Election Reform, Fraud and Related News. Friday 06/06/08

[EFerrari]

Voting Rights Advocates Say America Is Unprepared For Massive Turnout Nov. 4
By:HAZEL TRICE EDNEY, NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON - Record turnouts at polling places across the nation during the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton battle for the Democratic nomination have revealed a continuation of serious flaws in America's electoral process that could cause a fiasco Nov. 4, according to a non-partisan report.

"The report demonstrates that most of the state and county and local election machinery was unprepared for a real heavy turnout," says Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, a primary partner in the Election Protection Coalition that has manned voter protection hotlines since January. "It really demonstrates that our democracy has deep fault lines and is not being administered well...We are not prepared. We actively count on a low voter turn out and count on voter apathy."

The 15-page, "Election Protection 2008 Primary Report," jointly compiled and distributed by the Lawyers Committee and the National Campaign for Fair Elections, says lawyers and other volunteers who manned voter question and complaint hotlines over the past five months fielded more than 5,000 calls that include complaints and charges revealing everything from serious mechanical flaws to apparent intentional shenanigans and voter intimidation at the polls.

Few problems have occurred in affluent areas, but they are mainly happening in low income, Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Because Black voters typically cast 90 percent of their ballots for Democrats, mishaps at the polls could cause another Election 2000-styled fiasco in the event of a close race between the Democratic nominee and Republican John McCain.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1077&dept_id=472286&newsid=19750389&PAG=461&rfi=9

Election Reform, Fraud and Related News. Friday 06/06/08

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web. Here's the link to the News Directory:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

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

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



In memorium. Robert Francis Kennedy, November 20, 1925 - June 6, 1968

[EFerrari]

1. National.

[EFerrari]

23. U.S. drops bid for tougher Siegelman term

U.S. drops bid for tougher Siegelman term

U.S. prosecutors have withdrawn an appeal for a longer prison term for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, court records show.

Siegelman and Scrushy are appealing their 2006 convictions on bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud charges.

Prosecutors filed a motion this week with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dropping their appeal of prison terms given to Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy in a corruption case, the Birmingham (Ala.) News reported Thursday.

After Siegelman was sentenced to more than seven years and Scrushy to just under seven years, prosecutors filed an appeal arguing those sentences were too lenient.

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/125052/

[EFerrari]

24. Closing In

Closing In
by dday

(Political Animal) CLOSING IN... Karl Rove has been extremely slippery with what he was able to get away with while in service at the White House, but over the past couple weeks events have probably made him gulp and pull the collar away from his neck a couple times. Same with his former bosses.

First you have Scott McClellan basically admitting that Bush and Cheney gave the go-ahead to Scooter Libby to selectively leak contents of the 2002 Iraq NIE, and in the process the identity of Valerie Plame. Henry Waxman, upon hearing this, immediately set to work.

New revelations by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan raise additional questions about the actions of the President and the Vice President. Mr. McClellan has stated that "he President and Vice President directed me to go out there and exonerate Scooter Libby." He has also asserted that "the top White House officials who knew the truth - including Rove, Libby, and possibly Vice President Cheney - allowed me, even encouraged me, to repeat a lie." It would be a major breach of trust if the Vice President personally directed Mr. McClellan to mislead the public <...>In his interview with the FBI, Mr. Libby stated that it was "possible" that Vice President Cheney instructed him to disseminate information about Ambassador Wilson's wife to the press. This is a significant revelation and, if true, a serious matter. It cannot be responsibly investigated without access to the Vice President's FBI interview.

The interviews with senior White House officials also raise other questions about the involvement of the Vice President. It appears from the interview reports that Vice President Cheney personally may have been the source of the information that Ms. Wilson worked for the CIA. Mr. Libby specifically identified the Vice President as the source of his information about Ms. Wilson. None of the other White House officials could remember how they learned this information <...>

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/05/politics/animal/main4158327.shtml

[EFerrari]

25. Nelson bill would abolish Electoral College

Nelson bill would abolish Electoral College
By Michael O'Brien
Posted: 06/06/08 05:18 PM

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College on Friday, less than a week after the Democrats settled on how to handle delegates from Florida at their national convention.


“It’s time for Congress to really give Americans the power of one-person, one-vote, instead of the political machinery selecting candidates and electing our president,” Nelson said in a release announcing the amendment.

Nelson had announced he would offer the legislation in an address to his state’s senate in March.

