Good by 2009, hello 2010! Happy new year! Best wishes to all readers.
In Georgia, “Group calls on Perdue to appoint independent as interim Secretary of State”…New York Daily News reports on $ spent by voting vendors: Dominion spent $64,000 this year and ES&S has spent $193,000…
It almost didn’t happen: The Department of Defense will act as a voter registration agency thanks to some major arm twisting. Stars and Stripe reports – “That’s a big deal, and not just for military voting rights. Earlier this year Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, placed a hold on the president’s nomination for under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness (Clifford Stanley) until the issue was resolved.”
Secret ballot waiver: Take a look at a fax ballot form from Marion Co. Oregon. The voter must sign a waiver giving up the right to a secret ballot….
Is internet voting a good idea? Verified Voting’s statement on internet voting at their website. What could go wrong? Read Wired News article “The Decade’s 10 Most Dastardly Cybercrimes” and then think about it.
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AZ: Counties, supervisors sued over Diebold voting machines
http://bit.ly/6JCNYh
12/29/2009 …The controversy stems from the computer touch-screen machines that have become prevalent throughout the country.
Four Arizona residents, backed by the group Voter Action, a non-profit advocacy group, filed a lawsuit in 2006 against then Secretary of State Jan Brewer and 13 of the 15 county election officers. That suit is still ongoing and now county supervisors are individually named in the suit.
CA: Long Beach school board election had only 6 percent turnout
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_14096499?source=rss
12/30/2009 LONG BEACH – Tuesday’s school board election – wedged between the Christmas and New Year’s weekends – resulted in the lowest voter turnout in recent Long Beach history, City Clerk Larry Herrera said Wednesday.
…
Herrera noted that 77 percent of the ballots were sent in by mail.
CA: California Voter Foundation Releases Study of What Information States Ask For on Voter Registration Forms
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/12/31/california-voter-releases-study-of-what-information-states-ask-for-on-voter-registration-forms/
CO: Aspen’s bad example (LTE)
http://bit.ly/4H5kQk
…Transparency in elections is the foundation to our democracy. The recent withholding of ballot images from the public, after they had been displayed publicly, does the Aspen community great harm.
GA: Group calls on Perdue to appoint independent as interim Secretary of State
http://www.peachpundit.com/2009/12/30/group-calls-on-perdue-to-appoint-independent-as-interim-secretary-of-state/
December 30, 2009… The group, Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia, is a diverse, non-partisan, technology neutral, coalition of Georgia voters and organizations. They contend that the new secretary “should be independent of both major political parties” and “have no direct or indirect ties with the voting machine vendor lobbyist, Massey and Bowers.”
NY: How political lobbyists are rocking the vote in New York City
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/12/31/2009-12-31_how_lobbyists_are_rocking_the_vote_in_ny.html
December 31st 2009 …Each firm has spent lavishly on lobbyists. Dominion has paid $64,000 this year to Stanley Schlein, an ex-chairman of the Civil Service Commission with a client list that includes top Bronx Democrats. ES&S has spent $193,000 on a bevy of lobbyists including Hank Sheinkopf, Norman Levy and powerhouse firm Davidoff, Malito & Hutcher.
