MAKING THE DECIDERS COUNT VOTES: Election Reform, Fraud, & News Tuesday 05/01/07

[freedomfries]

MAKING THE DECIDERS COUNT VOTES: Election Reform, Fraud, & News Tuesday 05/01/07



All members welcome and encouraged to participate.
:patriot:
Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.
If you can:
:argh:

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=203x371233
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
:patriot:

[freedomfries]

1. FL: Count all votes Video

COUNT ALL VOTES VIDEO

Thanks bradblog!
http://www.countallvotes.com/
Now is the time to ensure the integrity of Florida elections!
Subject: PASS AND FUND a CLEAN BILL for Gov. Crist's PAPER BALLOT plan.
I support Governor Crist’s PAPER BALLOT plan to reform Florida’s voting systems. Floridians are fed up being a national laughing stock. Now is the time for the LEGISLATURE to PASS AND FUND a CLEAN BILL – free from political baggage – and IMPLEMENT Governor Crist’s PAPER BALLOT voting system reform – fully effective for the 2008 Presidential election. Federal HAVA funds CAN be used to fund this bill.
http://www.countallvotes.com/

[freedomfries]

2. FL: Fair election questions

Fair election questions
State House, Senate to the wire on reforms

Op-Ed
Daytona Beach News
April 30, 2007
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN70043007.htm

The Florida Senate bowed to political realism last week, striking an imperfect, but still important, deal to make elections accountable and tamper-resistant.

The issue is paper ballots. Florida voters deserve them: They provide the best possible evidence of a voter's intent, and aren't easily altered. Gov. Charlie Crist is unequivocally behind them. Both the House and Senate could pass legislation by the end of this year's legislative session mandating paper ballots and providing other measures to ensure that votes are counted accurately.
...
The primary move and the paper-ballot language were effectively joined -- along with a host of other provisions. Senators also attached vengeful bombs mimicking legislation that has either been stricken by courts or rejected previously by lawmakers:

· One provision would threaten groups who hold voter-registration drives, such as the Florida League of Women Voters, with fines for relatively minor errors. (If this passes, the League says it will have "no choice" but to suspend its drives.) This is a bad, and probably illegal, idea; one federal district judge has already said as much. Senators ameliorated its impact by capping fines at $1,000 per group, per election. That's still a steep penalty for organizations comprising well-intended volunteers, but not as bad as the previously unlimited scheme.

· Another measure would choke the ability of unions to use dues to fund campaign activities, a move clearly intended to fracture organized labor's political clout.

· The Senate-approved language eliminates some forms of acceptable identification for voters, a move that will hurt low-income and senior voters.

· Moving the presidential primary to the last Tuesday in January would put Florida among the earliest states to hold primaries, but could draw retribution from national Republican and/or Democratic officials. Both have threatened to snub Florida's delegates if the state moves its primary that early.

· Finally, the bill would rescind Florida's resign-to-run law for state and local officials aspiring to hold federal office.

But the most important issue in the bill is clearly the mandate for paper ballots. And that's why the fractured, mangled legislation that limped out of the Senate Friday still counts as a victory. Without paper ballots, Floridians are forced to trust the foundation of democracy to machines that have been proved both fallible and corruptible. This state has seen enough elections scandal already, and any move toward greater accountability is welcome.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN70043007.htm

[freedomfries]

3. FL: Bay County elections chief defends paper ballot pricing

Bay County elections chief defends paper ballot pricing

Ryan Burr
News Herald, Panama City
May 1, 2007
http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?a=1161

The Florida Legislature is considering a plan to require all votes be cast on paper ballots.Election Systems & Software Inc., the manufacturer of Bay County’s election equipment, certifies only two companies to print ballots for its machines in Florida, which can cost twice as much as ballots for other companies’ machines.

The cost of ballot paper is especially significant now, as the Florida Legislature considers a recommendation by Gov. Charlie Crist to use only optical-scan systems with paper trails.

Crist moved to require a paper trail in all counties after 18,000 undervotes were recorded by touch screens in Sarasota County in November, which has left the District 13 congressional race still in contention.

The state Senate passed the elections bill implementing Crist’s plan, and now the House must vote on it.

