Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 6/7/05

[MelissaB]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

If you can:

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

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

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

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


If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375478

All previous daily threads are available here: http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

(This is a new source. Please check it out.) :hi:

Note: I'll be at basketball camp with my daughter and won't be able to work on this until the afternoon.

[Wilms]

1. Officials envision 21st century elections (Houston-based Election Center)

Officials envision 21st century elections

‘Vote centers,’ longer balloting could improve process

The Associated Press

Updated: 12:15 a.m. ET June 7, 2005

The nation’s election administrators say it’s time to restructure elections to reflect the way Americans live, scrapping neighborhood precincts and Election Day for large, customer-oriented “vote centers” where people could cast ballots over a period of weeks.

In a new, sweeping report, state and local officials focus much of their attention on voters and poll workers rather than voting machines — the subject of so much debate ever since the 2000 presidential stalemate in Florida.

-snip-

The faults in the machines are real and can’t be ignored, said Avi Rubin, a Johns Hopkins University computer science professor. Election officials should heed the computer science community’s warnings, he said.

The Election Center has come in for criticism after reports that the nonprofit, nonpartisan group accepts contributions from voting machine manufacturers. Two members of the task force are former local election administrators who’ve formed their own election-related businesses.

-snip/more-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8123391

Thanks to Bush_Eats_Beef for posting the GDP discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1834401

[Wilms]

2. Election Center National Conference Los Angeles August 2005

National Conference Beverly Hills/Hollywood August 2005

http://www.electioncenter.org/conferences/national/National.htm

http://www.electioncenter.org


Despite a successful election in 2004, several issues face states to assure voter satisfaction and service.

- R. Doug Lewis,The Election Center :eyes:

[Wilms]

6. Review and Recommendations by NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON ELECTION REFORM

ELECTION 2004

Review and Recommendations by

The Nation’s Elections Administrators

NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON ELECTION REFORM

created and sponsored by:

THE ELECTION CENTER, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS

12543 Westella, Suite 100 Houston, TX 77077
Phone: [phone]

-pdf-
http://www.electioncenter.org/frontdocs/Task%20Force%20Report%20Book%202005.pdf

E-mail: [e-mail]

[Wilms]

3. (OH) Ex-judge approved as overseer of coin funds liquidation

Article published Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Ex-judge approved as overseer of coin funds liquidation

BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU

The Ohio Controlling Board yesterday signed off on Attorney General Jim Petro's hiring of a former bankruptcy judge, William T. Bodoh, to act as special counsel to oversee liquidation of the coin investment funds.

Mr. Bodoh, working out of Frost Brown Todd LLC of Columbus, is slated to receive $75,000, retroactive to May 13. The contract was one of several making up a $2.8 million package of outside attorneys hired without competitive bid at the request of various state agencies.

Sen. Ray Miller (D., Columbus) was the sole vote against the contracts. He questioned Frost Brown's independence, citing $64,000 in campaign contributions from the firm's employees, 95 percent of it to Republicans, including Mr. Petro.

"Thousands of dollars have been contributed from this law firm and now they're going to be trusted with the responsibility of liquidating the coin fund?" he said. "Wouldn't you want to have a clean record? Wouldn't you want to get away from this firm, pay them off, and select someone who is truly independent?"

-snip/more-

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050607/NEWS24/506070386

Thanks to mod mom for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375893

[Wilms]

4. Questions Raised About Electoral Reform Donations

blackboxwatchdog.com

consumer protection for election activists, officials and voters

Questions Raised About Electoral Reform Donations

Submitted by ZeroCool on Tue, 05/31/2005 - 12:41am.

Investigations

On November 3, 2004, presidential candidate John Kerry delivered a speech in which he conceded the election of the day before to his opponent, George W. Bush. Despite his concession, supporters of Mr. Kerry and various 3rd-party candidates angrily demanded a number of recounts on the basis of alleged problems reported with the election, notably in the key states of Florida and Ohio which ultimately decided the election result, as well as in other states including New Hampshire and New Mexico. One organization in particular, Help America Recount, was conceived and founded within a week of Mr. Kerry's concession. They raised a substantial sum of money -- upwards of $200,000 by some reports -- the sole purpose of which was, according to their web site, "to provide support for and citizen financing of presidential ballot recounts, election contests and lawsuits to audit the 2004 election1." We have just one question: what did they actually do with the money?

