosecutor looking at alleged election fraud is finalizing his case, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

On Tuesday morning, a high-ranking member of the Dyer campaign faced questions from attorneys.

The criminal case is being handled by Marion County State Attorney Brad King. He will be meeting with the grand jury on Tuesday afternoon. The civil case is a lawsuit filed by Ken Mulvaney, the man who came in second to Dyer in the March 2004 election.

Attorneys for Mulvaney questioned two members of Dyer's staff on Tuesday morning, including Karen Bono. She was a clerk for Dyer's re-election. She testified that she had no knowledge of any campaign workers soliciting absentee ballots or improperly handling absentee ballots.

more: http://www.wesh.com/news/4199415/detail.html

[dzika]

4. New Mexico Governor Richardson reveals vote ID package

February 15, 2005

New Mexico Governor Richardson reveals vote ID package

By Shea Andersen


SANTA FE - The dam on voter identification might be ready to burst onto the floor in the Roundhouse.

Late Monday, a draft of a bill that has Gov. Bill Richardson's support was handed out to reporters. Draft revisions continued overnight.

This morning, Amanda Cooper, director of Richardson's political office, said the newest draft measure would require voters to present photo identification at the polls or, alternatively, the voter's name, date of birth and last four Social Security number digits.
...
The bill also includes $1.5 million to help the state pay for voting machines that provide a paper trail for every vote cast.


Other items include:

• An allowance for provisional ballots to be qualified even if a middle initial or address does not exactly match a registration filing.
  
  
• Provisional ballots would only be valid when cast in the voter's home precinct.
  
  
• A recount must be fully paid for out front; the current law specifies a 10 percent deposit on the costs.

more: http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local_state_government/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19859_3549298,00.html

[dzika]

5. According to law - Will Blackwell ever allow a legal recount?

02-16-05

According to law
Will Blackwell ever allow a legal recount?

by Adhaniá Olson

In response to The why of the Ohio-recount matter (Monday AFP), does anybody actually believe that Ohio secretary of state J. Kenneth Blackwell is going to ever stop hedging and allow a recount according to Ohio law, after his party has proclaimed yet another specious victory for George II?

Why would Blackwell ever do that? To perform his duty as secretary of state according to the laws governing the state of Ohio? He's shown how little he cares for that!

Here in Washington, the Republicans are trying to oust the Republican secretary of state Sam Reed because he failed to twist our gubernatorial recount so that the Republican candidate Dino Rossi would wi instead of the Democrat Christine Gregoir, the one who actually got the most votes. Seems that they don't recognize an honest, law-abiding secretary of state when they see one!

I am so proud of Secretary Reed, who stood his ground during all the frenzy of the recounts, charting his course by the laws of the state of Washington. He was steadfastly nonpartisan during an event when other secretaries of other states have used their position to hammer home personal desires in the place of legitimate results.

Furthermore, he has identified problems and is addressing them in time for the next elections. Even though I usually vote for the Democrats, I cast my ballot for Sam Reed, and will again. He is an honest man, and we are so lucky to have him running our state elections.


source: http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$31710

[dzika]

6. Poll: Jefferson TN residents prefer new election in unsettled race

Posted on Wed, Feb. 16, 2005

Poll: Jefferson, TN residents prefer new election in unsettled race

Associated Press


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Residents of Jefferson County, where one state Senate seat remains empty because of a dispute over a candidate's residency, would rather have a new election than seat either candidate in the race, a new poll found.

Forty-three percent of the residents surveyed said they favored a special election, while 31 percent preferred giving the seat to Democrat Virginia Woodward and 21 percent chose seating Republican Dana Seum Stephenson, The Courier-Journal reported Wednesday.

Among Republicans, 46 percent said they favored a new election, also the choice of 43 percent of Democrats.

The newspaper conducted the Bluegrass Poll Feb. 3 to 12, surveying 517 Jefferson County residents who said they were familiar with the controversy. The poll's margin of error was 4.3 percentage points.

Stephenson won the Nov. 2 election by 1,022 votes but was ruled ineligible by a judge because she didn't meet residency requirements. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Barry Willett disqualified her because she had lived in Indiana, voted there, was licensed to drive there and attended school there between 1997 and 2001. The state constitution requires candidates to live in Kentucky for six years before the election.


more: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/10910818.htm

[Wilms]

7. AP: Confusing rules keep felons off voting list

Boston.com

Confusing rules keep felons off voting list

By Elizabeth Wolfe
Associated Press
February 16, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Every state has some means for restoring voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences, but in 14 states the process is so cumbersome few ever are able to cast ballots, according to an advocacy group.

The Sentencing Project, which favors alternatives to prison, estimates 1.5 million felons nationwide have been denied voting rights. About three-quarters of them live in the South.

-snip/more-

<http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/02/16/confusing_rules_keep_felons_off_voting_list/>

[dzika]

8. N.Y. Election leaders seek insight

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

N.Y. Election leaders seek insight

By Liz Hacken

Cayuga County's two new election commissioners are looking to Albany for some guidance.

