Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sat. Oct. 28, 2006

[livvy]

We've got them on the run....




Keep up the good work, and NGU!

And now, for your Saturday reading pleasure...

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.ph...

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).

            Happy Halloween!

[livvy]

1. NYT: Democrats Get Late Donations From Business

October 28, 2006
Democrats Get Late Donations From Business
By JEFF ZELENY and ARON PILHOFER

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 — Corporate America is already thinking beyond Election Day, increasing its share of last-minute donations to Democratic candidates and quietly devising strategies for how to work with Democrats if they win control of Congress.

The shift in political giving, for the first 18 days of October, has not been this pronounced in the final stages of a campaign since 1994, when Republicans swept control of the House for the first time in four decades.

Though Democratic control of either chamber of Congress is far from certain, the prospect of a power shift is leading interest groups to begin rethinking well-established relationships, with business lobbyists going as far as finding potential Democratic allies in the freshman class — even if they are still trying to defeat them on the campaign trail — and preparing to extend an olive branch the morning after the election.

Lobbyists, some of whom had fallen out of the habit of attending Democratic events, are even talking about making their way to the Sonnenalp Resort in Vail, Colo., where Representative Nancy Pelosi of California is holding a Speaker’s Club ski getaway on Jan. 3. It is an annual affair, but the gathering’s title could be especially apt for Ms. Pelosi, the House minority leader, who will be on hand to accept $15,000 checks, and could, if everything breaks her way, become the first woman to be House speaker.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/us/politics/28hedge.h...

[livvy]

2. NYT 2006 Election Guide Interactive Map

Interactive maps of Senate, House, and Governor's races

With the 2006 Election Guide, you can analyze over 500 races for the Senate, House and governor seats and paint the political map yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/2006ELECTIONGUIDE...

[livvy]

3. NYT:In Clean Politics, Flesh Is Pressed, Then Sanitized

October 28, 2006
In Clean Politics, Flesh Is Pressed, Then Sanitized
By MARK LEIBOVICH

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 — Campaigns are filthy. Not only in terms of last-minute smears and dirty tricks. But also as in germs, parasites and all the bacterial unpleasantness that is spread around through so much glad-handing and flesh-pressing.

“You can’t always get to a sink to wash your hands,” said Anne Ryun, wife of Representative Jim Ryun, Republican of Kansas.

Hands would be the untidy appendages that transmit infectious disease.

Like so many other people involved in politics these days, Mrs. Ryun has become obsessive about using hand sanitizer and ensuring that others do, too. She squirted Purell, the antiseptic goop of choice on the stump and self-proclaimed killer of “99.99 percent of most common germs that may cause illness,” on people lined up to meet Vice President Dick Cheney this month at a fund-raiser in Topeka.

When Mr. Cheney was done meeting and greeting, he, too, rubbed his hands vigorously with the stuff, dispensed in dollops by an aide when the vice president was out of public view.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/us/politics/28dirty.h...

[livvy]

4. NYT:Moderate Republicans Feeling Like Endangered Species

Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island is a moderate Republican whose seat is in serious jeopardy.

October 28, 2006
Moderate Republicans Feeling Like Endangered Species
By CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 — Facing the loss of fellow moderates in the Nov. 7 elections, Republican centrists in the House and Senate are faulting Congressional and party leaders for pursuing a strategy dominated by conservative themes.

Leading moderates say Republicans concentrated on social wedge issues like same-sex marriage while pressing national security almost to the exclusion of popular wage and health policies that could have helped endangered Republicans in the Northeast and the Midwest.

“There wasn’t an impetus to help develop a political and legislative plan that incorporated the broad umbrella of philosophy in our party,” said Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Republican of Maine, whom experts expect to be easily re-elected. “I think they always operated under the wrong assumption that you just appeal to the base and no more than that.”

Ms. Snowe and other moderates, while holding out hope that most of their counterparts would hang on, were dismayed by the prospect of depleted ranks, saying it could lead to a more polarized Congress.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/us/politics/28moderat...