Background

Help America Recount is the brain child of Joan Krawitz2, co-founder of the National Ballot Integrity Project. It was set up with the assistance of Lowell Finley3, the attorney for Black Box Voting -- an organization now thought by many to be fraudulent. It appears that BBV's involvement was not, however, limited to furnishing an attorney.

-snip/more-

http://blackboxwatchdog.com/node/4

Thanks to elehhhhna for posting the GD discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3802744

[Wilms]

5. NJ Freeholder Meeting to buy Sequoias

Essex for Dean, now DFA

If you have been following this group recently, you know that we are very involved in the issue of verified voting machines that produce a
paper auditable trail (VVPAT). There are bills in Congress and in individual states, including several in NJ, that require the use of such equipment.

The Essex County freeholders are meeting this Thursday (7pm in Newark at the Hall of Records, Room 558, 465 Martin Luther King Blvd) to vote on authorizing funds to purchase Sequoia Advantage voting machines,which do not provide a paper trail. The machines will cost the county $11,000,000, in addition to a yearly $30,000 contract fee and $150,000 up front. Sequoia does not have a printer available for a paper trail, and reportedly, does not have one in the "pipeline." In short, we are buying machines that will be obsolete shortly. The rationale for the purchase, now, of the Sequoia is that the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) mandates that handicap accessible machines be in use by January 2006.

However, it is likely that the implementation of HAVA will be put off, and in the meantime, the state can use paper ballots with optical scanners (already approved for provisional and absentee allots).

We need as many of you as possible to turn out for the meeting. Bring friends, reach out beyond your DFA contacts to those people you know who share our concern about voting rights, voting systems, and electoral reform. Also, please contact your town's mayor, and ask him or her to come and speak out against the purchase.

Thanks to emcguffie for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375914

[Wilms]

7. (TX) Delays at old jail force housing search for new voting system

Delays at old jail force housing search for new voting system

June 07,2005

Victoria Hirschberg
The Monitor

EDINBURG — Renovation delays at the old jail have left the Hidalgo County Elections Department seeking other storage centers for its new, multi-million dollar voting system.

At first, the secure pods, or cells, at the old jail on Closner were scheduled to be complete by May 31, in line with the county’s purchase of an electronic voting system.

-snip-

The archaic voting machines, which the county has used since 1968, are stored in a San Carlos warehouse near Edcouch. Once the county scraps the old machines, there would be ample room for the new system in the warehouse, Navarro said. Yet, the county-owned warehouse also needs repair and lacks air-conditioning.

"It’s getting bad," Flores said of the warehouse. "The roofs are leaking in the very back."

-snip/more-

http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=7584&Section=Valley

[Wilms]

8. Former Mass. House Speaker Indicted in Redistricting Probe

Former Mass. House Speaker Indicted in Redistricting Probe

By Steve LeBlanc
Associated Press
Tuesday, June 7, 2005; Page A05

BOSTON, June 6 -- Former Massachusetts House speaker Thomas M. Finneran was indicted Monday on federal charges of lying under oath about his role in redrawing state legislative districts.

Finneran was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice and could be sent to prison and lose his license to practice law if convicted.

-snip-

The former lawmaker was accused of lying when he testified in 2003 before a federal appeals court in a lawsuit brought by minority groups. The minority groups said that a new legislative map would hurt black and Hispanic candidates and protect Finneran and other incumbents. Finneran told the three-judge panel he had no role in drafting the map beyond appointing members of a redistricting committee.

In its ruling, the court said it found his testimony hard to believe.

"Although Speaker Finneran denied any involvement in the redistricting process, the circumstantial evidence strongly suggests the opposite," the judges wrote. The court threw out the map and ordered a new one drawn, saying lawmakers sacrificed "racial fairness" to protect incumbents.

