Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 8/2/06 Holding Up A Mirror

[kpete]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Tuesday 8/2/06 Holding Up A Mirror Edition


“Life, like a mirror, never gives back more than we put into it”




Will Your Vote Count in 2006?

By Steven Hill
Special to washingtonpost.com's Think Tank Town
Tuesday, August 1, 2006; 11:56 AM

Watching Mexico live through a controversial presidential election was like holding up a mirror to our own election difficulties in recent years.





As we round the corner and head toward the upcoming November elections -- with control of the Congress up for grabs -- what can Americans expect? Will our votes count? There is both cause for worry, as well as signs that effective voting reform advocacy is paying off.

The root cause of our troubled elections is that, unbelievably, the U.S. provides less security, testing, and oversight of our nation's voting equipment and election administration than it does to slot machines and the gaming industry. Our elections are administered by a hodgepodge of over 3000 counties scattered across the country with minimal national standards or uniformity. Widely differing practices on the testing and certification of voting equipment, the handling of provisional and absentee ballots, protocols for recounts, and training of election officials and poll workers makes for a bewildering terrain.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/01/AR2006080100561.html




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[kpete]

1. The Shame of Not Being Mexican-By David Swanson

The Shame of Not Being Mexican

by David Swanson


http://www.opednews.com

By David Swanson

I'll grant you that in the United States our two big political parties never nominate a candidate of, by, or for poor people. Nonetheless, we have now established a pattern of stolen elections, and we have NOT taken over our nation's capital to demand justice. This fact alone would make me ashamed right now not to be a Mexican. The Mexicans are doing the only sensible thing they can, the only thing that can prevent a slide into far more serious dangers.

Here in the United States, however, we don't just have stolen elections. Our nation's capital is home to a White House that has eliminated the Congress and the Supreme Court from any serious role in our government, not to mention a Congress that has rolled over and refused to resist. Our unelected president has reversed 800 acts of Congress, torn up half the Bill of Rights, launched an illegal war based on lies, facilitated another one, locked people up without charge or trial and tortured them, and launched massive spying operations outside the rule of law. And, yet, we do not fill the streets.

This Sunday, the truly dedicated will take up residence anew at Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas. On September 5, Camp Casey will move to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and expand into Camp Democracy - an attempt to force fundamental change. One of the groups that will play a lead role in Camp Democracy is immigrants and activists for immigrants' rights. Some immigrants' rights groups will also hold a rally and march in DC on September 7. In recent months, the ability of immigrants to turn out and march in the United States has shamed all native-born agitators for justice.

Not only do we all need to learn from the immigrants' rights movement. We all need to get behind it and support it. The anti-war movement, in particular, should be backing the cause of immigrants' rights with everything we've got. And when non-immigrants lobby their elected representatives on any other issue, they should always raise the cause of immigrants' rights as well. Because their cause is our cause. Americans' willingness to abuse Iraqis is not separate from our willingness to discriminate against Muslim Americans and Americans of Arab or Mexican descent. This time it's not "first they came for the communists, then they came for the Jews." This time, it's "first they came for the immigrants."

And that is the point at which to stop it.


http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_david_sw_060801_the_shame_of_not_bei.htm

[kpete]

4. Mexico election protesters dig in

Mexico election protesters dig in


Protesters have been camping along Mexico City's main avenue.

Mexico City has suffered a second day of traffic chaos as supporters of the left-wing candidate in the country's disputed election block a key street.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador toured protest camps on Tuesday, after sleeping out with supporters who want votes in the 2 July poll recounted.

His rival, Felipe Calderon, accused him of taking the city hostage as commuters battled through congested streets.

Mr Lopez Obrador alleges vote counts in the poll were rigged.

Official results gave victory to the conservative Mr Calderon by half a percentage point.

EU monitors have said they found no irregularities.

Protesters have been camped out for two days on the Mexican capital's main boulevard, Reforma, causing massive traffic jams and transforming some of the usually busy streets into pedestrian zones.

Mr Lopez Obrador was surrounded by enthusiastic supporters as he walked among the protesters telling them to stay put and not give in to critics.

more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5236884.stm

[kpete]

8. Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in México

Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in México

By Chuck Collins and Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted August 2, 2006.


As the U.S. media distorts the aftermath of the July 2 election, evidence suggests there may be an attempted theft in progress.