On June 6, 2006, one of ES&S’s printing partners, Printelect, which services Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, sent a letter to its ballot customers explaining why the ballot printing costs were higher with ES&S machines than Diebold or Optech scanners.

The paper certified for ES&S has “a very high opacity and brightness, as well as a high post consumer content. ES&S has this paper specifically made for them to their higher specifications by a major paper mill,” Owen Andrews, president of Printelect, wrote in the letter. “(The paper) has been printed already with the timing and code tracks, and has to be run one at a time on our equipment.

“The use of all non-ES&S paper stock may cause sensor difficulties with paper brightness, bleed through, smearing, paper transport or sheet sensor calibration.”
...
The U.S. Elections Assistance Commission initially objected to Florida using federal money for the replacement, but the commission is reconsidering the proposal at a meeting today in Washington, D.C., said Susan Pynchon, director of the Florida Fair Elections Coalition.

Her coalition is one of many Florida agencies and organizations that have signed a letter stating, basically, that Florida lawmakers should be permitted to spend their HAVA money how they see fit.

Pynchon said Monday she believes that ES&S “controls too much of the process” in how counties run their elections and who they contract with to print paper, among other jobs. Despite the high cost of ES&S paper, she and other election watchdog groups said the benefit of optical scan in all Florida counties far outweighs the burden of expensive ballot paper.
http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?a=1161

[freedomfries]

4. CA: Dysfunctional U.S. system of voting needs reform

Dysfunctional U.S. system of voting needs reform

Darya Riyahi
Daily Sundial, Riverside, CA
May 1, 2007
http://media.sundial.csun.edu/media/storage/paper862/news/2007/05/01/Opinion/Dysfunctional.U.s.System.Of.Voting.Needs.Reform-2889334.shtml

Either due to the unnaturally complicated and often overlooked electoral college, or because we simply cannot count votes, the 2000 presidential election put in office a president the majority of voters did not elect and set in motion events that have altered the course of history.

Was the case of Florida in the 2000 election the exception? Can we be sure that the 2008 election won't make Florida out of other states?

As we move further in our quest to transport democracy to the less fortunate countries of the world, it's unfortunate that, here at home, we can't elect a popularly elected president.

The electoral college, responsible for electing the president and vice president, was partly designed to avoid a tyrannical president who would win in a landslide for making grand promises and undermine the legitimacy of the other branches of government and the checks and balances system.

Ironically, it gave us a president who launched into an unpopular war and who ignored a check on his powers when he invaded Iraq without a declaration of war signed by congress.
http://media.sundial.csun.edu/media/storage/paper862/news/2007/05/01/Opinion/Dysfunctional.U.s.System.Of.Voting.Needs.Reform-2889334.shtml

[freedomfries]

5. CA: Secretary of state asks county for elections information

Secretary of state asks county for elections information

Gig Conaughton
North County Times, CA
May 1, 2007
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/28/news/sandiego/13_33_154_27_07.txt

SAN DIEGO -- California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has asked the county of San Diego to provide her with information in relation to allegations by a Carlsbad lawyer that the county engaged in wrongdoing in the November 2006 elections.

County spokesman Mike Workman declined to comment Friday, saying the county had just received Bowen's letter that afternoon and had not had time to review it.

Carlsbad lawyer Ken Simpkins, meanwhile, said he was excited that Bowen had asked the county for explanations regarding the allegations.

Bowen's letter specifically asked county officials to provide her with more information about assertions by Simpkins that the county did not properly test electronic voting or audit the votes cast on them, and that the county allowed its voting system to be connected to an unauthorized outside source. She requests the information by May 15.

Bowen also sent Simpkins a letter asking that he send her any evidence he had to support the allegations.

"I'm excited that she's involved," Simpkins said. "It reaffirms her commitment to election integrity. I look forward to hearing what information the (county) registrar is going to provide."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/28/news/sandiego/13_33_154_27_07.txt

[freedomfries]

6. CA: Riverside Ct security review

Riverside County security review

The Desert Sun
April 30, 2007
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/UPDATE/70430026

Representatives with Sequoia Voting Systems on Wednesday will give a presentation the county’s Election Review Committee, tasked with looking into voting efficiency and security.

