Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday, 03/03/06

[FogerRox]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

If you find an interesting article:
1) Start a discussion thread.
2) Additionally, post it here, on the Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread. With a link to the discussion thread.
3) Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
4) You can post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x397093
5) Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.
6) Or you can 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=view_all&address=203x397093

for MAC users-- IIRC its hold down control- and click on the image to view its source.

Edit- I have some sort of Online issue currently. I will try to to get back online in an hour or so.

[FogerRox]

1. FL- Now three Leon County commissioners are peeved with Mr. Sancho

I thought this was a good read- this peice looks into the politics behind the story, at the end, the writer then takes a stand, a position, based on what is discussed prior.

Political theater

Let Sancho do his job

As Leon County's supervisor of elections for the past 18 years, Ion Sancho has made quite a name for himself as one of America's leading elections experts.

His operation has had such low error rates that it earned national acclaim even amid Florida's 2000 presidential election snafu. But as a zealous soldier in election-reform battles extending far beyond Leon County, he has made a few politically connected enemies - in his own backyard and elsewhere.

Now three Leon County commissioners are peeved with Mr. Sancho over the loss of $564,421 in grant money (which Mr. Sancho hopes to get back) because of a missed deadline over voting equipment for disabled people.

Chairman Bill Proctor, Commissioners Ed DePuy and Tony Grippa question whether the elections chief was remiss in his duties. Tuesday, Mr. DePuy suggested that a grand jury investigate. He later withdrew the motion - a wise move since it isn't at all clear that the problem is nearly as serious as these commissioners have portrayed it.

Later this month, the commission will again try to figure out what to do. In the interim, we'd like to suggest more attention to facts and less political theater.


>snip<


Originally published March 3, 2006

whole story--

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060303/OPINION01/603030321/1021

[FogerRox]

2. PA- Allegheny County will buy Sequoia Advantage voting machines

Allegheny County will buy Sequoia voting machines

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


The Allegheny County Board of Elections voted 2-1 yesterday to award a contract to California-based Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. for 2,800 electronic voting machines despite last-minute protests by activists who favored a paper ballot system.

County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who announced Friday that he wanted the county to purchase the Sequoia machines, teamed with county Councilman John DeFazio to endorse the $11.8 million contract.

Councilman David Fawcett, an at-large member like Mr. DeFazio, voted against the contract, saying he favored an optical scan system that utilizes fill-in-the-blank ballots. He said he feared that an electronic voting machine that malfunctions could be difficult to audit, possibly causing votes to be thrown out.

"That's a problem for me," he said. "I personally would not vote for machine without a paper audit trail."

His comments were greeted with applause by a dozen or so people in attendance, many of whom supported an optical scan system or a variant of it that utilizes paper ballots and leaves an audit trail for verification.

But Mr. Onorato, who has authority as chief executive to make the purchase, maintained that such systems are not a "cure-all," and that at least three counties in Pennsylvania didn't like them.

He said he preferred the Sequoia machine, the AVC Advantage, because it has a "full-face," allowing voters to see the entire ballot at one time just as they can now with the lever models that have been used in the county since the 1960s.

The Sequoia machine is accessible to the disabled, a federal requirement. It comes equipped with headphones and a keypad for blind voters, and its height can be adjusted for wheelchairs.

more-

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06059/662222.stm


From my own experience in fighting the purchase of the Sequoia Advantage in Essex County in NJ, The Advantage is too high to meet Federal standards for Wheelchair access. No matter which way it is adjusted.

[paineinthearse]

3. FL - St. Petersburg Times editorial: Dirty Harris

Posted in the EDITORIALS & ARTICLES forum this morning - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x194548


F*ck you and the horse you rode in on!

[FogerRox]

4. NOLA-700,000 displaced Louisiana voters will soon get information packets

Far-flung La. voters to receive mailings

They'll explain how, when to cast ballots
Friday, March 03, 2006
By Ed Anderson
Capital bureau
BATON ROUGE -- More than 700,000 displaced Louisiana voters will soon get information packets on how they can participate in local, state and federal elections this year. But a radio and television education campaign informing them of their voting rights has not gotten off the ground, officials said Thursday.