A month after more than 41 million Mexicans went to the polls to elect their next president, the country is still awaiting a result. A preliminary count of polling station tally sheets put conservative Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN) ahead with a slight lead over left-populist Andres Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). Both candidates have claimed victory, with López Obrador and his supporters holding vigils and protests across the country and calling for a vote-by-vote recount.

That hasn't kept a consensus from emerging in the commercial media that Calderón won by a small margin in a squeaky-clean election. In a hyperbolic editorial on July 30 -- one that bordered on the ridiculous -- the Washington Post accused López Obrador, known as AMLO to his supporters, of taking "a lesson from Joseph Stalin" and launching an "anti-democracy campaign" by demanding a manual recount and urging his supporters to take to the streets in peaceful protests. Calling the vote "a success story and a model for other nations," the editors concluded that it's "difficult to overstate the irresponsibility of Mr. López Obrador's actions."

Days after the election, the New York Times irresponsibly declared candidate Calderón the winner, even though no victor had been declared under Mexican law, and just this week, in an article about López Obrador's protests, the Times reported that López Obrador had "escalated his campaign to undo official results."

But there are no "official" results and probably won't be until after Sept. 1. Under Mexican law, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) is charged with running the elections and counting the vote. But only the country's Election Tribunal, known by its Mexican nickname as the "TRIFE," has the power to declare a victor (See here for background on the TRIFE). They have until Sept. 6 to rule on the election.

more at:
http://www.alternet.org/story/39763/

[kpete]

2. How to Hack a Diebold Voting Machine (The Video)

CLICK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/how-to-hack-a-diebold-vot_b_26301.html

[kpete]

3. Action Alert! Citizen's Tool Kit to Take Back Elections

August 1, 2006 at 19:07:11
Action Alert! Citizen's Tool Kit to Take Back Elections
by Black Box Voting

http://www.opednews.com

Now is the time for your 2 cents: Citizen's Tool Kit to
Take Back Elections


Distribute to lists etc. as desired.

If you are worried about Election 2006, this message is for you. The Black
Box Voting CITIZEN'S TOOL KIT contains 20 modules, listed below. Begin
actively managing your elections by choosing one thing to do. This is your
chance to suggest improvements to the tool kit.

Choose one action - any action. This is YOUR tool kit to help you and your
group take action and monitor upcoming elections, so contribute input as
desired.

A FRAME OF REFERENCE: You own your government, it's not the other way
around.

When you own something, it's up to you to manage it. The Citizen's Tool Kit
was created through combined expertise with many of our nation's most
effective and experienced citizens, to help you learn the citizen management
skills that work. If you depend on others to do this for you, you may just
lose your country.

TELLING IT TO YOU STRAIGHT: WE'RE IN TROUBLE

more at:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_black_bo_060801_action_alert_21__citiz.htm

[kpete]

5. Diebold voting machine hack exposed

Diebold voting machine hack exposed
Switch toggle tampering

By John LeydenPublished Tuesday 1st August 2006

Much has been written (in these pages and elsewhere) about the shortcomings of Diebold's electronic voting technology, but researchers at the Open Voting Foundation have come up with what they argue is the most serious flaw in electronic voting technology yet documented.

Open Voting found that by toggling a single switch it's possible to get Diebold's AccuVote TS touchscreen voting machine to boot from an unverified external flash drive instead of the device's built-in firmware, which is stored on an EPROM chip.

In fairness, exploiting this shortcoming would require physically opening up the machine and a certain amount of hardware and programming skills, but that's hardly an insurmountable barrier to a sufficiently motivated hacker.

Open Voting Foundation reckons the problem is compounded by a failure to create a voter-audited paper trail during elections tallied by the machine.

"Diebold has made the testing and certification process practically irrelevant," said Open Voting Foundation president, Alan Dechert. "If you have access to these machines and you want to rig an election, anything is possible with the Diebold TS - and it could be done without leaving a trace. All you need is a screwdriver."

Newer TSx series voting machines can only contain one boot profile at a time, but it's far easier to circumvent controls and overwrite files stored in older TS machines, according to Open Voting.

"These findings underscore the need for open testing and certification. There is no way such a security vulnerability should be allowed. These systems should be recalled," he added.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/01/diebold_hack/

[kpete]

6. Major security vulnerability in touch screen voting machines

Major security vulnerability in touch screen voting machines
Posted on 01 August 2006.

