Election Fraud, Reform, News & Related Events for Saturday, 12-10-05

[FogerRox]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

PLEASE

will you please:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x397093

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.


If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

for MAC users-- IIRC its hold down control- and click on the image to view its source.

[FogerRox]

1. NJ: Coalition for Peace Action, Fundraiser: Indigo Girls

CFPA is one of the leading organizations in NJ working for Voting Rights, and a majot proponent of the voter verified paper ballot law that was passed and signed into law earlier this year. Chairwoman Irene Goldman Director, Reverend Bob Moore have a great organization working for PEACE & protecting our right to vote, and to have that vote counted. If you are in NJ please consider supporting the CFPA.


Indigo Girls
Sunday February 12, 2006 - Princeton, NJ



Join us in the very best seats in the front rows of McCarter Theater to hear the Indigo Girls in concert on Sunday, February 12, 2006, at 7:00 pm. The Indigo Girls will join us after the concert for a reception in the west lounge of the theater, and desserts and coffee will be served. Tickets are $75 for the concert and reception. We also have autographed copies of their latest limited-edition CD, Rarities, provided with the $100 tickets. Limited income options are available.

Tix available:

http://www.peacecoalition.org/action/2006Q1/060212_concert_for_peace.aspx



Benefiting the Peace Action Education Fund
40 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08542
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

[FogerRox]

2. NY-Ithaca-Voting rules: Time for talk now at hand

Voting rules: Time for talk now at hand


For anyone interested in democracy in this great state, the time to perk up your ears and raise your voice is now.

Following the 2000 presidential election debacle in Florida, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act. The goal was to standardize and modernize all voter registration records and to completely revamp the machines we use to cast our ballots to insure access, accuracy and that we never again hear the expression “hanging chad.” The feds set aside billions of dollars to make this all happen and used that cash as a carrot to move the states.

Faithfully bringing up the rear, to the surprise of few, is New York. Granted a one-time waiver from the original November 2004 deadline for new voting machines, the state Attorney General's Office now warns that Albany faces an absolute deadline to have new HAVA-compliant machines in place and ready to rumble by the Nov. 7, 2006 federal elections. The state already has $66 million from Washington in a locked up in the comptroller's office and will get $153 million more to pay for this transformation if, and only if, it meets that final deadline.

Albany's response was according to script. For years the Legislature put off the work, until legislation to set a uniform state machine system fell apart this spring, leaving it up to counties to pick their own machines from a state-approved list. State leaders created a special 10-member panel to advise on that transition, then that same government largely ignored that group when the state Board of Elections - without hearing from the advisory board or the public — issued draft rules for the new HAVA machines in September. Those rules quickly came under fire from members of that panel, including local Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, and the press, including this newspaper, for failing to insure that counties will have a choice between more expensive ATM-style “direct recording electronic” devices and less expensive paper-based optical scanners. Other watchdog organizations, notably New York Public Interest Research Group and New Yorkers for Verified Voting, have built a list of complaints about the proposed rules; from language diversity to hacker security issues.

Now, we stumble toward the finish line, and straight into your lap.


>snip<


Learn and act

• To get a copy of the proposed rules,

go to www.elections.state.ny.us

or call [phone]

• N.Y. Public Interest Research Group www.nypirg.org/goodgov/votingsys.html

• New Yorkers for Verified Voting http://nyvv.org

• New York HAVA rules hearings

All hearings will start at 10:30 a.m.

Dec. 13 - Rochester. Monroe County Board of Elections, 2595 Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Road.

Dec. 16 - Albany. Legislative Office Building, Hearing Room B.

Dec. 20 - New York City. 250 Broadway, Senate Hearing Room, Room 1920.

• To send comments

By e-mail: [email protected]

By mail: NYS Board of Elections, 40 Steuben St., Albany, NY 12207-2108

More-
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/OPINION01/512090321/1014

[Wilms]

20. New York: An Impulsive Rush to Test Voting Systems

New York: An Impulsive Rush to Test Voting Systems - Is this the Way to Responsible Government?

