Monthly Archives: October 2010

The Voting News Daily: India to get paper trail? DC Internet Voting Pwned – update. NY voter feedback poll

D.C.’s internet “Voting System Pwned by Michigan Wolverines” in public test. Great. What would experts find if allowed to “test” W.VA.’s military/internet voting system, or other states’ email balloting?..The NY State Board of Elections is conducting a voter feedback poll. So is the New York Daily news..Trial against Shelby Co TN Elections Commission starts Wednesday..Voting by mail? Check the postage!…Will The World’s Largest Democracy beat the U.S. to full VVPR?…

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

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AZ: Voter registration goes too far for some
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13261134
Bils pointed out that Arizona law requires name, address, birth date, a “yes” answer to citizenship, and the number a driver license or state ID, or last four digits of the Social Security number.

“They should put it someplace telling you what items are mandatory and what items are really optional which is the majority of the document,” Bils said.

CA: THE SMOKING TOILET
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/017242.html LA City Councilman Richard Alarcon has been indicted on charges that he didn’t really live in the home that allowed him to represent his district According to this report, the evidence against him includes utility bills showing that the home was only using 8.2 gallons of water

CA: Some Vote-by-Mail Ballots Delayed, More Pricey
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2010/10/04/some-vote-by-mail-ballots-delayed,-more-pricey Some voters in the Sacramento region may have to wait an extra week to receive their vote-by-mail ballots. And some will have to put extra postage on their ballots to make sure they’re delivered when they send them back.

CA: County Cuts Dozens of Polling Location Sites
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/County-Cuts-Dozens-of-Polling-Location-Sites/Qcq1BVI2ukSLdcznNb4UtA.cspx

IN: Election offices unaware of mobile registration site (for mobile phone)
http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=13264449

KS: Clerical error leads to voter registration mixup between Barton, Douglas counties
Woman had been listed in wrong county for 2 years
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/oct/01/clerical-error-leads-voter-registration-mixup-betw/

NC: Key election dates ahead
http://www.wdnweb.com/articles/2010/10/05/news/doc4caa4f729f818142119334.txt
Wynn’s replacement will be selected by means of an “instant runoff,” which lets voters rank their preferred candidates in three columns — first, second, third.

NY: Board of Elections conducts voter-feedback poll to learn about ‘complications’
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/05/2010-10-05_you_like_us_dont_you_board_of_elex_conducts_voterfeedback_poll.html
The city Board of Elections thinks it did a great job running last month’s problem-scarred primary election – so it’s paying for a poll to prove it. (NY Daily News has poll up too)

NY: Why Some Polling Places Were Tardy on Primary Day
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/why-johnny-couldnt-vote-on-primary-day/

NY: Late poll openings, paper jams mar New York City primary
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700070966/Late-poll-openings-paper-jams-mar-New-York-City-primary.html About 6 percent of New York City’s polling sites did not open on time for last month’s primary election and thousands of poll workers had not been trained to operate new voting machines that debuted that day, the city’s Board of Elections acknowledged Monday

TN: Trial Against Elections Commission Starts Wednesday (video also available)
Had intended to start Monday, but both sides fought over information not being released http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-court-election-democrat-challenges,0,7924646.story Attorneys for the Shelby County Elections Commission and Democratic candidates and others have fought hard since August 5th. This day wasn’t going to be any different.

The Voting News Daily: DC Internet Vote Test Oddities. Shelby TN: ‘Was this any way to hold an election?’

DC Internet voting trial suspended on Oct 1 citing “usability issues”. Oddly the Univ of Michigan fight song played in voter’s browser after vote cast. This may be the tip of the iceberg..Shelby County Election-“Was this any way to hold an election?”..Interest Group Spending Is Up and Anonymous..Make sure your vote counts; cast it in the right place..USENIX: “Security blunders dumber than dog snot.”…A Canadian soldier in Afghanistan will pay $241.21 to mail absentee ballot home, US troops have free express mail ballot return…

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

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AZ: Make sure your vote counts; cast it in the right place
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_df63170c-2d3e-5d1a-a9ad-4a8408330914.html Attention voters: Late this month you will receive a postcard in the mail from the Pima County Elections Department. You’ll probably be tired of mail from politicians by then, but do not toss this card. It is not junk. It lists the name and address of your polling place.
If you vote at the wrong place, you risk having your ballot invalidated. That’s what happened to 3,230 Pima County electors in 2008, according to a new report…

CA: Vote-by-mail ballots headed to California voters
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16234857?nclick_check=1
Voters have until 8 on election night to turn in ballots at their polling places.

CA: Fresno County cuts polling sites in half
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/10/03/2103656/fresno-county-cuts-polling-sites.html
Fresno County’s budget crisis is bringing an ugly new reality to next month’s election — a massive cutback in the number of voting precincts

CO: The politics of election quality
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101004/LETTER/101009943/1020&ParentProfile=1061
Starting with cordial private meetings and advisory e-mails we have gradually and patiently escalated our criticisms to appropriate authorities. As if to punish us, citizens with no power have been tarred and feathered with unwarranted blame and denigration.

CO: Colorado Republican Party May Lose Status as a Qualified Major Party
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/04/colorado-republican-party-may-lose-status-as-a-qualified-major-party/

IL: Can Rahm Emanuel Run for Mayor of Chicago?
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/10/04/can-rahm-emanuel-run-for-mayor-of-chicago/

NJ: Jury selection in voter fraud trial of former Atlantic City councilman Marty Small begins http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/jury_selection_in_voter_fraud.html

NM: RECLAIMING Their VOICE: The Native American Vote in New Mexico
http://www.concentric.org/reclaiming/ Native Americans living on reservations were the last ethnic minority to have been granted the right to vote in the United States.

