Election Reform News Tuesday, Oct 31st

[Melissa G]

Election Reform News Tuesday, Oct 31st


Requests Hit Record For Absentee Ballots
Continued Delivery Delays Are Feared
...see Post number 1.

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.



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

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


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

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

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


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




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

[Melissa G]

1. Md. Absentee Ballot Requests More Than Double 2002 Totals

Md. Absentee Ballot Requests More Than Double 2002 Totals
Monday October 30, 2006 5:35pm


Annapolis, Md. (AP) - The number of requests for absentee ballots in Maryland is more than double the number cast during the last gubernatorial election.

That could be a sign that voters are heeding the calls of elected officials to vote absentee due to concerns over the state's touch screen voting machines.

The Maryland Board of Elections says as of this morning, more than 160,000 Maryland voters had requested absentee ballots. Roughly 78,000were from Democrats and 68,000 from Republicans.

At a meeting Monday, some state election board members worried the absentee ballots may not be distributed to voters in time because of the volume of requests and timing of Diebold ballot deliveries to county election offices.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1006/371988.html

[Melissa G]

2. Mexico Congress asks Ruiz to quit

Mexico Congress asks Ruiz to quit
POSTED: 0307 GMT (1107 HKT), October 30, 2006

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- The Mexican Congress has called on the embattled governor of Oaxaca state to step aside in a bid to restore order after five months of often violent protests that have paralyzed the state's capital city.

Both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies approved the resolution asking for the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz, who has steadfastly refused to yield to demands by demonstrators that he step aside. The Senate vote was unanimous.

Over the weekend, President Vicente Fox sent federal troops into Oaxaca, in an effort to end the violence.

His action came after three people -- including American documentary filmmaker Bradley Will -- were killed Friday when plainclothes gunmen opened fire on a blockade set up by demonstrators.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/10/30/oaxaca.violence/

[Melissa G]

3. Voting: Low-Tech Is the Answer

Voting: Low-Tech Is the Answer
There are three reasons why all-electronic voting machines are a bad idea: Transparency, recovery, and audit
by Avi Rubin

Technology
On Nov. 7, more Americans will vote on electronic voting machines than ever before. No fewer than 39% of voters will cast their ballots electronically. Many of these votes will be cast on machines without any paper record. The votes will be fully electronic. As a computer science professor, and as someone who has been studying electronic voting for years, I am nervous.

Don't get me wrong; I love computers and electronics. I am one of those early adopters who buys the latest gadget before all the kinks have been worked out. And that is one of the reasons why I think electronic voting is a bad idea. Any system adopted too quickly is going to have kinks. We should not use the public as the beta testers of new voting systems.

If wringing the bugs out of the systems were my main concern, I would be optimistic about the future of electronic voting. After all, eventually we could produce a stable system. Unfortunately, there are three problems with electronic voting that have nothing to do with whether or not the system works as intended. They are transparency, recovery, and audit.

Easily Understood
A system is transparent if its users easily understand its operation. In the case of voting machines, the users are the voters, the election officials, the candidates, and the poll workers. Basically, everybody.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2006/tc20061030_909127.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology

[Melissa G]

4. Attention, Voters: Have Your ID Ready

ttention, Voters: Have Your ID Ready
In Many States, New Rules
On Identification at the Polls
Spark Confusion, Controversy
By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY
October 31, 2006

May I see your ID?

Americans are used to hearing that question at airports and in bars, but on this Election Day many will also hear it when they go to the polls.

That's because nearly half of the states have passed laws -- many since widely publicized irregularities in the 2000 presidential race in Florida -- requiring voters to prove their identity before they're allowed to cast a ballot. It sounds like a simple plan, but these laws are sparking confusion, partisan rancor and a frenzy of legal challenges in the days leading up to the midterm election. Luckily for voters, they have to know the current rules only in their own state. And any voter in any state is entitled to cast a provisional ballot if he or she encounters a problem at the polling place. States do, however, vary on how they determine whether a provisional ballot is later counted and how long a voter has to come back and prove his identity.


