Author Archives: Warren Stewart

The Voting News Daily: NM SOS email dump TMI. The Sarasota FL Election Merry Go Round. Manning up on elections

New Mexico SOS Herrera’s office may have violated federal law in a recent email dump revealing protected medical records of a former employee (and war veteran). The former employee recently resigned and alleged corruption in the SOS office…The Herald Tribune says “Sarasota County and the state should respect the will of local voters” and enact the charter mandated election audits…”It only took a few minutes for McCollum to file a lawsuit against the healthcare bill…Yet it took four years for McCollum to weigh-in on the rights of voting Americans in Florida, a state plagued by faulty elections.”~ Lani Massey Brown…More on the city of Aspen’s lawsuit to punish a voting activist who sought release of ballot images made by TrueBallot…

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

CO: Aspen Daily News poll regarding “recoup” of money from Marilyn Marks
http://bit.ly/9DeYVw As with all such polls this one contains a considerable and dangerous lack of pertinent information.
…
…the sum also includes direct costs to defend against a law suit which Marks filed to pursue fulfillment of an open records request. The open records request pursued a simple public benefit, namely public access to convenient digital copies of anonymous bal

FL: The election merry-go-round
http://bit.ly/99Ofi8
Sarasota County and the state should respect the will of local voters

FL: Healthcare: Four years to man-up for American voting rights against ES&S, minutes to rally against healthcare for all Americans (OpEd)
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Healthcare-Four-years-to-by-Lani-Massey-Brown-100325-41.html

FL: Prosecutors examine Riviera Beach ballot applications found in campaigner’s apartment http://bit.ly/aTuaMA
RIVIERA BEACH — The state attorney’s office is reviewing absentee ballot request forms and computer equipment found in the apartment of a woman who worked closely on campaigns with Mayor Thomas Masters, city officials said today.

FL: Martin County voters will be able to track ballots, registration online
http://bit.ly/aPaw1j
STUART — The Martin County Supervisor of Elections Office has updated its Web site, with a few new pages that eventually will allow county voters to track their vote-by-mail ballots and their voter registration status online

NM: Secretary of state releases un-redacted e-mails
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2010/03/secretary-of-state-relents-releases-un-redacted-e-mails/
Salazar “specifically asks that his medical conditions relating to his time served in Iraq not be made public.”

NM: Sec. of state releases sensitive information in public documents
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1490077.shtml?cat=517
…but new details indicate that too much information may have been released including violating a federal medical records law…
…
Other emails from the secretary of state’s office show that a man in charge of protecting the identity of domestic violence victims apparently had been working for the state under a fake name…
…But it turns out, Miller had a restraining order against him.

TX: Webb County will Test New Electronic System to Count Votes (type not mentioned)
http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=5600
Webb County’s elections administration will try out a new electronic equipment to count the votes in the upcoming runoff elections on April 13.

TX: You Only Need a Voting Card to Vote in Texas (no additional id required)
http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=5361 LAREDO, Tx.- In the state of Texas you just need a voting card to be able to vote; and the electoral laws mention that it is not necessary to present any other type of ID when you go out to vote.

The Voting News Daily: Bee Co TX FINDS 182 ballots. KY convicts 8 of vote buying.Internet Voting Debate YouTubed

WVA officials tout the use of “multiple keyholders” as making the state’s military internet voting pilot safer: “The county will be given a passcode to access voter information,” Harris said. “But it will take multiple keyholders to get to the information. This will prevent one person from having access.” WV officials must have missed reading about the Clay Co KY vote buying (like a co-op) scandal involving high level officials. In Clay County KY, “candidates banded together in slates and pooled their money to buy votes, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in some elections, witnesses said.”…Must see: Dr. Andrew Appel’s presentation at the internet voting debate in Germany,on YouTube…Hawaii picks voting machines finally…

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

CO: Aspen’s Marks asks judge to reconsider (make ballot images public-case)
http://bit.ly/9RrfEg
…Marks argues that the court has interpreted the constitution’s requirement for secrecy in voting inappropriately. The motion contends that the ballot itself is not secret, but rather, it is anonymous.

CO: Dump IRV (about lawsuit against Aspen activist who sought ballot images)
by John Busch, Aspen Daily News Columnist
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/columnist/139863
I have always been a little uncomfortable with the law about frivolous lawsuits. It’s coming into play locally as the city of Aspen seeks reimbursement of legal costs resulting from Marilyn Marks suit to force the city to provide her with photocopies of ballots cast in last May’s election…
…
It certainly discourages use of our legal system as remedy to injustice.

CO: City looks to profit from citizen activist temporary loss in court
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/city-looks-to-profit-from-citizen.html

CO: Aspen asks judge for $70K in legal fees in Marks suit
http://bit.ly/aWBPt3
Local government claims lawsuit over May election ballot images was ‘vexatious’

DC: DC to replace electronic voting machines (iVotronics w/paper on reel)
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/breaking/dc-to-replace-electronic-voting-machines-89049127.html
Voters can choose to fill out a paper ballot or vote on the machines.

FL: Candidate who lost challenges Davie election
http://bit.ly/akDQth Failed Davie Town Council candidate Freda Stevens has …alleging her opponent went to the polls and harassed and intimidated African-American voters.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Broward Circuit Court, accuses election winner Caryl Casey Hattan, the town, Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes and the Broward County Canvassing Board of misconduct, fraud and corruption in violation of state law.

HI: State selects Texas firm to supply voting machines
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2010/mar/25/bc-hi-voting-machines/?news®ion-state
Chief Election Officer Scott Nago says Hart InterCivic of Austin has signed a $389,000 contract to provide about 350,000 ballots and envelopes, as well as electronic voting machines and counters for the all-mail special election.

IL: Champaign County Facility Costs
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/29/champaign-county-facility-costs/
Looking at the facility costs related to voter registration for election authorities in Oregon and comparing it to Champaign County leaves one wondering.

KY: [UPDATED]: Clay County, KY Election Officials Found Guilty of Election Fraud, Vote Buying Convicted high-ranking officials include a circuit court judge, county clerk and school superintendent. Each face up to 20 years in broad conspiracy that included manipulation of electronic voting machines…
FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7765

KY: Jury convicts all 8 defendants in Clay vote-buying case
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/25/1197075/jury-convicts-all-8-defendants.html

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota officials try to kill election audit. Aspen strikes out at transparency activist.

It is a tough week for election transparency and the activists who work so hard for it. Sarasota FL officials try another tactic to kill the charter mandated election audits that citizens asked for: “It is the duty of the County Commission and the county attorney to protect and defend our county charter, not work to defeat it…This is dirty pool and it’s against the interest of the Sarasota County voters.” ~ Kindra Muntz,founder,Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, www.safevote.org…The City of Aspen is going after the election activist who sought to have Aspen ballot images made public….

I will be traveling Thursday morning through Sunday evening. If time and my laptop computer cooperate I’ll send out news on Friday….

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

CO: Marks v. Koch: last ten days: City brings out big stick: Aspen Transparency Litigation (city goes after activist who sued to get ballot images released to public)
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/marks-v-koch-last-ten-days-city-brings.html

CO: What’s next for Colorado campaign finance law? Possibly more laws
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/?p=8891

FL: Sarasota officials work to kill charter ordered election audits
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/13258
It also appears that the Sarasota County Attorney’s office has been working closely with Kathy Dent’s attorney and the Florida Secretary of State’s office to insert pre-emption language into the current elections bill before the Florida Senate, SB900, to crush our county charter amendment, since they didn’t win at the Florida Supreme..

FL: Voters rights watchdog group upset with official’s suggestion
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100324/ARTICLE/3241053/-1/NEWSSITEMAP
SARASOTA COUNTY – A voters rights group says a county attorney tried to circumvent the will of the voters and the state Supreme Court and get locally mandated election audits banned by the Legislature.

FL: Candidate who lost challenges Davie vote
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-03-23/news/fl-davie-election-lawsuit-20100323_1_poll-workers-voting-machines-caryl-casey-hattan

DC: DC Board of Elections Announces Award for Voting Equipment to Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/03/24/439

KY: Former judge-executive placed on probation
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/23/1193318/former-perry-judge-executive-is.html

WA: Reed doing well after surgery (SOS)
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/23/1182175/secretary-of-state-reed-doing.html

National

Levitt: Karl Rove Is Right About Importance of Local Elections
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_108/ma_congressional_relations/44522-1.html
Karl Rove has lately been broadcasting the importance of downballot elections in places with names like Brushy Creek. This is not a lesson in civics. It is a lesson in power. And he’s right.

Claims with No Data
Champaign County Clerk at 8:30 am under Elections
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/24/claims-with-no-data/
…Not so the voter registration reform folks. There are two problems, both of which point to a serious disinterest in data.

No, NYT, O’Keefe Didn’t ‘Pose as a Pimp’ Either (ACORN)
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7761 Yet more evidence that O’Keefe did not ‘represent himself’ as the NYTimes and its Public Editor continue to claim

Abraham M. Rutchick, “Deus Ex Machina: The Influence of Polling Place on Voting Behavior” in Political Psychology
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3138

” New Transparency Bill Would Bring Redistricting Out of Back Rooms: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015557.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation.

The Voting News Daily: ES&S Trade Secrets Trial. The 1st Corporate Ad. CT audits election. Why ACORN fell.

“Auditing election results isn’t just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential in order to guarantee the integrity of our elections,” said Connecticut Sec. of State Bysiewicz…Letter to editor criticizing Aspen Times: “An independently owned community newspaper should demand government transparency, not defend the government in demonizing the reformers.”…Trial set in Neb. election trade secrets case where former ES&S employees used copyrighted software to help state and local governments manage elections…

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

CT: Bysiewicz draws precincts to have Town Committee Primary results audited
http://bit.ly/abmDWP …As required by Public Act 07-194, An Act Concerning the Integrity and Security of the Voting Process, ten percent of the polling precincts used in the primaries are subject to an audit.

CT: What could a Secretary of the State Do?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2982 When I talk to candidates for Secretary of the State, one of my main themes is what they could do on their own authority as Secretary of the State to improve election integrity and public confidence…

CO: Protect independent Logic and Accuracy Testing
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/03/protect-independent-logic-and-accuracy.html

CO: A double standard (LTE)
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100323/LETTER/100329964/-1/RSS
Hooper, presumably with your blessing, refused to report the story of the city’s cover-up of the election problems, their coordinated efforts to discredit valid concerns of well-known election activists.

CO: The cover-up continues (LTE) http://bit.ly/9Wv6Qm

CO: defender of democracy (LTE)
http://bit.ly/bXrQ6h She (Marks) has asked that the ballot images be released so that those who actually understand the problems with the voting methodology can determine whether there is a problem. The city and its leaders,…do not want to hear the message.

CO: Glass Ballot Box Project–Aspen Election Transparency
http://www.glassballotbox.org/
The Glass Ballot Box Litigation project is an effort to keep election records (including scanned ballot images) as publicly available records.

CO: Council appoints new election commission
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/139810

CO: A double standard (LTE)
http://bit.ly/aWjRRN …Hooper, presumably with your blessing, refused to report the story of the city’s cover-up of the election problems, their coordinated efforts to discredit valid concerns of well-known election activists.

GA: Georgia secretary of state weighs in on electronic voting systems
http://bit.ly/9CWsit Most Georgians trust electronic voting systems that have been in place across the state for several years…
…
The elections industry is moving to seek some sort of paper verification system, according to Kemp, because there is a segment of the population out there that doesn’t trust electronic voting.

