Voter-marked paper ballots dominate among U.S. voting methods, but one fourth of voters still depend on unverifiable equipment.
Verified Voting has released a new version of the Verifier, a map of voting technology used throughout the United States and territories, along with a statistical summary of voting technology that States will use this November.
DC allowed a public test of their internet voting system and shut it down after computer scientists took over the system. Other states that allow email or internet balloting for overseas voters should see if their systems can withstand a public test too..Sarasota FL’s controversial Election Sup Kathy Dent may not run again…India e-voting researcher Hari Prasad is 1 of the winners of 2010 EFF Pioneer award…Afghanistan tosses out thousands of votes..866-OUR-VOTE wants volunteers…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
*Editor’s correction. I mis-spelled Illinois Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate’s name in Sunday’s voting news. Unfortunately I can’t blame the voting vendor. The correct spelling is Rich WhitNey, not Whitley.
AL: Official: 71 voters received ‘bad’ ballots
http://www.sandmountainreporter.com/news/local/article_f7864c5e-daf7-11df-bd53-001cc4c03286.html Mistakes on absentee ballots may cause citizens to cast the wrong vote…On Oct. 9, a letter was sent to the 71 voters explaining the mistake along with a new, corrected ballot. Those voters are asked to fill out the entire “good” ballot and return both the “bad” and the “good” ballots.
AR: Voting Machines Cause Problems In Benton County*
http://www.4029tv.com/news/25435089/detail.html
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Those who vote early will likely come across electronic voting machines, but those machines were the source a major problem that could have seriously affected the election schedule in Benton County.
They all need a device called a PEB, or a personal electronic ballot in order to work correctly. They’re used to test voting machines before Election Day to make sure there aren’t any errors with their programming.
But just a few days ago, Benton County officials realized those PEBs hadn’t come in the mail yet, and they might not be ready for early voting, which started on Monday.
CA: Fresno Co. candidate levels voting rights charges
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/10/18/2123218/sterling-levels-voting-rights.html
Fresno County cuts polling sites in half
..
The county is reducing the number of precincts from 405 in June to 205 next month because of budget cuts,
CO: Black-box issue sheds light
http://www.aspentimes.com/ARTICLE/20101016/LETTER/101019869/
CT: Vote With a Click?
Candidates for Secretary of the State say they want to make voting easier, perhaps online. http://westport.patch.com/articles/vote-with-a-click-2
“Because elections must be free of the possibility of fraud, every method of voting must have a “paper trail”, where, even if initially tabulated by a computer, there is still an actual paper ballot to examine if there is a question of fraud,” Farrell said in the Patch Voter Guide.
DC: Flaws in D.C.’s online voting system should serve as a warning to all states*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101804529.html
Verified Voting, a nonprofit that works to ensure reliable elections, called the District’s experiment “a visceral demonstration of just how serious the threats really are.” (cross posted in Internet Voting Watch)
FL: Elections supervisor Kathy Dent may not run again
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101018/COLUMNIST/10181032/2055/NEWS?Title=Elections-supervisor-Kathy-Dent-may-not-run-again#
Dent has had a challenging fall. She was criticized for allegedly influencing a county charter review board candidate to not seek a recount in an August primary that was decided by just 151 votes. The candidate, Kathy Bolam, has since sued Dent.
Then weeks later Dent drew the ire of Democrats and some Republican candidates for unexpectedly moving up the day to send out absentee ballots to voters with little notice to candidates.
Chicago official blames vendor Dominion for misspelling Rich Whitney’s name as “Rich Whitey” on IL gubernatorial ballot. Whitley asks: “Why is something as vital to our society as the integrity of the vote being left to a private, for-profit contractor?”..New Hanover NC BoE Chief says ‘no conspiracy’ causing touchscreens to flip votes. Yet voters were disenfranchised. This would not happen with paper ballots, optically scanned…MORE vote buying in KY…Lawsuit against EVMs in India..Peru to adopt electronic voting…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
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CO: We need your help!
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-need-your-help.html The Colorado Attorney General’s office has issued an opinion (October 15th email below) that, if left unchallenged, would essentially shut down independent oversight of elections.
FL: Broward man forms 340 PACs, 40 political parties — and is running for governor
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-10-04/news/fl-josue-larose-election-20101004_1_political-parties-republican-ken-pruitt-josue-larose
Guam: Major election changes needed (argues FOR electronic voting)
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20101017/OPINION02/10170318/1014/OPINION/Major-election-changes-needed Electronic voting machines prevent party crossovers and voting for more than 15 senators, because the machines will not permit the voter to do so. Blind voters, who could vote using an audio feature, no longer can vote alone and require someone to assist them in marking their ballots.
IL: ‘Whiteygate” Reveals Serious Problems With Black-Box Voting Machines
Statement by Rich Whitney, Green Party Candidate for Governor
http://www.whitneyforgov.org/%E2%80%98whiteygate%E2%80%9D-reveals-serious-problems-with-black-box-voting-machines
On October 12, we learned from an early voter in Chicago that there was a problem with the early voting machines. He cast his ballot for me, Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor. My name was spelled correctly on the first screen, but when it went to the “review screen,” my name appeared as “Rich Whitey,” with the letter “n” missing. At the review screen, any voter who was confused or troubled by the thought of voting for “Rich Whitey,” then had an option to change his/her vote.
…
Mr. Neal attributed the error to a Toronto-based private contractor known as Dominion Voting, probably the largest single provider of electronic voting machines in the nation.
IL: Correction: Illinois Ballot Mistake story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/15/AR2010101507013.html
CHICAGO — In a story Oct. 15 about a mistake in Chicago’s electronic voting machines, The Associated Press erroneously reported the way a gubernatorial candidate’s name appears on a ballot review touch-screen. The screen lists the candidate as “R. Whitey,” not “Rich Whitey” as the AP reported
IL: Batavia Cares coordinator upset over ballot mishap*
http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2010/10/15/75351233/index.xml
The fact that 21 counties in Illinois – including Kane – missed the deadline to mail out military and overseas ballots bothers the leader of a Batavia organization that offers support to U.S. military members.
…
Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said Thursday that the ballots were mailed two days late because of a snag that occurred when county board member John Fahy, R-West Dundee, withdrew from the ballot.
Cunningham said if the office had sent out the ballots on time, he would have had to re-mail them later at an additional cost, and said the re-mailing would have gone out Sept.
The District of Columbia is conducting a pilot project to allow overseas and military voters to download and return absentee ballots over the Internet. Before opening the system to real voters, D.C. has been holding a test period in which they've invited the public to evaluate the system's security and usability. This is exactly the kind of open, public testing that many of us in the e-voting security community — including me — have been encouraging vendors and municipalities to conduct. So I was glad to participate, even though the test was launched with only three days' notice. I assembled a team from the University of Michigan, including my PhD students, Eric Wustrow and Scott Wolchok, and Dawn Isabel, a member of the University of Michigan technical staff. Within 36 hours of the system going live, our team had found and exploited a vulnerability that gave us almost total control of the server software, including the ability to change votes and reveal voters’ secret ballots. In this post, I’ll describe what we did, how we did it, and what it means for Internet voting.
Chicago’s voting machines mis-spelled Green Pty candidate’s name as ‘Rich Whitey’. The election board is reprogramming 4,200 machines…Stunned voters watched touchscreens flip their votes in New Hanover CO NC..Vote PA needs your help in fight for paper ballots….”Overseas and military voters have unprecedented options for requesting, receiving and casting their ballots in 2010.” says Pres of Overseas Vote Foundation…Is it possible commit election fraud even without being in a voting booth? (Yes)…Will Online Voting Turn Into an Election Day Debacle?…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
CA: “Am I registered to vote?” Find out from your county. Oct. 18 is the voter registration deadline! http://kimalex.blogspot.com/2010/10/am-i-registered-to-vote-find-out-from.html
CA: Fraudulent voter registration switches rise in Sacramento*
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/15/3105831/fraudulent-voter-registration.html
Throughout the county, voters who signed petitions on the street – pledging their support to some cause – have had their party affiliation switched with fraudulent voter registration filings.
CA: Ranked Choice Voting: How does it work? (Alameda County)
http://www.oaklandseen.com/2010/10/14/ranked-choice-voting-how-does-it-work/
CA: Lick Those Stamps, Alameda County Voters
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/politics/Lick-Those-Stamps-Alameda-Co-Voters–104899984.html An estimated 78 cents in postage is needed to return the multiple ballot cards from local, state and federal races and measures, according to the county’s registrar of voters.
CA: Election Day help is a click away
http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_16340135
Election officials remind voters that Monday is the final day to register to vote in the general election. Download a registration form online at www.sos.ca.gov/nvrc/fedform , print and sign it. Voters may also contact their county election offices.
Voters who are not enrolled in the permanent vote-by-mail program have until Oct. 26 to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Obtain a form at your county election office or go to www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vote-by-mail/pdf/fill-in-vote-by-mail-app-instruct.pdf
CT: Connecticut follows MOVE Act, avoids flaws – Others follow the money
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/connecticut-follows-move-act-avoids-flaws-others-follow-the-money/ . But there is big money and momentum behind efforts in other states to exploit flaws in the act.