Cherl Heary, Republican election commissioner, and her Democratic counterpart, Dennis Sedor, will be asking representatives from the state Board of Elections to review how well the county board of elections works and any ways it could be improved.

"Since we are two new commissioners, we want to see if we are missing out on anything," Heary said to the Legislature's Government Operations Committee at its meeting Tuesday.

The last time a visit like this happened at the local office was about 10 years ago, Heary said.

The commissioners hope state officials will also be able to educate them further on upcoming changes in election policies, including getting new voting machines, which are expected to take place in the coming years.


source: http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2005/02/16/news/news07.txt

[dzika]

9. 'How Sad It Is!': Odd Docs in the Texas Election Contest

February 16, 2005

'How Sad It Is!': Odd Docs in the Texas Election Contest

By Greg Moses, ILCA Associate Member

It's not the first time I've occupied a room filled with state documents in Texas, but it is the first time that I've been treated to full-time surveillance while I thumb through everything, and actually I'm kind of happy about this. The chaperones have been altogether polite and quiet. And the surveillance itself is the best sign the state could send me that I'm probably taking notes on the right documents Tuesday.
...
Page after page of these depositions tell mundane stories of voters who once moved from Houston to Sugar Land but who didn't keep up with their paperwork, went back to Houston to vote, and then two months later got their doors knocked on by people with pens, carrying threatening documents that said in dandy legal language, you better answer these questions or we'll throw you in jail: Where do you really live and who did you vote for?
...
I ponder the puzzles of these documents, their careful protection, and their lack of public attention as I walk out of the state building past television trucks that are set up for live shots on the evening news. I know what they won't be reporting again.

For example, they won't be reporting the deposition of one 49-year-old Houston voter who I will name with the initials MP. Somehow MP's deposition didn't make the final list, and my guess is that the case was dropped like a hot potato because MP testified with such clarity that the Republican attorneys did not want to discuss the deposition in public.
...
Intimidation is what MP calls the election contest, and that experience of intimidation is what makes irregularities in ink color and handwriting vibrant issues for all of us. If the law is serious about calling voters to account for their irregularities, it should be just as serious about the irregularities that crop up wherever voters are pursued. If we are entitled to fair elections, we are also entitled to fair election contests. Which is why I am pleased to be watched every minute that I handle the sacred depositions of the voters from House District 149. And why I look forward to returning once again to hear the stories they tell...


more: http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1833&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

[dzika]

10. Florida folks! Election Repair webpage available now!

Florida folks! Election Repair webpage available now!

from an email

Note from Betty Castor:

Are you aware that Florida's elected officials are choosing their voters instead of the voters choosing their officials? This is a result of Florida's current redistricting process. Instead of ensuring fair elections, the process has become an incumbent-protection plan.


I am sure you agree this isn't fair. That is why I want you to join me in supporting an exciting new initiative to change this situation.

Click here to learn more about redistricting.
http://www.bettynet.com/site/R?i=Y4jgY4Ji-m-FSLiOsLhbdg

Click here to restore fair representation in Florida.
http://www.bettynet.com/site/R?i=VoEEFO3v3euFSLiOsLhbdg


Forty percent of Florida's U.S. Representatives were elected without opposition from a major party candidate in 2004. In fact, not a single incumbent was defeated in the last election. Take action on their action items and be sure to sign up for the action alerts!

www.campaignforflorida.com


Start pushing your Election Boards to get rid of the fraudulent voting machines of all kinds. Start pushing for PAPER BALLOTS statewide marked with regular pens, HAND-COUNTED in PUBLIC- and you will get rid of a large part of the fraud in future elections. Make a stink about the errors made by the machines, and how you feel disenfranchised.

Make sure you follow the recommendations on election reform by Lynn Landes- she knows her stuff! Make sure Betty includes Lynn's input!
http://www.ecotalk.org/VotingSecurity.htm


Here's the database to help you make a stink- shows Florida abuses in the 2004 election.
http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp?sort=date&selectstate=FL&selectproblemtype=ALL


Write a letter per day, per week- whatever you can. Send that same letter to local, national, and international newpapers, TV stations, and Election boards and Secretary of State for maximum effect. Take any item from the Campaign For Florida webpage or from the abuses database, and ask why the Secretary of State, Governor, and Election Boards have done nothing about the election fraud. Start the pressure, keep up the pressure.


Keep these Media access databases handy and use these on all of your actions to easily write to your local and national media outlets for extra volume and punch:

(Media access databases)
http://www.gebbieinc.com/daily/fl.htm

(look under Media Links for TV etc)
http://www.kidon.nl/media-link/nederlands/x-us-fl.php3

Keep these handy as well to reach your Congressmen: The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121 (toll-free at 800-839-5276). www.senate.gov , www.house.gov

AirAmericaRadio is available to you at these locations. Tell your community. Print it out and distribute in your community, school, library, etc.
www.airamericaradio.com/stations.asp

[dzika]

12. US EAC TO HOLD HEARING ON NATION’S PROVISIONAL VOTING IN 2004 ELECTION

U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION TO HOLD HEARING ON NATION’S PROVISIONAL VOTING IN 2004 ELECTION

Ohio State University’s Moritz School of Law to Serve as Venue for Hearing

For Immediate Release
February 16, 2005

Contact: Kay Stimson
[phone]


(Washington, DC) - The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) will hold a public hearing on the use of provisional voting in the 2004 election cycle on February 23 in Columbus, Ohio. The hearing will be held from 1:00-5:00 PM at the Ohio State University Moritz School of Law.

