Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday 08/13/06

[freedomfries]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday 08/13/06


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 "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240
:argh:

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.
:argh:

Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page.
:patriot:

[acmejack]

1. OK

[freedomfries]

2. Top MSM News: ACORN's Voter Fraud in Ohio Part of Larger Pattern

Believe it or not, this is all over the MSM landscape!
ACORN's Voter Fraud in Ohio is Part of Larger Pattern
Friday August 11, 12:37 pm ET

New Report From the Employment Policies Institute Shows ACORN Has Been Linked to Voter Fraud in 12 States Including Ohio

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- ACORN's recent run-in with the Franklin County elections board for allegedly turning in falsified voter registration cards is only the latest in a long-standing pattern of dubious elections practices. ACORN employees have been accused of submitting bogus voter registration cards and forging signatures on ballot initiatives in 12 states since 2004.
ADVERTISEMENT


In addition to Ohio, ACORN employees have been accused of illegal elections practices in New Mexico, Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia among others. Here are just a few examples of ACORN's pattern and practice of fraud associated with their campaigns:

Florida -- When ACORN led a ballot initiative to raise Florida's minimum wage in 2004, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesman said ACORN was "singled out" among suspected voter registration groups because it was "the common thread" in the agency's investigations from one end of the state to the other. One blatant example of voter fraud includes registering 68-year-old Charles Shuh, a former Democratic mayor of St. Petersburg, as a 30-year-old female Republican.

New Mexico -- In an effort to put a wage initiative on the ballot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2005 ACORN employees forged thousands of fraudulent signatures. Following their voter registration drive in 2004, a state Representative stated that ACORN was "manufacturing voters" throughout New Mexico.

Ohio -- This is not the first time ACORN has been accused of shady practices in Ohio. In Cuyahoga County in 2004, ACORN and its affiliate Project Vote submitted registration cards that had the highest rate of errors for any voter registration group.


http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060811/dcf018.html?.v=58

[freedomfries]

3. Acorn Website: ACORN, Other Civic Groups Defeat “No Match, No Vote”

ACORN, Other Civic Groups Defeat “No Match, No Vote”

Thanks to a voting rights victory won by ACORN and a coalition of other groups voters in Washington State will no longer have their rights to vote denied because of misspelled names, typos and other minor discrepancies in the registration process.

The federal court in Seattle, Wash. blocked implementation of the controversial state election law (RCW 29A.08.107), known as the “No match, no vote” law last week. This regulation would have barred citizens from voting this fall unless their personal information like name, date of birth and driver’s license or Social Security number electronically matched existing government databases.

The lawsuit uncovered the fact that 16 percent of the state’s applicants were classified as “pending” status due to a failed match, therefore unable to vote until the problem was resolved. The failed match rate was as high as 30 percent in King County, the 13th most populated county in the United States.

County officials were able to identify many of the failed matches but were unable to settle them. For example, on eligible voter’s application was denied because her birth date was entered as 1976 instead of 1975. Another eligible applicant was denied the right to vote because her married name was listed in one database while her maiden name showed up in another.

http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=4174&tx_ttnews=18747&tx_ttnews=2716&cHash=6b5f5c8b19

[freedomfries]

10. OH: Akron Beacon: A New Crime: Bad Handwriting on Voter Registration

Summit to look at voter cards:Registrations turned in by ACORN workers come under scrutiny By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer August 12, 2006

The Summit County Board of Elections is once again the site of possible voter registration card fraud.

Summit is one of three Ohio counties, along with Franklin and Cuyahoga, where questionable voter registration cards have been cropping up.

The Summit board is to vote at its Aug. 22 meeting on what to do about a dozen or so questionable cards that have been turned in by workers for ACORN, a nonprofit group that has been registering voters throughout Ohio.

In Franklin County, more than 500 cards have been turned over to the county prosecutor for investigation. Other questionable cards reportedly have cropped up in Cuyahoga County.

Bryan Williams, Summit elections board director, said some of the cards have come in with bad handwriting.
:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:
...
ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, advocates for low- and moderate-income families. Its goal in Ohio this year is to register 138,000 low-income voters; so far, 45,000 have been signed up, said Katy Gall, head organizer for Ohio ACORN.