Nelson said his principal argument for making the change is that the Electoral College permits a candidate with fewer votes nationally to win the presidency by capturing narrow victories in big states. In 2000, then-Vice President Al Gore won the popular votes but George W. Bush won the Electoral College.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/nelson-bill-would-abolish-electoral-college-2008-06-06.html

[EFerrari]

27. 'Only one step' in a bigger process

'Only one step' in a bigger process


Selma, Alabama, explodes into violence in 1965.

FORTY-FIVE years ago, Pastor Frederick Reese could not believe his eyes as Alabama police clubbed and gassed him and other black civil rights protesters claiming the right to vote.

Yesterday, the minister and local rights activist who invited Martin Luther King jnr to join the demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, was "elated and joyous" at Barack Obama's achievement.

But he was not disbelieving. "I always had hopes and aspirations of being able to see in my lifetime the fruition of these things we have fought for so long," said Mr Reese, 78, pastor of Selma's Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.

"I had a feeling of faith and hope in our country that people would realise that the measure of a man is not the colour of his skin, but his talent and what he has to offer," he said.

http://www.theage.com.au/us-election-2008/only-one-step-in-a-bigger-process-20080606-2mvp.html

[EFerrari]

29. RFK's Assassination 40 Years Ago Remembered

RFK's Assassination 40 Years Ago Remembered
Death Of Senator, Presidential Candidate, Added To Family Tragedies



POSTED: 2:13 pm CDT June 6, 2008
UPDATED: 4:00 pm CDT June 6, 2008


Robert F. Kennedy died 40 years ago, on June 6, 1968, from wounds he suffered 26 hours earlier after being shot in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

The Kennedy family has a long list of unnatural deaths that includes assassinations, plane crashes and drug overdoses. To learn more about the Kennedy family's history, take a look at the Kennedy Family Tree.

Shortly after midnight on June 5, Kennedy declared victory in the Democratic Party’s California primary, a step that made him the frontrunner in the presidential nomination contest.

After finishing his speech with the words, “And now it’s on to Chicago,” referring to the location of the Democratic Party’s national convention, Kennedy and his entourage left the stage and cut through the pantry of the hotel.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/16528464/detail.html?rss=chi&psp=nationalnews

[EFerrari]

2. By State.

[EFerrari]

5. AL: Election official questions high voter turnout in Perry County

Election official questions high voter turnout in Perry County

Secretary of State Beth Chapman said today that the unofficial vote totals in Perry County for Tuesdays' primaries were "unusually high."

About 50 percent of the 8,361 registered voters in the county voted on Tuesday. Those numbers are two, five and even 10 times higher than some other counties.

The unofficial turnout for the entire state is 14 percent.

The turnout in some random counties is 17.7 percent in Marengo, 22 percent in Greene, 14.6 percent in Hale, 5 percent for Lee, 14.1 percent for Mobile, 14.9 percent for Crenshaw, and 10.2 percent for Shelby.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS/80605035

[EFerrari]

6. AL: Attorney General subpoenas voting records from Perry County

Attorney General subpoenas voting records from Perry County

June 5, 2008

Attorney General Troy King announced today that agents with his office served subpoenas to Perry County election officials and have taken control of records relating to the primary elections on Tuesday. He said action was in response to his office learning of alleged violations of state election law.

The subpoenas were served to Circuit Clerk Mary Cosby Moore, Sheriff James Hood and Probate Judge Eldora Anderson, according to a release from King's office. The subpoenas instructed the Perry County officials to provide immediately "any and all records regarding: June 3, 2008 election, including, but not limited to, applications for absentee ballots, poll list, identification accompanying absentee ballots, affidavits accompanying absentee ballots, record of elections, ballot accounting sheets, sign in sheet from each polling place, and clerk's book for each polling place."

King's office said no more information could be disclosed.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman announced on Wednesday that she would ask the U.S. Department of Justice to send the maximum number of observers it can to Perry County in November for the general election because of reports of alleged elections law violations and an unusually high number of absentee ballots there.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS/80605023

[EFerrari]

7. AZ: County's election security moves slammed

County's election security moves slammed

GARRY DUFFY
Tucson Citizen

Pima County officials say they are perplexed by criticism from Secretary of State Jan Brewer over proposals to tighten security surrounding elections and vote-tabulation procedures.

Brewer on Thursday wrote to Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry over concerns that a proposed ballot transmission procedure would create a security vulnerability if something happened "to the machines and ballots en route to the county's election headquarters."