Florida voters lining up at the polls four years after the state took a controversial role in the 2000 election.


In Arizona, a proposition passed in 2004 requiring residents to show ID was struck down this month by a federal court only to be reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer said the lower-court ruling stirred "a lot of questions, confusion and anger," and that poll workers are now being retrained to apply the law. Linda Brown, executive director of the Arizona Advocacy Network, says she spent primary day last month outside a polling station talking to frustrated voters who weren't allowed to cast provisional ballots for lack of proper ID.

"The most disturbing thing we witnessed were poll workers who were ill-informed and making it up as they went along," Ms. Brown says.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116226144570708465-IhQfc8xLVscOHIOJUF3x_96Zrdc_20061129.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

[Melissa G]

5. Check out the new Election Protection Strike Force website!

Thanks to emlev for the post and the DU discussion here..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2518729

(Get Involved! Check out the new Election Protection Strike Force website!
Edited on Mon Oct-30-06 03:03 PM by emlev
Velvet Revolution Election Protection Strike Force website has just launched and is chock-full of exciting and effective election integrity projects, with much more coming soon!

From the front page:

The VelvetRevolution Election Protection Strike Force reveals a new approach to grassroots action, a multi-pronged hot-as-lightning campaign to put U.S. elections where they belong: in the hands of the people.

The Election Protection Strike Force is targeting electronic voting and voter disenfranchisement schemes through:

$250,000 ELECTION FRAUD REWARD FUND to encourage whistleblowers to share information ([e-mail] ) about election rigging. This reward will be paid for information about election fraud leading to overturning a House or Senate race and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2518729

[Melissa G]

6. Election Officials and Election Activists By Warren Stewart

Thanks to Wilms for the post and trhe DU discussion here..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x455852
Original message

"...e recognize when the same message comes from vendor representatives and election officials."

Election Officials and Election Activists
By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA
October 29, 2006

At a public hearing of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) last week, I was was asked by Commissioner Donetta Davidson what advice I would give to election officials to help counteract the growing crisis of confidence in the election process. I offered some initial suggestions and agreed to provide an expanded list. Many election officials have adopted some or all of these suggestions already and they are to be commended.

1. Audit. Fourteen states will be conducting random hand counted audits of their electronic voting machines this November. This is the single most powerful action that a state election administrator could take to demonstrate their commitment to accuracy and security. Citizen concern about electronic voting machines is not only motivated by fear of hacking or tampering – there have been dozens of cases of ballot programming errors that have affected election results.

Conducting a publicly-observed manual hand count of a meaningful percentage of paper records is a win-win proposition. If the audit shows that the electronic tallies were accurate, then voters are reassured. If the audit uncovers irregularities, then further audits should be undertaken and the cause of the irregularities should be investigated. Either way, you have established that your top priority is the accuracy of the election results.

snip

4. Avoid using voting industry talking points. Election integrity activists read the manufacturers’ press releases and marketing materials and we recognize when the same message comes from vendor representatives and election officials. You were elected or appointed to serve the citizens of your state, not to act as a public relations representative for the voting machine manufacturers and their products that you have spent taxpayer money to purchase.

snip

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1940&Itemid=26

[Melissa G]

7. Instant Action on Election Day!! - national pollwatching!

Thanks to annabanana for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x455862

Original message
Instant Action on Election Day!! - national pollwatching!
Working Assets has set up an "instant response" function to react to problems at the polls. They will take your zip code and text your cell phone if they need a response near you. They will also provide a place to upload video (from phone or camera) evidence of problems encountered.

http://www.workingassets.com/election_protection.cfm

[Melissa G]

8. Scoop/Autorank/Truthisall - U.S. Election Fraud 2006 Risk Assessment Update

Thanks to althecat for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x455846
Original message
Scoop/Autorank/Truthisall - U.S. Election Fraud 2006 Risk Assessment Update
From: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0610/S00493.htm


PROTECTING THE DEMOCRATIC VOTE 2:
Prospects for a 34 Seat House Pick Up Look Good


Election Fraud and Digital Disruption Take on More Importance


Michael Collins and TruthIsAll

“Scoop” Independent News
Washington, D.C.


See also… 25 October 2006 - Election Fraud 2006 - Quantifying The Risk



Democrats… may end up riding a wave that would give them both a substantial majority in the House — perhaps a win of more than 30 seats, far greater than the 15 seats they need to net for majority control — and a narrow control of the Senate, winning precisely the six seats they need for control, and perhaps even one more.
- Mark Halperin, ABC News Political Director


Political junkies talk about two elections as they anticipate the November 6 mid term Congressional elections: 1982 and 1994. In 1982, the Democrats picked up 27 House seats as the country said no to the doctrinaire Reagan project. The Senate remained Republican that year. 1994 was a blow out of epic proportions. The Democrats lost 54 seats in the House and eight in the Senate. That election was the “gift that keeps giving.”

The newest faction of the venerable voting rights movement has two entirely different elections that preoccupy it’s small but active ranks as we approach election day: 2000 and 2004. This marked the beginning of the aggressive changes to an election system that for decades had quietly done its mischief in the backwaters of American politics. With the country split down the middle in 2000, spoiled ballots, voter suppression, and digital disruption (voting machine and tabulator problems) assumed a very high profile. After all, 51 million voters watched the candidate they voted against inaugurated as President of the United States. That candidate not only lost the popular vote, he had to rely on his high level handlers and his brother’s good offices to work the system in Florida and Washington for his maximum advantage.

The corporate media is still reeling through its catharsis stimulated by l’affaire Foley. Story after story about Republican corruption, incompetence, and strange and vulgar personal behavior are treated as new discoveries. It is a curious wave of muckraking for a media establishment that has gone so far out its way to make the life and times of George W. Bush as easy as possible despite failure after failure. This not entirely spontaneous remission from their tolerance of all things Bush offers a turning point politically by galvanizing an already furious populous.

The one topic the press will not touch is election fraud. There is an active media insurgency tackling elections issues represented by Lou Dobbs. His excellent reports eviscerate the charade that is electronic voting. A veritable junk yard dog with a bone, Dobbs has been on point for several months doing an exemplary job of exposing the absurdities of our unwanted dependence on truly pathetic electronic voting machines plus the new regime that force invisible voting and tabulation down the throats of a once free people.

He and others are speaking up with greater frequency as election day approaches. They fail to ask one very important question: who benefits again and again? A micro faction of the Republican Party is in the drivers seat operating major state voting systems and defining the laws that require, no mandate, local elections officials to buy equipment from firms either overwhelmingly favorable to the Republicans or whose corporate ownership has yet to be determined.

That’s why it’s left to those in this small but growing community of reality based activists to say the obvious. We have a lousy elections system that favors one party on a consistent basis and systematically distorts the franchise for political purposes. As proof, we’ve seen two presidential elections pilfered through a daring and brilliant array of election tricks.

Our nation has a robust history of election fraud stretching back to the earliest days. The purpose of that fraud has been and remains disenfranchising the poor, minorities, and immigrants and then suppressing their votes when they gain the franchise.

In the spirit of facing realities, the following analysis is offered by mathematician and prolific internet poster TruthIsAll. This analysis is designed to target those races where election fraud and digital disruption are most likely to rear their ugly heads to distort the will of the people.

Please forward this message electronically or in print to your candidates and local party officials.

Forewarned is forearmed.

GENERIC POLLS: The Democrats have won all 110 Generic Polls since September 2005

Much more at...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x455846

[Melissa G]

9. Will Shocking GOP Court Victory & Rove Doom Dems?-Fitrakis & Wasserman

Thanks to kpete for the post and the DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x455875


Original message
Will Shocking GOP Court Victory & Rove Doom Dems?-Fitrakis & Wasserman

October 31, 2006 at 06:38:04

Will a shocking new GOP court victory and Karl Rove's attack on Ohio '06 doom the Democrats nationwide?

by Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis

http://www.opednews.com

Will a shocking new GOP court victory and Karl Rove's attack on Ohio 2006 doom the Democrats nationwide?
by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
October 30, 2006

COLUMBUS---With a major GOP federal court victory, the Ohio 2006 election has descended into the calculated chaos that has become the trademark of a Karl Rove election theft, and that could help keep the Congress in Republican hands nationwide.