-snip/more-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601556.html

[Wilms]

9. Racist Fever Becomes Law in Arizona

CounterPunch
June 7, 2005

Xenophobia in the Desert
Racist Fever Becomes Law in Arizona

By MARGOT VERANES and ADRIAN NAVARRO

Reacting to a barrage of anti-immigrant messaging and misinformation, Proposition 200 was approved by 56% of Arizona voters on November 2, 2004. Prop. 200 forces all Arizonans to present proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to receive basic public services and to register to vote. Arizona's Attorney General has limited its application to five public benefits programs, but Prop. 200's most far-reaching impact has been one of widespread fear and intimidation. Immigrants are afraid to access even programs to which they are entitled. The voter-registration component of Prop. 200 constitutes a modern-day poll tax that often keeps low-income people and communities of color from voting.

Voting Rights of U.S. Citizens Under Attack

Prop. 200 backers also made unfounded accusations that undocumented immigrants voted in Arizona. Their true aim was to suppress voting by people of color. They openly declared during a televised debate, "Too many Latinos are voting." The impact of Prop. 200 identification requirements on voter registration has been staggering--in Pima County, over a two-week period early this month, 423 of 712 voter registration forms were rejected, or 59% of new voters. Last year, when 6 times as many people were registering because of the presidential election, no voter registration forms were rejected.

Arizona is already red-flagged by the U.S. Justice Department (USDOJ) because of its history of widespread voter intimidation against people of color. Consequently, all changes to the state's voting laws must be approved by the federal government. Despite Prop. 200's blatant discriminatory intent, in January 2005 the USDOJ ruled that forcing people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote does not deter people of color from voting.

Arizona is now the first state in the U.S. to require that anyone registering to vote present a birth certificate, passport, or tribal identity card. In Arizona, approximately one-third of the Latino and African American populations live in poverty. Citizens who cannot afford to purchase a birth certificate ($15 in Arizona), or passport ($85) will be prohibited from registering to vote. Civil rights leaders say this is eerily reminiscent of racist poll taxes. Prop. 200 also wipes out clipboard voter registration drives because making copies of the required documents at a potential new voter's doorstep is practically impossible. A number of bills currently before the legislature seek to further restrict voting rights and are sponsored by the same anti-immigrant contingent of legislators.

http://www.counterpunch.org/veranes06072005.html

Thanks to Itsthetruth for posting the GD discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3805433

[MelissaB]

10. Bev Harris' Fundraising Investigated --

Found on Yahoo's Diebold Message Board:

"By Ms. Harris' own admission, Black Box Voting appears to have been intimately involved in the initial setup of the Help America Recount organization as an alternate means of soliciting funds for the express purpose of conducting activities outside of the ones allowed to her BBV organization by the IRS."

Also:

"There are reports that Black Box Voting has raised anywhere from $300,000 to upwards of $1 million to date. Bev Harris has never provided an accounting of the money, although it is our intent to file a public records request with BBV pursuant to IRS requirements for financial disclosure by non-profit organizations and we will make the information available to the public in a later investigation."

And:

"What exactly is the nature of the relationship between Black Box Voting, Help America Recount, and Audit the Vote? How did Lowell Finley, who has represented both Bev Harris and Black Box Voting in the past, come to be the primary recipient and administrator of funds raised for Help America Recount? What was Bev Harris' specific role in the creation and operation of Help America Recount? <...> Bev Harris raised a significant amount of money for the stated purpose of filing upwards of 3000 Freedom of Information Act requests and performing audits of election data. In the seven months since the election, however, Black Box Voting has posted almost nothing in the way of any documents obtained -- not even so much as a list of what was obtained -- and has produced no actual election audits whatsoever. Lowell Finley and Joan Krawitz, possibly with Ms. Harris' help, raised at least $115,000 for the specific purpose of recounts in Florida and Ohio which they never even undertook, electing instead to spend the money on a recount in New Mexico that never actually took place. <...> What ever happened to the $114,400 deposit for the non-recount in New Mexico, and most importantly, who has it now?"

http://blackboxwatchdog.com/node/4


More here: http://blackboxwatchdog.com/node/4


Thanks to elehhhhna here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3802744

[MelissaB]

11. Soros Group: Blackwell Is No. 1 Target for Democrats

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 2:25 p.m. EDT

Soros Group: Blackwell Is No. 1 Target for Democrats

Liberal forces – including a key group backed by George Soros - are saying their No. 1 political target is Ohio's secretary of state, Ken Blackwell.