Upon examining the inner workings of one of the most popular paperless touch screen voting machines used in public elections in the United States, it has been determined that with the flip of a single switch inside, the machine can behave in a completely different manner compared to the tested and certified version. “This may be the worst security flaw we have seen in touch screen voting machines,” says Open Voting Foundation president, Alan Dechert.

“Diebold has made the testing and certification process practically irrelevant,” according to Dechert. “If you have access to these machines and you want to rig an election, anything is possible with the Diebold TS -- and it could be done without leaving a trace. All you need is a screwdriver.” This model does not produce a voter verified paper trail so there is no way to check if the voter’s choices are accurately reflected in the tabulation.

Open Voting Foundation is releasing 22 high-resolution close up pictures of the system. This picture, in particular, shows a “BOOT AREA CONFIGURATION” chart painted on the system board.

The most serious issue is the ability to choose between "EPROM" and "FLASH" boot configurations. Both of these memory sources are present. All of the switches in question (JP2, JP3, JP8, SW2 and SW4) are physically present on the board. It is clear that this system can ship with live boot profiles in two locations, and switching back and forth could change literally everything regarding how the machine works and counts votes. This could be done before or after the so-called "Logic And Accuracy Tests".

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=4098

[kpete]

7. CA-50: Count the Vote in CA-50 - By John Bonifaz

Guest Editorial: Count the Vote in CA-50
By John Bonifaz, founder National Voting Rights Institute
August 01, 2006

I join the growing numbers of citizens across this country who are declaring "no confidence" in the machine tally results of the special election held on June 6, 2006, for the 50th Congressional District in California. I further join their call for a full hand-count of both the paper ballots and the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail in that election.

We face today a crisis in public confidence in the integrity of our elections. This crisis threatens the foundation of our democracy. Now more than ever, we must return to a basic truth: In order for voters to trust the outcome of our elections, they must be able to trust that their votes are properly counted.

It is clear that too many voters in California's 50th Congressional District do not trust that their votes have been properly counted in the June 6, 2006 special election.


In the wake of Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004, we must stand up and prevent further erosion of the public's trust in our democracy. Following the November 2004 election, I went to Ohio and led the fight in the federal courts for a full recount of the presidential vote in that state - a recount that Ohio election officials resisted and ultimately refused to conduct in a manner consistent with the due process and equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.



We must now continue this struggle for the integrity of our elections with the Busby-Bilbray race, a race closely watched by people across the country as both major political parties fight for majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming 2006 general election.

We cannot claim to serve as a model of democracy for the world, when our own election outcomes are not trusted here at home.

As Chief Elections Officers, our Secretaries of State must work as a coalition from around the country to stand up to the private voting machine companies that are undermining the public's trust. Our states must not contract with any private voting machine companies that do not guarantee a paper trail and hand-recorded paper ballot, access to the source codes and data within the machines, and opportunity to publicly own the machines in full.

We must reclaim our democracy. Count every vote.
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1594&Itemid=113

[kpete]

9. A Monkey Could Hack That Voting Machine

A Monkey Could Hack That Voting Machine

Posted by Brooke Shelby Biggs on August 1st, 2006

The Open Voting Foundation has discovered that those notorious Diebold electronic voting machines can be made to behave in a completely different manner than the tested and certified models with the flip of a simple switch.

If you have access to these machines and you want to rig an election, anything is possible with the Diebold TS -- and it could be done without leaving a trace. All you need is a screwdriver.” This model does not produce a voter verified paper trail so there is no way to check if the voter’s choices are accurately reflected in the tabulation.

You will recall that the CEO of Diebold, Wally O'Dell, pledged millions to the Bush campaign ahead of the 2004 election and told the president that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year," just as the company was pushing its paperless voting system on the state oh Ohio - a crucial swing state.

The machines have had spectacular failure rates, and Diebold has repeatedly resisted calls for it to supply a paper trail for its systems, so votes can be verified in the case of a dispute. O'Dell has since left the company, but there is reason for cynicism still - Diebold controls half the market for electronic voting machines and in the wake of the 2000 fiasco in Florida (think butterfly ballots), Congress is pushing states to invest in computerizing elections.

Concerns have resulted in more careful testing and certifcation of the machines to prevent errors, but this new discovery makes the entire certification process moot. A simple flick of a switch makes the machines eminently hackable and elections supremely fixable. Be afraid.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13966

[kpete]

10. Kansas: Glitches mark new voting system

Posted on Wed, Aug. 02, 2006email thisprint this
Glitches mark new voting system
Eagle staff

The first official test of recent voting reforms went generally smoothly in Sedgwick County on Tuesday, officials said, although voting machines and misunderstandings caused a few glitches.