…
Hopefully, Internet Voting Will be banned before it costs an election. The recent Washington D.C. public test clearly demonstrated that the years of warnings by computer scientists, security experts, and advocates were fully justified
CT: Connecticut Election Commission Finds ‘Insufficient Evidence’ in Ann Coulter Voter Fraud Case But Ignored Key Evidence, Erred in Investigation
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8124 State Elections Enforcement Commission determines it ‘cannot make full and fair determination’, but failed to look at documented facts and even Coulter’s own admissions…
FL: Absentee ballots had wrong addresses* (Seminole County)
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/seminole_news/101410absentee-ballots-had-wrong-addresses In a batch of 300 or so, Ertel found six with wrong addresses, due to a computer glitch in Tallahassee.
“To make sure those six didn’t go out to the wrong locations, we stopped the entire process, so we could make sure all the ballots would go to the right address,” says Ertel. “What we have found is that all the supervisors of elections throughout the state have done pretty much the same thing.”
FL: Computer glitch in Tallahassee could delay distribution of some
absentee ballots *
http://www.theorbitgroup.com/12749/computer-glitch-in-tallahassee-could-delay-distribution-of-some-absentee-ballots/ TALLAHASSEE — If you changed your mailing address recently and just requested an absentee ballot, there’s a small chance you might not get it quickly because of a glitch in the state’s voter database.
Computer scientist Dan Wallach News8 Austin TV: “Texas Supreme Court to weigh in on e-voting”…..Computer Scientists, Election Integrity Advocates Question Feasibility of “Digital Democracy”:”If I’m going to steal an election, I probably won’t mess with these little pilots…”I’m going to wait until there’s this groundswell for Internet voting.” ~ Dr. Barbara Simons….Court permits release of unredacted report on AVC Advantage..
All this and more in todays voting news below…
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CO: Commissioners defend polling places
http://www.gazette.com/articles/places-106246-polling-monday.html
El Paso County officials on Tuesday defended their designation of polling places for the August primary and November general election, following Monday’s criticism from a coalition of First Amendment rights advocates who object to the number of local churches being used.
DC: DC Passes National Popular Vote Law
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/10/dc-passes-national-popular-vote-law.html
FL: Glitch in state database delays mailing of absentee ballots
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/oct/13/glitch-in-state-database-delays-mailing-of/
People who recently requested absentee ballots for the general election may have to wait an extra day or two before they can fill in their votes.
More than 1,000 absentee ballots requested by Treasure Coast residents were put on hold because of a glitch that shut down the state’s voter database Monday and early Tuesday.
IL: Kirk Campaign Voter Integrity Drive Targets Key Black Districts
http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2010/10/12/kirk-campaign-voter-integrity-drive-targets-key-black-districts/
KY: More Ky. Counties Switching to Digital Scan Voting
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/More_Ky_Counties_Switching_to_
Digital_Scan_Voting_104844059.html http://tinyurl.com/2bwdeo9 The Nov. 2 general election will mark the first time voters in 45 Kentucky counties use a new digital scan voting system
LA: Simmons calls for recount of election results for School Board
http://www.beauregarddailynews.net/topstories/x710522369/Simmons-calls-for-recount-of-election-results-for-School-Board
MD: Maryland Pioneers Faster Way to Vote Absentee
Ballots now as close as your computer
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/MD-Pioneers-Easter-Faster-Way-to-Vote-Absentee–104580499.html Maryland is becoming the first state in the nation to make absentee ballots available online.
NC: Instant runoff to be used for first time this election
http://charlotte.news14.com/content/top_stories/631364/instant-runoff-to-be-used-for-first-time-this-election (With video) “It is instant for the voters, but it is not instant for the election officials that have to count it,” says Bartlett.
This sounds confusing, and Bartlett admits it might be. Political analysts say they are watching to see how it works.
NC: More on Instant Runoff Voting
http://www.news-record.com/blog/54431/entry/100902
I quoted Greensboro attorney Marshall Hurley: “I call myself an election lawyer and I had to struggle grasping it and explaining it to other people.”
NJ: New Jersey Court Releases Unredacted Voting Machine Analysis, Finds No Trade Secrets Threatened http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6787
NM: Herrera’s troubles give GOP rare shot at office2010 ELECTION: Secretary of state job held by Democrats for 80 years http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/2010-election-Herrera-s-troubles-give-GOP-rare-shot-at-office Since early this year, incumbent Mary Herrera has faced a growing number of complaints — from her own staff as well as some county clerks across New Mexico — and has had to endure a barrage of bad publicity, including reports of possible criminal investigations.
NM: Overseas ballots will get four-day extension
http://newmexicoindependent.com/65031/overseas-ballots-will-get-four-day-extension
Ballots sent to uniformed New Mexicans and other state residents living overseas will get an extra four days to reach New Mexico to be counted.
NV: Nevada Secretary of State Acted Swiftly in Overseas Ballot SNAFU *
http://www.nationalreview.com/battle10/249518/nevada-secretary-state-acted-swiftly-overseas-ballot-snafu-elizabeth-crum
Post-election audits of electronic vote tallies are inexpensive. The process is simple: a sample of precincts (or batches of ballots that have been tallied electronically) is chosen randomly, counted by hand, and compared to the corresponding computer tally. To mention just two examples, North Carolina conducted an audit of the Presidential election in 275 precincts (almost 10% of the total precincts in the state) for a statewide total of $31,000, and Connecticut's November 2008 audit costed 11 cents per audited race on each ballot.
Still, in these straightened times, States and counties with auditable voting systems might be concerned about the costs of manually counting ballots. In May, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission gave such jurisdictions excellent but little-noticed news: the Commission ruled that States may use Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds to pay for the cost of post-election audits. The EAC concluded that funds allocated under either Section 101 or Section 251 of HAVA may be used to fund audits.
New: radio interview with Dr. David Jefferson, Livermore Natl Laboratories, computer scientist and cyber security expert and VerifiedVoting.org’s Internet Voting expert with NEW UNREPORTED BOMBSHELLS on breath-taking D.C. Internet Vote Hack. Iranian, Chinese Computers tried to hack D.C. Board of Elections…NY BOE survey finds thousands of voters have ‘major issues’ with new machines…Paper Trail for E-Voting Machines Goes Before TX Supreme Court…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
Find voting news on the internet at http://votingnews.blogspot.com
CA: Candidates exploit ranked-choice endorsements
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/11/BA2M1FQEAC.DTL
CA: Voters again having trouble sealing absentee ballot envelopes
http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/politicsanyone/62032
Voters are, again, improperly sealing their absentee ballot envelopes and it’s causing problems at the Kern County elections division, Chief Deputy Registrar Karen Rhea said.
FL: Wrong Absentee Ballots Sent To Voters*
http://www.wftv.com/countybycounty/25361496/detail.html
SANFORD, Fla. — The Seminole County Supervisor of Elections admitted Monday that his office made a mistake, sending the wrong absentee ballots to an entire district of Sanford voters.
“It’s only 89 voters, but for those 89 voters it’s, you know, it’s the most important ballot they’re going to get for this year, so we need to make sure that they get it right,” said Michael Ertel, the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections.
Guam: GEC prepares for day in federal court
http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=13305521 The agency as we reported violated federal law when it didn’t send absentee ballots to uniformed and overseas voters 45 days prior to the election. As a result the U.S. Department of Justice took GEC to court.
IL: Email No Panacea for Our Military
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/10/12/email-no-panacea-for-our-military/
For military voters, we emailed 42 ballots and just a single one has been returned. A rate of 2.4%. On the other hand, we have mailed 204 ballots, and already 33 have been returned. A rate of 16.2%.
Now other factors certainly enter into this. Many of these military ballots are sent within the country. The final determination of the effectiveness of this method will be decided two weeks after the election when we do our final canvass.
IN: Early Voting Begins, But Not Without Glitches* (video available)
http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=206425
A line of voters had to wait several minutes for machines to get up and running.
County Clerk Susan Kirk says the system must have lost connection over the weekend, but a computer tech was fixing the problem.
IN: 2 special prosecutors chosen in Charlie White investigation
http://www.indystar.com/article/20101011/NEWS05/10110389/2-special-prosecutors-chosen-in-Charlie-White-investigation?odyssey=tabtopnewstextIndyStar.com
White, a Republican, used his ex-wife’s address to vote in the May 4 primary election. Initially, he said his actions were a mistake and didn’t warrant a criminal investigation. He’s maintained his actions were legal.
…
White already has left his seat on the Fishers Town Council as a result of the residence change that led to questions about the legality of his actions.
MO: Royster Claims New Proof Of Voter Fraud
John Joseph Rizzo Bested Will Royster In House Race By 1 Vote
http://www.kmbc.com/news/25359417/detail.html
NC: New online absentee voting ballots ease process for local troops
http://www.jdnews.com/articles/voting-83379-absentee-online.html
ND: Spirit Lake takes Benson County polling dispute to court
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/178891/
Verified Voting’s Pres.interviewed by Fox D.C. about DC Internet Voting Pilot. In spite of experts saying otherwise, DC’s BoE still thinks they can make internet voting secure. Really? Then Google & DoD may wish to hire DC officials to teach them how. The video testimony is up on YouTube, making it easier to share on Facebook & blogs…Early voting centers at colleges teach students…Big Spending by Outside Groups, but No Disclosure..Pakistan pilot program for electronic voting…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
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CA: Voting by mail can result in unintended consequences
http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/columns/oped_contributors/Voting-by-mail-can-result-in-unintended-consequences-104551994.html Early voting has changed the arc of campaign planning and lowered the value of late campaign developments.
