US Gov warned on messed up e-voting systems Election Reform & Related News Tuesday, 3/13/07

[Melissa G]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday, 3/13/07

US Gov warned on messed up e-voting systems
check out post number 1!

short version: Elections are a complicated process.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
-Thomas Jefferson

Today is a particularly busy day so really...Please...

ALL members WELCOME and Encouraged to Participate!



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

If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.


2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

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).

[Melissa G]

1. US Gov warned on messed up e-voting systems

No magic bullet, people
By Lucy Sherriff →Published Saturday 10th March 2007 06:02GMT
As the UK braces for electronic voting trials in the next round of local elections, the US Government Audit Office (GAO) has warned that e-voting systems could undermine the integrity of the whole election process if not properly managed.

It also argued for a greater commitment from government to the various bodies charged with overseeing elections in the US.

In a statement (pdf) entitled: "All Levels of Government Are Needed to Address Electronic Voting System Challenges", Randolph Hite, director of IT architecture and systems at the GAO, writes:

"Voting systems are one facet of a multifaceted, year-round elections process that involves the interplay of people, processes, and technology, and includes all levels of government.

"No voting technology, however well designed, can be a magic bullet that will solve all election problems."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/10/evoting_report/

[Melissa G]

2. Four Colorado Counties Placed on Election Watch List- News Release

Four Colorado Counties Placed on Election Watch List
News Release
Mar 13, 2007
Colorado's chief elections official, Secretary of State Mike Coffman, yesterday announced the creation of an "Election Watch List" for counties that have experienced significant problems in conducting their elections. This major policy initiative establishes a process by which the Secretary of State will work with counties placed on the probation list to ensure corrective action is taken.

"In the last election, the vast majority of Colorado's counties conducted their elections without any significant problems," Coffman said. "However, four out of 64 counties had major problems that warrant them being placed on the Election Watch List."

A county will be placed on the Election Watch List if it fails to meet specific legal requirements in conducting its elections, or if it mismanages an election to such an extent that it creates unreasonable obstacles for citizens attempting to vote.

Four counties have been initially placed on the list: Montrose, Pueblo, Douglas, and the City and County of Denver. Reason announced by the Secretary of State's Office are:
Montrose County -- Errors in programming voting machines; failure to conduct logic and accuracy testing; failure to adhere to multiple security requirements.
Pueblo -- Failure to conduct signature verification on absentee ballots.
Douglas County -- Excessive delays in voting.
City and County of Denver -- Excessive delays in voting.
Counties placed on the list will receive a description of their deficiencies, as well as an outline of the corrective action necessary for removal from the list. The Secretary of State's Office will work closely with counties to address these issues before the next election.

"All four of the counties placed on the Election Watch List are under new leadership. They inherited these problems and I'm confident in their ability to correct them. I look forward to working with them," said Coffman.

Remediation will be determined by the severity of the deficiencies in each county, and may include one or all of the following:
Election observer(s) selected by the Secretary of State;
Periodic status updates and progress reports;
Periodic announced visits by Secretary of State staff to county election offices;
Participation in training sessions conducted by the Secretary of State's office;
Development of mentoring relationships with current or former election officials;
Participation in mock election exercises;
Providing any relevant documentation requested for review by the Secretary of State.
Coffman's goals are to make sure that the problems in the four counties are corrected, as well as instituting an enhanced training program to help prevent problems from occurring in the future. The Secretary of State's office is required by law to conduct election training to certify all of the county clerks and their staffs.

"My office is currently developing ways to strengthen the training we give to election officials as a way to prevent major problems from occurring in the future," said Coffman.

Ultimately, if a county fails to address the deficiencies that placed it on the Election Watch List, Coffman will seek a court order giving the Secretary of State's office direct supervision over the conduct of the county's next election, until the identified problems are corrected.

According to the Attorney General's office, the Secretary of State has always had the legal authority to seek a court order to oversee a county's elections. Coffman sees the Election Watch List as an important new intermediate step.