A few voters were incorrectly turned away by confused poll workers, several people complained about lack of privacy while voting, and the ballots in one precinct contained an error.


Out of paper

Voters at Temple Emanu-El in east Wichita experienced a line after 6 p.m. because only two of the five voting machines were working. The other three had run out of paper.

When the line reached 25 people, poll workers invited voters to fill out paper ballots while others were on the phone asking for instructions on how to replace the paper.

"I wasn't happy," said voter Mike Pottorf.

more at:
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/15177546.htm

[kpete]

11. Kansas: Conservatives lose majority on State Education Board

Conservatives lose majority on State Education Board
Associated Press

TOPEKA - Moderate Republicans scored key primary victories in State Board of Education races, wrestling control from conservatives in a battle shaped by the debate over the teaching of evolution.

Conservative Republicans began Tuesday with a 6-4 board majority. However, one of their incumbents lost, and a pro-evolution moderate won the GOP nomination for a seat held by a retiring conservative.

The results left only four board members who voted last year to adopt science standards that questioned the validity of evolutionary theory.

In one of the most watched races on the ballot, Sally Cauble, of Liberal, defeated anti-evolution incumbent Connie Morris, of St. Francis. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, Cauble held a 54 percent to 46 percent lead in the 5th District, which covers 41 western counties.

more at:
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/politics/elections/15175382.htm

[kpete]

20. KS: Voter turnout among lowest in memory

Voter turnout among lowest in memory
By Chad Lawhorn (Contact)

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

The predictions were right: Voter turnout was low Tuesday as voters chose a series of candidates in primary races.

Only 9,065 of 74,021 registered Douglas County voters — or 12.25 percent — bothered to cast ballots, according to County Clerk Jamie Shew. Election officials said if that wasn’t a record low, it was close.

When polls opened at 7 a.m., one voter was ready to go at the polling station at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt. But the second voter didn’t show up until about two hours later, poll workers said. And by 6 p.m. — just an hour before voting stopped — a grand total of 12 people had cast ballots there, including one provisional ballot, they said.

“I’ve never seen it this slow before,” said James Dunn, the supervising judge who has been a poll worker for years.

Several of those who voted at the church said they were especially interested in the Kansas State Board of Education races, said Marci Francisco, a poll worker at Plymouth who also is a state senator.


MORE AT:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/aug/02/voter_turnout_among_lowest_memory/?city_local

[kpete]

12. Democrats Scrambling To Organize Voter Turnout

Democrats Scrambling To Organize Voter Turnout

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006; Page A01

Top Democrats are increasingly concerned that they lack an effective plan to turn out voters this fall, creating tension among party leaders and prompting House Democrats to launch a fundraising effort aimed exclusively at mobilizing Democratic partisans.

At a meeting last week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) criticized Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean for not spending enough party resources on get-out-the-vote efforts in the most competitive House and Senate races, according to congressional aides who were briefed on the exchange. Pelosi -- echoing a complaint common among Democratic lawmakers and operatives -- has warned privately that Democrats are at risk of going into the November midterm elections with a voter-mobilization plan that is underfunded and inferior to the proven turnout machine run by national Republicans.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/01/AR2006080101332.html

[kpete]

13. Conservative bloggers begin fundraising effort for GOP candidates

Conservative bloggers begin fundraising effort for GOP candidates

"Democrats have used to pool almost $400,000 for candidates this year," reports Technology Today. The Rightroots site, http://www.abcpac.com/rightroots/ has so far raised over $9,000. The largest recipient of the group's donations is Diana Irey, who is challenging Congressman John Murtha in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional district.

Excerpts from the registration-restricted article follow:


The authors of seven Republican Web logs combined forces to form Rightroots, an answer to the Internet-based fundraising arm Democrats have used to pool almost $400,000 for candidates this year. The Rightroots site is being sponsored by the ABC political action committee.

In a post on the Right Wing News blog on Tuesday, John Hawkins said the site will help GOP donors identify what races could use their money most. Rightroots has endorsed 18 candidates, all of which are either challenging Democratic incumbents or gunning for open seats.