To date, no independent evaluation has been conducted on the security of Sequoia Voting System machines.

Committee Chairwoman Kay Ceniceros did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment this afternoon.

Tom Courbat, Executive Director of SAVE R VOTE, said he intended to bring a computer expert to the public meeting.

“We want to find out about the Win EDS how stable it is and how easy it is to break into,” Courbat said.

Organized a year ago, SAVE R VOTE is a Temecula-area community watchdog group that oversees Riverside County elections.

The Sequoia Voting machines uses Win EDS software to count the vote. In 2000, Riverside County was among the first in the nation to use direct-recording electronic voting.

Riverside taxpayers have twice paid for the conversion to electronic voting in 2000 and again in 2006 at a cost of more than $19 million because of growing concern over security that has triggered greater state regulations. A security review by Secretary of State Debra Bowen could mean decertification for county voting systems in August.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/UPDATE/70430026

[freedomfries]

7. IN: Ex-GOP official pleads guilty to forging signatures

Ex-GOP official pleads guilty to forging signatures

Associated Press
The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/17159838.htm

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The former executive director of the Allen County Republican Party pleaded guilty to election fraud charges, admitting he forged the signatures of 11 candidates on election forms.

Douglas T. Foy, 41, of Fort Wayne, faces three years of probation under terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty Monday in Allen Superior Court to 11 felony counts of forging the names of nine township advisory board and two trustee-assessor candidates last year.

The Allen County Election Board removed the candidates from the ballot on the grounds that the signatures were not legitimate, and the county GOP chairman fired Foy over his actions.

Foy told the election board last year that he signed the forms for the candidates because he believed a second, notarized signature was the official one.

"I'm glad this whole mess is finally over with and we can make a fresh start," Foy said after Monday's hearing. "There are certainly a few things I could shed some light on, but I see no need to rock the boat at this point."

Foy also has repaid nearly $10,000 to the county GOP after an audit determined he had diverted for his personal use, but party officials said they would not seek criminal charges.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/17159838.htm

[freedomfries]

8. OH: Brunner says communication is key

Brunner says communication is key

Shaun Dunlap
The Urbana Daily Citizen, OH
April 27, 2007
http://www.urbanacitizen.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=143643&TM=33561.31

The Ohio Secretary of State came to the Champaign County to address area Democrats during the Democratic Dinner Thursday at the fairgrounds.

Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, replaced Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, earlier this year. One of the main responsibilities of the Secretary of State is to supervise the state's election process, a daunting task since Ohio has the seventh most electoral college votes in the nation.

Brunner said the the most important thing her office can do to avoid election problems is "provide clear instructions to boards of elections on what they need to operate a smooth and efficient election."

One of the things she said she has done is start to communicate electronically with every board of elections in the state.

"They're connected to our office through a computer line and they can constantly update the voter registration database," said Brunner. "We have an electronic message board where they can submit questions and receive answers in writing."
...
Electric voting machines

Ohio has had a rocky transition with electronic voting machines and Brunner doesn't see that changing too soon. However, she said she is trying to smooth out the bumps.

"Our office is actually conducting a thorough review of all the types of voting machines in the state," she said. "We hope to have that completed this year and to isolate any problems and determine how to deal with those problems and provide direction to the boards of elections to what can be done."

She said her goal is to have "a uniformity of procedure that guarantees the same voting rights to any Ohioan no matter what county they live in."

The main issue Brunner said she faces in her position is that the 2008 presidential race is too close to make any type of major change.

"So our goal is to break down the election process into its parts and provide the boards of elections with the support information and instruction they need at every step of the process to make sure that we're doing everything that needs to be done," said Brunner.
http://www.urbanacitizen.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=143643&TM=33561.31

[freedomfries]

9. TX: About 10,000 registered voters in Hidalgo County not assigned to precincts

About 10,000 registered voters in Hidalgo County not assigned to precincts

Andres R. Martinez
The Monitor, Edinburg, TX
April 29, 2007 - 2:05PM
http://www.themonitor.com/onset?db=monitortx&id=2023&template=article.html

EDINBURG — The names of about 10,000 registered voters in Hidalgo County will not appear on voter rolls at their precincts on Election Day, a problem in counties across the state.

