Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Wednesday April 19

[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.
2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233
3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.
4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.
Please
"Recommend"
for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[stillcool]

1. Washington State= Ballots get another look, but not by counters

By MICHAELA MARX WHEATLEY
Apr 19 2006

One of the people whose signature is being investigated is Art Bouthillier, political cartoonist for The Record.

He said he was upset about the handling of the signature issue. The auditor’s letter arrived just days after the election.
But Bouthillier never got the chance to verify his signature before the election was final.

“It was too late,” Bouthillier said. “Island County threw away my vote.”

He said he could have verified his signature if he had been notified in time, he added.

“It really makes me mad that Island County has the power to take away my vote,” Bouthillier said.

http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=85&cat=23&id=631350&more=

[stillcool]

2. Alaska: Democrats sue state for election records

By DON HUNTER
Anchorage Daily News

Published: April 18, 2006
Last Modified: April 18, 2006 at 03:18 PM

The Alaska Democratic Party sued state elections officials Tuesday, asking the court to order the release of electronic voting records from the 2004 statewide election.
The Democrats have been trying to get the records for months. They say there are large discrepancies in some statewide vote summaries and in district-by-district totals for the same races.

Democrats aren't convinced. They filed public-record requests for the "central tabulator file" from the electronic voting system the state uses. The company that provides that system, Diebold Elections Systems, initially argued that the information was proprietary and that the state couldn't release it.
When Diebold withdrew that objection, the state again refused to release the information, this time saying it would pose a security risk that would allow someone to manipulate election data without the knowledge of elections officials.
The suit asks the court to order the release of the tabulator file as well as accurate vote totals for each candidate in state House races and an accurate number of early, questioned and absentee ballots cast for each House candidate.

Daily News reporter Don Hunter can be reached at [e-mail].

http://www.adn.com/news/politics/story/7639725p-7551374c.html

[stillcool]

3. West Virginia: Don’t Rush To Use Voting Machines

Stewart: Don’t Rush To Use Voting Machines

By JOSELYN KING

WHEELING — Ohio County Administrator Greg Stewart said he doesn’t want Ohio County’s early voters “to be disappointed” if they come for early voting Wednesday with the intent of being the first to use the county’s new touchscreen voting machines and must instead use paper ballots.
He is encouraging these voters to instead wait “a day or two” until they are able to vote electronically. Stewart expects the needed ballot program from Elections Systems and Software to arrive in Ohio County by the end of the week. He anticipates voters will be able to cast ballots on the machines “no later than Monday,” April 24.

The elections officials also have some concerns that they might not have enough paper ballots available to accommodate an onslaught of voters who might wish to use the opportunity to avoid voting on touchscreen machines.

On Monday, Stewart said Ohio County had 1,000 paper ballots and had ordered additional ballots. ES&S will pay the cost for the additional ballots since the company considers the delay “their misstep,” according to Stewart.

http://www.news-register.net/News/articles.asp?articleID=4957

[kpete]

4. Pastor defends sending pro-Blackwell e-mail

Pastor defends sending pro-Blackwell e-mail
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Joe Hallett
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


A Fairfield County pastor granted a Good Friday request from the campaign of J. Kenneth Blackwell to distribute an e-mail boosting the GOP gubernatorial candidate.

But the Rev. Russell Johnson said he complied with Internal Revenue Service rules since he only sent the missive to a group of friends, not to his church or the nonprofit Ohio Restoration Project network he heads.

Johnson, pastor of Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster, has been accused of improperly using his church to promote Blackwell’s campaign. He acknowledged yesterday that, at the behest of the Blackwell campaign, he e-mailed "to some of my friends" a link to a promotional video of Blackwell on the candidate’s Web site.

"As an individual, I still have freedom of speech," Johnson said.

Even so, the leader of a group of Columbus pastors that has filed a complaint with the IRS against two evangelical mega- churches, including Johnson’s, said the e-mail is more evidence of improper coordination between the Blackwell campaign and the church leaders.