Gall said the new restrictions of House Bill 3 have hampered ACORN's self-policing efforts. She said in the past, all registration cards were turned in to the organization, which would verify them before turning them in to local boards of elections. That would enable the group to catch potential problems and alert boards of elections. ``Quality control is a big part of our system,'' she said.
...
House Bill 3, however, requires that the individuals who registers voters turn in their cards, limiting the ability of the group to catch problems. ``It's an unintended consequence of House Bill 3,'' Gall said. ``There's no way for us to red-flag the cards.''

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/community/15258701.htm

[freedomfries]

4. NYTimes Re-Post: New Registration Rules Stir Voter Debate in Ohio

New Registration Rules Stir Voter Debate in Ohio
from the New York Times August 6, 2006
By IAN URBINA

CLEVELAND — For Tony Minor, the pastor of the Community of Faith Assembly in a run-down section of East Cleveland, Ohio’s new voter registration rules have meant spending two extra hours a day collecting half as many registration cards from new voters as he did in past years.

Republicans say the new rules are needed to prevent fraud, but Democrats say they are making it much harder to register the poor.

In the last year, six states have passed such restrictions, and in three states, including Ohio, civic groups have filed lawsuits, arguing that the rules disproportionately affect poor neighborhoods.

But nowhere have the rules been as fiercely debated as here, partly because they are being administered by J. Kenneth Blackwell, the secretary of state and the Republican candidate in one of the most closely watched governor’s races in the country, a contest that will be affected by the voter registration rules. Mr. Blackwell did not write the law, but he has been accused of imposing regulations that are more restrictive than was intended.
....
“In Washington, D.C., Congress may have passed the voting rights bill to extend voter participation,” said Katy Gall, organizing director of Ohio Acorn, an advocacy group that focuses on poor neighborhoods. “But out here at the grass roots, things are headed in the opposite direction.”

Ms. Gall said the group had collected fewer than 200 new voter registration cards in the last month, down from an average of 7,000 a month before the regulations took effect on May 2.
...


Wendy R. Weiser, a law professor at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law and a lawyer in several of the suits opposing new voter registration regulations, said Ohio must be considered in a national context.
...
“I do believe,” Ms. Weiser said, “there is a national trend of using the straw man of voter fraud as a way to impose restrictive regulations on voting and voter registration.”

http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=4174&tx_ttnews=18753&tx_ttnews=2716&cHash=339ec1bace:cry:

[freedomfries]

5. MI: Secretary of State race may include D-Sabaugh

Detroit Free Press: Secretary of State race may include Sabaugh August 12, 2006

Democratic Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh's answers Friday made it sound like something was up.

Sabaugh wouldn't confirm or deny whether she might run for Secretary of State, but her friend and fellow Democrat, Macomb County Treasurer Ted Wahby, said labor groups have asked Sabaugh to consider it.

"I can't say anything about that," she said Friday.

"Only she can make that decision, but she hasn't made up her mind yet," Wahby said of Sabaugh.

Sabaugh could help Gov. Jennifer Granholm in the Nov. 7 election in ticket-splitting Macomb County.
...

Ed Bruley, chairman of the Macomb County Democratic Party, said many people want Sabaugh to run. "It will bring people from all regions to the ticket and besides, people like her. She runs a quality office."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS05/608120369

[freedomfries]

6. LA: Louisiana Secretary State Race; Three Republicans Against Heitmeier

BayouBuzz: Louisiana Secretary State Race; Three Republicans Against Heitmeier 8/11/2006

Al Ater will have a replacement as he promised months ago. Seven candidates have qualified to to replace Secretary of State Al Ater. The main candidates running for Secretary of State are Republicans Jay Dardenne, businessman and party activist, Mike Francis and Democrat, Francis Heitmeier. The Democratic party appears to be very supportive of the Heitmeier campaign.

Many people throughout the political industry have praised the job that Al Ater has performed in taking over for his friend, Fox Mc Keithen. The race for the position appears wide open with Republicans fighting each other and with Heitmeier receiving a relatively free ride.

http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=7895

[freedomfries]

7. AL: Voter Database Takeover Politically Motivated

Cullman Times: Worley: Decision politically motivated
By Jimmy Simms August 10, 2006

The governor and secretary of state no doubt have a difference of opinion when it comes to a federal judge's recent decision to place Gov. Bob Riley in charge of completing development of the state's overdue statewide voter registration database.

