Author Archives: Warren Stewart

The Voting News Daily: Aspen ballot image court date set, Goldman Sachs fishy internet vote

The cost of transparency: The lawsuit to force release of ballot images from Aspen Colorado’s May 2009 election is set for March 22-23. By that time, the plaintiff’s legal fees are expected to total $75,000. The city of Aspen has moved for a protective order to disallow testimony from voting vendor True Ballot’s staff… Witness says KY lawmaker gave $40,000 to vote-buying group…

The ACLU Challenges Illegal Disfranchisement of American Indian Voters in South Dakota…
Was there cheating in Goldman Sachs internet vote? 5,000 votes against the “Robin Hood” tax came from 2 servers at Goldman Sachs…Worries grow about America’s cyber security……In Anambra State, Nigeria, only 350 out of 1.8 million registered voters were able to cast a vote in the governorship election because “their names were not in the revised voters registers.”

CA: Voting rights suit settled with Riverside County
http://bit.ly/c21cjF
The U.S. Justice Department has settled a lawsuit with Riverside County that claimed the county didn’t provide help for Spanish-speaking voters.

CA: OSDV Testifies (sort of) at CA Voting Systems Hearing
http://www.trustthevote.org/osdv-testifies-sort-of-at-ca-voting-systems-hearing
First, my take is the CA Secretary of State needs to conduct another Hearing that is strictly focused on the challenges and opportunities of open source technology in elections systems

CO: Trial set in suit over Aspen’s May election results
http://bit.ly/bj5TBq
Aspen resident Marilyn Marks’ lawsuit over the city’s Instant Runoff Voting has been scheduled for trial in March. Marks is seeking release of photographic images of the ballots from last May’s election.

FL: Despite deal with justice department, no blacks run for office in Lake Park
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/despite-deal-with-justice-department-no-blacks-run-224223.html
After spending nearly $80,000 on attorneys to defend itself against the lawsuit, the commission in October agreed to abandon the at-large system and switch to one that has been used successfully throughout the South to assure blacks are elected to public office.

GA: GOP: Voter ID issue headed to ballot
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20100211/NEWS01/2110340/1002

KY: ELECTION FINANCES: Jefferson County Kings are not the only elected folks facing financial scrutiny in the commonwealth over their campaign spending and fundraising
http://bit.ly/9runRf

KY: Witness: State lawmaker gave $40,000 to vote-buying group *
http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2010/02/05/witness-state-lawmaker-gave-40000-to-vote-buying-group/

MD: Maryland should ban contested judicial elections
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020903524.html
For judges, drumming up campaign money — often from lawyers who appear before them — and marketing themselves undermines the perception of impartiality and can in practice lead to its corrosion.

NM: Time To Give Challengers A Fair, Equal Opportunity
http://www.stpns.net/view_article.html?articleId=106532676010210813710
SOCORRO, New Mexico (STPNS) — Which knuckleheads in Santa Fe came up with idea that city clerks across New Mexico could have the early voting machines in their office at election time every two years – even though their bosses (incumbent mayors and councilors) may be running for re-election?

NY: “Auditing” Regs Confirm Op-Scan Vulnerabilities
http://re-mediaetc.blogspot.com/2010/02/auditing-regs-confirm-op-scan.html
… and if we make enough exceptions to cover discrepancies between hand and machine counts, then almost any machine, even rigged ones, will pass “audit.”

NY: Local assemblymen vote down absentee ballot changes
http://bit.ly/clV0Iq

OH: Money saved or wasted? Cuyahoga County pays for unused voting machines
http://www.wkyc.com/news/politics_govt/politics_article.aspx?storyid=130630&catid=130

The Voting News Daily: Suit against Webb CO TX voting machines, Obama push for voting rights, Chinas hackers

A candidate for Webb County, TX Judge has filed a lawsuit to stop the use of voting machines except for disabled voters…. The Champaign County IL Clerk shares results of post election audits…

…When you read articles promoting internet, email or fax voting, be sure to keep in mind the risks inherent to the internet. See today’s article “Cyberwar: How China’s Hackers Threaten the U.S. Armed Forces” . Daniel Darling, Defense Industry Reporter writes “the beauty of cyberwarfare is not just the favorable cost-versus-benefits ration, but the inability of the victim to provide solid proof of their involvement.”…

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

AZ: Judges and Politics Don’t Mix
http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/judges_and_politics_dont_mix/
Last year, the Institute for Legal Reform of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — a group that’s not exactly known for radical, left-wing politics — endorsed Arizona’s system of selecting judges, saying that “Arizona leads the nation with the procedures it has put in place to fulfill the promise of true nonpartisan ‘merit’ selection” of judges

AZ: Arizona voters living abroad given options
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/02/12/20100212politics-overseas0212.html
Arizona voters serving in the military or living overseas will soon have some new ways to assure their ballot has been counted
…
Arizona already allows overseas and military voters to vote via e-mailand already had been close to meeting the 45-day requirement.