"This is very clearly partisan behavior," said the Rev. Eric Williams, senior pastor of the North Congregational Church in Columbus.

more at:
http://www.dispatch.com/print_template.php?story=dispatch/2006/04/19/20060419-A1-04.html&chck=0604191242

[kpete]

5. Italian Court Confirms Prodi's Victory

Italian Court Confirms Prodi's Victory 2 hours, 3 minutes ago



ROME - A top Italian court Wednesday confirmed the slim electoral victory of center-left economist Romano Prodi over Premier Silvio Berlusconi, according to Italian television.

Italian Sky TV news said the Court of Cassation confirmed the result after reviewing 5,200 ballots that were not immediately included in the overall count because they were unclear.

The court said an official announcement about the review would not be made until later Wednesday.

Prodi said he would not comment until the official announcement, the ANSA news agency reported.

Prodi won a razor-thin majority in the April 9-10 vote, winning control of both houses of parliament.

The former premier and European Union chief has claimed victory for days, urging Berlusconi to concede defeat. But the conservative leader has so far remained defiant.

The confirmation was widely expected after the Interior Ministry last week reduced the number of the contested ballots from more than 80,000, dashing Berlusconi's hopes of overturning the election result.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060419/ap_on_re_eu/italy_election;_ylt=Anu4w9sXJ9PX.mRDo0ihDQpvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

[kpete]

21. Berlusconi Doesn't Concede Defeat Despite Court Ruling

Berlusconi Doesn't Concede Defeat Despite Court Ruling

By IAN FISHER
Published: April 19, 2006

ROME, April 19 — Italy's highest court upheld today the narrow victory of Romano Prodi to become the next prime minister, but there were signs that Silvio Berlusconi, the current prime minister, would still not concede defeat.

Italy's supreme court announced today that center-left leader Romano Prodi won last week's general election.
Mr. Berlusconi made no public comment in the immediate hours after the Court of Cassazione released its final count of last week's bitterly contested elections at 6 p.m. local time. But several of his aides suggested that the court's decision was not good enough, and some critics wondered if Italy's political crisis was worsening from its state of stalemate.

"We acknowledge the decision," said Sandro Bondi, national coordinator for Mr. Berlusconi's Forza Italia Party. But, he said, "the reservations we advanced continue to stand."

Earlier in the day, Mr. Bondi floated a proposal that some political experts believe is the real force behind Mr. Berlusconi's reluctance to acknowledge the election results. He suggested that Mr. Berlusconi be made the president of Italy — a position that would give him great prestige, keep him in politics and allow him to protect against any attack by a new government on his vast holdings in media, publishing and sports.

"It's a blatant attempt to push the other side to come to an accord," said Pietro Scoppola, emeritus professor of contemporary history at La Sapienza University in Rome.

"This does nothing other than damage to the country, in terms of image, and it clearly shows that the right that's been in power for the last five years is not up to a European level," he added.

Political experts give little credence to the idea that Mr. Prodi or his center-left partners could accept Mr. Berlusconi as president of Italy. Yet the willingness of Mr. Berlusconi to continue challenging the validity of the elections may give him added sway over who actually gets that job.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/world/europe/19cnd-italy.html?hp&ex=1145505600&en=1651450ed147deff&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[kpete]

6. One Dollar, One Vote

One Dollar, One Vote
Bradford Plumer
April 19, 2006


Bradford Plumer is the assistant web editor of Mother Jones, where this article originally appeared.

Does economic inequality matter all that much? Some economists would say no. After all, if Bill Gates earns an extra, say, $20 million this year, while the poorest 10 million Americans improve their lot by $1,000 apiece, inequality would go up, sure, but everyone would be better off. The economy would boom; more color TVs for everyone. What, the reasoning goes, is so bad about that? As Anne Krueger of the International Monetary Fund said in 2002, "t seems far better to focus on impoverishment than on inequality." Americans seem to agree; polls suggest that most people in the United States aren't bothered by inequality per se, so long as everyone has a reasonable chance to move up the income ladder through hard luck and a bit of ingenuity.