CA: Solano County’s mail-in ballots could be delayed
http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_16296563 Delays at the postal distribution center in Sacramento are holding up the delivery of some vote-by-mail ballots to voters in northern and eastern Solano County, elections officials said Friday.
…
People registered to vote by mail who have not received their ballots by Wednesday should contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 784-6675.
CO: INSIDE THE BLACK BOX …..YOU VOTE … BUT “WE” COUNT …
OH, BY THE WAY “WE” DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU…
http://authenticallywired.com/2010/10/09/nside-the-black-box/
CO: Weld clerk to post deputies at vote centers
Some worry about voter intimidation
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20101009/NEWS/101009690/
1002&parentprofile=1001 http://tinyurl.com/29num2h
DC: D.C. Council hearing sums up election: Poor training and preparation
http://www.wikiusnews.com/3044/d-c-council-hearing-sums-up-election-poor-training-and-preparation.html
LA: Election night returns slowed by computer problems
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/10/election_night_returns_slowed.html
Jacques Berry, a spokesman for the secretary of state, said there were two problems.
One was “very, very slow” transmission of data from a computer at the office of Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal District Court ArthurMorrell, where Orleans returns are collected, to the secretary’s officein Baton Rouge.
The other problem was a lack of adequate bandwidth on election night for the secretary’s website, which was overwhelmed when, among otherthings, more people than expected logged on seeking election returns.
MI: Ottawa County clerk apologizes for second costly election ballot printing error in four years* http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/ottawa_county_clerk_apologizes.html
The glitch — the office’s second ballot error in four years — affected ballots sent to about 1,400 voters and carries a $48,570 cost for ballot reprints.
The clerk’s office omitted the names of Natural Law Party candidates Stacy Kohmescher, candidate for the state Board of Education, and Doug Dern, candidate for Wayne State University’s Board of Governors.
NC: You would think voting would be easy for a servicemember….nnnope
http://www.onemarinesview.com/one_marines_view/2010/10/you-would-think-voting-would-be-easy-for-a-servicemembernnnope.html I hope you take the opportunity to vote this year and every year offered. I, being one of many servicemembers deployed overseas that desire to vote via absentee voting wanted to vote but wasn’t successful. (sorry Walter B Jones North Carolina 3rd you didnt get my vote because our absentee system is all jacked up)
NC: Campaign cash, flowing from where?
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/10/729577/campaign-cash-flowing-from-where.html
NJ: Judge finds no evidence of voter fraud in Paterson
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/104622224_Judge_finds
_no_evidence_of_voter_fraud.html http://tinyurl.com/2d4z7tx The election day results showed McDaniel leading Rodriguez by 25 votes.
For years, computer security experts have said that casting ballots using the Internet cannot be done securely. Now, after a team from the University of Michigan successfully hacked the Washington D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) public test of Internet voting, we have a visceral demonstration of just how serious the threats really are.
Prior to rolling out the Internet voting system this November year, the DCBOEE allowed a 5 day trial period, inviting the public to test the ballot casting system and probe its security. Despite short notice given to the public, Dr. Alex Halderman and a team of students took up the challenge. What they were able to achieve in 36 hours demonstrates how vulnerable Internet voting is to a whole host of attacks, and how serious the security threats really are.
In testimony before the DC Council Hearing of The Committee on Government Operations and The Environment, Dr. Halderman detailed the extent to which his team was able to take complete control of DCBOEE’s Internet voting system:
This week, as University of Michigan computer technologists revealed in stark fashion the risks of Internet voting, Verified Voting, Common Cause, and Voter Action worked to halt an effort to expand the electronic return of voted ballots in Washington State. The Secretary of State of Washington has proposed an emergency rule that would allow voters to send their votes home to election officials via e-mail. In a letter to the Secretary this week, the three organizations and a cooperating attorney wrote that e-mail balloting is not required by Federal or State law, and exposes voters' ballots to unacceptable risk of error or fraud.
This week, Dr. Alex Halderman and his students at the University of Michigan provided a powerful demonstration of the wisdom of avoiding the electronic submission of voted ballots for the foreseeable future. Professor Halderman's team hacked the District of Columbia's pilot Internet voting portal for the District's overseas and military voters, changing the contents of encrypted ballots and re-encrypting them,discovering the identities and user PINs of voters - as well as noting attempts by users in Iran and China to gain access to the DC voting system.
Must see video testimony! DC’s Board of Elections detected the hack of their internet voting system BECAUSE Professor J. Alex Halderman & U. of Michigan students wanted the hack detected. “A real attack might be completely invisible and could have run on undetected much, much longer…”. Halderman’s team also changed the BoE password to protect it foreign hacker attempts..Files stolen from NM’s SoS whistleblower..Ireland to turn €50m voting machines into ‘traffic cones or fleeces’ (with video)…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
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AL: Bessemer, Ala: mayor fires city clerk over absentee ballots
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006447.html
When Brooks refused to go off-site, the mayor fired him about 5:30 p.m., forced him to turn over his keys to the mayor and had a police officer escort him out of Bessemer city hall, Brooks said. The absentee ballots for today’s election were locked in the city clerk’s office, and Brooks said the mayor, who is a candidate in today’s election, had the key to the office.
CA: andidate’s DOB an issue for voters (Orange County)
http://www.ocregister.com/news/voters-269915-candidate-dob.html
When Miller Oh filed to run for City Council in Buena Park, he dutifully put down his correct age: 52.
…
Oh admits his registration says he’s 46, as do his Social Security records, his passport, and every other legal document he has.
CT: Probate judge to run as write-in candidate after ballot glitch
http://www.theday.com/article/20101006/NWS01/310069852/-1/NWS
CT: State to Tackle Ann Coulter Voter Fraud Allegations Next Week
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/politics/State-to-Tackle-Ann-Coulter-Voter-Fraud-Allegations-Next-Week—104509789.html
Whether conservative pundit Ann Coulter falsely used her parents’ New Canaan address as her voting address is up to the state Election Commission.
DC: DCBOEE Lessons Learned from Digital Vote by Mail Hacking (internet voting)
http://dcboee.us/dvm/ps_hacker_response.htm
[DC BoEE idea of lesson learned is to ignore computer scientists overall warning that
internet voting can not be secured period, at least for 10 years and not this internet.]
See Internet Voting Watch section for more on the DC internet voting pilot hack
GA: Election law change approved by feds (early voting on touchscreens)
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/headlines/Election_law_change
_approved_by_feds_104546754.html http://tinyurl.com/23zo3vw
Electronic voting, as well as paper absentee ballots, must be provided for at least 45 days before elections starting next year.
Guam: BREAKING NEWS: Justice Department Sues Guam Election Commission: Overseas Citizens Must Have Right To Vote! http://guamnewswatch.com/201010063240/Local-News/Justice-Department-Sues-Guam-Election-Commission-Overseas-Citizens-Must-Have-Right-To-Vote.html The Department of Justice filed their complaint today in the U.S. District Court of Guam following news that the Guam Election Commission had failed to deliver timely ballots to overseas service members and citizens who are registered to vote on island.
Guam: Justice Department Announces Lawsuit to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in Guam http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/October/10-crt-1122.html
IL: Cahokia voter fraud plea deal
http://www.ksdk.com/news/regional/story.aspx?storyid=219627&catid=16
Wiggins pleaded guilty to 43 counts of voter fraud, but 39 of those counts were dismissed. Brown, 27, who worked in the Cahokia Streets Department, originally received 22 counts of voter fraud but 19 of them were dismissed. Wiggins, 44, is married to the village clerk.
About the DC Internet vote hack, Dr. David Jefferson says “Let there be no mistake about it: this is a major achievement, and supports in every detail the warnings that security community have been giving about Internet voting for over a decade now.”..The U. of Michigan team changed cast ballots to write-ins like HAL 900 of “2001: A Space Odyssey” …MAJOR writeup about SC’s voting machines, computer scientist says machines would get an ‘F’..Election expert testifies at trial on Shelby Co TN election irregularities..Ireland scraps EVMs, tired of paying storage fees…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
CA: “SURGE IN EARLY VOTING UPENDS ELECTION PLAYBOOKS”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/017254.html
CA: County’s mail ballot will need 61¢ postage
http://www.modbee.com/2010/10/06/1370533/countys-mail-ballot-will-need.html
Sacramento County’s registrar of voters is warning that extra postage is required to return vote-by-mail ballots.
CT: Ann Coulter to Face Vote on Voter Fraud Charges in CT by State Elections Enforcement Commission http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8110
“This case is scheduled to appear on the October 14, 2010 public session. We expect the Commission will vote on this matter at that time.”
KS: Should the state require you to show ID?
http://www.kansas.com/2010/10/05/1527367/should-the-state-require-you-to.html
MD: Early votes to be tallied earlier
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/10062010/indytop172101_32402.shtml
Early-voting totals must be processed and submitted two hours before polls close on general election night, according to an emergency regulation the state elections board approved last week.
