Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Voting News Daily: NY ballot fraud ring. Hacker makes ATMs spew cash. OR online ‘primary’ 4%turnout

Voting rights lawsuit in Alambama over Bingo machine confiscation…DNA Evidence Sought in NY Absentee Ballot Fraud Case…More Ohio voting by mail means more mistakes…Cryptographers speak of threats, voting, and Blu-R…Oregon Ind Party internet primary ‘electon’ yields only 4% turnout and Ivoting vendor wants Oregon to trade vote by mail for internet voting….Do you think internet voting is as “safe as online banking”? Read Researcher’s Hack Can Make ATMs Spew Money…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: Voting rights lawsuit filed over Riley’s Greenetrack raid
http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20100730/NEWS/100739989?Title=Voting-rights-lawsuit-filed-over-Riley-s-Greenetrack-raid Voting rights lawyer Ed Still is one of several attorneys who has filed a voting rights lawsuit over the June raid and confiscation of more than 800 bingo machines from the Greenetrack bingo casino in Greene County.
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The lawsuit’s premise is simple: Riley’s actions unilaterally reversed voter intentions in both counties, effectively canceling their votes.

CA: Sacramento County voter switched from Democrat to Republican
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=88535&catid=2
Sacramento County elections officials were notifying Cracraft that she had re-registered to vote as a Republican

CA: Two Candidates and Four Voters File Lawsuit Against Certain Aspects of California Top-Two System http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/28/two-candidates-and-four-voters-file-lawsuit-against-certain-aspects-of-california-top-two-system/

CT: IRV: Is it legal in Connecticut? Can our scanners compute it?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/irv-is-it-legal-in-connecticut-can-our-scanners-compute-it/

DC: U.S. Department of Justice Decides Not to Take a Position on Counting Write-in Votes http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/30/u-s-department-of-justice-decides-not-to-take-a-position-on-counting-write-in-votes/
On June 30, the U.S. Justice Department said that the Department has decided not to take a position in the pending lawsuit Libertarian Party v District of Columbia Board of Elections, now pending in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

FL: Eleventh Circuit Grants Injunction to Stop Extra Public Funding for One Florida Gubernatorial Candidate
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/30/eleventh-circuit-grants-injunction-to-stop-extra-public-funding-on-one-florida-gubernatorial-candidate/

GA: Longer early voting period in GA does not increase turnout in primary
http://www.earlyvoting.net/blog/2010/07/longer-early-voting-period-ga-does-not-increase-turnout-primary

NC: North Carolina Ballot Access Hearing Postponed
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/26/north-carolina-ballot-access-hearing-postponed/

NY: NY: 9 targeted in vote conspiracy (DNA evidence sought)
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/9-targeted-in-vote-conspiracy-594751.php
Court records filed in connection with the investigation include allegations that the officials, and several political operatives for the Rensselaer County Democratic Party, may have conspired to file dozens of fraudulent absentee ballots last year in an attempt to seize the Working Families Party line for the general election.

The officials identified as targets of the investigation are: Rensselaer County Board of Elections Commissioner Edward G. McDonough; city Councilmen Michael LoPorto, Gary Galuski, Kevin McGrath, and John Brown; City Council President Clem Campana; City Clerk William A. McInerney; and political operatives Dan Brown, who is John Brown’s brother, and Anthony DeFiglio, a former Troy Housing Authority clerk.

NY: County Approves Electronic Voting Machines (Dominion)
The lever voting machines currently used in Commack will not longer be used for national elections as of Sept., new electronic tabulating machines have been certified.
http://commack.patch.com/articles/county-approves-electronic-voting-machines
The current voting machines – traditional lever machines – are still being used for district elections, at this point in time, Knoble said

OH: More Ohio voting by mail means more mistakes *
http://www.wfmj.com/Global/story.asp?S=12890771 More than 6,000 voters in the county that includes Cleveland made mistakes with mail-in ballots for the May primary. Some left off necessary signatures or information, while nearly 100 even forgot to include their ballot in the envelope.

The Voting News Daily: Calloway KY Co picks optical scan. More WV cntys. mull troop internet vote test

After an “internet pilot” for 5 WV counties, with total of 54 ballots cast out of 68 requested, the Putnam Co WV clerk now believes internet voting is safe, and wants his county to volunteer. Did anyone explain what happened to those missing 14 votes?…Martin Co FL using a ballot tracking system for absentee ballots, hope it works better than Denver Co system…Former GA SOS Handel hit with ethics complaint. (Handel promised to ditch DREs but reneged……Calloway joins majority of KY counties using paper ballots…Ohio SOS Office gets YouTube Channel…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

FL: Martin County Track your vote-by-mail ballot for Aug. 24 primary
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jul/27/martin-county-track-your-vote-by-mail-ballot-for/?partner=RSS To track your ballot, visit www.MartinVotes.com and click on Track Your Ballot located under What’s New.

GA: Karen Handel hit with ethics complaint alleging $13k in illegal payments to staffers http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/07/27/karen-handel-hit-with-ethics-complaint-alleging-13k-in-illegal-payments-to-staffers/
Political blogger Bill Simon has filed a complaint against Republican candidate for governor Karen Handel with the State Ethics Commission, alleging that she illegally paid $13,200 to advisors of her gubernatorial campaign with money raised as a candidate for secretary of state

GA: Ethics Panel Probes Handel Complaints (different from above article)
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/ethics-panel-probes-handel-complaints-071210

KY: Elections board to pursue the purchase of new machines
http://www.murrayledger.com/articles/2010/07/28/top_story/news02.txt
Calloway County…Most counties in Kentucky have moved to using new paper-ballot scanning equipment that tallies votes electronically, but also produce a better “paper trail” that can be used to verify electronic voting results and ensure an accurate as well as a faster and more efficient.

NC: Editorial: One-stop – Early voting deserves bipartisan support.
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2010/07/23/1015828?sac=Opin

NY: Did You Split Your Vote? Experts Scrutinize Port Chester Vote Data for Trends
http://portchester.patch.com/articles/did-you-split-your-vote-experts-scrutinize-port-chester-vote-data-for-trends
Using a wealth of data from exit polls and surveys, political scientists want to know how Port Chester voters used the new cumulative voting system.

NY: Election commissioner at odds with county law
http://pressrepublican.com/new_today/x1079911004/Election-commissioner-at-odds-with-county-law PLATTSBURGH — Democratic Elections Commissioner Susan Castine is challenging a Clinton County law that says she can’t run for office and work at the Board of Elections at the same time.

OH: Ohio Secretary of State’s Office Establishes YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/OhioSOSBrunner
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office has created a YouTube channel where citizens can follow the work of the office. YouTube is another way the office has embraced technology to provide additional outreach to Ohioans.

Internet Voting Watch

WVA:Putnam officials want to be part of voting project
http://www.dailymail.com/News/PutnamCounty/201007270877?page=1&build=cache
Commission also approves contract for demolition of building
“I feel more secure about the system now that it has been utilized,” ~ Brian Wood

WVA: Online Balloting Gaining Steam in Mon County
http://www.wdtv.com/index.php/home/local-news/2396-online-balloting-gaining-speed-in-mon-county Getting things done as fast as possible is the trend in America these days, and making your vote count is no different. That’s why Monongalia County is one of four counties in the state using online balloting.
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Not everyone can cast their vote online yet, but for now, if you have a family member serving in the military overseas, or you know someone living abroad that wants to vote, this is for them.

The Voting News Daily: KS vote flipping. NASS-overseas vote must be recountable! DISCLOSE Fails

NASS resolution – State Election Officials: Recountable Process A Must for Overseas Voters. (internet or email voting does not provide that)…The DISCLOSE Act fails…”MONEY & POLITICS: Aetna, Humana, Other Insurers Mull New Group to Influence November Races”…Candidate reports touchscreen vote flipping in Johnson County Kansas…Michigan Sleuths Find Link Between Dem Party Official and the Ballot-Qualified Tea Party…Allegations in Bell, CA that off duty police officers were recruited to to distribute absentee ballots in last year’s election and tell people which candidates to vote for…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: DA probes voter fraud allegations in Calif. city (Bell, CA)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7127322.html It was only one of several allegations the district attorney is looking into in the city where three top officials resigned last week after it was disclosed they were being paid salaries totaling about $1.6 million a year.

CO: KDNK Reports on SOS Memo Looking to Deny Inspection of Ballots
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/07/kdnk-reports-on-sos-memo-looking-to.html

CO: Aspen mulls vote-counting options
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100728/NEWS/100729825/1077&ParentProfile=1058
ASPEN — City attorneys are drafting language for a November ballot item that could replace the controversial voting method known as instant runoff voting for Aspen’s May election.

