Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Thursday 3/9/06

[Wilms]

Election Reform Forum

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=203

[Wilms]

1. FL: LEGAL PROCEEDINGS LAUNCHED AGAINST DIEBOLD

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS LAUNCHED AGAINST DIEBOLD IN FLORIDA!

Leon County Election Supervisor Alleges 'Breach of Contract' After Security Test Revealed Hackable Elections Possible on Diebold Optical-Scan Systems!

E-Voting Monolith and 'Competitors' All Refuse to do Business with County Unless the Elected Ion Sancho is 'Removed from Office'

In a conversation moments ago with Sancho, he confirmed to The BRAD BLOG that, "we filed a breach action this morning, pursuant to a contract which notifies Diebold we are pursuing all available options."

The breach concerns Diebold's refusal to deliver their latest operating system for the optical scan voting systems which had previously been used in Leon County -- until Sancho discovered an alarming security flaw in the system at the end of last year.

"According to our contract with Diebold," Sancho explained, "we have to give them 30 days notice. And so we are requiring them to answer by March 21, as to how they intend to repair the breach."

snip

According to Pynchon, and confirmed in previous discussions The BRAD BLOG has had with Sancho, Diebold has been putting pressure on the state and the county to remove Sancho from office. As Pynchon wrote today:

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002519.htm


LBN Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2154135

[Wilms]

2. FL: Ion Sancho Initiates Legal Proceedings Against Diebold

Florida: Ion Sancho Fights Back

By Susan Pynchon, Florida Fair Elections Coalition

March 08, 2006

Ion Sancho, besieged Supervisor of Elections in Leon County, Florida, initiated legal proceedings today against Diebold Election Systems for breach of contract. The lawyer bringing the action is Lida Rodriguez Taseff, an attorney with Duane Morris in Miami. Lida is also the Chair of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition.

Diebold has refused to return phone calls to Leon County election staff, refused to honor its existing contract with Leon County for maintenance and upgrades of its voting system, and further refused to sell Leon County touch-screen voting machines to meet state and federal requirements for disabled acessbility.

At a Leon County Commission meeting on February 28, 2006, county staff revealed that Chuck Owen, Division Counsel for Diebold Election Systems, met with county staff behind closed doors on February 27. According to staff, Owen stated that Diebold would sell its touch-screen voting machines to the county if, and only if, the county removed Supervisor Sancho from office.

There are only three companies that have state-certified voting systems in Florida: Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia. All three vendors have refused to sell disabled-accessible voting systems to Leon County, quite apparently in retribution for the series of "red team" security tests authorized by Sancho in 2005 to determine if there were security vulnerabilities in the Diebold voting system used in Leon County. Tests conducted in the spring of 2005 by Florida computer scientist Dr. Herbert Thompson determined that the voting system password could be bypassed, thus permitting unauthorized manipulation of election data. A test on December 13, 2005, now commonly known as the "Hursti hack," definitively proved that election results could be altered without detection using only a memory card. The security vulnerabilities exposed in the Leon County tests have since been confirmed in an independent test conducted by a team of computer scientists from the University of California at Berkeley and California's Voting Systems Technology Assessment Advisory Board. The California tests, while not a thorough examination of the Diebold system, revealed numerous additional security flaws in addition to confirming the tests conducted in Leon County.

snip

At Leon County Commission meetings on February 14 and February 28, the two Republican members of Leon County's seven-member county commission blasted Sancho for failing to provide Leon County with accessible voting machines in attacks that Sancho believes are politically motivated. The commission meetings may be viewed here. http://www.co.leon.fl.us/ADMIN/Agenda/realmeetings.asp

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1015&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416163

[Wilms]

29. FL Opinion: Elections flak - County has responsibility, too

Opinion: Elections flak
County has responsibility, too

Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho is a passionate voter advocate who is required by law to use equipment that he says is imperfect and may cause problems at the worst possible time. Yet he is nevertheless facing major obstacles acquiring that equipment, which left to his own judgment, he wouldn't buy.

snip

The real reasons why three state-certified companies that provide touch-screen voting machines won't do business with Mr. Sancho aren't altogether known at this point. Around town, the political and pragmatic implications of this Catch-22 are the subject of considerable speculation.