[livvy]

5. NYT:Bloomberg Sends Troops to Help Lieberman

Bloomberg Sends Troops to Help Lieberman


In the Lieberman campaign office in Hartford are, from left, Korinne Kubena, Ariel Dvorkin, Crystal Cook and Brian Honan. All but Ms. Cook are on loan from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City.

By DIANE CARDWELL
Published: October 28, 2006

In his battle for re-election to the United States Senate without the backing of the Democratic Party, Joseph I. Lieberman is deploying a secret weapon in the race’s closing days: a sophisticated operation to identify and turn out voters, courtesy of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The Bloomberg group includes several top-level operatives who played key roles in the mayor’s decisive re-election last year or who are in the administration, and have taken leaves from their jobs to work on Mr. Lieberman’s campaign.

Since Mr. Lieberman lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut to Ned Lamont, they have helped open campaign offices, devised a strategy to reach voters and are corralling enough volunteers to cover 2,800 shifts at more than 700 polling sites on Election Day, Nov. 7.

Given that Mr. Lieberman does not have a party apparatus to help build his field operation, the efforts of the Bloomberg team could prove critical in one of the most closely watched races in the nation.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/nyregion/28bloomberg....

[livvy]

6. NYT:Judge Approves Ohio Rules on Voter Surveys

October 28, 2006
Judge Approves Ohio Rules on Voter Surveys
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 27 (AP) — A federal judge who had struck down state rules on conducting surveys of voters leaving polling places ruled Friday that revised guidelines for the practice were legal, rejecting a call for clarification by the national news media.

ABC, CNN, CBS, Fox News, NBC and The Associated Press sued Monday, arguing that Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell’s latest directive, which stated that loitering and delaying voters were prohibited, was confusing. Later, and in smaller type, Mr. Blackwell’s order noted that the polling practice was legal.

The judge, Michael H. Watson of Federal District Court, ordered the new rules last month when he struck down Mr. Blackwell’s 2004 order against polling voters within 100 feet of a voting place.

The news outlets had asked Judge Watson to spell out the rules for county election boards and to force Mr. Blackwell to post them so members of the news media could interview voters leaving polling places on Nov. 7.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/us/politics/28ohio.ht...

[livvy]

7. Control of Senate Hinges on 4 Races

Control of Senate Hinges on 4 Races
By: DAVID ESPO (Sat, Oct/28/2006)

RICHMOND, Va. - With designs on the White House, Republican Sen. George Allen hoped all along his 2006 Virginia re-election campaign would draw national attention. But what he probably didn't have in mind was a stumble-marred race that is so close his party recently felt obliged to pay for $1.4 million in television ads to safeguard a seat long thought safe.

Allen's attempt to hold off Democratic challenger Jim Webb is one of four races that strategists in both parties say will likely settle the overall battle for Senate control. In a reflection of the stakes, the two parties will spend more than $20 million combined on television in the campaign's final two weeks in Tennessee, Missouri, New Jersey and Virginia, a lineup that could not have been forecast even a few weeks ago.

"A year ago the focus was on the more traditionally competitive states like Pennsylvania and Ohio," Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, head of the Democratic campaign effort, said recently, referring to two races where Democrats appear likeliest to defeat Republican incumbents.

"It is a tougher (election) cycle for Republicans," agreed Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, head of the GOP campaign arm.

>more

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/33-10282006-7334...

[livvy]

8. CT: Election Interest Runs High;National Spotlight Shines on Races in CT

Election interest runs high; national spotlight shines on races in Connecticut

BEN DOODY Staff writer
Connecticut Post Online
Article Launched:10/28/2006 06:31:40 AM EDT

Ask three pundits which candidates will win this year's elections and you may get three different responses. But this is something not up for debate: The number of people registered to vote is significantly higher than in 2002, the last time federal elections were held in a nonpresidential election year. As of Oct. 25, there were just over 1.92 million people registered to vote in Connecticut, an increase of 4.3 percent over the 1.84 million in 2002. Unregistered citizens have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to sign up, so the number is certain to grow before the Nov. 7 election. Analysts said the numbers were driven by the intensity of the U.S. Senate race and by the possibility that one or both houses of Congress could change from Republican hands. "We have three House races in play, and we have a Senate race," said John Orman, professor of politics at Fairfield University. "Everyone's getting inundated with Shays and Farrell fliers, and I've never seen so many commercials." Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, is facing Democrat Diane Farrell in one of the most closely watched races in the country.