CA: California Top-Two Open Primary Would Increase Election Administration Costs, According to County Elections Officials
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/11/california-top-two-open-primary-would-increase-election-administration-costs-according-to-county-elections-officials/

CA: More California Dysfunction: Not Clear If Assembly Rejected Candidate for Lt. Gov.
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015270.html

CO: Sec. of state explores mail-in ballots
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_14387846

DE: Delaware Elections Officials Ask for Legal Advice on Whether to Disqualify Certain Minor Parties Immediately
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/12/delaware-elections-officials-ask-for-legal-advice-on-whether-to-disqualify-certain-minor-parties-immediately/

GA: Staton, Kemp back online voter registration
http://www.macon.com/741/story/1019584.html

IL: Good Gets Better (post election audit results)
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/12/good-gets-better/
Champaign County Clerk. After each election, we conduct a retabulation of 5% of our precincts pursuant to state law. As post election audits go, it’s not much. We’ve beefed ours up a bit by adding a redundant hand count of a race in each of the 6 precincts retabulated in Champaign County.

IL: State Board Memo On Undervotes
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/12/state-board-memo-on-undervotes/
Champaign County Clerk. Mark Mossman from the State Board of Elections has a memo regarding the Primary Election in the packet of information for next week’s SBE meeting in Chicago. It points out a number of problems with the undervote law that I and other Clerks had predicted.

MA: PRE-OWNED, PRE-VOTED BALLOTS
http://www.handcountedpaperballots.org/documents/blog.php?entry_id=1265948229&title=pre-owned%2C-pre-voted-ballots
February 11, 2010 On January 19, 2010, the MA Senate special election, there were some pre-owned, pre-voted ballots
…How many other pre-owned, pre-voted ballots were there that we did not see, because they were put in the “right” box – away from public view and there only for the counting?

PA: Ballots opened early in Robinson, elections judge says
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10042/1034961-57.stm
County official to discuss with solicitor what action, if any, to take over absentee ballot violation in Robinson

TX: Lawsuit Against Webb County’s Elections Department
http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=3902
LAREDO, Tx.- Louis Bruni, who is running for Webb County judge, filed a formal lawsuit against the Department of Elections and the Democratic Party so that only disabled people can use the electronic machines in the primary elections.

The Voting News Daily: Fla. justices uphold Sarasota election law, More internet voting in Canada

Congratulations to the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections – the Florida Supreme Court upheld two amendments to Sarasota’s county charter, one requiring voting systems to have a voter verified paper ballot and the other requiring a manual audit….In New York – “Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into how the city’s Board of Elections awarded a $50 million contract for electronic voting machines” following the indictment of a lobbyist for ES&S on another matter… internet voting continues to spread in municipal elections in Canada in spite of statements by computer technologists that it cannot be made secure at this time…..

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

AZ: Accusations of ballot tampering, voter fraud *
http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20408072&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505965&rfi=6
A crowd of about 150 Whiteriver Apache Tribe members confronted Tribal council members Tuesday after 54 absentee ballots were reportedly found in the possession of a single individual at the Whiteriver Commercial Center parking lot the day before.

CA: Testimony from SoS hearing on the Future of Voting in California
Kim Alexander of CalVoter
http://bit.ly/8YCrJO

CA: PPIC study of open primaries in California
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3109

CO: Colorado interrogatories to State Supreme Court on Citizens United
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/?p=7981
February 11, 2010 I’ve previously noted that Colorado is taking steps to address the impact of Citizens United on the state constitution.

Fla. justices uphold local election law
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1475004.html

FL: Supreme Court issues ruling in elections case
http://bit.ly/b09EOq
February 11, 2010 Local governments have a right to make some of their own laws when it comes to conducting elections, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in connection with a Sarasota County case.
…
the court found that some of the provisions of the 2006 change to Sarasota County’s Charter directly conflicted with state law. In particular, the court found that the ballot question’s process for certifying elections was in conflict with state law and unconstitutional.

KS: Allegations against Kansas Secretary of State candidate, Kris Kobach
http://bit.ly/cSjg4y
A group out of Arizona claims Kansas Secretary of State candidate, Kris Kobach, has ties to anti-immigration and hate groups.

MT: Secretary of State cuts spending by 18 percent in a year
http://bit.ly/aXhMpa
Montana has received $17 million in HAVA funding, but has only $3 million in these funds remaining. That money is expected to be exhausted by 2012 unless Congress appropriates more money.

NY: Feds Suspect City May Have Been Bribed on Voting Machine Vote
http://gothamist.com/2010/02/11/city_bribed_on_voting_machine_vote.php
…The suspicion comes after the indictment of Anthony Mangone, a lawyer who allegedly bribed Sandy Annabl, a member of Yonkers city council, to change her vote on development projects. Mangone was hired as a lobbyist for ES&S, and was arrested on January 6th, the day after the BOE voted 6-1 on ES&S.