Brewer was referring to county plans to halt computer modem transmission of votes from individual precincts and physically take voting machines to elections headquarters on election night.

Huckelberry recommended the new procedure as a safeguard against hackers intercepting transmissions, altering votes and forwarding bogus results to county elections officers.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/87453.php

[EFerrari]

8. CA: In turnout, county voters lowest of low (L.A. Co.)

In turnout, county voters lowest of low
By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/05/2008 01:00:00 AM PDT

California voters appear to have set a record Tuesday: the lowest turnout in state history.

Overall, just 22 percent of registered voters across the Golden State cast ballots in the statewide primary election.

And Los Angeles County voters even had their own distinction: Just 16.48 percent of them, the lowest turnout among all counties statewide, showed up at the polls.

While the tallies don't yet include thousands of provisional and mail-in ballots that remain to be counted, election experts expect the final tally to remain a historic low.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_9482728

[EFerrari]

9. CA: Some notice errors at polls

Some notice errors at polls
But registrar defends process
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/05/2008 10:13:36 PM PDT

Beneath the smooth procedural surface of San Bernardino County's election Tuesday, a handful of residents and officials are pointing to incidents they say indicate oversights and inattention.

Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil pointed to prompt Web updates beginning at 8:30 p.m. and an unofficial final tally by 12:45 a.m. as evidence of a fair, professional election.

"We are quite pleased with the election and the entire voting process," Verjil said. "There were no glitches."

Some disagree.

At an elementary school, a box labeled "Ballot Box" was left behind while ballots were counted; a poll worker forgot to bring ballots to another San Bernardino polling place; and an observer claims a ballot-counting machine malfunctioned.

http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_9496521

[EFerrari]

10. FL: Notice of elections sent to registered voters

Notice of elections sent to registered voters

By KELLY FARRELL (Contact)
Thursday, June 5, 2008

As registered voters begin receiving their Notice of Elections in the mail this week, there are a few things voters may want to do ensure their vote gets counted.

The primary election is August 26 for state and local elections such as the District 101 seat in the state legislature. The general election is November 4.

First-time voters need to register 29 days before the election or by July 28 for the primary. If changing political parties, voters must re-register in order to vote for their party in the primary. Voters may vote for any party regardless of which one they are registered with in the general election.

Cyndi Young, an education coordinator with the Supervisor of Elections Office said there are several things Marco Island voters may want to do to ensure their vote is counted, particularly if voting by mail or absentee ballot.

http://marconews.com/news/2008/jun/05/notice-elections-sent-registered-voters/

[EFerrari]

11. MD: Probe of election system begins

Probe of election system begins

Groups to suggest reforms to at-large structure in late June
by Natalie McGill | Staff Writer

The U.S. Department of Justice recently opened an investigation into whether Greenbelt’s at-large election system violates the Voting Rights Act.

Mayor Judith F. Davis declined to comment, saying she and Councilman Edward Putens were unable to confirm there actually is an investigation under way. Other council members did not return calls seeking comment.

DOJ spokeswoman Jamie Hais confirmed there is an investigation of the city’s at-large election system but said because the investigation is open, no official could comment further.

The Voting Rights Act, adopted in 1965, ensures African-Americans are not denied voting rights or are subject to practices restricting voting rights.

Deborah Jeon, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, sent a letter to Davis and the City Council Feb. 28 saying that historically, at-large election systems were effective in blocking out the minority vote for a minority candidate because the majority white population would eclipse the minority vote. She said the fact there has been no minority representation on the council in more than 70 years is of concern.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/060508/greenew124118_32362.shtml

[EFerrari]

12. NM: 'Preplanned' primary visit angers county clerk

'Preplanned' primary visit angers county clerk
By Cornelia de Bruin The Daily Times
Article Launched: 06/06/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

AZTEC — San Juan County Clerk Fran Hanhardt says New Mexico Secretary of State Mary Herrera is trying to discredit her ability to conduct an election.

"She is out to discredit me — I just don't know why," Hanhardt said.

Herrera said her decision to send troubleshooters to

San Juan County for Tuesday's primary came in response to a report local election workers were following improper procedures.