MI: APPEALS COURT TO HEAR BARROW SUIT TO REMOVE BING NOV. 2
Former candidate seeks Bing’s immediate removal due to massive irregulaties in vote
http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=923 “This law suit is not sour grapes or a refusal to accept an election loss, rather it’s about 59,135 of 114,718 ballots which the public does not know were un-recountable and irregular….”
ND: Benson County won’t have polling site on reservation
http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/543535.html?nav=5010
MINNEWAUKAN The Spirit Lake Reservation will be the only reservation in North Dakota without an on-reservation polling site this election.
NJ: HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE CAN STILL VOTE
http://www.nbc40.net/news/14916/
NY: Voter was right to be skeptical
http://registerstar.com/articles/2010/10/05/opinion/letters/doc4caa73ff
66e3e840177490.txt http://tinyurl.com/2vgnvwa By Virginia Martin, Democratic Commissioner of Elections. I and my counterpart, (Republican) Commissioner Nastke, believe that the only way we can be confident that we’ll know how the voters voted — which we must know before we can certify the results — is by counting every single vote on every single paper ballot that was scanned. Therefore, while what the scanner might show the voter on its screen might be interesting, no voter should be reassured by what that screen reveals, because it could be wrong.
NY: Libertarian Party, and Anti-Prohibition Party, Sue New York Over Refusal to Print Nominees’ Name Twice on Ballot http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/06/libertarian-party-and-anti-prohibition-party-sue-new-york-over-refusal-to-print-nominees-name-twice-on-ballot/
NV: RNC mails 200,000 absentee ballot request forms to wrong county, has to do
robocall to inform voters* http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2010/oct/06/rnc-mails-200000-absentee-ballot-request-forms-wro/ The Republican National Committee recently mailed an estimated 200,000 absentee ballot request forms into Clark County – but a warning on the form instructs people who have never voted in “Washoe County” that they can only use the mail ballot under strict circumstances. (form and flyer posted)
OH: Morgan County suit seeks money to pay for election
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/10/05/copy/suit-seeks-money-to-pay-for-election.html
Verified Voting applauds the decision of the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics to suspend their plan to offer overseas voters the dangerous option of returning their voted ballots by a "digital vote by mail" Internet voting system. The District's plans to continue other Internet-based ballot return methods (including email and fax) for the District's military and civilian overseas voters still raise concerns among voting security experts. DC election officials made the decision after inviting technology experts to hack the Board's prototype voting system during a trial period. The test pilot was apparently attacked successfully shortly after it began by a team of academic experts led by Prof. J. Alex Halderman at the University of Michigan.
The attack caused the University of Michigan fight song to be played for test voters when they completed the balloting process. Full details of the hack and its impact on submitted test ballots are expected to become available in the coming days. In addition to the Michigan team's breach of the voting system, Verified Voting's Board Chair Dr.David Jefferson documented a very serious vote loss problem that caused voters to inadvertently return blank ballots while believing that they had submitted complete ballots. The disenfranchising bug was noted in at least two widely used computer/browser configurations. It is possible that the same problem would affect voters trying to use email or some fax systems to return voted ballots.
University of Michigan Prof. Alex Halderman has now released some details about his successful attack on the District of Columbia's proposed Internet voting system which has been under test for the last week. (See www.freedom-to-tinker.com.) It is now clear that Halderman and his team were able to completely subvert the entire DC Internet voting system remotely, gaining complete control over it and substituting fake votes of their choice for the votes that were actually cast by the test voters. What is worse, they did so without the officials even noticing for several days. Let there be no mistake about it: this is a major achievement, and supports in every detail the warnings that security community have been giving about Internet voting for over a decade now. After this there can be no doubt that the burden of proof in the argument over the security of Internet voting systems has definitely shifted to those who claim that the systems can be made secure.
D.C.’s internet “Voting System Pwned by Michigan Wolverines” in public test. Great. What would experts find if allowed to “test” W.VA.’s military/internet voting system, or other states’ email balloting?..The NY State Board of Elections is conducting a voter feedback poll. So is the New York Daily news..Trial against Shelby Co TN Elections Commission starts Wednesday..Voting by mail? Check the postage!…Will The World’s Largest Democracy beat the U.S. to full VVPR?…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
Also see voting news on the web, use our search box or sign up for email at http://votingnews.blogspot.com Thanks!
AZ: Voter registration goes too far for some
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13261134
Bils pointed out that Arizona law requires name, address, birth date, a “yes” answer to citizenship, and the number a driver license or state ID, or last four digits of the Social Security number.
“They should put it someplace telling you what items are mandatory and what items are really optional which is the majority of the document,” Bils said.
CA: THE SMOKING TOILET
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/017242.html LA City Councilman Richard Alarcon has been indicted on charges that he didn’t really live in the home that allowed him to represent his district According to this report, the evidence against him includes utility bills showing that the home was only using 8.2 gallons of water
CA: Some Vote-by-Mail Ballots Delayed, More Pricey
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2010/10/04/some-vote-by-mail-ballots-delayed,-more-pricey Some voters in the Sacramento region may have to wait an extra week to receive their vote-by-mail ballots. And some will have to put extra postage on their ballots to make sure they’re delivered when they send them back.
CA: County Cuts Dozens of Polling Location Sites
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/County-Cuts-Dozens-of-Polling-Location-Sites/Qcq1BVI2ukSLdcznNb4UtA.cspx
IN: Election offices unaware of mobile registration site (for mobile phone)
http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=13264449
KS: Clerical error leads to voter registration mixup between Barton, Douglas counties
Woman had been listed in wrong county for 2 years
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/oct/01/clerical-error-leads-voter-registration-mixup-betw/
NC: Key election dates ahead
http://www.wdnweb.com/articles/2010/10/05/news/doc4caa4f729f818142119334.txt
Wynn’s replacement will be selected by means of an “instant runoff,” which lets voters rank their preferred candidates in three columns — first, second, third.
NY: Board of Elections conducts voter-feedback poll to learn about ‘complications’
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/05/2010-10-05_you_like_us_dont_you_board_of_elex_conducts_voterfeedback_poll.html
The city Board of Elections thinks it did a great job running last month’s problem-scarred primary election – so it’s paying for a poll to prove it. (NY Daily News has poll up too)
NY: Why Some Polling Places Were Tardy on Primary Day
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/why-johnny-couldnt-vote-on-primary-day/
NY: Late poll openings, paper jams mar New York City primary
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700070966/Late-poll-openings-paper-jams-mar-New-York-City-primary.html About 6 percent of New York City’s polling sites did not open on time for last month’s primary election and thousands of poll workers had not been trained to operate new voting machines that debuted that day, the city’s Board of Elections acknowledged Monday
TN: Trial Against Elections Commission Starts Wednesday (video also available)
Had intended to start Monday, but both sides fought over information not being released http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-court-election-democrat-challenges,0,7924646.story Attorneys for the Shelby County Elections Commission and Democratic candidates and others have fought hard since August 5th. This day wasn’t going to be any different.
DC Internet voting trial suspended on Oct 1 citing “usability issues”. Oddly the Univ of Michigan fight song played in voter’s browser after vote cast. This may be the tip of the iceberg..Shelby County Election-“Was this any way to hold an election?”..Interest Group Spending Is Up and Anonymous..Make sure your vote counts; cast it in the right place..USENIX: “Security blunders dumber than dog snot.”…A Canadian soldier in Afghanistan will pay $241.21 to mail absentee ballot home, US troops have free express mail ballot return…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
Do you like voting news? Then tell a friend we’re on the internet at http://votingnews.blogspot.com
AZ: Make sure your vote counts; cast it in the right place
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_df63170c-2d3e-5d1a-a9ad-4a8408330914.html Attention voters: Late this month you will receive a postcard in the mail from the Pima County Elections Department. You’ll probably be tired of mail from politicians by then, but do not toss this card. It is not junk. It lists the name and address of your polling place.
If you vote at the wrong place, you risk having your ballot invalidated. That’s what happened to 3,230 Pima County electors in 2008, according to a new report…
CA: Vote-by-mail ballots headed to California voters
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16234857?nclick_check=1
Voters have until 8 on election night to turn in ballots at their polling places.
CA: Fresno County cuts polling sites in half
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/10/03/2103656/fresno-county-cuts-polling-sites.html
Fresno County’s budget crisis is bringing an ugly new reality to next month’s election — a massive cutback in the number of voting precincts
CO: The politics of election quality
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101004/LETTER/101009943/1020&ParentProfile=1061
Starting with cordial private meetings and advisory e-mails we have gradually and patiently escalated our criticisms to appropriate authorities. As if to punish us, citizens with no power have been tarred and feathered with unwarranted blame and denigration.
CO: Colorado Republican Party May Lose Status as a Qualified Major Party
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/04/colorado-republican-party-may-lose-status-as-a-qualified-major-party/
IL: Can Rahm Emanuel Run for Mayor of Chicago?
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/10/04/can-rahm-emanuel-run-for-mayor-of-chicago/
NJ: Jury selection in voter fraud trial of former Atlantic City councilman Marty Small begins http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/jury_selection_in_voter_fraud.html
NM: RECLAIMING Their VOICE: The Native American Vote in New Mexico
http://www.concentric.org/reclaiming/ Native Americans living on reservations were the last ethnic minority to have been granted the right to vote in the United States.