U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins gave Riley the title of "special master" in the voter database project earlier this month, replacing Democratic Secretary of State Nancy Worley.
...
"To make this move at this time seems very politically motivated to me," Worley said. "We've worked 2 1/2 years on Alabama's voter registration database and the Justice Department selects this time to file suit. It also seems the Justice Department is focusing its lawsuits on Democratic secretaries of state."

To support her view, Worley said there are other states that aren't as far along as Alabama in the development of their databases. Those states, however, have Republican secretaries of state, and they haven't been sued.

"Alabama has a voter registration database. It's called ALVIN, which stands for Alabama Voter Information Network. It dates back to the early 1990s so its technology is old and outdated, but I wanted to make the point that we do have a database in Alabama," Worley said. "We have some states that don't even have that, but what they do have are Republican secretaries of state and none of them have been sued by the Justice Department."
...
"The process is filled with politics and greed. Vendors are lining up to fight over their share. It's going to be interesting," Worley said. "I believe whoever the special master is or anyone who has anything to do with the process, be it the governor, secretary of state or attorney general, they should sign a statement that says they will neither solicit or accept campaign contributions from a vendor, a lobbyist representing a vendor, or a business associated with a vendor, and if they have accepted a contribution they should give it back."

http://www.cullmantimes.com/morelocal/local_story_222232720.html

[freedomfries]

8. Stateline: Secretaries of state: Flashpoint in '06?

Secretaries of state: Flashpoint in '06?
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer
August 12, 2006

Ohio’s top election official, J. Kenneth Blackwell, has handed over some of his election duties to an aide while he campaigns to be that state’s first black governor, hoping to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Blackwell, a Republican, is among 20 secretaries of state running for office this year while also serving as the state’s chief election official. Unlike Blackwell, most other secretaries of state with their name on the ballot don’t recuse themselves from key election duties.

Democrat Chet Culver of Iowa has kept his duties as secretary of state while running for governor. In Georgia, Cathy Cox (D) also opted not to relinquish her secretary of state responsibilities during her unsuccessful primary bid again Lt.Gov. Mark Taylor, who will face Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue in November.

...
The controversy over “hanging chads” and voter irregularities during the 2000 presidential election in Florida thrust the secretary of state into the public spotlight as never before. This year, races for secretary of state are emerging as a new flash point for bitter partisan struggles over how balloting is run.

Controversies over strict new voter ID rules, counting of absentee ballots and mistrust of new electronic voting machines are reviving a debate over whether a secretary of state can guarantee a fair election while also running for office.

“There is such an inherent conflict of interest there that states should think of alternatives,” said Edward “Ned” Foley, an elections expert at Ohio State University. “It would be wise for states with elected secretaries of state to revisit the question whether there is a better way to do it.”
...

An issue in some campaigns this year is the way secretaries of state carry out the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), passed in response to the controversial 2000 election. That law gave secretaries of state the daunting task of developing computerized statewide voter registration databases and modernizing voting equipment.

One idea to insulate a state’s top election official from political bickering is to turn over election practices to an independent state election board.

http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=133959

[freedomfries]

9. Stateline: Map of Secretaries of State in '06 Races

Stateline.org: Secretaries of State in '06 Races
http://www.stateline.org/live/digitalAssets/2992_SOS_in_own_election.pdf

[freedomfries]

11. AP: Dems to contest Ney replacement

Dems to contest Ney replacement: Goal to prevent candidate defeated in GOP primary from running
ET Aug 11, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The process of replacing Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Ney on the November ballot has gone according to script - the Democrats' script.

The next act likely will take place in a courtroom.

Ohio law allows Republicans to run a candidate who lost a race earlier this year or simply appoint her to take Ney's place on the ballot, the state's attorney general said Thursday.

Secretary of State Ken Blackwell sought Attorney General Jim Petro's legal opinion on state Sen. Joy Padgett's eligibility as Republicans consider how to replace Ney, who announced Monday he would not seek re-election amid a congressional lobbying scandal in Washington.

Ohio law generally prevents candidates defeated in a primary from running for office in the fall as an independent or write-in. Padgett ran for lieutenant governor on a ticket this spring with Petro, who lost to Blackwell in the race for the GOP nomination for governor.

However, Petro said Padgett's status in the May primary was not covered by the state's "sore loser" law and she is free to seek Ney's seat.