By William Edelstein, New Yorkers for Verified Voting
December 08, 2005

In early December, members of the Voting Systems Citizen Advisory Task Force established by the New York Board of Elections (BOE) received a letter dated November 22 from the BOE. This letter informed them that the BOE would “conduct preliminary testing” of the LibertyVote voting system. The letter begins (emphasis added):

The Liberty Election System, a DRE voting machine which has never been submitted for certification in New York, has been delivered to us for certification testing. We are prepared to conduct preliminary testing - Phase I of this process - on December 7, 8 and '9, 2005. This voting system as submitted, does not include a voter verifiable paper audit trail nor access for a sip/puff device, as required by statute, however we can perform certain other functional tests, in anticipation of their required modifications. This machine will have to be re-submitted for additional testing, once new rules and regulations are approved, to ensure complete compliance with both HAVA and New York's newest statutes.

What exactly is the nature of this testing, and who will carry out the tests? What is “Phase 1,” and where is it defined? The BOE has not talked to the Citizens Advisory Task Force, or to the public, about any of the testing procedures.

This flies in the face of having an open process, as announced by the BOE, to consider the draft voting machine regulations. This discussion includes a 45 day comment period beginning on December 7 and public hearings around the state which will not even begin until December 13.

However, the notice of the public comment period and public hearings was published on November 30, well after the BOE had decided to carry out “preliminary testing.”

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=455&Itemid=113

[FogerRox]

3. NC suit: EFF: "This is about the rule of law,"

December 9, 2005
E-voting Dispute Hits North Carolina Courts
By Roy Mark


With midterm elections less than a year away, e-voting is again stirring controversy among voting rights advocates. North Carolina -- again -- finds itself in the crosshairs.

>snip<

"This is about the rule of law," EFF staff attorney Matt Zimmerman said in a statement. "The Board of Elections has simply ignored its mandatory obligations under North Carolina election law."

North Carolina law requires the Board of Elections to review all voting system code "prior to certification." Ignoring this requirement, the Board of Elections on Dec. 1 certified voting systems offered by Diebold Election Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems and Election Systems and Software (ESS) without having first obtained the system code.

"This statute was enacted to require election officials to investigate the quality and security of voting systems before approval, and only approve those that are safe and secure," Zimmerman said. "By certifying without a full review of all relevant code, the Board of Elections has now opened the door for North Carolina counties to purchase untested and potentially insecure voting equipment."

>snip<
More-

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3569871

[Wilms]

16. NC: Democrat Party chairman recommends opticalscan voting machines

Thursday, December 8. 2005

NC Democrat Party chairman recommends opticalscan voting machines

In an open letter to North Carolina's County Board of Election members, NC Democratic chairman, Jerry Meeks urged that they purchase opticalscan voting machines rather than the more expensive, less reliable touchscreen voting machines.

Meeks cites the machines as "user friendly" and easier to use than touchscreens. He also mentions the deep-seated distrust of any system that does not produce a paper ballot as a reason to choose OpScan.

I would advise all citizens of NC to print out this letter and FAX it, mail it to each and every member of your county board of elections. Tell them you agree with the party chairman and expect them to do the right thing.

snip

http://blackboxvoting.com/s9/index.php?/archives/39-NC-Democrat-Party-chairman-recommends-opticalscan-voting-machines.html

[FogerRox]

4. Michigan: Workers begin recount of Detroit mayoral race

Workers begin recount of Detroit mayoral race:

Picture--
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20051209&Category=METRO&ArtNo=512090357&Ref=AR&Profile=1003Q=100&MaxW=500

Candidate reps keep close eye on tabulation

David Josar / The Detroit News

The recount is being held in an atrium in the New Center in GM's old headquarters. The public can enter the recount area and view the process. See full image


The recount to confirm whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick won re-election began Thursday as 75 newly hired workers began to manually tabulate the roughly 235,000 votes cast Nov. 8.

Kilpatrick officials said they would "welcome" a decision by defeated challenger Freman Hendrix to call off the recount, but Hendrix's lawyer declined.

On Thursday, 22 of 720 precincts were counted. Kilpatrick gained two votes on Hendrix, candidate representatives said.