CO: Aspen considers replacing IRV in November
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/141729

CT: Complex voting proposal in charter criticized
http://www.theday.com/article/20100728/NWS01/307289880/1019&town=
Registrar of Voters Bill Giesing said he was concerned that the rank voting plan – which would allow for instant results rather than a runoff election at a later date -as well as one that would have four city councilors represent specific wards, would violate state law.

CT: IRV New London: Residents, Registrar, and Candidate concerns
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/irv-new-london-residents-registrar-and-candidate-concerns/

FL: New voting machines to be used throughout Saratoga County in upcoming September primary and November general election
http://saratogian.com/articles/2010/07/26/news/doc4c4cfa7b17c02632792487.txt
BALLSTON SPA — An army of election inspectors is being trained to operate the new machines county voters will use to cast their ballots in the upcoming September primary and November general election.

GA: Voting chief vows no more tabulation glitches in the future
http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/07-27-2010/voting-chief-vows-no-more-tabulation-glitches-future That “glitch” was due to the fact that elections officials decided to run the early and advance voting numbers through the system first, said Elections Supervisor Tom Sawyer. Because the early and advance voting included voters from each Fayette precinct, the computer system used that information to report that all 36 of Fayette’s precincts had voted when in fact, they had not, Sawyer explained.

KS: Problems Possible with Some Touch-Screen Voting Machines * (also video)
http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-joco-election-machines-072710,0,2795262.story?track=rss “The calibration, just like they would on an iPad or any kind of touch screen kind of thing, can be slightly off,” said Newby. “If you press a button and you mean to hit candidate a and candidate b comes up, just uncheck it and vote for who you want. Then you get a review screen at the end so you really have two chances to, what we call ‘second chance voting’, you really have two chances to do that before you hit cast ballot.”

KS: “Touchy” vote screen: Toplikar tries to vote for himself but “X” appears for opponent * http://kansas.watchdog.org/4366/touchy-vote-screen-toplikar-tries-to-vote-for-himself-but-x-appears-for-opponent/

The Voting News Daily: CalTech on voter roll gaps. NY Group – test all scanners. The Hacker advantage

How does your state rate in CalTech report? Hint – Arkansas is worst. “Huge Variation in “Unmailable” Voter Registration Materials”…Colorado SOS Seeks to “Protect” Ballots from Owners’ Inspection…NY groups want outside test of Dominion scanners…Oregon redistricting initiative fails…The Disclose Act in Senate…EAC final versions of 2010 Election Admin & Voting Survey…WV will test internet voting on overseas military again..Do they know that “a fundamental truth of cyber-security: attackers always have the advantage.”~ Aldo Vasquez…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AZ: Push to get voters Permanent Early Voting List (vote by mail)
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12874031 The Pima County Democrats are canvassing, trying to get as many registered voters as they can to get the Permanent Early Voting List.

CA: Former Bell police officer alleges serious voting irregularities in 2009 election*
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/former-bell-cop-alleges-serious-voting-irregularities-in-2009-election.html A retired Bell police sergeant claimed in a lawsuit filed this week that off-duty Bell police officers in the 2009 election distributed absentee ballots to voters and told them which candidates to select.

The allegations are contained in a lawsuit filed by James Corcoran, who says he was forced out of his job for informing authorities about the officers’ actions as well as for a variety of other actions that he says top city leaders did not like

CA: Schwarzenegger to call election to fill open Senate seat
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/07/schwarzenegger-to-call-election-to-fill-open-senate-seat.html California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Tuesday to call an election to replace state Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks), who died earlier this month after a battle with cancer

CO: Colorado SOS Seeks to “Protect” Ballots from Owners’ Inspection
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/07/colorado-sos-seeks-to-protect-ballots.html

CO: News: Memo details unclear law on public records (radio or podcast)
http://www.kdnk.org/article.cfm?mode=detail&id=1280241798407 Now those trying to get access to the ballot images here in Colorado say they want to reform the process, arguing the ballots are the property of the people, not the government. KDNK’s Conrad Wilson reports.

CO: Boulder County to provide election service centers
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=22830 BOULDER — Beginning Tuesday, Boulder County voters can get replacement primary-election mail ballots or cast their votes in person on electronic voting machines at two service centers.

CT: Another Connecticut Public Funding Dispute Goes to Court
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/26/another-connecticut-public-funding-dispute-goes-to-court/

FL: One approach to campaign finance reform
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/07/27/one-approach-to-campaign-finance-reform/
An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times advocates replacing Florida’s campaign finance rules with four new rules

GA: Until south Georgia voter fraud inquiry is settled, Terry Coleman says he’ll hold off on concession (suspects absentee ballot fraud, no evidence cited)
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/07/26/until-south-georgia-voter-fraud-inquiry-is-settled-terry-coleman-says-hell-hold-off-on-concession/?cxntfid=blogs_political_insider_jim_galloway

IA: Misspent federal money and DNR audit in Iowa raise questions
http://www.examiner.com/x-43639-Central-Iowa-Politics-Examiner~y2010m7d26-Misspent-federal-money-and-DNR-audit-in-Iowa-raise-questions The state of Iowa will be required to repay $576,000 in federal money in which an independent audit commissioned by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) found was misspent. The questionable spending was related to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The audit revealed that at least one contract associated with the federal grant was never put to a lawful competitive bid.

MA: Mass. Legislature approves plan to bypass Electoral College
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/07/mass_legislatur.html
Under the law, which was enacted by the House last week, all 12 of the state’s electoral votes would be awarded to the candidate who receives the most votes nationally.

The Voting News Daily: Cumberland Co TN lost voting machine and cards. Vote Buying in Perry Co KY

Federal grand jury indicts 4 in Perry Co KY vote buying…Inventory of Cumberland Co TN voting equipment reveals that one voting machine, three card readers and 12 tally cards were missing. They don’t say when that equipment disappeared…A recent FOIA on South Carolina’s absentee ballots raises more questions about the results of the US Sen. Dem Primary…Think internet voting is a good idea? There’s a new internet worm that targets systems such as oil rigs, refineries, electronics production…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

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CA: Math professor: top two primary is flawed
http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2010/07/california-math-professor-top-two-primary-is-flawed/

CO: Ballot TRACE glitch sends Denver voters wrong message*
http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15582318
On Wednesday night, a glitch caused the wrong message to go out to 177 of the 233 people signed up. Somehow, data were transposed in the system, which caused the wrong messages
to go out, said Denver Election Commission spokesman Alton Dillard.

CO: Aspen calling for ballot questions for Nov special election
http://www.aspenpitkin.com/Portals/0/docs/City/clerk/council/cc.res.055-10.pdf
a Charter amendment on how to conduct regular municipal elections. The deadline for ballot questions to be submitted to the Pitkin County Clerk is 4 pm September 3 Councils last regular meeting before that deadline is August 23

CT: The Day, Susan Bysiewicz, and we agree: No IRV for New London
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/the-day-susan-bysiewicz-and-we-agree-no-irv-for-new-london/

KS: Few voting-fraud cases found in state
http://topstorieswichita.com/news/few-voting-fraud-cases-found-in-state/

KY: Federal grand jury indicts 4 in Perry vote buying case
http://hazard-herald.com/view/full_story/8864456/article-Federal-grand-jury-indicts-4-in-Perry-vote-buying-case? Pearl Combs, Jr., Michael Ray Combs, Lewis “Cuz” Baker and Charles Marvin Herald have all been charged with unlawfully paying or offering to pay for voting in an election held in part to select a candidate for an office seat in the United States Senate.

MI: New law enables military, overseas civilians to vote
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20100725/NEWS06/7250424
Most importantly, military and overseas civilian voters can now receive a ballot by e-mail or fax to speed the voting process. (The voted ballot must be returned by mail for security purposes.)

MN: Our view: Don’t let a few decide election for us all
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/174588/group/Opinion/

MN: Minn. governor joins debate over alleged ‘voter fraud’
http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/minn-governor-joins-debate-over-alleged-voter-fraud

MN: Mike Dean: Felon-voting flap is a partisan distraction from bigger issues
http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_15569558?nclick_check=1
The fact is that election officials have long needed better access to the Department of Corrections database so that they could verify whether someone is a felon. Thanks to legislation passed earlier this year, election officials can now properly flag possible felons to be challenged if they attempt to vote.
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But having access to this database solves only part of the problem; many felons are not provided with the basic information regarding the status of their voting rights. Felons who have not had their voting rights restored may inadvertently vote because they were never told that their voting rights were taken away.