Under a federal election reform law, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), all states were required to offer provisional ballots beginning in 2004. Provisional ballots are available to voters who believe they are eligible to vote although their names do not appear on the registration rolls. HAVA also charges EAC with developing voluntary guidance on the subject.

"We know that provisional ballots enabled more than one million Americans to vote on Election Day 2004," remarked EAC Chair Gracia Hillman. "These were voters who were eligible to vote, but without the protection of HAVA, they would have been denied their right to cast a ballot. Preliminary data collected from 41 states also shows that more than 500,000 provisional ballots were not counted. It is important for us to learn more about the successes and failures of provisional voting in order to assist election officials in conducting this type of voting in the future."

The public hearing will feature three panels comprised of state and local election officials, academic experts on provisional voting and representatives of voter advocacy organizations. Featured panelists include the following:


Election Officials

• Hon. Glenda Hood, Florida Secretary of State
  
• Hon. Rebecca Vigil-Giron, New Mexico Secretary of State
  
• Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State
  
• Mr. Michael Vu, Director, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (OH)
  
• Ms. Cherie Poucher, Director, Wade County Board of Elections (NC)

Academics

• Professor Dan Tokaji, Moritz School of Law, Ohio State University
  
• Mr. John Lott, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
  
• Professor Edward Foley, Moritz School of Law, Ohio State University

Voter Advocacy Organization Representatives

• Ms. Kay Maxwell, National President, League of Women Voters
  
• Mr. John Fund, Editorial Board Member, Wall Street Journal
  
• Mr. Miles Rapoport, President, Demos

Testimony for the public hearing on provisional voting may be submitted in writing to EAC at [e-mail]. A live webcast of the event will be available at the following link: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/webcast/index.html.


Congress created the four-member U.S. Election Assistance Commission under HAVA, which has provided approximately $3 billion in funding for election reform. EAC is charged with disbursing payments to states for replacement of voting systems and election administration improvements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse for the collection of information regarding election administration. EAC is also charged with providing guidance to states on a variety of election reform topics. EAC Commissioners are Gracia Hillman, Chair; Paul DeGregorio, Vice Chair; Ray Martinez III; and DeForest Soaries, Jr.

To learn more about EAC, please visit www.eac.gov

source: http://www.eac.gov/news_021605.asp

[dzika]

13. Committee approves voter ID bill in Wisconsin

Wed, Feb. 16, 2005

Committee approves voter ID bill

by JR ROSS


MADISON, Wis. - Saying confidence in Wisconsin's electoral process has eroded, the Legislature's budget committee approved a bill Wednesday that would require voters to present a state or military identification card before casting their ballots at the polls.

The proposal would also require voters to include a photocopy of their IDs before casting absentee ballots.

Republican lawmakers have pushed hard for the requirement, citing a series of possible irregularities in Milwaukee during the presidential race, including reports of fake names and addresses, double voting and inaccurate voter registration lists.
...
But Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, said the legislation had an ulterior motive of discouraging minorities, the poor and the elderly - people who tend to vote Democratic - from going to the polls.
...
"You're not allowing people to vote," Colon said. "And there's a subtext that is outright racist."

The committee voted 12-4 to approve the legislation, with all four Democrats on the committee opposed. It must pass both houses of the Legislature and be signed by Gov. Jim Doyle to become law. But Doyle vetoed a similar proposal two years ago and has indicated he would do it again should this bill reach his desk.


more: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/10917456.htm

[berniew1]

14. Doc. of v.m. fraud, dirty tricks, & manipulation of ABs and PBs in 20 sta

Documentation of widespread touchscreen fraud, systematic dirty tricks, malfeasance, and manipulation of registrations, machines, absentee ballots, and provisional ballots in over 20 states- especially in minority precincts

http://www.flcv.com/ussumall.html

[Wilms]

15. Investigator calls voting machine problems a shock

Investigator calls voting machine problems a shock

Beaver County Times

Rick Martinez, Times Capital Bureau
02/16/2005

HARRISBURG - About halfway into Tuesday's five-hour hearing on voting machine irregularities in Beaver and Mercer counties last November, the man hired by the state to investigate called the incidents "disturbing."

-snip-

It was an examination that Rebecca Mercuri said she would have conducted differently. Attending the hearing at the request of Mercer County voting activists, the Harvard University fellow and computer security expert said she didn't like that UniLect was allowed to do a "horse and pony show" with "smoke and mirrors."

Mercuri was critical of the voting system running on an MS-DOS computer system, which she said anyone can break into. She also said a "very serious" security flaw was the use of a phone jack to transfer voting data from the polling place to a county courthouse.

"The person who hooks it up could be hooking it up to his house," Mercuri said.

-snip/more-

<http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13968345&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478663&rfi=6>