"This thing is not changing," said Eddie McDonald, Kilpatrick's campaign manager, who watched the tabulation Thursday as one of the mayor's representatives.

More --
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/METRO/512090357/1003

[FogerRox]

5. more news from Detriot--

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS01/512090449/1003/NEWS

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWS01/512080536/1001/NEWS

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512090162dec09,1,7824010.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512090162dec09,1,7824010.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[FogerRox]

6. Judges Exclude 26% of Ballots in Va. Recount

Judges Exclude 26% of Ballots in Va. Recount

By Carol Morello
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 10, 2005; Page B03

A three-judge panel in Richmond decided yesterday that more than 500,000 ballots cast in the attorney general's race will not be recounted and run again through tabulating machines.

The ruling was a setback to Democratic Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who trails Republican Del. Robert F. McDonnell by 323 votes out of 1.94 million cast in the Nov. 8 election. After McDonnell was certified the winner, Deeds requested the recount, scheduled to take place over two days beginning Dec. 20.


Joseph Kearfott, Deeds's attorney, had argued that all paper ballots counted on optical scan machines should be rerun through tabulators to ensure an accurate recount. The Deeds campaign had hoped to pick up some "undervotes" that had not been counted by the machines.

"Here there is a meaningful chance that a full recount . . . could result in the difference in the election," Kearfott said in court, according to the Associated Press. "You owe it to the candidates and to the state of Virginia."

more-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/09/AR2005120901883.html

[FogerRox]

7. More on Virginia recount:

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/43968

http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=4226645&nav=S6aK

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128768618817&path=!news&s=1045855934842

[Wilms]

26. LBN Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1978203

[FogerRox]

8. MAINE-Recounts Confirm LOCAL ELECTIONS

Saturday, December 10, 2005

RECOUNTS CONFIRM LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE RUN WELL



Even voters who do not care who is elected to the Augusta City Council or whether a new jail is built in Somerset County should be pleased by the results of the November election.

Not necessarily because there will be a new jail or because Mark O'Brien will be a member of the council, but because recounts in both races showed that the people who count the ballots on Election Night do a good and an accurate job.

The original vote count in the Somerset County jail referendum showed it was approved by 28 votes. That margin was small enough to justify a recount.

The total after the recount: 7,139 in favor; 7,109 against.

The jail was approved by 30 votes, not 28.

>snip<

more-

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/2225514.shtml

[FogerRox]

9. Butler County, Ohio: Recount: D'Epifanio elected Fairfield mayor

Recount: D'Epifanio elected Fairfield mayor

By Jennifer Edwards
Enquirer staff writer

FAIRFIELD – In the tightest mayor’s race of this Butler County city’s history, former Councilman Ron D’Epifanio was declared the winner, again, in a recount today.

D’Epifanio received six more votes, 3,684 votes, compared to 3,678 for opponent and current Councilman Howard Dirksen, according to Betty McGary, deputy director of the Butler County Board of Elections.

The third candidate, Councilwoman Jill Kinder, received 2,115 votes.

On Election Night, Dirksen was declared the winner by one vote; that changed on Nov. 21, when 168 provisional ballots were counted, declaring D’Epifanio the winner by five votes.

More-

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS01/312090018

[FogerRox]

10. Criticism of Justice Dept.'s Rights Division Grows

Reported by http://electionlawblog.org/



Staff Opinions Banned In Voting Rights Cases
Criticism of Justice Dept.'s Rights Division Grows

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 10, 2005; Page A03

The Justice Department has barred staff attorneys from offering recommendations in major Voting Rights Act cases, marking a significant change in the procedures meant to insulate such decisions from politics, congressional aides and current and former employees familiar with the issue said.

Disclosure of the change comes amid growing public criticism of Justice Department decisions to approve Republican-engineered plans in Texas and Georgia that were found to hurt minority voters by career staff attorneys who analyzed the plans. Political appointees overruled staff findings in both cases.

more-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/09/AR2005120901894.html

[FogerRox]

11. more on the DOJ

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/

[FogerRox]

12. Ohio-Recount zaps out Gov. Taft's cousin

Recount zaps out Gov. Taft's cousin
Friday, December 09, 2005
Joseph L. Wagner
Plain Dealer Reporter
Upon further review, Pepper Pike Councilman Richard Bain is a winner.