Jennifer Marusak, assistant to Secretary of State Al Ater, said the first direct mailings left the printers Wednesday and should be in the hands of displaced residents by the end of next week. . . . ..

Marusak said the state hoped to have the radio and television commercials produced and . . . . broadcast commercials have been delayed because the office has had trouble finding an entertainment figure to act as spokesperson and a studio to tape the commercials. Free said she thinks that problem was solved Thursday when "a star" agreed to do the commercials free. . . . .

"We have had to beef up our voter information hotline" to accommodate the calls, she said.

whole article--

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-3/114136948645520.xml



Discussion--

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all=132x2491350

[FogerRox]

5. NY- Feds Sue NY Over Voting Machines

Feds Sue NY Over Voting Machines

by Fred Mogul
NEW YORK, NY, March 02, 2006 — The federal government is suing New York State for not doing enough to update its voting system. WNYC's Fred Mogul has more.

In the first lawsuit of its kind, the Justice Department is demanding a plan from New York for complying with the Help America Vote Act. Passed in the wake of the 2000 presidential election, "HAVA" requires states to modernize voting equipment.

The federal government has offered states money to do this, but New York could lose almost $50 million if it doesn't act in time for the September primaries. Albany needs to adopt a voting system that is handicap-accessible and generates a permanent paper record that can be manually audited.

Critics of the state say the federal pressure could be helpful - but not if the state rushes to certify, purchase and deploy new voting machines without proper vetting.

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/57704

[FogerRox]

6. Tammy Duckworth snags Obama for TV ad.

Duckworth snags Obama for TV ad



February 24, 2006

BY SCOTT FORNEK Political Reporter

Playing one of her trump cards, congressional hopeful Tammy Duckworth began airing a television commercial featuring U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday -- marking the freshman Democratic senator's first appearance in a TV ad for another candidate.

"Every so often, you meet someone in public life who's truly extraordinary, someone you know will make a difference," Obama says in the 30-second spot. "A person of conscience and proven courage, Tammy Duckworth's a leader we can count on."

A wounded Iraq War veteran, Duckworth is one of three Democrats hoping to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde in the west suburban 6th Congressional District. The others are Rolling Meadows software engineer Christine Cegelis and Wheaton College professor Lindy Scott.

Duckworth spokesman Billy Weinberg said the commercial will run on CNN, MSNBC and other cable stations.

Giannoulias spot next



Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said about a half-dozen politicians have asked the South Side Democrat to appear in their TV spots, but Duckworth -- whom Obama has already endorsed -- is the first he agreed to.

"She's got a compelling story and is someone we think can bring real change to Washington," Gibbs said.


more-

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-cong24.html

[FogerRox]

7. Duckworth rips Bush health budget

Duckworth rips Bush health budget



February 17, 2006

BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter
Advertisement




Touring a Wheaton rehabilitation hospital, Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth ripped President Bush's proposed federal budget, saying it doesn't provide enough money for health care or medical research.

The wounded Iraqi war veteran, who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004, said proposed budget cuts would make it more difficult for Chicago area residents to receive the intensive medical care and therapy provided at the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital.

Joined by Cleland



"There is a direct connection between care that people get here in Wheaton and the decisions made in Washington,'' Duckworth said during a visit to the hospital with former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War.


more-

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-duck17.html

[FogerRox]

8. Chicago Tribune endorses Tammy Duckworth

. . . . .But Democrats have a better candidate in Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq war who has fresh and pragmatic views on trade, health care, taxes and other issues. Duckworth was an Army National Guard major when she was grievously injured in Iraq, losing both of her legs. She has some well-considered views on how the U.S. and Iraqis can finish the job there and bring American soldiers home. Duckworth is endorsed over Cegelis and Wheaton College professor Lindy Scott.

from--


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0602270126feb27,1,1182894.story?coll=chi-opinionfront-hed

[Wilms]

9. IL: Macon County short of election judges

Macon County short of election judges

March 3, 2006

By RON INGRAM - H&R Staff Writer

DECATUR - Increasing computer technology in polling places is worrying many older election judges, who are opting out of working the March 21 primary election, leaving Macon County Clerk Steve Bean scrambling to find replacements.

After working throughout the evening Tuesday at his office in an effort to fill the vacancies and having little success, Bean said Wednesday he is asking the county board to increase the pay for the 435 election judges for the first time since 1998. He said a little extra money may help recruit the people he needs.

snip

"We're at a point where it is getting more and more technical to work an election, and a lot of judges who have done it for 30 years are opting out," Bean said. "This year, without having to deal with absentee ballots at the polling places, things will go quicker."

snip

"We need more technologically advanced judges," he said.

snip

http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2006/03/03/news/local_news/1013474.txt

[Wilms]

10. CA: County gets peek at assistance devices for disabled voters

County gets peek at assistance devices for disabled voters

by Nathan Rushton

3/3/2006

Providing independent voting options for people with disabilities to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 is posing challenges for many jurisdictions in the country.

Although electronic voting devices are becoming more prevalent, one Washington State-based company is taking a low-tech approach to provide cash-strapped and electricity challenged precincts with voting options for the blind, deaf and disabled.

The Voting-on-Paper Assistive Device, or Vote-PAD equipment, was presented at the Humboldt County Elections Advisory Committee Thursday evening.

According to the company Vote-PAD, Inc., the Vote-PAD device is an inexpensive, non-electronic, voter-assist device that helps most people with visual or dexterity impairments to vote and can be customized for different election’s hand-counted or optically-scanned paper ballots.

snip

http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=8978

[Wilms]

12. CA: Election Integrity Advocates Swarm Sacramento

Election Integrity Advocates Swarm Sacramento

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Election integrity advocates descended upon Sacramento on Wednesday to attend the public hearing on all the other election machine vendors besides Diebold. GuvWurld correspondent Dan Ashby filed this report.

snip

The hearing format consisted of a reading of the Secretary of State's staff report summaries for each vendor certification item, followed by some responsive comments from vendor representatives, and then open comments from the public and assorted elections officials. The registrars of Contra Costa, Riverside, and Napa counties spoke (the latter two expressing complete confidence in their vendors, claiming never to have lost a vote, and assuring us their constituents just love their DREs).

Throughout the day, citizens--including many from CEPN, VRTF, Mainstream Moms, and CaliforniaBallots--made cogent, sharp, persuasive and moving comments against the machines, and for honest, transparent and secure elections. Comments opposing privatized electronic voting led by a ratio of about 97 to 3.

Everyone who wanted to speak got three opportunities for two minutes each. Testimony went on until 4:00.

snip

Riverside Registrar Barbara Dunmore asserted that whatever Akin was talking about, hadn't happened in Riverside. Dunmore also said there is no modem, internet or network connectivity on Riverside voting systems. (Two weeks ago, CEPN member Paul Jacobs reported the Riverside supervisors approving "use of a county Intranet system called "CORNET" to send election data from the Indio desert to Riverside . . . the CORNET Wide Area . . . according to the county Web site. . . will be accessible to all government agencies." "There will be no transmission limitation placed on the CORNET. File transfers, interactive traffic and graphics can be transmitted at any time.")

Judy Alter came up from L.A. to present her findings, complete with machine internal tape copies, showing a vote-shifting routine on Sequoia Insight and Optech 400 scanners used in New Mexico, 2004.

snip

http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/2006/03/election-integrity-advocates-swarm.html

[Wilms]

11. States moving forward with their own testing regimes

Election Updates Blog

States moving forward with their own testing regimes

Thursday, March 02, 2006

by Michael Alvarez

In the fall, there was some discussion after the "Voting Systems Testing Summit" that states were likely to move forward with developing their own voting systems testing regimes; this was something that I wrote about on December 1, 2005, in "Voting system testing by states in the future?". Well, it appears that, quietly, states are moving ahead with testing efforts.

One of these initiatives has been in Maryland, and the results for technical and usability tests conducted there recently have been made available to the public. There are three documents that have been issued:

1. "Executive Summary".
2. "A Study of Vote Verification Technologies: Part I: Technical Study."
3. "A Study of Vote Verification Technology Conducted For the Maryland State Board of Elections, Part II: Usability Study" (January 2006).

snip

http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2006/03/states-moving-forward-with-their-own.html