"With the Election Watch List in place, the Secretary of State's office can work with counties in a collaborative manner to correct their problems to avoid the drastic step of court-ordered supervision of their elections. This policy is meant to be helpful, not punitive," Coffman concluded.


http://www.public-cio.com/newsStory.php?id=2007.03.13-104367

[Melissa G]

3. Can we count on our votes?

Can we count on our votes?
Official worried about machines Tuesday, March 13, 2007Mark Rollenhagen Joan MazzoliniPlain Dealer Reporters
Cuyahoga County's voting machines may not be able to handle next year's presidential election, Ohio's top election official said Monday.

"I'm really concerned about Cuyahoga County because Diebold machines there are likely inadequate to handle" the increased numbers of votes cast in a presidential contest, said Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

She told reporters at an Associated Press conference that the capacity of computer servers could be a problem. Brunner said she was concerned because Ohio's 2008 presidential primary is only a year away.

The Diebold Election Systems computer server that Cuyahoga bought can't download absentee ballot information at the same time it downloads votes from the touch-screen machines used in polling places.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1173775675225460.xml&coll=2

[Melissa G]

4. House panel to hold 'voting machine forum'

House panel to hold 'voting machine forum'
LESLEY CLARK
Herald Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - The House committee that will handle Democrat Christine Jennings' challenge to the November 2006 election is scheduled to hold a voting machine investigation, of sorts, on Thursday.

The House Administration Committee will hold what it is calling a "voting machine forum" to allow committee members and staff to look at voting machine technology.

Various machine vendors will have an opportunity to demonstrate the machines, a press release from the committee states.

"Congress is not only concerned about the security, reliability and accessibility of voting machine technologies used in federal elections, but is also interested in learning about improvements to the technology and where it is headed," the release states.

The Sarasota congressional race that Jennings lost has spurred additional calls to require voting machines that are equipped with paper trails. Bills to require paper trails have been introduced in both the House and the Senate.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/16890072.htm
Jennings lost the election by 369 votes to Rep. Vern

[Melissa G]

5. 37 votes short of runoff, city hopeful wants inquiry

37 votes short of runoff, city hopeful wants inquiry
He questions a late change of a polling place.
By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published March 13, 2007

TAMPA - City Councilman Frank Reddick plans to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to look at irregularities in Tampa's recent election, which he says may have cost him a shot at a seat.

He speculates that more people would have voted for him, propelling him to a runoff against winner Thomas Scott, if they had been told that a polling place was relocated.

Reddick finished second in the District 5 race to former County Commissioner Scott, who won 51 percent of votes. Lynette "Tracee" Judge finished third. Reddick needed just 37 votes to force a runoff. He alleges that he might have gotten them had voters in Precinct 215 received letters telling them their polling place had moved to Smyrna Baptist Church at 815 W Orient St.

Instead, voters found out about the switch on election day when a sign or poll worker redirected them to the new site. Reddick wonders if some voters never got the news.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/13/Hillsborough/37_votes_short_of_run.shtml

[Melissa G]

6. Election officials probe touch-screen complaints

Election officials probe touch-screen complaints
Saturday, March 10, 2007
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DAYTON The county board of elections is investigating complaints from 20 voters who say their votes were not registered properly on touch-screen electronic voting machines during the November election, officials said Friday.

Elections officials are trying to duplicate what happened on the machines to determine whether the machines, made by Green-based Diebold, were not calibrated properly or there was another problem, said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Diebold said the problem was not with the machines.

Harsman said in virtually each of the 20 instances, the voters noticed that their votes were not recorded properly and went back and corrected them before casting their ballots.

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=341100&Category=13

[Melissa G]

7. Ulster County expects to use the same old voting machines this fall

Ulster County expects to use the same old voting machines this fall

Kingston – With little to no movement on the state level to advance the Help America Vote Act with new voting machines, the Efficiency, Reform and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Ulster County Legislature Monday learned the current voting machines will likely be used in the foreseeable future.

Committee Chairman Gary Bischoff said the issue is stalled for now. “Basically testing in New York has stopped so it has become abundantly clear that we will have lever machines again in 2007 elections in New York State,” he said.

