Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News March 29, 2006

[stillcool]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.


http://homepage.mac.com/rcareaga/diebold/adworks.htm

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
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4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.

Please
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[stillcool]

1. Utah:Emery County Voting Machines Must Be Recertified

March 28th, 2006 @ 6:34am

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- About 40 electronic voting machines in Emery County will have to be recertified because the county clerk allowed purported security experts to test them, state election officials decreed.

State officials said the Black Box people reportedly were not directly supervised the entire time and the tests by people unaffiliated with the state elections office or Diebold Elections Systems, which built the machines, voided the warranty on the machines.

"We don't know what they did to the machines," Demma said. "For all we know, they could have these set up so that they fail on Election Day, so he could then point the finger at us for the problems."

Emery County Clerk-Auditor Bruce Funk said he discovered discrepancies in available memory and called in Black Box Voting.

County commissioners never agreed to the independent testing, and they have since changed the locks on the storage areas holding the machines and have not given Funk a key.
Last week, he voluntarily handed over his keys to the previous locks and told commissioners he did not want responsibility for them because he felt they were unsafe.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=182496

[JimDandy]

6. UT: Emery County clerk takes back his resignation

Emery County clerk takes back his resignation

Now what? But the feud over election machines heats up, and commissioners say the clerk is out of a job

By Glen Warchol
The Salt Lake Tribune
3/29/2006

The state's $27 million transition to touch-screen voting machines has triggered an ugly dispute between the Emery County Commission and its elections chief. The commissioners maintain that County Clerk Bruce Funk resigned Monday night after the commission met behind closed doors with state elections officials and representatives of Diebold Elections Systems over Funk's allowing election activists to test the machines. But Funk, who had no legal representation, says he was emotionally drained by Monday's confrontation when he said he would step down from his 23-year post. "At that point I just wanted out," he said.

But by Tuesday, Funk changed his mind. Instead of confirming his resignation in writing, Funk hired a lawyer and says he will fight for his position. "I plan to fulfill the term of my office," Funk said. "I was elected to this position by the people of Emery County." Commissioner Ira Hatch said oral or not, Funk resigned. "As far as I'm concerned, it will stick," Hatch said. "The legal beagles may look at it differently."

>snip<

Funk says he plans to monitor Diebold's retesting of the voting machines and even videotape it to protect the integrity of the Emery County vote - and himself. "I don't think Diebold wants anyone to know what they do to the machines," Funk said. "It needs to be documented as to what they do and and why, and videotape everything they did." But Hatch said that is unlikely to happen. "I told him if he was a county employee, he could do that," Hatch said. "As of April 1, he is not going to be an employee of the county."

>snip<

Diebold told the commissioners that the unauthorized testing has violated the machines' integrity, and possibly the warranty. Restoring them could cost the county $40,000, Diebold said. Election officials may be reluctant to entrust the Diebold machines to a clerk who has so zealously opposed them.


http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3649394

[JimDandy]

15. Utah & Diebold at the center of a national debate on e- voting

"Diebold -------- HACKED in 60 seconds," the sequel.



Election Defection
A county clerk’s claim that new voting machines are broken may put Utah at the center of a national debate on electronic voting.

by Ted McDonough
Published Mar. 29, 2006


Just as the last shipment of new electronic voting machines were delivered to Utah’s counties and readied for this summer’s primary elections, (Emery County Clerk, Bruce) Funk brought in Black Box Voting, a national voting-rights group, to test the equipment. He did so without the blessing of county commissioners or the lieutenant governor’s office, which oversee elections.

Black Box Voting is trumpeting its Emery County investigation on the Web, claiming the Diebold electronic touch-screen voting machines can be tapped in 60 seconds using equipment readily available at Radio Shack. Funk is in a standoff with the lieutenant governor’s office. He pledges not to use the new voting machines in the next election, potentially violating an agreement between the county and the state.

>snip<

The lieutenant governor’s office observed testing of all Diebold voting machines delivered to Utah (WOW!! All 6000 plus machines! How did you find the time, you speedster, you?) before they were sent to individual counties and was satisfied all were in working order, said (State Elections Office director, Michael) Cragun. State election officials additionally asked each county to test their allotment of machines once they arrived, he said. >snip< Cragun said any county that lets Black Box inspect voting machines would violate its state contract. Utah purchased the machines for all 29 Utah counties, and part of the contract states only Diebold can open the machines. Unauthorized opening could void the Diebold warranty. Harris said her experts were able to get into the machines without opening them by using a simple pocket-size device.

