OpenSecrets.org to have live web chat on landmark campaign finance case “Citizens United vs FEC” on Thurs. Public Citizen youtubes the issue in “Don’t get rolled.”Wired News finds 2 members of Fed committee (TGDC) that sets standards for voting vendors have conflicts of interests. Statewide voter rolls vs local voter rolls: an Alabama city may…
*Our apologies. Title to yesterday’s voting news dated 9/1 title incorrectly said for Oregon voters to bring ID. It should have read “Utah voters bring ID”. We apologize for any problems this may have caused. The subject line to yesterday’s news has been corrected and can be viewed here at this link:http://votingnews.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-citizens-united-matters-iowa-co.html Here is incorrect…
Tues Sept 1. “Five Reasons Why Citizens United Is a Truly Momentous Case”. Paper is in: “You can actually run a modern and efficient election on paper,”Hovav Shacham prof of computer science at UC San Diego. An Iowa County develops own e-poll book softwareVirginia standardizes student registration. A Jackson City GA councilman charged with rigging…
Aspen voter complaint asks if election was held by secret ballot or not. Virginia’s new registration rules would allow students to list dorm as residence. Maryland Election Director Linda Lamone helps block local campaign finance bill. Asheville NC spends $60K on additional early voting sites hoping to increase turnout. Should Voter Registration Be Automatic? –…
“We are a better, more inclusive and democratic nation because of the contributions of Edward Moore Kennedy. Let us pay tribute to his work expanding the franchise.” -Voting Matters. Aspen’s former finance director says that “The road to Aspen’s May 2009 election is strewn with the wreckage of credibility-eroding acts”.Connecticut’s public funding law held unconstitutional.…
The online version of the Aspen Times had a glitch so this was seen in print version only. COMMENT A35 SATURDAY AUGUST 29, 2009THE ASPENTIMES. COM • GUEST OPINION The city’s waning credibility Paul Menter With the exception of how we choose to value ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones, virtually everything important is…
Sequoia sells voter reg. source code. In Iowa, 50 counties will begin using electronic poll books. Pima county Arizona Ballot Case Back in Court Friday Aug. 28. The push for voter ID continues in Mississippi. An Aspen official says the city can’t turn ballots over for independent audit because ballots are only anonymous when locked…
RTA Ballot Case back in court tomorrow Friday August 28thBill Risner Will Ask Judge Harrington for Stay to Preserve Ballots During Appeal. Attend Hearing Friday August 28th2:30pmPima County Superior Court110 West Congress, Judge Charles Harrington’s Court room- 4th floor, room 472. The Hearing topic is the Pima County Republican Party’s Motion for Judgment on the…
A non-partisan research team is studying Aspen’s May election for ways to improve election transparency and verifciation. For their review, they require copies of the anonymous ballot images on an existing CD. The City of Aspen has refused a Colorado Open Records Act request to make this disk available. This survey is to learn voter…
U.S. Supreme Court May Unleash Flood of Corporate Money into Elections. Georgia case challenging e-voting heads to Supreme Court for a ruling. Ohio SOS asked to investigate allegations against Lucas Co BoE including altering ballots. Former Hillsborough Co FL Elections Sup Buddy Johnson spent $401,000 in HAVA funds on his own campaign. Tennessee may see…
e-mail alert Public Citizen: Once upon a time, corporate titans bankrolled our elections with no limits. There were no social safety nets, no real labor laws, and no voting rights for most Americans. There were the haves and have nots. This fall, a century of modest limits on corporate influence in politics could be completely…
“Why does U.S. seemingly insist on electronic voting machines?” asks an IT professional in Japan. Indeed. The Philippines calls for review of Smartmatic source code. Good reason not to require voters to dip fingers in ink: Afghan election observers report finger amputations. West Virginia lawmakers hear expert testimony that their ES&S ivotronic touchscreens have “serious…
U.S. officials eye hanging chads — in Afghanistan. “The citizens of Aspen are asking: Whose election is this anyway? Does it belong to the government — made up of the very officials who are candidates in each election? Or is it the people’s election?”. That question posed by voting activists Harvie Branscomb and Al Kolwicz,…
Bombshell: Former New Mexico SOS Vigil-Giron is accused of embezzlement, money laundering scheme, soliciting or receiving an illegal kickback and offering or paying an illegal kickback. Over $2 million can’t be accounted for. Its ok to spend millions of $$ and “test” electronic poll books in Tennessee, but its too hard to implement paper ballot…
We’ve got another hack story today. Video shows NEDAP hack done in 60 seconds. In Aspen more calls to make May’s ballots available for independent audit. Voting activist Harvie Branscomb is part of the audit team. Economic downturn mean less early voting locations in an Indiana County and consolidation of voting locations in a New…