PA: Right call on the Black Panthers (Editorial)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/03/AR2010100303620.html
Far from acting recklessly, the Justice Department did what every law enforcement entity is ethically obligated to do: press only those charges that are supported by evidence.

SC: Scary Video: Who Builds South Carolina’s Electronic Voting Machines?
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2010/10/03/scary-video-who-builds-south-carolinas-electronic-voting-machines
“The Trouble With Touchscreens”

TN: The Gang(s) That Couldn’t Shoot Straight* (Shelby County Election)
Wild charges and careless accounting: Was this any way to hold an election?
http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-gangs-that-couldnt-shoot-straight/Content?oid=2320888 What else might have gone wrong besides the glitch with early-voting data on Election Day? A good deal, say the litigants, their supporters in the Democratic Party and elsewhere, and, notably, Black Box Voting consultants Bev Harris and Susan Pynchon, residents of Washington state and Florida, respectively, who have served as the principal investigators for the plaintiffs.

The Voting News Daily: A Citizen’s Audit of S.Carolina’s Voting System. Is there ‘a ghost in the machine?’

The results of Frank Heindel’s FOIA: “Citizen’s Audit of South Carolina’s Voting System October 2010″…The Aspen Times has one of best articles I’ve ever seen on e-voting issues in “Unlocking IRV in Aspen”…Florida Case Puts Focus on Issue of Absentee Ballot Fraud…Hawaii’s eGov website listed wrong date for Nov General Election…2nd-tier parties sue New York State Election Board…Reminder-Monday is last day for half the states to register, visit Rock the Vote for help..India EVMs-“Is there a ghost in the machine?”..

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

The Voting News Daily: D.C. halts test of internet voting pilot. Shelby Co TN election trial starts Monday

The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics has suspended the public examination of DC’s internet voting pilot…NY Senate Elections Committee held a hearing on the recent primary. Lawrence Norden with Brennan Ctr for Justice makes recommendations…Judge won’t dismiss lawsuit against Shelby County TN Election Commission – “You might want to start preparing for yet another election, Shelby County.”..India police want to question 3rd person over voting machine “theft”…

All this and more in todays voting news below…

CA: OC Registrar of Voters Prepares Vote-by-Mail Ballots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur4nHvhXuxY (Youtube video of process)

CA: Ranked Choice Voting Opponents Appealing Dismissal Of Case
http://sfappeal.com/news/2010/09/ranked-choice-voting-opponents-appealing-dismissal-of-case.php

DC: Public Examination Period Suspended (internet voting for overseas/military)
http://www.dcboee.us/dvm/ “Due to usability issues brought to our attention, we have temporarily suspended the public examination test. Thank you for your intereste and participation in improving the functionality of this pilot project.”

GA: A troubling side to early voting
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia_elections_news/2010/09/29/a-troubling-side-to-early-voting-which-by-the-way-ends-monday/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_elections_news

GUAM: Overseas Vote Foundation New FY budget start enabled Guam Elec Comm to buy stamps and send overseas absentee ballots http://ow.ly/2MPoA

MA: Town clerks say red and blue ballots confuse voters
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20100930town_clerks_
say_red_and_blue_ballots_confuse_voters/ http://tinyurl.com/2eakgzh
Statewide, the top of Democratic primary ballots are red and the Republican primary ballots are blue. This has been the norm for 50 years, said Brian McNiff, spokesman for the secretary of state, who oversees Massachusetts elections.

ME: Clerk faces fine – Ross pleads ‘no contest’ to ballot mishandling charge
http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2010/09/30/news/doc4ca4c0bee0c87875860437.txt
The Maine Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint in West Bath District Court on March 31 alleging that on or about Feb. 2, Ross “in her capacity as town clerk in processing absentee ballots in the town of Bowdoinham election for selectman, did unfold one or more absentee ballots at the time she removed the ballots from the absentee ballot envelopes,” in violation of Maine law regarding …

MS: Clerks seek to stop write-in only election
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/09/27/2507662/clerks-seek-to-stop-write-in-only.html
The Laurel Leader-Call reports the lawsuit was filed last week in Jasper County Circuit Court.
The only person who signed up to run for the 13th District was incumbent Judge Robert G. Evans who died of cancer in July, after the candidates’ qualifying deadline..

NH: READER OPINION: Make sure vote counts, by Deborah Sumner
http://sentinelsource.com/articles/2010/10/01/opinion/letters_editor/free/id_413526.txt

NY: Testimony of Lawrence Norden before the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Elections http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/testimony_of_lawrence_norden_
before_the_new_york_state_senate_standing/ http://tinyurl.com/27dct7r

NY: REPORT FROM THE SENATE HEARINGS ON THE NYS PRIMARY
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/10/report-from-the-senate-hearings-on-the-nys-primary/
On September 29th Senator Joseph Addabbo, chair of the Senate Elections Committee held a hearing on the recent New York State primary when new paper ballot and optical scan systems were used statewide for the first time. The hearing focused on reported problems that occurred in New York City, the largest election jurisdiction in the country with almost 4.5 million registered voters.

OH: Secretary Brunner Issues Directive Regarding Voting Rights And Foreclosures; Refers Specific Cases Of Notary Abuse To Federal Prosecutors
http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2010/09/secretary-brunner-issues-directive-regarding-voting-rights-and-foreclosures-refers-specific-cases-of.html

TN: Judge won’t dismiss lawsuit against Shelby County Election Commission
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/oct/01/judge-wont-dismiss-lawsuit-against-shelby-county-e/ You might want to start preparing for yet another election, Shelby County.