If Funk goes ahead with his threat not to use the Diebold machines, that, too, would be a contract violation, said Cragun, since Emery County Commissioners signed a contract with the state pledging to use the machines in the next election. For now, the lieutenant governor’s office is going to let Emery County sort out the problem, but if push comes to shove, the state will likely enforce the contract, Cragun said. Funk has appealed to the Utah Attorney General’s Office for help enforcing what he believes is his authority to run elections the way he wants.

>snip<

http://www.slweekly.com/editorial/2006/cityweek_1_2006-03-30.cfm

[stillcool]

21. If you're interested in sending Bruce an expression of support

here's his contact information:

Bruce C. Funk - Clerk/Auditor
Fax: [phone]
95 East Main
Castle Dale, Emery County
Utah 84513
[e-mail]


Voting machine transparency costs one county clerk
Posted by Phil Windley @ 10:00 am
Digg This!

Given these problems, Bruce decided he wanted a second opinion on the health of his machines and invited BlackBoxVoting (BBV), a non-profit group, to examine them. BBV in turn asked Harri Hursti and Security Innovation, Inc. to do a thorough examination.

Some of the results of Security Innovations' investigation are in, and they aren't good. He found that some of the machines had inexplicable memory usage, that the machines were network aware all the time, and that there were safety problems with the way the power cord attaches to them. BBV promises more results at a later date.

Meanwhile, things haven't gone well for Bruce Funk. Diebold asserted that he'd broken the warranty of the machines and wants to charge the State $40,000 to "recertify" them. After a heated closed door meeting with State elections officials and the Emery County Commission, Bruce orally resigned his position, but later changed his mind and is going to fight for his job.

It's clear to me that Diebold is sending a message to any other County Clerks who may step out of line and question the quality of the product that they're getting. The Utah Elections seems to be playing along. They ought to be supporting someone who is willing to make sure that the voting system works. No matter how you feel about electronic voting, Diebold seems to be supplying a low-quality product and charging top dollar for it.

How do you feel about voting on machines that even the people who control them aren't allowed to inspect them without being subject to financial penalties? It gives me the creeps.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=2785

[JimDandy]

36. Support for Bruce Funk is building.

Up until Dec. 2002, Phil Windley was the state of Utah's Chief Information Officer of the state's IT Department. So this says a lot coming from him.

[stillcool]

2. Pennsylvania/Professor to try to hack voting machines

....????????Scaife funded?

Monday, March 27, 2006
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If you can hack into a touch-screen voting machine undetected, Michael Shamos will give you $10,000.
Dr. Shamos, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who has spent more than two decades testing electronic voting equipment, first made that offer several years ago. To this day, no one has tried to collect.
"Because they know they can't do it," he said last week.
But Dr. Shamos, one of two official examiners for Pennsylvania, has to try. Tomorrow and Wednesday, he'll be in Harrisburg to test the Sequoia AVC Advantage, an electronic unit that Allegheny County plans to buy.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06086/677130-103.stm

[stillcool]

19. Minor glitch found in Allegheny County voting machines

Expert tricks county's new electronic system but calls the problem a minor one

Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By Tracie Mauriello, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG -- After four hours of testing yesterday, a glitch was found in the voting system Allegheny County is planning to use in the May 16 primary.So far, it's not fatal," said Michael Shamos, the Carnegie Mellon University professor who will recommend whether the system should be certified in Pennsylvania.

As part of his testing, which continues today, Dr. Shamos cast 12 votes in a mock primary. The machine reported the votes correctly but there was a problem when its data cartridge was inserted into a central computer. Audit trails, which are supposed to carry records of individual ballots, were incorrect.
"I've got the correct vote totals, but I've got a very strange, apparently corrupted audit trail," Dr. Shamos said. "The totals are all correct but the audit trail is completely haywire."
Paul Terwilliger, Sequoia's director of product development, could not immediately fix the problem or say what caused it.

Joe Passarella, the county's director of voter services there, said the machines are reliable and he expects Dr. Shamos will approve them.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06088/677611-85.stm

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Wilms]

3. The Democrats: Missing in Action

The Democrats: Missing in Action

Posted by CrisisPapers

Tue Mar 28th 2006

Election Fraud: "The Dragon at the Gate"

If the Democrats are to capture at least one house of Congress in November and if, as a result, the American people begin to take back their own country, the party must first of all slay the dragon at the gate: election fraud. For, as anyone who dares face and study the evidence must appreciate, because GOP partisans build the unauditable machines, write the secret software, and count 80% of the votes, "the people's will" at elections is essentially irrelevant. The election results are simply what the GOP wants them to be, as they were in 2000, 2002, and 2004, and as they will be again in 2006 – provided conditions remain essentially as they are now.