NY: ADA compliance was money well spent, officials say
http://www.stargazette.com/article/20100724/NEWS01/7240356/ADA-compliance-was-money-well-spent-officials-say

NT: Attorney General Candidate Failed to Vote for 18 Years
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/nyregion/25rice.html?_r=1

NY: Leaders disband county party
NO PETITIONS FILED: Independence chiefs feeling ‘disillusioned’
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100724/NEWS03/307249961/-1/news

The Voting News Daily: Judge – Test NY DS-200 voting machines. Wilkinson GA election meltdown.

Denver Co’s ballot tracking system malfunctioned and told 190 voters that their completed mail ballots had been received. The problem? The voters hadn’t even received the ballots in the first place… Wilkinson CO GA’s server crashed and also had memory card problems…Judge Wants New York’s Voting Machines Tested…Where Do (NY’s)Old Voting Machines Go When They Die? Lever machines are considered obsolete so can be sold for scrap… The Wisconsin State Elections office won’t allow candidate to use obscene description on ballot…

All this and more in today’s voting news below..

Editor’s note: we did not send out news yesterday, it is combined with today’s news.

AK: On the ballot in Alaska: transparency
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=497502 To some Alaskans, the fight against Proposition 1 has morphed into a fight to guard their state’s initiative process from those who would take advantage of its loopholes.

AL: Suit filed to block enforcement of law on campaign contributions
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006416.html A 15-year-old Alabama law that says judges should not hear cases in which one of the parties donated at least $2,000 to their campaigns has never been enforced, locked in a stalemate over whether it first needs to be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice for evidence that it would not disenfranchise minorities.

CO: Vote early and…not at all? Ballot TRACE glitch has some worried *
http://www.examiner.com/x-41664-Denver-Top-News-Examiner~y2010m7d22-Voter-early-andnot-at-all-Ballot-TRACE-glitch-has-some-worried

CO: Uh-oh, technical glitch baffles Denver voters *
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=144870&catid=188 That “hiccup” sent emails to approximately 170 voters telling them that their completed ballots had already been received by the Post Office despite the fact that those voters had yet to receive the actual ballots personally.

CT: What do [Connecticut] voters think?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/what-do-connecticut-voters-think/
A new Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project Report provides insight into the opinions of voters on several voting reform issues. We comment on Connecticut specific results and editorialize on voting integrity implications of the survey.We recommend the survey and commentary be contemplated by activists, legislators, and future Secretaries of the State
…
We caution against recommending a reform or opposing a reform based on public perception reported in a single, or several surveys providing simple reform descriptions.

FL: Voting by mail has increased in popularity, but has unintended consequences
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/political/elections_local/voting-by-mail-has-unintended-consequences Absentee voting by mail has its risks for candidates and voters. The method is considered more vulnerable to mischief and outright fraud. In 2009, voters in a special State Senate election were persuaded to send their ballots to a private mail box instead of the elections office in an apparent attempt to void their votes.

GA: Computer woes a headache for Wilkinson election officials*
http://www.macon.com/2010/07/22/1203319/computer-woes-a-headache-for-election.html
A computer system crash and difficulties with a memory card created an unexpected delay in counting votes in Wilkinson County late Tuesday night.
…
“We had the server go down around 10 p.m., and we had three precincts left to report,” she said. “We’ve never had problems like this before. Normally there’s no trouble.”
…
as of Wednesday afternoon, Barfield said she was unable to confirm whether officials were able to read the final votes from the last memory card.

The Voting News Daily: Montgomery CO PA exempt from election code? New Mexico not so secret ballot

Concerning the issue of internet voting -“Who are you going to believe? Scientists or Vendors?” asks CT Voter…Van Hollen, ‘Corporate Candidate’ Murray Hill Spar Over Political Rights of Businesses… Secret ballot? Not for everybody (in New Mexico)…There’s a Constitutional Amendment Campaign to Undo Citizens United in the works…Are Montgomery County PA voting machines exempt from accountability?…A few questions about Mass Natl Pop Vote Bill…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: ADC files complaint against judge over ad
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20100720/NEWS02/7200322/ADC-files-complaint-against-judge-over-ad The Alabama Democratic Conference has filed a complaint against Circuit Court Judge Patricia Warner over what the organization’s chairman said are questionable and misleading campaign tactics.
…
The “advertisement” in question was a sample ballot printed under the banner of the Montgomery County Democratic Conference.
…
Reed said in his letter that the flier was a fraud because only the state organization can make endorsements in state races.

AL: U.S. set to defend Voting Rights Act against Shelby County challenge
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/us_set_to_defend_voting_rights.html
The U.S. Department of Justice will mount a vigorous defense against a Shelby County lawsuit that seeks to have parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ruled unconstitu tional, a DOJ spokeswoman said.

AL: Councilman Ben Little files suit seeking clarity on state law
http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/8816845-Councilman-Ben-Little-files-suit-seeking-clarity-on-state-law Little has said that Anniston attorney Donald Stewart’s contributions to the campaigns of several local judges has influenced their rulings. He reiterated those claims Monday, saying people without Stewart’s resources can’t expect a fair hearing.

AZ: Important information for ALL voters
http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2010/07/20/important-information-for-all-voters/
If you have a drivers license you can register to vote online right now!

AZ: Cooperation is right approach in voting probe
http://www.yumasun.com/opinion/flier-62557-probe-investigation.html
Agree or disagree- Click here to send letters to the editor
The intent of a flier being circulated in the border city of San Luis, Ariz. about a voter fraud investigation is disputed, but it does seem to be an attempt to undermine the probe.

CA: SF Voters Could See Same-Day Registration; Some Supes Don’t Like
http://sfappeal.com/news/2010/07/register-and-vote-on-same-day-not-everyone-likes-comments.php

CA: Fresno woman charged with 30 counts of voter fraud
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/politics&id=7566375 A complaint filed in Fresno County Superior Court on Monday charges Holland in 10 of those cases. She’s charged with 10-counts of forgery, 10-counts of perjury and 10-counts of filing false documents. Holland faces up to 10-years in prison if convicted.

CA: Board gets another look at non-citizen voting plan (San Francisco)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=68222
The measure would limit non-citizen voting to the school board election and only include parents and guardians of students in the school district.

CT: Supreme Court allows more public funds for Fedele campaign
http://www.ctmirror.org/story/6880/supreme-court-clears-way-more-campaign-funds-fedele
The state Supreme Court today refused to block Republican gubernatorial candidate Michael C. Fedele from seeking an additional $312,500 in public financing for his campaign

CO: Track your ballot via email or text
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/24329250/detail.html

FL: Are Florida Primaries too close to the general election?
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-florida-primaries-too-close-to.html
This year Florida will hold its primaries on August 24th just 11 weeks before the general election

GA: Scanners Speed Primary Voting
http://www.gpb.org/news/2010/07/20/scanners-speed-primary-voting Poll workers in 31 counties have been using bar code scanners on voters’ drivers licenses at check-in.

The Voting News Daily: Online Voting: All That Glitters Is Not Gold. Does your vote count in Georgia?

“Who agrees online voting is not secure? Pretty much everyone who isn’t trying to make money on it…They dishonor the troops fighting to secure our freedom by failing to adequately secure a precious part of that freedom – their votes – in order to turn a profit.” writes Dan McCrae of Florida Voters in “Online Voting: All That Glitters Is Not Gold”…Jeff Rayno on Georgia’s paperless voting machines: “Did your vote count? Will it ever?”…Will Gov Patrick assign MA votes to states with touch screens and voter suppression?…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: Bill guaranteeing polling stations becomes law
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=17601 The new law, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2011, allows election officials to subtract permanent mail-in voters from the precinct’s 1,000-voter cap. As a result, officials can redraw precincts to accurately reflect the number of in-person voters and provide Election Day polling stations for everyone.

GA: Georgia voters report issues at some polling locations
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia_elections_news/2010/07/20/georgia-voters-report-issues-at-some-polling-locations/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_elections_news
Virginia-Highland precinct opened late. Wrong ballots issued at N. Druid Hills Road.

GA: Georgia voters miffed at software glitch
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia_elections_news/2010/07/20/georgia-voters-miffed-at-software-glitch/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_elections_news
Fusillo’s name was on the list of voters – only the name didn’t match up with the one on her voter registration card. It matched with the one on her driver’s license.

GA: Rayno: Voters still lack paper trail
http://savannahnow.com/column/2010-07-18/rayno-voters-still-lack-paper-trail
I was at one time fascinated with the prospect of online voting with highly secured networks. But the truth is, we have fabricated one of the most unreliable, untraceable and unaccountable voting methods in the world.