Through a complex series of legal maneuvers, and now a shocking new decision from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the GOP has thrown Ohio's entire process of voting and vote counting into serious disarray. The mess is perfectly designed to suppress voter turnout, make election monitoring and a recount impossible, and allow the Republican Party to emerge with a victory despite overwhelming evidence the electorate wants exactly the opposite.

The disaster in Ohio began immediately after the theft of the presidential election here in 2004. Though the majority of Ohioans are registered Democrats, the gerrymandered state legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. Soon after John Kerry conceded, it passed House Bill 3, a draconian assault on voter registration

more at:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_harvey_w_061031_will_a_shocking_new_.htm

[Melissa G]

10. "Hacking Democracy" - HBO documentary starring Andy Stephenson

Thanks to WilliamPitt for the post and the DU discussion here..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2518615

Original message
"Hacking Democracy" - HBO documentary starring Andy Stephenson
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/hackingdemocracy/index.html

Just got this from Andy's partner, Ted:

"Looks like Andy has hit the 'Big Time!' Andy was in a 30 minute documentary released in 2004 titled "Votergate." But now in time for the elections the film makers (Russ & Rob) have used additional footage to make an updated full length documentary feature titled "Hacking Democracy" and dedicated the film to Andy. It will be released on HBO this coming Thursday, Nov. 2nd. Additional showing will air. Hope you all get a chance to see it! Russ tells me there is footage of Andy in it I haven't seen. I'm on pins and needles! LOL, Ted"

(emphasis Will's)

It airs 11/2 at 9pm.

[Melissa G]

11. Democratic votes are flipping to the Repubs in AT LEAST FOUR STATES NOW:

Du Discussion here... berni_mccoy's post follows..


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2517060

berni_mccoy (Original message

GOD DAMN THEM ALL: THEY ARE STEALING IT NOW!
Edited on Mon Oct-30-06 11:39 AM by berni_mccoy
Democratic votes are flipping to the REPUKEs in AT LEAST FOUR STATES NOW:

Texas, Missouri and Arkansas…

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3675

And now today in Florida:

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3692

AND JUST NOW IN NEVADA!!!: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2517143
"November 7th is going to be a good day for the republican party" -- George. W. Bush, Oct. 30th 2006

(edited to add Nevada)

[Melissa G]

12. Democrats Are Seen to Gain in Statehouse Races

Democrats Are Seen to Gain in Statehouse Races




Candidates for the Iowa Legislature answered questions at a forum in Waterloo last week. Analysts say local campaigns are getting rougher as control slips toward centralized parties or interest groups.



By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: October 31, 2006
DES MOINES, Oct. 27 — More than 6,000 state legislative seats in 46 states are on the Nov. 7 ballot, and like the seismic state elections in 1994 and 1974 the cumulative impact of the outcomes could be immense, with Democrats possibly gaining control of a majority of state capitols for the first time in a decade.

While the nation’s attention has been fixed on the question of which party will control Congress, another campaign season has been unfolding in the shadows — upstaged and overlooked but more likely to affect the day-to-day life of voters than the big-money Congressional races.

Most significantly, the groundwork for redrawing Congressional districts after the 2010 census will be done under the 50 capitol domes, and the party in power will set the table for those discussions in ways favorable to its interests. Gains made this year, analysts say, will help give incumbents a leg up in the final elections leading up to the redistricting.

If the Democrats take control of a majority of the legislatures, which polls indicate could happen, women could also attain leadership positions in greater numbers, since Democratic women in state capitals outnumber Republican women by nearly two to one. The next generation of national political leaders, by tradition, is nurtured in the state legislatures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/us/politics/31legis.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=login

[Melissa G]

13. Important pre-election show IMAGINE - Press Release

Important pre-election show IMAGINE .... Join in provacative discussion with Dr Avi Rubin
Wed, Nov 1 live or download later from archive



IMAGINE ...
"Imagine for a moment that you live in a country where nobody is sure how most of the votes are counted, and there's no reliable record for performing a recount. Imagine that machines count the votes, but nobody knows how they work. Now imagine if somebody found out that the machines are vulnerable to attack, but the agencies that operate them won't take the steps to make them safe. If you live in America, you don't need to imagine anything. This is the reality of electronic voting in our country."