Not everyone does get that chance, of course—upward mobility in the United States is nothing to brag about—but that's another story. What's interesting is that, to judge by the polls, the only kind of inequality that really bothers Americans is political inequality—that is, if the government isn't representing everyone equally. And over time, the public has increasingly felt that to be the case: Between the 1960s and 1990s the percentage of Americans who felt that "the government is run by a few big special interests looking out only for themselves" doubled to reach 76 percent.

Yet few people seem to consider the connection between economic inequality and political inequality. Why is the government being run by a "few big special interests"? Is it because those interests are particularly tenacious and clever? Or is it because, increasingly, a tiny portion of the population has an inordinate amount of wealth—and therefore influence? Political scientists are converging around the latter view, and in a recent symposium entitled "Inequality and American Democracy," laid out the full array of evidence to support it.

"Our country's ideals of equal citizenship and responsive government," the task force report concludes, "may be under growing threat in an era of persistent and rising inequalities." The notion isn't terribly groundbreaking—even casual observers of politics know that money can buy power—but the APSA research goes a long ways towards pinning down exactly how this works.

more at:
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/19/one_dollar_one_vote.php

[stillcool]

7. Ohio Recount Mismanagement Case Moves Forward

http://newstandardnews.net/

by Catherine Komp

More than a year after the 2004 general election, indictments against county workers suggest the Ohio recount was not conducted legally.
Apr. 19 – During both the 2004 presidential election and subsequent recount in Ohio, elections observers reported hundreds of problems and irregularities in precincts across the state. But while top-ranking officials have avoided repercussions, one county prosecutor is going after mid-level elections workers in Ohio’s biggest county, accusing them of illegally fixing the recount.

The state accuses the defendants of opening sealed ballots and poll books before the official recount scheduled on December 16–17, 2004, and reviewing, sorting, counting or deleting ballots outside the presence of witnesses. Maiden’s defense attorney, Cara Santosuosso, said if convicted on all counts, defendants face dismissal from their positions, up to $21,600 in fines and 18 months’ imprisonment.
Witnesses noticed that ballots cast for John Kerry and for George W. Bush were grouped together in batches, suggesting they had been counted before the observers arrived.

Cobb and Badnarik are also plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by NRVI against Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell for alleged defects in the state’s recount process. In addition to citing "inadequate" guidelines for random selection, it also accuses Blackwell of delaying the official election results, thereby pushing back the date on which Presidential candidates can call for a recount. As a result, the lawsuit argues, the state had insufficient time to do a proper recount within the timetable mandated by federal law.

The judge originally dismissed the suit, but plaintiffs are asking him for reconsideration.

A second lawsuit was filed against Blackwell by the Ohio League of Women Voters and is being heard by the same judge presiding over the NVRI case. The League accuses Blackwell, Governor Bob Taft and the officials preceding them of failing to protect the rights of voters, as required by constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process.

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=3073

[Wilms]

24. OH: Cramdown, Stripdown, Lockdown Democracy In The USA

Cramdown, Stripdown, Lockdown Democracy In The USA

Thursday, 20 April 2006, 10:44 am

Article: Michael Collins

SIMPLE QUESTIONS -- TROUBLING ANSWERS

Q&A Session with a Commissioner of the Elections Assistance Commission Reveals Massive Violations of Citizen Rights
Secret Vote Counting Crammed Down the Throat of Democracy

Special Report for “Scoop” Independent Media
First in a Series on HAVA and the EAC

by Michael Collins
Washington, DC

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0604/S00233.htm

Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x424332

GD Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=971363&mesg_id=971363

[Land Shark]

25. Thanks Wilms and a kick for the ever important daily thread

[kpete]

8. Trouble feared at ballot box

Posted on Wed, Apr. 19, 2006
Trouble feared at ballot box
Summit County elections director predicts optical scan system will fail in May primary
By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

Summit County Board of Elections Director Bryan Williams is predicting Election Day failures with the memory cards in the county's new optical scan voting system.