NY: Bronx GOP Chair, Elections Commissioners Subpoenaed »
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/02/bronx-gop-chair-elections-comm.html
Two Republican elections commissioners confirmed receiving subpoenas seeking information about the Jan. 5 vote that gave Election Systems and Software of Omaha a more than $50 million contract to replace the city’s lever voting machines with new, electronic models in time for the September primaries.

The Voting News Daily: Virginia touchscreen voting tug of war, an Indiana County limits ties to voting vendor

Some Virginia Registrars are pushing state lawmakers to let them keep buying touchscreen voting machines. This goes against the 2007 law meant to phase out touchscreen voting machines and replace them with paper ballot systems…

Hawaii considers law to keep voting vendors lawsuits from delaying next voting machine purchases…How will Citizens United affect your state’s elections and laws? William and Mary Election Law Society is keeping track….

Is Internet voting a good idea? Consider this: “The threat of cyber warfare is on a par with that of nuclear warfare in the 1950s, according to a study published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Britain on Feb.”

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

AL: Thousands of Madison County voters could find themselves voting at new location
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/02/thousands_of_madison_county_vo.html

CA: Officials to weigh voting options
Hearing focuses on the changing election process, technology
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100209/A_NEWS/2090315/-1/a_news06
On Monday, state and local election officials met with experts and industry representatives at a hearing in Sacramento to look at how the mechanism of voting has changed in the past 10 years as counties complied with new election laws and what should happen next to ensure accurate and secure elections.

HI: Lawmakers kill bills to overhaul Hawaii’s election system
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/84036192.html

HI: Still No Selection Of Voting Machines
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Still-No-Selection-Of-Voting-Machines/6jIr7F2zmkmeVutJnimf9Q.cspx
Causing further concern is the possibility that another challenge by a voting machine vendor could further delay the process. To prevent that from happening lawmakers hope to waive the normal procurement process through emergency legislation – House Bill 1901.

IN: County limiting ties to election services company
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/feb/09/county-limiting-ties-to-election-services/
…
But County Clerk Susan Kirk has been negotiating to disengage the county as much as possible from Election Systems & Software

MA: Votes Monday are for mayoral process, not for mayor
http://www.cambridgeday.com/2010/02/08/votes-monday-are-for-mayoral-process-not-for-mayor/

MT: County merges city polling places to just 4
Polling places are only used for federal elections
http://bit.ly/bQ46ej
Billings…Consolidating the 37 polling places allows for less confusion, more control and less need for help, since the county is finding it harder to recruit election judges…

NE: Nebraska Bill to Allow Electronic Signatures on Initiative & Referendum Petitions
http://bit.ly/b9m2iY
February 10th, 2010 Nebraska Senator Bill Avery has intoduced LB 1059, to allow initiative and referendum petitions to be signed electronically

NJ: Provisional ballot challenges suggest racial discrimination
http://njtoday.net/2010/02/09/provisional-ballot-challenges-suggest-racial-discrimination/
LINDEN—A review of voting statistics from the February 2008 presidential primary election reveals what appears to be a pattern of racial discrimination.

NY: All Things Considered: Electronic Voting Costs Dollars and Democracy
http://re-mediaetc.blogspot.com/2010/02/all-things-considered-electronic-voting.html
…BMDs are separate from the Optical Scan Voting Machines and the ballots created can be counted by hand. The issues should not be confused as they often are…

OH: Muscogee elections board to hold Feb. 25 public meeting on consolidating voting precincts
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/breaking_news/story/1007477.html
School district requested polls be removed from some schools
Political activists protesting Columbus’ plans to consolidate some voting precincts will get another chance to complain 5:30-7 p.m. Feb. 25

VA: Bills would preserve touch-screen voting machines
http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/state_regional/govtpolitics/article/bills_would_preserve_touch-screen_voting_machines/80223/
Susan Greenhalgh, a spokeswoman for Virginia Verified Voting, a coalition that successfully pushed for the ban in 2007, said the computerized systems are more expensive and harder to use.

The Voting News Daily: NJ Star Ledger:Verify our votes and stop delay, NM not enough funds to conduct 2010 elections, CA group: ditch e-voting

At today’s public hearing about the future of voting in California, when the issue of new voting machines was brought up, some citizens urged the officials to get rid of electronic voting, period. Tom Courbat with the Sacremento group “Save Our Vote” said: “We’re not convinced there is enough security in these voting systems to justify continuing to purchase them. We have seen demonstrations over and over again of machines being hacked…”

UKRAINE orange revolution reversed? RUSSIA Tymoshenko accuses winner Yanukovich of election fraud…

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

CA: California’s Electronic Voting Booths Need An Upgrade But It Won’t Be Cheap
http://www.capradio.org/articles/articledetail.aspx?articleid=7779
…At a public hearing on the issue in Sacramento, some citizens urged the officials to get rid of electronic voting, period.