The coin flip that had declared Rick Taft the winner in the deadlocked council race was premature.

A recount completed Thursday found that the race was not deadlocked afterall. Bain actually won by one vote - 1,124 to 1,123.

But don't swear Bain in to replace two-term Councilman Taft just yet.

Another recount may be necessary.

"We speculate this is a chad issue," Jane Platten, spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, said in explaining why the new vote total may be different from the original.

She said it is possible that a ballot had a hanging chad - the tiny dabs of cardboard made infamous by the 2000 Florida presidential recount.

more-

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1134121335194271.xml&coll=2

[Wilms]

13. BRAD BLOG: Hunger Strike in Ohio Over New Anti-Democratic GOP Legislation!

Ohio Citizen Continues Hunger Strike, Prayer Vigil in Buckeye State to Oppose Anti-Democratic Law Set to Pass Statehouse

'Christian Faith Requires Personal Sacrifice' Says Divinity Student Protesting Law Said to Ensure Republican Control of Scandal-Ridden Ohio

by Brad Friedman

To protest what Free Press investigative reporters describe as a "holiday burial for American Democracy" in the Buckeye State, Ohio divinity student and Columbus resident, Jonathan Meier is continuing his prayer vigil and hunger strike at the Ohio Statehouse despite heavy snow and brutally cold winter temperatures.

House Bill 3 has already passed the House and is about to be approved by the Republican-dominated Senate in the ground-zero snakepit of GOP political corruption otherwise known as as Ohio.

Activist Meier's, in a just-issued press release says "that his Christian faith calls him to 'constantly pursue social justice and illuminate social ills, and, often, this call requires personal sacrifice."

The democracy-stifling new law, set to pass in the Republican-dominated Statehouse as early as this week, "opens voter registration activists to partisan prosecution, exempts electronic voting machines from public scrutiny, quintuples the cost of citizen-requested statewide recounts and makes it illegal to challenge a presidential vote count or, indeed, any federal election result in Ohio."...

MORE DETAILS, FULL IMPLICATIONS FOR AMERICA & THE COURAGEOUS PROTEST AGAINST THIS OUTRAGEOUS NEW LAW:

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002139.htm

GD Discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5567123#5567206

[Wilms]

14. FL: 'Paper trail' ballot activists protest elections chief

'Paper trail' ballot activists protest elections chief

By George Bennett

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, December 09, 2005

As a few demonstrators accused him of breaking his central campaign promise from 2004, Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said Thursday that he remains as committed as ever to pursuing a ballot "paper trail" for Palm Beach County.

But Anderson said it would be "irresponsible" to dump the county's paperless touch-screen voting machines immediately, as some activists are urging.

snip

Although the decision is not entirely in the supervisor's hands, county Green Party Co-Chairwoman Echo Steiner said Anderson should be doing more to bring about a paper trail.

"Over and over, he said he saw his role as supervisor of elections being an activist for election reform. I haven't seen that," said Steiner, who helped organize Thursday's demonstration.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2005/12/09/s3c_voting_1209.html

[Wilms]

17. FL: Former diplomat named to state's top election post

Former diplomat named to state's top election post

By Associated Press
Published December 8, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Coral Gables businesswoman Sue Cobb, a former U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, was introduced by Gov. Jeb Bush Wednesday as Florida's next secretary of state.

Cobb, 68, whose duties will include overseeing crucial elections next year, previously served in Bush's administration as interim Florida lottery secretary in 1999. In January she will replace Glenda Hood, who resigned last month.

There has been partisan bickering in the past over the conduct of Florida's elections, most notably in 2000. Democrats accused then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris, now a Republican congresswoman and candidate for the Senate, of making rulings to favor the governor's brother in the presidential race.