MA: Learning About Memory Cards
http://bit.ly/bhsfdv Sheila Parks w/Center for Hand-Counted Paper Ballots
This is a non-scientific, non random report about two jurisdictions and what they did with their memory cards both before the election and after the polls closed on election night, January 19, 2010…

MI: Detroit protesters call for city clerk to quit
http://bit.ly/dz0CDg
The Call ‘Em Out group contends widespread voter fraud in last fall’s mayoral election cost accountant Tom Barrow the race against Dave Bing.

NB: Trial set in Neb. election trade secrets case
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=12180460
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A January 2011 federal trial date has been set in a case in which an Omaha elections systems firm sued former employees over trade secrets.

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota Group: investigate Kathy Dent’s no-audit decision. ACORN to end operations. Election integrity v costs

The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent’s decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results. “We must hold our elected officials accountable,” ~alliance co-founder Kindra Munt….The value of paper ballots demonstrated in Pelham MA after public recount of the March 9 election. “Neither side can say anything. Here it is, this is it. Everybody that’s important witnessed it,”~ Mike Pietrillo,resident…Costs: The Indiana SOS wants consolidated Vote Centers in all 92 counties and says they will save money. That may be true but Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes says more study is needed first: “If the election process fails, it doesn’t matter if it saved us money or not.”…Al Kolwicz of Colorado Voter Group to Boulder County on the need for preserving polling place voting: “…it is vital that election cost is not awarded a higher priority than election integrity and voter confidence.”…

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

CA: Oakland ordinance to set-aside campaign aide money hurts Libby Schaaf
http://bit.ly/czEKXn

CA: The real cost of a special election to replace Newsom ($6.5M counting public finance funds) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?&entry_id=59517
San Francisco: Momentum for a special election to replace Mayor Gavin Newsom if he wins his bid for lieutenant governor has slowed considerably, largely because of its $3.5 million price tag.

CA: Internal Affairs: San Jose council rolled the dice and lost
http://www.mercurynews.com/internal-affairs/ci_14714886?nclick_check=1
…Back in August, the San Jose City Council reached a crossroads in its effort to limit “soft money” in elections by capping contributions to independent political groups…On a 6-5 vote… the council voted to keep the cap.

CO: Ivan C. Meek: No all-mail elections
http://bit.ly/dtRT4r …”Do we really want to argue that we can’t afford real elections because all-mail is cheaper? If real democracy cost a little more, do we just skip it for an administrative procedure?”~ Ivan C. Meek Louisville

CO: Polling place voting is more secure and more accurate than mail ballots
http://bit.ly/9FS1za

CO: Bullet Voting in Aspen’s IRV Election – Memo by Millard Zimet
http://bit.ly/cQ1AAm …purpose of this memo is to observe the actual voting data generated by Aspen’s May 2009 Mayoral and City Council IRV elections with regards to bullet voting, and to observe whether bullet voting impacted the outcomes…

DE: Delaware Minor Parties Get Publicity for Complaint Against Implementing Tougher Ballot Access Rules in 2010
http://bit.ly/abCjWg …The bill instantly removed several minor parties from the ballot, including the Constitution, Green, and Working Families Parties

FL: Group wants action on no-audit decision
http://bit.ly/aiGqGP SARASOTA COUNTY – The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent’s decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results.

FL: Florida Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Case on Petitioning at the Polls
http://bit.ly/bFNagE

HI: Hawaii Considers Law To Combat Obama ‘Birthers’
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/Hawai.obama.birth.2.1568916.html
If Passed, State Would Be Allowed To Ignore Repeated Requests For President’s Birth Certificate

IN: Election costs to rise if pilot vote center program dies
http://bit.ly/axWxGE

The Voting News Daily: Birther run for CA Sec of State. Irrational Exuberance for Internet Voting. Auto Voter Registration?

An interesting candidate to run for California Secretary of State, Orly Taitz…Oakland, CA debates whether to use funds from campaign finance towards educating voters about instant runoff voting…Wisconsin considers a bill to automatically register drivers…CNN has an “article” advocating for internet voting. (It reads like a vendor issued press release). CNN’s expert? Not a computer technologist or internet security expert but Everyone Counts CEO Lori Steel whose background is in finance. Steel worked as a private wealth advisor at Solomon Smith Barney. Steel bought Everyone Counts in 2006…

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

CA: ‘Birther Queen’ Orly Taitz to Run for CA Sec. of State
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7751
If elected, plans ‘investigation’ of Obama birth certificate

CA: California Judge Tentatively Rules Against Electronic Signatures on Petitions
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/19/california-judge-tentatively-rules-against-electronic-signatures-on-petitions/

CA: Should Oakland spend $255K for voter education? Mayor Dellums’ vote will be the tie breaker at city a council meeting next month.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/detail?entry_id=59490
On Tuesday night, an Oakland City Council vote about whether or not to redirect $255,000 earmarked for public campaign financing to educate Oakland residents about the city’s new voting system resulted in a tie.

CA: De La Fuente Offers New Campaign Finance Plan
http://bit.ly/b8gfTS

FL: Fla. House passes election law changes
http://bit.ly/caTi4o It would still require some groups or individuals engaged in “election-related activities” to register with the state if they raise more than $5,000, but not those focused only on issues.

MT: Montana secretary of state says more election judges needed
http://bit.ly/b8obgT
… to help deal with an anticipated shortage for the fall elections

NC: Beacon Investigates: A closer look at voter registration
http://bit.ly/9pZfAc

SC: Judge may rule on Columbia election today
Arguments for and against April 6 presented
http://bit.ly/adXBbI Columbia City Council schedules an election but makes it impossible for voters to register to vote in that election.

TN: Bill on county election administrators questioned
http://bit.ly/aChQTc State Rep. Bill Dunn’s attempt to “clarify” the duties of county election administrators is being criticized as a move to politicize the position and make it easier to fire administrators who were hired by Democrat-controlled election commissions

TX: Dallas County justice of the peace files suit, seeks recount
http://bit.ly/a9Xuvq
The suit alleges mail-in ballots were counted despite procedural violations.

TX: Bickerstaff: The real trouble with corporate cash in campaigns
http://bit.ly/b7whsK the corporate lobbyist is endowed with the implicit threat that, if the officeholder ignores the corporation’s legislative needs, the corporation may fund (directly or indirectly) a campaign against the incumbent

WI: Bill would automatically register drivers to vote
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/88416717.html
unless a voter opts out, the state would automatically sign the voter up by sharing information between different databases.

WV: West Virginia Moves on Corporate Campaign Finance Disclosure
http://bit.ly/92Wq0O West Virginia is one of over 20 states affected by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. The state used to ban corporate political expenditures. Now its ban is gone.

Internet Voting Watch

Dust Settles on Internet Voting Debate; Mea Culpa Included
http://bit.ly/cK80bF
We had some intense moments of heated disagreement and heated agreement.

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota Election Sup silence on issues. NH Town bans e-voting. Ventura on e-voting. Colombia hack contd

“Silence isn’t golden for election issue” writes Tom Lyons, FL Herald Tribune. Kathy Dent failed to announce that she would not conduct the charter mandated pre certification election audits. Other examples of Dent’s silence: when she left an entire Republican’s primary state Senate race off some absentee ballots that had been mailed; and the 2006 Fl 13 Congressional race – Dent ignored advice to warn voters about a problem with the touchscreens that could cause some voters choices to go unrecorded…New articles on Colombian vote hack which might be a denial of service issue and vendor says of course that no votes were changed….

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

CA: Tentative Ruling in Ni v. Slocum Issued By Superior Court
http://bit.ly/bd65Hz
…the Court stated: “The digital image of a purportedly completed initiative petition stored on a USB flash drive does not constitute a petition or paper for purposes of determining what the Elections Office must process.”

CA: Morales pleads guilty to voter fraud
http://bit.ly/d8Zb79 …Prosecutors say Morales received two mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 special election: one addressed to Molly Janice Morales and another addressed to Molly M. LaPointe

CA: Oakland mayor may break tie on campaign finance
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_14698787
…casting a tiebreaking vote that would preserve $100,000 for the city’s public campaign financing program while diverting another $100,000 for voter education, his chief of staff said Wednesday.

FL: Lyons: Silence isn’t golden for election issue
http://bit.ly/dpdqG3 Maybe Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent really believed there wasn’t time, for the March 16 election, to obey the Sarasota County charter.
…
Why did she dare keep this problem a secret? Why didn’t Dent and the county attorney announce that, despite the court ruling, they would still not be complying with the law this time, and explain why?

GA: Georgia debates online voter registration
http://bit.ly/dcRCQe …SB 406 would help voters, save taxpayer dollars and help prevent voter fraud

GA: Polling places set to move; other Montgomery precincts face consolidation http://bit.ly/b0pJj9 …Probate Judge Reese McKinney is asking the Montgomery County Commission to consider adopting a comprehensive reorganization plan that would consolidate smaller precincts into super precincts.

NH: Voters: Count ballots by hand
Petition article to prohibit computerized vote counting passes
http://www.ledgertranscript.com/article/voters-count-ballots-by-hand
LYNDEBOROUGH — By approving a petition warrant article at Saturday’s Town Meeting, Lyndeborough voters made their town perhaps the first in the nation to formally prohibit computerized vote counting and ensure the tradition of hand counting paper ballots.

NM: Interesting Ballot Access/Qualifications Issue in New Mexico
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015510.html

NY: Governor may call for special election by Friday
http://bit.ly/dhPVVS … the old lever machines will be in use for the last time in the special election – except in Allegany, where the districts took part in a pilot plan using the new electronic voting machines last year. The lever machines will be used because not all election workers have been trained in the use of the new electronic voting machines, which scan marked ballots and provide handicapped voters with a viewing…

National

Pew Center Issues Updated Cost Report http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/18/pew-center-issues-update-cost-report/

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota officials evade election law. Colombian election hacked. GA E-Voting Oversight

“It’s time for elected officials to abide by the law the same way citizens have to abide by the law,” ~ Kindra Muntz, president of Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections. Sarasota FL Election Supervisor Kathy Dent chose not to perform the charter mandated, court upheld, post election audits. Dent said there wasn’t enough time (since Feb 11 ruling) for her to hire an auditing team…

Hackers struck the Colombia’s legislative elections, disrupting the vote count says the company hired to transmit results of Sunday’s voting over the Internet…

Georgia Questioned on E-Voting Problems and Oversight – “The other thing is when former Secretary of State Cathy Cox wanted 54 million dollars to disenfranchise everybody, money was no object. Now when we want to re-enfranchise everybody, they’re worried about the cost.” ~ Garland Favorito of VoterGA…

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

CA: Yolo’s pilot voting project advances – again
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_14690519
A bill that would bring an all-mail voting pilot project to Yolo County overcame another hurdle Tuesday, passing out of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee on a 5-0 vote.

CO: Gardner No. 2 for Balink
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/noted/Content?oid=1640739
Whoever believes that misrepresenting the truth doesn’t get you anywhere has never met John Gardner.