Elsewhere in the state, Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-5, is in a tight race with Democrat Chris Murphy, and 2nd District Rep. Rob Simmons' race against Democratic challenger Joe Courtney is also considered a tossup. The number of registered voters is lower than in 2004, when more than 2 million people registered to vote for the presidential election. Orman said the number of registered voters is always higher in presidential election years than for midterm elections, and that the increase from 2002 was significant. John Pavia, professor of law at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, said the most significant factor might be an unusually large surge of voters registering before the Aug. 8 Democratic primary, in which businessman Ned Lamont defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman.

About 18,000 people registered to vote in the four months leading up to the primary, according to Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. After losing the primary, Lieberman stayed in the general election under a party called Connecticut for Lieberman. He and Lamont also face Republican nominee Alan Schlesinger. Pavia said the increase in Democratic voters before the primary could help Democratic candidates, but that's by no means a certainty. "At a visceral level, I would guess that it's a net gain for the Democrats," he said. "However, historically, whenever we've seen these huge issue-driven elections, the increased voter turnout has surprising results."



>more

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_4566625

[livvy]

9. CA: Greens Hope Anger Over War Opens Doors

CALIFORNIA
Greens hope anger over war opens doors
Party urges voters to use ballot to send 'powerful message'
- John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writer
Saturday, October 28, 2006

For California's Green Party, the new radio ad for their candidate for governor, Peter Camejo, says it all.

"The polls show that the race for governor is over," Camejo says in the 30-second commercial. "A vote for the Democrat will send no message, but a vote for the Green Party, which opposes war, the Patriot Act ... would be a powerful message to vote for peace.''

Up and down the Green Party ticket, candidates are scrambling to use Californians' growing disaffection with the war in Iraq to draw progressive Democrats and independent liberals to their party in November.

"I'm running for Congress to impeach the president,'' said Krissy Keefer, who's challenging Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi for her San Francisco congressional seat. "People are very, very unhappy with (Pelosi's) leadership in this town."

>more

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/1...

[livvy]

10. US Interference in Venezuelan Elections Ongoing

October 28, 2006

US Interference in Venezuelan Elections Ongoing

By Joel Wendland

In 2004, President Bush tried to impress likely voters who frowned on his long vacations by insisting that he was "working hard." Since then, it has become perfectly obvious that his work ethic has fallen short on key issues from relief after Hurricane Katrina and producing desired results in the "war on terror," to putting forward viable solutions to the US health care crisis or boosting the stagnating economy.

There has been one issue, however, on which the Bush administration has worked diligently: a long and expensive effort to unseat democratically elected Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. As the December 3rd Venezuelan national elections approach, in which President Chávez is standing for reelection, the Bush administration, in violation of US and Venezuelan law, is providing financial, diplomatic, and strategic support for Chávez's opponents.

Bush's timeworn hostility for President Chávez is well known. Top secret US government documents released through Freedom of Information Act requests show that the administration's anti-Chávez operations may even pre-date the September 11th terrorist attacks and the launch of the "war on terror." According to human rights and international law expert writer Eva Golinger, leaders of the infamous April 2002 coup met with top Bush administration officials at least six months prior.

Golinger, who spoke with Political Affairs from Caracas by telephone, authored the 2005 book The Chávez Code: Cracking US Intervention in Venezuela. Translated into several languages and sold all over the world, The Chávez Code comprehensively revealed the role of the US government, through its military entities, diplomatic channels, and through funding agencies such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in helping to plan and execute the coup. Through its role in meeting with coup leader Pedro Carmona, provision of military equipment, and diplomatic pressure on regional governments to accept the coup as legitimate, the Bush administration played a decisive, multifaceted role in those illegal activities.

>more long but worthwhile read

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_joel_wen_061028...