The Democrats were expecting Petro's ruling and believe Padgett will be appointed rather than nominated through a special primary because Republicans will be making the decisions every step of the way, Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Brian Rothenberg said.

"You'd think they would prefer a monarchy rather than an election," Rothenberg said.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14301479/

[freedomfries]

12. AP: Questions remain in Ney case

Questions remain in Ney case
By John McCarthy
Associated Press August 12, 2006

COLUMBUS - It's been five days since U.S. Rep. Bob Ney said he's going to withdraw as a candidate for a seventh term. He hasn't informed the board of elections in the county where he needs to send his formal notice.

Here are some questions and answers about his decision and the process of replacing him on the ballot:

Q: Why is Ney withdrawing?

A: Ney says he's doing it for his family, which has endured more than 1½ years of scrutiny for Ney's ties to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist at the center of a congressional corruption scandal. Ney denies all wrongdoing and has not been charged.

Q: Why hasn't Ney formally notified elections officials?

A: Ney isn't talking. The phone at his campaign office has been disconnected. His campaign Web site contains only the statement released Monday. A phone message seeking comment was left Friday at his home in Heath. On Monday, after reporters and photographers knocked on the door of his home, a man opened it and asked them to leave the property.

Q: Doesn't Ney's public statement of withdrawal count?

A: No. He must notify the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections, where he filed his petitions for re-election, in writing that he has withdrawn. As of Friday, he had not filed the notice.

Q: Is the timing important?

A: Yes. If Ney notifies the board by Aug. 19, there will be a special primary election in his district to determine a replacement candidate. If he files after Aug. 19, but before Aug. 23 - 76 days before the Nov. 7 election - the county Republican parties in his district will decide his replacement. There is no provision in state law to replace a candidate less than 76 days before an election unless the candidate dies.
...
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060812/NEWS01/608120352

[freedomfries]

13. KY: Prosecutor challenges purge of voter rolls by SoS Grayson

Prosecutor challenges purge of voter rolls by Grayson
ATTORNEY FOR ELECTION BOARD DEFENDS MOVE
ASSOCIATED PRESS August 8, 2006

FRANKFORT - Secretary of State Trey Grayson was not authorized to purge 8,000 names from the state's voter rolls earlier this year, a prosecutor in the state attorney general's office said yesterday.

Robert Jones, an assistant attorney general, argued during a hearing in Franklin Circuit Court that Grayson needed authority from the State Board of Elections to purge the voters' names.
...
Katie Dunnigan, an attorney for the board, said it does not need to specifically authorize such voter purges. She said Grayson was authorized under state law to maintain updated voter rolls.

The judge has not ruled on the case.

Grayson announced on April 24 the purge of 8,000 voters' names also registered in either Tennessee or South Carolina. The move, Grayson said, was aimed at preventing voter fraud during the primary election in May.

The attorney general's office challenged the decision, and has asked that the purged voters be restored to the rolls for future elections or placed on an inactive voter database for two federal election cycles.
...

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/15222293.htm

[freedomfries]

14. WA: Voter Rolls: Pesky citizen rights

Voter Rolls: Pesky citizen rights
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

August 3, 2006
What are the requirements to participate in Washington's democratic process?

The answer from U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez is clear: A person must be a citizen, be 18 years old, a 30-day resident of the precinct in which he or she wishes to vote and must not have lost the right to vote or been declared legally incompetent.

Everything else is details. But should the details of that premise also be grounds for disqualifying voters? Martinez says no -- and we agree. Democracy is too important -- and we ought to err on the side of voter participation over exclusion.

Lisa Oldham from Clark County completed an accurate voter registration form. "I was upset to find out that even though the government knows that I am a real person and that Oldham is simply my maiden name, it would not let me register to vote under my legal last name," she said in a declaration. She skipped an election "because I knew I was not registered and would not be able to vote."

Washington's system leaves too many possibilities for disenfranchisement: a typo, misspelled or multiple spellings of a name, or human error.

We can, and should, improve the accuracy of the state's voter rolls. But that should not mean that any voter should have to lose their right as citizens.