...snip


The Democrats fear that Blackwell, a staunch conservative, will play a key role in winning Ohio for the Republican presidential ticket in 2008 – just as he did in 2004.

...snip

And Steve Rosenthal, CEO of the 527 group America Coming Together – a group backed by anti-Bush billionaire George Soros – has called the 2006 Ohio governor's race the most important in the nation.

Here's why:

...snip

"He's the guy Republicans love for certifying Ohio's 2004 vote for President Bush. And he's African-American and conservative. 'With him as No. 2, it creates a dream ticket,' said a GOP strategist."

More: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/6/7/142809.shtml

[MelissaB]

12. Discussion

here in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1530271

and here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x376007

[MelissaB]

13. Ohio: Elections board set to begin fresh era

Elections board set to begin fresh era
Retired nurse likely to fill final vacancy

By DALE EMCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER


Rita Clark has followed the turmoil surrounding the Lucas County Board of Elections from the outside the last few years, but now she hopes she can help quell those problems from the inside.


Ms. Clark, a retired nurse from St. Charles Mercy Hospital, expects to be selected Thursday by the Lucas County Democratic Party to fill a vacancy on the four-member elections board. If all goes according to plan, she'll participate in her first meeting next Tuesday.

Ms. Clark, who will be 69 Thursday, will replace fellow Democrat Diane Brown, whose last day was Friday. She'll complete a board that was completely recast after Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell called for the resignations of the prior board members in April after a long investigation.

...snip


The board of elections has endured a number of problems in recent years. In April, Mr. Blackwell called for the resignations of Republicans Bernadette Noe and Sam Thurber and Democrats Paula Ross and Ms. Brown.

A report from his office cited areas of concern, such as failure to maintain ballot security, failure to maintain the security of poll books during the official canvass, and issuance and acceptance of incorrect absentee ballot forms.

More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050607/NEWS09/506070395/-1/NEWS

[MelissaB]

14. Ohio releases federal money

Ohio releases federal money

Counties eager to get new voting-machine systems will be able to begin their work soon, state election officials said Monday. The state Controlling Board released without debate $115 million in federal money for counties to buy new systems mandated by federal law. The Help America Vote Act authorizes the payments to replace punch-card ballots that came under scrutiny in the presidential election fiasco in Florida in 2000. Fifty-six of Ohio's 88 counties have chosen a system. Three are available: electronic touch-screen machines made by Diebold Election Systems and optical scan systems made by Diebold and Election Systems & Software. Optical scan machines read pencil marks made by voters to signify their choices. ES&S and 32 counties have sued Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and had their deadlines for choosing a vendor extended to Sept. 15. ES&S says its touch-screen machines will have federal and state certification by the end of August at the latest.

Link: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050607/NEWS01/506070363/1056

[MelissaB]