For more on the incompetence of John Gardner and his “certification” of Colorado voting equipment see http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-75.htm
John Gardner’s role in helping pick Accenture for the failed SCORE I voter registration database is outlined at
http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-95.htm#cocontracts
When Gardner left the Colorado Sec. of State office former Chief Information Officer Brian Balay commented on Gardner’s abilities
http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-75.htm#corruption

CT: The Risks of Mail-In and No-Excuse Absentee Voting
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2978

FL: Officials break election law in Sarasota County, FL
http://bit.ly/dyDymM

FL: Criticism comes after elections officials fail to run an audit
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100317/ARTICLE/100319743
Sarasota elections officials drew criticism from a local watchdog group Tuesday because they did not run an audit of the school tax referendum, even though a Florida Supreme Court ruling last month required it.

GA: Georgia Questioned on E-Voting Problems and Oversight
http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0611.html

GA: After battle, Senate OKs online voter registration (to house next)
http://bit.ly/9BBzEw

ID: Photo ID requirement a step closer to law
http://bit.ly/9EOkeY Voters would need to bring identification to the pollsA plan to require Idaho voters to show a photo ID when they show up to vote is a Senate vote and a governor’s signature away from becoming law.

KS: Parkinson names Biggs secretary of state
http://bit.ly/d5nJ9H “…elections need to be open and we need to do everything we can to get people to vote,”

LA: Former Independence Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Causing Deputies to Provide False Voter Registration Information*
http://www.neworleans.com/news/abc-26-news/353833.html
According to the factual basis, Maurer caused his deputies to provide false information on their voter registration forms indicating that they lived in the voting district when, in fact, they did not.

MD: ACORN videos were a sham (LTE)
http://bit.ly/9zUuXu

NM: State voting machines secure at private facility
http://newmexicoindependent.com/49738/state-voting-machines-secure-at-private-facility Automated Election Services (AES) is storing a total of 43 state-owned voting machines without charge at its Rio Rancho facility…

NM: SFR Talk: The State of the Secretary http://sfreporter.com/stories/sfr_talk_the_state_of_the_secretary/5432/

The Voting News Daily: Clay KY vote buying contd. Cost vs Ballot integrity. Fed $ for NM voting system upkeep.

“The integrity of our ballots should supersede other considerations.” ~ Mary C. Eberle, President, Coloradans for Voting Integrity op-ed in favor of keeping precinct voting in Bolder County, Colorado….Voting activist Harvie Branscomb has an OpEd about judges decision to not hear the ballot image case in Aspen…Former Clay KY official jailed for dining with witness…Budget cutbacks make voting system switch in NY tougher…Cuyahoga County to get $7.5 million in settlement over former voting equipment…Another Bill in Tennessee to Discourage Voting…

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

AL: Voters react to Birmingham election change proposal
http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=12146611
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) – Birmingham voters spoke out Monday night about the prospect of putting the city council and mayor’s races on the same election cycle, giving Mayor William Bell an extra two years in office before he must run for re-election

CA: Plan to educate Oakland on ranked-choice vote
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/15/BANS1CF4F8.DTL
Many city leaders and activists worry that the so-called ranked-choice voting method will confuse voters
…
A proposal from council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Rebecca Kaplan on tonight’s council agenda suggests taking $225,000 from the city’s limited public financing program and spending it on voter education. That’s on top of the $146,000 that the Alameda County Registrar of Voters will use to educate the citizenry.

CO: Guest opinion: Keep Colorado’s voting integrityhttp://www.dailycamera.com/ci_14680272#axzz0iMCdFUqO
As County Clerks and Recorders around the state work to garner support for all-mail ballot elections, it is worth reviewing the vulnerabilities of this method of voting and how voting by mail weakens the integrity of our elections.

CO: 16 Colorado towns cancel municipal elections
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22849899/detail.html

CO: Bravo, Marilyn
http://bit.ly/bLWkVn
Elections are unfortunately becoming shrouded in unnecessary additional secrecy, complexity and obscurity. Evidence about election quality is regularly destroyed whether or not required by law, as it is for municipal elections.

CT: One Vote, Or Three Votes They Are All Important
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2973
Two recent interesting stories in the Courant that relate to past posts, both point to the value of individual votes.

FL: Group sues for Spanish ballots – Suit cites voting rights of U.S.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/14/group-sues-for-spanish-ballots.html
…”I’ve spoken to people, (and) some of them don’t vote or don’t vote completely because they don’t understand it and they are intimidated,” Rivera said. “We want them all to understand what they are voting for.”

FL: County poll workers will get tested for literacy, blindness
http://www.cbs12.com/news/county-4724704-test-workers.html

GA: Thomas A. Wilson: No voter fraud (LTE)
http://onlineathens.com/stories/031310/let_589346844.shtml

KY: Ex-judge denies steering witness testimony
Maricle testifies for second day in vote-fraud trial
http://bit.ly/9yozhZ

KY: Former Clay official jailed for dining with witness
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/16/1184077/former-clay-official-to-be-jailed.html
FRANKFORT — Former Clay County school Superintendent Douglas C. Adams will spend the next several days in jail for having dinner at a Frankfort restaurant with a witness in the federal vote-fraud case against Adams and others.

NM: Federal agency pays NM’s big maintenance bill for voting machines
http://bit.ly/blmBpA
A federal agency is ponying up around $600,000 this year to provide upkeep for New Mexico’s more than 1,900 voting tabulators and voting machines.

The Voting News Daily: ES&S Final Judgement. School $ to fund Hawaii spec election. Internet voting debate

“Our leaders have slowly taken away our rights to control our elections as we mindlessly shirked our responsibilities of oversight, assuming that the government would substitute for us.” ~ Marilyn Marks in response to judge’s dismissal of case to review ballot images…A top UK election official is promoting internet voting, meanwhile citizens and groups from around the world will meet this week in Munich to debate the pros and cons of internet voting among other things…A New Hampshire town has banned any concealed vote counting…A Corporation wants seat in Congress…

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

CA: Santa Clara County elections panel has yet to meet — 15 months after inception *
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_14661895
On the historic day Barack Obama was elected president, dozens of electronic voting machines for the disabled broke down in Santa Clara County. Monitors observed poll workers inappropriately asking voters for ID and failing to assist non-English speakers, as required by law…

CO: A blow to election transparency (Guest Opinion)
http://bit.ly/9VQMqX
In recent years, Aspenites have been overlooking their rights and responsibilities to oversee their local democratic process

CO: Worcester comments miss the mark (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/139693
the greater issue is the importance of all citizens in a free society to have the opportunity to question our government.

CT: Testimony: Rescanning On Same Type Scanner Would Gut Post-Election Audit
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2961

FL: Florida: Group sues for Spanish-language ballots
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/14/group-sues-for-spanish-ballots.html

HI: School repair fund raided to help pay for Hawaii special election
http://bit.ly/btOylH

HI: Military voting law could affect Hawaii primary
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/ap_military_hawaii_primary_031410/

IL: Local officials eye probe of voting machine merger
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2086498,2_1_AU06_VOTING_S1-100306.article
But for Kane County, which uses competitor Hart InterCivic, the worry is that a new mega-company will drive Kane’s vendor out of business.
…
Among the concerns raised in the 22-page complaint is a mention of DuPage County Election Commission Executive Director Robert Saar. Saar is cited as an example of the problematic revolving door between public officials and vendor personnel.

According to the complaint, Saar was receiving royalties for a polling place device while DuPage was doing business with the company that sold the device. Saar helped write the software for “Ask Ed,” an election device. He failed to disclose this relationship to the county, the complaint says.

MA: Millville hopes to recover from election mistake
http://bit.ly/bqhPkZ

MD: Campaign stunt launches a corporate ‘candidate’ for Congress
http://bit.ly/9esnrp
William Klein, a “hired gun” who has been enlisted as Murray Hill’s campaign manager, said the firm appears to be the first “corporate person” to run for office and is promising a spirited campaign that “puts people second, or even third.”

MD: Murray Hill Incorporated is Running for Congress
Corporations are people too!
http://murrayhillincforcongress.com/

MD: Murray Hill the Corporate Candidate
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/03/your-daily-dose-of-news-12.html

NH: New Hampshire Town Citizens Prohibit Concealed Vote Counting by Computers or Any Other Method http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7744

NY: Owego elections revive hand-counts
Lack of scanner training forces move
http://bit.ly/cXHx9m Once the training is completed, programming will be done by county election board officials

WA: Gregoire inks ballot design improvements (House Bill 2496)
http://bit.ly/cgFXuY

The Voting News Daily: Antitrust not enough.MD paper ballots on hold. NM SOS mismanaged say former employees

The “Un-Merger” is a step in the right direction. But there’s more work to be done. ES&S election monopoly blocked. Still at least 17 ways to steal or botch your next election…Ballot brouhaha in Aspen Colorado….Hans A. von Spakovsky appointed to Fairfax VA election board…

“How can Florida, North Carolina and so many other states already have op scan, but we can’t do it here in Maryland?” ~ Gail Ewing of Potomac is a retired at-large Montgomery CO. Council member. The answer is – Linda Lamone. Maryland had the money to buy the optical scanners back in 2006. Then Governor Ehrlich allocated $28.5 million for optical-scanners in March 2006. But State Election Chief Linda Lamone spent the money on Diebold electronic poll books instead, causing nothing but problems for judges when the poll books malfunctioned. Lamone was later censured by the next Governor O’ Malley for allowing Diebold to use her picture and endorsement in sales literature featuring the poll books.

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

AK: Lessmann resigns from election commission
http://thecabin.net/news/local/2010-03-12/lessmann-resigns-election-commission
In a second news release issued by Lessmann on Friday, he calls for the resignation of Faulkner County Clerk Melinda Reynolds, stating that, “He felt (Reynolds’) admission of violation of election laws relative to absence ballots (left him with) no choice,” and that, “Her partisan politics have driven his decisions.”

AZ: Official: Voters Given Wrong Ballot *
http://www.kpho.com/news/22804460/detail.html

CA: Pen And Paper Signatures v. Electronic Signatures
http://bit.ly/ctnUlL

CA: Proposal would divert funding for voter education
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14658959
“…we question whether Oakland should be spending extra money on a separate voter education effort,” (League of Women Voters opposing)

CA: Spanjian Exits District 8 Race – Who Benefits?
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7903#more
But Prozan’s success depends largely on how much District 8 voters use Ranked Choice Voting. It’s easy to see Prozan and Wiener split the “moderate” vote with Mandelman squeaking ahead, but enough voters casting a second-choice vote for the same candidate could upend the conventional wisdom.

CO: Ballot brouhaha
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/139658
Why has the city been so aggressively holding back anonymous May 5 images of ballots?

CO: Letter to Aspen City Council regarding Dismissal of Marks v. Koch and attached letter to editor http://bit.ly/dfv4Mb Harvie Branscomb

CO: Be mindful when voting
http://bit.ly/8YiJNY
If a citizen receives a mail ballot, he or she must use that ballot to vote

IN: Bill to continue vote centers hits snag
Amendment could bring down measure to keep 3-county pilot program going
http://www.pal-item.com/article/20100311/NEWS01/3110305/1008

KY: Kentucky’s Disturbing Disenfranchisement Numbers
http://bit.ly/aQEu18
A new report by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights finds that nearly one-in-four African Americans has lost the right to vote in Kentucky.