HI: One-third of polling precincts consolidated by state
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/One-third-of-polling-precincts-consolidated-by/Tlij5ugUtE6Ai_Zxxwy3XA.cspx Ninety-seven out of 335 polling precincts have been eliminated.

IL: County clerk: Election issues being resolved
http://register-news.com/homepage/x854233672/County-clerk-Election-issues-being-resolved
MT. VERNON — After spending a week in court hearing about mistakes made during the Nov. 4, 2008, general election, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Connie Simmons said some of the issues have been resolved with legislative changes — and others are a matter of education of election judges, workers and the public

MA: Will Gov Patrick assign MA votes to states with touch screens and voter suppression? http://www.ctvoterscount.org/will-gov-patrick-assign-ma-votes-to-states-with-touch-screens-and-voter-suppression/ We are not in principle against a national popular vote, but as a prerequisite we would require sufficient uniform national voting franchise and integrity laws, enforceable and enforced.

NY: Voting-rights case for disabled students settled
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100719/NEWS01/7190319
ALBANY — The U.S. Department of Justice announced an agreement last week to resolve a longstanding lawsuit against the state and its public universities for not providing voter-registration services for students with disabilities.

NY: New Concerns Raised Over Voting Machine Upgrade (video also)
http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/politics/122348/new-concerns-raised-over-voting-machine-upgrade “The language that’s used is unclear. It doesn’t tell the voter that their vote isn’t going to count. That is never expressed or stated in the statement. And the interface itself is just counterintuitive. If you see a green button with a check mark and something that says ‘Cast,’ to most people that means good, that means my vote is going to count,” said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice.

The Voting News Daily: CalTech – little support for internet voting. Aspen’s never ending election integrity war

“Having good elections takes public vigilance, but it shouldn’t become a war.” Mike LaBonte, election integrity activist…A CalTech study of Voter Opinions about Election Reform indicates: “Internet voting and voting-by-mail do not receive a great deal of support from American voters.”…$10,440 in South Carolina vs. $0 in Vermont…8 States with Online Voter Registration

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

Editor’s note: Voting News’ is one year old now. Our first edition went out on July 17, 2009.
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AL: New Alabama election system to show statewide results online
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/new_alabama_election_system_to.html
It is expected to offer voting results, turnout information and possibly precinct-by-precinct data, all online and updated regularly through the night after polls close.

CA: June 8 election problems and solutions (Riverside County)
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100718/OPINION01/7170345/June-8-election-problems-and-solutions See charts

CA: County to purchase better election devices (Riverside County)
County supervisors authorize equipment to avoid future election gaffes
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/49444/ “Sixty-two percent of ballots cast in this election were by mail. That has a whole lot of implications,” Supervisor John Benoit said during a 90-minute hearing on an Executive Office report detailing what went wrong during and after that election.

“It takes seven steps (to process) every single vote-by-mail ballot,” said Benoit, who represents desert communities on the five-member board..

CO: The never-ending war (Aspen Colorado)
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100719/LETTER/100719846/1020&parentprofile=1061
Keys were left hanging from a ballot box in City Hall that collected more than 800 early voting ballots, the public software test did not work out, most of the tallying was performed by a private company using uncertified systems, voters’ ballot data were collected roughly in the order voted without shuffling to preserve anonymity, corrected tally results were announced after the incorrect ones were certified, etc.

CT: Candidates Qualify For Public Financing For Primary
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3364 With a couple of close calls near the deadline, it seems that all the statewide office candidates that wanted to participate in the program have met fundraising criteria.

GA: GALEO sues state over new voter registration procedures
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=230839
“We do not believe Georgia has lived up to its legal obligations to protect and to ensure equitable access to all voters, including minority voters. In addition, we believe these proposed changes demonstrate the need to uphold the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in order to protect access to the polls. GALEO intends to work in a bi-partisan fashion to ensure Georgia can look at best-practices policy alternatives to protect voter access,” continued Gonzalez.

FL: Riches, elections and free speech
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/article1109206.ece
The problem for candidates who are not independently wealthy is that the game is somewhat rigged. They are held to strict dollar limits from outside contributors while very rich people have a First Amendment right to freely spend their own money.

LA: Ex-police chief sentenced to service
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/98650419.html Maurer admitted that he caused two of his deputies to provide false information on their voter registration forms indicating that they lived in the voting district when they did not, according to a news release from Letten’s New Orleans office.

The Voting News Daily: Hackers invade Colorado SOS site. SC Voting machines ‘buggy…exploitable’

Still trust the internet with your votes? Hackers invade Colorado SOS site-“criminals are altering corporate information through the secretary of state’s website and using the falsified data to obtain credit and loans.”…NY Ballot case now seeks DNA…Paper please: “The citizens of South Carolina deserve better than buggy, unstable and exploitable elections.” says Dr.Duncan A Buell…Hearing Set for North Carolina Ballot Access Case…Is your ballot really secret?…Voter Registration in a Digital Age…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: Autauga Co: DA finds no multiple voting occurred
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006413.html
there was only one vote cast by the person who was alleged to have voted several times..

CO: Hackers falsifying data on businesses to obtain loans (SOS website)
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_15527827 “We created a system in Colorado, which is extraordinarily easy to use, one of the cheapest and one of the most electronic in the country,” Buesch er said. “Unfortunately, that opened the doors for the bad guys.”

GA: Kemp Announces Expansion of Driver’s License Bar Code Scanner Pilot Project for General Primary http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/July/14/bar_code.html
The bar code scanners do not change the check-in process in order to vote in an election. Voters must still complete a voter’s certificate at their polling location. As required by Georgia law, poll workers must also check each voter’s photo identification to ensure that it matches the vote

GA: MALDEF and GALEO join lawsuit in order to defend voting rights act
http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/8770584/article-MALDEF-and-GALEO-join-lawsuit-in-order-to-defend-voting-rights-act?instance=home_news_lead_story
Today, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) filed legal papers opposing an attempt by the State of Georgia to implement new voter registration procedures that discriminate against minority voters. Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) represents GALEO in the legal effort…

IL: Election workers questioned in state’s attorney trial
http://register-news.com/local/x961150643/Election-workers-questioned-in-states-attorney-trial

MA: Massachusetts Senate Passes National Popular Vote Bill
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/16/massachusetts-senate-passes-national-popular-vote-bill/ On the evening of July 15, the Massachusetts Senate passed H4156, the National Popular Vote Plan bill for electing the president. The bill had passed the House in June. The bill needs one more procedural vote and then it goes to the Governor’s desk

MA: Winner-take-all bill is OK’d by state Senate
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/16/
winner_take_all_bill_is_okd_by_state_senate/ http://bit.ly/aLB4ey
The state Senate approved a bill last night that would give all 12 of the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote, one of three key votes the chamber took during a busy night on Beacon Hill.

MN: MCDONALD ON VOTER FRAUD ALLEGATIONS IN MINNESOTA
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016434.html The answer to Rick’s question “Did Enough Illegal Felons Vote in Minnesota in 2008 to Tip the Balance to Al Franken?” is no. According to a report produced by Minnesota Majority, to date 10 of 2,921,147 ballots were found to be illegally cast in the 2008 Minnesota general election, for a rate of 0.0003%. Even if all of these illegal ballots included recorded votes cast for Sen. Franken, this is insufficient to alter the outcome of a 225 vote margin.

MN: Olmsted County Attorney investigates allegations of voter fraud
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=16&a=461402
“We have to verify locally here and look at our records and see that they did vote and in fact that it is that person and not somebody with a very similar name who was an eligible voter,” Ostrem said.

The Voting News Daily: Cancel the Voting Machines? Lost Voters, Lost Votes. MontCo PA blames voters

In “Cancel the Voting Machines?” The Brian Leher show discusses NY voting machine problems…RivCo CA gets more voting machines, keeps registrar…MontCo PA officials blame voters for lost votes…Huffington Post is running internet vote vendor Scytl’s press release as an editorial. The “piece” touts internet voting as getting rid of hanging chads or any other problem. The piece doesn’t mention Scytl’s involvement in Finland’s failed i-voting experiment in 2008….Lost voters, lost votes? In 2008, an estimated 1.9 million voters did not cast a ballot for one simple and solvable reason: they did not know where to go…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AZ: Computer glitch causes errors in Mesa voter information
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/07/14/20100714mesa-voter-information-glitch.html
A glitch in a computer program created inaccurate information in voter registration records at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Mesa office in recent weeks.

Yvonne Reed, communications director for the Maricopa County Elections Department, said the problem was traced to a program installed in the Mesa terminals and has been corrected.