15. Editorial: Vendor's behavior should rile Blackwell

Vendor's behavior should rile Blackwell

There is something very, very strange about the way in which the hot button issue of voting machines is being manipulated in Ohio, and the manner in which Lake County is being treated by the Ohio secretary of state's office.
The county is virtually forced to stand by and watch its $3 million investment in voting machines go down the drain. And Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who is in a position to do something about it - but apparently is too busy running for governor next year - absolutely refuses.
In one of the latest developments in the maddening saga, Lake County joined 31 other counties in a lawsuit which resulted in a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge extending until Sept. 15 a deadline to select a new voting machine vendor that provides a paper audit trail. The previous deadline of May 24, set by Blackwell, was totally unrealistic.
The two machines approved by Blackwell, Diebold and ES&S, provide the paper trail. Lake County's machines, Sequoia, do not.
Lake County bought the Sequoia machines in 1999. Since then, every election conducted here has been letter perfect. Interestingly, only two states other than Ohio - California and Nevada - require a paper trail. The other 47 states think it is unnecessary - and federal election laws do not require it.
Lake County election officials asked Diebold to demonstrate its product by conducting a special election in Willowick's Ward 3 on July 12, but the company refused, saying it wouldn't have time to train poll workers.
Elections Board Director Janet F. Clair called that refusal "amazing," since the county is able to train 1,000 election workers in a month.
Where is Blackwell throughout this whole ordeal - other than running for governor? Why doesn't he order the Diebold people to come to Lake County and conduct the election, which is for just six precincts?
Blackwell should be outraged by Diebold's refusal. If Diebold doesn't care enough to demonstrate its machines in Lake County, Blackwell should order it to do so.
Clair, never one to mince words, told Diebold, "I only believe what I can see, feel and touch. Your voting machine that provides a paper trail has never been used anywhere in the United States. You have no history."
The response she received, she reported, was, "We can guarantee it works." She was unimpressed. She - and the four election board members - want to see it work. But Diebold - and Blackwell - won't hear of it.
Sequoia officials told Lake County officials that given six to eight months time, they could retrofit the machines here to accommodate the paper audit trail.
The Federal Election Assistance Commission held hearings and recommended grandfathering current voting equipment and putting guidelines in place with "workable and reasonable timetables" because "there is too much at stake to expedite the process to meet artificial guidelines, while creating a risk of getting the outcome wrong."
Are you listening, Mr. Blackwell?
The phony need for a paper audit trail has never been explained. It has not been needed with Lake County's Sequoia machines. The requirement mandating it is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever enacted in Columbus.
Sequoia officials told county election officials, "We don't want to see you lose your investment," and made a commitment to retrofit the machines by early next year. The company already has a working prototype machine. Blackwell's reaction? "He didn't want to hear about it," Clair said.
The secretary of state's chief function - and obligation to the public - is to ensure Ohio has clean, honest elections. That is what Lake County has had with the Sequoia machines - perfectly accounted elections, with the very first reports in Ohio to Columbus on election night.
And Blackwell wants to change that by forcing a different brand of voting machine on the county? That absolutely makes no sense at all.
Blackwell has sole control over $106 million in federal funds to buy new voting machines. He wants to send $2.325 million to Lake County, which Clair says, "We don't need and we don't want."
"But by joining the lawsuit," she said, "we now have a choice between two vendors instead of having one vendor rammed down our throats."

Link: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14651513&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21846&rfi=6

[Wilms]

16. Land Shark News

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x376034

[Wilms]

17. BradBlog: New Report on Election Reform Dead on Arrival

New Report on Election Reform Dead on Arrival

'Election Center' Becomes Latest Election Reform Group to Have Sold Their Souls to Diebold

Credibility Matters

Blogged by Brad on 6/7/2005 @ 4:02pm PT...

Something stinks to high-heaven about these people and their new report. And not simply because they're based in Houston, TX, (though it certainly doesn't help their case) but the fact...

Something stinks to high-heaven about these people and their new report. And not simply because they're based in Houston, TX, (though it certainly doesn't help their case) but the fact that they are directly funded by Voting Machine Companies such as Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia immediately destroys any credibility they might have otherwise had when it comes to making decisions about our Electoral System in desperate need of reform.

ElectionCenter.org claims to be a non-profit, non-partisan, professional organization of Elections Workers. Today, they have released a new report with recommendations on how to improve America's Electoral System.

The AP covered the new report in a story yesterday which shines a fairly positive light on it yet manages to include a couple of paragraphs which jump out as huge red flags. Here's a couple of them from the AP story ...

-snip/more-

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001442.htm

Thanks to Amaryllis for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x376066

[Wilms]

18. Press Release Source: AutoMARK Technical Systems, Inc.

Press Release Source: AutoMARK Technical Systems, Inc.

Handicapped-Accessible Voting Technology Completes Certification Testing

Monday June 6, 6:00 am ET

ES&S AutoMARK ballot-marking device available this summer

CHICAGO, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoMARK Technical Systems, LLC, has announced that its unique handicapped-accessible voting equipment, "ES&S AutoMARK", has successfully completed testing for federal certification. This means the ballot-marking device could be available this summer. The 40,000 polling places across 42 states that currently use or are considering the optical scan method of ballot-marking will be candidates for this state-of- the-art voting machine, which uses a touch screen, allows for an auditable paper trail and gives disabled Americans the option to vote privately and independently.

The addition of this technology to an existing optical scan system will bring those polling places into compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 requiring all polling locations to be equipped with at least one voting machine for people with disabilities by January 2006.