However, the voters should have no problem casting their ballots, Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro told the County Commissioners Court on Tuesday.

Election judges at each precinct will be able to call election headquarters if a voter’s name does not show up to confirm the voter is at the correct precinct. The name and address voters have on their driver’s license or voter registration card will be matched to the ones in a database the county maintains.

Under old voting laws, each county in Texas kept its own voter registration records. The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 shifted the responsibility from counties to the state.
The new software the state is using doesn’t easily recognize the addresses that many voters gave when registering, effectively not assigning them a precinct.

For example, if a voter registered under the address 1400 E. Nolana and the state officially recognizes it as 1400 East Nolana, the new software system doesn’t automatically assign a precinct. In other words, there is little room for discrepancy.

If the precinct judge cannot match the person’s address on Election Day, the voter will be offered a provisional ballot.
http://www.themonitor.com/onset?db=monitortx&id=2023&template=article.html

[freedomfries]

10. TX: Database 'glitch' blamed for early voting problems

Database glitch blamed for early voting problems

Helen Eriksen
The Houston Chronicle
May 1, 2007, 12:09AM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4763290.html

The state acknowledged today that computer backlogs in a new state database has caused problems for some people who showed up on the first day of early voting and discovered their names were not on the roster.

Among those whose names did not appear today were the city of Prairie View's mayor and mayor pro-tem.

Scott Haywood, a spokesman for the Texas secretary of state, said the agency has received complaints from about 17 jurisdictions that did not get a complete report of registered voters for the May 12 elections.

Haywood attributed the problems to technical setbacks in the Texas Election Administration Management System, a new state database that makes it easier to track people moving around Texas. He said the agency has made improvements to the system and all counties should receive a completed list today.
...
But some residents in Waller County say they are particularly concerned because of past voting irregularities, such as the recent incidents involving students at Prairie View A&M University.

Prairie View Mayor Frank Jackson and his wife Marian, who are 27-year residents of the county, were upset when they learned this morning their names were not on the voting rolls.

"There were many longtime residents and retired teachers who have been here for decades whose names are not on the list either," Frank Jackson said.

Marie Herndon, Prairie View Mayor Pro-Tem, said she was puzzled when she went to vote today at City Hall and her name was not on the list.

"I was surprised because when I picked up a roster a few weeks ago, my name was on it," Herndon said. "It was the same way for most of the people coming in."

Haywood said Frank Jackson is eligible to vote and that his name was omitted from the voting roster in error. Apparently, Jackson's street address was not properly associated to the city in the state's system, Haywood said, because the new system is strict in terms of recognizing addresses in a city.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4763290.html

[freedomfries]

11. Your future count: Stand up and be counted!

[Peace Patriot]

12. Thank you, Freedom Fries! Great info!

Californians need to get on this matter of corrupt (Diebold shill) county registrars opposing Secretary of State Debra Bowen's election reforms. Letters/calls to county registrars: demand vote counting that everyone can see and understand. And demand that they support reform NOW. If they give you grief (or gobble-de-gook) tell them you will work against their election or appointment. And if they persist with secrecy and non-transparency, and blather--and, in some cases,lavish lobbying junkets (that needs to be looked into), and worse--tell them you will take it to a grand jury. Some are VERY bad: Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, among the worst. I think a number of these county officials are indictable. At the least, their extremely bad practices deserve scrutiny and exposure.

[Kurovski]

13. Kick to the top

RECOMMENDED! Thanks, ff! :thumbsup:

[autorank]

14. I'm a decider of one;) K&R (Can't do ERD News for 2 weeks - back - on May 20th

Excellent thread and more fries!

[FogerRox]

15. Rec #5, off with you.... I'm gonna watch that video

[loudsue]

16. Better yet, COMPILE all the information, and SEND IT TO HOLT!!

We need to REALLY get on this so that we can outlaw the frikkin' "privatized" elections BEFORE we get in hot water in 2008!!

PLEASE!!! Let this be a full DU effort to get PAPER BALLOTS, HAND COUNTED, NO SECRET SOFTWARE OR VULNERABLE SECURITY!!

:kick::kick::kick: