'Daily Voting News' for June 27-29, 2009 IRV = Fail? Stupid-matic, Internet Voting

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

In Pierce County, WA, indications are that Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) may be a failed experiment.
63% of the voters didn't like it, the auditor says scrapping it would save the county $600,000.
The County Council voted to amend the county charter to repeal the mandate for RCV;
the voters will make the final decision in November.

Smartmatic still hasn't submitted its incorporation papers to the Philippines Comelec, and its local partner, TIM, has pulled out of the joint venture.

Internet voting is now being considered in Canada and Nova Scotia. Is there no end to the wack-a-mole of unobservable ballots? Prove in one place that Internet ballots are an exercise in unjustified trust, and the idea pops up its head in another.

Today's articles about the Voting Rights Act deal with how to minimize future challenges.

National: Can the Voting Rights Act Survive Another Challenge?
http://www.law.com/jsp/scm/PubArticleSCM.jsp?id=1202431834167&Can_the_Voting_Rights_Act_Survive_Another_Challenge

National: Fixing the Voting Rights Act
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062603778.html

National: Conyers abandons plan to probe ACORN
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/25/conyers-abandons-plan-probe-acorn/?feat=home_headlines

National: Editorial: Register Everybody
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_153/editorial/36323-1.html

National: Record Number of People With Disabilities Voted in 2008 Election
http://www.sunherald.com/prnewswire/story/1444335.html

National: Searching for a Reliable Voting System
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/opinion/l28vote.html?_r=1

CA: Secretary of State Debra Bowen Reports Record Percentage of Votes by Mail in May 19 Special Election
http://www.sos.ca.gov/admin/press-releases/2009/db09-037.pdf

FL: Florida voter law garners praise
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jun/27/na-florida-voter-law-garners-praise/news-politics/

GA: New laws start July 1
http://www.times-georgian.com/pages/full_story?page_label=home&id=2811012-New+laws+start+July+1&article-New%20laws%20start%20July%201%20=&widget=push&instance=west_ga_news&open=&

GA: Voting Rights Act still relevant to today's Georgia
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/2009/06/26/bookmaned0626.html

IL: Attorneys lay out their arguments in the Rock Island mayoral recount
http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/article_c0c04cee-64cc-11de-a301-001cc4c002e0.html

MN: Pawlenty 'prepared' to certify Franken
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/28/Pawlenty-prepared-to-certify-Franken/UPI-86151246237585/

NC: Touch Screens High Rate of Unrecorded Votes for President in 2008
http://ncvoters.blogspot.com/2009/06/touch-screens-high-rate-of-unrecorded.html

NH: Court may finally set N.H. voters free
http://nhwatchdog.blogspot.com/2009/06/court-may-finally-set-nh-voters-free.html

TN: Voting machines will change again
http://spartaexpositor.com/articles/2009/06/29/news/doc4a48c19b065ae437651858.txt

TX: EDITORIAL: Voter ID bill was bad idea then and now
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/jun/13/voter-id-bill-was-bad-idea-then-and-now/

VA: New laws hit books Wednesday
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_newlaws_jun29,0,6404246.story

WA: Instant Runoff Voting too Costly - Pierce County WA Says Ditching Would Save $600,000
http://instantrunoff.blogspot.com/2009/06/instant-runoff-voting-too-costly-pierce.html

Canada: Elections Canada backs online voting
http://www.thestar.com/article/657514

Canada: Online voting could improve dwindling turnout for federal elections: report
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Online+voting+could+improve+dwindling+turnout+federal+elections+report/1740238/story.html

India: EC had known the fundamental flaws of EVMs since 2000; not remedied
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=298&page=26

Iran: Iran starts partial recount of disputed vote
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre55s1pw-us-iran-election-recount/

Nova Scotia: Byelection for Dartmouth council seat likely in September
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9012405.html

Philippines: Comelec to winning bidder: No papers, no deal
http://quintessentialy.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/comelec-to-winning-bidder-no-papers-no-deal/

Philippines: Smartmatic's local partner withdraws
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/12479-smartmatics-local-partner-withdraws.html

Philippines: Automation in peril as poll partners break up http://www.gmanews.tv/story/166199/Poll-automation-in-peril-as-Smartmatics-Filipino-partner-backs-out


Published by VotersUnite.Org
Ellen Theisen ([e-mail]), Director and Managing Editor
Dave Klein ([e-mail]), Editor
John Washburn ([e-mail]), Editor

Daily Voting News was founded on February 6, 2004 by John Gideon (1947-2009). To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to [e-mail]. To donate, click here: http://www.votersunite.org/donate.asp.

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**Articles and commentary included in "Daily Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Daily Voting News, VotersUnite.Org, or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers' ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news, research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections. **

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[Eric J in MN]

1. Whoever writes the program for online voting will get to choose the winner. NT

NT

[Stevepol]

2. Whack-a-mole, perfect metaphor for private, unverifiable vote counting!

"Internet voting is now being considered in Canada and Nova Scotia. Is there no end to the wack-a-mole of unobservable ballots? Prove in one place that Internet ballots are an exercise in unjustified trust, and the idea pops up its head in another."

The only thing that can be done is just keep whacking moles and kicking ass.

The majority of voters already know electronic voting is an invitation to vote rigging disaster, and I think at least half of the electorate know that elections have already been rigged, in many cases brazenly rigged and manipulated.