Hawkins said the group avoided endorsing candidates facing primary challenges to avoid disagreements within the party, a stark contrast from the Democrats' ActBlue, which many donors have used to support Ned Lamont, the challenger to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., in a primary a week from Tuesday.

. . . . . . .

In a telephone interview, Hawkins said the group also has avoided supporting incumbents because they should not need the help. He said high-profile incumbents such as Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum and Missouri's Jim Talent have plenty of cash in their war chests.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Conservative_bloggers_begin_fundraising_effort_for_0802.html

[kpete]

14. CT-Sen: Senate Dems covered for Lieberman

CT-Sen: Senate Dems covered for Lieberman
by kos
Wed Aug 02, 2006

On July 24, Harry Reid said in a speech http://images.dailykos.com/images/user/3/Reid_iraq_7_24.pdf(PDF):

Democrats have asked for another Iraq debate before the August recess. I hope we have that opportunity because the Republican leader said today that we are going to take up the Defense appropriations bill. I hope we would have an opportunity to do it there.

We want to give rubberstamping Republicans another chance to demand that President Bush change course in Iraq--not because of any political point scoring but because national security clearly demands it <...>

There are only 2 weeks before the August recess--really just 6 voting days left. There are a number of important subjects that deserve our attention but none more important than the intractable war in Iraq.


The plan was to introduce an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill modeled after the Levin-Reed amendment of a month ago.

Suddenly, within the last two days, the Senate leadership decided to not introduce the amendment.

Why?

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/1/231646/4863

[kpete]

24. CN: Campaigning in Conn., Sharpton 'disappointed' in Lieberman

Campaigning in Conn., Sharpton 'disappointed' in Lieberman
By Susan Haigh, AP Political Writer | August 2, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. --In predominantly white Connecticut, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and challenger Ned Lamont are looking to the state's minority population for key votes in next week's hotly contested primary.

Both Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were to be in the state Wednesday to campaign for Lamont, who had a slight lead in the most recent poll and has built momentum by criticizing Lieberman for his support of the war in Iraq and perceived closeness with President Bush.

Lieberman, an 18-year incumbent and one-time vice presidential candidate, has been distributing fliers touting his civil rights record. He has also brought to Connecticut a favorite among many minority Democrats: former President Bill Clinton.

.............

"I was disappointed that every time we came out of the huddle, it seemed like my friend Joe had the other team's uniform," Sharpton said.

............................
more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/08/02/campaigning_in_conn_sharpton_disappointed_in_lieberman/

[kpete]

15. FL: Ex-Aide: Harris Hid Subpoena

Ex-Aide: Harris Hid Subpoena
By KEITH EPSTEIN The Tampa Tribune
Published: Aug 2, 2006


WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris received a grand jury subpoena from federal investigators and concealed the fact from top campaign advisers hired to help her deflect negative publicity, her former campaign manager has disclosed.

"Yes, there was a subpoena. She didn't tell us," said Glenn Hodas, Harris' third and most recent campaign manager. He said he learned of it in June while reviewing invoices from powerhouse Washington lawyer Benjamin J. Ginsberg and confronted his boss.

The invoices, Hodas said, were for work relating to a "DOJ subpoena," referring to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The discovery culminated in the latest round of staff departures, in mid-July, Hodas said. Those resignations included Hodas and a campaign spokesman.

"Finding out about the subpoena caused me to wonder about what was going on and what else I didn't know, but I don't want to comment any further on what appears to be a pending investigation," said Hodas, reached by telephone Tuesday.

more at:
http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGB0J4K6DQE.html

[kpete]

16. Did Harris Break Rule, Hide Subpoena from House Leaders?

Did Harris Break Rule, Hide Subpoena from House Leaders?
By Justin Rood - August 2, 2006, 11:52 AM


It's unfortunate that after receiving a federal grand jury subpoena, Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) declined to mention it to her Senate campaign staff.

But it appears she also declined to share it with the Speaker of the House -- and that's a violation of House rules.

As we've seen most recently in the case of Rep. Bob Ney's (R-OH) heavily-subpoenaed office (wham, bam, thank you and ma'am), any representative or staffer receiving a subpoena concerning any work-related issue must disclose it, and an announcement is subsequently published in the Congressional Record. It's called "House Rule VIII," and it's cited in just about every disclosure.