In elections next year, Gov. Bush's successor will be chosen and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson will seek re-election, likely against Harris.

snip

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/08/State/Former_diplomat_named.shtml

[Wilms]

24. FL: Opinion - Another partisan appointment

Another partisan appointment

A Times Editorial

Published December 9, 2005

In choosing a new secretary of state, Gov. Jeb Bush picked a woman with impressive credentials in every aspect of the job except the most important one: overseeing fair and accurate elections.

Sue McCourt Cobb built a successful career as a Miami lawyer and entrepreneur. Her extensive public service record includes a stint as Florida Lottery director, and for 31/2 years she was the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica. She also has been a generous partisan, befriending the governor and president and financially backing Republican candidates.

Cobb is certainly qualified to act as the state's culture czar and keeper of corporate and government records, other duties of the Florida Department of State. But the past two secretaries are remembered most for their ability (or inability) to administer state election law competently and objectively. Katherine Harris, the last elected secretary, botched the 2000 election and brought shame on the state with her incompetence and partisan rulings. Her successor, former Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood, got off to a good start but made some questionable judgments that once again tainted the office's reputation.

Bush needed to consider that history when picking Hood's replacement, but it does not appear to have figured into his choice. In fact, Cobb's only obvious involvement in an election was as a volunteer coordinator of Republican lawyers in the 2000 presidential recount, hardly Florida's finest hour.

snip

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/09/Opinion/Another_partisan_appo.shtml

[Wilms]

15. CT: SoS Will Give Towns Optical Scan Option For Balloting

Secretary Of The State Will Give Towns Optical Scan Option For Balloting

By John Voket

In an exclusive interview Wednesday, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz told The Bee she plans to give all Connecticut communities the opportunity to use federal funds to purchase optical scanning technology to use in polling places.

During this latest conversation related to electronic voting technology conducted with the secretary of the state and members of her staff, Ms Bysiewicz initially responded to a request issued by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), which is chaired by Newtown First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

In the November memo, the CCM initially requested that the secretary of the state's office exercise its "right to cancel, amend, modify, or otherwise change," its request for proposals for direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines. The correspondence goes on to cite significant cost savings and other advantages local municipalities could enjoy, if they were given an opportunity to purchase optical scanning voting machines equipped with technology developed by Automark Technical Systems.

However, Ms Bysiewicz said that the Automark company, on two occasions, declined to submit a proposal to be considered for the statewide voting machine program, which received $33 million in federal funding under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) legislation.

snip

http://www.newtownbee.com/News.asp?s=News-2005-12-08-14-35-58p1.htm

[Wilms]

18. Evidence of Political Manipulation at the Justice Department

Evidence of Political Manipulation at the Justice Department: How Tom DeLay's Redistricting Plan Avoided Voting Rights Act Disapproval

By MARK POSNER

Tuesday, Dec. 06, 2005

A few days ago, a confidential Justice Department memorandum was leaked to the press. The memorandum, prepared by career staff in the Department's Civil Rights Division in December 2003, dealt with the Texas congressional redistricting plan engineered by Tom DeLay earlier that year. It concluded that the plan discriminated against minority voters, in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Under the Voting Rights Act, DOJ was required to approve or disapprove the redistricting plan. A Republican appointee overrode the staff recommendation and granted approval, allowing the plan to go into effect for the 2004 congressional elections. In so doing, the official sided with his political party and with one of the most powerful Republicans in Washington.
Click here to find out more!

Was this political manipulation or, as the Bush Administration has claimed, simply an honest disagreement between the career and political staff about how to apply the law to a complex set of facts?

According to the Attorney General, who spoke out in DOJ's defense, all Department decisions are "based on what the law requires" and "disagreement within the ranks does not necessarily make a wrong decision."

snip

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20051206_posner.html

[Wilms]

19. (Holt) Bill Would Provide Voters with Protection from Voter Intimidation

Rep. Holt Introduces Bill To Stop Voter Intimidation

By VTUSA
December 08, 2005

Bill Would Provide Voters with Protection from Voter Intimidation
and the Dissemination of Inaccurate Voting Information

(Link to Press Release) Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today introduced the “Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2005,” (HR 4463), a House version of the bill (S. 1975) offered by Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) last month. Both bills are designed to prevent voters from being denied the opportunity to vote through deception or intimidation.