MD: Gail Ewing: Accountable voting put on hold
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122010/policol175947_32553.php
Op scan advocates such as Rebecca Wilson, co-founder of Save Our Votes, cry foul, saying the state Board of Elections “low-balled the cost of keeping the touch screens and overestimated the costs for op scan” for the governor last fall. They purport that bringing the new system on board actually would cost less than keeping the touch screens…

MI: Court: Voting rolls are public record
http://www.record-eagle.com/statenews/local_story_070072546.html

The Voting News Daily: Antitrust and Your Vote.Clay KY vote buying by the mighty.Palm Beach paper ballots save day. ACORN funding ban stricken.

The resignation letter of Former New Mexico State Elections Director A.J. Salazar is now available online. The letter outlines allegations against SoS Herrera and Deputy SoS Don Francisco Trujillo: ethics violations, cronyism, political activity at the office, concerns about chain of custody of voting machines, and retaliation….WHO didn’t buy votes in Clay County Kentucky?… Good thing they have paper ballots in Palm Beach FL. This Tuesday: “Memory cartridges affecting five Jupiter precincts as well as precincts in Palm Beach Gardens and Tequesta were corrupted and could not be read.”… Canadians are waking up to risks of internet voting…..

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

CA: The California Top Two Primary Proposal and Third Parties
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015456.html

CA: Green Party’s San Francisco Supervisor Changes to the Democratic Party
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/11/green-partys-san-francisco-supervisor-changes-to-the-democratic-party/
Mirkarimi had been the Green Party’s only county supervisor in California

CO: Commentary on Dismissal of Marks v. Koch – Aspen Election Transparency
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/commentary-on-dismissal-of-marks-v-koch.html
On Wednesday District Court Judge Boyd decided, months into the process of litigation, to dismiss a case brought against the Aspen City Clerk to obtain public access to anonymous digital ballot images from a May 5 first-time in Colorado Instant Runoff Voting municipal election. The dismissal comes two days before an important deposition of the election contractor would have explained the election process on public record and a mere two weeks before the planned trial date.

FL: Late results, fouled cartridges hampered Tuesday’s Palm Beach County election tallies * (good thing they had paper ballots) http://bit.ly/b4fSJF
Web site problems, corrupted voting-machine memory cartridges and the late arrival of ballots from Delray Beach delayed the posting of complete election results until just after midnight following Tuesday’s municipal elections.
…
The company that hosts the site, Tampa-based SOE Software, said a file uploaded from the supervisor’s office at 8:15 p.m. had become corrupted. The file finally uploaded at 9:20 p.m. The supervisor’s Web site was subsequently updated four more times by 12:19 a.m. Wednesday, according to SOE Software records.

Memory cartridges affecting five Jupiter precincts as well as precincts in Palm Beach Gardens and Tequesta were corrupted and could not be read. That problem typically happens when poll workers neglect to shut down the voting machines before removing the cartridges.
Bucher’s office got the results from those precincts by doing a machine count of the paper ballots, which serve as a backup. The count for Jupiter ended just before midnight.
…
It’s not the first time problems have plagued the cartridges. During a special congressional primary in February, seven voting machine memory packs were corrupted, affecting nine precincts.

FL: Jupiter Election Results *
http://coastalflorida.blogspot.com/2010/03/jupiter-election-results.html
Voting machine cartridges did not read properly for several precincts in Jupiter, forcing election workers to resort to a backup method, counting paper ballots with a machine. The glitch delayed final election results for Jupiter…

IL: Getting Stonewalled on Citizenship Questions
Champaign County Clerk
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/11/getting-stonewalled-on-citizenship-questions/ …It’s very simple. If you’re going to suggest that we automatically add people to the voter rolls from government databases, shouldn’t you at least be able to tell the public and policy makers about the ability of those databases to tell us who is a citizen or not?

The Voting News Daily: $4M made on Clay KY vote buying.FL,TX vote glitches. Internet voting race to the bottom

This IS the March 10 voting news. (We started late last night hence 3/9 date on post). Upton Co TX officials believe a software flaw allowed early voted ballots to be double counted.(ES&S is the vendor)… A loss for Aspen voters: A judge dismissed a lawsuit to make the digital images of Aspen’s May 2009 IRV election public. You may remember that Humboldt County California makes digital images of their ballots available to the public on the intenret…Clay County KY witnesses testify-bribes, shootings, beatings marred Clay elections, 4$ Million in financial gain… Canada May Join Internet Voting Race To The Bottom…The BC Green Party is calling for internet voting – but experts say internet voting is inherently insecure and takes away the secret ballot… Let’s Not Rush Towards Online Voting

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

CA: Electronic Signatures To Be Tested In Court
http://bit.ly/dCaiqj

CO: Judge dismisses Marks’ lawsuit over Aspen election
http://bit.ly/dyObMG Judge James Boyd of the Ninth Judicial District Court dismissed the case, citing the Colorado state constitution, which requires the city clerk to keep ballots secret.

CT: Canada May Join Internet Voting Race To The Bottom
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2951
As CTVotersCount readers know we have long opposed internet voting, unless and until a viable mechanism is reviewed and approved by the majority of Computer Scientists, Security Experts and Advocates

FL: Glitch temporarily freezes results on Palm Beach County elections Web site*
http://bit.ly/csvbgC
RIVIERA BEACH — An unexplained computer problem delayed the publishing of election results for more than an hour Tuesday night on the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Web site.

FL: Incumbents win in Jupiter, Tequesta elections * (article does not elaborate)
Glitches in vote counting delay Jupiter results until after midnight.
http://bit.ly/aK6jiP …Golonka earned 54 percent of the vote, while Burg received 35 percent, in an election marred by a glitch in the voting machine results for seven precincts, which delayed the final tally until after midnight.

GA: Precinct, poll location changes will affect almost 42,000 voters
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/March/09/Poll_changes.html
Lawrenceville, Ga., (March 9, 2010) – Gwinnett County will reduce the number of voting precincts from 163 to 155 to save money and operate more efficiently.

GA: Secretary of State Kemp Applauds Georgia House Passage of MOVE Act Legislation
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/March/09/MOVE_Act.html

KY: Agents say defendants made $4 million from fraud
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=12117235
FRANKFORT, KY (AP) – Federal agents have testified that a scheme to buy votes in Clay County netted those accused more than $4 million in salaries and contract payments since 2002.

KY: Clay officials accused of reaping $4 million
Steered contracts, jobs, agents say
http://bit.ly/aLADpU …One charge in the indictment is the money they made was laundered because it resulted from illegal election activity.

KY: Bribes, shootings, beatings marred Clay elections, witnesses testify *
http://bit.ly/bJondR

MN: Consensus leads to voting process fix. Hard work to build bipartisan solutions pays off. http://bit.ly/bmNvYD

TX: Upton officials blame glitch *
Inflated results, silence lead to uproar over controversial totals
http://www.oaoa.com/news/last-44123-ballot-officials.html
Kristin E. Reid, the county’s Democratic chair, said Monday that an apparent glitch in the county’s electronic voting system appears to have tabulated early voting numbers twice, distorting the results.

The Voting News Daily: New Mexico SOS corruption claim-update. Internet voting and validity of elections

Schumer Applauds Justice Department for Requiring ES&S to Sell Off Voting Machine Unit Purchased from Diebold… Another warning about internet voting: “In the zeal to increase voter turnout, the reliance on Internet voting could inadvertently place the validity of the election process at risk.” ~ Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law…. The Election Law Journal releases study “Long Lines at Polling Stations? Observations from an Election Day Field Study”…von Spakovsky Attacks DOJ Civil Rights Lawyers…

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

CA: California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission: Do it Yourself Gerrymandering!
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/03/08/do-it-yourself-gerrymandering/

CT: A Thought Provoking Day at another Recanvass
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2941
…A properly conduced recanvass that results in the losers accepting the result and moving on is an important benefit – even if the election result is changed and the winners and losers change.

MI: Mississippians will have the chance to vote on voter ID
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=12106045

MT: Bozeman company sues over campaign finance law
http://bit.ly/9WSrQo
A Bozeman company is suing two state offices over a law dating back to 1912 that bans corporate spending in elections.

NM: Former Elections Chief Alleges Corruption in Secretary of State’s Office
http://bit.ly/cRNEMl
New Mexico’s top elections official and her deputy have engaged in rampant impropriety at the Secretary of State’s Office during the past year, according to AJ Salazar, who resigned Feb. 26 as the Office’s bureau of elections director.

TX: County rejects veteran’s vote *
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/County-rejects-veterans-vote
Williamson County…Man, 90, told signature was not his
Alfred Dula, 90, received a notice in the mail after the March 4 primary election.

TX: Texas Military and Overseas Voters, Return your Ballot for the April 13, 2010 State Run-Off Election Now!
http://www.fvap.gov/global/news/nr6-2010.html

VT: IRV repeal expected to sail through legislature
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=12104156

WA: Economics make it hard to keep polls open (opinion)
http://bit.ly/bSoQra

ES&S Merger News

DOJ TO REQUIRE ES&S TO SELL OFF ASSETS FROM DIEBOLD MERGER
CITING ANTI-TRUST CONCERNS (includes maps showing degree of control by vendor)
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7733

Schumer Applauds Justice Department for Requiring ES&S to Sell Off Voting Machine Unit Purchased from Diebold
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/03/09/436

“Justice Department Requires Key Divestiture in Election Systems & Software/Premier Election Solutions Merger“
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015428.html

Feds Move to Break Voting-Machine Monopoly
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/ess-sued-in-antitrust-cas/

National

Voting-Machine Flaws and Paper Ballots (LTE in NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/opinion/lweb09vote.html

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias Reponds to Rove Attacks
http://bit.ly/9dqc2c

Spencer and Markovits, “Long Lines at Polling Stations?”
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3128
Douglas M. Spencer and Zachary S. Markovits just published a study in the current issue of the Election Law Journal, “Long Lines at Polling Stations? Observations from an Election Day Field Study.”

von Spakovsky Attacks DOJ Civil Rights Lawyers, Including Three Well Known to Readers of this Blog: Sam Hirsch, Sam Bagenstos, and Julie Fernandes
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015438.html

2008 Ballot Measure Overview
Interests Spend Lavishly To Influence Voters On Hot-Button Issues
http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=417

“To Fix the Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision, Copy the Brits”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015436.html

International

Canada: Geist: Hackers, viruses threaten online voting validity
http://bit.ly/aMUGYN
More recently, the Netherlands used Internet voting as part of its 2006 parliamentary elections.

The Voting News Daily: DOJ: Voting Firms Cant Merge. Internet Voting Utopianism. Hawaii finds $1.3 M election funds it forgot

“The nation’s two primary electronic voting machine manufacturers cannot merge their operations, the Justice Department announced on Monday”…How did the merger ever get so far so fast? The NY Post reports that critics believe the DOJ didn’t give this as much attn because of the anti trust head Christine Varney recusing herself. Varney’s former election firm was hired by ES&S.

Hawaii officials “found” the $1.3 M needed to run the special election to fill Neil Abercrombie’s seat in a “forgotten account”…

Internet voting utopianism: “This inconvenient truth exposes the lie of Internet voting as being an easy, cost-saving citizen convenience, and so in most cases what I see is Internet voting advocates who are either ignorant of these issues, ignoring these issues, or deliberately trying to spin them” – Richard Akerman writing for PaperVoteCanada….

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

CA: Fisher: Many hats, many contributions
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_14632307
San Mateo Co. …Slocum, 62, recently announced that he won’t run for re-election…
…
When counties converted to electronic voting after the 2000 hanging-chad fiasco, he pushed for paper records of all votes cast….