"It was reported to me that during the poll worker training, Fran was training them to ask voters for photo ID, so I sent out troubleshooters," Herrera said.

http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_9496439

[EFerrari]

13. OH: Hancock County may add more voting machines

Hancock County may add more voting machines
By EMILY SCOTT ([e-mail])
POSTED: June 6, 2008

NEW CUMBERLAND — Hancock County Clerk Eleanor Straight told the Hancock County Commission at its meeting Thursday that she would like to have more voting machines in place by November’s general election.

The county experienced voting delays in May’s primary election, with some of the machines running out of the paper used to back up voters’ selections. Straight said at the time that the paper problems could have been attributed to a large ballot and voters changing their minds repeatedly, which uses up more paper.

Some of the county’s 28 precincts experienced long lines of voters, something Straight said may have been compounded by voters taking longer than they should have been allowed to. Straight said that 80 percent of the voters in May took longer than than their allotted five minutes. “Some of the people just really took their time,” Straight said.

Straight said she would like to add eight to 10 machines throughout the county, which would cost approximately $35,000. Straight was asked to have a specific request and costs available in time for the next commission meeting in two weeks.

http://www.reviewonline.com/page/content.detail/id/502729.html

[EFerrari]

14. OH: Absentee-voting place to change

Absentee-voting place to change

Summit County residents to cast early Nov. 4 ballots at Job Center
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Friday, Jun 06, 2008

Summit County residents who wish to vote absentee in person before the November general election will be able to avoid the cramped quarters at the Board of Elections.

Board members Thursday approved the Job Center, 1040 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron, as the place where voters can go early to cast their ballots in the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Board members had hoped the state would allow elections boards to designate more than one place for absentee voting. The board had wanted to retain absentee voting at its headquarters on Grant Avenue and add the Job Center location.

However, a representative for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's office told board members Thursday that state law allows only one location.

http://www.ohio.com/news/19592744.html

[EFerrari]

15. SC: Waring named to state board

Waring named to state board
Staff report
Friday, June 6, 2008


Gov. Mark Sanford has appointed Charleston attorney Thomas Waring to the State Election Commission.

"I'm both humbled and pleased that the governor had the sufficient confidence to appoint me," Waring said. "I Iook forward to serving the people of South Carolina to the best of my ability."

Waring, who practices business, banking and bankruptcy law for the firm of Moore and Van Allen, will serve a four-year term on the commission after first filling the last three months of the term of Edward K. Pritchard Jr.

Pritchard resigned from the commission in April to take an active role in John McCain's presidential campaign.

http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/jun/06/waring_named_state_board43622/

[EFerrari]

16. TN: Bredesen signs cable and paper ballot bills

Bredesen signs cable and paper ballot bills

By Richard Locker (Contact)
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Thursday, June 5, 2008

NASHVILLE -- Gov. Phil Bredesen ceremonially signed the Competitive Cable and Video Services Act into law today to streamline the introduction of video and broadband services over telephone lines in competition with cable TV.

The compromise bill was heavily lobbied by AT&T for two years and opposed by the cable industry. It will allow telecommunications companies to apply for and obtain a single statewide franchise license to deliver cable programming, as opposed to the current longstanding process requiring separate franchise agreements negotiated with individual cities and counties.

The governor also signed into law the "Tennessee Voter Confidence Act" that requires -- by the November 2010 election -- all counties to have in place optical scanner voting systems at each precinct. Using those systems, voters mark paper ballots similar to standardized test sheets that are then fed into scanners to record their votes.

Unlike current computerized touch-screen systems like those used in Shelby County and most other Tennessee counties, the paper ballots are stored -- producing a "paper trail" if a recount is necessary. The bill also requires county election commissions to conduct mandatory hand-count audits of the paper ballots cast at least in the top race in each federal, state, county or municipal election.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/05/bredesen-signs-cable-and-paper-ballot-bills/

[Fly by night]

34. And a follow-up article by the same reporter

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/06/machines-to-create-confident-balloting/

This is posted in a separate thread here. But I wanted to include this link because I think the ER news threads are a great historical record for future use.

BTW, thanks to you and the other editors -- I read the daily news summaries religiously.

[EFerrari]

17. TN: Governor approves convenience voting pilot program

Governor approves convenience voting pilot program
Posted By: Emily Stroud

Knox County will be the pilot site in the state for convenience voting. It will be similar to early voting.

Convenience voting allows voters to cast ballots at any of about ten places in the weeks ahead of the election and on election day itself.

It eliminates specific polling places for voters.

Grant money from the Pew Foundation and the state will help the election commission study the best sites for polling places.