“As we’ve learned from previous elections, there are still people in the country who try to prevent their fellow citizens from voting so that their party or candidate can win,” said Holt. “Both parties have an interest in making sure that the federal government has a zero tolerance policy for that kind of conduct. Passing these identical bills in the Senate and House would send a clear message: disseminating false information or intimidating others so that they will not vote is punishable by large fines and jail time. Voting is the fundamental act of a democracy, and no one should be allowed to interfere with or intimidate another citizen’s right to vote, period.”

"One of our most sacred rights as Americans is the right to make our voice heard at the polls," said Obama. "But too often, we hear reports of mysterious phone calls and mailers arriving just days before an election that seek to mislead and threaten voters to keep them from voting. And those who engage in these deceptive and underhanded campaign tactics usually target voters living in minority or low-income neighborhoods. This legislation would ensure that for the first time, these incidents are fully investigated and that those found guilty are punished."

Joining Holt as original sponsor of the bill was Representative John Lewis (D-GA).

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=457&Itemid=26

[Wilms]

21. CA: Court hears Soubirous (recount) appeal

Court hears Soubirous appeal

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer

RIVERSIDE ---- Lawyers for the county and a candidate who lost a bid for county office clashed in court Tuesday over whether an electronic-vote recount was mishandled.

The hearing ended with state judges saying they would rule shortly in Linda Soubirous' appeal of a 2004 Riverside County Superior Court decision, which found that the county's former elections chief did not abuse her authority when she refused to consult certain information for the recount.

A three-judge panel from the California Court of Appeal, 4th District, has 90 days to issue a decision, and observers said a ruling is likely within 45 days.

Soubirous, a Lake Mathews resident, finished a distant second to Supervisor Bob Buster in a three-way primary race in March 2004 that also featured former Lake Elsinore Mayor Kevin Pape. If Buster had finished with less than 50 percent of the vote, she could have forced a November runoff between the two of them, but Buster finished with just a few dozen votes more than half and avoided the runoff.

Then, Soubirous demanded a recount.

snip

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/12/07/news/californian/22_05_3712_6_05.txt

[Wilms]

25. CA: LTTE - Protect voters with paper trail

Protect voters with paper trail

Friday, December 09, 2005

California law requires the secretary of state to conduct a public hearing as a condition of certifying any voting systems in the state. The secretary of state had scheduled a hearing for Nov. 21 on the question of whether certain Diebold voting systems should be certified before the end of the year.

But the secretary of state disbanded the Voting Systems Panel that was supposed to conduct these hearings and replaced it with one person, a stenographer and a tape recorder.

I have been watching this situation evolve throughout the special election of Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State Kevin Shelly's resignation and Bruce McPherson's appointment as secretary of state. I have long felt a goal of the Republican party was to install voting machines that could be manipulated to their advantage, like in Ohio, Florida and so many other places. This must not be allowed to happen. California must reject the corruptible Diebold voting system. Concerned Amador County citizens should contact our Schwarzenegger-appointed secretary of state, McPherson this week and demand he stop opposing voter-verified paper records for audits and recounts, reject Diebold voting systems and keep our votes safe .

snip

http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/opinion/opinionview.asp?c=174371

[Wilms]

22. PA: Activists protest against voter bill

Activists protest against voter bill

By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Thursday, December 8, 2005

Voting-rights activists gathered in Pittsburgh on Wednesday to protest a bill pending in the state Legislature that they say would disenfranchise poor and elderly voters.

"Our voting statistics are getting lower and lower on almost every election -- not only for black people, but for white people as well," said Tim Stevens, president of the Black Political Empowerment Project. "This state does not need to discourage anybody from voting."

Stevens was among about a dozen protesters representing various organizations at a Downtown news conference. A similar protest was held in Harrisburg yesterday to oppose the measure, which passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

The bill would require people to show photo identification before voting and would put tighter restrictions on where voting places can be located. It also would take away the right to vote from people convicted of a felony who are out of prison but on probation or parole.

snip

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_401884.html

[Wilms]

23. PA SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE: THE VERY GOOD AND VERY BAD ON AGENDA

PA SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE: THE VERY GOOD AND VERY BAD ON AGENDA THIS WEEK

SB 977, Pennsylvania’s much-needed bill for voter-verified records will share the Senate State Government Committee meeting agenda with the restrictive HB 1318 this Tuesday morning, December 13, prompting an urgent action alert to contact State Senators and Representatives in the Keystone State.