[livvy]

14. US Digs For Vote-Machine Links to Hugo Chavez

Posted on Sat, Oct. 28, 2006


U.S. digs for vote-machine links to Hugo Chávez

BY ALFONSO CHARDY
[e-mail]

In the debate about the reliability of electronic voting technology, the South Florida parent company of one of the nation's leading suppliers of touch-screen voting machines is drawing special scrutiny from the U.S. government.

Federal officials are investigating whether Smartmatic, owner of Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia Voting Systems, is secretly controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, according to two people familiar with the probe.

In July, a Treasury Department spokeswoman disclosed that a Treasury-led panel had contacted Smartmatic, and a company representative said his firm was ''in discussions'' with the panel. At the time, those discussions were informal. The government has now upgraded to a formal investigation, the two sources said.

>snip

Concerns about Smartmatic are keen on the eve of the Nov. 7 election, given fears that someone with unauthorized access to the electronic system could create electoral chaos. Some critics believe that if the Venezuelan government is involved, Smartmatic could be a ''Trojan horse'' designed to advance Chavez's anti-American agenda.


>big snip

However, business records obtained by The Miami Herald in Willemstad's commercial registry provide no evidence of any Venezuelan government official or agency as director, associate, employee or proxy. What the records do show is the circuitous ownership structure with a paper trail leading from Willemstad to Amsterdam to Caracas to Delaware and then to Boca Raton and Oakland, Calif.
>more

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/15869919.htm

[livvy]

11. FL: Neutral Notices Can Clarify Votes Concerning Foley

Article published Oct 28, 2006
Oct 28, 2006

Neutral notices can clarify votes concerning Foley

The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - A neutral notice that tells voters the names of all candidates seeking to replace disgraced U.S. Rep. Mark Foley in Florida's 16th Congressional District may be provided at polling sites on Election Day, an appeals court ruled Friday.

Foley's name will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, even though he has resigned from Congress. The name of his replacement as the Republican candidate, Joe Negron, won't be on the ballot, but votes cast for Foley will count for Negron. Some voters likely won't know that, however.

So state officials had suggested to local elections supervisors that they provide notices that votes for Foley would count for Negron. Democrats, however, had sought to prevent the notices, saying it would essentially be akin to giving voters a last-minute plug for Negron as they went into vote. The Democratic candidate is Venus entrepreneur Tim Mahoney.

A three judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal partially agreed, ruling that notices were fine, but only if they include other candidates names too.

>more

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2...

[livvy]

12. Minor Error In Electronic Ballot Summaries

Minor Error In Electronic Ballot Summaries

Oct 27, 2006 09:08 AM

When you go vote in Travis County, you might only notice partial names on your electronic ballots. The eSlate voting machines are chopping off candidates' names longer than about 15 letters.

Kinky Friedman, for example, appears as "Richard Kinky F."

Carole Keeton Strayhorn is "Carole Keeton St."

Hart InterCivic makes the machines. Company officials and Travis County election officials say the candidates' names appear correctly on the voting screen. The glitch occurs on the last screen when voters are given the option to see a summary of their choices and double-check their ballot.

Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says the votes are not affected and still count. The Hart InterCivic eSlate Machines are used in many places, including Travis and Hays counties.

Some electronic voting machines are no stranger to controversy.

>more

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5596367

[livvy]

13. Democrats See Long-term Rebound in Western States

Democrats see long-term rebound in Western states

By NOELLE STRAUB
Gazette Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Democrats' hopes for a political resurgence in the Mountain West have soared nearly as high as the region's snow-capped peaks recently.

Party officials want not only to increase their tally of governors and members of Congress next month, but also to put some Western states in their column for the 2008 presidential election.

But despite all the recent talk about Westerners becoming the new faces of the party, even many Democrats concede they have much work to do in the region to pull off their goals.

Trying to capitalize on the potential shift in what has been a reliably Republican region, Democrats scheduled a Nevada caucus to be held in 2008 one week ahead of the New Hampshire presidential primary.

And Democrats may hold their 2008 national convention in Denver to highlight the West.

>more

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/10/28/news...