"We don't want to pick sites based on which candidate it helps or which party it helps," said Greg Mackay, Administrator of Elections for Knox County. "We want to pick sites based upon how it helps people to vote."

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=59007&catid=2

[EFerrari]

18. WV: Supreme Court to consider appeal of disputed Hurricane mayoral election

Supreme Court to consider appeal of disputed Hurricane mayoral election

6/5/2008 10:15 AM
By Lawrence Smith -Putnam Bureau

CHARLESTON - As voters in over a dozen municipalities go to the polls Tuesday to cast a ballot for their respective mayors and council, the state Supreme Court will vote whether to accept or reject a petition challenging the results of one Putnam County municipal election held last year.

Among the 21 petitions on Court's motion docket is one seeking to overturn a judge's decision to prohibit the Hurricane city council from considering the legitimacy of early-voting ballots cast in the June 2007 municipal election. Should the decision be allowed to stand, argues the attorney for the mayoral candidate contesting the election, will enable someone who doesn't like one judge's decision to go find one who does.

On June 12, Sam Cole, Scott Edwards and Frank "Sarge" Sargent were vying to replace Raymond Peak as Hurricane's next mayor. Election returns throughout the night showed Cole with an 85-vote lead over Edwards.

However, once early voting returns were tabulated after 1 a.m. the next day, the lead shifted back to Edwards giving him a 25-vote victory. After both the canvass and a recount requested by Cole, the tabulation showed Edwards the winner.

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/213195-supreme-court-to-consider-appeal-of-disputed-hurricane-mayoral-election

[EFerrari]

19. TX: Angelina County recount doesn't change election results, but adds 959 votes

Angelina County recount doesn't change election results, but adds 959 votes

Listen to this article or download audio file.Click-2-Listen
By BRITTONY LUND
The Lufkin Daily News

Friday, June 06, 2008

A recount was held Wednesday for five county precinct ballot boxes that were incorrectly tallied in the March 4 primary election.

Thelma "Midget" Sherman, Angelina County tax assessor-collector/election administrator, oversaw the recount. The total number of voters before the recount was 17,850. After the recount, there turned out to be 959 more votes, resulting in a total number of 16,891 votes.

"It didn't change anything (in the election results) — just the numbers," Sherman said.

The error occurred when a site support technician loaded the personalized electronic ballot twice for five of the voting boxes, Sherman said.

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/06/07/Vote_Recount.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=9

[EFerrari]

20. PA: Changing voting machines pays off

Changing voting machines pays off

By JENNA PORTNOY
The Intelligencer

Not all investments are suffering in the slumping economy.

Bucks County will receive a half-million dollars in interest built up on federal money distributed by the state for electronic voting machines.

All counties will receive a portion of the interest, said Rebecca Halton, a Pennsylvania Department of State spokeswoman.

The county's portion has nothing to do with the fact that the initial grant money was held back because Bucks missed the deadline for purchasing the new machines. Later, the money was released.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-06062008-1545154.html

[EFerrari]

21. CO: Morgan County Clerk helps with election fix

Morgan County Clerk helps with election fix

It’s been a long road to having Morgan County’s voting machines ready for the coming primaries and the crucial presidential election.

Late last year, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office de-certified almost all of the voting machines in the state, reacting to a lawsuit by voting activists who distrusted computer devices in general and especially those that use the Internet to send election results from voting machines to offices where votes are tallied.

For a while, it looked like the county would have to shell out big bucks to come into compliance with state requirements to certify its machines, but that did not happen and Morgan County Clerk Connie Ingmire had a hand in that.

She was at the forefront of county clerks across the state arguing that proposed fixes were too expensive, which led the state to come up with a solution that did not present counties with big bills.

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/news/2008/jun/03/morgan-county-clerk-helps-election-fix/

[EFerrari]

3. International.

[EFerrari]

22. EU: Poll:Irish 'No' Votes Soar In Lisbon Treaty Referendum

Poll:Irish 'No' Votes Soar In Lisbon Treaty Referendum

Thu, Jun 5 2008, 21:30 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu


DUBLIN -(Dow Jones)- Irish voters who say they'll vote "No" in Ireland's public referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on June 12 surged ahead of "Yes" voters, according to an Irish Times and TNS/MRBI poll released late Thursday.

The referendum has E.U. leaders on a knife edge, raising concerns in Brussels that an Irish rejection of the treaty could throw the whole E.U. reform process into chaos and damage Ireland's reputation in Europe.