Yet a search of the Record turns up no mention of a subpoena for Harris.

more at:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001253.php

[kpete]

17. TN: Early voting turnout heavy

Early voting turnout heavy
08/02/06

Early voting ended Saturday and according to the Election Commission office 2,905 took advantage of the opportunity to vote before election day, Aug. 3. There are a little more than 11,000 registered voters in Benton County.

“We think early voting went very well considering we had the new voting machines and almost 3,000 people who came in to vote early,” said Administrator of Elections Diane Latimer. “The majority of the people thought that the new voting machines were easy to operate.”

Early voters probably noticed a small line at the Election Commission office. That is because approximately 250 people per day showed up to vote early. Many voters had to wait for around 15 to 20 minutes for a voting machine to become open, but some reported that they had to wait up to 45 minutes.

With early voting over, Benton County residents can exercise their right to vote on Aug. 3 during the county general/state primary election. The polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=319&NewsID=736938&CategoryID=8373&on=1

[kpete]

18. NV: Early primary voting has slow start

Early primary voting has slow start
GUY CLIFTON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 8/2/2006


Despite expanded hours and more locations, voting has been relatively slow in Northern Nevada during the first four days of early voting for the Aug. 15 primary election.

Washoe County officials are disappointed with the turnout.

"Through Monday, we had a total of 1,248 people vote," said Dan Burk, registrar of voters for Washoe County. "That's an extremely low number. It just seems to be a shame that voters are ignoring the election, at least so far."

Several hundred more had voted by late afternoon on Tuesday, Burk said.

Washoe County spent $300,000 on software, laptop computers and barcode scanners to help make voting easier and more convenient for the public. It also expanded from

11 to 27 the number of early voting sites.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060802/NEWS10/608020337/1002/NEWS

[kpete]

19. VA: Panel approves Salem request for Voting Rights Act bailout

Panel approves Salem request for Voting Rights Act bailout
The approval means the judges were confident that Salem's voting record was clear.
By Todd Jackson

Salem is the latest of just a few localities in the South -- all in Virginia -- to take advantage of a bailout from the federal Voting Rights Act.

Salem's request was approved by a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., last week. The bailout relieves Salem from preclearance reviews required by the 1965 law, established to prevent bias against minorities at the polls in Southern states with such a history.

For Salem residents it means their local government won't have to spend tax money on federal filings that were mandatory with any voting change -- no matter how small or large. Nor will the registrar's office have to spend staff time on such matters. City registrar Dana Oliver said some requests -- such as the relocation of a polling place -- sometimes became a nerve-wracking ordeal before elections because the Justice Department, which enforces the Voting Rights Act, has 60 days to review and rule on filings.

MORE AT:
http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/wb/xp-76296

[Kurovski]

21. WA: Judge bars state from enforcing new voter registration law

The Olympian
Published August 02, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judge bars state from enforcing new voter registration law

By GENE JOHNSON

The Associated Press

SEATTLE - A federal judge on Tuesday barred Washington state from enforcing a new law that keeps people from registering to vote if their names do not perfectly match identifying information in other government databases.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez agreed with lawyers who claimed that under the law, misspelled names or other minor errors could improperly prevent people from voting.

...He noted that the requirements for registering to vote are that a person be a citizen, 18 years old, a 30-day resident of the precinct in which he or she wishes to vote and that the person not have lost the right to vote or been declared legally incompetent.


http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060802/NEWS/608020347

[kpete]

22. Yet Another Reason Diebold Machines Are Not Reliable

Yet Another Reason Diebold Machines Are Not Reliable
posted August 2, 2006

While there has been a steady stream of revelations of problems with electronic voting, this is probably the most dramatic since Bev Harris showed Howard Dean on television how to hack the vote using Microsoft Access.

Last Monday the Open Voting Foundation revealed that with a flick of a switch a Diebold machine could behave in a manner not revealed during the testing and certified phase that most states require. To quote Open Voting Foundation president Alan Dechert, "Diebold has made the testing and certification process practically irrelevant. If you have access to these machines and you want to rig an election, anything is possible with the Diebold TS, and it could be done without leaving a trace. All you need is a screwdriver."

As the press release points out, "The most serious issue is the ability to choose between "EPROM" and "FLASH" boot configurations. Both of these memory sources are present. All of the switches in question (JP2, JP3, JP8, SW2 and SW4) are physically present on the board. It is clear that this system can ship with live boot profiles in two locations, and switching back and forth could change literally everything regarding how the machine works and counts votes. This could be done before or after the so-called Logic And Accuracy Tests."