That is an excerpt from Dr. Avi Rubin's new book, Brave New Ballot. Dr. Rubin, a leader in the field of electronic voting will be the featured guest on this week's presentation of The Voice of the Voters. Wednesday, Nov 1 8-9PM EDT (Dr. Rubin's bio follows.). Tune in and get the facts; discuss what can and must be done to save our Democracy!

The Voice of the Voters, CVI's weekly radio program devoted to exploring the rights and responsibilities of Democracy as well as electronic voting, has been making news since it premiered two weeks ago.

As expected, Americans are eager to have a forum to learn about and discuss our democratic process and the threats it faces. From John Gideon's opening round-up of the week in Voting News to in-depth interviews with leaders in the voting rights movement to fascinating calls from listeners, The Voice of the Voters lets you hear the news that the mainstream media hasn't covered ... yet.

Don't be left out! This show is your show.

Participate in Voice of the Voters
Be a part of the region's only show devoted to voting and Democracy

There are several ways you can participate in the Voice of the Voters every week. Wedneday Evening 8 to 9PM (Eastern)

Listen to the show on 1360AM OR on the Internet athttp://wnjc.duxpond.com/ or click from our website saveourvote.com
Call in with questions using the special listener line: 856.227.1360. All questions welcome! Share your voice.

Share the show with your friends. Take a page from Paul Revere's book! Tell your friends and family about the Voice of the Voters and how they can listen and call in as well. They'll thank you for it and you'll have taken a big step in struggle to regain our Democracy. This is a citizens' fight, so we need to let the citizens know where they can get the best information out there.

Post Questions and Commets on our website http://www.coalitionforvotingintegrity.com/

Dr. Avi Rubin
Bio



Dr. Avi Rubin of Johns Hopkins is an undisputed leader in the field of electronic voting. Dr. Rubin has appeared on numerous radio and television programs eager to get his input into disucussions of voting machine security and computer science. The Voice of the Voters is lucky to be able to bring you Dr. Rubin only days before Election Day.

His latest book, Brave New Ballot, tells the story of his role in the voting rights movement. In the book he shows how easy it is to rig an election and describes the vulnerability of computerized systems to tampering, not only by insiders like poll workers but also by outsidersable to breach the system without detection. Don't miss the chance to hear Dr. Rubin and even ask him a question about this crucial topic.

Dr. Rubin's official bio:

AVIEL D. RUBIN, Ph.D., is a professor in the department of Computer Science at the Whiting School of Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University and technical director of the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute. He is also a co-founder and President of Independent Security Evaluators, a computer security consulting firm. Rubin is an election judge in Baltimore County and the director of ACCURATE, A Center for Correct, Usable, Reliable, Auditable, and Transparent Elections, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Besides Brave New Ballot, Rubin has authored several other books, including Firewalls and Internet Security, second edition (with Bill Cheswick and Steve Bellovin, Addison Wesley, 2003), White-Hat Security Arsenal (Addison Wesley, 2001), and Web Security Sourcebook (with Dan Geer and Marcus Ranum, John Wiley & Sons, 1997). His work has been covered by 60 Minutes, CNN, and NPR, and by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and other publications.

In January, 2004 Baltimore Magazine name Rubin a Baltimorean of the Year for his work in safeguarding the integrity of our election process, and he is also the recipient of the 2004 Electronic Frontiers Foundation Pioneer Award.

Rubin has a B.S, ('89), M.S.E ('91), and Ph.D. ('94) from the University of Michigan. He lives in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Upcoming shows:

11/8 Joan Krawitz, VoteTrustUSA (will discuss election results and prblems encountered)
11/15 Dr. Steve Freeman, University of Pennsylvania "Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?: Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count"

DU discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=455891&mesg_id=455891

[rumpel]

14. American Statistical Assoc. : Only real recounts, not just re-reading machine

totals will resolve close elections!