PA: Right call on the Black Panthers (Editorial)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/03/AR2010100303620.html
Far from acting recklessly, the Justice Department did what every law enforcement entity is ethically obligated to do: press only those charges that are supported by evidence.
SC: Scary Video: Who Builds South Carolina’s Electronic Voting Machines?
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2010/10/03/scary-video-who-builds-south-carolinas-electronic-voting-machines
“The Trouble With Touchscreens”
TN: The Gang(s) That Couldn’t Shoot Straight* (Shelby County Election)
Wild charges and careless accounting: Was this any way to hold an election?
http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-gangs-that-couldnt-shoot-straight/Content?oid=2320888 What else might have gone wrong besides the glitch with early-voting data on Election Day? A good deal, say the litigants, their supporters in the Democratic Party and elsewhere, and, notably, Black Box Voting consultants Bev Harris and Susan Pynchon, residents of Washington state and Florida, respectively, who have served as the principal investigators for the plaintiffs.
The results of Frank Heindel’s FOIA: “Citizen’s Audit of South Carolina’s Voting System October 2010″…The Aspen Times has one of best articles I’ve ever seen on e-voting issues in “Unlocking IRV in Aspen”…Florida Case Puts Focus on Issue of Absentee Ballot Fraud…Hawaii’s eGov website listed wrong date for Nov General Election…2nd-tier parties sue New York State Election Board…Reminder-Monday is last day for half the states to register, visit Rock the Vote for help..India EVMs-“Is there a ghost in the machine?”..
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
CA: CalVoter.org Delivers Nonpartisan Election Information to California Voters
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/kim-alexander/7954-calvoterorg-delivers-nonpartisan-election-information-california-voters
CA: A higher standard sought: New law to require elections equipment vendors to report flaws, errors and malfunctions
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_16235064?source=rss
CO: Unlocking IRV in Aspen (comprehensive report & timeline)
How instant runoff voting turned the May 2009 election into a 15-month fight
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101003/ASPENWEEKLY/101009972/
1001&parentprofile=1058 http://tinyurl.com/287vdmu ..they discovered that the vote-counting technology is actually a lot more complicated than it appeared at first glance, that they were deploying a system that few really understood — or seem to understand now.
CO: Legal wrangling over Aspen’s IRV
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101003/ASPENWEEKLY/101009967/1077&
ParentProfile=1058 http://tinyurl.com/23l6nfb The arguments are ongoing, as Marks, former Election Commissioner Elizabeth Milias, El Jebel resident Harvie Branscomb and Aspen attorney Millard Zimet have all maintained that the city’s continued effort to convince the public that nothing went wrong with the election is a cover-up.
FL: Florida Case Puts Focus on Issue of Absentee Ballot Fraud*
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/01/absentee-ballot-fraud-daytona-beach-florida-derrick-henry-vote-fraud/ The Daytona Beach probe started when an elections supervisor noticed that as many as 90 absentee ballots had been requested from two e-mail addresses, and that they came from a single computer
…
“Electronic requests mean that people don’t have to show up, don’t have to provide phone numbers and are easier to abuse,” she said.
Perhaps her biggest concern is that voting records in Florida make birth dates publicly available. “It makes requesting absentee ballots by people other than the voter easy.
HI: State’s posting of wrong date for election not a voter concern
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101002_states_posting_of_wrong_date_
for_election_not_a_voter_concern.html http://tinyurl.com/26somfg The state’s eGov website mistakenly listed the general election date as Nov. 4 before correcting it to Nov. 2.
IN: Special Prosecutor to Look Into Candidate’s Alleged Voter Fraud
http://www.wibc.com/news/Story.aspx?id=1288264 Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp plans to appoint a special prosecutor to look into alleged voter fraud by the Republican candidate for Secretary of State, Charlie White. And her chief deputy says that appointment will come soon.
IN: Tully: Should this voter be in charge of state elections?
http://www.indystar.com/article/201009290245/NEWS08/9290315 That essentially sums up the controversy surrounding Charlie White, the Republican candidate for secretary of state. White, who hopes to be the state’s next chief elections officer, now acknowledges he continued to serve on the Fishers Town Council for months after moving out of the district he represented.
The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics has suspended the public examination of DC’s internet voting pilot…NY Senate Elections Committee held a hearing on the recent primary. Lawrence Norden with Brennan Ctr for Justice makes recommendations…Judge won’t dismiss lawsuit against Shelby County TN Election Commission – “You might want to start preparing for yet another election, Shelby County.”..India police want to question 3rd person over voting machine “theft”…
All this and more in todays voting news below…
CA: OC Registrar of Voters Prepares Vote-by-Mail Ballots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur4nHvhXuxY (Youtube video of process)
CA: Ranked Choice Voting Opponents Appealing Dismissal Of Case
http://sfappeal.com/news/2010/09/ranked-choice-voting-opponents-appealing-dismissal-of-case.php
DC: Public Examination Period Suspended (internet voting for overseas/military)
http://www.dcboee.us/dvm/ “Due to usability issues brought to our attention, we have temporarily suspended the public examination test. Thank you for your intereste and participation in improving the functionality of this pilot project.”
GA: A troubling side to early voting
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia_elections_news/2010/09/29/a-troubling-side-to-early-voting-which-by-the-way-ends-monday/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_elections_news
GUAM: Overseas Vote Foundation New FY budget start enabled Guam Elec Comm to buy stamps and send overseas absentee ballots http://ow.ly/2MPoA
MA: Town clerks say red and blue ballots confuse voters
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20100930town_clerks_
say_red_and_blue_ballots_confuse_voters/ http://tinyurl.com/2eakgzh
Statewide, the top of Democratic primary ballots are red and the Republican primary ballots are blue. This has been the norm for 50 years, said Brian McNiff, spokesman for the secretary of state, who oversees Massachusetts elections.
ME: Clerk faces fine – Ross pleads ‘no contest’ to ballot mishandling charge
http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2010/09/30/news/doc4ca4c0bee0c87875860437.txt
The Maine Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint in West Bath District Court on March 31 alleging that on or about Feb. 2, Ross “in her capacity as town clerk in processing absentee ballots in the town of Bowdoinham election for selectman, did unfold one or more absentee ballots at the time she removed the ballots from the absentee ballot envelopes,” in violation of Maine law regarding …
MS: Clerks seek to stop write-in only election
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/09/27/2507662/clerks-seek-to-stop-write-in-only.html
The Laurel Leader-Call reports the lawsuit was filed last week in Jasper County Circuit Court.
The only person who signed up to run for the 13th District was incumbent Judge Robert G. Evans who died of cancer in July, after the candidates’ qualifying deadline..
NH: READER OPINION: Make sure vote counts, by Deborah Sumner
http://sentinelsource.com/articles/2010/10/01/opinion/letters_editor/free/id_413526.txt
NY: Testimony of Lawrence Norden before the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Elections http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/testimony_of_lawrence_norden_
before_the_new_york_state_senate_standing/ http://tinyurl.com/27dct7r
NY: REPORT FROM THE SENATE HEARINGS ON THE NYS PRIMARY
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/10/report-from-the-senate-hearings-on-the-nys-primary/
On September 29th Senator Joseph Addabbo, chair of the Senate Elections Committee held a hearing on the recent New York State primary when new paper ballot and optical scan systems were used statewide for the first time. The hearing focused on reported problems that occurred in New York City, the largest election jurisdiction in the country with almost 4.5 million registered voters.
OH: Secretary Brunner Issues Directive Regarding Voting Rights And Foreclosures; Refers Specific Cases Of Notary Abuse To Federal Prosecutors
http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2010/09/secretary-brunner-issues-directive-regarding-voting-rights-and-foreclosures-refers-specific-cases-of.html
TN: Judge won’t dismiss lawsuit against Shelby County Election Commission
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/oct/01/judge-wont-dismiss-lawsuit-against-shelby-county-e/ You might want to start preparing for yet another election, Shelby County.
ACLU faults Pima county AZ for invalidating 18% of 2008 provisional ballots..Candidate for California SOS has voted once in his life.. NYC Elections Chief Attacks Reports of Primary Day Chaos..Vote Centers for Ohio?..Dave Schechter, CNN Senior National Editor has a wide ranging analysis of today’s election systems and challenges… FVAP blogs on military vote updates…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AL: Some troops may not get ballots in time
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/some-troops-may-not-get-ballots-in-time
AZ: ACLU faults county for invalidating ’08 ballots
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_acad50e1-f065-5b34-8068-f3850189c1f3.html
Pima County was the worst offender in disenfranchising voters in 2008, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union, which determined the county invalidated 18 percent of provisional ballots because voters went to the wrong polling place.
…
The organization’s study, which covered Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai and Coconino counties in the 2008 election, found that of about 131,500 provisional ballots, almost 40,000 ended up invalidated, for reasons as varied as the person didn’t have the right identification or was ineligible to vote.
CA: Challenger who rarely voted seeks California elections post
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16215223?nclick_check=1
Damon Dunn wants to lead the office that oversees elections and voting systems in the nation’s most populous state — a rather large leap for someone who never voted until last year’s statewide special election.
