8/3 1 in 10 MN mail ballots rejected. DOJ on MOVE Act Waivers, military vote

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1 in 10 MN mail ballots rejected. DOJ on MOVE Act Waivers, military vote

August 3 2010

The Dept of Justice responds to Sen Coryn on MOVE ACT Waivers. The President of the Overseas Vote Foundation responds to Fox news report on MOVE act...Mechanics of Atlantic City NJ absentee ballot fraud revealed in investigative report. Defendant admits:"I just have the people bring the ballot to me, and I fill them out."...Another Year, Another Crisis At The NYC Board Of Elections...CTvoter on "Faith in Technology: Drilling, Driving, and Voting"...How Secure are Military IT Systems?

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

AL: black voters file Section 5 case over Gov. Riley cancelling their votes
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006419.html
The Tuscaloosa News reports: Local politicians in Greene and Macon counties have joined to file a federal lawsuit claiming that Gov. Bob Riley's bingo raids are perpetuating racial injustice by thwarting the intent of black voters.

CA: WERE VOTERS BEING STUPID IN MISUNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF A "NO" VOTE ON PROP 8?
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016602.html

CO: Waiver for Sending Overseas Military Ballots Sought
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kunc/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1683331/Regional/Waiver.for.Sending.Overseas.Military.Ballots.Sought "Because Colorado has such a late primary in August, there's no way for the county clerks to be able to solidify who's on the general election ballot, print out the thousands of ballots they have to do, and then mail them out 45 days before the election."
...
To prevent future problems, Secretary Buescher is working to revise the state's election calendar, which could involve moving the primary.

FL: Sebastian Inlet District wants answer on elections
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100730/NEWS01/7300327/1006/Sebastian+Inlet+District+wants+answer+on+elections
The Sebastian Inlet District asked the Florida Secretary of State and the Attorney General to weigh in on whether its elections should be in August or November.

IL: Special election could cause headaches in Illinois
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x312166202/Special-election-could-create-headaches
Voter confusion would mount and costs would skyrocket if the special election for Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat requires a separate ballot from the general election, local election officials say

ME: Noncitizen Voting Proposal Still Alive In Portland
http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsme/Backers.of.proposal.2.1835731.html

MN: Voting absentee? Better have a witness address*
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/99671194.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUncacyi8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs
Statewide, at least 10 percent of absentee ballots cast in advance of the Aug. 10 primary were rejected on first pass. Some counties neared a 20 percent initial rejection rate.
...
If any of the envelopes don't include the proper information, such as the voters' address, their signature, the name of their witness or their witnesses' address, the ballots will be rejected, and the voters will be sent a replacement. Closer to the election, officials will call or e-mail the voters to let them know to try again

MN: TARGET'S POLITICAL GIVING IS NOT NEW
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016599.html

MN: "TARGET FACES BACKLASH FOR SUPPORTING TOM EMMER IN POST-CITIZENS UNITED WORLD"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016589.html TPM offers this report. See also Human Rights Campaign Slams Target And Best Buy For Supporting Anti-Gay Tom Emmer.

NJ: SECOND SUSPECT PLEADS GUILTY TO ATLANTIC CITY VOTER FRAUD*
http://www.nbc40.net/view_story.php?id=14086
In pleading guilty to the charge in the indictment, Storr admitted that, in 2009, he instructed a man associated with the Small campaign regarding how to commit absentee ballot fraud by obtaining voters' signatures on ballot forms, voting the ballots himself, and sending them to the Board of Elections...Storr admitted that, in 2008, while working for the Evans campaign, he tampered with absentee ballots by either voting the ballots himself or telling voters how to vote them, then sending the ballots to the Board of Elections.

NJ: Linwood man pleads guilty to voter fraud in failed 2009 Marty Small mayoral campaign in Atlantic City * http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_f2fcb4ea-9e78-11df-8bd9-001cc4c03286.html "I just have the people bring the ballot to me, and I fill them out," Storr told Colon, the report states. "I just did it myself, that way I knew."
Colon told the two men that most of the Hispanic voters are older and are unaware of who the candidates are.
"Just get the ballot and have them sign it," Storr replied.

