Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Saturday, March 11

[livvy]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News


All members welcome and encouraged to participate.


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



If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

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.



Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[livvy]

1. Push to Tighten Lobbying Rules Loses Strength

Push to Tighten Lobbying Rules Loses Strength

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: March 11, 2006

WASHINGTON, March 10 — The drive for a tighter lobbying law, just two months ago a major priority on Capitol Hill, is losing momentum, a victim of shifting political interests, infighting among House Republicans and a growing sense among lawmakers of both parties that wholesale change may not be needed after all.

The initial fervor for legislation was fueled by the Abramoff scandal, coupled with the resignation of Representative Randy Cunningham, Republican of California, after he pleaded guilty in another corruption case. With the midterm elections on the horizon, lawmakers seemed in a big hurry for reform. Republicans in particular worried that the ethics issue would turn on them the way it did on Democrats in 1994, when Republicans took control of the House.

The initial votes on the Senate bill have shown the limits of the appetite for change. Already a Senate committee has rejected a plan, advanced by Ms. Collins and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, to create an independent office to investigate ethics abuses. And while the Senate did vote this week in favor of a ban on gifts and meals from lobbyists, the real fight will be over whether to limit a much more lucrative perk: private travel, and lawmakers' use of corporate jets.

Further, Congress tends to have a short attention span. Without a grass-roots hue and cry of the sort that pushed lawmakers to block the Dubai port deal this week, it was perhaps inevitable that the push for lobbying law changes would diminish.
more


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/politics/11lobby.html?th&emc=th

on edit: added link

[livvy]

2. Jesse's Judge: Boyle Nomination to Fourth Circuit US Court of Appeals

Jesse's Judge
by Nan Aron
From the bio link under her name:A leading voice in public interest law for over 30 years, Nan Aron is President of the Alliance for Justice, a national association of public interest and civil rights organizations.

In the aftermath of the Alito nomination, it would be easy to think that the issue of Bush's court picks would fade away, at least until after the elections this fall. But we can't allow ourselves to be lulled into that kind of complacency. In the next few weeks, the Senate will likely take up the nomination of U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Here's what Boyle's record as a judge tells us: he is a hard-right judicial activist who has sought to roll back well-settled precedents and override the express will of Congress. His opinions are hostile to individual rights claims made by African-Americans, persons with disabilities and others, often in the name of "states' rights."

And when his opinions are appealed, the most conservative appeals court in the country has reversed his decisions more than 150 times -- twice the rate of the average Fourth Circuit trial judge -- for subverting basic procedural rules and misconstruing clear legal principles. This high reversal rate calls into question his fitness to serve as an appeals court judge. Since the Supreme Court hears so few cases, for the most part he wouldn't have a higher court looking over his shoulder to correct his fundamental misapplications of the law.

So now we have another Bush in the White House. And Helms finally got his way when Dubya nominated Boyle in 2001. The Democrats controlled the Judiciary committee back then and refused to take up the nomination, as did Republicans when they took over in 2003. But after Bush was re-elected in 2004, he renominated Boyle and the Republican Judiciary Committee, having run out of other nominees, approved his nomination without the vote of a single Democrat. So now, after fifteen years, a Senate vote on Boyle is finally imminent.
more

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nan-aron/jesses-judge_b_17099.html

[livvy]

3. Money's Going to Talk in 2008

Money's Going to Talk in 2008
'Entry Fee' for Presidential Race Could Be $100 Million


By Thomas B. Edsall and Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 11, 2006; Page A01

Michael E. Toner, the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, has some friendly advice for presidential candidates who plan to be taken seriously by the time nominating contests start in early 2008: Bring your wallet.

"There is a growing sense that there is going to be a $100 million entry fee at the end of 2007 to be considered a serious candidate," Toner said in a recent interview.

The jockeying for the presidential nominations in both major parties is already vigorously underway, as illustrated by the parade of GOP contenders on display this weekend at a meeting of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis. For now, however, the main arena of competition is financial, as candidates prepare themselves for a race most analysts believe will involve sums vastly larger than those spent on previous presidential campaigns.