CO: Campaign finance complaint filed against Colo. Secretary of State
http://www.kdvr.com/news/sns-ap-co–colorado-bueschercomplaint,0,3108272.story
A Denver attorney has filed a complaint against Secretary of State Bernie Buescher claiming Buescher violated state law by using state workers to coordinate his campaign for re-election
CT: Lose home but not right to vote
http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2010/09/29/life/doc4ca 34f2aeab84763696821.txt http://tinyurl.com/27qxx4q HARTFORD – Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz sought today to reassure Connecticut foreclosure victims that they will not be denied the right to vote.
DE: Delaware Supreme Court Will Hear Fusion Lawsuit Filed by Libertarians, After Election http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/30/delaware-supreme-court-will-hear-fusion-lawsuit-filed-by-libertarians-after-election/
FL: Court halts penalties for Fla. election violations
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/30/1850152/court-halts-penalties-for-fla.html
Florida election law violators can avoid civil penalties by simply opting for a hearing before an administrative law judge owing to a glitch in legislation passed three years ago, an appeal court ruled Thursday.
FL: Election talk on fantasy Lane (comedy video about Sarasota FL saga)
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7233883/
IA: Churches to host early voting during Sunday worship
http://www.amestrib.com/articles/2010/09/29/ames_tribune/news/doc4ca3
7f68a5950099539305.txt http://tinyurl.com/2bc4xs8
IL: County election board hears case*
Candidate’s husband says his wife’s name off ballot; lack of training cited
http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/2755118,elections0929.article
County Elections Board Attorney Jim Wieser explained that there were four machines sent to the Boys & Girls Club, two for each precinct. However, the two reportedly programmed for EC-31 weren’t out when the day’s first voters arrived, but within a short time, a mechanic found the machines and set them up.
IN: Election board meets about clerical mistake; clerk doing mailing to possible affected absentee voters* http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1668630.html Nearly 200 Greene County registered voters may have received duplicate absentee ballot cards in the mail during the past two weeks
MS: Local voter fraud case ends
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Local-voter-fraud-case-ends/2PP_KOgYnUarUCfB8qLxcw.cspx
A long-running voter fraud case has come to an end in Benton County.
On September 29th Senator Joseph Addabbo, chair of the Senate Elections Committee held a hearing on the recent New York State primary when new paper ballot and optical scan systems were used statewide for the first time. The hearing focused on reported problems that occurred in New York City, the largest election jurisdiction in the country with almost 4.5 million registered voters. In addition to the New York City Board of Elections, others giving testimony included the New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, the Brennan Center for Justice, the League of Women Voters of the City of New York, NYPIRG, Commissioner Doug Kellner of the State Board of Elections and others. Senator Addabbo chaired the hearing, with Senators Bill Perkins, Liz Krueger, and Daniel Squadron also attending.
California’s new law SB1404 requires vote vendors to report problems…Bo Lipari’s testimony on NY primary…Brennan Ctr letter asks vendors to self report probs…South Carolina Straight ticket warning..Charleston Co SC election office drags feet on FOIAS..Mary Mancini’s “The Worst Legislation in Tennessee!”..Fox says 7 states violating the MOVE act, may disenfranchise overseas & military voters. But FVAP Director says “To date, all states have complied with their waiver requirements.”..Violence & Fraud in 2010 Afghanistan Elections..
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AR: Ballot fixed after voter spots error*
http://arkansasleader.blogspot.com/2010/09/top-story-ballot-fixed-after-voter.html
The 80 Jacksonville residents who mistakenly received absentee ballots without all four aldermanic races have been sent supplemental ballots, according to Melinda Allen, Pulaski County election director
CA: Governor signed SB 1404 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) – Elections: ballot cards and voting systems. http://www.gov.ca.gov/press-release/16072/
The Bill here http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_1401-1450/sb_1404_bill_20100927_chaptered.html
CT: A Tale In Three Ballots
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/a-tale-in-three-ballots/
Luther Weeks compares CT, MN & NY ballots and issue of ballot design
DC: Experts Warn Against D.C.’s Planned, Insane Internet Voting Scheme
As if U.S. elections aren’t disastrous enough as is…
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8097
IN: General election ballots are incorrect ($ to subscribe/read full article)
http://www.carrollcountycomet.com/news/2010-09-29/Front_Page/General_election_ballots_are_incorrect.html
The Carroll County Election Board… a special meeting was scheduled for Thursday to discuss a problem that was also an issue in the May primary election. It was discovered that ballots are incorrect as printed.
NC: Hand count may be needed for some NC ballots
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/8373469/
The State Board of Elections finalized details Wednesday on the method used to identify the Court of Appeals race winner being decided through instant runoff voting.
The board decided workers in 24 counties with electronic machines will have to read the register tape generated by each electronic vote should second and third choices be counted. Optical scan ballots used elsewhere will be run through their usual tabulation machines. (editor note-optical scan tally will not be usual)
NY: TESTIMONY ON THE PRIMARY TO THE SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/09/testimony-on-the-primary-to-the-senate-elections-committee/ By far the largest number of problem reports were administrative and legislative issues. These reports broke down into a few main categories – Privacy Issues; Poll Worker Training; Late Poll Openings; Machine Problems; and Hard to read Ballots.
OR: Oregon voters can register on state website
http://www.kcby.com/news/local/103955764.html
OR: Cutting off voters for no good reason (opinion)
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/09/cutting_off_voters_for_no_good.html
SC: More Emails, More Foot-Dragging from Election Officials
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2010/09/29/more-emails-more-foot-dragging-from-election-officials Addendum to my Sept. 29 City Paper column on problems with Charleston County voting machines:
SC: Marilyn Bowers’ Letter of Resignation from Board of Elections
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheGoodFight/archives/2010/09/29/marilyn-bowers-letter-of-resignation-from-board-of-elections (Charleston County)
SC: ‘Straight ticket’ voting could cause problems in November elections
http://www2.scnow.com/news/2010/sep/29/straight-ticket-voting-could-cause-problems-novemb-ar-895519/ Voters who use electronic voting equipment have the option to select only candidates from one political party by choosing a “select all” option. However, if voters do so, they must make sure to view non-partisan ballot items, such as questions or local races where a political party affiliation is not required.
TN: “The Worst Legislation in Tennessee!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KoQShuQQYQ Mary Mancini on the bill that gutted and delayed the “Tennessee Voter Confidence Act.”
DoD Announces Absentee Voting Week..The Persistence of Partisan Election Administration..Shelby County TN expands whistleblower law, but leaves out reference to elections..Overseas Vote Foundation AK, MI, VI overseas voters: Want to #vote in Nov.? Oct. 3 is your Registration deadline…Court orders Philippine Elections Commission to Disclose source code used in May elections…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AL: Federal judge keeps Voting Rights Act challenge moving
http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/2010/09/27/federal-judge-keeps-voting-rights-act-challenge-moving/ A federal district court judge ruled Sept. 10 the federal government must move quickly in contesting Shelby County’s challenge against the constitutionality of sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
CA: Obstacles challenge election reform bid (City of Los Angeles)
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_16181638
Several council colleagues have already voiced qualms about some of the proposals.
They are particularly concerned about the instant runoff process – in which voters rank candidates in a weighted system instead of holding separate primary and general elections – fearing the top-spending candidate would get the most attention.
CO: Mixed prognosis
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100928/LETTER/100929848/
1020&parentprofile=1061 http://tinyurl.com/2467d5s
“Why spend so much energy on election integrity issues?” “Why not focus on something popular then run for office?” After all, it’s “not nice” to raise these issues so very publicly.
Until fair and transparent elections can be restored in Aspen, I believe that we are stuck with the status quo. Without major reform, running for office merely adds unearned legitimacy to an illegitimate process.
FL: Lawyer: Voter Fraud Accusations Against Client Unfounded
http://www.wesh.com/news/25198192/detail.html (video available)
Daytona Beach City Commissioner Under Investigation
…The supervisor of elections said that before the primary, she got a request for dozens of absentee ballots from an e-mail address traced to Henry.
The request included names and addresses for each voter.
Damore said his client didn’t realize the requests were against the law and that the form doesn’t make that fact clear.
IL: The Hotsheet of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project
http://ballot-integrity.org/hotsheet
IN: Parker: I’m convinced White committed voter fraud (with video)
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/politics/parker-i-am-convinced-white-committed-voter-fraud
The current Secretary of State, Todd Rokita, has made voter fraud prevention a priority and Dan Parker thinks he should get to the bottom of it.
IN: Hoosiers can use cell phones to register to vote this year for the first time
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/67f027f7466045ca92815eae1b14e179/IN–Mobile-Voter_Registration/ Residents have to have a valid Indiana driver’s license or state-issued ID to use either registration service.
MA: Committee will make recommendation on electronic voting machines for Hampden
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/committee_
will_make_recommenda.html http://tinyurl.com/28ec4k5 At a selectmen’s meeting on Monday James Gillen, former city editor of The Republican, echoed the sentiments of Selectman Vincent Villamaino that the town follows an antiquated process in counting the votes by hand.
…
Wiseman said the only complaints she has ever received about Hampden’s late results have come from the media.
MD: Guardsman, D.C. group sue Md. elections board
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2010/09/guardsman
_dc_group_sue_md_elec.html http://tinyurl.com/2cb2cqx Ross Goldstein, deputy director of the elections board, declined to comment directly on the lawsuit. But he said the Justice Department and military authorities signed off on the office’s plan to send out ballots for congressional offices quickly after the primaries.