``I don't think we can assume anything else,'' Williams said at a meeting Tuesday, where the elections board reviewed the latest list of troubles.

The voting system uses paper ballots marked in pen by the voter which are fed into a scanner.

And with just two weeks to go before the election, the board continues to experience problems with PCMCIA cards, commonly referred to as memory cards, that are inserted into ballot scanners to record and tabulate those votes.

On Monday, 11 cards that were working properly on Saturday experienced errors or other problems as elections staff have continued practice runs with test ballots, Williams said.

``One card is physically coming apart at the seams,'' Williams said. ``We're seeing at every point of use, a little drop off.''

more at:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/local/states/ohio/counties/summit_county/14375779.htm

[stillcool]

9. New Jersey: Where are the voting machines?

Essex County News

Freeholders want to know: Where are the voting machines?
By Lauren DeFilippo, Staff Writer Wednesday, April 19, 2006 10:34 AM EDT

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ - Essex County is in a voting machine predicament. What else is new?
With a primary election coming up in just eight weeks, the county is still short more than 600 new electronic voting machines.
Last week the Board of Chosen Freeholders, along with Superintendent of Elections Carmine Casciano and voting machines vendor Sequoia Voting Systems, went into an hour-long, closed-session meeting to discussion their options, including the possibility of seeking legal action.
Information about the meeting was not yet available at press time.

The meeting called by the freeholders after a 6-2 vote on April 5 by the freeholder board in favor of two contracts for $47,751 and $59,351 for printer cartridges for the yet-to-be-delivered voting machines.
The item was added to the agenda shortly before the meeting and the board requested immediate action.
Freeholders Carol Clark and Donald Payne Jr. voted against the contracts, while Freeholder President Johnny Jones and Blonnie Watson both reluctantly cast their votes in favor.
Jones said he was voting yes, “not because I am in any form or fashion happy with this, (but because) of an obligation to show strong leadership.”

Getting back to the resolution at hand, Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold reminded the board that if they fail to approve the resolution, the county would be unable to use their new machines if they did in fact arrive in time for the primary.

Casciano agreed, noting that not approving the resolution would weaken the county’s position that they had done everything possible to prepare to comply with HAVA.

“If we don’t do this tonight, we’re indefensible,” Casciano said. “As of now, we have a perfect record with the federal law. The things that we can control, we did.”

http://www.localsource.com/articles/2006/04/19/shared/essex_county_news/doc4446420b09f53806735342.txt


It looks like this board was voting to puchase printer cartridges for machines not yet delivered, and that it was an added expense????

[kpete]

10. Turns out Rove's replacement as policy czar had hand in the "recount riot"

Turns out Rove's replacement as policy czar had a hand in the "recount riot" that shut down the vote counting in Florida back in 2000. http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/008256.php

New WH Policy Chief Was "Brooks Brothers" Rioter
By Justin Rood - April 19, 2006, 1:31 PM
To the Burberry ramparts!

The man Bush tapped to fill Karl Rove's spot as his policy wizard is none other than Joel Kaplan, who took part in the infamous "Brooks Brothers riot" of 2000. That's when a bunch of Washington GOP operatives, posing as outraged Floridians, waved fists, chanted "Stop the fraud!" and pounded windows in an effort to intimidate officials engaged in the Florida recount effort.

In George Bush's Washington, there's no shame in staging a fake protest to undermine a democratic election, apparently: last year, the Washington Post's Al Kamen noted that "the "rioters" proudly note their participation on resumes and in interviews." Kaplan was even the one to cheekily dub the fracas the "Brooks Brothers Riot."