A subcommittee of the Efficiency and Reform Committee continues to research the ramifications and possibilities of converting to an all-mail in ballot.

http://www.catskillsnews.com/News/UC_votemach-13Mar07.html

[Melissa G]

8. American renaissance: What’s to be done now?

American renaissance: What’s to be done now?

snip

Nearly six years since the towers collapsed, one finds the nation has had an about face: It has concluded that killing Muslims, whether Sunni or Shiite, is not producing positive results. On the contrary, it is evident that guns are neither the answer nor the means to victory but that guns have acerbated the problem and led to a civil and sectarian war with no end in sight.

snip
Then, the next priority is to undo all that Bush and Cheney and the neocons and the Republicans have done since Bush II came to power and do what they should have done but didn’t do: Repeal all the tax breaks given to the rich and tax the rich appropriately; create a living wage indexed to inflation; tax capital gains and unearned increments of value of real estate at a rate higher than that on wages; review corporate compensation; expand the right to organize and form unions; end torture, not habeas corpus; bridle lobbyists; legalize immigrants illegally here; bar discrimination of gays and lesbians; expand the franchise and bring more fair play and justice to voting and establish a civil right to counsel in civil cases; preserve the nation’s natural heritage. And take any other actions that make for a fairer and more just nation.

The most urgent problem this nation has except for the Iraqi debacle is the divide between the rich and the poor and the sickly condition of the middle class. Since 1980, the rich have become richer and the poor poorer owing largely to Republican policies and those pushed by Bush. No nation with the few egregiously rich and the many painfully poor can long survive. The inequality produces an unhealthy and criminal citizenry, a condition that wastes lives and wastes treasure. Louis Brandeis wrote: “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”



A nation cannot be a democracy when the rich few can determine the outcome of an election by contributing their money in a partisan way. The nation should take steps to make it easier to vote, create a national voting holiday, enforce national voting standards, use electronic voting machines with a paper trail, restore the vote to ex-felons, insure responsible redistricting, and establish a federal system of public matching funds for qualifying candidates so that small donors diminish the sway of big interests.

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/Opinion/200703129

[Algorem]

9. Election workers get 18 months for tampering

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=64336


Created: 3/13/2007 11:48:31 AM
Updated:3/13/2007 2:04:24 PM


Two Cuyahoga County Board of Elections workers have received the maximum sentence for taking illegal shortcuts in the 2004 pres recount.
Judge Peter Corrigan sentenced Jacquline Maiden and Kathleen Dreamer to 18 months in prison.

They were accused of rigging the recount to avoid extra work of a full recount.

The prosecutor claimed the two women are protecting senior election officials or board members. They denied that...

The judge said the election process is too important to permit any tampering whatsoever...

[Melissa G]

10. Machine shortage leads to consolidation

AARRGHH!! I hate it when this happens! I think it makes vote theft much easier.


Machine shortage leads to consolidation
By Mary Madewell
solidation
The Paris News

Published March 13, 2007 - Updated 48 minutes ago

Faced with a problem of not having enough voting machines for elections May 12, Lamar County commissioners and County Clerk Kathy Marlowe began consolidating polling places this week.

Marlowe said the reason for the shortage of voting machines came when the Texas Legislature called a special general election on the same day as local municipal and school elections, forcing the county to come up with additional machines for that election.

Many Lamar County residents will discover on Election Day the polling place they are accustomed to will not be there and they must travel to a new polling place to cast ballots.

Monday, commissioners methodically went through the list of polling places to cut down the number so there would be enough voting machines to go around.

http://web.theparisnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=1cf440e806005d56

[Melissa G]

11. Mechanical Glitch Ignored In Now Contested Florida Congressional Race

Thanks to kpete for the post and the DU discussion here....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469160

Original message
Mechanical Glitch Ignored In Now Contested Florida Congressional Race


Mechanical Glitch Ignored In Now Contested Florida Congressional Race
The Huffington Post | Melinda Henneberger | Posted March 13, 2007

WASHINGTON - Last August, Election Systems & Software sent Florida election officials a letter informing them of a glitch in their electronic voting equipment -- a problem that should be fixed before Election Day in November "to avoid any potential issues at the polls."