NV: Secretary of state candidate faces misdemeanor battery charges
http://www.lvrj.com/news/secretary-of-state-candidate-faces-misdemeanor-battery-charge-99668439.html?ref=439

NY: Another Year, Another Crisis At The Board Of Elections
No director, no budget, no clear plan for rollout of new machines in September
http://www.cityhallnews.com/newyork/article-1433-another-year-another-crisis-at-the-board-of-elections.html (New York City)

PA: Another Threat to Public Scrutiny of the Election Process
http://coalitionforvotingintegrity.blogspot.com/2010/08/another-threat-to-public-scrutiny-of.html The Elimination of Polling Places through Adoption of No-Excuse Absentee Ballots—the First Step to All Mail-In Voting

TN: Judge named chairman of state Election Commission
http://www.c-dh.net/articles/2010/08/02/top_stories/02dubois.txt
DuBois, a local attorney, Columbia’s city judge and former state representative, took over in May as chairman of the state Election Commission. The body is responsible for appointing five-member election commissions in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties and monitoring their performance.

TN: Tenn. sets early voting record
http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/99787054.html?ref=054
Election Day is still three days away, but more of you than ever in Tennessee's history have cast your early August vote.

Internet Vote Watch

Workshop on UOCAVA Remote Voting Systems
http://vote.caltech.edu/drupal/http%3A/%252Fwww.nist.gov/itl/csd/ct/uocava_workshop_aug2010.cfm
Start: 08/06/2010 Purpose: The Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) of the Department of Defense, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are sponsoring a workshop to explore the technical issues associated with remote electronic absentee voting systems for military and overseas voters.

Cyber Attacks on Business – A National Security Threat?
http://zikkir.net/tech/159672

How Secure are Military IT Systems?
http://newsroom.pricerunner.co.uk/1854/articles/technology-articles/how-secure-are-military-it-systems/ According to Mr. Coleman, a computer security specialist at Technoylitcs and consultant to National Intelligence and US Strategic Command, “What is so interesting from a strategic standpoint is that in the cyberarena, China is playing chess while we’re playing checkers"

National

Faith in Technology: Drilling, Driving, and Voting
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/faith-in-technology-drilling-driving-and-voting/
In fact, like oil and automobiles, the problem with voting is not the technology. The problem is believing that technology itself is the source of the problems, the only necessary component of a solution, and fervent faith that the proposed next technology is the solution.

Department of Justice Letter to Sen Coryn regarding Move Act Enforcement
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/Cornyn%20ltr%207.30.10.pdf
"As of this writing, no waiver request decisions have been issued for
the November 2010 general election...The Department is fully prepared to file suit against states that do not come into compliance,to be eligible for a waiver, states must submit a waiver application in accordance with the MOVE Act requirements..."

OVERSEAS VOTE FOUNDATION PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO FOX NEWS REPORT ON MOVE ACT
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016582.html In recognition of states' mammoth tasks to quickly implement this important new federal legislation, I ask commentators: please don't undermine the MOVE Act and insult the states on whom we count to implement it for the benefit of overseas civilian and military voters until you check the facts and get more than one point of view.

Overseas Vote Foundation
https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/
Overseas voters can get help in registering and getting ballots at OVF

Cornyn presses Attorney General Holder to protect the voting rights of U.S. Troopers
http://www.wilsoncountynews.com/article.php?id=29238&n=commentaries-cornyn-presses-attorney-general-holder-to-protect-the-voting-rights-of-us-troopers
“For far too long in this country, we have failed to adequately protect the right of our troops and their families to participate in our democratic process. The MOVE Act was supposed to end this sad history. The right to participate in democratic elections is fundamental to the American experience.”

Get Ready for Political Supergroups
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/08/get-ready-for-super-pacs/60803/
As in super PACs, or political action committees, potentially massive political groups that will raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of candidates.

Popular vote initiative draws critics
Fairness questioned in Electoral College bill
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/02/popular_vote_initiative_draws_critics/

IS READING A LEGAL BLOG IN ONE'S FIELD NOW PART OF THE DUE DILIGENCE OF LAWYERS?
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016575.html
(answer is yes, Rich Hasen's blog is cited in a court ruling)

Can Voter ID Laws Be Administered in a Race-Neutral Manner? Evidence from the City of Boston in 2008 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1625041
We suggest that it may not be feasible to administer voter ID laws in a race-neutral manner in the current United States, and we explore the theoretical and legal consequences of such a conclusion.

International

India: Bihar polls to see return of paper ballots
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=356
The successful “Telangana experiment” has caught the imagination of the political parties. A number of political parties are now contemplating similar action to dump EVMs. After all, all that a party needs to do is to ensure that there are more than 64 candidates in the fray to prevent use of EVMs in polls.

UK: MPs accuse coalition of 'bulldozing alternative vote' through Parliament
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1299718/MPs-accuse-coalition-bulldozing-alternative-vote-Parliament.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

UK: MPs 'denied enough time to study electoral reform bill'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/02/mps-denied-enough-time-to-study-electoral-reform-bill
Newly created political and constitutional reform committee complains that it was only given two days to study proposals for referendum on alternative vote

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