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000416.php

[cal04]

11. Free Press uncovers evidence of ballot tampering in Warren County

Free Press uncovers evidence of ballot tampering in Warren County, Ohio
After locking out all media observers and declaring a Level 10 Homeland Security Alert, the Republican-dominated Warren County, Ohio reported in the wee hours of the morning on November 3, 2004 -- and gave George W. Bush a surprising 14,000 vote boost. Two election workers told the Free Press that the ballots had been diverted to an unauthorized warehouse where they had been possibly stuffed. That is, punched for Bush only. Maps were supplied to the Free Press showing the locations of the warehouse and the Board of Elections.

Warren County officials refused to allow the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism to handle the ballots, but they did allow us to photograph a few. Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D., has analyzed the ballots for the Free Press and concluded that there is evidence of fraud in Warren County. The ballots as photographed with Dr. Phillips' commentary below each ballot are included here for the first time.

The Free Press predicted early on that the ballots would be found punched only for Bush in Warren County. The Moss v. Bush lawsuit pointed to Warren, Butler and Clermont Counties as the three counties that provided more than Bush's entire margin in the Buckeye State: Bush won Ohio by 118,000, and 132,000 votes were supplied in these three southwestern Republican counties.

Now, for the first time, the Free Press is releasing images of the obvious election fraud in Warren County. The Free Press will continue its ongoing investigation in Ohio despite stonewalling by Republican state officials. See the images by clicking on the link below.

http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2006/1355

[livvy]

23. Discussion Thread. You have to see these ballots....and read the report.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x424305

[kpete]

12. Rainville returns campaign contribution

Rainville returns campaign contribution
WILLISTON — Republican U.S. House candidate Martha Rainville announced late Tuesday that she will return a $1,000 campaign contribution from a congressman involved in a lawsuit alleging domestic violence.

“I am returning a check to DON’S PAC, the political action committee formed by Rep. Don Sherwood, R-PA, because of allegations of domestic abuse which recently came to my attention,” Rainville said in a statement.

Campaign officials say news reports were recently brought to Rainville’s attention indicating that Sherwood had been accused of abusing a woman described as “an ex-mistress” during a reported five-year relationship. While no charges were filed in the case, an out-of-court settlement was reached late last year. No details of that settlement have been revealed.

Sherwood, who is married, apologized publicly to his family.

“I believe in strong family values and I take the issue of domestic violence very seriously,” Rainville said in a statement. “I feel that to be consistent with my own firmly held beliefs I cannot accept this contribution to my campaign, and I will be returning the $1,000 check.”

This is the first of Republican-linked political action committee (PAC) money returned by Rainville, despite calls from Republicans and Democrats for her to return thousands of dollars linked to many top GOP lawmakers.

During her campaign kick-off speech she said that many of the top leaders in the Republican party had “lost their way,” and she would go to Washington to help restore integrity.

Opponents say it is hypocritical for Rainville to complain about their behavior on one hand, and then take their money.

more at:
http://www.vermontguardian.com/dailies/042006/041906.shtml

[kpete]

13. New York rushes to comply with e-voting rules Justice Dept Threatens Suit

New York rushes to comply with e-voting rules
The Justice Department has threatened to file suit

News Story by Marc L. Songini

APRIL 19, 2006 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Seeking to avoid legal penalties, the state of New York has offered the U.S. Department of Justice a plan for compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

Among its various stipulations, HAVA dictates that every voting precinct in the country have at least one handicapped-accessible e-voting machine and that every state establish a comprehensive database of its voters. The deadline for meeting HAVA’s requirements was in January, and New York ‘s tardiness to comply prompted the DOJ to single it out with the threat of a lawsuit (see ”New York faces federal suit over voter accessibility law”).

Responding to a March 23 order, the New York State Board of Elections last week filed its compliance plan in the U.S. District Court in Albany. It contains a set of milestones related to testing, training, procurement and other processes connected with the implementation of the state’s e-voting systems and voter database.