Instead, the problem was ignored, said Sam Hirsch, a lawyer for Democratic congressional candidate Christine Jennings, who has petitioned the court and the Congress for a new election in Katherine Harris's old district in Sarasota.

Kathy Dent, Sarasota Supervisor of Elections, confirmed in a phone interview today that the manufacturer's recommendation was disregarded, and no action taken: "No one in the State of Florida updated" the equipment after receiving the letter, she said, "and that's because it was too close to the election. It was a state decision that it was too late to make changes."

Either 18,000 voters who showed up at the polls in Jennings's stronghold in Sarasota County then decided to skip over the hotly contested congressional race -- or machines there malfunctioned, as per widespread reports from voters who said they could not get the machines to register any vote in that one race. The official tally showed Republican Vern Buchanan winning by 369 votes, and he has been provisionally seated in Congress.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melinda-henneberger/mechanical-glitch-ignored_b_43331.html

[Melissa G]

12. Election workers get 18 months for tampering

Thanks to Algorem for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469157
Original message
Election workers get 18 months for tampering
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x46915

Created: 3/13/2007 11:48:31 AM
Updated:3/13/2007 2:04:24 PM


Two Cuyahoga County Board of Elections workers have received the maximum sentence for taking illegal shortcuts in the 2004 pres recount.
Judge Peter Corrigan sentenced Jacquline Maiden and Kathleen Dreamer to 18 months in prison.

They were accused of rigging the recount to avoid extra work of a full recount.

The prosecutor claimed the two women are protecting senior election officials or board members. They denied that.

Both have been fired...

[Melissa G]

13. HR 811: Electronic Tallies Can Still Trump Ballots

Thanks to kster for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469134

Original message
HR 811: Electronic Tallies Can Still Trump Ballots

Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 12:42 pm
Opinion: Lynn Landes

HR 811 - Electronic Tallies Can Still Trump Paper Ballots On Election Day

This is a good news / bad news story. The good news - If the Holt bill (HR 811) passes into law, it will be the first time since Feb.14, 1899 that paper ballots will be required in federal elections. Americans will finally regain their right to a paper ballot, to verify their ballot, and to correct their ballot, if necessary.

The bad news - The electronic tally, not paper ballots, can continue to constitute the “official” ballot on Election Day, regardless of obvious errors. Although, it does not appear to be a requirement for election officials to accept an electronic tally over paper ballots.

Snip.. Under the bill, paper ballots must be hand-counted and, thus considered the “official” ballot, in the following situations: 1) paper-only voting systems, which applies to 0.6% of voters, 2) mandatory audits which only affect 10% or less of all precincts depending on the margin of victory - audits take place one week after Election Day giving corrupt election officials ample opportunity to tamper with secret (i.e., anonymous) ballots, and 3) in the remote event of a recount, which also gives corrupt election officials plenty of time to commit vote fraud.

SNIP.. American voters deserve clarity. There should be a single standard for voting that election officials from the poorest town to the richest city can follow. And that standard should include nothing more complicated than a pencil, paper, and local hand-count of all ballots on Election Day. It’s simple and straightforward. And that’s what it will take to restore confidence in America’s voting system.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0703/S00218.htm

[Melissa G]

14. Wingnuts Desperately Spinning U.S. Attorney Firings into Unsubstantiated 'Voter Fraud' Allegations

Bradblog

Wingnuts Desperately Spinning U.S. Attorney Firings into Unsubstantiated 'Voter Fraud' Allegations
(All the While Ignoring the Actual DOCUMENTED Voter Fraud Felonies of Their Hero, Ann Coulter...)
It's been amusing --- if exasperating --- to watch the latest like-clockwork contortions of the wingnuts in their desperate, if predictable, attempt to spin the U.S. Attorney firing scandal into a "voter fraud" scandal. That, they tell us in lock-step is the "real scandal" that the "liberal media" is conveniently overlooking in their attempts to victimize poor poor George W. Bush.

As we previously noted, we are unaware of any actual "voter fraud" alleged in the New Mexico case, but rather voter registration fraud. And even those allegations seems to have little, if any, substance behind them.