Not all political finance experts and campaign operatives agree with Toner that raising $100 million over the next 22 months is the price of admission for candidates who want to establish credibility and compete on an equal footing. The $100 million is nearly three times the previous threshold for being regarded in national political circles as a first-tier candidate. But it is plain that a number of factors have converged that will render obsolete old assumptions about what it costs to run for president.

more


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031002425.html

[livvy]

4. GOP Faithful Get a Preview of 2008 Contenders

GOP Faithful Get a Preview of 2008 Contenders
At Tennessee Gathering, McCain Suggests That His Supporters Cast Straw-Poll Votes for Bush

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 11, 2006; Page A11

MEMPHIS, March 10 -- Almost 1,000 days before the elections of 2008, nearly 2,000 Republicans from the South and Midwest have come to Memphis looking for a new president.

Most of the major prospective candidates will speak this weekend. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney helped open the first formal session Friday, drawing his strongest applause by stressing his opposition to same-sex marriage. McCain wrapped up Friday night's session with praise for the president on the port controversy, Iran, Iraq and Social Security, and with tough words aimed at pork-barrel spending in Congress.

On Saturday, delegates will hear from Virginia Sen. George Allen, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Frist, whose team has worked hardest to organize for the straw poll.

Several possible candidates are missing, however, among them former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and New York Gov. George E. Pataki, all of whom were unable to attend. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, whose anti-immigration speeches have drawn support among conservatives and who has hinted at a possible 2008 campaign, was not invited.
more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031002029.html

[livvy]

7. Mehlman's Fiery Start to GOP Gathering

Mehlman's Fiery Start to GOP Gathering

washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog


The Fix obtained a copy of Mehlman's speech a little early. Here's a look at the highlights:
* Mehlman takes a hard line against Democrats on controversial issues like the war in Iraq ("Do these Democrat leaders really think we would be safer by cutting and running in Iraq?"), the Patriot Act ("Was Harry Reid really that proud when he announced last year, 'We killed the Patriot Act'?") and the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program ("Do Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean really think that when the NSA is listening in on foreign terrorists planning attacks on America, they need to hang up when those terrorists dial their sleeper cells here in the United States?"). "Democrats are great at this game," adds Mehlman. "They say one thing come election time, but their records show that they mean - and will do - another."
* He sounds several talking points outlined by President Bush during his State of the Union address in January, including the need to break the United States's dependence on foreign oil and the necessity of recruiting more math and science teachers to keep America ahead of the innovation curve.
* Mehlman insists the economy is extremely strong and portrays Democrats -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- as in favor higher taxes. "They argued against cutting taxes when we had a surplus ... and still wanted to raise them when the economy went into recession," says Mehlman. "When politicians with a record like this promise to hold a budget summit, you'd better watch your wallet."
* He devotes considerable time to perhaps the reddest of all red meat issues for conservatives -- the appointment of federal judges. "We stand for democracy; we stand for the Constitution; and that means we stand against judicial activism," Mehlman says. "And in 2006, we will choose whether we will continue to put judges on the federal bench who will interpret the law, not invent it."
more

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/03/memphis_scene_setter.html

[livvy]

8. Romney: Leading Off at the SRLC

Chris Cillizza's Politics Blog -- The Fix
washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog


washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog
Posted at 07:03 PM ET, 03/10/2006

Romney: Leading Off at the SRLC

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) got the distinction of being the first potential 2008 presidential candidate to address the Southern Republican Leadership Conference earlier this afternoon.

The biggest applause line of Romney's address came when he discussed his opposition to same-sex marriages in Massachusetts. "Marriage is primarily about the raising and nurturing of children," said Romney. " Every child in America has the right to a mother and father." A prolonged chorus of applause followed.

Romney stayed away from any talk concerning his 2008 intentions, insisting that the reason he was at the SRLC was in his capacity as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "Republican principles are working at the state level," Romney said. "I want you to go to work to elect Republican Governors across the south and across the country.