CA: REGION: Riverside County to invest in election equipment
SUPERVISORS CONSIDER VOTE COUNTERS FOR EACH POLLING PLACE
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/article_f2b4e23b-a22d-5008-85ed-ef17fc0b2ef7.html

CA: Registrar to stay, $650,000 to go
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100714/NEWS0301/7140314/Registrar+
to+stay+++650+000+to+go http://is.gd/dtC4i

CA: District elections blocked by San Mateo supervisors
http://www.examiner.com/x-1891-San-Mateo-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2010m7d13-District-Elections-Blocked-by-San-Mateo-Supervisors …denying county voters the option to vote on a local ballot measure to change the way in which supervisors are elected..

DC: Moten urges Fenty to veto vote-buying bill
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2010/07/moten_urges_fenty_to_veto_vote.html
…ally of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) is calling on the mayor to veto a D.C. Council bill approved Tuesday that would make it a local crime to pay someone to vote.

FL: Seminole County amps up voting technology
http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/07/14/4c3e22269aac2

GA: St. Marys voters to consider majority elections
Plurality decides races now, but a referendum could change all that.
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-07-13/story/st-marys-voters-consider-majority-elections

IL: Illinois Republican Party is Victim of 2009 “Anti-Slating” Law
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/15/illinois-republican-party-is-victim-of-2009-anti-slating-law/

IL: Polling place privacy — a good idea, long overdue
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2010/07/primary.html

IL: State’s attorney election trial begins
http://register-news.com/local/x536262299/States-attorney-election-trial-begins
MT. VERNON — The Jefferson County State’s Attorney election contest trial started on Tuesday, with a parade of witnesses who voted in the Nov. 4, 2008, election being called by former candidate Nicole Villani.
…
During his opening statements on Tuesday, Villani’s attorney, Morris Lane Harvey, claimed there was “such a pervasive practice of irregularities in that precinct from start to finish … that Mt. Vernon 12 precinct in relation to votes cast on election day, should not be counted at all.”

MD: Baltimore County Man Cited For Election Sign
http://www.wbaltv.com/politics/24250565/detail.html
County Says Campaign Poster ‘Too Big’
…
Stouten got creative and cut the big sign down into four pieces — each under 8 square feet — and put the sign back up.

MI: Tea Party Appears to Qualify for the Michigan Ballot
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/14/tea-party-appears-to-qualify-for-the-michigan-ballot/

MN: Pawlenty: Investigate felon votes in Senate race
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/98472564.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUqEiaDUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

MN: DID ENOUGH ILLEGAL FELONS VOTE IN MINNESOTA IN 2008 TO TIP THE BALANCE TO AL FRANKEN? http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016422.html

MN: Doc, Elvis or Santa: When is a nickname OK on ballot?
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/98470854.html

NC: Local company unveils mobile voting site
http://www.enctoday.com/news/voting-89005-nbsj-mobile-carolina.html

The Voting News Daily: Vote or Vice? Internet voting $1.5 B industry. AZ Election evidence disappears

News reports say that internet voting is a $1.5 Billion industry. You didn’t think it was being promoted for the good of voters, did you? Computer scientists say that internet elections are inherently insecure and ballots are non secret…Evidence Discovered Missing from Allegedly ‘Fixed’ AZ Election..Tulare County CA discovers 2,500 ballots not counted…Letter to editor: “New York’s elections are being Floridized.”…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

Editor note: yesterday we attirbuted the story “Ballot error” to Connecticut, but the state is Vermont instead. We apologize and thank readers for notifying us.

AL: Alabama: editorial warns GOP about crossover voting (or closing the barn door after …) http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006412.html
The Huntsville Times editorializes: Be careful what you ask for. It may not be what you really want.

AL: New election night reporting system to be tested during primary runoff election
http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=12791803
MONTGOMERY, AL – A new election night reporting system would be tested during the primary runoff election Tuesday. The test program will take place in four counties: Jefferson, Madison, Mobile, and Montgomery.

AZ: EXCLUSIVE: Evidence Discovered Missing from Allegedly ‘Fixed’ AZ Election; MUCH MORE* http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7946
Out of 368 precincts, 112 poll tapes are completely missing. Moreover, 102 of the “yellow sheets” — certified precinct reports, signed by poll workers, detailing corresponding summary information, such as numbers of ballots received, cast and spoiled, as helpful for important auditing functions at the precinct level — are missing as well.
Furthermore, of the poll tape records that are not missing, 50 of them do not match the results as recorded in the final canvas of the election,

CA: Tulare County discovers 2,500 ballots not counted *
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/13/2005111/tulare-county-discovers-2500-ballots.html?storylink=mirelated
Wallis says the problem was discovered during a recount in a supervisor’s race when election officials discovered 395 additional votes compared to the first tally. They soon learned the problem extended across the county.

CA: Election-night error resulted in 10 percent of absentee ballots not being tabulated; no races affected by since-rectified problem, elections officials say
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20100712/NEWS01/100712017/1002/Election-night+error+resulted+in+10+percent+of+absentee+ballots+not+being+tabulated++no+races+affected+by+since-rectified+problem++elections+officials+say http://is.gd/dr6gO
(Tulare County)… the vote-by-mail ballots involved were counted but not uploaded to the Election Office ballot-tabulation program.

CA: Assemblywoman asks for recount of state Senate ballots
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100713/NEWS0301/7130311/1006/news01/
Assemblywoman+asks+for+recount+of+state+Senate+ballots http://is.gd/dskIf
(Riverside County) Assemblywoman Mary Salas late Monday asked for a recount in the primary race for state Senate, two days after the results showed she lost by 22 votes.

CA: County supervisors approve election report, keep registrar
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100713/NEWS03/100713015/County-supervisors-approve-election-report-keep-registrar– (Riverside County)
The internal county review discussed today blamed “poor” communication with voters and a reduced budget for most of the problems.

CT: They Can Keep The Money
http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/they_can_keep_the_–_for_now/id_27691 (Updated) A federal court panel ruling Tuesday limited the ability of publicly financed candidates to keep up with the spending of millionaires who finance their own campaigns. But two candidates most immediately affected by that ruling—Dan Malloy and Michael Fedele—can keep an extra $2 million they got for the upcoming gubernatorial primaries.

FL: No More Free Postage For Absentee Ballots
http://wokv.com/localnews/2010/07/no-more-free-postage-for-absen.html
Jacksonville taxpayers aren’t footing the bill this year for absentee voters.

The Voting News Daily: Montgomery PA voters thwarted by Sequoia machines. Why CT Finance Ruling matters.

Must read: Old style ballot box facing electronic poll threat. “The most effective fraud is done by changing results after the count is done–how much easier is that going to be to do undetected when there is no paper trail to trip you up?” ~ Silvana Puizana,electoral expert..Richard Winger of Ballot Access News says “2nd Circuit Reverses U.S. District Court, Says Constitution Permits Massive Discrimination Against Minor Parties and Independent Candidates in Public Funding.” The ruling is a ” major campaign finance decision with important national implications.” says Rick Hasen of ElectionLawBlog…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Alabama
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/justice-department-to-monitor-elections-in-alabama-98250769.html
WASHINGTON, July 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor the primary runoff elections on July 13, 2010, in Barbour, Lee and Russell Counties, Ala., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

CA: ACORN Worker Sues O’Keefe
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7940

CT: Two Courts Rule For And Against Citizens Election Program
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3359 Its a mixed bag, disappointing in my view.
It makes no sense that giving supplemental grants to one candidate limits the free speech of an opponent, or that erecting higher standards for third party candidates serves a vibrant democracy.

CT: 2nd Circuit Reverses U.S. District Court, Says Constitution Permits Massive Discrimination Against Minor Parties and Independent Candidates in Public Funding
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/07/13/2nd-circuit-reverses-u-s-district-court-says-constitution-permits-massive-discrimination-against-minor-parties-and-independent-candidates-in-public-funding/

CT: SECOND CIRCUIT PANEL ISSUES TWO IMPORTANT DECISIONS ON CONNECTICUT CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016413.html In a major campaign finance decision with important national implications, a Second Circuit panel in Green Party of Connecticut v. Garfield agreed with a federal district court that the “trigger provision” of Connecticut’s campaign finance law (giving additional funding when a participating candidate faces a self-financed opponent or large independent spending against the candidate) is unconstitutional.

CT: Second Circuit Campaign Finance Rulings
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/green_party_of_
connecticut_v_jeffrey_garfield_et_al/ http://is.gd/dr1px
Today, the Second Circuit upheld the majority of Connecticut’s campaign finance reform system – including its groundbreaking public financing program – against a sweeping constitutional challenge.

CT: Connecticut public financing opinion announced
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/07/13/connecticut-public-financing-court-opinion-announced/ Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit overturned the subsidies that Connecticut provides to publicly funded candidates for state office so they can match the campaign spending of their privately funded opponents.