All the while, the dead-end wingnutters happily ignore the fact that their own continuing attempts to forward the myth of a "voter fraud" epidemic (and a Democratic-based one at that) have failed time and again. The most recent attempt was a report on "voter fraud" as officially sanctioned by the partisan-comprised U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Despite desperate attempts to show such an epidemic, the study came up embarrassingly empty handed on the issue and so the EAC subsequently refused to release their final report.

(NOTE: EAC Chairwoman Donetta Davidson promised to turn over the spiked report last week to Congress during a hearing in which was called to testify. We'll keep our eye out for that report, as we are still waiting for Davidson to send us another report which they promised to us nearly two weeks ago on a related story we've been working on.)
http://www.bradblog.com/

[Melissa G]

15. Rove admits he complained to Miers that "voter fraud cases were not being treated as a priority"

Thanks to Wilms and kpete for the DU discussions...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469093

Original message
Rove admits he complained to Miers that "voter fraud cases were not being treated as a priority"
Anyone have links to these NM and WA "voter fraud" cases he's cryin' about?


White House says Rove relayed complaints about prosecutors
By Ron Hutcheson, Marisa Taylor and Margaret Talev

Mar. 11, 2007

McClatchy Newspapers

snip

Among the complaints that Rove relayed were concerns among Republican Party officials in various jurisdictions that the Justice Department was not being aggressive in pursuing allegations of election fraud by Democrats. Such allegations by Republicans were a particular concern in New Mexico and Washington.

Rove acknowledged that he personally complained to Miers that "voter fraud cases were not being treated as a priority" by the Justice Department, Perino said. He also passed along complaints about Iglesias that he had heard going back as far as 2004.

snip

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16884148.htm


Thanks to kpete

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x391535

[Melissa G]

16. Texas Rep. Lon Burnam submits bill for Hand Counted Paper Ballots in Texas!

Just so y'all know that plenty of good stuff comes from Texas too! A Fine Texas Quaker filed this bill! Speaking truth to power! Way to go, Lon!:kick:

Thanks to kpete for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469062

Original message
Texas Rep. Lon Burnam submits bill for Hand Counted Paper Ballots in Texas!
March 11, 2007 at 08:46:34

Texas Rep. Lon Burnam submits bill for Hand Counted Paper Ballots in Texas!

by Vickie Karp and Karen Renick


MEDIA ADVISORY Contacts: Karen Renick, 512/496-7408
March 10, 2007 Vickie Karp, 512/775-3737

Texas Rep. Lon Burnam submits bill
for Hand Counted Paper Ballots in Texas!

Who: Rep. Lon Burnam, District 90, Tarrant County (Fort Worth), Texas

What: Submission of HB 3894, The Texas Hand Counted Paper Ballot Bill of 2007

When: Friday, March 9, 2007

Where: State Capitol, Austin, Texas

Why: With the acknowledgement and validation from computer experts, government reports and university studies nationwide that electronic voting systems, including optical scan counters, are vulnerable to easy hacking and manipulation without detection, the need for drastic change in our voting systems has become evident. Well-intentioned legislators at both the federal and state levels have presented the costly "solution" of adding printers to electronic voting machines for a "voter verifiable paper audit trail".

Rep. Burnam, House District 90, recognizes that adding printers to fraudulent voting systems will simply mask further fraud, while giving the public a false sense of security that the problem has been solved. He also recognizes that the bill will help all counties throughout the state save tremendous amounts of taxpayer money by eliminating the budget-breaking costs of machine maintenance, storage and replacement, as well as, the costs of training, programming, yearly software license fees, support services, and transportation.

Rep. Burnam therefore filed the Texas Hand-Counted Paper Ballot Bill of 2007, H.B. 3894, to eliminate the use of any voting machine whatsoever in the state of Texas and to allow all Texas voters to cast their vote on a paper ballot that is hand counted by their fellow citizens at the precinct level. The bill allows the use of ballot-marking-only machines for the disabled to vote privately and independently for compliance with the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Non-electronic ballot-marking methods that also comply with HAVA, such as the Vote-PAD and the Equalivote, are also allowed under this bill.

more at:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_vickie_k_070311_texas_rep__lon_burna.htm