The elections chief's confidence last week turned to pessimism this week when officials with Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. stopped returning his telephone calls in the middle of negotiating a business deal. On Wednesday Mr. Sancho said he'd been informed that Sequoia also won't do business with him, citing its inability to provide the county technical support it would need.

snip

The question posed by some, however, is whether his battles are at too high of a cost, both financially and politically, for Leon County, which funds the supervisor's operations.

snip

Calls for a grand jury investigation late last month were premature and had the smell, if not the intent, of political theater. But however sympathetic one may be to Mr. Sancho, the County Commission's involvement isn't simply piling on.

snip

Will Mr. Sancho retain control of the process that citizens have elected him to supervise? If not, who will - and how reliable will that system be?

snip

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/OPINION01/603090309/1006/OPINION

[Wilms]

25. FL: NAACP to hear 2004 voter irregularities tonight

NAACP to hear 2004 voter irregularities tonight

By Miami Herald staff

Mar. 09, 2006

The NAACP will hold a hearing tonight to get testimony from citizens who experienced problems in voting during the 2004 general election.

Tonight's hearing will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Mizell Center, 1409 Sistrunk Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

The hearings are open to voters from both Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Another hearing in Palm Beach County will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday at the Urban League of Palm Beach County office at 1700 Australian Avenue in West Palm Beach.

For more information, please call 866-716-2227.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14056523.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416315

[Wilms]

30. FL: Human (vendor) error slows vote count (Vote Switching, too!)

Human error slows vote count

Vote counting suffers a two-hour delay because of a technician's mistake.

By WILL VAN SANT, Times Staff Writer

Published March 9, 2006

snip

A computer server at the elections office froze at 8:38 p.m. Results in Pinellas Park's races were in, but in Palm Harbor votes from only 4 of 22 precincts had been tallied; in Largo, 21 of 38.

After consulting with Sequoia Voting Systems, the county's voting technology supplier, the problem was fixed. At 10:18 p.m., the count began again. Complete results were ready 18 minutes later.

snip

But the delay was not the only trouble.

At a Pinellas Park voting precinct in the morning, and later in the day at a precinct in Largo, voters reported that touch screen machines were faulty. When a voter selected one candidate, the machine would put a check next to another candidate's name.

That can happen to touch screens, which need to be calibrated regularly, said Michelle Shafer, a Sequoia spokeswoman. Simple handling of the machines rarely causes calibration problems, but repeated use does, she said.

snip

Browning said with the new touch screen technology, voters have some added responsibility.

snip

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/09/Tampabay/Human_error_slows_vot.shtml

[Wilms]

3. MD: Documents Detailing Diebold Failures, Violations of State Law

TrueVoteMD Releases Documents Detailing Diebold Failures, Violations of State Law

Questions raised about the accuracy of the SBE’s public statements

In 2003, TrueVoteMD launched an effort to re-establish transparent, accurate, recountable elections in Maryland when it became apparent that the Diebold voting system was hackable, defective, and budget-busting. We thought that simply educating our State Election Board about the ever-growing list of errors, breakdowns, hacks and uncertain election results around the country would result in the simple solution advocated by experts: voter-verified paper ballots for recounts and audits. What we found instead was a surprising refusal to look at those facts.

Then it got worse. We learned about the use of uncertified software in violation of state law. We learned about voting system meltdowns - from voters- but also from insiders who were afraid to go public. We learned about missing candidates, screen problems, and machines failing to record any votes. We learned about a five month 'statewide lockdown' of the voting machines while Diebold scrambled to explain the meltdown in the months after November 2004.

Worst of all, we witnessed a State Elections Administrator who at every turn covered up the facts to protect a private corporation which had been hired to count our votes. Now, under court order, the State Administrator has been forced to turn over documents which show a long standing pattern of misleading legislators, the press and the public and lying under oath.

The Exhibits below are culled from thousands of pages of evidence with more to come. We hope that these facts will help Maryland and the nation find its way back to a voting system worthy of the confidence of the American electorate.

snip

http://www.truevotemd.org

Full Project

http://truevotemd.org/content/view/430/61


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416174

[Wilms]

13. MD: Our say: Voting switch likelier to cause problems than avoid them

Our say: Voting switch likelier to cause problems than avoid them

By THE CAPITAL EDITORIAL BOARD

snip

It's not the second thoughts that bother us. Elected officials have every right to insist on voting machines they're confident in. But where were all these doubts years ago, when Diebold Inc.'s machines were approved and purchased? The machines haven't changed and haven't malfunctioned. So why are we facing a last-minute decision now?

snip

The change of heart is due in part to controversial testing of the electronic machines in other states. But it also has much to do with elected officials trembling at the thought of losing tight races and not having a paper record for recounts.

How does this all this look to voters? To us it looks like elected officials who decide an issue one way when all that is at stake is the voters' right to a fair and accurate election, then reverse course when they start worrying about their own political survival.

snip

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/03_08-19/OPN

[Wilms]

33. MD: Paper Ballot Bill Passes in state House 137-0

Maryland: Paper Ballot Bill Passes in state House 137-0

By Warren Stewart

March 09, 2006

In a blow to state election officials and a victory for election integrity activists, Maryland’s House of Delegates has voted unanimously to approve HB 244, a bill that would require voter verified paper records of every vote and a mandatory random audit. The 137-0 vote came after only 10 minutes of debate.

With momentum building for the passage of HB 244, state election officials had argued that there wasn’t time to retrofit the state’s touchscreen voting machines with printers for this years primaries and general election. This led to an amendment calling on the state to lease optical-scan machines for one year.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1020&Itemid=113


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416362

[Wilms]

34. MD: Paper Trail Split Disabled Advocacy Groups - (plus notes on funding)

Paper Trail Voting Machines Split Disabled Advocacy Groups

By JARED S. HOPKINS
Capital News Service

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

WASHINGTON - As the Maryland House nears a decision on requiring the state's voting machines to issue paper ballot records, organizations representing disabled voters apparently disagree on what -- if anything -- should be done.

Several prominent advocacy groups for the blind and deaf support paper records, but others -- including an organization that received a $1 million grant from Maryland's voting machine manufacturer -- have decried the bills in both the Senate and the House, where a vote is expected Thursday.

snip

Bob Kerr of The American Council of the Blind of Maryland once tested voting machines for Compliance Research Group and said his first-hand knowledge led to his push for paper-trails.

"Anyone who's blind is probably an expert who can tell you what's accessible to them," he said.

snip

NFB received a $1 million grant in 2001 from Diebold to settle NFB's lawsuit charging that Diebold ATM machines did not accommodate disabled customers. Gaschle said the grant came before Diebold's involvement in the election industry, and the organization is no longer receiving money from Diebold.

snip

"It seems to us like it's a waste of money to buy that technology and then throw that technology out," said Andy Imparato of the American Association of People with Disabilities. "We use computers to control nuclear weapons, to control banks, to control a lot of things, I don't see why (this is different.)"

His organization, too, accepted a contribution from ES&S, but Imparato said it was just $6,000, not the $26,000 reported by the New York Times.

snip

http://www.journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/2006-editions/03-March-editions/060308-Wednesday/DisabledVoters_CNS-UMCP.html


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416376

[Wilms]

4. John Bonifaz on the Supreme Court's most important election case in decade

John Bonifaz on the Supreme Court's most important election case in decades

RadioNation With Laura Flanders

03/08/06

http://feeds.feedburner.com/RadionationPodcast

Play Now

http://thenation.audioblog.com/deluge/063641e4-afb9-d992-9723-16d45681aee0.mp3


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416111

[Wilms]

5. CA: Dave (GuvWurld) Berman Urges County to Avoid Using Diebold Machines

CA: Dave (GuvWurld) Berman Urges County to Avoid Using Diebold Machines

Archived at GuvWurld

.pdf
http://www.guvwurld.org//Voting/Humboldt%20Advocate%20-%20Dave%20Berman%20Urges%20County%20To%20Avoid%20Diebold%20Voting%20Machines%20-%203-3-06.pdf


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x415999

[Wilms]

6. RedState Poster Urges Readers to Purchase Diebold Stock

Hot Stock Tip: Diebold

By: streiff

Mar 8th, 2006

If you owned Diebold stock yesterday, you got a pleasant surprise when the market opened today. It was up 19 cents.

That's right, you would have made nearly a half percent OVERNIGHT for an annualized yield of over 100%. You can't get that return from Indonesian sweatshops or even from WalMart.

It's because those in the know, know that Diebold is a proven technology that keeps we Republicans in power and keeps the Dems poor and stupid. Check out Henry Cuellar's amazing change of fortune yesterday. Exit polls showed him in a runoff with dKos fav Ciro Rodriguez. The dawn's early light showed Cuellar beating Ciro like a rented mule. Coincidence? Hah.

The irony here is that we couldn't win elections with the accurate punch card and mark-sense cards. But the Dems had to up the ante and demand technology. So our friends at Diebold gave it to them. In spades.

Every election we keep beating those pre-eletion and exit polls and every election they keep scratching their backsides in amazement.

snip

http://streiff.redstate.com/story/2006/3/8/105725/7183


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416241

[Joanne98]

23. And they're even bragging about it. (sigh)

[Wilms]

7. CA: San Francisco Stays All Paper

California: San Francisco Stays All Paper

By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA

March 08, 2006

City Decides Not To "Roll The Dice" With Sequoia

There was a collective sigh of relief from election integrity activists in San Francisco at the announcement that the city’s Department of Elections has pulled out of contract negotiations with Sequoia Voting Systems for Edge touchscreens. Alarm had been voiced at a Rules Committee hearing in February over the Department’s plans to purchase Sequoia equipment that have not yet been certified for use in the State. At the hearing the Sequoia spokesperson stated that the company did not intend to submit their IRV software for federal testing until May 31, leaving serious doubts about the company’s ability to meet the city’s charter requirement for ranked choice voting in the November election.

In a San Jose Mercury News article Supervisor Ross Mirkahimi was quoted "we cannot afford this roll of the dice, we should never not have a Plan B for something as critical as a clean, honest election process." With less than three months before June primaries, the supervisors decided they couldn’t take the risk.

In a San Francisco Chronicle article Sequoia sales representative Michelle Shafer, said, "The fact is that we mutually determined that we will not be working together for this June election, because we don't have a signed contract in place."

The city will instead keep the optical scan voting system from Election systems and Software that is currently the only system that is certified for ranked choice voting. Automark ballot-marking devices in each polling place will provide accessible voting for disabled San Francisco.

snip/links

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1014&Itemid=113

[Wilms]

10. CA: Humboldt Supervisors Hearing on Elections Delayed One Week

Humboldt Supervisors Hearing on Elections Delayed One Week

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

by GuvWurld

This morning I posted that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors would be including an item about election conditions on their 3/14 agenda. This claim was based on public statements made by Supervisor John Woolley, at the 2/28 Supervisors meeting, and also Clerk/Recorder Carolyn Crnich, speaking at the 3/2 Election Advisory Committee meeting. I have since learned from Lora Canzoneri, Clerk of the Board, that the topic is being pushed back to the 3/21 meeting of the Supes because Crnich is going to be out of town.

Indeed, I confirmed these travel plans with Crnich herself who told me that she is going to be attending a three day training conducted by Diebold. This will occur in Rocklin, in Placer County, next Monday through Wednesday. Crnich informed me that the training will pertain to Diebold OS machines and the GEMS central tabulator software. The importance of her attendance is underscored, she said, because currently only two Humboldt employees have had the training and one is retiring soon.

When I asked Crnich if she could raise concerns at this gathering on behalf of citizens such as myself, who think we shouldn't be using voting equipment that is plainly illegal, she likened the issue to jaywalking, another technically illegal act that people "just do."

Lawlessness ain't just for unelected presidents anymore, don't ya know.

snip

http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/2006/03/humboldt-supervisors-hearing-on.html

[Wilms]

35. CA: Email from SoS Office

March 09, 2006

Thank you for your e-mail regarding Diebold's OS and TSX equipment and its certification with conditions for the 2006 elections.

Secretary McPherson shares your concern that we have only the most secure, reliable voting systems, and he is committed to ensuring the accuracy and integrity of every vote cast. That is why he has established the most stringent requirements for voting systems in the nation.

The recent Diebold certification decision comes after the touch screen and optical scan systems have met the most rigorous federal and state standards. In addition, both the independent panel of experts from the University of California and the federally-approved Independent Testing Authorities have indicated that the Diebold AccuVote Optical Scan and the AccuVote TSX systems can safely be used for our elections, with the additional security and use procedures we have in place in California. These stringent use procedures and security measures include requirements that the elections official reset the encryption key prior to programming any units; that each memory card have a permanent serial number assigned to it and be programmed in a secured facility under the supervision of the registrar of voters/registrar of voter’s staff; and that each unit be sealed with a serialized, tamper-evident seal. These security measures must be in place before the June 2006 election. For a more complete list of these enhanced security and use requirements, please visit our website at <http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_vs.htm>

Secretary McPherson has established clearly articulated expectations and standards required of voting systems and their vendors so that all who wish to be considered for use in California now know, for the first time, exactly what will be expected of them.

The Secretary remains committed to ensuring the reliability and accuracy of every vote, and that is precisely why he has set such high performance criteria to ensure that the integrity of the vote has been protected. With these qualifications for our voting systems, we believe voters can have confidence in the electoral process and the equipment used to capture their votes.

Thank you again for your feedback and for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Elections Web Mail Representative

no link


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416417


GD Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x619730

[Wilms]

8. Crispini's Election Judge Experience at a Fully HAVA Compliant Precinct

Crispini's Election Judge Experience at a Fully HAVA Compliant Precinct

by Crispini

snip

Our main voting method on election day is paper ballots with an optical scan counter at the precinct. (ES&S) Our county elections administrator likes this system and I tend to agree with him. If the machine goes down you can keep voting, and you can always recount the ballots if you need to. This USED to be the only method available to the voters on election day.

At the end of the day we print out polling tapes, box up the ballots, & seal them, pull the card & seal it, fill out reports, and schlep everything over to the office. Polling tapes for everyone who wants them, including observers, etc.

Yes, of course, the flash memory cards or tabulator software could be tampered with behind the scenes but from the viewpoint of the election judge, at least there is always the paper backup. The new optical scanners will beep if there is an overvote or a problem reading the ballot and apparently all of my precinct's voters had no problem with the ovals since nobody had a ballot kicked back to them.

snip

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416259

[Wilms]

9. Voting Rights Act Gets ACLU Push to Renew

Voting Rights Act Gets ACLU Push to Renew

By WILL LESTER

The Associated Press

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Voting Rights Act would be severely weakened if provisions such as federal clearance of some local election changes and protections for voters who do not speak English are not renewed, activists say.

snip

Some conservative lawmakers have voiced opposition to renewing the clearance provision of the Voting Rights Act.

That provision requires local officials in nine states to get any changes to voting practices or procedures cleared beforehand by federal officials to ensure that local officials do not try to discriminate against minorities.

Those nine states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas, said Daniel Levitas, who is with the ACLU Voting Rights project. Parts of seven other states are affected _ California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota, he said.

snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/07/AR2006030701557.html

[Wilms]

11. TX: Primary Augurs Upcoming E-Trouble in E-Merica

E-Voting Woes: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet...

Texas Primary Augurs Upcoming E-Trouble in E-Merica...

by Brad

3/8/2006

Texas held their first round of Primary Elections last night since adding new electronic voting equipment to loads of counties around the state. It was one of the first Primary Elections to occur since the Help America Voting Act (HAVA) kicked in this year.

If today's 'Daily Voting News' by John Gideon is any indication, America is in for one hell of a mess this year. Take a look at just a few of the headlines from just the Texas section of today's DVN...and keep in mind that usually the real problems held in 'E-Lections' don't even begin to surface until some time after Election Day...

snip/links

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002522.htm

[Wilms]

15. TX: New voting system, same problems (Registration Disaster)

New voting system, same problems

By TJ Aulds
The Daily News

Published March 8, 2006

snip

Thousands of voters never received registration cards. It was a problem that had the phones at the county courthouse ringing with calls from frustrated voters across the county.

“It’s been a nightmare, it really has,” said County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Johnson, who is also the county’s voter registrar.

