Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Monday 7/18/05

[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 thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x384359

All previous daily threads are available here:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

[MelissaB]

1. MS: Clark in town to show off voting machines

Clark in town to show off voting machines

by STEVE CAMPBELL - Delta Democrat Times



GREENVILLE - When the midterm elections of 2006 roll around, Mississippians will use new touch-screen, computerized voting machines that will likely improve accuracy and be more user-friendly.

Federal law dictates that all central scanner, lever and punch-card voting machines must be replaced by Jan. 1. In addition, at least one device fully accessible to the disabled must be in every polling place.

"These voting machines will greatly improve the accuracy and integrity of every election in Mississippi," said Secretary of State Eric Clark. "They are easy to use and are secure. This purchase is another major step in making historic improvements to the elections process in our state."

A study concluded that about 54,000 Mississippians may have had their votes not counted due to inaccurate and out-of-date voting machines in the 2004 presidential election. Mississippi voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush in 2004, so the invalid votes didn't swing the win to a different candidate, but no state government wants a replay of the tight 2000 election in Florida, where bundles of poll workers tediously examined punch-card ballots through a magnifying glass during the state recount.


More: http://www.ddtonline.com/articles/2005/07/18/news/news1.txt

[MelissaB]

2. Missouri Certifies AccuPoll E-Voting Machines for use in Statewide Electio

Missouri Certifies AccuPoll E-Voting Machines for use in Statewide Elections

Jul 18, 2005 By News Staff

AccuPoll Inc., a developer of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems, today announced that its DRE voting system has been qualified by the Missouri Secretary of State. The state of Missouri requires that any DRE Voting System must be qualified under the 2002 FEC Voting System Standards and print a voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT). As of July 14, 2005, AccuPoll is the only vendor fully qualified by the Missouri Secretary of State to conduct elections using a DRE voting system in the state of Missouri, according to the company.

"This is a major accomplishment for us," said Dennis Vadura, Chairman/CTO of AccuPoll. "With this state qualification in hand, AccuPoll is now qualified to sell its voting system and conduct elections for the 116 local election jurisdictions in Missouri. All 116 local election jurisdictions use paper-based voting systems and must upgrade or replace these voting system to meet the January 1, 2006 HAVA deadline. To date, the state of missouri has received over $62 million in federal funds under HAVA. Most of these funds will be made available to local election authorities to upgrade their voting systems to fully comply with HAVA."

AccuPoll designed their electronic voting system to feature a voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), which allows voters to verify -- via an immediately printed paper audit trail -- that their vote was accurately recorded at the time it is cast. As a result, AccuPoll's VVPAT system fully empowers voters to independently ensure that their vote is correct at the time it is cast, allowing for an accurate recount and audit capability should the need arise.

More: http://govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php/95003

[MelissaB]

3. WA: Retaining polling sites will cost Snohomish County more than once thou

Monday, July 18, 2005

Retaining polling sites will cost Snohomish County more than once thought

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

EVERETT -- Keeping polling places open in Snohomish County will cost more than expected -- $1.67 million rather than $1 million, a new report says.

A majority of the Snohomish County Council agreed two weeks ago to keeping polling places open, along with the use of absentee ballots, rather than switch to all-mail voting.

The price tag is driven by a new state law that requires the county's electronic voting machines to have a verifiable paper audit trail -- by January 2006. County officials are now concerned where the money will come from, and are considering taking out a loan.

"I'm uncomfortable forcing people out of the polls," said Councilman Dave Gossett. "But I'm not exactly excited about spending $1 million."

More: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/232971_snopoll18.html

[MelissaB]

4. NC: Voting bill to get a vote

Monday, July 18, 2005

Voting bill to get a vote
A paper trail would back up electronic systems, officials say

By David Ingram
JOURNAL RALEIGH BUREAU

RALEIGH

Eight months have passed since North Carolina drew national attention for problems with its voting system, such as the loss of 4,438 votes in Carteret County because of a lack of memory in an electronic voting machine.

In that time, the General Assembly has studied the errors, debated solutions and drawn up proposals to prevent future errors. It has not yet put any of those proposals into action.

Slowly, the legislative and administrative wheels are beginning to turn.

A committee of the N.C. Senate could vote as early as this week on a bill that would require a paper trail for all ballots. Meanwhile, state elections officials are drawing up a bid proposal for new voting equipment, after a federal agency gave the public a long-awaited peek at new voting guidelines.

More: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783902191

[MelissaB]

5. NC: Changes to election act produce controversy

Changes to election act produce controversy

July 18,2005
Zac Goldstein
Sun Journal

Recent changes to North Carolina's Public Confidence in Elections Act continue to draw the ire of verified voting advocates, but state election officials remain supportive.