Romney did not make any direct reference to his Mormon faith, but it was a clear undercurrent in the room. Saul Anuzis, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said Romney's belief system "is an issue because a lot of people don't understand the Mormon religion." Anuzis added, however, that in his home state "the Mormon issue isn't a big deal."

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

[livvy]

15. McCain Tells Republicans To Keep Eyes on 2006

McCain tells Republicans to keep eyes on 2006


By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent Sat Mar 11, 12:08 AM ET

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Reuters) - Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, a potential White House contender in 2008, warned Republican activists on Friday to stay focused on winning November's midterm elections and not look ahead to the presidential race.

"Our most immediate political priority isn't the '08 presidential race, it's the '06 midterm elections," McCain told nearly 2,000 party activists from 26 states gathered in Memphis to plot strategy and hear from a half-dozen potential 2008 presidential contenders.

Most of the potential White House candidates worked hard to play down expectations for the poll, although Frist packed the home-state crowd with supporters and would have the most to lose from a bad result. McCain's call to vote for Bush could further muddy the results.


MCCAIN, GIULIANI LEAD POLLS

Public opinion polls show McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are the most popular potential 2008 candidates with Republican voters nationally. Giuliani is not attending the conference.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060311/pl_nm/republicans_dc;_ylt=AngmXDS3NeqEJ1qDb46yk4yM5QcF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

[FogerRox]

5. Diebold decision should ve had public input

Diebold decision should ve had public input

By the Paradise Post Editorial Board



BACKROOM deals have long been one of the less admirable aspects of government, from local councils to our national government.
In the past, they were worked out in the traditional smoke-filled rooms, but today they are consummated over dinners in plush restaurants or at exclusive golf clubs. However, these deals are often not so blatantly secretive.

These deals may be made in official settings by the proper authorities and be entirely legal. There have been two examples one federal and one local of these actions recently.

The first was the Dubai port deal. The second was the Butte County supervisors giving themselves large pay raises.

Both decisions were made legally and according to the rules. But only after the fact was the public informed of the decisions. Each was presented as a fait accompli.

And in both cases, the government entities held firm in face of public anger.

The public outrage in the Dubai case was so great that the deal appears to be dead; however, the Board of Supervisors seems to be weathering the storm.

story-

http://www.paradisepost.com/columns/ci_3591357

[FogerRox]

6. Onorato settles on an electronic voting machine. The Sequoia Advantage.

Onorato settles on an electronic voting machine

Wednesday, February 22, 2006
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said yesterday. . . .

>snip<

The Pennsylvania Department of State says a federal law, the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, which does not require public approval, takes precedence.

If the court rules against the state, as many as two dozen counties that use lever machines, including Allegheny County, may have to put ballot questions before voters ahead of any machine purchases.

But if counties don't start replacing their old equipment before the May 16 primary election, they could lose millions in federal aid.


>snip<

The Sequoia machine, the AVC Advantage, is a "full-face" model, meaning voters can see the entire ballot at one time, just as they can with the lever machines that have been in use in Allegheny County since the 1960s. Instead of pulling levers, voters push buttons to select their choices

[livvy]

9. Let's Get Real About Our Rigged Voting System

Elections & Voting
Let's get real about our rigged voting system
By Bev Conover
Online Journal Editor & Publisher


Mar 10, 2006, 00:40

Writer after writer keeps talking about how we are just going to march into the polls come November and vote the monsters out. If only that were true.

The system is rigged, folks. Just like oil and water, computers and voting don't mix. And that includes touch screens, optically-scanned ballots, even punch cards that are tabulated by computers. Worse, the voting equipment is in the hands of partisan private firms and they deny you the right to see the code, claiming it is proprietary information.

Adding so-called "verifiable" paper receipts to touch screens would be meaningless, because a handful of scumbags still can change the results just enough to give their candidates a win without triggering a hand recount.
big snip of some interesting information and thoughts on Conover's part. An excellent rant!