On the Web: www.brennancenter.org/programs/dem_vr_lit_wacvreed.html

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/279816_electioned.asp

[freedomfries]

16. WA: Voter Registration Portal ?

Government Technology
Roll Call
August 31, 2006 By Merrill Douglas

As part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, Congress stipulated that every state must operate a centralized voter registration database (VRDB). Rather than relying on county election officials to maintain voter rolls, states must now use a single system to organize current information on who is eligible to vote and where.

In Washington state, election officials could have chosen a packaged solution to meet the Jan. 1, 2006 deadline for complying with HAVA's VRDB requirement. But they opted for a different approach.
...
For several years now, Washington residents have been visiting the state's Web portal to conduct e-government transactions, such as buying fishing licenses, renewing auto registrations or applying for unemployment insurance.

"We saw the voter registration database, and light bulbs went on," Excell said.

This new resource could fuel a whole range of e-commerce transactions to benefit voters and local election officials.

"We wanted a platform that could be expanded and go to more of a portal/information sharing system in the future," he said.

None of the off-the-shelf VRDB systems offered the extensions Washington needed to create a voter registration portal (VRP), so the Office of the Secretary of State decided to build its own. Secretary of State officials brought in Microsoft Consulting Services to work with their in-house IT staff on a system that would collect voter registration data from the counties, check new registrations for validity, note address changes, identify duplicate registrations, and expunge names from the rolls when citizens died or became ineligible to vote.
....

http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=100358

[freedomfries]

15. AZ: Voter registration deadline for September primary election fast approa

Arizona City News: Voter registration deadline for September primary election fast approaching
Staff Reports August 09, 2006

Secretary of State Jan Brewer announced last week that her Phoenix office will be open until midnight on August 14, to collect voter registration forms and answer questions for those citizens wishing to vote in the September 12 primary election.

The Voter Registration collection point will be conveniently located at the State Capitol Executive Tower Building at 1700 W. Washington, in front of the circle driveway on Washington, just east of 19th Avenue.
Voter registration forms will be available at this location. Voters may also drop off completed voter registration forms. Blank forms can also be obtained through the Secretary of State's website at: www.azsos.gov under the Election Services link.
...
Voters may also register online up until midnight on August 14, 2006, through EZ Voter, which can be accessed through the Secretary of State's Website.
...
"For questions regarding voter registration, citizens may call the Secretary of State's Office at (602) 542-VOTE (8683), or call toll free at 1-877-THE-VOTE (1-877-843-8683)."

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17032448&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222089&rfi=6

[freedomfries]

17. OH Re-Post: SEC changes Diebold accounting probe to formal

Thanks for the heads up, Livvy!
SEC changes Diebold accounting probe to formal
By G. PATRICK KELLEY REPOSITORY BUSINESS EDITOR
Wednesday, August 9, 2006

GREEN - The Securities and Exchange Commission has changed its inquiry into Diebold’s accounting from informal to formal.

The company’s quarterly filing reported that the inquiry has been converted to a formal, nonpublic investigation.

Diebold’s public filing in May said that SEC staff had begun an informal inquiry relating to the company’s policy of accounting for revenue. The SEC said it wasn’t an indication that there has been any violation of federal securities laws.

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=301206&Category=5

[freedomfries]

18. FL: Feds investigate Martinez's 2004 campaign for Senate

Feds investigate Martinez's 2004 campaign for Senate

Mark K. Matthews | Washington Bureau
August 12, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission is auditing Sen. Mel Martinez's 2004 campaign, which has been trying to untangle its finances ever since his victory over Democrat Betty Castor.

Neither the FEC nor Martinez would discuss the scope of the audit, but letters from the agency to his campaign focus mostly on the amount of debt Martinez reported during and after his Senate campaign.

A formal audit has been going on for more than a year -- although inquiries from the FEC began in 2004.

In December of that year, a month after his victory, Martinez reported his $12 million campaign had about $115,000 in debt.
...
The figure should have been $685,000 in election debt, according to the campaign's most recent FEC filing.

Election records after the December 2004 filing show other instances in which the Martinez campaign underreported its debt.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-martinez1206aug12,0,2031543.story?coll=orl-news-headlines

[freedomfries]

19. Unconfirmed Sources: NAACP Tricks To Suppress White Vote

Democratic Dirty Tricks: NAACP Tries to Suppress White Vote!
by Walid
Unconfirmedsources.com

Unconfirmed sources report that Republican lawmakers are planning a lawsuit against the NAACP. In a news conference today in Washington D.C. Michigan State Rep. John Pappageorge and Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, detailed their complaints against the civil rights group. The two lawmakers allege that the NAACP has engaged in a systematic campaign to suppress the white vote.