Johnson blamed the problem on a glitch with new software that was required under state law. The cards printed fine, but postal service scanning machines had trouble reading many of the addresses, she said.

“I’d say it’s easily 10,000 that came back, probably closer to 20,000,” Johnson said as she pointed at boxes full voter registration cards with bright yellow postal stickers indicating addresses were not valid.

snip

Problems retrieving data from the new eSlate system delayed the release of election results. The first returns, which included the results of the 5,700 early votes, did not emerge until 9:20 p.m. — two and half hours after the polls had closed.

snip

http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=b5c1182c635f6be7

[Wilms]

26. TX: Glitch only inflates, not alters, returns

Glitch only inflates, not alters, returns

By ANNA M. TINSLEY and ANTHONY SPANGLER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITERS

Mar. 08, 2006

An undetected computer glitch in Tarrant County led to inflated election returns in Tuesday’s primaries but did not alter the outcome of any local race, elections and county officials said Wednesday.

The error caused Tarrant County to report as many as 100,000 votes in both primaries that never were cast, dropping the local turnout from a possible record high of about 158,103 voters to about 58,000.

Because the errors added votes equally for each candidate, the glitch did not change the outcome of Tarrant County races but narrowed the margin of victory in some statewide races. In the close Republican primary race for Texas Supreme Court, for example, incumbent Don Willett edged past former Justice Steve Smith by only about 1 percentage point with the corrected vote tallies.

Questions about possible problems were raised by election staff late Tuesday night, as it became apparent to some that the county would far exceed the 76,000 votes cast in the 2002 primary elections.

snip

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/14051304.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416319

[Wilms]

12. IA: Professor (Doug Jones) tells lawmakers paper print-out of votes needed

Professor tells lawmakers paper print-out of votes needed

by O.Kay Henderson

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

A University of Iowa computer science professor who's an expert on voting machines says Iowa's election laws need to be updated and should require a paper print-out of votes cast electronically.

Doug Jones spoke at the statehouse over the noon-hour, and he says there are even more flaws to fix. "The issue won't go away. Iowa's election law contains these clauses that really need to be fixed. There are major oversights in the law," Jones says. "The problems are national...the problem is for the state to take control of the situation and do some pro-active work."

Iowa's Commissioner of Elections, a bipartisan task force made up of election officials and voting rights groups like the League of Women have tried but failed to convince the Iowa Legislature to act. "Our basic voting system law...was reformed in the early 1990s," Jones says. "There's wording in that law which I still can't figure out." In addition to a paper print-out of the votes cast in electronic voting machines, Jones advocates establishing independent boards which would "audit" the votes cast.

"We can point to all kinds of horrible election frauds from 50 years ago but today everyone's completely honest?" Jones asks. "I'd like to know what we are like in the judgment of people 50 years from now. I think if we had strong, independent auditing of elections we'd be much safer." Jones is philosophical about the lack of action on election reforms. "Democracy has been a 200 year adventure in the United States...and we still don't have it right necessarily," Jones says. "We have to recognize that it's an on-going process."

snip

http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=2734C63A-658F-4EDF-A51D4AA3A06B66B0&dbtranslator=local.cfm

[Wilms]

14. NY: County looking for more $pace

County looking for more $pace

By Linda Ober / The Citizen

Wedne$day, March 8, 2006

AUBURN

$nip

“It'$ going to be a much larger problem than we originally anticipated,” $aid Democratic Commi$$ioner Denni$ $edor, noting that federal law mandate$ the county board of election$ - not the town$ - own$, $ecure$, te$t$ and $tore$ the machine$.

The board need$ approximately 2,100 $quare feet of $torage $pace for the new machine$, which the county mu$t purcha$e to be in compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act. The county will receive about $850,000 for the purcha$e of the machine$ and another $40,000 for training, $edor $aid.

Federal law mandate$ that the machine$ be $tored in one central location, $edor $aid, which pre$ent$ the problem: Where to put them in a county already pre$$ed for $pace?

“We're wre$tling with a problem that we haven't created, but we do have to $olve it,” $aid Government Operation$ Committee Chairman Paul Dudley, R-Cato.

$nip

“Everybody need$ more room; it'$ ju$t di$heartening,” Dudley $aid. “Our population doe$n't grow, but government doe$.”