Elections, for most people, used to be a relatively simple thing. They took a paper ballot into a voting booth and penciled an X next to the names of the candidates they favored. The paper ballot was then dropped into a locked box. At the end of the voting day, the box was opened and the votes were counted one by one. Most states even allowed the public to witness the counting.
more

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_589.shtml

[livvy]

10. IL: Judge Agrees Lakefront Lacks Early Vote Sites, Issues No Order

Judge agrees lakefront lacks early vote sites, issues no order

March 10, 2006

BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Legal Affairs Reporter

Looking at the map of the city's 21 early-voting sites, the lack of sites on the lakefront is "fairly glaring," U.S. District Judge David Coar said Thursday.

But, he said, "I don't think it rises to a constitutional violation of the sort that would outweigh the harm to the processes of the Board of Elections" if he ordered the board to open new sites for the next week and a half before the March 21 primary election.


Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool had asked Coar to order the board to open new polling places because he suspected that voting sites might have been chosen by design to encourage more votes from party regulars in machine wards and hold down turnout in lakefront wards more willing to support challengers.

Claypool's effort won in one regard. He had also sued to have suburban polling places open on Saturday and Sunday. And 20 more suburbs agreed late Wednesday to open for three hours on Saturday, so most of the 137 suburban early voting sites now have weekend hours.
more


http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-vote10.html

[FogerRox]

11. ERD Editors: looking for Assistant Editors, Apply NOW

Dicusussion here:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=633179&mesg_id=633179

[livvy]

12. Optical -Scan Cards Show Improvement (30% failure to a mere 10%)

Posted on Fri, Mar. 10, 2006


Optical-scan cards show improvement

By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

A new shipment of computer memory cards for voting equipment at the Summit County Board of Elections continued to experience failures Thursday -- but at a lower rate than those tested earlier in the week.

Testing was expected to continue today on the latest batch of memory cards received by the elections board from Election Systems & Software, the Omaha, Neb., company that manufactured the county's new optical-scan voting system.

After success with the initial 177 cards tested this week, the remaining 348 cards began to experience a failure rate as high as 30 percent. The company has since shipped hundreds of new cards to the county this week.

The most recent shipment, which arrived Thursday, had a 10 percent failure rate, said Bryan Williams, elections board director. The new voting equipment should include 525 of the cards, which are loaded into machines that read ballots.

ES&S spokeswoman Ellen Bogard did not return calls Thursday seeking comment. (Surprise! Surprise! not)
more

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/community/14064693.htm

On edit: added more

[livvy]

21. Batteries Trouble Voting System

Batteries trouble voting system
Memory cards fail during Summit testing ahead of May elections
By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

Dead batteries -- that's what Election Systems & Software officials are saying is to blame for the failure of dozens of computer memory cards in Summit County's new optical scan voting system.

``What we're dealing with is a portion of one batch of cards sent out in recent weeks have an issue with low batteries,'' ES&S spokeswoman Ellen Bogard said Friday.

ES&S made the new voting equipment, but the memory cards were made by Vikant Corp., a Long Grove, Ill., company. Company officials from Vikant did not return a call seeking comment.


Bogard said there is a large battery and a smaller backup battery in each card. She said Vikant has agreed to replace the cards free of charge for ES&S and its customers.
more

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/14074421.htm

[livvy]

22. Brad Blog on the Issue and Some Details

ES&S Improves in Ohio! E-Voting Machines Only Fail 10% of the Time!
Pre-Election Test Results Less Bad, After Memory Cards Are Specially Provided by Company to Summit County, OH (After First Two Batches Failed 30% of the Time)
Election Director Suggest 'Product Recall' Might Be Appropriate!

I took the opportunity to send the Beacon-Journal's Abraham an email asking a very simple question: "I would really be curious what ES&S would say if they were asked how many other counties across the country have these same memory cards, and are they warning all of their customers to be on the lookout for bad cards."

Her response: "I've been asking ES&S that very question for two days now and they either won't say or don't call back. Stay tuned..."