CA: More Spanish-speaking voters sought
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14524934
As San Bernardino County’s Latino population increases, election officials are going to great lengths to reach out to Spanish-speaking voters.

FL: Despite law, some elections officials want to keep touch-screen voting
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article1077763.ece
It looks like the Legislature is about to grant their wish, much to the frustration of Secretary of State Kurt Browning, the state’s chief elections official.
…
“They’re whining,” Browning said of elections supervisors. “They’ve known this law has been on the books since 2007, and they will have had five years to comply with this change.”

HI: Abercrombie: Money’s there to fill vacant seat
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12097495
But a special election to fill his congressional seat will cost nearly $1-million. Abercrombie says the state already has the money, when the office of elections found $1.3-million in a forgotten account.

IN: Vote centers remain in question at Statehouse
http://www.jconline.com/article/20100306/ELECTION01/100305035
The most contentious part of legislation that affects the future of vote centers may be dropped as negotiations continue into next week.

KS: Kan. House to weigh voting rights, mentally ill
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=12088799
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas House committee is considering a proposed change in the state constitution to protect the voting rights of the mentally ill

OH: ACORN joins Browns on PD Front page (video)
http://bit.ly/b6DjFX

MO: Financial statement details county spending for 2009
http://bit.ly/ciLKp0
Another election expense from the general revenue fund was $8,134 to Sequoia Voting Systems for maintenance of Direct Recording Electronic voting machines and optical scan machines.

NH: New Hampshire House Sets Floor Vote on Ballot Access Bill
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/08/new-hampshire-house-sets-floor-vote-on-ballot-access-bill/

NM: Despite voting centers, turnout disappointing
http://bit.ly/ce2ImS

OR: Oregon 4th State to Offer Online Voter Registration
http://bit.ly/cRVM0C

TX: Upton Co. Election Mess Reported to State Officials by Rankin Voters 3/5/10 *
http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=18308
Some Upton County Residents are still wondering what’s going on, three days after the primary election, where 600 extra votes were counted that did not have matching signatures.

The Voting News Daily: Ex NM Elections chief blasts SOS. Indiana justice weigh voter ID law. Why internet voting is insecure.

The Muscogee County GA Board of Elections just voted to cut polling places from 48 to 28. “The changes that they’re proposing to make will hurt African Americans and Hispanic voters…” says Marcus Hunter, Columbus NAACP…What could go wrong with internet voting? Ask UVA students with last names beginning with S – Z who were unable to vote in the student body election… Court hears that Indiana’s voter id law has not feretted out any fraud…Case study by Dr. Barbara Simons on why internet voting is insecure…

Al: Bill would require voters to show valid photo ID
http://www.theplainsman.com/view/full_story/6562207/article-Bill-will-require-voters-to-show-valid-photo-IDs?instance=home_news_lead_story

AZ: ‘Missing’ ballots might just be undeliverable
http://tinyurl.com/yz39hgt Coconino County…If you haven’t received your ballot in the mail for the city primary election or the Flagstaff Unified School District budget override on March 9, now is the time to contact the county elections office to get a new ballot issued — and possibly update your address.

CA: Dispute Over Ballot Label for Top Two Primary Ballot Measure in CA
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015418.html

FL: ELECTION-LAW CHANGE WOULD REOPEN SPENDING, ADD FULL DISCLOSURE
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-leadership-funds-revived-20100303,0,4610631.story
Tallahassee — Florida legislative leaders are proposing election-law changes that could unleash even more special-interest spending in state elections but require that the millions of dollars pumped into races be fully disclosed to the public.

GA: How far would you drive to vote?
http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=12087904
Currently, 48 voting locations exist, but the new plan makes that number to 28. This leaves some voters driving longer distances to cast their ballots. Dr. Jeanne Dugas is the chair of the Muscogee County Democratic Party and she says, “I think that the board of elections when they say they’re acting in the public’s interest, they’re not acting in that particular public’s interest.”

“The changes that they’re proposing to make will hurt African Americans and Hispanic voters. Let’s be sure about that,” says Hunter.

GA: One Georgia Ballot Access Bill Gets a Legislative Hearing
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/05/one-georgia-ballot-access-bill-gets-a-legislative-hearing/

IN: Indiana justices lob questions at voter ID law
http://bit.ly/9KSlUe …Sullivan noted that at least three election cycles had passed since the law’s passage. “Has the use of this statute ferreted out any voter fraud?” he asked.
No, Horseman said.

IN: Justices weigh burden of voter ID
http://bit.ly/cfFrcL

IN: Vote center’s future in question
http://tinyurl.com/yg9t4yy

MN: Sen. Brown sponsors voter fraud bill
http://www.wlkm.com/?p=11708
Brown’s measures, Senate Bills 692 and 693, establish criminal penalties for any individual or organization attempting to compensate people for voting or refraining from voting, or registering or refraining from registering to vote.
…
Two additional bills Brown sponsored, SBs 690 and 691, would prohibit groups like ACORN conducting voter registration drives from establishing quotas or paying bonuses to employees

NJ: Essex County bans election workers from political activities
http://bit.ly/9HvtyD

NM: Ex-NM elections chief blasts secretary of state
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14512552
SANTA FE – New Mexico’s former elections chief, who resigned last week, alleges Secretary of State Mary Herrera is soliciting funds from firms that contract with her office and has ordered some employees to get signatures on petitions for her re-election campaign

NM: Herrera runs ‘a crooked organization,’ former elections head claims
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2010/03/herrera-runs-%E2%80%98a-crooked-organization%E2%80%99-former-elections-head-claims/

The Voting News Daily: KY $250K vote buy. TX Terrible Tues contd. DOJ may clear monopoly merger. ACORN update

My favorite quote from Texas Terrible Tuesday: “I thought the electronic voting machines were supposed to be more efficient.” ~ John Muns, candidate for county judge…Postcards detailing CT voter’s records spur complaints…FL blind decry bid to stall paper ballot…KY court hears testimony about vote rigging from 2002-2007: Former Clay clerk describes $100,000 worth of vote-buying in 2002 primary and $150,000 by the opposing group…A “glitch” in internet voting caused the University of S Florida to invalidate their 2010 presidential election… The Wall Street Journal says “Voting-Machine Deal to Be Cleared by U.S.”…Murdoch’s NYPost on ACORN Vids: ‘Highly Edited Splice Job’…

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

AZ: Judge upholds law on Ward-only elections (Pima County)
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12083999

CA: What Do Debra Bowen and The Clash Have in Common?
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015409.html

CA: Redistricting: Keeping California from reaching #1?
http://bit.ly/9OCQRp

CO: Commissioners purchase voting system (ballot on demand printing)
http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=18576
Chaffee County…Purchase of the $52,565 Ballot Now voting system, was unanimously approved by county commissioners during their regular meeting Tuesday.

CT: Postcards detailing voting records spur complaints
http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/stratfordstar/news/localnews/51150-postcards-detailing-voting-records-spur-complaints.html
Complaints were lodged with both Democrats and Republicans Tuesday after a group of residents received a postcard detailing the voting records of their neighbors.
…
“After the March 2nd special election, you will be mailed an updated chart. You and your neighbors will know who voted and who did not,” the card states

FL: BLIND DECRY BID TO STALL PAPER BALLOT
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/04/na-blinddecrybidtostallpaperballot/news-politics/
A group of blind residents is protesting a proposal in the Legislature to delay voting by paper ballot until 2016 for voters with physical disabilities.

FL: Election left in limbo (USF student govt internet election)
http://www.usforacle.com/election-left-in-limbo-1.2177012
A computer glitch during the voting process in the Student Government elections has left officials wondering how to carry out the race.
The CEO of the business sponsoring USF Student Government (SG)’s online election ballots says the company takes “full responsibility” for the glitch that caused the invalidation of the 2010 presidential voting results.

FL: Bill Filed by Paula Dockery Targets Open Government, Records
Proposal, a major reform filed by Dockery and Ford, would streamline laws.
http://bit.ly/comtiC
After years of almost annual legislative attempts to close parts of Florida’s open government laws, public records advocates have something to cheer about in a bill…

GA: Voting precinct consolidation passes
http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=12086678
And residents were not afraid to voice their opposition with consolidating 48 precincts down to 28.

IN: Court set to hear voter ID arguments
http://bit.ly/anSV19
The politically charged issue has been embroiled in lawsuits since the adoption of the 2005 law, which requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID.

IN: Watch the Indiana Supreme Court Oral Arguments on the LWV v. Rokita Voter ID Case
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015406.html

KY: Former Clay clerk describes $100,000 worth of vote-buying in 2002 primary *
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/03/1166415/former-clay-clerk-describes-100000.html
FRANKFORT — The loser in a knock-down race for Clay County clerk in 2002 sat in a courtroom with the winner Wednesday and said both sides bought votes hand over fist.

Former county Clerk Jennings B.

The Voting News Daily: Texas elections yesterday a big mess. NM election chief quits.

Texas’ elections were a mess yesterday. There were issues with polling places being moved, some not opening, and some opening late. Voting was delayed at one location where poll workers couldn’t get the voting machines started. There were voting machine software problems and some contests had to be counted manually – where votes could be counted manually. Wrong electronic ballots went out to one polling place but paper ballots were used instead. Some election workers were in over their heads dealing with the electronic voting machines….

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

AL: Alabama Bill for Proportional Split of Presidential Electors Gets Hearing
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/03/alabama-bill-for-proportional-split-of-presidential-electors-gets-hearing/

CO: Boulder County considers all mail-in ballots for primary election
http://www.dailycamera.com/election/ci_14500476#ixzz0hAMwiEoA
…Local election watchdog Al Kolwicz, a trustee with the Colorado Voter Group, said that it’s impossible to prove that mail-in ballots increase turnout, since the character of each election is so different.

“The point is that it’s not the mail-in ballot that creates higher turnout, it’s the contest, it’s the stuff that’s going on,” he said.

And even if mail-in ballots did get more people to vote, the increased turnout would not be worth the increase in security risks associated with mail-in ballots, according to Kolwicz.

HI: Hawaii’s all-mail congressional election set for May 22
http://bit.ly/awB0l6
all registered voters in the 1st Congressional District will receive a ballot by early May. Completed ballots must be returned by 6 p.m. on May 22.

IN: Election officials worry vote centers could be eliminated
http://www.jconline.com/article/20100303/NEWS09/100303017
Phillips said Democratic leadership in the House is looking to trade legislation that extends the vote center pilot program for a “no excuse” version of absentee voting.

NM: New Mexico Elections Chief Quits
http://www.ktsm.com/news/new-mexico-elections-chief-quits
Salazar gave no reason.

NY: New Voting Machines Are on the Way — Probably
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/governing/20100303/17/3200/

NY: County’s election costs will almost double
http://www.herkimertelegram.com/news/x655498789/Countys-election-costs-will-almost-double
Herkimer County residents casting ballots at their polling places in the next general election will notice two additional election workers posted at their station.