Holding aloft a report published by the Swift Boatmen for Truth Rep. Pappageorge leveled damming charges against the civil rights organization. "This report details how the NAACP is working to suppress the voter turn out of wealthy white Americans." Jeb Bush, a leading expert in voter suppression, then made their case. "This so called civil rights group is denying the rights of white people to control our government and this must be stopped. This report lists numerous cases where the turn out of white voters has been disrupted."

The report describes several plots used by the NAACP and its operative to suppress the white vote. The following are two of the most egregious examples:

The Valet Ballot Service Scam: Workers pretending to represent a new Valet Voting Service cruised wealthy subdivisions in Troy Michigan in the days preceding the 2000 election. For a small fee the valet service would take your ballet to your designated polling station and return with a receipt after the election. After the election voters were shocked to find out the ballets were phony and their votes has never been cast.

The Golf with Tiger Flim-Flam: Voters in wealthy white neighborhoods of Fort Worth Texas were told they had won free tickets to an upcoming pro am golf tournament and would be paired with Tiger Woods. The phony Election Day golf tournament was to be held in Austin, which is several hours from Fort Worth. By the time the Tiger fans found out the tournament was phony polling places back in Fort Worth were closing and their opportunity to vote was lost.

"The NAACP is making a mockery of the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965". Governor Bush continued, his face reddening with moral outrage, "How can an organization with the trust of the American people actively subvert democracy and the civil rights of our citizens! It's disgusting!"

http://www.unconfirmedsources.com/?itemid=689

[freedomfries]

20. MO: Democrats launch education effort for voter ID law

Democrats launch education effort for voter ID law
Christopher Leonard The Associated Press August 11, 2006

St. Louis — Missouri Democratic leaders unveiled a new plan Thursday to educate low-income and disabled voters on ways to get proper photo identification so they can vote in November's election.
The plan comes in response to a new law signed by Republican Gov. Matt Blunt in June requiring all voters to present a federal- or Missouri-issued photo ID, starting in November.

"I think it's appalling. It's very simply voter suppression," former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson said at a news conference Thursday.

Wilson accused Republicans of passing the law this year to help U.S. Sen. Jim Talent in a tight race against Democratic Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill.

"It's pretty simply a Jim Talent protection act, trying to limit the number of voters that can be counted," said Wilson, who is chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party.
...

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan estimates at least 200,000 voters do not have the proper ID to vote, said spokeswoman Stacie Temple. So far, fewer than 1,000 voters have been issued proper ID by the state to comply with the law, Temple said.

To boost that number, the state Democratic Party's plan includes three initiatives. The party launched a toll-free hot line to answer voter questions --1-888-998-6837 --and will include information about the law on its Web site.

On Sept. 9, the party will launch a statewide door-to-door campaign to inform voters about the new law and help them comply with it.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060811/NEWS06/608110403/1015

[freedomfries]

21. OH: AP: Absentee Voting Encouraged To Bypass Electronic Voting

Absentee Voting Encouraged To Bypass Electronic Voting
Reported by: A.P.
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News WCPO
First posted: 8/9/2006 10:23:43 PM

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Voters in Cuyahoga County, the most populated county in Ohio, will be encouraged to vote by absentee ballot in the Nov. 7 general election, county commissioners said Wednesday.
...

Hayes, a former board of elections director in the county, was part of a three-member panel that recently reviewed the county's error-prone election performance in the May primary, the first using touch-screen electronic voting.

Voting by absentee ballot would allow voters to bypass electronic voting and possible long lines at the polls, which officials worry could be a side-effect of a new requirement that voters show identification.

Commissioner Tim Hagan said the expected vote total in November is likely to be between 550,000 and 600,000.

He said the three-member commission believes that more than 100,000 votes could be cast on paper absentee ballots that would be tabulated by optical scanners.

Michael Vu, the elections board director, said Wednesday his office will help encourage absentee voting, because voters no longer are required to provide a reason for voting absentee.
...
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/08/09/oh_bypass_ballots.html

[Kurovski]

22. Kick to the top!

:kick: Thank you, freedomfries!