On my question to Lisa A. Abraham, the Beacon Journal reporter regarding whether ES&S is trying to locate other customers who may have bad memory cards, she got an answer. Lisa reports that Ellen Bogard, ES&S spokeswoman told her:
``We're working with customers who may have received them. We're still contacting our customers,'' she said. Bogard said the problem would affect customers who received memory cards from ES&S in recent weeks.

``We're still working to determine the exact parameters,'' she said.

Bogard said no other county in Ohio or throughout the country has complained of failing cards.


There may not have been any complaints but I wonder how many of those bad cards may have ended up in Texas and been responsible for some of the disasters reported by BRAD BLOG last Tuesday.


http://www.bradblog.com/

[livvy]

13. Wyoming Won't Make Voter Registration Deadline

Wyo won’t make voter registration deadline
By BRODIE FARQUHAR
Star-Tribune capital bureau
CHEYENNE n Wyoming’s new voter registration system ground to a halt Thursday, after Secretary of State Joe Meyer and the company working on the system reached a tentative agreement to stop work on it.

In a press conference, Meyer said there was no possible way the system, called WyoReg, could be ready for the 2006 general election. Meyer said he and the company, Accenture, reached a tentative agreement to “unwind” the contract and that most of the $3.9 million contract will return to the state.

Election officials said the action doesn't jeopardize the 2006 primary and general elections, and only affects how voter registration will be managed.

Collins said she was uncomfortable with the fact that the Accenture system would have been hosted by the company, via the Internet, and that Wyoming data and votes would no longer have resided in individual counties or even Cheyenne, but at an undisclosed site back east.

more

http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/03/10/news/wyoming/b2ef1e5ee0dc49cf8725712d00034a30.txt

[livvy]

14. WI: Rules Confuse Local Voters

Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter


Posted March 10, 2006

Rules confuse local voters

New requirements mean some voters must register for first time in years

By Kristopher Wenn
Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — Many people were surprised they had to register to vote in the Feb. 21 primary election for Manitowoc County executive, said Char Peterson, Manitowoc County clerk.

Prior to this year, the city of Kiel and all the towns and villages in Manitowoc County were not required to maintain a list of registered voters because their populations were under 5,000, Peterson said.

But with passage of the federal Help America Vote Act in 2002, every state was required to maintain a list of its registered voters, beginning this Jan. 1.

Peterson outlined three registration scenarios:

# If someone registers prior to 13 days before the election, they must fill out a voter registration form — EB 131.

# If someone registers during the 13 days before the election, they must fill out an EB 131 in the municipal clerk's office. The clerk will give the applicant a voter's certificate, which the voter must bring to the polls on election day. Their name will be added as a supplement in the poll book.

# If someone registers on the day of the election, they must provide identification with name and proof of residency for the past 30 days.

Individuals need to re-register if they have changed their name or moved, Peterson said.

Inactive voters remain on the poll list for four years. After that time they are purged from the list and must re-register, Peterson said.
a wee bit more: info or assistance number

http://www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/MAN0101/603100674/1358/MANnews

[livvy]

16. Clinton Quiet About Past Wal-Mart Ties

Clinton Quiet About Past Wal-Mart Ties



By BETH FOUHY, AP Political Writer Fri Mar 10, 4:59 PM ET

NEW YORK - With retail giant Wal-Mart under fire to improve its labor and health care policies, one Democrat with deep ties to the company — Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton — has started feeling her share of the political heat.

Clinton served on Wal-Mart's board of directors for six years when her husband was governor of Arkansas. And the Rose Law Firm, where she was a partner, handled many of the Arkansas-based company's legal affairs.

Clinton had kind words for Wal-Mart as recently as 2004, when she told an audience at the convention of the National Retail Federation that her time on the board "was a great experience in every respect."

But in recent months, as the company has become a target for Democratic activists, she has largely steered clear of any mention of Wal-Mart. And late last year, Clinton's re-election campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart, citing "serious differences with current company practices."
much more


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_el_se/hillary_clinton_wal_mart;_ylt=Av0NadpGDOwiH7FHLblVoQhWr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[livvy]

17. Rep. Gallegly Drops Re-Election Bid

Rep. Gallegly Drops Re-Election Bid

Fri Mar 10, 10:10 PM ET

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (news, bio, voting record) abruptly announced Friday that he is dropping his re-election bid because of a medical condition.