• Only real recounts (cross-checking paper records against official tabulations), not just
rereading machine totals, will resolve close elections.
• Conducting random audits in all localities will help maintain honesty, enable a factual
description of this election’s accuracy, and provide the data needed for doing better in 2008.

1 page Statement available
http://www.amstat.org/news/StatisticalIssuesInElections.pdf

thanks to USCV - Kathy's e-mail notification including:

This position of the American Statistical Association is in stark contrast to many U.S. state recount policies, including Utah's new recount policies that merely reread machine totals, along with a statistically insufficient audit, even in cases where margins between candidates are less than 1%!

For more about Utah's new audit and recount policies see
http://utahcountvotes.org/ltgov/ElectionXPolicy.pdf
and
http://utahcountvotes.org/ltgov/Response2LtGov-Audit-Recount.pdf

http://electionarchive.org <http://electionarchive.org>
National Election Data Archive
Dedicated to Accurately Counting Elections
Subscribe to announcements by emailing [e-mail]
Please donate or volunteer.

[rumpel]

15. This Time, the Election Will Not Be Stolen

Wiretap

By Gary Moskowitz, October 31, 2006

'American Blackout' director Ian Inaba is staging a revolution to combat potential fraud at the polls -- and he damn sure wants it televised.

Ian Inaba is staging a revolution, and he damn sure wants it televised.
His idea is to have videographers monitor voter polling sites during the upcoming mid-term elections and in greater numbers during the 2008 presidential election. Their purpose: bypass the mainstream media and provide real-time, online media coverage of any problems that arise at voting sites.

His plan for action is what he works on when not promoting his new documentary film, "American Blackout," which looks at the disenfranchisement of the Black vote in America and voting irregularities in the 2000 and 2004 national elections. The film also traces what journalist Greg Palast calls the "political lynching" of U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) for openly questioning the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq and 9/11.

"American Blackout" received a Special Jury Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The San Francisco Chronicle called it "as much an indictment of liberal apathy as of conservative dirty dealing." Film Journal International called it a "paid advertisement for Cynthia McKinney."

Inaba, 35, is a journalist for the Guerrilla News Network. He directed the music videos for "Mosh" by Eminem and "Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future. Inaba also contributed to GNN's book "True Lies," about black box voting. The former investment banker is now creating his own grassroots, citizen journalism from his home base in Berkeley.

Inaba spoke with WireTap by phone about his "comfortable" life during San Francisco's technology "bubble," his life-changing decision to pursue alternative journalism, making music videos and his frustration with the Democratic Party.

http://www.wiretapmag.org/rights/42820/

[rumpel]

16. The midnight adventures of a Diebold Voting Machine (video)

CA, SOS candidate Debra Bowen new spot

http://www.debrabowen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=28

[rumpel]

17. India: Stone pelting stalls polling

Hindustan Times

HTC
Kanpur, October 31

FOLLOWING HEAVY stone pelting for about an hour at the City Model School polling booth in ward number 57 under Kalyanpur police station, polling was suspended for more than two hours. The incident was fallout of alleged bogus voting.

Irate mob of about 100 people also vented their ire by setting on fire three motorcycles parked outside the school. Of the mobikes, two belonged to police personnel and one to a polling official.

The stone-pelters shattered all the windowpanes of the flat situated on the first floor of the school building. And, ‘missile’ bricks flew in through the broken panes forcing school proprietor SN Tewari and other residents to scurry for cover.

Suman Gupta of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vibha Singh of the Samajwadi Party, Archana Awasthi of the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party-supported Vineeta Shukla among independents are in the fray for the corporator’s seat from this ward.