$nip


http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2006/03/08/news/local_news/news02.txt

[Wilms]

20. NY: Albany Faces Dual Signals on Elections

Albany Faces Dual Signals on Elections

By MICHAEL COOPER

Published: March 9, 2006

ALBANY, March 8 — New York State is getting two sets of advice when it comes to its troubled efforts to overhaul its elections systems: Hurry up, and slow down.

The Justice Department, which sued the state last week for its failure to replace its aging voting machines and to comply with the voting guidelines enacted by Congress after the disputed presidential election in 2000, wants the state to move faster. It wants the court to force the state to draft a plan to comply with the law by the fall elections.

But local elections boards, including New York City's, say it is too late to change the systems by the fall elections. And a group of voters and civic groups who are trying to intervene in the case want the state to slow down. "Electoral chaos is sure to ensue if New York is stampeded into new and risky voting technology," Larry Rockefeller, who is one of the voters seeking to intervene, wrote in court papers.

The case's first court date is set for Tuesday.

snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/nyregion/09vote.html

[Wilms]

16. John Gideon's Daily Voting News

'Daily Voting News' For March 08, 2006

by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002521.htm

[Wilms]

17. The Crisis Papers: An Appearance of Guilt

An Appearance of Guilt

Ernest Partridge, Co-Editor
The Crisis Papers

March 7, 2006

The accumulated weight of evidence of election fraud – statistical, circumstantial, and anecdotal – has failed to move the mainstream media to report or investigate this evidence, or the Democratic party to acknowledge and protest the apparent Republican control of our elections.

This essay is not yet another account of that evidence, which I have spelled out extensively and which I firmly believe to be compelling.

Instead, I wish to deal with another indicator that our national elections no longer represent the will of the voters, but rather are manipulated to produce the outcome desired by the "winning" candidates and party. This indicator is the behavior of those who manufacture, program, and operate the paperless, unauditable machines (direct recording electronic: "DRE"), and those who benefit from this technology.

Perhaps this new electronic voting technology is as honest and reliable as the private election industry and the winning candidates tell us it is. However, they simply do not behave as if this were the case.

My contention might be illustrated by this parable:

http://www.crisispapers.org/essays6p/appearance.htm

[Wilms]

18. You don't need to be conspiracy buff to like a paper trail

You don't need to be conspiracy buff to like a paper trail

By HOWARD TROXLER, Times Columnist

Published March 9, 2006

Since the 2004 election, an energetic and mostly Democratic group of folks has alleged (1) the election was rigged and (2) we need better safeguards for our electronic voting machines.

As long as we are putting questions (1) and (2) together, we are going nowhere.

Mainstream America is not going to buy the conspiracy theory unless President Bush gets caught on tape saying, "Me and Diebold stole the election, heh, heh."

Neither does the conspiracy theory give Republicans (who, after all, are the majority in our Legislature) much room to support better safeguards. Republicans have been forced by default to defend the touch screen machines used in 15 Florida counties.

So where we go from here depends on the goal.

snip

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/09/Columns/You_don_t_need_to_be_.shtml

[Wilms]

32. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416356

[Wilms]

27. An Appearance of Guilt - Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416332

[Wilms]

19. OH: OH: Summit (ES&S OpScan) voting gear flunks

Summit voting gear flunks

Elections board is to get new set of memory cards for optical-scan units after high failure rate in testMar. 09, 2006

By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

snip

Tests on Monday and Tuesday showed that about 30 percent of the computer memory cards -- which should read and store vote tabulations -- did not work, Elections Board Director Bryan Williams said. ``We are noticing a high failure rate,'' he said Wednesday.

Election Systems & Software in Omaha, Neb., makes the machines. Williams said ES&S officials believe they have isolated the problem to the computer cards produced by one of its subcontractors. ES&S contracts with several companies to make the memory cards, Williams said.

``We're looking into the extent to which this affects others,'' said Ellen Bogard, spokeswoman for ES&S. ``It will be remedied if there are other cards that need to be replaced.''

snip

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/local/states/ohio/counties/summit_county/14055096.htm

[Wilms]

21. NASS: Open Letter to Members of Congress

Not sure, but it might be a HR550 hit-piece.