"I have been dealing with a medical issue that is yet to be resolved," the 62-year-old Republican said in a statement Friday. "Although I am hopeful it will be resolved positively, it would not be fair to my constituents and supporters should I be forced to withdraw from the race midyear."


There were no other Republicans in the race. Democrats must gain 15 seats to win a majority in the House.

The primary election for the Democratic nomination is June 6.
more

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060311/ap_on_go_co/congressman_retires;_ylt=AqkkuKhHpgYu.NkM2XTLztM8KbIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

[livvy]

18. Political Bloggers May Get Federal Protection

Political bloggers may get federal protection

By Declan McCullagh
Story last modified Thu Mar 09 09:12:23 PST 2006


Bloggers would be largely immunized from hundreds of pages of confusing federal regulations dealing with election laws, according to a bill approved by a House of Representatives panel on Thursday.


The FEC is under court order to finalize rules to extend a controversial 2002 campaign finance law to the Internet. Unless Congress acts, the final regulations could cover everything from regulating hyperlinks to politicians' Web sites to forcing disclosure of affiliations with campaigns.

The House reform proposal, only one sentence long, simply says that the portion of federal election law that deals with publications aimed at the general public "shall not include communications over the Internet."

The Center for Democracy and Technology has offered an alternative proposal (click here for PDF) that was not considered on Thursday. In some ways, it would be more censorial than the House bill because it would immunize a self-published political Web site only if the cost remained under $5,000.

But CDT's proposal appears to be less restrictive in other ways. Unlike the House bill, according to an analysis the group prepared, three friends who produce a video for $3,000 attacking a political candidate would not be required to register as a political action committee.
of article

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6047902.html?part=rss&tag=6047902&subj=news

[livvy]

19. Lawmakers Debate Paper Versus Electronic Voting

Lawmakers debate paper versus electronic voting


By Kelly Brewington
Sun reporter

March 11, 2006

Three days after House lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to abandon Maryland's electronic-voting system in favor of paper ballots, the manufacturer of the touch-screen machines offered a plan it said would provide the confidence of a paper record at a fraction of the costs required by the proposed legislation.

Diebold Election Systems said it could replace 5 percent of Maryland's electronic voting machines with models attached to a printer. Swapping out about 1,000 of Maryland's voting machines with the printer-equipped version would cost about $5 million, a fraction of the estimated $12 million to $16 million for a one-year lease of a paper-ballot system required by the House bill, company representatives said.

But Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and House lawmakers criticized the Diebold plan, saying it doesn't promise a secure and accurate election.

"The governor does not believe that is even close to a sufficient solution," said Henry Fawell, an Ehrlich spokesman. "The governor believes we need a solution that protects every vote, not 5 percent of the votes."


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.voting11mar11,0,313044.story?track=rss

[FogerRox]

20. PA. Allegheny County to get used Voting machines

County gets used units from Nevada

Saturday, March 11, 2006

By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



It's a three-way trade involving Chicago, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh -- and almost $70 million.

>snip<

As part of the deal, Allegheny County is getting approximately 2,000 pre-owned, deeply discounted, electronic push-button machines from Clark County, Nev., where some units have been in use for almost 10 years.

>snip<

Mr. Cramer said Advantages could start arriving here in several weeks. At that point, company and county officials could start training poll workers and educating voters about the new equipment.

First, however, Sequoia must modify the machines to make them accessible to handicapped voters, a HAVA requirement.

Full story--

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06070/668728.stm

[livvy]

23. Sancho, Cobb To Meet About HAVA Issues

Originally published March 11, 2006

Sancho, Cobb to meet about HAVA issues
Residents weigh in on special needs
By Jeff Burlew
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER


Here at the end of another week of election debate, people are alternately praising and scolding Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho amid accusations of partisan politics. Meanwhile, as Sancho prepares for a meeting with state officials Monday and a county workshop Tuesday, more attention is being focused on a proposed 11th-hour solution and people like Benjamin are hanging on every word.