PA: Nader Gets D.C. Court Hearing in Case Over Pennsylvania Challengers Access to Nader Bank Funds
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/03/nader-gets-d-c-court-hearing-in-case-over-pennsylvania-challengers-access-to-nader-bank-funds/

TN: Administrator says $22K needed for upcoming election (Dickson County)
http://bit.ly/bpDxm2

TX: Graford precinct receives ballots made for Gordon *
Voting machine error not caught before Tuesday
http://mineralwellsindex.com/local/x1004930298/Graford-precinct-receives-ballots-made-for-Gordon
MINERAL WELLS — Election judges around the county had varying experiences. Judges for Precincts 4, 21 and 29 had a small glitch with one machine, but said the county clerk’s office came and fixed it quickly, according to one judge.
…
“For some reason it wasn’t caught until they started voting (Tuesday) morning,” she said of the Precinct 7 snafu. “We gave them paper ballots and nobody was denied a vote, there’s no big story in this, it happens, mistakes are made.”

TX: Hidalgo County Election Results Finally ‘Final’ *
http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Hidalgo-County-Election-Results-Finally-Final/y122EILeMk6FRhrUWC8DEw.cspx
As CHANNEL 5 NEWS first reported, a computer glitch at the election’s office created concern and delays election night. County spokesperson Cari Lambrecht blamed a software malfunction that caused early votes to be counted twice.

The Voting News Daily: NY DA clears Brooklyn ACORN. Idaho house passes Voter ID. Online voting ‘security stuff’

Nearly 60% of voters in Texas cast ballots on paperless direct record machines…Columbia County Joins With Nassau to Contest ERMA: Counties Want to Keep Their Lever Voting Machines…NY D.A. Clears Brooklyn ACORN: ‘No Criminality Found’… Online Voting in Alberta or Elsewhere – How easy is looking after “all that security stuff”?…Unofficial results – Burlington VT repealed instant runoff voting…

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

CT: RoundUp: Registrar Error or Election Fraud? – Saving $$$ or Empowering Voters?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2928
We are likely to have several busy news days over the next few weeks as the General Assembly considers changes to the election laws and the 2010 election heads …

FL: Officials urge voters to freshen outdated signatures
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100301/NEWS/3015064/1134?Title=Officials-Urge-Voters-to-Freshen-Outdated-Signatures

FL: Six Organizations File Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Case on Petitioning at the Polls
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/02/six-organizations-file-amicus-brief-in-u-s-supreme-court-in-case-on-petitioning-at-the-polls/

GA: “NAACP Head Says Majority-Black Muscogee Elections Board’s Trying to Reduce Black Voting Strength”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015387.html

ID: Voter ID bill passes House (now moves to the senate)
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2010/mar/01/voter-id-passes-house/

MI: Voter ID will stop some from voting
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20100228/OPINION03/2280393

MO: Mo senators debate overseas voting bill
http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12065299

MO: Legislation designed to make voting easier for troops from Missouri
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/01/1782566/legislation-designed-to-make-voting.html

MT: Missoula County election office still needs hundreds of poll workers
http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_21bc2534-25bd-11df-9fc2-001cc4c002e0.html

NC: Council to debate election funding
http://www.reflector.com/news/council-debate-election-funding-25434
The resolution seeking legislation allowing cities to sponsor public financing for local elections already appears controversial.

NY: County’s election costs will almost double
http://www.herkimertelegram.com/news/x655498789/Countys-election-costs-will-almost-double

NY: Columbia County Joins With Nassau to Contest ERMA: Counties Want to Keep Their Lever Voting Machines
http://re-mediaetc.blogspot.com/2010/03/columbia-county-joins-with-nassau-to.html

NY: NY D.A. Clears Brooklyn ACORN: ‘No Criminality Found’
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7721
From Kings County, New York District Attorney Joe Hynes just now::
Well, what a stunner. Still no retraction from you, New York Times?

NY; EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: ‘Andy Breitbart Exlains It All For You’ – Disturbing Admissions, Manic Responses to the ACORN Video ‘Pimp’ Hoax
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7719

VA: VIP Serves Voters in Virginia’s Special Elections
http://www.votinginfoproject.org/blog/index.cfm/2010/3/2/VIP-Serves-Voters-in-Virginias-Special-Elections
We think our VIP Google Gadget is especially useful in elections like today’s special elections in the Virginia 41st House District…

VT: Burlington.Unofficial results – instant runoff voting repealed (52%)
http://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/elections/election-night-coverage-03-02-2010

VT: Instant Runoff Voting faces make-or-break vote today
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=12067428

VT: Polling place confusion in Burlington
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=12066967

TX: 2010: What’s the Deal with Recounts?
http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/mar/02/tribblog-want-do-over/

TX: State Voting System Snapshot: Texas Primary
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/03/01/425
Nearly 60% of voters will vote on paperless direct record machines

TX: Texas elections issue watch: Voter ID
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-issuewatch_01tex.ART.State.Edition2.4b9fff0.html

National

Marty Hasen (z’l), 1930 – 2010
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015391.html
Rick Hasen of ElectionLawBlog honors his father’s memory

D.C. Circuit Rules in Unity08 v. FEC
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015390.html

2009 Brings Big Money in Key Congressional Races
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/03/2009-brings-big-money-in-key-c.html

FCC to Call for Government Data Overhaul
http://www.internetnews.com/government/article.php/3867876
The plan will also call for reforms to the voting system. The FCC will recommend that all states establish a secure, online mechanism for voters to register. It will also recommend that the Defense Department create an online voting system for members of the military stationed overseas…

International

Canada: Online Voting in Alberta or Elsewhere
http://www.slaw.ca/2010/03/01/online-votin/
How easy is looking after “all that security stuff”?

The Voting News Daily: Minnesota civic groups refute recount claims, 2 NY counties seek more $ for voting systems. Iraq poor sell votes

There’s ALOT of news today…Project Vote releases new policy paper on “No Match, No Vote”. “…matching voter data with other govt databases is an unreliable, error-laden process, and that conditioning the right to vote on such a flawed system will inevitably disenfranchise eligible citizens.”…

…The Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United has a loophole that lets Corporations donate anonymously to campaigns…Nassau and Westchester Counties NY are worried about funding their new voting systems. HAVA funds might not be enough. Westchester County is discussiong a bond act for $2 million. The EAC is accepting public comment about Expenditure (MOE) policy…DHS loses 1000 computers…

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

CO: Defendants reply to Surreply regarding Protective Order – Marks v. Koch (Aspen Election Transparency Suit)
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/02/defendants-reply-to-surreply-regarding.html This is the fifth document in the series discussing the access to TrueBallot’s testimony.

CO: Entrance to Aspen, voting method return to city agenda
http://bit.ly/dzSG0g
A potential ballot question offering an alternative voting method would have to be formalized by the end of August, he added. If approved, the new method would be valid for the May 2011 municipal election.

CT: Secretary of the State a ‘long shot’ for Garfunkel
(Town Clerk to run against lawmaker)
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2926

GA: Justice Department seeks more info on precinct consolidation
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/02/26/1030499/voter-precinct-changes-justice.html
The biggest news of the night was that the U.S. Department of Justice earlier Wednesday had requested the local elections office send it more information on the plan to cut local voting precincts from 48 to 28,

IA: HF 682 Would Secure the 2010 Iowa Vote
http://www.blogforiowa.com/blog/_archives/2010/2/27/4467543.html
“States that have done security reviews of our same voting equipment are doing the responsible thing and conducting audits,” Flaherty said. “We can’t urge the Senate strongly enough: don’t fail Iowa elections,” he said.

MA: Voting Rights monitoring ends in Springfield
http://bit.ly/cFzbCN
Springfield City Solicitor Edward Pikula said Monday the department ended its Voting Rights case against Springfield last week and said the city has complied with a federal court settlement to properly assist Latino voters.

MI: Technology may change local elections
http://bit.ly/bBUHDq
Bad Axe….Huron County Clerk Peggy Koehler told area township and city clerks the state wants all precincts to begin using electronic poll books.

NJ: YAT primary election period extended, website coding error resolved
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/02/26/25344/
The Young Alumni Trustee (YAT) primary election will be extended by one day after a technical glitch initially barred several members of the Class of 2010 from voting,

NY: Monday, March 1st County Board Agenda
Westchester County Bond Issue for financing voting systems
http://yonkersinsider.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/press-release-307/
…Finance voting systems for Board of Elections: Bond Act authorizing the issuance of $2,002,000 in bonds to finance the local share cost of voting systems for Board of Elections purposes

NY: County scraps mechanical lever voting machines
http://www.observertoday.com/page/content.detail/id/536684.html
MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Board of Elections recently completed a public auction sale of 81 mechanical lever voting machines to scrap dealer Archie Nichols …thus ending an era of voting for county General Election voters.

NY: Old voting machines to be replaced by electronic devices in Nassau County
http://www.liherald.com/detail/22935.html

The Voting News Daily: NYT: The Voters Will Pay. IA Senate blocks election audits. Alberta may test internet voting

The New York Times has an oped on how ES&S’s near total domination of the voting systems market in the US will impact voters and taxpayers…The Iowa Senate has halted an election audits bill, House File 682…

Some Canadian municipalities have already adopted internet voting. Now the province of Alberta is considering testing it. Brian Fjeldheim, Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer says: “Once it has been proven to be effective, that the votes can be certified, all that security stuff can be looked after, I certainly see that as something that’s coming…” But the integrity of an internet election cannot be proven say experts. Technologists warn that internet voting is not transparent and is inherently insecure…

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

IL: Update: Discovery recount finds no change (Diebold Accuvote-OS & TSX for accessible)
http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=452715
Iroquois County…Discovery recounts allow checking of 25 percent of the precincts to determine if there is any rationale to seek a court-ordered full recount.
Both a machine recount and hand recount of the ballots produced no change…

IL: Bill to move primary advances
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/state-36824-primary-illinois.html

IN: INDIANA COUNTY: Software would aid in election preparations
http://online.indianagazette.com/articles/2010/02/25/a_news/10036061.txt
Using $79,829 in state grant money, the county will purchase software from Election Systems & Software, of Omaha, Neb., that will allow technicians in the county’s data processing center to do the computer programming for the voting machines used in the local elections.

IA: Iowa Senate Lags; Legislation to Protect the 2010 Vote In Jeopardy
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/02/26/419
The Senate has halted action on House File 682, which requires a hand count of a random sample of ballots after each general election…

IA: Iowa Voters Action Alert: Help Safeguard the 2010 Elections In Iowa
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/199/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=28214

MN: Bill moving up primary passes House
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/state-and-regional/mn/article_a5b56cd0-2246-11df-a2e4-001cc4c002e0.html

MS: Miss. felon voting ban upheld
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/02/25/1981944/miss-felon-voting-ban-upheld.html
A three judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Thursday the state of Mississippi can write restrictions on voting into its constitution, including to bar certain felons voting.

OH: Angry voters outraged by election changes
http://bit.ly/aALyNF COSHOCTON — Former County Commissioner Larry Stahl of Bakersville made an impassioned plea Thursday to the Coshocton County Board of Elections to find out if there is anything he could do to return polling locations and precincts in the county to where they were.

TN: Herron approves e-mail ballot for soldiers (unvoted ballot only)
http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=37567
The bill (SB2681) allows Tennessean members of the armed forces to receive ballots via e-mail.
…
The soldiers votes would be cast with the same processes and security measures that currently apply.

VA: Va. House panel votes to make voter records private
http://bit.ly/cODCNl A House of Delegates subcommittee voted 5-1 to close off all access to voter history lists.
… the lists should either be made available to everyone or no one.