Hampden MA may end hand counting ballots..Benton Co MI Supervisor paid from $10 to $40 + case of beer for votes..VA Gov McDonnell outpaces Dems in restoring Va. felons’ voting rights..Internet voting spreads in Canada & so do problems. Ottawa voters blocked by “captcha” bug & some registered voters told they weren’t on the list…Experts pan D.C. Internet vote plan: “Return of marked ballots over the Internet is something we simply don’t know how to do safely. Exercises such as this are counterproductive, because they will provide a false sense of security..”
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AK: Murkowski: Uncertainty about vote-counting process
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/9654261-Murkowski-Uncertainty-about-vote-counting-process– U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who’s mounting a write-in campaign to hold onto her job, said considerable uncertainty remains over what criteria election officials will use to determine which write-in ballots would be counted.
CA: Every vote counts: Report, legislation seek more accountability for elections equipment manufacturers http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_16178656
Unlike an automobile, when a voting system fails in most jurisdictions across the country, manufacturers are not required to report the malfunction or failure to any government agency, there’s no agency that investigates alleged failures and there’s no entity that alerts election officials and the public of possible problems, a recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice found.
CO: Aspen Election Commission mulls actions if voters retain IRV
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100923/NEWS/100929925/0/FRONTPAGE
ASPEN — The Aspen Election Commission began talks Wednesday that could lead to a full hand count — a 12- to 15-hour process, said City Clerk Kathryn Koch — of ballots if instant runoff voting (IRV) is retained in the Nov. 2 election.
DC: Experts raise warning flags over D.C. Internet voting plan
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2010/09/experts_raise_warning_flags_ov.html
A national good-government organization and a group of leading computer scientists are raising concerns about a new Internet voting initiative set to debut for District voters in the coming weeks
FL: Daytona leader faces absentee ballot probe
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2010/09/25/daytona-leader-faces-absentee-ballot-probe.html
A city commissioner who won re-election last month by a wide margin is at the center of a criminal investigation after nearly 80 absentee ballots were requested from a computer belonging to him, Volusia County’s elections supervisor said Friday.
IL: New Illinois law now permits ‘naked voting’ in Chicago
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-chicago/new-illinois-law-now-permits-naked-voting-chicago To encourage Illinois voters to take advantage of new absentee ballot rules, Chicago-based Equality Illinois Education Project, in partnership with Rock the Vote and Roosevelt University, has launched “Vote Naked Illinois,” …
MA: Hampden mulls voting machine
http://www.masslive.com/chicopeeholyoke/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1285572058200950.xml&coll=1 Selectmen Chairman John D. Flynn said the town has had a tradition of counting the paper ballots by hand…
MD: Md. National Guard member sues elections board
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2062412 GREENBELT, Md. (AP) – A member of the Maryland National Guard is suing the state board of elections because he says overseas voters have not been given enough time to obtain and return ballots for the upcoming November election.
MS: Benton County, MS supervisor found guilty of voter fraud * (vote buying)
http://wireupdate.com/wires/10479/benton-county-ms-supervisor-found-guilty-of-voter-fraud/
The case stemmed from the August 7, 2007 primary election and the August 27, 2007 runoff elections in Benton County
…
According to the investigation, King paid people to vote for him on two separate elections.
Despite the impressions received from media reports, the September 14th primary was not the first time that New Yorkers voted on paper ballots and scanners. In the 2009 off-year election, 47 counties in upstate New York used the new systems as part of a pilot program. This trial run taught participants valuable lessons, and New York City’s decision to abstain led directly to many of the problems reported there. In general, things went smoother upstate than in the City. Problem reports broke down into a few main categories:
Privacy Issues – One of the big lessons from the 2009 pilot was that voters felt that their ballots were too often exposed to public view. Some of this was inevitable – using a lever machine, surrounded on all sides by panels and curtains, the voter is in an isolation booth. Today, the small privacy booths where voters fill out their ballots are open on the back side, and if not placed correctly at the poll site (for example with the open side facing a wall) one can feel exposed. It’s very important that Boards of Elections think about layout and lines of sight within the polling place. A second frequent privacy complaint concerned carrying the paper ballot in plain view over to the scanner. This can only happen if Boards of Elections do not provide sufficient supplies of ‘privacy sleeves’ (folders which conceal the completed ballot) and adequately train poll workers in their distribution and use. Lack of privacy sleeves is an administrative failure, and is really inexcusable.
With short notice, DC offers a public “test” of internet vote system from Sept 24-30…Bo Lipari has some thoughts & recommendations r/e New York’s primary..Houston Voting Machine Fire Update and Shouting ‘Voter Fraud’ in a Crowded Midterm Election..Visit Electionland to register to vote, find polling place & sign up for election reminders..”the threat of the Citizens United ruling to our democracy goes far beyond the narrow definition of corruption.” ~ John Bonifaz & Jeffrey Clements…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AL: Judge Denies Discovery in Voting Rights Act Case
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/21/30485.htm
An Alabama county’s constitutional challenge to portions of the Voting Rights Act cleared a legal hurdle when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected the government’s bid for further discovery.
In its federal lawsuit, Shelby County claimed that the “preclearance” requirements of the Act put undue pressure on its election process, raising costs and delaying at least one election.
CA: Woman pleads no contest in Fresno voter fraud
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/09/21/2087120/woman-pleads-no-contest-in-fresno.html
Authorities say Darlene Holland turned in 100 forged voter signatures on behalf of Cynthia Sterling, a Fresno City Council member running for the county Board of Supervisors, and Oliver Baines, a police officer running for Sterling’s seat on the council.
DC: DC Invites Public Testing of Internet Voting System (internet voting )
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/09/22/850
The announcement by the DC Board does not say how the test results will used, or if the decision to proceed with the pilot in November will be affected if flaws are discovered, only noting “After testing is completed, the service will be made available to overseas voters”.
MN: Judge Backs Minn. Disclosure Law on Political Cash
http://protectourelections.org/node/38 A federal judge refused on Monday to interfere with a new Minnesota law that revealed political donations from Target Corp. and other companies, saying the public has an interest in knowing who speaks and who pays for those messages as the election approaches.
NY: Port Chester board to meet with lawyers on voting rights appeal
http://soundshore.lohudblogs.com/2010/09/21/port-chester-board-to-meet-with-lawyers-on-voting-rights-appeal/
Could Port Chester’s four-year-old voting rights case, which yielded a cumulative voting system for village trustees in June, be destined for an appeal?
…
Ironically the trustees who were elected under the new method are the ones now exploring an appeal.
NY: THOUGHTS ON THE NY PRIMARY
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/09/thoughts-on-the-ny-primary/
Despite the impressions received from media reports, the September 14th primary was not the first time that New Yorkers voted on paper ballots and scanners. In the 2009 off-year election, 47 counties in upstate New York used the new systems as part of a pilot program. This trial run taught participants valuable lessons, and New York City’s decision to abstain led directly to many of the problems reported there
TN: Rutherford County officials escape disciplinary hearing for election error
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100922/NEWS02/9220368/Rutherford-County-officials-escape-disciplinary-hearing-for-election-error
Polls weren’t opened for early voting one Saturday
TN: 55 Apply For Elections Administrator Job (Davidson County)
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/25101181/detail.html
TX: Houston Voting Machine Fire Update and Shouting ‘Voter Fraud’ in a Crowded Midterm Election http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8082 Using Fraud to Declare Fraud
WV: Other Options?
http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/539350/Solution-offered-over-ballot-controversy.html?nav=5061
Ruling in AZ election case…Disappearing Voters -No Penalties for Failing to Correctly Fill Out & Deliver Voter Reg.Forms…NC vote vendor does NOT want to break law..NY city disabled complain -voting places inaccessible & no ballot-marking devices..3rd party lawsuit against NY Fusion..Wisconsin Group alleges voter suppression..Why Your Toaster Works Better Than Your Voting Machine..1-866-OUR-VOTE is back..Ireland still storing 6 yr old voting machines..Vote buying mars Kenya polls..
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AK: Write-in rules need clarification before election, not after the fact
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/9598917/Write-in%20rules%20need%20clarification%20before%20election%20controversy
The counting of write-in ballots for Sen. Lisa Murkowski is probably going to become controversial.
AZ: Maricopa Judge Favors Misleading Testimony of Election Officials Over Election Law: Rules Partial Victory for Electors
http://audit-az.blogspot.com/2010/09/maricopa-judge-favors-misleading_21.html
AZ: Tea party T-shirt headed to court
http://www.yumasun.com/news/owens-64051-bolick-party.html
PHOENIX — A federal judge will decide whether tea party members who wear their hearts on their sleeves can wear their politics on their shirts at polling places.
CA: State online voter registration still years off
http://www.pe.com/politics/miller/stories/PE_News_Local_D_voterreg20.2fabe64.html
Vendors push hard to sell online voter reg
CA: Disappearing Voters -No Penalties for Failing to Correctly Fill Out and Deliver Voter Registration Forms
http://www.independent.com/news/2010/sep/21/disappearing-voters/
No. Steve Pappas has not yet managed to get his name inserted into the English language as a synonym for a clever form of massive voter fraud, but if he wins his lawsuit seeking to throw out votes in his race against Doreen Farr for 3rd District supervisor, he stands a good chance of ending up in the dictionary.