Sancho hasn't been able to get the equipment because none of the three companies certified in Florida will sell it to him. One of them, Diebold Election Systems, is upset because last year Sancho conducted tests (company officials call them demonstrations) of the county's Diebold optical-scan system. He and other experts say they think the tests, underwritten by Black Box Voting, showed that Diebold memory cards could be manipulated to change election results. Diebold stands by its equipment.

Ken Weaver, a Tallahassee caterer who's been following the issue, said he thinks the Republican Party is trying to get rid of Sancho, a former Democrat now unaffiliated with any party. Cobb was appointed by Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, and the county commissioners most outspoken in their criticism of Sancho - Ed DePuy and Tony Grippa - are Republicans.

"The obvious solution, if everybody was not playing partisan politics," Weaver said, "would be to put pressure on the three vendors, telling them, 'If you don't sell to Leon County, take your toys and get out of the state of Florida. And we'll sell to new vendors who aren't afraid to have their equipment independently tested.' "

more


http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060311/NEWS01/603110330/1010

[livvy]

24. Email from Kathy Dopp: To Do List for Election Observers

She has been asked to compile an advice list for political parties and candidates. She is looking for people interested in assisting.
Link to USCountVotes:
http://www.uscountvotes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=51

Word Document for printing:
http://utahcountvotes.org/detect-errors/whatPartiesCanDo.rtf

Here are some snippets from the Word document at the above link, and the same document found at:
http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=5195
It seems to be a pretty comprehensive list of what to do and expect in the event you are interested.

"Guidelines for Observing Central Tabulation

Observing the central tabulation of the votes in your jurisdiction is quite different from observing in the polling place and watching the poll-opening and closing procedures. In some cases this may be more “open” to the public, in that you may not have to have credentials from a party or candidate to watch, but keep in mind that this takes place in a much more limited space, and you must make arrangements in advance with the county, township or parish in order to observe.
>snip
You should choose whether you can observe at a polling place or observe at central tabulation; you probably won’t be able to do both, and you would want to be at the central count facility when ballot materials begin to arrive from the polling places. If absentee ballots are processed in the same general area, you may be able to observe that process before the central tabulating processes begin.
Some jurisdictions limit the number of observers. Get a comfortable seat and plan to stay until the wee hours. Interesting things happen at the end, when party observers are woozy and may be inattentive, so bring a thermos of coffee and stay alert
>snip

Take notes on all your central tabulation observations and all responses to questions.

· If possible, observe the entire day of operations at the central election office. If the law in your state allows this, insist on it. Log anything out of the ordinary, and log the names of the relevant people."
>much more

Last part of email, also found at the end of the Word Document:

II. What Candidates Must Do If We Are to Repair U.S. Democratic Elections

Because every county in America currently publicly reports its election data in a way that hides the evidence of tampering, and no state monitors its own vote count data for accuracy, the most important thing all candidates must do, prior to conceding, if we are to repair our democracy, is to obtain the detailed vote count data for every election, race, and issue. Candidates must refuse to concede their elections, no matter how wide the reported vote margins, before first obtaining and analyzing the detailed vote count data for their own elections. In other words, candidates must demand to obtain their own unofficial and official reported vote counts broken out by precinct and by type of vote (absentee, early, provisional, mail-in, overseas, military, and Election Day). Otherwise insiders can pad votes for one candidate in one vote type, while simultaneously subtracting votes for another candidate in another vote type and yet hide the evidence.

It is not possible to ensure the future accuracy of U.S. Vote counts without the active assistance of candidates who run for office due to the lack of independent audits and the resistance by a many U.S. Election officials to publicly releasing the data which would allow vote miscounts to be detected and corrected. See: http://uscountvotes.org/ucvAnalysis/US/election_officials/Audits_Monitoring.pdf

[FogerRox]

25. kickin for the gang