The bill, which originally required verified paper ballots, has been changed 25 times by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee. Verified voting advocates say it bears little resemblance to the version proposed by the Joint Select Committee on Verified Voting.

Among the more controversial changes to the bill is a provision that allows for non-paper means of verification, such as audio or digital scanning.

Verified voting advocates say this provision allows for the possibility of cameras in polling places.

More: http://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=22578&Section=Local

[MelissaB]

6. Scoop NZ: J. Conyers' What Went Wrong In Ohio – A Summary

J. Conyers' What Went Wrong In Ohio – A Summary

Monday, 18 July 2005, 2:48 pm
Opinion: DU Elections Forum

Wake Up America! What Went Wrong In Ohio – A Summary

Advice from Rep. John Conyers, D, MI
By DU Poster Autorank
Posted at Democratic Underground

John Conyers, D, MI is a legendary figure in the Democratic Party. He served on the Judiciary Committee since 1964 (and was on that committee during the Nixon impeachment hearings); he is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus; has sponsored critical legislation; recently called for President Bush to explain the pre-war Bush-Blair memo; and investigated election fraud in Ohio right after the election.

Why is this important: because fraud occurred in Ohio; and that fraud is a paradigm for what we can expect in the 2006/2008 elections. If we can’t get fair elections, including a fair vote count, we Democrats will never regain control of congress and the White House. As a party, we are doing very little.

Here is a summary of “What Went Wrong In Ohio” by Rep. John Conyers ( Book Website & Original Report in PDF format.). It is vital that we realize the scope of theft in just that state and get angry and motivated. .

The excerpts are followed by some excellent links showing how Bush stole Ohio and the national election. The very best election fraud work around takes place right here on the Democratic Underground in the Elections Forum.


More: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0507/S00237.htm

[MelissaB]

7. Discussion

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x384574

and in GD here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4131326

[MelissaB]

8. Interview with AZ Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer

here: http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=2284

[MelissaB]

9. Monday Morning Press Conf: "Shocking" Election Practices to be Revealed

Monday Morning Press Conference: "Shocking" Election Practices to be Revealed

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who has been one of the few elected
officials from either major party championing accountable elections,
will have a press conference tomorrow morning (Monday July 18th) to
reveal "shocking findings on Diebold Election Systems and the fraud and
gross incompetence that has taken place in Georgia elections."

When: Monday July 18th, 10am.

Where: The office of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
North DeKalb Mall, Suite D-46,
2050 Lawrenceville Hwy,
Decatur, Georgia 30033

-- BB

See posts 44 and 50 for links


Thanks to Bill Bored here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x384423#384533

[MelissaB]

10. McKinney's "Shocking" Election Practices Revealed in Georgia - posted

Monday, July 18, 2005

"Shocking" Election Practices Revealed in Georgia

Rep. Cynthia Mc Kinney concluded a press conference this morning on the Diebold Company's performance in the Georgia elections. For E-voting activists, Georgia is the ground zero of the entire Vote Hacking bomb.

What so many fail to grasp in this issue is that it is more about top-down control than a partisan issue. In Georgia, for example, many Democratic Party officials, particularly the Secretary of State, have doggedly pursued the Diebold systems despite evidence of the ease of changing results and other programming anomalies.

What McKinnney's office has just released is a group of documents that lend the visible evidence necessary to take this issue out of the hands of conspiracy theorists, and put it in the public purview of government officials. The first flickers of a problem appeared in the public mind with the election of Gov. Sonny Perdue with an unaccounted for 11 point swing overnight in the voting publics voting preference. Perdue was the first Republican Governor elected in Georgia since the reconstruction.

Georgia's elections have been fraught with massive problems from day one and election officials have hidden the problems from the voters.

Georgia's election officials sought to protect Diebold instead of the voters.

The first document is a list of bugs and failures experienced in Georgia's 2002 election, none of which have been resolved to date, much less in time for the 2004 election.

Mr. Sam Barber of American Computer Technologies, Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit against Diebold. ACT was originally a Minority Owned Business contacted by Diebold to subcontract the Acceptance Testing of the Diebold system. When they discovered Mr. Barber really intended to test the equipment as prescribed by computer science, they threw him off the contract.

What they WANTED Mr. Barber's company to do was assemble the 2 pieces of equipment and CALL it acceptance testing. When he refused, he was dismissed by Diebold in McKinney, TX.

Documents now available: http://www.countthevote.org/cynthia_2005/list.htm

http://www.countthevote.org/


Thanks to cyberpj here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x384604