A third possible profile could be field-added in minutes and selected in the "external flash" memory location, the interface for which is present on the motherboard.

It is time Bud Knowles and the members of the Election Commission acknowledge that these machines can be hacked.

Every computer professional I know has grave concerns about these systems.

R.W. Young
Green Party of Tennessee
Hixson
[e-mail]

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_90297.asp

[kpete]

23. Blowing the whistle on Diebold

News
Blowing the whistle on Diebold
By John Ireland
08/02/2006

On July 13, the Pensacola, Floridabased law firm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a “qui-tam” lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that Diebold and other electronic-voting- machine companies fraudulently represented to state election boards and the federal government that their products were “unhackable.”

Kennedy claims to have witnesses “centrally located, deep within the corporations,” who will confirm that company officials withheld their knowledge of problems with the accuracy, reliability, and security of EVMs in order to procure government contracts. Since going into service, many of these machines have been linked to allegations of election fraud.

In the wake of alleged vote-count inconsistencies and the “hanging chad” debacle of 2000, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002. HAVA appropriated $3 billion to replace voting equipment and make other improvements in election administration. Diebold, Election Systems & Software, and Sequoia Systems secured the lion’s share of nearly half that sum in contracts to purchase EVMs. All 50 states have received funds and many are hurriedly spending it on replacing lever and punch-card machines in time for November.

According to the Election Assistance Commission, more than 61 percent of votes in the 2004 presidential election were cast and/or tallied by EVMs. Election Data Services, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, estimates that the figure will jump to 80 percent by November, which will see elections for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives.

more:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16996461&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=6

[kpete]

25. OH: State Senator Marc Dann files amicus brief Against Blackwell

State Senator Marc Dann files amicus brief on behalf of Legislators in Project Vote case against Blackwell’s oppressive voter registration rules.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

State Senator Marc Dann files amicus brief on behalf of Legislators in Project Vote case against Blackwell’s oppressive voter registration rules. House, Senate members, say regulations violate basic

In a brief prepared and filed on behalf of and Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss, House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty and 31 other members of the Ohio General Assembly, State Senator Marc Dann argues that new voter registration rules developed and imposed by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell violate the rights of Ohioans and should be scrapped.

Speaking at a press conference in front of the Federal Courthouse in Cleveland where the case is being heard by Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley, Senator Dann said it is both ironic and troubling that he and other members of the legislature are being forced to ask the Court to overturn Blackwell’s oppressive rules less than a week after the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 that broke down institutional barriers to the ballot box was extended.

In the amicus brief supporting the arguments made in the case filed by Project Vote, Common Cause Ohio, the People for the American Way Foundation, Communities of Faith Assemblies Church, and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on July 6, Senator Dann states that the new rules “violate core political speech rights by imposing undue procedural burdens on voting rights and by imposing vague and confusing standards subject to criminal penalties.”

Blackwell wrote the rules in question to implement the provisions of House Bill 3, controversial legislation dealing with a number of election-related issues that was passed earlier this year over the vehement objections of Democrats, voting rights advocates, and many of the state’s leading newspapers. The brief points out that no group or individual testified in favor of the final version of the bill before it was passed on party line votes in both houses of the General Assembly.

more at:
http://www.dannforohio.com/news.php?item.11.1

[kpete]

26. Alabama: judge appoint Governor as special master over voter registration

Alabama: judge appoint Governor as special master over voter registration system

AP reports: A federal judge put Republican Gov. Bob Riley in charge of developing an overdue statewide voter registration database Wednesday and turned aside objections by the Democratic Party and the mostly black Alabama Democratic Conference.

U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins gave Riley the title of "special master" in the voter database project, replacing Democratic Secretary of State Nancy Worley.

At a hearing in which Worley and former Secretary of State Jim Bennett exchanged barbs, Watkins said he would issue a formal order detailing Riley's duties in about a week.

Democratic Party chairman Joe Turnham and ADC chairman Joe Reed had sought to intervene, contending partisan politics was behind the Justice Department's lawsuit and the call by the agency and GOP Attorney General Troy King to replace Worley with Riley in an election year for both. ...

more at:
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/

[freedomfries]

27. K & R

excellent thread kpete!

[Kurovski]

28. Kick to the top.

Thank you, kpete! :kick:

[livvy]

29. Nice OP and great ERD, too! n/t