3/5 Ex NM Elections chief blasts SOS. IN justice weigh voter ID law. Why internet voting insecure

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Ex NM Elections chief blasts SOS. Indiana justice weigh voter ID law. Why internet voting is insecure.

March 5, 2010

The Muscogee County GA Board of Elections just voted to cut polling places from 48 to 28. "The changes that they're proposing to make will hurt African Americans and Hispanic voters..." says Marcus Hunter, Columbus NAACP...What could go wrong with internet voting? Ask UVA students with last names beginning with S – Z who were unable to vote in the student body election... Court hears that Indiana's voter id law has not feretted out any fraud...Case study by Dr. Barbara Simons on why internet voting is insecure...

Al: Bill would require voters to show valid photo ID
http://www.theplainsman.com/view/full_story/6562207/article-Bill-will-require-voters-to-show-valid-photo-IDs?instance=home_news_lead_story

AZ: 'Missing' ballots might just be undeliverable
http://tinyurl.com/yz39hgt Coconino County...If you haven't received your ballot in the mail for the city primary election or the Flagstaff Unified School District budget override on March 9, now is the time to contact the county elections office to get a new ballot issued -- and possibly update your address.

CA: Dispute Over Ballot Label for Top Two Primary Ballot Measure in CA
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015418.html

FL: ELECTION-LAW CHANGE WOULD REOPEN SPENDING, ADD FULL DISCLOSURE
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-leadership-funds-revived-20100303,0,4610631.story
Tallahassee -- Florida legislative leaders are proposing election-law changes that could unleash even more special-interest spending in state elections but require that the millions of dollars pumped into races be fully disclosed to the public.

GA: How far would you drive to vote?
http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=12087904
Currently, 48 voting locations exist, but the new plan makes that number to 28. This leaves some voters driving longer distances to cast their ballots. Dr. Jeanne Dugas is the chair of the Muscogee County Democratic Party and she says, "I think that the board of elections when they say they're acting in the public's interest, they're not acting in that particular public's interest."

"The changes that they're proposing to make will hurt African Americans and Hispanic voters. Let's be sure about that," says Hunter.

GA: One Georgia Ballot Access Bill Gets a Legislative Hearing
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/05/one-georgia-ballot-access-bill-gets-a-legislative-hearing/

IN: Indiana justices lob questions at voter ID law
http://bit.ly/9KSlUe ...Sullivan noted that at least three election cycles had passed since the law's passage. "Has the use of this statute ferreted out any voter fraud?" he asked.
No, Horseman said.

IN: Justices weigh burden of voter ID
http://bit.ly/cfFrcL

IN: Vote center's future in question
http://tinyurl.com/yg9t4yy

MN: Sen. Brown sponsors voter fraud bill
http://www.wlkm.com/?p=11708
Brown’s measures, Senate Bills 692 and 693, establish criminal penalties for any individual or organization attempting to compensate people for voting or refraining from voting, or registering or refraining from registering to vote.
...
Two additional bills Brown sponsored, SBs 690 and 691, would prohibit groups like ACORN conducting voter registration drives from establishing quotas or paying bonuses to employees

NJ: Essex County bans election workers from political activities
http://bit.ly/9HvtyD

NM: Ex-NM elections chief blasts secretary of state
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14512552
SANTA FE - New Mexico's former elections chief, who resigned last week, alleges Secretary of State Mary Herrera is soliciting funds from firms that contract with her office and has ordered some employees to get signatures on petitions for her re-election campaign

NM: Herrera runs ‘a crooked organization,’ former elections head claims
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2010/03/herrera-runs-%E2%80%98a-crooked-organization%E2%80%99-former-elections-head-claims/
Salazar, a former deputy district attorney, was quoted by the Journal as saying he “has never worked in such a crooked organization.”
...
The letter, according to the Journal, states that, during Salazar’s time as elections director, “it has become abundantly clear to me as to why my predecessors have left the office.”