…
The fraud is simple: They (“oops”) forget to deliver the registration forms for a week, and they (“Oh my!”) neglect to fill out the box correctly. Under the law, these people cannot be punished.
CO: A shift in identity for Aspen Election Commission
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100921/NEWS/100929973/1077&ParentProfile=1058
The commission has met several times this month to establish mechanical operations meant to eliminate the complaints, including a set period for early voting and requiring that voted ballots are shuffled by election staff before voting data is compiled.
FL: Palm Beach County teachers approve $500 bonuses (internet voting problem)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-teachers-bonus-vote-20100920,0,7102130.story
Teachers were given an extra day to vote because some were unable to vote Thursday because of an Internet security access issue.
GA: Ballots Delivered Electronically to GA’s Military & Overseas Voters
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2010/sep/20/ballots-delivered-electronically-gas-military-over-ar-853880/
(Blank only, no electronic return of voted ballots.)
Guam Election Commission Violates Move Act?
http://guamnewswatch.com/201009213104/Local-News/Guam-Election-Commission-Violates-Move-Act.html GEC still hasn’t received the card stock to print the ballots. The commission was told that military cargo has taken priority out of Hawaii.
IL: Illinois Votes Naked: Nude Campaign Spreads News About Changes To Absentee Voting Law (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/21/illinois-votes-naked-nude_n_733277.html
One effective campaign tool? Nudity. The “Vote Naked Illinois” folks made this informative video about the changes to the state’s early voting law: (Hat tip to Gapers Block for bringing this gem to our attention!)
IL: Justice Stephen Breyer Won’t Alter Special U.S. Senate Election in Illinois
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/20/justice-stephen-breyer-wont-alter-special-u-s-senate-election-in-illinois/
On September 20, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer denied the request by U.S. Senator Roland Burris to alter the special election for U.S.
“if Maryland is truly concerned about election results that are not only verifiable but also available much more quickly on election night, we would move as quickly as possible to the optical scan voting system mandated in the law passed by the General Assembly in 2007.” ~ Rebecca Wilson, SAVEourVotes.org ..Shelby County Tennessee Election Commission, Democrats prepare for trial over voting irregularities…An Important New Proposal for Voting Machines – create a searchable national database of voting machine problems to be created and made available to the public.
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
AK: Murkowski’s Write-in Bid Could Test Alaska’s Dubious Diebold E-Voting System
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8078 The three-way race, along with Democratic candidate and Mayor of Sitka Scott McAdams, could prove to be a serious challenge for Alaska’s historically-dicey optical-scan voting system made by Diebold. Given the shortcomings of the system which otherwise employs the concealed vote-counting of centrally tabulate ballots, the need to hand-review write-in votes this November could present a unique opportunity for citizens of the 49th state to oversee at least some of their own electoral system — for a welcome change.
CT: LGWCT: Voters Guide to Secretary of the State Candidates
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/lgwct-voters-guide-to-secretary-of-the-state-candidates/
The League of Women Voters have published a guide to the Secretary of the State Candidates, listing their qualifications and their responses to two questions
HI: Hundreds of Maui voters assigned to the wrong voting district *
http://www.staradvertiser.com/elections/2010/primary/Hundreds_of_Maui_voters_ assigned_to_the_wrong_voting_district.html http://tinyurl.com/27yncxh
Hoylman said the error could’ve affected yesterday’s election as well as previous elections. “It bewilders me that all these years went by and no one challenged it,” he added.
IL: Court fight possible over early-voting site on UI campus
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-09-16/court-fight-possible-over-early-voting-site-ui-campus.html
MD: Md. needs to switch to paper ballots
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-paper-ballot-letter-20100920,0,417348.story In response to your editorial, “How the Votes are Counted”
MN: Revamped voting procedures, meant to avoid 2008 recount hassles, begin today for general election
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2010/09/17/21534/revamped_voting_procedures_ meant_to_avoid_2008 _recount_hassles_ begin_today_for_general_election http://tinyurl.com/2a9b29j
Given the recent polls, and yet another three-way race for a statewide office, some officials are preparing for another 2008-style recount in an election that’s sure to attract 2 million voters.
NM: County Clerk concerned by lax third-party voter registration rules
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_16099262
LAS CRUCES – Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins said this week he remains concerned about the laxity of a law that allows non-county groups to register voters.
NY: 71 New York poling stations opened late Tuesday *
http://blastmagazine.com/the-news/new-york-news/2010/09/71-new-york-poling-stations-opened-late-tuesday/ According to the New York Times, 71 polling locations opened late due to missing or malfunctioning machines. With polls scheduled to open at 6 a.m., some voters experienced a delay of up to 4 hours.
OH: Lawsuit seeks end to Cuyahoga voters’ edge in casting ballot by mail
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/lawsuit_seeks_an_end_to_cuyaho.html
They want to block counties like Cuyahoga and Franklin from mailing absentee ballot applications to all registered voters, from paying return postage on the applications and from paying return postage for the completed ballots. Or, they argue, the state should help pay to offer that same service in all 88 counties.
SD: Early voting in Shannon County encounters roadblocks
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_bf831c0e-c2df-11df-a9e0-001cc4c002e0.html
If you've wondered why voting machine problems seem to occur again and again around the country and what can be done about it, the Brennan Center at New York University School of Law has an answer. A report released last week by the non-partisan organization, Voting System Failures: A Database Solution, found that in the absence of requirements to report malfunctions, vendors do not keep election officials informed about voting system defects. The report recommends several remedies for this pervasive problem. Among other conclusions, it calls for a searchable national database of voting machine problems to be created and made available to the public.
The report found that election officials "must rely almost exclusively on the voting system vendors for information about malfunctions, defects, vulnerabilities and other problems that the vendors have discovered, or that have occurred with their voting systems in other states". Vendors "don’t have an incentive to inform [election officials] of certain problems with their systems". Noting that this leads to repeated failures of systems year after year, " these malfunctions – and their consequence, disenfranchisement – could have been avoided had election officials and/or public advocates known about earlier problems and had an opportunity to fix them".
Common Sense: The Indispensable Role Of Voter Verified Paper Ballots..(NOT)Counting Votes in Shelby CO Tennessee..Why No Central Database Of E-Voting Problems?..Internet voting fiasco: Spam filter prevents many Palm Beach Co teachers from casting online ballot on new contract…Unlimited Political Speech For Corporations That Don’t Say Pledge Of Allegiance…Violence and fraud mar Afghan election..Burma Excludes Thousands From Voting..
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
Editor’s note: This voting news is dedicated to my nephew Nick who is on his first tour in Afghanistan, and to all of our troops here and overseas. Thanks also to Overseas Vote Foundation who helps our overseas military and families to get a ballot on time.
AL: Alaska teaches the nation about voter intent
http://www.earlyvoting.net/blog/2010/09/alaska-teaches-nation-about-voter-intent
CA: Whitman Tops Bloomberg’s Personal Spending ($119 Million)
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/09/15/whitman-bests-bloombergs-personal-spending/
Move aside, Michael Bloomberg. California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has just surpassed your record in personal spending on an election.
After giving her campaign another $15 million Tuesday, the Republican former eBay Inc. chief executive has now spent $119 million in the Golden State race.
CA: Los Angeles Times Features Story on a Small California City which does Not Allow Free Elections http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/09/19/los-angeles-times-features-story-on-a-small-california-city-which-does-not-allow-free-elections/
CA: State Sen. Roderick Wright indicted on voter fraud, perjury
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/state-sen-roderick-wright-indicted-on-voter-fraud-perjury-.html Wright listed as his residence a home in the district he wanted to represent, but county authorities allege that he did not live there.
CO: Aspen Election Commission: Votes will be shuffled
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100917/NEWS/100919870/1077&ParentProfile=1058
ASPEN — The Aspen Election Commission implemented measures Wednesday that it expects will prevent people from coupling data generated by municipal ballots with voter logs to find out how people voted.
The move was part of an investigation the group is conducting into the May 2009 election, which garnered controversy over alleged missteps in vote-counting procedures. Some say it is possible to determine how certain people voted, which goes against the Colorado Constitution.
FL: Teachers vote on $500 bonuses in Palm Beach County (internet voting)
Glitches reported by union as two days of voting commences *
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-teacher-contract-voting-20100916,0,3920795.story Computer glitches surfaced Thursday as Palm Beach County teachers began two days of contract ratification voting online.
FL: Voting For Teachers’ Contract Extended* (internet voting)
http://www.cbs12.com/news/contract-4728622-teachers-teacher.html
Apparently, there was a glitch in spam filters at the District, which held up the user name and passwords and link, for teachers to vote.
So very few teachers got to vote yesterday, so the voting deadline is extended until 5 p.m. Monday.
FL: Thousands of felons and dead people still registered to vote in Florida
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/thousands-of-felons-and-dead-people-still-registered-924518.html Roberts also said she will work to change state law to allow the Division of Elections access to death records nationwide. Currently, the division receives death notices every two weeks but only for people who die in Florida.
“Clearly what you’ve uncovered is there is still a problem, and it needs to be addressed,” said state Sen. Nan Rich, D- Weston, a member of the Ethics and Elections Committee. “Obviously, there is still an issue with the matching system.”
FL: Move to Amend Florida Tour (Podcasts)
Warren “Skip” Parish is a consultant in the U.S.