GA: Vaccinations offered at early voting (ouch!)
http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/headlines/98287894.html
“Vote and Vaccination” program offered by the Rockdale County Board of Health.

NY: EDITORIAL: Let’s get voting right in New York ($ for full article)
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial-let-s-get-voting-right-in-new-york-1.2099927
The comfortable era of lever voting machines is likely to end in New York in September. So we’ll have to get used to marking paper ballots and stuffing them into scanners that will read and count our votes – except when they won’t.

OR: A vote by mail glitch
http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/2010/07/12/a-vote-by-mail-glitch/
Most people probably won’t encounter this, but it’s worth considering as we think about the long-range future of vote-by-mail, which is probably growing, and of the U.S. Post Service, which has been slowly spiraling downward.

PA: Election Board Response to ERN Study on Vote Discrepancies: “We’re Happy”
http://www.electionreformnetwork.us/node/235

The Voting News Daily: Ohio Vote Center Pilots slash polling places. Ireland e-voting mistake still costs

Didn’t we learn anything from the Garland Co Arkansas fiasco, where polling placesw were cut from 42 to 2? Ohio didn’t: Montgomery, Clinton & Highland counties will drastically cut polling places and use vote centers instead.Montgomery Co. will go from 159 polling places to 4 vote centers. For people who can’t easily get off work, or have transportation issues – voting just got harder. If something goes wrong, more voters and votes are impacted all at once. More on India’s rebellion against electronic voting…Ireland-No end in sight for €50m e-voting saga..

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: So that all can vote
http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/8723426/article-So-that-all-can-vote?instance=home_lead_story According to Talladega County Probate Judge Billy Atkinson, blind voters in every precinct have the option of using an AutoMARK voting machine, which replaced Braille voting machines about four years ago.
…
“The Braille voting machines weighed around 2,000 pounds each and were difficult to set up,” Atkinson said. “Things moved very slowly, and we had to get AIDB to print..

AL: Cast your vote with a clear conscience
http://blog.al.com/tscarritt/2010/07/cast_your_vote_with_a_clear_co.html
To vote or not to vote: That is the question; Whether ’tis nobler in the runoff to suffer the outrageous choices that other voters might make, or to cross over into the opposing party’s primary and help select its nominee

CA: Disputed Riverside Co. ballots counted
http://www.pe.com/politics/gang/stories/PE_News_Local_votecount11.127bfeeef.html

CA: Election probe findings are ‘stunning’
Report: Not enough ballot counters hired; registrar’s resignation not sought
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100709/NEWS0301/7090323/
006/NEWS01/Election+probe+findings+are+%E2%80%98
stunning+ http://is.gd/dpHIp
The Riverside County registrar’s office hired fewer people to count ballots than in previous elections and had “poor communication” with voters about the results, an internal review of the June 8 election found
…
Dunmore has also been criticized for not notifying the public sooner that 106,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots were not included in the election night tally.

The status of those votes — more than 40 percent of the total cast — was not publicized until after 5 p.m. the next day. It had many candidates believing they were victors before the final tally was determined.

CA: Candidates to receive refund from county over sample ballot glitch
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/news/ci_15474426?source=rss
The Mendocino County Elections Office is giving money back to the June Primary election candidates after errors appeared on the sample ballots mailed to voters, according to Registrar of Voters Sue Ranochak.

CA: How a bill becomes a law in California
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/07/11/how-a-bill-becomes-a-law-in-california/
One newspaper’s take on how many bills become laws in California includes significant lobbyist involvement

CT: Bysiewicz: New Report Shows Connecticut Voter Turnout Increase 7th Highest
in the Nation http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/thereddingpilot/news/localnews/64075-bysiewicz-new-report-shows-connecticut-voter-turnout-increase-7th-highest-in-the-nation-in-2008-.html

FL: Emphasis on absentee ballots adds uncertainty
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/11/1725027/emphasis-on-absentee-ballots-adds.html
The unprecedented growth of mail-in voting lends further suspense to a year already testing many of Florida’s political traditions.

IL: General Assembly passes legislation to create more cohesive party tickets
http://www.examiner.com/x-51155-Chicago-Government-Examiner~y2010m7d11-General-Assembly-passes-legislation-to-create-more-cohesive-party-tickets
…requires candidates of the same party to be nominated together for governor and lieutenant governor during the primary elections.

MI: Court of Appeals expected to hear Barrow election appeal soon
http://is.gd/dpHJF
The Wayne County Board of Canvassers found last December that 51 percent, or 59,135 ballots in last November’s election were “irregular,” according to Barrow’s motion.

The Voting News Daily: Internet voting helps WHO? Groups clever strategy forces India to use paper ballots

Much on internet voting today. Internet security expert Eric Riscorla makes the case “Against internet voting pilots.” Technologist Collin Lynch addresses claims that i-voting is convenient: “It bears mentioning that we have to ask, convenient for whom?” and points out that under-served groups are least likely to have easy access to a PC or internet… Vote by Mail, Save $ Lose Democracy? …DO try this at home? Groups who oppose e-voting in India found a way to force the use of paper ballots: run more candidates than the machines can handle…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

Editor note: we apologize for delivery problems with yesterday’s voting news. In the event of delivery failure, please check our site at http://votingnews.blogspot.com Thank you!

AL: McAliley: Berry to be prosecuted
http://www.troymessenger.com/news/2010/jul/08/mcaliley-berry-be-prosecuted/
…Berry was removed from office in October 2009 when a Pike County Circuit Court ruling deemed she won the November 2008 illegally.

CA: Court-ordered vote count begins
http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=15048
RIVERSIDE – A 24-hour around-the-clock effort has been mounted to count the 12,500 late vote-by-mail ballots that were quarantined after the June 8th election.

Mrs. Dunmore says she’s will work closer with the Postal Service to circumvent ballot delivery problems in future elections.
…
Meantime, county supervisors will consider buying more equipment to speed up future ballot counts
CA: RivPE: Revamp of vote count urged
http://inlandpolitics.com/blog/2010/07/09/rivpe-revamp-of-vote-count-urged/ A probe released Thursday into Riverside County’s June 8 primary calls for $650,000 in additional equipment to speed future vote counting and better communication between elections officials and the public.

Supervisors ordered the examination June 15 amid revelations that 12,563 mail-in ballots missed the legal deadline due to a mix-up with the U.S. Postal Service and criticism that Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore took too long to count the more than 240,000 votes cast in the election.
…
Still, formal procedures for handling mail on Election Day are needed, the report concluded. Dunmore already is working on a written agreement with the Postal Service, according to the report.

CO: Computer Glitch Causing Online Voter Registration Errors
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/24190432/detail.html Voters Who Have Updated Driver’s License Information Since April, May Find Error Message Online

CT: What Do YOU [still] Want?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3337
I said voters want five things and what Connecticut could do about them in the short run (three steps over two years). The two years have past and little has changed:

CT: Unaffiliated voters need to register with a party to vote in primaries
http://www.thehour.com/story/488673

GA: Voting Rights Watchdogs Cite Ethics Issues, Call on Handel to Withdraw
http://bludgeonandskewer.blogspot.com/2010/07/karen-did-what.html
ATLANTA, GA – Leaders from two of Georgia’s largest voting rights watchdog groups personally appealed today for former Secretary of State (SOS) Karen Handel to withdraw her gubernatorial bid on grounds of unethical conduct during her tenure as Secretary of State.

GA: Minority Groups Join Voting Fight
http://www.gpb.org/news/2010/07/08/minority-groups-join-voting-fight
“The State implemented this matching data base system and we found out that it was having an adverse impact on language and racial minorities,”

NC: The latest on the Citizens United response law in North Carolina
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/07/09/the-latest-on-the-citizens-united-response-law-in-north-carolina/

The Voting News Daily: Florida must fix voting system flaws. NY 1 Person No Vote? SC must ditch e-voting

Florida Voters urge Secretary of State to address threats to next month’s elections: 14-17 Counties have defective firmware chip that causes errors in results reports. 16 Counties have problem causing optical scan machines to freeze or shut down…New York -One Person, No Vote?…Time for South Carolina to adopt paper ballots says Eleanor Hare, Assoc Prof , Computer Science at Clemson U: “As long as we use these unverifiable voting machines, we can neither confirm nor invalidate unexpected election results with certainty.” ..Possible boycott of India EVMs…

All this and more in todays’ voting news below…

CO: Denver rolls out ballot-tracking program for mail-in primary votes
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_15444918

CO: Colorado’s 2010 primary election voting-service centers
http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15445006
The Aug. 10 primary will be a mail-in ballot election, but there are 13 voting-service centers, where voters can drop off their ballots and the disabled can vote on touch-screen machines

CT: Secretary of State Has No Business Doing This
http://blog.ctnews.com/kantrowitz/2010/07/07/secretary-of-state-has-no-business-doing-this/ Urging people to join only 2 of the many parties in Connecticut, just because those 2 are the only ones having primaries, is just, in my humble opinion, wrong, wrong wrong for an official elected to uphold the integrity of elections for all parties and participants.