Accordingly, the restored integrity of the ballot is the sine qua non of the overthrow of the Republican autocracy in November.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, those "useful idiots," steadfastly refuse even to recognize that there is a problem with the voting machines and vote compilations.

Nevertheless, the electronic voting scam is beginning to unravel, thanks to the determined efforts of a few dedicated individuals, an uncensored internet, and ad hoc citizen organizations along with all too few maverick politicians (notably John Conyers and Russ Holt), and despite the determined indifference of the Democratic Party and the mainstream media.

snip

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/CrisisPapers/7


Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419270

[Bill Bored]

4. NY: Mad rush for new voting machines is mad indeed

BY JOHN NONNA AND DAVID KOGELMAN
New York Democratic Lawyers Council

On March 1, just as New York State was on the brink of finalizing the implementation regulations needed to buy the voting machines that will be used by New Yorkers for the foreseeable future, the Department of Justice sued the state. Its suit seeks to force New York to comply with the Help America Vote Act's timetable, even though it had been clear for more than a year that New York would not have the new voting machines in place in time for the 2006 elections.

Justice's complaint that the state has failed to comply with the act comes at the worst possible time.

-snip-

Last July, New York passed the Election Reform Act of 2005 with bipartisan support. Since then, the State Board of Elections has published two drafts of implementing regulations. These regulations are crucial to protect the accuracy, trustworthiness and security of voting in any system that might be adopted by county boards of election.

-snip-

With barely five months to go to primary day, it is nothing short of fantasy for Justice to contend that an orderly process could be successfully completed by then.

-snip-

New York legislators on both sides of the aisle recognize that it is in voters' best interests to have a trustworthy election system, not one vulnerable to computer hackers and corrupt insiders. The state has wisely adopted laws requiring a permanent verifiable paper record of every vote cast. The state should never surrender the protections afforded by this law to an arbitrary calendar set in Washington. The press is full of reports of disastrous results in other states including, as recently as this month, Texas and Illinois.

-snip-

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-opnon284678638mar28,0,228765.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines

[nicknameless]

5. CA Senator Bowen will be on Al Franken's show to discuss Diebold etc. 3/31

CA State Senator Debra Bowen is scheduled to be on the Al Franken Show on Air America Radio on Friday, March 31, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. to discuss Diebold and other elections-related issues.

Most cities have Air America affiliate stations – click here for a list: http://www.airamericaradio.com/stations

Or you can listen on line at: http://www.airamericaradio.com/listen .

Senator Bowen is the #1 defender of clean elections in California.
:toast:

Discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419207

[kpete]

7. MD Election Judge Says Diebold Touch-Screen Machines a Failure From Day 1

NY Times Letter: MD Election Judge Says Diebold Touch-Screen Machines a Failure From Day 1 (2002)
Democratic Official Agrees with Republican Governor, Disagrees with Democratic Board of Elections Director...
Blogged by Brad from the Road... Yup, still on the road, and largely "off the grid" for another day or so (with much going on, sorry, I'll catch up soon...

Blogged by Brad from the Road...

Yup, still on the road, and largely "off the grid" for another day or so (with much going on, sorry, I'll catch up soon, I hope! Not even able to check email!) -- but caught this in the carbon-based version of the NY Times this morning. No time for context other than to mention our previous report on Maryland's Republican Governor who wants to see Diebold's paperless touch-screens banned in the state along with the Democratic-majority House which voted a bi-partisan 137 to 0 to ban them recently, along with the Democratic Board of Elections Director, Linda Lamone, who has been fighting for them since Day 1, and still is. Search BRAD BLOG for the links to all of those stories.

Point is, as we've always said, this ain't an issue of Right and Left, it's an issues of Right and Wrong. That said, here's the letter printed in this morning's NY Times (who has been horrendously delinquent in reporting on any of these matters, and still buys into the Voting Machine Company's "it's just glitches" meme)...



Electronic Voting Glitches

To the Editor:

Re "Common Sense in Maryland" (editorial, March 23):

I am the chief Democratic election judge for District 21, Precinct 2, in Prince Georges County, Md. We have used the Diebold AccuVote-TSX machines since the 2002 primary election. From the start they did not encourage confidence in them.

