5/17 Voting machines burn in Rt 22,PA fire.KY debuts paper ballots.Philippines voting machine sleepo

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Voting machines burn in Rt 22,PA fire. KY debuts paper ballots.Philippines voting machine sleepover

May 17 2010

Watch Yuma AZ vote count live via webcam...Use iPad to register to vote in Santa Clara Co CA..."Too much" voter assistance in Forsyth Co NC?..90 Kentucky counties debut paper ballot systems in Tues Primary..Absentee/Early Voting Method: Raise Questions and Risks...No Voting Rights in Indian Country USA...Smartmatic Technician Takes Home 65 PCOS Machines...Internet voting watch in Prince Edward Co Canada and to Gujarat India...

All this and more in today's voting news below

AR: Voting Process Confusing For Some
http://www.4029tv.com/news/23574029/detail.html
Benton County. Officials said electronic voting machines are still confusing for a lot of people,
even though they have been around for several years.

AZ: Vote-counting webcam starts Sunday
http://www.yumasun.com/news/ballots-60948-counting-county.html
Yuma County will stream a live video feed of the ballot counting center from
a webcam at the Yuma County Elections Department starting Sunday morning.

It will be viewable through a link on the county website at www.yumacountyaz.gov/election.countylivevideolinks.htm .

AZ: Voters need assurance of fair elections * (March election in Yuma County)
http://www.yumasun.com/opinion/election-60930-ballots-news.html
The 10 percent rejection rate for early ballots due to signature problems is much higher than other parts of the state,

CA: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Accepts Electronic Signatures on Voter Registration Forms
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/05/15/santa-clara-county-registrar-of-voters-accepts-electronic-signatures-on-voter-registration-forms/

CA: Newspaper ad alleges vote-count skullduggery in Sutter County
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/johnston-94962-oakley-election.html

FL: Much Unclear in Haines City Commission Election Fraud Case
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100514/NEWS/5145052/1134?Title=Much-Unclear-in-Haines-City-Commission-Election-Fraud-Case

HI: Elections Officials Say Mail-In Voting Secure
http://www.kitv.com/politics/23536222/detail.html

IN: Provisional ballots won't count *
Union County Commissioner Gary Davis has until Tuesday to file request for recount
http://www.pal-item.com/article/20100515/NEWS01/5150315
The election board agreed the provisional ballots didn't meet legal requirements...

KY: Paper ballots to debut with primary (Caldwell County)
http://www.timesleader.net/articles/stories/public/201005/16/4LLs_news.html
The traditional push-button voting machines used in the past have been replaced,
and voters will now complete paper ballots and feed them into an electronic scanner.
...
More than 90 Kentucky counties are converting to the paper ballot system for Tuesday’s primary election.

LA: Registrars set to purge voter rolls
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/93833919.html
State election law requires the removal from the rolls of people who have not voted in
two federal election cycles — generally every-other-year congressional balloting —
and who have not responded to attempts to verify their addresses.

MI: Michigan Democratic Party Said to be Behind Attempt to Qualify a Tea Party for Michigan Ballot
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/05/17/michigan-democratic-party-said-to-be-behind-attempt-to-qualify-a-tea-party-for-michigan-ballot/

NC: Tiff over vote help: Three protests filed with Forsyth allege illegal electioneering
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/may/15/tiff-over-vote-help/
...
The three...say that some candidates and their supporters not only helped people
cast ballots but used various methods to tell the people whom to vote for

NC: North Carolina First Party Has 86,000 Signatures
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/05/16/north-carolina-first-party-has-86000-signatures/

NM: Wife of former judge sentenced *
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_15091753
Lilian Favela, 46, entered a plea of no contest to three felony counts of
false voting charges on April 30 and was sentenced Monday. Two counts of false voting were dismissed.

NY: NY-29: Confusion Winning This Race
http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/NY-29-Confusion-Winning-This-Race/a17fo4ISQkq_4V9aT_VEHw.cspx

NY: New Yorkers Take Action to Restore Voting Rights
http://reformny.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-yorkers-take-action-to-restore.html
Today, over 100 New Yorkers sent postcards to their legislators and
Governor Paterson urging them to restore the right to vote to people in
New York who are on parole and probation.

OH: Toward better elections
http://toledoblade.com/article/20100517/OPINION02/5170303/0/PAGEONE1
The issue is even larger than whether individual ballots are secure from prying
eyes at the board, although that surely is a critical concern.
The issue is whether the board and its employees can be expected to conduct
honest, fair elections while they also engage in partisan activities.

OH: Ohio voting reform stalls
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/05/16/ohio-voting-reform-stalls.html?sid=101
The goal is to reduce the problems and lawsuits that have marred recent
high-profile elections, which experts say undermine voter confidence in the process and outcomes.

PA: VFW Fire Shuts Down Route 22 In Westmoreland
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/23577804/detail.html
Miele reported that the building was to have been a polling place for the Pennsylvania primary
on Tuesday. But voting machines were destroyed, and the polls will be moved
about two miles away to the Long's homes, a modular home company.

