12/28. ES&S faces federal hearings, No right to secret ballot in IL? CT Machine recounts machine

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

ES&S faces federal hearings, No right to secret ballot in IL? CT Machine recounts machine

Dec 28, 2009

Is a Secret Ballot a Right? The answer is NO according to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan: “While plaintiff attempts to suggest to the court that there is a fundamental right to a secret ballot, no such right exists.”
...ES&S/Diebold/Premier faces federal hearings and 14 states have launched investigation into the merger or monopoly...
...CT IRONY #4: Machine Errors Result In Recounting By Machine...

Would a commercial internet voting company know more about security than the pentagon? A Wood County WV commissioner on internet voting pilot for military: "I guess if a hacker can break into the Pentagon's computer system, they can possibly break into our voting system," Rick Modesitt, Commission President...

All this and more in today's voting news below....

CA: A chaotic year for California ballot propositions
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-initiatives27-2009dec27,0,1838547.story
Signatures are being gathered for more than 50 initiatives -- big and small, promising and far-fetched

CO: Election Transparency Litigation: Marks v. Koch
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2009/12/election-transparency-litigation-marks.html
The suit has the remaining purpose to obtain access to inspect these public records of which all were displayed to the public on May 5 2009, and hundreds are still available for viewing as part of a GrassRootsTV program from election night. If the City's motion to dismiss is not accepted by the court, there is a court date set for January 22, 2010 when a hearing may be taking place.

CO: One dozen excuses
http://bit.ly/68DlWL
Dear Editor: Mayor Ireland just sent an intriguing e-mail to the “voting rights community” titled “Why we don't need your help in running our elections and why a recount is not needed.” It probably wasn't written to amuse, given the personal attacks in it, but recipients surely chuckled.

CO: Add yours to this list of questions about Aspen's May 5 IRV election
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2009/12/ongoing-list-of-questions-to-aspen-and.html

CT: CT IRONY #4: Machine Errors Result In Recounting By Machine
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2732
Possibly some machine problems might be mitigated by such a recanvass, yet if there were an error in memory card programming or an error in the software it is quite likely the same discrepancy would be repeated.

HI: Interim elections chief to be selected Wednesday
http://bit.ly/934yQe

IL: Barrow to challenge Detroit mayoral recount
http://www.freep.com/article/20091224/NEWS01/912240394/1001/News/Barrow-to-challenge-Detroit-mayoral-recount
Dec 24, 2009...Barrow attributes his loss to Bing to vote fraud or gross human error.
...
During the recount, Barrow challenged the November election results on several fronts: mismatched seals on more than 40,000 absentee ballot containers; mismatched seals from poll books of voters' signatures, and unaccounted for unused ballots that Barrow claims could have been counted for Bing.

IL: Is a Secret Ballot a Right?
http://illinipundit.com/2009/12/16/secret-ballot-right
December 16th, 2009 According to the State Board of Elections, and their attorney, the Illinois Attorney General, the answer is NO.

IL: Voting law proceeding despite concerns
http://www.pekintimes.com/news/x1689182012/Voting-law-proceeding-despite-concerns
PEKIN, Ill. - Voting this February could be a little more complicated.
Thanks to a provision passed by the Illinois State Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2007, if a voter fails to vote for any particular office, many voting machines throughout the state will beep loudly and spit the ballot back out. An election judge will then have to assist the voter, either correcting the undervote; or overriding the system and casting the vote with the omission.

Whether or not the voter intentionally left the ballot blank for that office, which is perfectly legal and is often done, is not taken into account by the machines.

NC: BHI asks for voter cleanup
http://www.stateportpilot.com/story__lead.html
Council notes flaw in system; Sayre takes oath as mayor
The Village of Bald Head Island is asking the Brunswick County Board of Elections to “clean up” its list of registered voters, although one council member sought more forceful action.

TN: Ex-Election admin joins class-action suit against board
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091226/DICKSON01/91224055/2141/Ex-Election+admin+joins+class-action+suit+against+board
The county’s former election administrator has joined a federal class-action lawsuit with 10 other ex-administrators who were ousted by their counties, on grounds that their constitutional rights were violated.

The lawsuit alleges that the election administrators were let go because of their political party affiliations, which they say is a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment — the freedom of speech.

WV: Voting machine maker faces federal hearings
http://wvgazette.com/News/200912260166
Kanawha commissioner also asks AG to investigate
The company that makes the electronic voting machines used in many states, including West Virginia, will be the focus of congressional hearings next month.
...
States with their own investigations into the growing ES&S monopoly are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plans to hold the congressional hearings.

WV: Cyber-Balloting
http://www.wtap.com/news/headlines/80235572.html

WTAP News Military and overseas people who are Wood County residents could find it easier to cast ballots in the 2010 elections...if security issues are worked out.
Dec 28, 2009 Reporter: Todd Baucher Email Address: [e-mail]
...
But first, in the days leading up to the early January deadline to declare its involvement with the state, the county must first determine whether internet voting will be free of tampering.

National

Voting section chief out amid controversy
http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/12/27/voting-section-chief-out-amid-controversy/
Dec 28, 2009 - Veteran Civil Rights Division attorney Christopher Coates is no longer chief of the Voting Section, according to the division’s Web site. There was no official announcement of the personnel change in the long-troubled section, which most recently has been embroiled in the controversy over the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case. Main Justice noticed the change on the Voting Section Web site.

National Popular Vote Plan Bills Expected in 2010 in 44 States
December 28th, 2009
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/12/28/national-popular-vote-plan-bills-expected-in-2010-in-44-states/

IntelliBriefs: EVENT: Cyber Warfare 2010
http://www.iqpc.com/Event.aspx?id=237804
27 - 28 January, 2010 CCT Centre, Canary Wharf, London, UK
...Protecting and operating in ‘Cyberspace’ has never been so important. 100s of reported attacks on military systems and government infrastructure are reported daily.

IL: Absentee Voting Has Started
Champaign County Clerk
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2009/12/28/absentee-voting-has-started/

TX: Federal Judges Halt Use of ES&S Touch-Screen Voting Systems in Dallas
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7607
Straight-party ticket voters have long been getting screwed by touch-screen voting systems, whether they knew it or not, in election after election, as the systems have failed in various ways in states around the country for years.

International

Nigeria: CNPP rejects electronic voting machine for Anambra
http://bit.ly/742mgp
27 December 2009 Leader of a faction of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) Chief Maxi Okwu has disagreed with calls for the National Assembly to urgently legislate the use of electronic voting by INEC for the conduct of the Anambra State gubernatorial election in 2010.
...
“The use of the machine would go a long way in curbing rigging and other electoral malpractices associated with elections in Nigeria. “Anambra governorship polls would determine what Nigerians are to expect in 2011 and if INEC gets it right, it will help curb the apathy towards voting in Nigeria,’’ he said. (NAN)

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