VA: Virginia Bill on Who can See List of who Voted Hits a Snag
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/26/virginia-bill-on-who-can-see-list-of-who-voted-hits-a-snag/

VT: Burlington IRV fundraising under attack
http://bit.ly/dmD2Bx …Repeal IRV also said the group supporting IRV, 50% Matters, while claiming to be a “grass-roots” organization, was instead “acting like a money pipeline for huge out of town contributions.”

The Voting News Daily: Iowa needs post-election audits. Internet voting spreads in Canada local elections, Closing in on the Google hackers

Maryland might not have enough money to conduct the November election?…..Upshur Co TX will pay $30K to Hart InterCivic program machines, print ballots and tally results for the March 2 primaries. The county clerk would have charged $2K…
Wisconsin U state senate rejects internet voting, cites i-vote fiasco in 2008…

Sean Flaherty asks fellow Iowans, and especially Polk County folks to help protect the 2010 elections by asking lawmakers to pass House Bill 682 to require post election audits…

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

CA: Editorial: Privately run election questionable
http://www.montereyherald.com/opinion/ci_14468312?nclick_check=1
… the idea of a private firm reporting to City Hall, and being assisted by City Hall, in conducting a city election sounds a bit cozy

CO: Plaintiff’s Surreply regarding Defendant’s Motion to protect TrueBallot from deposition – Marks v. Koch (Aspen Election Transparency Suit)
http://bit.ly/bUVbmm

CT: Republicans hire attorney to challenge Bysiewicz’s lawsuit
http://bit.ly/8XeML3

CT: Garcia: Small Fundraisers to Qualify For The Citizens Election Program
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2922

FL: Florida Voters, Submit Your Ballot Request NOW for the April 13, 2010 Special Election! http://www.fvap.gov/global/news/nr3-2010.html

IA: Iowa Needs a Post-Election Audit
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/02/25/410
Iowans, and especially Polk County folks, please take some time out of your busy day to protect the 2010 elections…

KY: Election official says she was told to steal votes
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/02/25/1155312/precinct-worker-clay-election.html

MD: State falls short on paying for fall election
http://www.marylandreporter.com/page5505129.aspx
The state probably doesn’t have enough money in its proposed budget to conduct November’s election…

MO: What’s in the Missouri campaign finance bill?
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/?p=8294
The bill would ban most committee-to-committee transfers of campaign donations, an attempt to reduce the “money laundering” that lawmakers have alleged goes on.

PA: Tell The Inquirer: Election Problems Go Deeper Than One Precinct
http://www.electionreformnetwork.us/node/226

PA: The Point: Indefensible
Chesco’s ’08 polling-place maneuver was a disgrace.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20100221_The_Point__Indefensible.html
Some of the 1,440 who voted there that day waited for seven to eight hours in the rain, queuing up close enough to working railroad tracks to reach out and touch passing freight cars.

TX: Communication gaps blamed for Upshur ballot miscue
Contracting with Austin firm delays ballots
http://bit.ly/9rgBdl

TX: Upshur County gets ballots in under the wire
http://bit.ly/8Z4YTq

WA: Suspending initiatives? Controversial but common
http://bit.ly/94FUC3

WA: Initiatives and lawmakers, part deux
http://bit.ly/d54XYQ
For all the talk about big changes for Washington’s much-used, much-maligned initiative process, not a single initiative crackdown is passing this legislative session.

WI: Student Senate nixes online voting
http://bit.ly/c1HYHq
Student Senate voted down a resolution Monday attempting to conduct the 2010 Student Body Elections online instead of paper ballot form.

VA: UBE technical glitch extends voting time (online voting)
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/02/23/ube-technical-glitch-extends-voting-time/
University of Virginia. The University Board of Elections experienced technical difficulties during the first hour of student-elections voting at 8 a.m. yesterday …certain offices were missing from the ballot. After first attempting to resolve the issue itself, the UBE consulted Information Technology & Communication, which identified the problem as a wide-spread glitch rather than an isolated incident.

VT: So troops’ votes count – by Deborah Markowitz is Vermont secretary of state and a Democratic candidate for governor http://bit.ly/ahpCEJ

The Voting News Daily: Aspen tries to stop deposition of TrueBallot, US DOJ showdown over GA voter verification, No ballot mulligans

No mulligan rule in elections – The wrong name will be on a ballot for a school board race in St Louis MO and can’t be corrected because the voting machines are already programmed and ballots printed..

…The Georgia bill to have troops vote over the internet has passed the house and heads to the senate next. Meanwhile the former Director of National Intelligence told a senate panel that “If the nation went to war today, in a cyber war, we would lose,”…

The Philippines ballot boxes have switched at the last minute -from translucent to opaque black design to protect ballot markings from sunlight. Additionally there will be no audit before poll winners are proclaimed…

Paying our respects: Condolences to Rick Hasen of ElectionLawBlog on the passing of his father.

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

CA: “Initiative would put redistricting back into Legislature’s hands”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015340.html

CO: Reply in Support of Defendant’s Motion for a Protective Order- Marks v. Koch (Aspen Election Transparency Suit)
http://bit.ly/bMurHu On February 16, 2010 the Aspen City attorneys filed a memorandum in support of their motion for a protective order to prevent or limit Marilyn Marks from deposing TrueBallot Inc.

CO: August election will be mail-in in Eagle Countuy
http://bit.ly/9ioBw5

GA: The Showdown Over Preclearance of Georgia’s Voter Verification Program
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015341.html
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Justice has rarely exercised its preclearance power under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to stop election adminstration rules from taking effect. But in a letter issued Monday, DOJ declines to withdraw its objection to Georgia’s proposed program for verifying voters’ citizenship.

GA: Bills aid open records, overseas voting, education
http://bit.ly/cB3QVO
The House passed House Bill 655, which establishes a pilot program beginning with the 2012 general and primary elections, to allow the electronic transmission of absentee ballots by those in the military and for overseas residents.

HI: Hawaii Officials Plan For 5/22 Special House Election
http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/02/hawaii_official.php
The HI State Office of Elections has set 5/22 as the target date for the special election to replace Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-01),

MN: Interview with Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie
http://bit.ly/btnC87

MO: Clayton school district error leads to wrong name on ballot *
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/02/22/daily29.html
St. Louis. Susan Buse is running for re-election to the Clayton school board but you won’t find her name on the April 6 ballot.

Instead, you’ll find her maiden name, Susan Bradley. A Clayton school district official miscopied Buse’s name when filling out paperwork to submit to the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners in January.

NE: Soldiers to receive voting confirmation
http://bit.ly/akA6AA

NC: Internet elections (LTE pushing internet voting)
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/02/24/354595/internet-elections.html

TN: Tennessee Bills Would Remove Recount Authority in Primaries from Political Parties
http://bit.ly/bwKCZK
Bills are pending in both houses of the Tennessee legislature to provide that when a partisan primary election result is disputed, the dispute should be resolved by an administrative law judge, not by the political party’s own officials.

VT: Burlington IRV draws outside money
http://bit.ly/aRFDMc

The Voting News Daily: GA bill would end touch-screen voting, Dont violate integrity of military vote

Distrust of paperless voting is a bi-partisan issue in Georgia with Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) introducing HB 1215 to ban paperless voting and in favor of an optical scan system with ballots that can be recounted by hand in any dispute.Other signers of the bill include Karla Drenner (D-Atlanta); Bobby Franklin (R-Cobb County); and Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville). Another signer was Austin Scott (R-Tifton), the Republican candidate for governor….

Meanwhile Virginia lawmakers still considering bill to allow purchase of some paperless machines… CO. election integrity expert Harvie Branscomb pleads the case to keep in-person voting in Eagle County Co…

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

CO: Court Requested to Permit Video Recording of Marks v. Koch (Aspen Election Transparency Suit)
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/02/court-requested-to-permit-video.html

CO: A plea for in-person voting in Eagle County
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/139384
Voters deserve to retain their choice of voting in person or by mail. Precinct polling places keep elections more secure, are likely to produce better accuracy, are less subject to mischief, and provide many natural opportunities for citizen oversight and correction of errors.

CT: Hearing On Public Financing – Ad Hoc Testimony On Voting Integrity Issue
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2907
Yesterday the Government Administration and Elections Committee held hearings on proposed fixes to the Citizens Election Program which has been ruled unconstitutional and is currently under appeal.

FL: Ensure uniform voting (opinion)
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/22/na-ensure-uniform-voting/
But even with the importance of home rule, counties should not be allowed to create their own standards for recounts, audits and other procedures when it comes to statewide and national elections. One code must fit all.

GA: Bill would end touch-screen voting
http://bit.ly/ad8sWE

GA: A bill to ban paperless ballots dropped — Kemp opposes on economic grounds
http://bit.ly/cW14x3
Just before the Legislature went on a two-week, budget-driven hiatus, state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) dropped HB 1215, would would mandate an end to the use of Georgia’s paperless voting tabulators, in favor of an optical scan system whose ballots could be recounted by hand in any dispute.

GA: Georgia may abandon electronic voting
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-22/story/georgia_may_abandon_electronic_voting
House bill would return state to paper ballots
The bipartisan legislation, House Bill 1215 by Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Villa Rica, would require paper records and hand recounts in contested elections. The touch-screen machines in use across the state now only record votes electronically.

GA: Will This Be the Case That Gets a Supreme Court Majority to Overturn Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act?
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015334.html

MI: Whiteford seeks township hall
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100221/NEWS01/702219971
OTTAWA LAKE…one of the voting machines that township residents will be using in the election is stored in the supervisor’s bedroom.
…
If voters okay a five-year, 1-mill levy Tuesday, storing election machines and boxes of township records and holding office hours will get a little easier in Whiteford Township.

MO: Police investigating theft at Board of Elections office in St. Louis
http://www.fox2now.com/news/sns-ap-mo–electionsboard-theft,0,4584342.story
Items taken include a laptop, a satellite radio deck, a radio, a TV converter box and a small amount of cash. There was no sign of forced entry.

The Voting News Daily: WA military email voting clears house, Cyber War Wake Up Call, More trustworthy voting systems

Election Equipment Certification Delivers Poor Results says the Champaign County Clerk, Mark Sheldon. Sheldon says: “If we want a system that earns the trust of every voter we need to institute post election audits, more extensive testing, and a certification process that is more open and flexible.”

In Washington State, two bills of note: a bill to allow military to vote by fax or email has cleared the house, and a bill to force Pierce Co Washington voters to vote by mail….As officials consider putting our military’s votes and associated data online, please read “Cyber War Wake Up Call” over at DefenseTech.org…

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

AK: State settles lawsuit, agrees to offer voter aid in Yup’ik
http://www.adn.com/2010/02/19/1148117/yupik-elders-win-right-to-elections.html
The state has settled a lawsuit brought by Yup’ik-speaking elders and tribal councils demanding that the Division of Elections provide ballots and voter assistance in Yup’ik.

AZ: Election officials use GPS devices to track equipment
http://bit.ly/930O9h
Program aims to lift voter confidence
Maricopa County elections officials are starting a new program that will track all 17,000 pieces of voting equipment through GPS technology.

CA: Federal Court in San Diego Issues Clarification: Independent Expenditure Committees May Accept Unlimited Sums from Corporations, Labor Unions, and Others
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015328.html
Disclosure: I am co-counsel for the City of San Diego in this matter.(Rick Hasen)

CA: Two Legal ‘Situations’
http://democracycounts.blogspot.com/2010/02/two-legal-situations.html
Humboldt County Election Transparency Project

CA: DA investigates allegations of voter fraud in Montebello
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_14438007#ixzz0gJIxeN7n
“I actually went to someone’s door regarding an absentee voter and I learned the person hadn’t lived there for two years,” Veneziano said. “It seems like there is a lot of voter fraud concerning absentee ballots.”