PA: Watchdog group spotlights lost votes in electronic machines
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/all-a11_mc-voting-machines.7274308may15,0,6676371.story
'We want to uncover root causes,'' he said, ''It could relate to machines,
sign-in processes, any number of concerns. Whatever the cause, it weakens the overall process, it undermines democracy.''

TX: Justice of peace candidate sues runoff winner, alleges mail-in ballot fraud
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/13/2188372/justice-of-peace-candidate-sues.html
Fort Worth. Candidate Charlotte Hogan-Price, who lost the election by 136 votes,
has sued Woodard alleging that she was elected through
"fraudulent, absentee mail-in ballot voting practices."
The lawsuit contends that Woodard received 652 votes by using "vote harvesters" --
people who assist the elderly and others who can't make it to the polls with their mail-in ballots.

VA: Virginia nonviolent felons remain in limbo on restoration of voting rights
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/16/AR2010051602988.html

WV: Lincoln Co. official: No illegalities in voting
http://www.dailymail.com/News/statenews/201005140221
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Lincoln County official says there was nothing illegal about
a surge in absentee voting in this week's primary election

WV: Low Voter Turnout In Primary; Tennant Touts Cooperation In Smooth Running Election (press release)
http://www.sos.wv.gov/news/topics/elections-candidates/Pages/LowVoterTurnoutInPrimary;
TennantToutsCooperationInSmoothRunningElection.aspx http://bit.ly/bJ2nac
Outreach Staff and representatives from Election Systems and Software and
the Office of Technology were in all 55 counties for on-site precinct support.

National

Chavers: No Voting Rights in Indian Country
http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3613:chavers-no-voting-rights-in-indian-country&catid=46&Itemid=22
But despite the gains in recent years, voter discrimination remains
a huge problem in Indian Country.

Absentee/Early Voting Method: Raise Questions and Risks
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3189 Another example from Arizona raises
questions about the potential risks to integrity inherent in mail-in voting,
unlimited absentee voting, and early voting by means similar to absentee voting

As the money pours in, will we know where it’s coming from?
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2010/05/17/as-the-money-pours-in-will-we-know-where-its-coming-from/
The DISCLOSE Act is missing a requirement for a single place that reporters,
public interest groups, bloggers and every day citizens can go to find out the big picture about who is shaping the debate in elections.

Why Third Parties Can't Compete
And how fusion voting would give them a voice.
Bruce Bartlett (Opinion) http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/13/third-parties-fusion-voting-elections-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html

Internet Voting Watch

Canada: Voting from Home in Prince Edward County
http://www.quintenews.com/2010/05/voting-from-home-in-prince-edward-county/
Prince Edward County residents won’t have to leave the comfort of
their homes to vote in this Fall’s local election

India: In a first, online voting in Gujarat civic polls this year
http://www.hindustantimes.com/In-a-first-online-voting-in-Gujarat-civic-polls-this-year/Article1-544697.aspx

India: Antony warns of cyber warfare threat
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article432118.ece?homepage=true

International

India: Lax Storage of EVMs is a concern
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=123
The case of missing EVM in Maharashtra reported by the chief electoral officer
of the state once again brings to light the lax storage of the electoral voting machines
...
What about hundreds of EVMs gone missing, damaged or stolen in the past?
Does the ECI have any account? Why don’t they make these details public and talk about implications of such missing and stolen EVMs?

India: ECI Expert says EVM manipulation ‘possible’, but expensive

India: MNF against use of electronic voting machine for council polls
http://mizoramexpress.com/index.php/2010/05/mnf-against-evms-for-council-polls/
The only substantive statement that he makes about which I have no reservations is
that “No machine is perfect; every machine can be bugged.” Much else in his article is objectionable.

Iraq: Court overturns ban on 9 Iraqi candidates
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_
CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD9FOMMAG1 http://bit.ly/95qn94 BAGHDAD —
An Iraqi court on Monday overturned a ban on nine newly elected parliament members
who had been barred by a committee vetting candidates for ties to Saddam Hussein's regime

Philippines: Smartmatic Technician Takes Home 65 PCOS Machines
http://caviteniofilipino.blogspot.com/2010/05/felipe-de-leon-smartmatic-technician.html

Philippines: Watchdogs call for probe of ‘poll irregularities’
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100517-270467/Watchdogs-call-for-probe-of-poll-irregularities

Philippines Pooled editorial: Election problems: beyond the machines
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/pooled-editorial-election-problems-beyond-machines
AN Asian group of foreign observers found many things wrong with the May 10 elections other than computer glitches:
disorderly voting, outbursts of violence, fraud, almost all the offenses in the book.

PPCRV seeks inventory of election CF cards
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100517-270543/PPCRV-seeks-inventory-of-election-CF-cards

UK: Twitter election predictions are more accurate than YouGov
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/may/13/twitter-tweetminster-election

UK: Pet pig sent voter registration letter
http://www.examiner.com/x-25445-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2010m5d13-Pet-pig-sent-voter-registration-letter

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