[livvy]

15. IN:Election Board Rejects Any Change

October 28, 2006

Election Board rejects any change
Bipartisan duo won't replace Richardson, run vote

By James A. Gillaspy
[e-mail]

A Hamilton County election official failed this week in her attempt to replace the county's elections administrator with a bipartisan team of deputy election commissioners.

Hamilton County Election Board member Jan Ellis, the Democrat on the governing body for elections in the county, told fellow board members in their meeting Thursday that Kathy Richardson's role as both an election coordinator and a Republican candidate may be an illegal conflict of interest.

She proposed that two deputies -- a Democrat and a Republican -- take over Richardson's election duties.

Board member Tammy Baitz, the Republican county clerk and Richardson's employer, said the suggestion of impropriety and replacement was shameful in light of Richardson's years of dedicated service.

>more

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2006...

[livvy]

16. IN: BMV Extends Hours For Voter IDs

Saturday, October 28, 2006 1:14 AM CDT

BMV extends hours for voter IDs

Times Staff Report

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles will extend license branch hours for residents to obtain state-issued photo identification cards for the Nov. 7 election.

License branches, including full-service, satellite and reinstatement centers, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 6 and from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 7.

Full-service branches are typically closed Mondays and normally open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.

Customers seeking state-issued photo identification cards or driver licenses for voting purposes will receive priority both days.

>more

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/10/28/news/lake_count...

[livvy]

17. Three Shot Dead In Mexican Protest

Three shot dead in Mexican protest

Oct 28 2006

icWales


A US journalist and two Mexican men were killed by gunfire in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, where leftist protesters have barricaded streets and occupied government buildings for five months in a bid to oust the governor.

Several other people were injured when gunfire erupted in a rough neighbourhood yesterday.

Armed men had tried to remove a blockade set up by protesters who are demanding the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz.

Bradley Roland Will, 36, from New York City, was shot in the abdomen and died later at a Red Cross hospital.

>more

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/tm_he...

[livvy]

18. 'The Daily Show' Swinging Into Ohio

'The Daily Show' Swinging Into Ohio
By JULIE CARR SMYTH

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Comedian Jon Stewart will make a special preview appearance Saturday as Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" gears up for a week of broadcasts from Ohio.

Stewart said the Saturday event will be at Value City Arena, an appearance added after spaces for the four nights of tapings at Ohio State University's more intimate Roy Bowen Theatre filled up.

The Ohio "Midwest Midterm Midtacular" excursion marks the popular news parody show's fifth trip outside New York in 10 years, but its first to "a random zone" outside a big city on the East or West Coast, Stewart said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"We wanted to go there because Ohio was so crucial last time. They were sort of the focal point, the swing state, if you will," he said. "We want to know what happened to all that loving attention that they were given in 2004, and if they feel lonely."

>more

http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2006/10/28/ap/entert...

[livvy]

19. OH: Voter ID Rules Remain in Limbo

FEDERAL COURT RULING
Voter-ID rules remain in limbo
Judge blocks appeal of order suspending need to show identification
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Alan Johnson , Mark Niquette and Joe Hallett
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohioans who vote by absentee ballot don’t have to provide identification — for now.

The state’s voter-identification rules remain on hold because Judge Algenon L. Marbley of U.S. District Court in Columbus yesterday blocked Attorney General Jim Petro from jumping into a pending case.

Over the objections of Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the state’s chief elections officer, Petro tried to appeal Marbley’s order Thursday preventing the voter ID rules from being used for absentee voting.

But Marbley refused to let Petro intervene, saying in a hearing yesterday that Petro has no standing to get involved and the case doesn’t need "layer upon layer" of lawyers.

>snip

Blackwell’s office yesterday issued a new directive telling elections boards to include a note with absentee ballot mailings informing voters they don’t have to comply with the ID requirement.

In Franklin County and elsewhere, thousands of absentee ballots already had been disqualified because of ID problems, many involving voters submitting the wrong number from their driver’s license.

>more
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/10...

[livvy]

20. GOP Yanks TV Support of DeWine, Pulls Anti-Brown Ads....

Article published October 27, 2006

GOP yanks TV support of DeWine, pulls anti-Brown ads, vows other aid

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

The Republican National Committee yesterday canceled its on-air support of U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine (R., Cedarville), even as the two-term incumbent prepared to sharpen his televised attacks on Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown.