CA: Monday update: Morales indicted for voter fraud
http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2010/02/08/news/local/doc4b7093681d58b608400389.txt
February 08, 2010 …The Napa County district attorney’s office alleges that Morales voted twice in the Nov. 3 mail-in election

CO: Questions Mailed to Aspen Special Counsel Jim True
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/02/questions-mailed-to-aspen-special.html

CT: Democracy Too Costly for Seymour?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2869
February 9, 2010 …With both Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Sen. Christopher Dodd stepping down, voting registrars in town expect to hold primaries for both major political parties this year.

That means more money in the budget that hasn’t much to begin with

ID: Bill Would Require Idaho Voter ID
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2010/feb/09/bill-would-require-idaho-voter-id/

IN: Review of Vote Centers Study by the Bowen Center for Public Affairs
http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/BowenCenterVoteCenterSummary_for_SOS.pdf

IL: Election Code Growing
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/09/election-code-growing/
Champaign County Clerk Just received my new annotated election code from Westlaw. It’s now grown to three volumes from two.

IL: Lawmakers head back to Springfield with a list of problems
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1522834498/Lawmakers-head-back-to-Springfield-with-a-list-of-problems
…Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, is the chief sponsor of House Bill 4687, which would undo a state law that requires voters to be alerted if they cast an undervote.

KS:Kansas secretary of state resigns
http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/story/1735838.html

MO: Annual Missouri Voter ID back as constitutional amendment
http://bit.ly/98IlsR

NH: New Hampshire Hearing Seems Favorable to Ballot Access Reform Bill
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/09/new-hampshire-hearing-seems-favorable-to-ballot-access-reform-bill/
February 9th, 2010 On February 9, the New Hampshire House Election Law Committee held another hearing on HB 1264

NJ: N.J. voting machines: Verify our votes and stop delaying paper backup
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/02/nj_voting_machines_verify_our.html
February 08, 2010…”New Jersey had the gold standard of statutes” when it passed the 2005 law, says Rutgers-Newark Law School professor Penny Venetis, “but at this point, the vast majority of people in the country vote on machines that produce paper and New Jersey is lagging.”

NM: Sec of State: Not enough money for 2010 elections
http://newmexicoindependent.com/46641/sec-of-state-not-enough-money-for-2010-elections

NM: New Mexico Secretary of State Tells Legislature She Has Insufficient Funds to Hold 2010 Elections
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/09/new-mexico-secretary-of-state-tells-legislature-she-has-insufficient-funds-to-hold-2010-elections/
February 9th, 2010 The New Mexico Independent newspaper of February 9 has this story, which says that New Mexico’s Secretary of State Mary Herrera has told the legislature that her budget is over $1,000,000 short of having enough money to pay for the 2010 primary and general elections

NY: New York: Four Legislative Specials
http://ballotbox.governing.com/2010/02/new-york-four-legislative-specials.html
Today, we have four special elections for the New York Assembly.

The Voting News Daily: NY new voting machines overvote concerns, Judges initials may impact IL GOP governor election

New York’s new optical scan machines, the ES&S DS200 and Dominion ImageCast will treat overvotes in a way that threatens the voting rights of millions of New Yorkers. The machines do not automatically return overvoted or otherwise erroneous ballots to the voter for correction. A recent Florida study showed that “the ES&S DS200 (the only system in Florida which did not automatically return overvoted ballots to voters) had an overvote rate on Election Day 2008 that was eighteen times higher than that of the systems used in other Florida counties”.

Paying our respects: Congressman Jack Murtha, supporter of verified voting efforts, died today, may he rest in peace….Civil rights and labor leader Beth Shulman died on Friday, February 5, she will be missed….

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

AL: Birmingham News Editorial in Favor of Ballot Access Reform
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/08/birmingham-news-editorial-in-favor-of-ballot-access-reform/
February 8th, 2010 The Birmingham News of February 8 has this editorial, urging the Alabama legislature to pass Rep. Cam Ward’s ballot access bill.

CA: Secretary of State hearing Monday – Future of Voting in California
http://calvoter.org/news/blog/2010_02_01_blogarchive.html#6542077865288826299

CA: Press release – Secretary of State Debra Bowen Reports One in Five
Voters Now Registered Decline-to-State; More Total Voters
Since Last Statewide Primary in a Gubernatorial Election Year
http://www.sos.ca.gov/admin/press-releases/2010/db10-024.pdf

CA: San Francisco’s new election process challenged
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/05/state/n103103S81.DTL&type=politics
Feb 5, 2010…Six people, including unsuccessful Board of Supervisors candidate Ron Dudum, allege in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that voters are disenfranchised because they are limited to only three choices.