FL: Florida Voters Urge Secretary of State to Address Serious Threats to Next Month’s Elections http://www.floridavoters.org/downloads/FVF%20to%20SoS%20Threats%
20to%20FL%20Elections%20-%202010-07-07.pdf http://is.gd/dkIbw
Voting System Defects, Lax Cyber Security and Administrative Procedures & Inadequate County Funding Threaten to Undermine Upcoming Florida Elections

FL: Judge throws out Legislature’s redistricting amendment
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/07/judge-throws-out-legislatures-redistricting-amendment.html A Leon County circuit judge today struck from the ballot Amendment 7, the Legislature’s redistricting amendment aimed at undermining the Fair Districts proposals to create standards in drawing legislative and congressional lines.

FL: Legislature’s redistricting amendment declared misleading
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2010/07/legislatures-redistricting-amendment-tossed.html The Legislature’s decision to counter the Fair Districts Florida redistricting amendment with its own was declared misleading by Judge James Shelfer, who tossed it off the ballot. His ruling is sure to be appealed.

Shelfer said it took him three days to understand the meaning of Amendment 7 and that he couldn’t foresee how an average voter would grasp its description during a few minutes in the voting booth.

FL: Where’s my absentee ballot? Floridians can find out online
Voters can also check their registration status, polling location
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/state/os-track-absentee-ballot-20100707,0,5561499.story

FL: Military voters to get earlier ballots this year
http://www.bradenton.com/2010/07/07/2414273/military-to-get-earlier-ballots.html
MANATEE — Deployed military and overseas voters should be among the earliest voters in Florida primary election history starting Friday when absentee ballots are expected to be distributed.

GA: Paulding voters face changes
http://neighbornewspapers.com/detail/161253.html When the polls open on Election Day, July 20, there will be a few changes for Paulding voters.

Deidre Holden, supervisor of the Election and Registrations Department, said the changes include moving 53,000 of the 78,996 registered voters into new precincts, as approved by the United States Department of Justice.

The changes to the precincts were triggered by the reduction from 28 to 14

NY: More Voices for a Better Overvote Procedure in New York
http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/more_voices_for_a_
better_overvote_procedure_in_new_york/ http://is.gd/dkIfO A panel of leading computer scientists wrote to the Boards of Elections yesterday to emphasize that “[t]he most obvious solution to this problem is to set the voting machines to reject overvoted ballots… Because no software would be modified, testing of the change can be expected to be simple, straightforward and efficient, and to take no more than a day.”

The Voting News Daily: Fix New York voting machines flaw. Tanner: Why Voter ID won’t fly in Texas

ACLU Intervenes In Georgia Voting Rights Act Challenge…The Progressive Network wants audit of South Carolina election results…New York’s new voting machines could disenfranchise thousands if not fixed. “What’s striking about this problem is that it is easily avoidable. Election jurisdictions are able to control whether the machine ‘warns’ voters, or not.” ~ James Hicks, EVIC…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: L.A. Registrar Issues Report on My Recent E-Vote failure, Appears Tonight on Malloy http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7932

CA: ‘Human Error’, ‘Design Weakness’, ‘System Limitations’ Blamed for Failures I Encountered (Again) This Year on L.A. County’s E-Voting System
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7931
Registrar issues 5-page report, offering explanations for the no-less-than-6 different problems that occurred when I attempted to cast my ballot on the ES&S voting system last month..

CA: Salas-Vargas count dispute continues
http://www.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/all-in-favor-politics/2010/jul/06/salas-vargas-count-dispute-continues/ Only 12 votes separates leader Juan Vargas from Mary Salas in the 40th state Senate District Democratic primary election — the one that was supposed to be over on election day, June 8.

Now it looks like the results will be in limbo at least until Friday, when a Riverside County judge has set a hearing to consider whether 12,500 uncounted ballots can legally be counted.

GA: ACLU Intervenes In Georgia Voting Rights Act Challenge
http://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/aclu-intervenes-georgia-voting-rights-act-challenge
“The many U.S. citizen minority voters in Georgia who were incorrectly flagged as non-citizens under the state’s voter-verification procedures can attest to the fact that discrimination in voting continues and the need for Section 5 remains,” said Laughlin McDonald of the ACLU Voting Rights Project.

IL: Quinn signs legislation on early voting; controversy continues
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-07-06/quinn-signs-legislation-early-voting-controversy-continues.h
Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a controversial bill aimed at increasing voting on Illinois’ public university campuses this fall, but that won’t end the controversy

NC: Supreme Court decision affecting N.C. elections law
http://charlotte.news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/627804/supreme-court-decision-affecting-n-c–elections-law A bill is being built in a Senate judicial committee which would bring state law in line with this ruling. The bill is working to make sure disclosures on the ads are as informative as possible.

NY: Make sure every vote is counted
http://www.lohud.com/article/20100707/OPINION/7070304/Make-sure-every-vote-is-counted
“Numerous sources, including the state board, the voting machine vendor and independent computer scientists, have confirmed to us that requiring the machines to return overvote ballots requires only ‘checking a box’ in the setup file for these systems,” said Lawrence Norden, senior counsel at the Brennan Center. He added, “It will not cause delay to do the right thing.”

The glitch should be remedied before the machines are put into statewide use.

NY: Does not compute: Board of Elections needs to fix glitch in new voting machines
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/07/06/2010-07-06_does_not_compute.html
A dangerous glitch in New York’s new electronic voting machines could disqualify thousands of ballots this fall.
…
This is idiotic. The clunky old lever voting machines New Yorkers have used for decades make it physically impossible to choose two candidates for a single office. As it should be.

NY: BoE Says It Cannot Afford To Pay For Primary And General Elections
Budget battle set against backdrop of executive director stalemate
http://www.cityhallnews.com/newyork/article-1366-boe-says-it-cannot-afford-to-pay-for-primary-and-general-elections.html

The Voting News Daily: Unsafe at any cost – Internet voting. Illinois special election a $30M travesty?

Political Barriers to Military Voting…Unsafe at any cost – Internet voting..New York Leveling the playing field for mail-in voting?..Keeping Tax-Subsidized Corporate Money out of Politics…Illinois Special Election A $30 million travesty?..FOI to Riverside County over vote count mess…Illinois special election for Burris seat would cost $30 Million to have winner serve a 4 week term…Internet voting challenged in Gujarat India…

All this and more in today’s voting news below

Running a correction today, see article on Harrisonburg Virginia…

CA: Riverside County vote-count mess leads to records requests
http://www.pe.com/localnews/politics/stories/PE_News_Local_D_polnote05.22bbe73.html
Former Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron, who unsuccessfully challenged Supervisor John Benoit, filed a two-page request.

He is seeking a host of communications between the registrar’s office, the Board and Supervisors and county CEO Bill Luna and other documents relating to the disputed vote-by-mail ballots.

CA: UC Red Team report shows how e-voting machines and ballot counting machines can easily be rigged
http://www.resistnet.com/group/californiapatriots/forum/topics/uc-red-team-report-shows-how?xg_source=activity So, the newer 400-C/WinETP based Sequoia systems that were used this time, also had the above vulnerability, by exploiting which the outcome from scanned votes can be changed. Also, only 9 of the 47 defects that were found by the Red Team have been rectified in the latest Sequoia version.

CA: Ballot count finally complete: Runoff elections to be held for four local races
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15427295?nclick_check=1
Humboldt County.

IL: A $30 million travesty
Remember why this is happening.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-election-20100706,0,2890623.story We hope it doesn’t come to this, but it’s possible the state’s Democratic kingmakers didn’t just saddle us with embarrassingly ineffectual U.S. Sen. Roland Burris — they saddled us with a $30 million special election to pick a senator to replace Burris for maybe four weeks

IL: Seating a Presumptive Winner
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/07/06/seating-a-presumptive-winner/
However, another problem raised by opponents of the special election needs to be addressed, the short period of time in which the Senator would serve. In determining the length of that time, people are using the final canvass of votes as the determinant for when the new Senator would take office.

NC: On the ballot (constitutional amendment)
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/05/563109/on-the-ballot.html
The amendment – hard to believe it’s necessary, but there it is – would prohibit felons from serving as sheriffs.