An RNC spokesman confirmed the committee is pulling anti-Brown ads from stations across Ohio, leaving Mr. DeWine with apparently less TV airtime - at least for now - as he tries to close a deficit in the polls.

The spokesman, Aaron McLear, said the committee will continue to fund a get-out-the-vote effort in Ohio and back Mr. DeWine in other ways. "This in no way reflects any lack of confidence or support for the DeWine campaign or the state party," Mr. McLear said.

He and Mr. DeWine's spokesman, Brian Seitchik, said Mr. DeWine will do fine on his own. New campaign-finance reports yesterday showed Mr. DeWine leading Mr. Brown, a congressman from Avon, in available cash by $2 million.

>more

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061...

[livvy]

21. CO: Voting Catches Up With Techy Times

Voting catches up with techy times

Donna Gray
Post Independent Staff
October 28, 2006

Garfield County voters will have a choice at the polls this November. They'll have the option to vote in the traditional way, on a paper ballot, or on one of the county's new voting machines.

The eSlate, manufactured by Hart Intercivic of Austin, Texas, will be in all polling places in the county on Nov. 7. They are also available for early voting through Nov. 3 at the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs and the county building in Rifle at 144 W. Third St.

> big snip of the procedure for use

To the left of the screen is an enclosed paper strip that shows how the individual has voted. Voters do not walk away from the voting machines with that paper in hand, Alsdorf said.

However, the paper tally act as a backup to the electronically tabulated results stored in a memory card inside the machine. They can also be used to confirm how a person has voted and to confirm results in case of discrepancies.

>snip

Alsdorf said she's satisfied security is in place for the machines and there will be no tampering with results. To that end, voters are asked to leave cell phones with the election judges while voting on the machines. Cell phones are can be a security issue because many have built in cameras that could record the ballots pictured on the eSlates. Cell phones could also interfere with the electronics in the machine.

>one more paragraph

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20061028/VALLEYN...

[livvy]

22. S. Florida Nicaraguans Head Back To Homeland To Vote Against Ortega

Posted on Sat, Oct. 28, 2006

NICARAGUAN COMMUNITY
S. Florida Nicaraguans head back to homeland to vote against Ortega
Nicaraguans in South Florida are heading back to their home country to vote. Organizers say it's all in an effort to stop Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega from winning the presidency.
BY CASEY WOODS
[e-mail]

For nearly two decades, the thousands of Nicaraguans who fled the Sandinista government watched and worried through each election as the Marxist party came within striking distance of capturing the nation's presidency.

In most cases, they watched helpless, because Nicaraguans abroad are not allowed to vote.

This year, though, many Nicaraguans refuse to remain idle. On Friday, dozens were lined up at Miami International Airport for flights to Managua -- their bags packed and their voter cards ready.

''I'm going home to vote for anyone who's not Ortega,'' said Gloria Urbay, 41, of Hialeah. ``His election would not be good for the people.''

>more

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/15869918.htm

[livvy]

23. Hampering the Vote by Robert Kuttner

ROBERT KUTTNER
Hampering the vote

By Robert Kuttner | October 28, 2006

POLLS SHOW Democrats picking up between 20 and 30 House seats, enough to take control of the House. But brace yourself for a very long evening -- that could go on for days.

The Republicans' superior ground operation -- they spend more on targeting voters and getting out the vote -- has received some attention in the press. But far more ominous is the organized effort to suppress voter turnout, directed entirely against groups likely to vote for Democrats.

An exhaustive report, "Voting in 2006: Have We Solved the Problems of 2004?" by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Century Foundation, and Common Cause, catalogs new, sickening assaults on our democracy:

Hurdles to voter registration. Several states, led predictably by Florida and Ohio, have added criminal penalties for voter-registration efforts that violate deliberately complicated rules . In Florida, the Legislature added fines for nonpartisan groups that turn in registration materials late. This put League of Women Voters volunteer efforts in many minority areas out of business.

>more of this good read

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped...