When they were turned on in the 2002 elections, some of them refused to start unless we reseated the memory cards. In the 2002 primary, one of the machines chose to lock up just as the poor voter pushed the "cast ballot" button on the screen. The technician we got in to check the machine insisted that the vote was counted. Then why did we have 30 paper voter authority cards for the machine and only 29 votes recorded?

In the 2004 general election, two of our machines refused to start up. We got in another two machines, and one of them refused to use the electricity from the wall. Its internal battery was not enough to run the rest of the day, so we shut it down. These machines are quality only if you spell quality with a capital K.

Surely the Free State could find a far more reliable replacement than Diebold's TSX machines. The rest of the nation should, too. Preferably one with a good paper trail.

Paul D. Motzenbecker Jr.
University Park, Md.
March 23, 2006

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002610.htm

[kpete]

8. Emery County Voting Machines Must Be Recertified

Emery County Voting Machines Must Be Recertified
March 28th, 2006 @ 6:34am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- About 40 electronic voting machines in Emery County will have to be recertified because the county clerk allowed purported security experts to test them, state election officials decreed.

The cost to the county could be upward of $40,000, said Joe Demma, chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert.

Technicians will have to reinstall the software on the voting machines because the clerk allowed them to be tested by people from Black Box Voting, a nonprofit group that has been critical of electronic voting systems.

State officials said the Black Box people reportedly were not directly supervised the entire time and the tests by people unaffiliated with the state elections office or Diebold Elections Systems, which built the machines, voided the warranty on the machines.

"We don't know what they did to the machines," Demma said. "For all we know, they could have these set up so that they fail on Election Day, so he could then point the finger at us for the problems."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=182496

[JimDandy]

22. Utah state election official "Gets it"?

"We don't know what they did to the machines," Demma said.

I say: "There's a mile. Here are my shoes!"

JD

[kpete]

9. New Absentee Voting Law Gets First Test

New Absentee Voting Law Gets First Test
Law May Change How Candidates Campaign

POSTED: 6:52 am EST March 28, 2006


CINCINNATI -- Ohio voters who show identification can get an absentee ballot Tuesday and begin voting in the May 2 primary, the first test of a state law signed last year aimed at making it easier to vote.

The law allows anyone to cast an absentee ballot within 35 days of an election and mail it until the polls close.

Previously, Ohio law only allowed absentee voting in certain circumstances, such as age, disability, military service, incarceration or expected absence from the county on Election Day.

The idea behind so-called "no-fault" absentee balloting is to encourage voter participation and help reduce long lines at the polls that plagued many locations in the 2004 election.

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/8309789/detail.html

[kpete]

10. Senate committee to hear satellite-voting bill today

Senate committee to hear satellite-voting bill today
Current law doesn't allow polls out of state
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By Robert Travis Scott
Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE -- New Orleans residents driven from the state by last fall's hurricanes would have access in many cities to a polling place for their elections back home if a bill being heard in a Senate committee today becomes law.

The controversial measure is Senate Bill 437 by Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, who wants to make voting easier in New Orleans' April 22 primary and May 20 runoff for those who fled but have kept their Louisiana voter registration.

The Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs will consider Fields' legislation to order the secretary of state to "develop and implement a means by which voters displaced to a location outside the state of Louisiana will have access to polling places."

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1143617888106940.xml

[kpete]

11. Elections officials to query GOP pundit

Elections officials to query GOP pundit
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

This time, claiming she doesn't even live here — as GOP pundit Ann Coulter has been doing on this spring's college speaking tour when she's questioned about her February election meltdown on Palm Beach — isn't going to cut it.

Palm Beach County's elections supervisor has given the right wing's unofficial mouthpiece 30 days to explain why she voted in the wrong precinct.

In a registered letter scheduled to be sent to her this week, Coulter is asked to "clarify certain information as to her legal residence," elections boss Arthur Anderson said.

"We want to give her a chance," Anderson said. "She needs to tell us where she really lives."

Or else? He could refer the case to State Attorney Barry Krischer for criminal charges, Anderson said.

The letter, however, may be headed to the wrong house.

...............
more at:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/03/29/m2a_jose_col_0329.html

[autorank]

12. FL: Ann Coulter in Big Trouble with Palm Beach BoE DUer Cyranno

Cyrano Wed Mar-29-06 10:10 AM
Original message
Ann Coulter in deep crap with Palm Beach election officials.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x782929
Edited on Wed Mar-29-06 10:15 AM by Cyrano
I know this saddens everyone here, but it's possible that Ann Coulter could be charged with a felony.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_n...