According to information, at around 10 in the morning, heated argument ensued between an election official and a voter from the nearby Kacchi Madayaia slum locality over the issue of bogus voting. Election officials and police personnel who were present at the booth allegedly thrashed the man. After about 10 minutes, he returned along with his 100 of his supporters. The mob resorted to heavy stone pelting at the booth forcing the voters waiting to cast their votes to take to their heels. Even, the sub-inspector of the area and the cops present in the booth ran to save their lives.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1832988,0015002500030000.htm

[GuvWurld]

18. Eureka Times-Standard: Scary tale of technology

http://www.times-standard.com/business/ci_4578792

Scary tale of technology
by Jim Nelson
Article Launched:10/31/2006 04:33:19 AM PST

(snip)

We all must indeed have faith come Nov. 7. We'll need to put our faith in a flawed system that cannot guarantee verifiable results. I don't intend to scare anyone away from the polling place. By all means, please vote. Just be aware that when you insert your ballot into the Diebold optical scanners used throughout Humboldt County,there is no absolute guarantee that your vote will be counted correctly, or that the results cannot be tampered with. In fact, we can only be one percent certain that our intended ballot results will even make it to election headquarters. That's the number of paper ballots that are actually verified by hand, just one percent.

Here are just a few anomalies from the 2004 election based on scary voting elections technology. According to the Associated Press (http://tinyurl.com/7wc8r), 4,530 votes were lost in Carteret County, N.C. due to the computer memory limit of the voting machines used. The Palm Beach Post (http://tinyurl.com/8kbb4) reported that in Broward County, Fla., the voting machines actually started counting backwards as final results were being tabulated. In Lancaster County, Neb., the Lincoln Journal Star (http://tinyurl.com/8kbb4) reported that optical scanners used there at times incorrectly detected two ballots, therefore counting many votes twice.

In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (http://tinyurl.com/b978j) on Nov. 5, 2004, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee requested an immediate investigation of the efficacy of voting machines due to numerous reports from voters indicating that machines were flipping Kerry votes to Bush. In fact, according to the Election Incident Reporting System (www.voteprotect.org) more than 42,000 similar incidents were reported across the United States.

But problems occur in every election, not just the debacle that occurred in November 2004. Let's look at some scary things that happened during Humboldt County's most recent election on June 6. In Eureka, two memory cards failed from Diebold optical scanners. Two more failed in Arcata. In Rio Dell, Hydesville, Scotia and Fortuna, the scanners were unable to transmit their data by modem to the central tabulator at the elections department headquarters for various reasons.

(snip)

So what is one to do, besides run away scared? For starters, I recommend getting educated about how flawed our elections system really is. A great place to start is the comprehensive blog found at WeDoNotConsent.Blogspot.com that is published by local advocacy journalist Dave Berman who helped contribute to this article.

[Melissa G]

19. How To Do Your Own Exit Poll from a Kos discussion...

How To Do Your Own Exit Poll
by AskQuestions
Sun Oct 29, 2006 at 02:00:03 PM PST
At this point in the US, there is no independent exit poll conducted for election verification purposes. The main national exit poll is commissioned by a media consortium (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, AP) and is used for commentary and analysis, not for verification of the official count.

The consortium releases only the overall results, which have been adjusted to match up with the official count. The consortium owns, and does not release, the base data from the exit poll (including precinct-level data).

The Vote Count Protection Project http://www.electionintegrity.org/is trying offer an alternative, and is planning a pilot poll for November 7, with the goal of developing a national election verification exit poll for 2008. They are working with long-time pollster Kenneth F. Warren of St. Louis University and the Warren Poll. Steven F. Freeman of U Penn is a co-director of the Project. For the do-it-yourself version, see below.


AskQuestions's diary :: ::
In response to the large number of requests they've had, Freeman and Warren have written up basic instructions on how to do an election verification exit poll for anyone who wants to attempt their own poll - or who just wants to understand how an election verification exit poll should work.

The instructions are available as a pdf download on this page http://www.electionintegrity.org/HelpUs.shtml

One of the key elements in doing your own poll is starting with the correct information from your county election board, so if you are interested in trying this, or know someone else who is, they should get this information as soon as possible, starting tomorrow morning.
Kos Discussiion here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/29/1703/0756
DU Discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=455974&mesg_id=455974