[livvy]

24. Democrats Fear Disillusionment in Black Voters

DEMOCRATS FEAR DISILLUSIONMENT IN BLACK VOTERS
Written by IAN URBINA
Friday, 27 October 2006

Last weekend, Jim Webb, the Virginia Democrat who hopes to oust Senator George Allen, crammed in visits to 12 black churches, and for several weeks he has been pumping money into advertisements on black radio stations and in black newspapers.

In Missouri, Claire McCaskill, the Democrat trying to unseat Senator Jim Talent, has been running advertisements about sickle cell anemia, a genetic illness that mostly afflicts black people, and the importance of stem cell research in helping to find a cure.

For Democrats like these in tight races, black voter turnout will be crucial on Election Day. But despite a generally buoyant Democratic Party nationally, there are worries among Democratic strategists in some states that blacks may not turn up at the polls in big enough numbers because of disillusionment over past shenanigans.

“This notion that elections are stolen and that elections are rigged is so common in the public sphere that we’re having to go out of our way to counter them this year,” said Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist.

>more

http://www.amhersttimes.com/index.php?option=com_conten...

[livvy]

25. Balancing Optimism and Realism by Stephen Dinan

October 27, 2006 at 17:09:43

Balancing Optimism and Realism

by Stephen Dinan

http://www.opednews.com

Over the last year, I've been writing columns that aim to create an evolutionary path forward that brings the higher expression of both ends of our political spectrum together in a more sacred whole. Now, with 11 days to the midterm elections, I find myself at a crossroads: the time is now for specific, short-term recommendations for how to engage politics in a more conscious way in the following days, but I'm still unclear on what to recommend.

The simple answer is to rally for Democratic candidates: taking one or both Houses back from the Republicans can reinstall the checks and balances that are at the foundation of our democracy. Scandal after scandal has racked Capitol Hill. Our political situation has degraded to such an extent that last week's Rolling Stone's headline declared it the "Worst Congress Ever," and showcased ten of the worst offenders who are shamelessly lining their pockets, their family's pockets, and those of lobbyist friends. And many may well be reelected.

While the "take back Congress" refrain may be invigorating, from what I've seen documented of the scale of voter disenfranchisement and computer manipulation in 2000 and on an even grander scale in 2004, I suspect that the amount of vote manipulation in this election will only grow. Democrats have rolled over and accepted this disenfranchisement with barely a whimper. If it happens again this cycle, the hundreds of millions sunk into winning elections may well prove to be a bad investment, like betting on a shell game in which the ball has long since vanished from the table.

If elections are not fundamentally clean, all of the electoral fanfare will be for naught. We will sit on election eve watching results come in with the same surreal feeling of the last election, with a gullible media declaring their surprise as contested state after contested state miraculously rolls over to the red column.

>more

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__061027...

[livvy]

26. Voting Without the Voter - Commentary

Voting without the voter

Posted October 27, 2006

The stakes for the Nov. 7 elections are high — very high. And, every politician, political party, and even independent knows it. So, it’s not secret that both parties have been proactively recruiting voters — new and old. Both parties, too, have been pushing for more voters to vote absentee. In other words, why wait for the polls to open if you already know whom you want to support.

However, this aggressive push has brought to light a practice that doesn’t sit well with some voters. Nor should it.

Vermont GOP Chairman Jim Barnett is accusing Democratic Party and Sanders for Senate campaign operatives of completing request forms by proxy for registered voters and in some cases, doing so without the permission of the voter themselves, which is against the law.

Barnett sent a letter to town clerks around the state last week urging them to be wary of ballots being requested via campaign workers.

At the same time, however, Barnett said his party has adopted this tactic to “ensure a level electoral playing field.”

>more

http://www.vermontguardian.com/commentary/102006/Oct27E...

[livvy]

27. AL: Registrars: Clarification Needed On Felon Voting

October 28, 2006
Registrars: Clarification needed on felon voting

By Jay Reeves
The Associated Press


Voter registration for next month's election closed Friday amid lingering confusion that officials say wasn't helped by an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that people convicted of some felonies, but not all, should get to vote.