FL: Appeals court to hear Palm Beach election challenge
http://bit.ly/bBpAur
February 07, 2010. The Fourth District Court of Appeal will hear attorneys’ arguments Tuesday in Gerry Goldsmith’s appeal of a judge’s decision upholding the result of the town’s February 2009 mayoral election and recount

IL: Judges’ Initials in the OpScan Age
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/08/judges-initials-in-the-opscan-age/
Champaign County Clerk. With a razor thin margin in the Republican Governor’s race I’m already looking at a potential election contest in light of our new election equipment and new election law.
…
if you cast a vote on paper in the state of Illinois, your ballot being counted is based in large part on whether the judge remembers to initial the ballot.

IL: Dillard wants all ballots counted
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/2010/02/05/dillard-wants-all-ballots-counted
February 5th, 2010. Kirk Dillard, Republican candidate for Illinois Governor, said the ballot counting process in the GOP Primary must continue until all ballots have been verified.
…
Some election officials have said they will wait until February 15 or 16 to count their absentee and provisional ballots…

IL: John F. DiLeo Extensive Commentary on Illinois Democratic Fiasco for Lieutenant Governorship Nomination http://bit.ly/dhAYGF

MN: Cost becomes focus of ranked-choice decision
http://www.republican-eagle.com/event/article/id/64501/
Red Wing Charter Commission. The cost of ranked-choice voting might may be the biggest factor in whether Red Wing city officials embrace it.
…But commissioners say they want to know exactly how much converting to ranked-choice voting would cost before proposing Red Wing adopt the system.

NM: Controversal voter registration bill moves on
http://newmexicoindependent.com/46479/controversal-voter-registration-bill-moves-on
A bill that would allow voters to register and vote on the same day barely cleared the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Thursday

NJ: The Bizarre History of Election Law: The Camden Election Riots of 1870
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/02/08/the-bizarre-history-of-election-law-the-camden-election-riots-of-1870/

The Voting News Daily: Understanding Citizens United, Murphy’s Law on Voter Interface, Automatic Voter Registration

The S.D. Legislature eyes pilot of ‘precinct-less’ voting for school board elections…
A Technologist in Philippines considers the impact of Murphy’s Law on the Voter Interface of the Automated Election System and how to avoid problems…The Champagn County Clerk in Illinois writes about automatic voter registration and what goes on behind the scenes… “Understanding Citizens United: An Interview with Richard L. Hasen” …

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

CA: Application deadline for Citizens Redistricting Commission is Feb. 12
http://calvoter.org/news/blog/2010_02_01_blogarchive.html#3828639681469088340

CA: County Registrar cautions St. Helena voters about ballot
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_1535785a-1079-11df-b0ca-001cc4c03286.html

CA: Suit challenges San Francisco election practice
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/04/BAE61BSTH8.DTL#ixzz0eg9uwjWe

CA: Group sues to stop instant runoff elections in SF
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Group-sues-to-stop-instant-runoff-elections-in-SF-83607307.html#ixzz0edR8t4WT
The lawsuit claims that the way the city implements the system is unconstitutional because some voters are denied the ability to have their vote counted in later rounds of balloting.

CO: News: Hearing date set for Aspen’s ’09 election (podcast)
http://www.kdnk.org/article.cfm?mode=detail&id=1264781474327
The City of Aspen’s May 2009 election has spiraled into a lawsuit that looks like it could finally make its way to court.

CT: First Steps Taken to Place Connecticut Tea Party on the Ballot
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/05/first-steps-taken-to-place-connecticut-tea-party-on-the-ballot/

GA: Secretary of State Kemp Announces Support of Legislation to Increase Ballot Access for Military and Overseas Voters
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/February/04/Overseas_Voters.html
…allowing military and overseas voters to receive a blank absentee ballot electronically

HI: Hawaii House Panel Passes Bill To Move Up Election
http://bit.ly/9pFLi1

IL: Automated is not Automatic
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/05/automated-is-not-automatic/
Champaign County Clerk. With the Illinois primary election now over (more or less) I will have a little more time to catch up with the various attempts out there to radically change our voter registration system. A recent one is from Demos

IL: Election summary: Undervoting law underloved
http://www.pekintimes.com/news/x1878079590/Election-summary-Undervoting-law-underloved

IL: ‘Ghost’ voting alleged in Sammons Points *
http://www.daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=451417
“There are four names on the voter list that don’t live where they say they do,” said Sammons Point resident Joe Culkin. “Nobody has seen them. We don’t know them, all four voted absentee from a little house about the size of a two-car garage.”

LA: New Orleans loses 76 voting precincts in post-Katrina tally
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/new_orleans_voters.html
February 04, 2010. Voters with questions about where they should cast their ballots Saturday can go to the secretary of state’s Web site, www.sos.louisiana.gov, and click on GeauxVote

NC: Ruling may help politics as usual
http://bit.ly/cRKNfE
The ruling overturns North Carolina’s law banning direct contributions.
This means that in the fall elections, a corporation that wants to influence an election can write a check for $1 million, rather than having to raise it in small increments from its executives.