Open Letter to Members of Congress
New Election Reform Legislation Would Undermine Progress and Interfere with States' Rights

February 6, 2005

Dear Members of Congress:

Soon, you will be asked to consider legislation that would dictate national standards for administering elections. The
passage of any such law would undercut the states' ability to effectively administer elections and interfere with the
progress they have made in implementing election reforms. Perhaps most importantly, it would discount our country's
unique political philosophy -- the belief in the division of authority between state and federal governments.

pdf

http://www.nass.org/releases/Open%20Letter%20to%20Congress2.pdf

[Wilms]

22. NASS: Voting Equipment RFPs Issued to Date

Voting Equipment RFPs Issued to Date

Arkansas
Connecticut
Georgia
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Mississippi
Nebraska
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Ohio
Texas
Utah
Vermont

snip/links

http://www.nass.org/pubs/RFP%20page.htm


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416300

[Algorem]

24. OH-Third elections worker indicted over presidential recount

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-23/1141899847127640.xml&storylist=cleveland

3/9/2006, 5:11 a.m. ET
The Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — The third highest ranking employee at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has been indicted on charges of mishandling ballots during the 2004 presidential election recount.

Jacqueline Maiden is the third board worker charged with six counts alleging that Ohio laws were not followed in the selection and review of ballots for the recount...

All three employees continue to work at the board.

"We're in the process of converting to the electronic voting, and we need our best people," board chairman Bob Bennett
<who is also Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party>
said. "We've moved them from any responsibility of recount or responsibility of ballots."...


3rd worker indicted in probe of vote recount

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1141896981231690.xml&coll=2

Thursday, March 09, 2006
Joan Mazzolini
Plain Dealer Reporter

...

The Board of Elections released a statement stating that, "These allegations are based on interpretation of procedures, not on any suggestion of fraud. . . . We are confident that no employee of the Board of Elections would knowingly or negligently engage in any unlawful conduct regarding the 2004 Presidential Recount. We, as Board Members, unanimously stand by our employees in the face of these allegations."...

"The special prosecutor's investigation must indicate some sign of conclusion. It is irresponsible to not finalize an investigation of an election recount that began more than 15 months ago."

Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter, who conducted the investigation at the request of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, said he was surprised that the board has allowed the employees to continue working. Mason recused himself because his office represents the elections board...

In a December letter to the board and Mason, Kerger charged that the elections board staff broke the law by failing to randomly select precincts to be recounted. Kerger also charged that the board staff failed to investigate discrepancies between the recount and original vote totals.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2154926

[Wilms]

28. ER Discussion - Third elections worker indicted over presidential recount

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x416337

[rumpel]

31. PA: Clarion County Confidence in AccuVote-TSX machines

http://www2.theclarionnews.com/General_News/51695.shtml

County expresses confident in new voting machines
By Tom DiStefano, Clarion News writer




CLARION -- Clarion County Director of Elections Ronn Kuzmovich is confident the county will be ready for the May primary election.


Brand new touch-screen AccuVote-TSX voting machines, made by Diebold Election Systems, have been ordered and are on their way. Kuzmovich says poll workers will be trained in their use, and the machines will be secure and accurate in counting the votes.

The county purchased 122 touch screen voting machines for use in 41 precinct polling places. County commissioner Donna Oberlander said the total system cost $429,000, but a $431,000 federal grant more than covers the bill.

Voters cast their ballots by touching names on a flat-panel computer-type screen. The machine records those votes and stores them on a memory chip. After the polls close, the memory chips, along with a printed paper tape with vote totals, are unplugged from the touch screen machines and taken to the courthouse for tabulation.

Kuzmovich said March 2 the new machines have been ordered, are on their way, and will be ready in time to train poll workers for the May 19 primary election.

Training sessions have already started, using the demonstration machine the county has now, and more will be arranged.

The county will train some poll workers in small groups of about five, and Diebold personnel will conduct trainings with larger groups, Kuzmovich said.

The Diebold machines carry a two-year warrantee.

The machines do not provide a voter-verified paper trail, but no other machine approved for use in Pennsylvania does either, and in fact, the county is not allowed to use machines providing such a paper trail.