CA: State Chief Justice Calls For Reform Of Initiative Process
http://www.ktvu.com/news/22618847/detail.html
STANFORD, Calif. — California Chief Justice Ronald George told a Stanford University symposium Friday that the state’s voter initiative process has helped to make the state government dysfunctional and “is sorely in need of reform.”

CO: Editorial – Voting changes make sense (Editorial in favor of 100% vote by mail)
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/fort-morgan-opinion/ci_14410371

FL: Court: Petition Signatures Cannot Be Revoked
http://bit.ly/bW2CAo
The Florida Supreme Court said Thursday that a petition-signature revocation law, passed in 2007, substantially burdened the rights of citizen-led efforts to change the Constitution

IL: Election Equipment Certification Delivers Poor Results
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/22/election-equipment-certification-delivers-poor-results/
Champaign County Clerk…Election equipment manufacturers and election officials are prevented from implementing even common sense changes to the software and hardware running elections because of the costly and lengthy certification process.

KY: Insider Fraud In Kentucky
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2904
We have blogged in the past about the fuzzy line between retail and wholesale vote fraud…

ME: Residents invited to discuss proposed city voting changes ; A special meeting on Tuesday in Portland seeks feedback on changes in government.
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3885912
Should Portland voters elect a mayor? Should the city allow non- citizens to vote? Should voters rank candidates in order of choice rather than pick just one?

OH: Voter fraud case dismissed
http://www.toledofreepress.com/2010/02/22/voter-fraud-case-dismissed/
The board found that Lisa Cherry, as a student who has “every intention of returning home,” has the right to be registered in Lucas County and denied the challenge against her voter registration.

The Voting News Daily: GA lawmaker wants paper ballots, Internet voting-Solution or snake oil?

GA state Rep. Tim Bearden has introduced paper ballot law HB 1215… Clay Co KY poll worker says it was easy to steal more than 100 votes in one election…See the court docs for Dominion’s suit to stop NY City purchase of ES&S voting machines over at Bo Lipari’s blog…Over 75,000 systems compromised in cyberattack……”Internet voting, solution of snake oil?”. Ben Rothke elaborates in “Dont Stop The Handcount – A Few Problems With Internet Voting”…Less than 10% of Ontario municipalities utilize phone or Internet voting…

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

AZ: Arizona Bill Moves Ahead, Would Simplify Presidential Candidate Listing on November Ballot
http://bit.ly/bsKdMf
Only six states still print the candidates for presidential elector on November ballots. The most populous of these six states is Arizona, which has ten electoral votes.

CT: Connecticut Secretary of State Sues Herself to Obtain Decision that She is Eligible to Run for Attorney General
http://bit.ly/cnfWlF
Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz says she will file a lawsuit in state court, seeking a decision that she is eligible to run for Attorney General this year.

GA: Lawmaker Wants Paper Ballots
http://wsbradio.com/localnews/2010/02/lawmaker-wants-paper-ballots.html
…Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) has introduced HB 1215 that would do away with the current electronic voting machines in favor of some form of paper ballot.

“The integrity of voting is priority number one and you can ensure that by making sure there’s a paper trail,”

GA: County managers: budget plan will hurt election, library, tax offices
http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2010/02/16/front/budget.txt

IN: Ind. Senate Keeps Vote Center Legsilation Alive
http://bit.ly/9lmdqp

KY: Clay precinct worker testifies that officials taught her to steal votes *
http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1147902.html
…Wanda White testified that Clerk Freddy Thompson — the county’s chief election officer — helped show her how to manipulate voting machines along with Charles Wayne Jones, the Democratic election commissioner.

The scheme involved duping people to walk away from the voting computer before finishing their selections, then changing their choices, said White, the Democratic judge in a precinct in Manchester.

White said she stole more than 100 votes that election.

NV: Lawyer calls ACORN ‘hated, feared,’ seeks separate trials
Judge denies motion to separate case, saying trials would be identical
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/17/acorn/

NY: Dominion Sues to Stop New York City Contract with ES&S (update, docs posted)
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/02/dominion-sues-to-stop-new-york-city-contract-with-ess/
Update I, 2/19/10 – Court documents posted, links here

NY: Questions Raised about NYC’s Voting Machine Selection Process
http://reformny.blogspot.com/2010/02/questions-raised-about-nycs-voting.html
In its memorandum of law, Dominion argues that the Board of Elections ignored procurement laws and procedures and established its own procurement process that did not make clear the criteria for selection. According to the memorandum, ES&S received extra points for optional features that cannot legally be used in New York.

SC: SC lawmakers put early voting under the microscope (Audio)
http://bit.ly/9K4sU2
…The State Senate is currently working on legislation that would combine early voting with the photo ID measure.

TN: Voter Registration Would Require Affirmation
Prospective Voters Would Have To Check Citizens Box
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/22582223/detail.html

TX: Voter registration tangled in Web
http://bit.ly/bFBms3

The Voting News Daily: Responsible tech use for Overseas Vote,VT rejects email voting, Dominion sues over NY ES&S contract

Just in from Verified Voting: “Responsible Use of Technology for Overseas Voting”. From the report- “The security challenges posed by the electronic transmission of voted ballots are too formidable to allow the use of such systems at present. Before experimenting with voted ballots transmitted through cyberspace, we must together create a transparent public process to consider how to set cyber-security criteria…”

Florida SOS Browning proposes delay in purchasing disabled accessible voting equipt….
….Brennan Center has update on “Concerns About New York’s Voting Machines”…Bo Lipari reports- “Dominion Sues to Stop New York City Contract with ES&S”…

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

CT: Registrar of Voters suit: Alleged to have fudged petitions for herself and relatives
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2896

FL: COUNTIES COULD PUNT BUYING VOTING EQUIPMENT FOR DISABLED
http://bit.ly/b7W09Q
Tallahassee — The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee unveiled a package Wednesday that would delay a requirement for county election supervisors to buy $45 million in optical-scan voting equipment for the disabled from 2012 to 2016.

[…The state still has $67 million in HAVA funds
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/12625 ]

GA: Measure may ease voting from afar
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/article/4500/
In House Bill 665, the District 23 state representative from Cumming offers an alternative to the current ballot mailing system, one that could quicken the process by allowing them to vote electronically.

HI: New chief elections officer selected for Hawaii; no special election date set yet
http://bit.ly/aad4Mo

IL: Kane County votes all counted, but fighting might not be over
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=360024

OH: Old voting machines must go (ES&S iVotronic)
http://putnamsentinel.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=6713

MA: Online elections bill passes SGA Senate (University of Mass.)
http://dailycollegian.com/2010/02/18/online-elections-bill-passes-sga-senate/
More details on the concerns of the Senators will be provided in two videos and in an expanded version of this article to be released on Friday.

NY: Dominion Sues to Stop New York City Contract with ES&S
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/02/dominion-sues-to-stop-new-york-city-contract-with-ess/
Posted by: bolipari. In a surprise move, Dominion Voting Systems has filed an Article 78 lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court in Albany to stop the New York City Board of Elections from awarding a $70 million dollar contract for new voting machines to ES&S.

NY: Concerns About New York’s Voting Machines: An Update
http://bit.ly/d1BFg8
…The Board of Elections spoke with our coalition last Thursday, and agreed to take the following steps

SD: ACLU seeks to expand voting lawsuit
http://bit.ly/9M6yyh
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – The American Civil Liberties Union wants to expand a voting rights lawsuit against state officials into a class-action lawsuit on behalf of American Indians in South Dakota.

TN: Ketron bill to ease military voting advances
http://bit.ly/b7w5IU
…The bill…authorizes a county Election Commission to e-mail a ballot to each member of the armed forces.
…
The legislation helps the state comply with the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which took effect in October. That law requires the Department of the Army and Postal Service to expedite the return of ballots by using express mail, since they cannot be returned electronically due to election security concerns.

VA: Suit filed over rejected NSU voter applications
http://bit.ly/9FjTKA

The Voting News Daily: Groups warn ES&S merger is security threat, Future of CA Voting comments posted, VA officials sued over voter files

The news is fairly light today so be sure to read the public comments on the Future of Voting in California now posted at the CA SOS website. The comments come from experts, advocates, interested citizens and also voting vendors including internet voting vendors…
ES&S Diebold Purchase: Groups Endorse Remedies for Unlawful Concentration of Market Power… In NM, the house has voted to contributions from lobbyist, the bill now heads to the senate…. Voting to become easier for Alabama service members….

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

AL: New bill would expand absentee voting options (next to state senate)
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20100217/NEWS02/2170352/1009
The bill would allow service members to file requests for ab­sentee ballots by e-mail or fax. Currently, the requests must be made by U.S. Postal Service. It also would allow for the ballots to be sent to the service mem­bers by e-mail or fax, as well as U.S. Postal Service.

CA: ACLU of Northern California Opposes “Top-Two Open Primary”
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/17/aclu-of-northern-california-opposes-top-two-open-primary/
CA: Breaking News: Federal District Court Issues Important Split Decision in San Diego Campaign Finance Case
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015297.html

CA: Battle lines form over electronic signatures to qualify ballot initiatives
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14415504?nclick_check=1
…But hours after Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum announced Tuesday that he would reject any electronic signature scribbled on an iPhone’s touch screen, the founders of a Silicon Valley start-up company said they would file a lawsuit this week challenging the rejection.
…
“I think that until it’s clear that this kind of technology can’t be tampered with, hard copy signatures should be the way to go,” Smith added. “I don’t think we’re clear on that point.” (Pam Smith, President of Verified Voting)

CT: ES&S Diebold Purchase: Groups Endorse Remedies for Unlawful Concentration of Market Power
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2888

NC: City feeling pressure to change its election system
http://bit.ly/a0pNeA
Settlemyer and City Manager Sally Sandy drove home the point when they said Morganton’s alone-in-the-state status running its own municipal election could cost $25,000 to $30,000 or more for new hardware
…
Today, no N.C. city has its own board of elections — except Morganton. An increasing number of people are asking why.

NM: House votes to ban contributions from lobbyists, contractors
Bill bans contributions to candidates and political parties
http://newmexicoindependent.com/47804/house-votes-to-ban-contributions-from-lobbyists-contractors

VA: Virginia Election Officials Sued for Unlawfully Denying Access to Voter Files
http://bit.ly/9Md1Pb

VA: Election Law Society Symposium! March 18, 2010
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/02/17/election-law-society-symposium/
(William & Mary) The Election Law Society is proud to announce its fourth annual Election Law Symposium, “Back to the Drawing Board: The 2010 Census and the Politics of Redistricting.”

National

Groups and Election Officials Warn Department of Justice that Voting Machine Vendor Merger will Inflate Costs to Taxpayers, Threaten Election Accuracy and National Security
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/02/17/401
The letter strongly warns of profound risks to national security when one vendor controls the programming and maintenance of the election equipment in a 70% majority of election jurisdictions or entire states. Centralization of voting system programming and maintenance increases the possibility of widespread election failure, the experts warn, which could have the potential to de-stabilize the Nation and could present a threat to U.S.