Introduced in early November by Senator Joseph Conti (R- Bucks), SB 977 is an exact clone of HB 2000, introduced in the PA House earlier this fall by Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny. ) HB 2000 / SB 977 would require voter-verified records on all voting systems with a routine 5% random manual audit records, and would make the paper the official record in the event of discrepancy, audit, or recount. The Pennsylvania bills have been highly acclaimed nationally as well-planned “model” legislation for VVPR, and have already garnered co-sponsors making up over one-fourth of each chamber in the state legislature. HB 2000 and SB 977 are also receiving growing support from local and county governmental bodies as well as individual citizens throughout the state.

HB 1318, which started out last spring as a simple bill to amend requirements for candidates running for open seats on local governmental boards, was marked up on the PA House floor just prior to passage in June to require photo ID for all voters and further disenfranchise persons with a history of felony conviction. The Pennsylvania Senate has already added further language restricting polling places. The bill is so changed from its original intent, the original sponsor Rep. Marc Gergely (D-Allegheny) removed his name as prime sponsor last month.

While movement on the VVPR bill(s) has been long awaited in the Keystone State, citizens and activists are highly concerned that SB 977 for VVPR has been placed on the same agenda as HB 1318 for this meeting right before the holiday recess. The fear is that restrictive provisions from HB 1318 may be rolled into the “good” bill SB 977.

snip

Thanks to Demodonkey
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x404479

Petition
http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=VTUSA&hotissue=2

See also Votetrust USA HB 2000/S 977 Information Page
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=196&Itemid=107

[Wilms]

27. The Significance of the Death of Raymond Lemme to the 2004 Election

Sat Dec-10-05 04:48 PM

The Significance of the Death of Raymond Lemme to the 2004 Election

by Time for change

There is very good reason to believe that Raymond Lemme (whom I’ll bet was never mentioned by our corporate MSM) had information shortly before his death, in July 2003, in a Valdosta, Georgia motel room, that could have blown open the plans of George W. Bush and his handlers to “win” the 2004 Presidential election. To evaluate this connection we should start with a brief summary of the unsolved mysteries surrounding Bush’s “victory” in Ohio, which everyone knew well before Election Day would almost certainly be necessary for a Bush Electoral College victory.

snip

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5567680#top

[FogerRox]

28. Thanks Wilms--

[Bill Bored]

29. Where are Mark Warner and Autorank when you need them? (VA)

After it was reported here on DU by VA Dem Autorank that VA Gov. and possible 2008 Dem Presidential candidate Mark Warner promised to count every vote, now there's this:



http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=96670&ran=223285

Panel's recount ruling goes McDonnell's way

RICHMOND — Republican Robert F. McDonnell won a legal battle Friday in the recount of last month’s attorney general vote when a three-judge panel ruled that about 500,000 paper-based ballots do not have be recounted individually.

Lawyers for Democrat R. Creigh Deeds had asked that all paper-based ballots cast in the Nov. 8 statewide election either be recounted by hand or resubmitted through optical scanning machines.

The circuit judges sided with McDonnell, who argued that it is sufficient to simply re-add computer tapes from voting machines that contained totals for each candidate.

-snip-

Count every vote huh? Where have we heard that one before?

[Bill Bored]

30. Here's another one about this:

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/122005/12102005/151947

Ballots will not be rescanned

"Under Markow's ruling, however, challenged ballots will be referred to the three-judge panel. The judges will decide if it's a valid ballot or not. Kearfott had argued that doing that would make the process even more cumbersome; he wanted Markow to spell out in the ruling a standard to determine which ballots could be rescanned."

Sounds like Bush v. Gore to me! Judges deciding whose votes should be counted? WTF?

Someone PLEASE tell me they at least had some random auditing!