SD: S.D. Legislature eyes ‘precinct-less’ voting
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/40593/group/News/
PIERRE…The plan would let voters cast ballots at any of the school district’s polling places that they find convenient on election day.

Citizens United

FEC Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision in Citizens United v. FEC
http://www.fec.gov/press/press2010/20100205CitizensUnited.shtml
Washington – The Federal Election Commission today announced that, due to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, it will no longer enforce statutory and regulatory provisions prohibiting corporations and labor unions from making either independent expenditures or electioneering communications.

The Voting News Daily: Hawaii has 3 election bills, Coalition urges WA lawmakers to reject online voting, IL law violating voter secrecy condemned

In Washburn’s World, Election Records Would Be Public…In Palm Beach FL, cartridges for some machines used in Fl District 19 GOP primary special election could not be read and the paper ballots were later counted at a tabulating center….In an Illinois Primary Race, Victory Is Self-Declared…

Hawaii to consider 3 election bills – vote by mail as the only election system, voting systems integrity and security, and election audits….Voting rights groups urge Washington State lawmakers to reject online voting bills HB 1624 and SB 5522.

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

AR: Which type voting machine do you prefer and feel secure casting your vote on?
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TM5SJJQ (poll)

FL: Last Case on Timing of Florida Presidential Primary Dismissed for Mootness
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/04/last-case-on-timing-of-florida-presidential-primary-dismissed-for-mootness/

FL: Morning of rechecking ballot-count proves Lynch the GOP winner in District 19 *
(correction after some ballots double counted)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/morning-of-rechecking-ballot-count-proves-lynch-the-211948.html
WEST PALM BEACH — After a counting glitch led to a long night and morning of shifting results, Ed Lynch emerged Wednesday as the winner of Tuesday’s special congressional District 19 GOP primary by 0.56 percent — just enough to avoid a recount against runner-up Joe Budd.
…
Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said nine votes for Budd and four votes for Price were properly counted on the electronic cartridges that are retrieved from ballot scanning machines at each precinct. But other cartridges in other scanners at those precincts could not be read, Bucher said. In response, elections staffers took all the ballots from those precincts — including the few ballots that had already been properly counted — and scanned them at the elections tabulating center in Riviera Beach.

After posting the incorrect totals on the elections Web site late Tuesday, Bucher said elections officials realized the mistake when they compared vote totals to the number of “ballot accounting forms” filled out at each precinct to keep track of how many ballots are voted and how many are left over.

HI: Three election-related bills for your review
http://disappearednews.com/2010/02/three-election-related-bills-for-your.html

IL: Daily Herald Condemns Illinois Law That Compromises Secret Ballot
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/04/daily-herald-condemns-illinois-law-that-compromises-secret-ballot/

IL: Local legislators hope to repeal undervote law
http://www3.whig.com/whig/blogs/citybeat/?p=290

IL: Grace: A few notes on election night *
http://www.kcchronicle.com/blogs/entries/2010/02/03/42268637/index.xml
The main issue was the Aurora Election Commission, which was showing different results throughout the night on its Web site and the Kane County Web site’s link to its results.

IL: Few voters, few problems * (attempts to mark ballots, also electioneering)
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/election/2026423,020310elexvoterfeat.article
Election judge in Oak Lawn booted for causing disruption
…In Oak Lawn, Cook County sheriff’s police booted Michael W. Tortorello, 51, from his election judge role mid-afternoon Tuesday after Tortorello shouted racial slurs against President Barack Obama, railed against “Crook County” government and attempted to mark up several ballots.

IL: In an Illinois Primary Race, Victory Is Self-Declared
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/04governor.html

IL: Recounts not automatic, must wait a month
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_a03af164-67ed-56f4-a869-e94dbcdde15f.html
Feb 4. DECATUR – With the results of both primary elections for governor still in question, county political leaders spoke about the possible impacts in the near term.

The Voting News Daily: WA email fax voting bill opposition, Ill election probs, NJ voting machine ruling half right

Opposition to emailing and faxing ballots builds – See Jason Osgood’s letter to Washington state representatives in opposition to email and fax voting that would be made legal by the Overseas and Service Voters bill (HB 2483 / SB 6238)…

Lots of news about the Illinois primary, with some reports of machine malfunction and some voter registration issues and voters confused by the undervote warning on voting machines. Too much caffeine? A coffee break kills voting machine….