NY: New York: Leveling the playing field for mail-in voting?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3334 There has been quite a stir in New York about the setup of their new optical scan voting systems. It may disenfranchise voters by not adequately warning them about overvotes.

OH: Board Of Elections Benefits From Voting Equipment Lawsuit
http://www.northcentralohio.com/newsboard/single.asp?Story=41924
The board on Tuesday found out it and 44 other boards of elections in Ohio will receive some goods and services from the settlement.

OH: Absentee voting helps military
http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/8389812/article-Absentee-voting-helps-military-?instance=homefirstleft “If you meet the qualifications to register to vote in Tennessee, but have not registered prior to requesting an absentee ballot and you fall into one of the above categories (military and residing out-of-country), your application for absentee ballot will be treated as an application for temporary registration.

VA: City Mopping Up Poll Mess* (Subscription required)
June 15 Confusion Triggers Response By Electoral Board
http://www.rocktownweekly.com/news_details.php?AID=48573&CHID=1

The Voting News Daily: DC Internet vote risks update. The reality of cyber threats. Bingo $ and ballots

Nearly 3 million overseas & military voters may cast ballots over the Internet in Nov. using e-mail or fax. Why worry? Eric Riscorla’s update on DC’s internet voting pilot finds more risks: “So while electronic ballot distribution is more secure than electronic ballot return, there still seem to be a number of potential attacks that would be more difficult to mount en masse with conventional paper-based ballot delivery.” Cyber crime is the also one of the fastest growing and most lucrative aspects of illegal use of the Internet…Election analyst GVL NARASIMHA RAO of India makes “The Case Against Electronic Voting”…Meanwhile Bangladesh thinks e-voting will prevent poll rigging…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

The Voting News Daily: Risks of DC Internet Voting Pilot for military voters. Letter to Holder: ban DREs

DC’s Internet Voting Pilot for overseas and military voters: “In essence, every attack people have proposed on DREs is suddenly an attack on this system as well. Some of these attacks may be detectable but in general one can’t recover from them. And the available evidence suggests that users are pretty oblivious to even fairly blatant attacks…”~ Eric Rescorla, a recognized expert in Internet Security and Distributed Systems…Protect Our Elections attorney, Kevin Zeese, sent a letter to AG Holder To Ban DRE Voting Machines…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: Legislator to appeal Democrats’ decision to deny runoff in District 69 *
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20100702/NEWS02/7020323/1009
Thomas and his attorney ex pressed concerns about the number of absentee ballots and about one precinct in which voters were supposed to receive different ballots depending on their district, according to Sabel, but 302 people in one precinct did not receive the ballot that should have included District 69.

CA: Judge delays RivCo election results
http://www.pe.com/politics/miller/stories/PE_News_Local_D_webvote.495b4cc.html
“If voters are going to have faith in the system, their votes must be counted,” said James Harrison, a San Leandro-based attorney representing the voters and county Democratic Party.

CA: Grand jury: Vote-by-mail would save San Joaquin County big bucks
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=84722&catid=2

CA: Bill seeks to redefine vote-by-mail deadline
http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=14919
RIVERSIDE – Assemblyman Bruce Nestande wants to correct the ‘wrong’ over the 12,500 vote-by-mail ballots that were not counted in the June 8th election.

Nestande has submitted a bill that would require future ballots postmarked on Election Day to be tabulated before the final election results are certified.

CO: Voters will get primary election ballots in the mail
http://www.northfortynews.com/News/20100720_PrimaryElection_ballots.htm
Political parties across Colorado on Aug. 10 will pick their candidates for the fall general election. Voters must be affiliated with a party to vote in the primary election.
Voting will be by mail-in ballot in Larimer County

CT: Bysiewicz registers new citizens to vote
http://www.norwalkplus.com/nwk/information/nwsnwk/publish/News_1/Bysiewicz-registers-new-citizens-to-vote_np_9014.shtml Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today marked America’s Independence Day by helping preside over a naturalization ceremony for 23 new United States citizens at Middletown’s City Hall

IL: Special Senate Election a Possibility
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/07/01/special-senate-election-a-possibility/
If Judge Grady, at the U.S. District Court, tries to take the authority for this process away from the legislature, the legislature should wrest it back and save taxpayers the money of the special election and not imperil the November election, especially the votes of those overseas.

MD: Justice Department probes election*
Crisfield voting procedures also under examination by ACLU, city attorney
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100702/NEWS01/7020303/1002/Justice-Department-probes-election CRISFIELD — The U.S. Justice Department is expected to begin its own investigation into the recent Crisfield election following allegations that improper and illegal voting procedures may have been used.
…
Jeon said city elections officials turned away a number of potential voters without giving them provisional ballots.

ME: City voters to decide: elected mayor and ranked-choice voting
http://www.pressherald.com/news/city-voters-to-decide-elected-mayor-and-ranked-choice-voting_2010-07-02.html The Charter Commission decides to send both proposals to Portland residents on the November ballot.

MI: Sec. of State candidate Ruth Johnson stirs fears of non-citizen voting
Elections officials say problem is non-existent
http://michiganmessenger.com/39119/sec-of-state-candidate-ruth-johnson-stirs-fears-of-non-citizen-voting

The Voting News Daily: Voter roll flaws impact 1 in 10 voters. Voters sue to count 12,563 RivCo ballots

Study of Los Angeles County CA and Florida voter rolls finds 10%+ of voters records had flaws that could prevent voters from casting a ballot..Butler County OH may settle suit w/Premiere over failure that caused 200 votes to go uncounted…Final judgement -ES&S must sell some assets…The USACM Releases Issue Brief on Military and Overseas Internet Voting…Meanwhile more Canadian voters will trust their ballots to their personal computers, the WWW, & an internet vendor. What could possibly go wrong?…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: Lawsuit filed over 12,563 misplaced ballots in RivCo election
http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-06-30/news/lawsuit-filed-over-12563-misplaced-ballots-in-rivco-election The Riverside County Democratic Central Committee and three residents are asking the Superior Court to prohibit certification

CA: REGION: Voters sue to compel count of ballots left at post office
Riverside County welcomes challenge; Lawmaker aims to prevent repeat of election snafu http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/article_0a147c84-d8b5-5a39-af9e-89c4bfa48405.html

CA: OB Voter Registration – Right to Vote for Ex-Convicts and the Homeless
http://obrag.org/?p=21804 “You should see these guys…before I talk with them they’re walking like this…” Mike slumps his shoulders and shuffles his feet. “But, once they know they are legally allowed vote and they’ve registered with me, they walk like this…” now he shows me the walk transformed, chest puffed out and chin high. Mike sums this up with a smile and a tap to my arm “Registering makes them feel GOOD about themselves.”

DC: D.C. Councilwoman questions election preparation
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/dc-councilwoman-questions-election-preparation-97609519.html Starting with the Sept. 14 primary, people can register to vote at the polls on election day. But Cheh appeared unconvinced that the board was ready to handle potential instances of vote-buying and voter fraud

ME: Our View: Charter commission should split decisions
An elected mayor and a new vote-counting method should be considered on their own.
http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/charter-commision-should-split-decisions_2010-06-30.html

NC: State Senate OKs absentee ballot bill
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/07/01/1010638?sac=Home
The state Senate voted Wednesday for legislation intended to ensure that soldiers stationed away from North Carolina correctly receive absentee ballots

OH: Butler County may settle voting machine lawsuit
http://www.journal-news.com/news/hamilton-news/butler-county-may-settle-voting-machine-lawsuit-791811.html Company in settlement discussions with county over 2008 election night glitch. The county is still in closed-door mediation with Premier Elections Solutions, a former Diebold Inc. subsidiary, over technical problems including a March 2008 election night glitch that almost caused more than 200 votes to go uncounted.

PA: City officials hear testimony of alleged election fraud
http://whyy.org/cms/news/government-politics/2010/06/30/city-officials-hear-testimony-of-alleged-election-fraud/40951 There’s still no certified winner in a disputed legislative race in North Philadelphia. City election officials held a hearing yesterday on charges of Election Day bullying and vote fraud in the May 18 Democratic primary

Internet Voting

USACM Releases Issue Brief on Military and Overseas Internet Voting
http://usacm.acm.org/usacm/weblog/index.php?m=20100629
USACM recommends that any internet voting be done in such a way that there is an independent record that can be used in the event of an audit or recount. Currently this means a dedicated kiosk system that also produces a paper record.
[The ACM U.S. Public Policy Council (USACM) serves as the focal point for ACM’s interaction with U.S. government organizations, the computing community, and the U.S.