The economy continues to impact election administration. Shrinking voter rolls for Annapolis Maryland. Plaudits for (Post-Election) Audits (video) :} The push for voter id in Mississippi continues. In Minnesota, instant runoff voting tested. In New York, one out of every five would-be candidates for local office gets knocked off the ballot. Meanwhile, the PA Supreme…
A new voting machine hack, intercepts NEDAP voting machine signal. Online Poll: Should Aspen’s ballots be disclosed for an independent audit? There’s a new Research Database on the U.S. Voting System and Voting Technology by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. NC Verified celebrates 4 yr anniversary of paper ballot law. A NM…
More articles on the “new hack”. 2 excellent videos: Video of Computer scientist Hovav Shacham explaining what the new hack is and why it matters. Video of California SOS Bowen at OpenSource World event. CA’s SOS used cloud computing to handle peak election night loads on the SOS website. Alabama lawmakers defend voting the machines…
The new Sequoia hack triggers humor amidst alarm and renews calls for paper ballots. Argument for open source repeated in wake of the recent Diebold software patch. Florida election laws may address google ads. Illinois voters will be able to register up to 7 days before election if gov signs bill. TX two step primary…
Diebold Quietly Patches Security Flaw in Vote Counting Software. Ballot dispute: The Aspen Colorado City Council refuses to release ballots for an independent review while the Aspen Times supports it. Texas elections databases and other parts of the SOS computer system have been down since last week. The GA SoS asks again for the U.S.…
The US Supreme Court forces issue on overturning ban on corporate campaign donations. Tennessee voting machine mess continues. Warning: New Mexico voters received a voter guide that is ridden with errors. Minnesota TV Stations are suing Ramsey County over access to 2008 absentee ballots. A recount changes outcome of an election in Pennsylvania. See what…
New hack demonstrated on electronic voting machines. (video) Internet Voting whackamole as Defense Authorization bill allows pilot. Tennessee hot mess: The dispute over voting machines may head for the courts. Tenn. Secretary of State detained voting activist as a terrorist. Aspen voters still seek ballot images from May. Bad economy pushes an Ohio county to…
A perfect storm is brewing for Tennessee voters for the 2010 election.Tennessee is set up for an election debacle, thanks to the states’ reliance on paperless electronic voting. Currently 93 out of 95 counties in Tennessee use these machines.Unless the Secretary of State Hargett takes swift and certain prompt action, thousands of votes will be…
In Tennessee, State Rep Odum calls on State’s top election official to do his job – implement the paper ballot law. Microvote voting machines for sale in Indiana, Newark Ohio selling punch card machines. Some 866OURVOTE applauds Kansas’ move to allow online voter registration. New Mexico’s SOS wants people to register now to officials time…
There are several types of voting machines and election equipment for sale over at GovDeals. Click on Election Equipment to see the latest holdings. Here’s a list of what is up for auction today: Inventory IDDescriptionAsset LocationEnd Date/Time ETStart/Current Bid BOE9Board of Election Votomatics Newark, OH8/15/09 5:35 PMCurrent: $16.00 Bids: 2 BOE9Board of Election Votomatics…
The sour economy is impacting election administration. WVa approved early voting but provided no funding to pay for it. PA activists need volunteers to audit their paperless elections. Woodbury County, Iowa dropped plans for Vote Centers when Sioux City threatened to sue. A Tennessee County took inventory and learned they were missing 1 voting machine…
The Elections Assistance Commission gets a YouTube Channel. What next, the EAC on Twitter? New York Counties discover costs of switching to voting machines; EVoter Education Project says that for NY: “A bigger problem in our opinion is that the new ballot scanners are not ‘stand-alone’ devices at all, as many have been led to…
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION1225 New York Ave. NW – Suite 1100Washington, DC 20005 EAC Newsline: August 3, 2009Public Meetings The EAC Standards Board will meet August 6-7 in Phoenix, Arizona.For more information, click here. EAC’s next public meeting will be Sept 2: agenda to be announced. Visit our Web site to view the webcasts of…
Sequoia/Dominion has succeeded in getting its machines in most New York Counties. The National Association of Letter Carriers) wants the the Postal Service to aggressively pursue “vote-by-mail” initiatives. Aspen is holding a special election by mail only, the town’s mayor worries voters will be caught unaware. A felon disenfranchisement case may head to the US…
It looks like Sequoia aka Dominion Voting Systems has taken NY. There are 62 counties in the State of New York, and 54 will be or are using the Sequoia Image Cast. Here’s a list from the New York State Board of Elections website: 1. Allegany County2. Broome County3. Cattaraugus County4. Cayuga County5. Chautauqua County6.…