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

AZ: 9th Circuit Keeps Arizona Public Funding Alive At Least Through April 2010
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/03/9th-circuit-keeps-arizona-public-funding-alive-at-least-through-april-2010/

CA: The Future of Voting in California: The People, the Equipment, the Costs
(watch the proceedings live)
http://www.sos.ca.gov/voting-systems/hearings/
Secretary of State’s Office, First Floor Auditorium, February 8, 2010, 10:00 a.m

CO: Marks v. Koch – Ballot Image Transparency Litigation – Aspen CO- 2nd conference
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/02/marks-v-koch-ballot-imagetransparency.html
…During that conference the Judge did not decide on the motion to dismiss. He ruled to allow a deposition of True Ballot Inc. The City of Aspen advised that it would file a motion for a protective order preventing the deposition.

GA: Unscheduled elections cost thousands in taxpayer dollars
http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/83362027.html

IL: Primary election: A few polling problems reported * (video available)
http://bit.ly/c1cjjg
…In Bloomington, a machine was replaced at Precinct 11, Fairway-Knolls Church of the Nazarene. Ballots were put into an auxiliary slot to be read and tabulated after the polls close, said Paul Shannon, executive director of the Bloomington Election Commission.

The procedure is the same for precincts covered by the McLean County clerk’s office. In Precinct 3 in Normal, for instance, early voters manually inserted their ballots into a machine whose automated function was on the fritz.

IL: County clerk to look into voter registration problems *
http://www.sj-r.com/breaking/x562895298/County-clerk-to-look-into-voter-registration-problems
Posted Feb 02, 2010 Sangamon County Clerk Joe Aiello said his office will look into why some voters showed up to the polls Tuesday, but their registrations weren’t reflected in the usual paperwork.
…
Earlier Tuesday, Aiello said tabulating machines at five polling places in the county had to be replaced by backups. One of the machines had printing that wasn’t dark enough on a test tape that printed Tuesday morning, Aiello said. Others had problems with the electronic display part of the machine.

IL: Voters Confused By Software*
http://visitpontiac.com/components/news/community/article.php?a=3cef3e8f52fd537e050fde5578979cfb
Feb 03, 2010 A minor software issue with electronic voting machines caused some voter confusion during Tuesday’s primary.

When a voter used the electronic voting machine, the computer would display a summary of the voter’s selections. However, there was a red box in the summary, which indicated the voter did not vote for one of the questions.

IL: Campus voting slowed by issues of residency, identification *
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/2010/02/03/campus-voting-slowed-by-issues-of-residency-identification

IL: Oops! Coffee spill breaks $5000 voting machine *
http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/1114862.html

IL: Some counties don’t use mandated computer chips in voting machines
http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_033235746.html

IL: Snow hits primary: How bad weather changes elections
http://bit.ly/d8SefU

IL: Voters have mixed reactions to law alerting them to undervotes *
http://bit.ly/be3fWv

IL: Absentee Return Possibility
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/03/absentee-return-possibility/

The Voting News Daily: IL undervote fix creates new bug, Judge orders new review of NJ voting machines, Internet transmission of ballots insecure

McHenry Co. IL. Clerk Kathy Schultz discovered that a state mandated software “undervote warning fix” can sometimes cause the county’s voting machines to forget all the preceding votes they’d recorded…

New Jersey judge orders re-evaluation of voting machines by experts, says disconnect machines and tabulators from internet as well, but stops short of decommissioning them….Pam Smith, President of Verified Voting has an overview of this ruling and says that NJ’s voting systems “cannot be audited, there’s no way to check for accuracy.”…

Safe or not, e-mail voting headed to Washington State Senate. About Washington State’s House Bill 2483 and Senate Bill 6238, Holly Jacobson of Voter Action says: “Washington state should not implement a system that the Pentagon rejected as fundamentally insecure”. Voter Action is monitoring Ivoting legislation in the US…

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

CA: Los Angeles Times Editorializes Against Petition Privacy
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/01/los-angeles-times-editorializes-against-petition-privacy/

CT: Connecticut Citizen Election Audit Coalition – Nov 09 Election Observation Report – Improvement, Yet Still Unsatisfactory
Coalition Finds Unsatisfactory Improvement In Election Audits Across The State
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2855
Citizen observation and analysis show the need for more attention to detail by officials, improvement in counting methods, and ballot chain-of-custody

IL: County Clerk To Defy Election Board * (software “fix” creates problems)
http://www.firstelectricnewspaper.com/2010/01/county-clerk-defies-election-board.html#links
McHenry Co…The law Schultz is going to break is one that says she has to rejigger the County’s voting machines to warn people they’ve failed to vote for someone, that is anyone at all, in a race, a common voter practice. Schultz is afraid if she “fixes” the machines, under certain circumstances they could forget all the preceding votes they’d recorded. She said Thursday she’s already made them do it in tests.