NM: SOS refuses to release Salazar’s resignation letter
Foundation for Open Government says the letter is public and should be released
http://newmexicoindependent.com/49144/sos-refuses-to-release-salazar%E2%80%99s-resignation-letter

OH: In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election Records
http://www.thelegalblotter.com/in-violation-of-federal-law-ohios-2004-presidential-election-records-a-4
Two-thirds of Ohio counties have destroyed or lost their 2004 presidential ballots and related election records, according to letters from county election officials to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner.

TX: U.S. attorney's Dallas office says it's not investigating Judge Jim Foster's vote fraud claims http://bit.ly/deyIF6

TX: In Texas, a Vote That Never Should Have Happened
http://ballotbox.governing.com/2010/03/in-texas-a-vote-that-never-should-have-happened.html

TX: Hidalgo election machine irregularities
http://stxc.blogspot.com/2010/03/hidalgo-election-machine-irregularities.html

VA: Voters encounter ballot access problem *(internet voting)
http://unlvrebelyell.com/2010/03/04/voters-encounter-ballot-access-problem/
Students with last names beginning with S – Z could not use online ballots
Nearly one-fourth of the UNLV student body ran into a problem with their online voting ballots for the CSUN Executive Board elections.


National

Internet Voting
Why Internet Voting is Insecure: a case study Barbara Simons
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/27523903/Internet-Voting

Critics see peril in voting-machine merger
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/05/critics-see-peril-in-voting-machine-merger/
CRS analysts concluded that the merger means ES&S is now a presence in 90 percent of the states, is the sole supplier for at least 20 and has a market share three or more times that of its closest competitor.

NIST and Test Development
http://vote.nist.gov/SystemTesting.htm
NIST is developing a set of public test suites to be used as part of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) Testing and Certification Program authorized under the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

EAC has certified four voting systems to date
http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/learn-more-about-eacs-voting-system-certification-program

EAC will hold a public meeting on Thursday, March 11.
http://www.eac.gov/News/meetings/03-11-10-public-meeting
Topics: election operations assessment, update on Wyle Lab re-accreditation. The meeting will be webcast live


How the VRA dodged a bullet
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006361.html

U.S. Supreme Court Shows Interest in Felon Voting Case
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/05/u-s-supreme-court-shows-interest-in-felon-voting-case/
The issue in Simmons v Galvin is whether the federal Voting Rights Act has any relevance to state laws that prevent ex-felons and felons from registering to vote.

William and Mary Election Law Society Weekly Wrap Up
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/03/05/weekly-wrap-up-13/

International

Overseas Voter Foundation Research Newsletter January - February 2010
http://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/ss/link.php?M=177422&N=190&L=190

Iraq Violence Targets Early Voters as Sunday Election Draws Near
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june10/iraq1_03-04.html
Iraq began early voting for its parliamentary elections amid blasts at polling locations that killed at least 17 people and injured more than 30 people

Massive voter fraud reported across Iraq
http://bit.ly/bMSkPn
March 5. 2010 Electoral monitors yesterday estimated that as many as 150,000 security personnel were left off lists for early voting in Iraq, causing chaos at polling stations across the country. Iraqi

Voting News Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
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http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
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[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

1. And in Oregon you simply mark your ballot and drop it in the mail.

[diva77]

2. and then the chain of custody of that ballot is simply violated

[Wilms]

3. True. But it also makes a vote easier to sell or coerce.

And with the economy in the tanker...

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. since I've been doing the voting news, noticed a few things

very little "voter fraud" where a voter impersonates someone else. Its too risky and
the penalty high. And the reward is pretty small for the risk.

more instances of absentee ballot fraud.

Especially the headlines in KY of vote selling/buying co-ops.

The cost/risk of absentee ballot fraud is low and can be done on a larger scale.

Also, with absentee ballots, if you fail to sign or get witnesses or fail to meet whatever requirements your jurisidiction has, your ballot may be set aside.

Now in Oregon voters are supposed to be able to track their ballot to see if there has been a problem.

I don't trust that all states would enact VBM in the same way Oregon has.

VBM does open the venue to voter coercion as the voter does not have the protection of
going to the polling place.

[diva77]

5. here's the post office schematic (in contrast to the 1 stop at the precinct

to record your votes on a paper ballot and then have them handcounted at that same precinct).