The ES&S AutoMARK offers a virtually fool-proof way for all Americans to vote accurately with a high level of confidence that their vote is private and secure -- and, since the Chad fiasco of 2000 -- gives polling places reliable and legal documents in case of a recount.

"The certification of the AutoMARK will provide a new ADA-compliant voting option for jurisdictions that want to retain or implement paper-based election systems," says Dean Westrom, chairman of the DuPage County, IL Election Commission, servicing more than one million people. "The system works with existing optical scanners and provides unmatched features for the disability community."

The ES&S AutoMARK prevents overvoting, accidentally marking too many candidates; and minimizes undervoting, skipping a race unintentionally. At the end, the votes are summarized on the screen, also via headphones, and voters have a chance to change selections. Once complete, the voter brings the ballot to an optical scan machine for tabulation.

The machine offers several features for disabled voters, including an audio ballot; a tempo control voice technology; directions and a touch pad with Braille; repeat key voice technology; sip/puff tube for paraplegics and quadriplegics; and zoom and contrast button for the visually impaired. It also features a full range of foreign language options.

This technology was created by Chicago-based AutoMARK Technical Systems (ATS) and is being distributed by Election Systems and Software (ES&S). For more information, call Ed Claffy, 630/291-0655 or go to http://www.automarkts.com or http://www.ESSVOTE.com .

Source: AutoMARK Technical Systems, Inc.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050606/cgm003.html?.v=11&printer=1

Thanks to Bill Bored for posting the NY discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=169x3547

[Wilms]

19. (KY) Group wants automatic restoration of voting rights

Group wants automatic restoration of voting rights

By Terez Paylor

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Posted on Tue, Jun. 07, 2005

Tayna Fogle says she has paid her debt to society and now she's trying to help others coming out of prison.

Fogle, 45, was one of about a dozen people yesterday at a news conference in downtown Lexington who advocate the automatic restoration of voting rights for convicted felons.

-snip-

Kentucky, along with Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and Virginia, are the only states that require convicted felons to get a pardon from the governor to regain their voting rights. The law, implemented in June 2004 by Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration, requires convicted felons to submit an application along with three references and an essay that explains why their voting rights should be reinstated.

-snip-

The Restoration of Voting Rights Committee, a group started by the social action group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, is in the process of writing a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights to former felons. During a 2004 campaign to promote voter registration, KFTC found many people who were not eligible to vote because they were convicted felons.

-snip/more-

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/11832171.htm

[Wilms]

20. (FL) Council kills (TS) ballot machines

Council kills ballot machines

By JAMES MILLER
Staff Writer

Last update: June 07, 2005

DELAND -- County Council members didn't need a recount Monday, but they figured one day voters might.

At a special meeting, the council narrowly killed a contract that would have brought touch-screen voting machines to Volusia.

Intended to meet a state deadline for disabled-accessible voting, the touch screens vexed voters who want something the machines don't produce -- a paper ballot. But in trying to keep a lock on the ballot box, the council may have opened itself to a conflict with the state and disabled advocacy groups.

"I have to live with my conscience, and I feel I did the right thing," said County Chairman Frank Bruno, one of four council members to vote against the $782,185 contract with Diebold Election Systems.

-snip/more-

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/03NewsHEAD01POL060705.htm

[Wilms]

21. (OH) Elections board set to begin fresh era

Article published Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Elections board set to begin fresh era
Retired nurse likely to fill final vacancy

By DALE EMCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Rita Clark has followed the turmoil surrounding the Lucas County Board of Elections from the outside the last few years, but now she hopes she can help quell those problems from the inside.

Ms. Clark, a retired nurse from St. Charles Mercy Hospital, expects to be selected Thursday by the Lucas County Democratic Party to fill a vacancy on the four-member elections board. If all goes according to plan, she'll participate in her first meeting next Tuesday.

Ms. Clark, who will be 69 Thursday, will replace fellow Democrat Diane Brown, whose last day was Friday. She'll complete a board that was completely recast after Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell called for the resignations of the prior board members in April after a long investigation.

She joins fellow Democrat Gary Johnson and Republicans Lynn Olman and Patrick Kriner.

-snip-

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050607/NEWS09/506070395/-1/NEWS

[Wilms]

22. .