A few months back, Coulter knowingly gave a wrong address (her realtor's address) and used it to vote. Now, Palm Beach election officials are going after her for an explanation. And if they don't like what they hear, the issue will be turned over to the state attorney's office. (Giving a wrong voting address is a felony in Florida.)

Poor Ann. Anyone for taking up a collection for her lawyer's bills?
Cyrano

[kpete]

13. New ID System May Block Voters

New ID System May Block Voters

A statewide database has rejected otherwise valid registrations because of computer glitches or slight discrepancies in the spelling of names.
By Jordan Rau, Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2006


SACRAMENTO — Thousands of Californians who register to vote or update their records may not receive sample ballots or be able to vote as absentees because of the state's new method of verifying identities, election officials say.

A new statewide database designed by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson to authenticate voter registrations has blocked otherwise valid registrations because of computer glitches, slight discrepancies in spelling or incomplete applications.

The problems have required registrars to contact voters — a time-consuming process that is already taxing some counties facing elections next month.

San Diego County is racing to rectify rejected registrations in time for the April 11 special election to fill the seat vacated by convicted Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

"We're working overtime to get these voters cleared," said Tim McNamara, assistant registrar of voters in that county.
more:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rejected29mar29,1,2998644.story?coll=la-headlines-california

[kpete]

14. Ex-Prisoners With Court Debt Must Have Vote, Judge Rules

Ex-Prisoners With Court Debt Must Have Vote, Judge Rules

By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: March 29, 2006
Washington State may not deny former prisoners the right to vote simply because they are too poor to pay outstanding court costs, a state judge in Seattle ruled on Monday.

Debt to Society Is Least of Costs for Ex-Convicts (February 23, 2006) "There is simply no rational relationship between the ability to pay and the exercise of constitutional rights," the judge, Michael S. Spearman of King County Superior Court, wrote.

The decision could affect tens of thousands of people, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. The group brought suit to challenge a Washington law that restored the voting rights of people convicted of felonies only after they had served their time and completed all other "requirements of the sentence, including any and all legal financial obligations."

The A.C.L.U. sued on behalf of three former prisoners who were paying off fees and fines, with court approval, at the rate of $10 or $20 a month. "It will likely take years before each plaintiff will be able to complete the payments," Judge Spearman determined.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/national/29fees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[kpete]

16. DEMOCRACY CRUMBLING:

DEMOCRACY CRUMBLING: New Electronic Voter Registration Database Rejects 43% of New Los Angeles Voter Applications! 26% Rejected State-Wide in California!

Applications That Don't Match EXACTLY With DMV Records are Automatically Dumped by New System!
California's League of Women Voters Sends Letter of Objection to Secretary of State

We've been dreading this. And you're not gonna like it either. It's an entirely new can of worms in the Electronic Rape of American Electoral Democracy. The next wave -...

We've been dreading this. And you're not gonna like it either.

It's an entirely new can of worms in the Electronic Rape of American Electoral Democracy. The next wave -- beyond the electronic voting machines, and perhaps even more alarming -- in the arsenal of those out to game the system for partisan advantage.

No matter what we do, no matter how many successes, the Bad Guys -- those who hate Democracy and American Values -- are always one step ahead of us, it seems.

The horrifically written and, of course, ironically named "Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002" requires, as of January 1, 2006, each state to implement "a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list."

And guess who's writing the software for it, in California, Ohio and elsewhere? That's right...our old friends at Diebold, Inc.
more at:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002619.htm#More

[stillcool]

17. Florida AG looking at possible antitrust issues

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) — Florida's Attorney General's office has issued investigative subpoenas to the three companies certified to provide voting machines to Florida's counties.

Attorney General Charlie Crist wants to see copies of documents relating to sales of voting machines by Diebold Election Systems, Election Systems and Software, and Sequoia Voting Systems in Florida since January 2003.

Crist says the subpoenas are to ensure that the rights of voters with disabilities as well as all Florida voters are secured.

The companies have refused to sell their equipment to Leon County where supervisor Ion Sancho is outspoken about his concern the equipment can be easily manipulated to change election outcomes.

Their refusal has left Leon County in violation of the federal Help America Vote Act.

(http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=27945

[kpete]

18. dupe

[stillcool]

23. Chicago officials may hold up voting machine payments

By Joe Baker, Senior Editor

Election officials in Chicago and Cook County are threatening to withhold payments of millions of dollars to a voting machine company because they are disgusted with their machines’ performance in the March 21 primary election.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Chicago Election Chairman Landon Neal said it was “embarrassing” that hundreds of Sequoia Smartmatic voting machines failed to correctly produce votes, and Cook County Clerk David Orr stated he’s holding “very serious conversations” with Sequoia Voting Systems about the problems.

Voters in the Chicago area used both touch-screen and optical scan machines. The problems arose when election officials tried to merge the two systems to produce vote totals, and many machines failed.

Smartmatic officials adamantly insist nothing is wrong with the machines, that the problem likely is training. Others, however, aren’t necessarily buying that theory.

“If Tuesday was opening night of the performance, it was a flop,” city election commissioner Richard Cowen told the Sun-Times. “I won’t vote to approve any further distribution to Sequoia.”

From the March 29-April 4, 2006, issue
http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.pl?cmd=viewstory&cat=2&id=12775

[rumpel]

24. OH: Blackwell aide close to charter ( more curious connections)

Centre Daily

Posted on Wed, Mar. 29, 2006

Blackwell aide close to charter
By Dennis J. Willard and Doug Oplinger
Beacon Journal staff writers
COLUMBUS - Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's chief of staff has had an ongoing relationship with the state's largest charter school, receiving income and gifts from the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow while the school at times overcharged the state millions of dollars.

Sherri Dembinski is third in charge in Blackwell's office, which oversees the chartering of nonprofit organizations. ECOT is a nonprofit organization.

Blackwell also oversees reporting of campaign contributions. Managers of ECOT -- including Dembinski -- collectively have contributed about $330,000 to Ohio Republicans since the founding of the school.

ECOT has been embroiled in controversy since the fall of 2000 as it attempted to start a publicly funded online school that would educate children in their homes on computers.

In 2002, the school was found by Department of Education auditors to have overcharged the state as much as$7 million for children it could not verify as on the rolls.

And three times, state auditors have questioned expenses by the school and its close relationship with the for-profit management company that oversees ECOT -- both of which were founded by Columbus businessman William Lager.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/nation/14211684.htm

[rumpel]

25. WI: Registration required this year to vote

By Christina Beam

BARABOO - New voter registration requirements and high turnouts for a school referendum could mean a longer wait at area polls Tuesday, local officials warn.

Voters in every municipality, no matter how small, will need to register and those who are already registered will need to present valid ID. The new requirements are part of Wisconsin's compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act, a sweeping election reform passed after the 2000 presidential election debacle.

"This year we did not have a choice (of whether to register voters)," said North Freedom Village Clerk Nancy Larson. Before Jan. 1, Wisconsin municipalities with fewer than 5,000 people weren't required to register their voters. Now the effects of HAVA are trickling down.

Wisconsin Board of Elections spokesperson Kyle Richmond said he's concerned people in rural townships who think they're already registered might show up to the polls without ID. "We're preparing clerks to be ready and know what they have to do to get people registered at the polls," he said.

"Quite frankly, the state keeps changing what we're supposed to do," Larson said, referring to changes in the state Board of Elections' requirements for voter ID. As recently as last week the board ruled voters could present either a valid state driver's license or state photo ID, or the last four digits of their Social Security number, when they get to the polls.

http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/index.php?ntid=78078&ntpid=0

[rumpel]

26. OH: State must strip Web of Social Security numbers (Yikes)

The Enquirer

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

BY DAN HORN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell must strip his Web site of Social Security numbers and require all users of the site to register their names before gaining access to records.

The requirements are part of a settlement approved Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.

Judge Michael Watson signed the settlement and ordered Blackwell to provide monthly reports to the court about his progress in removing personal information from documents posted on the Web site.

The settlement resolves a class-action suit filed March 2 after The Enquirer reported that hundreds, if not thousands, of Social Security numbers were available on business records on the Web site.

Blackwell was sued by Darrell Estep, a Mount Orab truck driver who complained that his Social Security number appeared online as a result of three routine commercial purchases.

The settlement approved Tuesday requires Blackwell to:

Remove Social Security numbers from all new documents that come into his office and are posted online.

Purchase the necessary software to locate and remove any other numbers that may now be available among the more than 4 million documents on the site.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/NEWS01/603290336/1056

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27. MO:Secretary of State Targets Boone County Over Failure to Comply With HAV

missourinet

by Bob Priddy

The dispute between Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren has escalated. Carnahan has asked the Justice Department to force Boone County to comply with the Help America Vote Act. Carnahan says Boone County is the only election jurisdiction that has not joined the statewide voter registration database, which is required by the law. Noren says she has asked for more information, which the Secretary of State has not provided. She calls Carnahan's actions "childish."

Wednesday, March 29, 2006, 8:05 AM

http://www.missourinet.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=F26E0369-6B26-4833-A54037C9FF98A9F1&dbtranslator=local.cfm

That is the whole article...

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28. MT: Western Lawmakers Want to Deconstruct Presidential Election Process

New West, Voice of the Rocky Mountains

By Headwaters News, 3-29-06


The saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Today it seems the many of our Western lawmakers are sending a message that the way we elect our president might be on the fritz and need some fixing.

Talks about a Western primary have been around for years, but for the first time, the idea is actually gaining some traction as Utah Gov. John Huntsman Jr. approved $850,000 for an early primary, while Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer stood by and applauded with envy. As well, Colorado Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, has introduced a bill that would allow Colorado to enter into a compact with other states to pledge that the states' Electoral College votes would go to the winner of the national popular vote.

The idea behind a Western primary would be for a handful of Rocky Mountain states to hold early primaries or caucuses, which would force candidates to actually land their planes here, instead of only visiting our air space. An early primary, proponents argue, would focus more national attention on Western issues, many of which are really morphing into national issues: immigration reform, energy development, public land management, to name a few.

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/main/article/7325/

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29. TN: Kurita, Johnson question state election commission findings

The Ashland City Times

By Gary Burton
The Ashland City Times

Some members of the Cheatham County Election Commission are still undecided about how to proceed with orders from the state to either resign their posts or show just cause why they should not be removed.

But, members across both party lines have received support from area lawmakers.
“We have an election commission made up of fine and decent people,” said Sen. Rosalind Kurita in an interview last week. “I believe there have been some circumstances where Brook Thompson could have done things a different way.”

Thompson, state coordinator for elections for the Tennessee Election Commission, spearheaded a recent investigation into the practices of the local commission regarding the November 2004 election after allegations of fraudulent voting came to light from a former employee.

http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/MTCN0101/303290067/1291/MTCN01

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30. IL: White supremacist sues to run as Democrat in primary

Belleville News Democrat

MARCUS KABEL
Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A white supremacist who once was the subject of a nationwide manhunt has filed suit to be listed on the August 8 primary ballot as a Democrat after the party refused his candidacy to run against Republican Roy Blunt in Missouri's 7th Congressional District.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses Secretary of State Robin Carnahan of keeping Frazier Glenn Miller off the primary ballot as part of an "unconstitutional policy to exclude people who espouse pro-White racial viewpoints."

The lawsuit asks the court to order Carnahan to place Miller's name on the Democratic ballot for the primary.

Democrats blasted Miller's effort to get on their ticket.

"We refuse to allow this white supremacist a platform to spew his racist and anti-Semitic views," state party spokesman Jack Cardetti said.

Before the March 28 filing deadline, state Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians all refused to allow Miller to run in the primary as one of their candidates, citing his racial views.

Miller still has the option of running in the November election as an independent, which would require him to collect about 6,000 signatures, or as a write-in candidate.

Miller, an Army veteran and retired truck driver, first filed March 6 as a Democrat with the secretary of state's office. His $100 filing fee was forwarded to the Missouri Democratic Party, which rejected the money, and the secretary of state's office said that meant he did not qualify to run on the Democratic ticket.

The state Libertarian party also returned his check and Republicans told Miller they would do the same.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/14215284.htm

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31. WA: State to appeal ruling granting voting rights to felons who owe fines

The Seattle Times
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - Page updated at 11:37 AM

By Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA – The state will appeal a King County judge's ruling that restores voting rights to convicted felons who have served their time but owe court-imposed fines, Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed announced today.

In a joint written statement, McKenna and Reed said each state has the right to "determine the process for restoring voting rights to felons."

"We believe a rational basis does exist for the Legislature to deny felons the right to vote until they have completed their entire court-ordered sentences, including payment of criminal penalties, victim's restitution, and legal fees, rather than separating out various sentencing aspects," they wrote.

King County Superior Court Judge Michael Spearman ruled Monday that the state's requirement that ex-felons pay all court-ordered fines and fees before they can vote again violates the equal-protection clauses in the U.S. Constitution and the state constitution.

"It is well recognized that there is simply no rational relationship between the ability to pay and the exercise of constitutional rights," he wrote in a 12-page ruling.

More than 250,000 ex-felons are unable to vote, about 3.7 percent of the state's population, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. It is uncertain how many of those are barred from voting solely because of outstanding court costs, though a state estimate four years ago calculated it to be more than 46,000. The Department of Corrections no longer collects that data.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002897747_webfelons29.html

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32. FL: Fla. Subpoenas Vote Machine Companies

Chron.com

March 29, 2006, 2:36PM
Fla. Subpoenas Vote Machine Companies

© 2006 The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's attorney general said Wednesday his office has issued investigative subpoenas to the three companies certified to sell voting machines in Florida as he reviews a dispute between the firms and Leon County's elections supervisor.

Diebold Inc., Election Systems & Software Inc., and Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. have refused to sell equipment to let disabled voters cast ballots without help in Leon County. Elections supervisor Ion Sancho has been outspoken about his concern that the devices can be easily manipulated to change race outcomes.

The companies' refusal has left Leon County, which is the home of the state Capitol, in violation of the federal Help America Vote Act.

"It is critical for our democratic process to work efficiently and effectively, but of most importance, fairly," Attorney General Charlie Crist said. "These subpoenas are to ensure that the rights of our voters with disabilities as well as all Florida voters are secured."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/3756974.html

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33. IL: Green Party ballots spotty, new machines hit bumps

Pioneer Press

BY CHERI BENTRUP
STAFF WRITER

Tim Curtin was the only Green Party candidate on the primary ballot in Oak Park last week, but still he faced an uphill battle to win the township committeeman race.

Curtin, like many Oak Parkers, were unable to receive a Green Party ballot to vote in the primary election, March 21.

"They didn't have any," he said of the ballots when he went to his polling place at St. Giles Church early on election day. "It's fascinating to me there. The county's been called and I've been getting a dance all day," he said that afternoon.

Scott Burnham, spokesman at the Cook County Clerk's Office, acknowleged that Green Party ballots weren't available at every precinct.

"I think they were only eligible to appear in a certain number of precincts," Burnham said. "In order for a third party candidate to appear on the ballot, the party has to reach a certain threshold of votes in the previous election. It's my understanding they were not eligible to appear on the ballot in every precinct."

8th District only

Green Party candidate Julie Samuels ran unsuccessfully in 2004 against Calvin Giles for state representative of the 8th District. Burnham said Samuels did reach the threshold, receiving at least 5 percent of the total vote in that race, so Green Party ballots were available to voters in the 8th District.

"It's not like people don't know we're here," Curtin said of the Green Party.

The Green Party also ran committeeman candidates in Berwyn and Proviso townships. Curtin said those townships didn't have ballots for the Green Party either. He called for the county to impound the vote and have another primary election.

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/op/03-29-06-869378.html

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34. PA : Pennsylvania Taking Steps to Increase Youth Voter Registration

Press Release Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

Wednesday March 29, 4:07 pm ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- To encourage more young people to vote, voter registration forms are being sent to every high school in Pennsylvania to be completed by graduating seniors.
"Voting is one of our most important rights and we must ensure we are exercising it," said Department of State Secretary Pedro A. Cortes. "To vote, one must be 18 before, or on, May 16, 2006 - the Primary General Election date - and be registered to vote by April 17.

"Young voters are demographically underrepresented, and Pennsylvania is reaching out to our youth by providing them with information on how to register to ensure that they have all the tools they need to cast a vote."

To encourage young voters, Secretary Cortes will be visiting the following colleges and universities to talk to students about the importance of voting and how to register to vote:


* Pennsylvania State University, Schuylkill Campus - March 30
* Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster - April 5
* Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown - April 6
* Edinboro University, Meadville - April 20
Voter registration forms are available from local county election offices, or at http://www.votespa.com. Once the registration forms are completed, they should be mailed or delivered to the applicable county election office. For more information visit the DOS' website at http://www.dos.state.pa.us.

CONTACT: Loida Esbri or


Brian McDonald
[phone]


Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060329/phw036.html?.v=40

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35. OR: Oregon Secretary of State to attend NB meeting

The Worldlink.com, South Coast Oregon

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 1:54 PM PST

Oregon's Secretary of State will be joined Thursday night by local Democrats Sen. Joanne Verger and Rep. Arnie Roblan for a town hall meeting at the North Bend Public Library.

The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m.

According to a press release from the Secretary of State's Office, the three are scheduled to discuss past and future legislative sessions, government accountability and listen to issues generated by members of the community.

As secretary of state, Bill Bradbury is responsible for running fair state elections, including the implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act; for making it easier to start and maintain a successful business by streamlining corporation filings; and for auditing state agencies to ensure that state government remains accountable.

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2006/03/29/news/news04032906.txt