The poll showed the "No" votes have soared 17 percentage points to 35% from a poll three week ago. While support for the "Yes" vote fell 5 points to 30%, with crucial "Don't Knows" down 12 points to 28% and abstentions at 7%.

The poll, conducted last Tuesday and Wednesday among 1,000 voters, will come as a severe shock to the E.U. and the Irish government, which Thursday dismissed claims that Ireland could re-negotiate a better treaty as "ludicrous."

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=29cd8b5a-5154-4bf5-b8c8-18659707abf6

[EFerrari]

28. Zinbabwe's disenfranchised voters

Zinbabwe's disenfranchised voters

By Alex T. Magaisa
Last updated: 06/06/2008 16:46:33

IF MOST most people were asked to describe the picture that forms in the mind at the mention of the term ‘vote rigging’, they would probably give an account of shady characters in dark glasses, dark coats, operating under cover of darkness busy stuffing ballot boxes, changing figures, shredding and burning documents. That may be so, but, in fact, one simple and less dramatic picture of vote-rigging is that of a system that simply prevents persons from exercising their right to vote.

Zimbabwe’s electoral regime contains a number of features that prevent persons from voting or at the very least, increase the risk of preventing persons from voting. In that way the electoral regime plays a crucially negative role in disenfranchising citizens.

Disenfranchised Diaspora

For a start, an attempt sponsored by Jeff Madzingo, The New Zimbabwe CEO, to challenge the constitutionality of the system which disenfranchises Zimbabweans living out of the country was dismissed by the Supreme Court in March 2005. This effectively cemented the disenfranchisement of a significant number of Zimbabweans who have every right to participate in their country’s electoral process.

In most countries, including SADC countries, efforts are being made to allow citizens abroad to participate in the political process. The Zimbabwe government, in its wisdom, has not been willing to do that. That is probably because the Diaspora population is not viewed as a natural constituency for the ruling Zanu PF party.

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/magaisa81.18298.html

[EFerrari]

4. OpEd.

[EFerrari]

26. Fixing the Vote: How to keep new voters from falling off the rolls

Fixing the Vote

How to keep new voters from falling off the rolls
By Michael Waldman | Newsweek Web Exclusive

The primaries have been thrilling, marked by surging voter participation. States without Electoral College clout that have traditionally been ignored by candidates—from Indiana and Texas to North Carolina and even South Dakota—have hosted vibrant campaigns. But as the excitement and suspense of the primary season fades and the reality of a general election sets in, how can we make sure this moment of rare public engagement is not just an aberration?

Major change comes when a widely felt public need collides with dysfunctional public institutions. Today, government is broken. The answer must be more than a simple changing of the guard; we know there will be a new president, after all. But there must also be changes in the way our democracy functions. If we want to end the special-interest stasis that paralyzes Congress, for example, we should move to public financing of congressional campaigns. If we worry that Congress is endlessly partisan, we should reform redistricting rules so that lawmakers can't simply carve themselves one-party districts. If we liked the 50-state frenzy that made every vote matter, we should end the Electoral College (which, intriguingly, could be bypassed by states even without a constitutional amendment).

But no improvement would have a more hopeful impact than to craft a modern and inclusive voting system. Turnout in the Democratic primary, at least, has been double that of the last election cycle, and it will likely rise higher in November. But this rising tide may swamp the ramshackle system by which we cast and count votes. With luck, this year won't be a mess. But we can tap this energy to fix voting, for good. Starting next year, the country should move to a system of universal voter registration, in which every eligible citizen can vote. We should end voter registration as we know it.
click here

The United States is one of the few industrialized democracies that erects barriers to registration, making individuals sign themselves up and bear the burden of keeping their registration up to date. The system leaves gaps and inaccuracies in voter rolls, causes voters to fall through the cracks when they move, and creates opportunities for partisan mischief. Former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter chaired a commission that concluded, "The registration laws in force throughout the United States are among the world's most demanding … one reason why voter turnout in the United States is near the bottom of the developed world." Today, some 50 million eligible American citizens are not on the rolls.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/140295

[tbyg52]

30. #5 here! K,R,&thanks! nt

[EFerrari]

31. Thank you, tbyg52.

:hi:

[kster]

32. Hand Counted Paper Ballots Along with Random Audits, Security at its best

Life is good, everyone gets what they want.

Great ER News Thread! K&R!!

[flashl]

33. K&R