As part of its plan, the New York Board of Elections will employ an “expedited” certification process to allow the purchase of voting gear for use in this year’s primary and general elections. The board also told Justice Department officials that it is committed to doing the work necessary for the certification and acquisition of handicapped-accessible voting devices by the Sept. 12 primaries. Currently, the state is relies heavily on lever-activated machines.

more at:
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110668,00.html

[kpete]

14. Ehrlich Petition Drive Challenges Early Voting

STATE POLITICS
Ehrlich Petition Drive Challenges Early Voting
Governor Seeks Ballot Measure on Overturning Law That's Expected to Boost Democrats' Turnout Edge

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; Page B08

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. will harness a large network of campaign workers to launch a major petition drive that aims to scotch plans for early voting in the fall.

The petition drive, if successful, would ask the state's voters to overturn a 2005 law that orders polling places to stay open 13 hours a day during the week leading up to Election Day. More crucial to Ehrlich (R), who is seeking reelection in November, it would automatically postpone early voting entirely this year.

Petitioning legislation onto the ballot has occurred rarely in Maryland. For Ehrlich to prevail, his campaign team would have to collect 51,185 valid signatures by June 30 and overcome a recent legal opinion by the state attorney general's office, which asserted that the petition drive needed to occur last year to get on the ballot this fall.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801527.html

[kpete]

15. Mortgage Firm to Pay $3.8 Million Over Fundraising Allegations

Freddie Mac Settles FEC Probe With Record Fine
Mortgage Firm to Pay $3.8 Million Over Fundraising Allegations

By Kathleen Day and Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; Page A01

Freddie Mac will pay a record $3.8 million fine to settle civil charges that it violated federal election law by using corporate resources to raise $1.7 million at political fundraisers, most of them for Republican members of Congress and many involving House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio).

The agreement with the Federal Election Commission also settles allegations that the company violated election law by contributing $150,000 to the Republican Governors Association in 2002.

The settlement, which Freddie Mac agreed to without admitting or denying it broke the law, stems from an orchestrated effort by the McLean-based mortgage company to court key lawmakers through lavish dinners and other events, the settlement shows. Organized by then-Freddie Mac chief lobbyist Mitchell Delk, the effort pumped money into the campaigns of more than 50 politicians who had direct oversight of the government-chartered company or were considered supportive of it.

Federal law prohibits companies from donating directly to candidates or using corporate money for such fundraising.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041800987.html

[kpete]

16. Tom DeLay Involved In N.H., White House Phone Jamming Scandal...

Tom DeLay Involved In N.H., White House Phone Jamming Scandal...
The Houston Chronicle | CRAGG HINES | April 19, 2006 at 02:31 PM


DeLay's scandals: maybe not just for Texas anymore

By CRAGG HINES
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Tom DeLay isn't involved in every Republican scandal, although it's easy to see how you could get that idea.

As Democrats prowl through evidence in a growing phone-jamming scandal in New Hampshire, what should pop up but DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority political action committee.

Just as Republican operatives in 2002 were shelling out about $15,000 to attempt to tie up Election Day phone lines at some Democratic get-out-the-vote call centers in the Granite State, three groups — let's call them "Friends of Jack Abramoff" — were ponying up $5,000 each to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee.

In addition to DeLay's ARM, the generous givers were two casino-fueled tribes, California's Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. (The tribal contributions were first reported in The Union Leader, a New Hampshire newspaper, and the ARM contribution was added in a New York Times piece.)

more at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/hines/3803146.html

[stillcool]

18. that's an excellent article....

I think I'm going to drop the author a line, and tell him so...

Hines is a Houston Chronicle columnist based in Washington, D.C. ([e-mail])

[Patsy Stone]

19. This story is just as good

as the first time I read it. :) It keeps on giving.

[rumpel]

17. NY: Pataki names WNY developer as Secretary of State

Buffalo Business First
Business First of Buffalo - 1:28 PM EDT Wednesday
by James Fink


Chris Jacobs, a Buffalo real estate developer and member of one of the region's most prominent families, has been named New York Secretary of State.

Jacobs, 38, replaces Randy Daniels, who resigned last month in an effort to run for governor. Jacobs will serve on an interim basis until he is formally approved by the State Senate.