Rather than clarifying proper procedures for county officials, the decision actually made things more confusing, said Margie Lawshe, chief clerk for the board of registrars in Mobile County.

"It just made it worse," she said.

In the state's most populous area, Jefferson County, registrar Nell Hunter said someone needs to clarify exactly which convicted felons should be allowed to register.

>more

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...

[livvy]

28. Campaign Impact of Bilbray Woes Uncertain

Campaign impact of Bilbray woes uncertain

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- Political observers are saying it's not yet clear how much traction 50th District Democratic candidate Francine Busby will be able to get out of the latest developments in the controversy over just where U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray lives and whether he has been truthful about it.

In June, Republican Bilbray was elected to temporarily fill the seat of the now-imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who resigned from office last year after pleading guilty in federal court to bribery and tax evasion. The winner of the Nov. 7 general election will take the seat for a full two-year term starting in January.

Claremont McKenna College professor of government and former Republican National Committee consultant Jack Pitney said Friday that an alleged grand jury investigation into the matter may turn out to be not important at all.

On the other hand, "if the race is close, even a suspicion could have a major impact," Pitney said.

>more

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/10/28/election2006...

[livvy]

29. WA: Woman Charged With Voter Fraud

Published: Saturday, October 28, 2006

Woman charged with voter fraud
The Oak Harbor woman allegedly signed and mailed her daughter's absentee ballot during a school bond election in May.

By Jim Haley
Herald Writer


COUPEVILLE - An Oak Harbor woman who allegedly signed and mailed in her daughter's absentee ballot has been charged with unlawful voting, a felony charge that is on the books but is seldom used.

The charge was filed Wednesday in Island County Superior Court, Prosecuting Attorney Gregory Banks said Friday.

Charging papers allege that Elizabeth Reddy, 45, illegally signed her daughter's ballot despite warnings on a voter affidavit and other materials that are sent to absentee voters, Banks said.

"It's unusual to see a case (like this) come to prosecution," said Nick Handy, director of elections for the secretary of state's office in Olympia. "Given the high-profile nature of the election process ... we think this sends a strong message to voters that these kinds of accusations will be taken seriously."

The ballot was cast in the Oak Harbor School District bond election May 16. The daughter, who lives in Bellingham, told Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley that she told her mother to vote on her behalf, according to charging papers.

>more

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/10/28/100loc_b1vote...

[livvy]

30. CO: Denver Commission Dumps Plan For Hand Copying;Machines Will Tally Both

New fix for absentee ballots
Denver commission dumps plan for hand copying; machines will tally both styles
By George Merritt
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com

The Denver Election Commission reversed a decision Friday, deciding not to hand copy up to 30,000 absentee ballots.

Instead, the commission will set up ballot scanners that can read two kinds of ballots - the ones it sent out early with a printing error and those that have been corrected.

"Well, that's good to hear," said Dusti Gurule, with the Latina Initiative. "I think a lot of people had been shocked and concerned over the potential for human error."

Commission spokesman Alton Dillard said worries expressed at a meeting Tuesday about the planned duplications led to the change.

"Due to the concerns that were expressed," he said, "we went back to Sequoia (Voting Systems) one more time and said, 'Are you absolutely sure there is not a better way to do this?"'

Consternation over how to tally the city's absentee ballots in the Nov. 7 election arose because of a mistake printed on about 44,000 absentee ballots.

>more

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4564806

[kpete]

31. What A HAPPY Thread

I am all smiles!!!

[livvy]

32. Don't let this happen....

GOTV! Volunteer! Be the Media! NGU!

[mod mom]

33. excellent compilation! kick!

[freedomfries]

34. super thread livvy!

[Kurovski]

35. Thanks livvy, K&R!

So, like, you really like Halloween?

[livvy]

36. I have no choice....

I teach 4th grade.

You know what they say...
If you can't beat 'em....join 'em!

[Kurovski]

37. Heheh.

I hope you don't break a nail thumb-tacking all that Halloween crap in the room!

Or do you use child-labor and make them do it all?

[livvy]

38. Of course not.

I make their mothers do it!