Jacobs will retain his position as a member of the Buffalo School Board.

The president of Avalon Development LLC, Jacobs has overseen the redevelopment of a number of buildings and projects, primarily in downtown Buffalo -- among them the Stokes Seed Building on the 700 block of Main Street and, in conjunction with fellow developer Sam Savarino, a series of buildings along Mississippi Street.

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/04/17/daily26.html?jst=b_ln_hl

[stillcool]

20. Could someone please tell me how to

recommend a post inside of the daily thread?....

[stillcool]

22. ES&S apologizes to Indiana....

Voting software company apologizes to state for problems

Indianapolis, April 19, 2006 - A voting machine company offered an apology to the state of Indiana Wednesday. The state held a morning hearing on whether it should take action against Election Systems and Software (ES&S) of Ohama, Nebraska.
The apology came after a series of glitches with ES&S voting software, and just two weeks away from the upcoming May primary. Some 27 counties in Indiana have paid millions of dollars to ES&S to buy election equipment and service contracts.

Secretary of State Todd Rokita held an informational meeting Wednesday to find out if ES&S was meeting their contractual requirements. Clerks from three counties said the company was not meeting the requirements. Those clerks included Doris Anne Sadler from Marion County, Rita Glenn from St. Joseph County and Jill Jackson from Johnson County.

After a full review, if ES&S' changes are appropriate, we will make those changes to you in writing. In situations where we have not performed up to our own high expectations, we apologize. Personally, I apologize for that. I know the stress that we've put the county and the state and in turn the voters under. But most importantly, we pledge to continue working with all the 27 counties we serve in Indiana," said John Groh, ES&S.

Rokita's office is also investigating MicroVote Coproation for problems. The Indianapolis-based company has contracts with 47 counties. MicroVote president James Ries acknowledged at the election commission meeting that his company installed software not approved by the state.

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4790519

[Wilms]

26. OH: "OpScan System Will Fail in May Primary" Predicts Election Official

'Optical-Scan Voting System Will Fail in May Primary' Predicts Election Official

Summit County, Ohio Elections Director Says He Can't Assume Anything Else

by John Gideon

4/19/2006

If you recall The BRAD BLOG has reported on the Summit County memory card failures in the recent past; most recently on April 4. Summit County's memory card (PCMCIA) failures have not gotten any better according to an article in this morning's Akron Beacon Journal...

Now, in what is clearly a show of "No Confidence" in their voting machine vendor ES&S, the county elections director is predicting failure with the system in the May 2 Ohio state primary.

Summit County Board of Elections Director Bryan Williams is predicting Election Day failures with the memory cards in the county's new optical scan voting system.

``I don't think we can assume anything else,'' Williams said at a meeting Tuesday, where the elections board reviewed the latest list of troubles.

snip

Does anyone believe that all bad memory cards only went to Summit County, Ohio as if the county was a magnet for bad memory cards? Does anyone believe that the poor programming of the AutoMark voting machines is only an isolated incident?

snip

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002710.htm

Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x424390

[Wilms]

27. IN: ES&S System Can't Handle Complex Ballot - Hand Counts Ordered!

Hand counts needed in 2 school board races

Computers can't cope with complex voting rules

April 19, 2006

By Brendan O'Shaughnessy
[e-mail]

Poll workers will have to hand-count ballots on May 2 in the Washington and Decatur township school board races after a test of voting machines revealed a programming problem Tuesday.

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The problem stems from the complexity of the voting rules in those two townships. Voters must choose a certain number of candidates within each district and a total number within the township.
The computer program can't handle the complexity of several variations within one list in case a voter fills in too many candidates.

"The software wasn't written to cover this situation," said Marion County Clerk Doris Anne Sadler. "It's pretty unusual."

Election officials have had a number of problems in preparing for next month's primary elections.
Marion County already has scrapped plans to use touch-screen machines for disabled voters because of software problems and the complexity of county ballots.

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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/NEWS01/604190435/1006/NEWS01

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