IL: Grass-roots reporting of election problems in Illinois
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Grass-roots-reporting-of-e-by-Roy-Lipscomb-100201-985.html

IL: New ballot rules tested in Tuesday’s primary election (Cook County)
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/02/new-ballot-rules-tested-in-tuesdays-primary-election.html

IL: Election fraud teams to be out in force
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/0e44ea15-5ff1-548b-b8b8-200a3a6ddee3.html

IL: Some Illinois voters could get a surprise in Tuesday’s primary: a rejected ballot.
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-il-ballotalerts,0,5085784.story

IL: Homer Township election judge maced, arrested, fired
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/homer-township-election-judge-sprayed-with-mace-fired.html

MD: Strong Brief Filed in 4th Circuit in Case Over Invalidation of Signatures due to Omission of Middle Initials, Etc.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/01/strong-brief-filed-in-4th-circuit-in-case-over-invalidation-of-signatures-due-to-omission-of-middle-initials-etc/

NJ: Ruling Issued in Rutgers–Newark Law School’s Constitutional Litigation Clinic Challenge to NJ’s Electronic Voting Machines
Judge Orders Re-evaluation of 11,000 Machines by Panel of Computer Experts Within 120Days
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6747
Unlike the panel that currently evaluates voting machines, the new panel must have requisite knowledge of computers and computer security.

Judge Feinberg also ordered that all voting machines and vote tally transmitting systems be disconnected from the Internet immediately.

NJ: Judge Orders Expert Review of Voting Machines in New Jersey
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/02/02/396
February 2, 2010 By Pamela Smith, Verified Voting
“…until New Jersey deploys voter-verified paper ballots systems statewide, and initiates the routine conduct of robust post-election manual audits, its election officials cannot prove that the votes are being counted properly.”

NJ: Congressman Rush Holt’s statement about the ruling:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/nj12_holt/febvoting.html

NJ: Judge’s ruling could cause New Jersey to scrap 11,000 voting machines
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/judges-ruling-could-cause-new-jersey-to-scrap-11000-voting-machines

The Voting News Daily: Corporation announces run for Congress, Online voting push at LA Co., Cyber threats escalate, Undervote law confusion

Editors Note: Today’s voting news is dedicated to my mother who passed away on January 21, 2010. She is sorely missed but is at peace now. A big thanks goes out to Sean Flaherty of Verified Voting who has been publishing the Voting News in my absence, from January 18- 28. Without Sean, the voting news would not have gone out. ~ Joyce McCloy, editor.

Now the voting news highlights: Internet voting – Neighborhood Councils Urge (Los Angeles) City Hall To Allow Online Voting…Washington State SOS sponsors bill for military to vote by email or fax. Strangley, Thurston Co. WA Auditor Kim Wyman says: “This is not voting via the Internet.”

Aspen Colorado ballot image suit may go to court in March…The value of audits demonstrated: $4,000 of Indian River County funds ended up in personal bank acct of Election Supervisor…Colbert Bait -Even with the new SCOTUS ruling, Doritos can’t sponsor his 2012 run…Murray Hill Inc. announced it was filing to run for U.S. Congress…Tests expose weaknesses of Philippines new voting machines…EU calls on Sri Lanka to probe reports of election irregularities…

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

CA: Neighborhood Councils Urge City Hall To Allow Online Voting
http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/city-news/online-voting-neighborhood-cou/
Jan. 29 2010 …Still, time is running short for this year’s elections, and the clerk’s office has indicated it would rather not deal with the issue until 2012. Last week, Councilman Paul Koretz authored a motion encouraging the clerk’s office to implement pilot voting programs this year. But without firm directive, the clerk’s office seems likely to swat the idea aside.

Read blog articles about internet voting risks at Verified Voting blog here:
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/category/issues/internet-voting

CA: Election Day registration worries county clerk
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/1009583.html
…Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie called same-day registration a “no brainer” and said it was more secure because “you have the person right in front of you — not a postcard in the mail,” Yee wrote

CA: California “Top-Two Open Primary” to be on Ballot as Proposition 14
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/01/31/california-top-two-open-primary-to-be-on-ballot-as-proposition-14/

CO: Marks v. Koch- Ballot ImageTransparency Litigation – Aspen Colorado
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/01/marks-v-koch-ballot-imagetransparency.html
Marilyn Marks filed suit against the City of Aspen Municipal Clerk to gain recourse for the City’s refusal to provide access to a CD containing recorded images of the ballots which were cast in Aspen Colorado’s May 5 municipal election.
…
A further trial management conference was set for Feb. 18 and a tentative trial date was set for March 22 and 23.

CO: Editorial: A vote for voters
http://bit.ly/9VqrUY January 29, 2010 No need to even ask. Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder is dutifully researching and asking voters whether they want a mail-ballot-only election for the state primary races in August, or whether they want the county to set up voting machines in precincts or voting centers.

CO: Scott Doyle announces re-election bid
http://bit.ly/cva6pv
Doyle is credited with pioneering the Vote Center concept in Colorado that eliminated neighborhood precinct polling places in favor of large centers

FL: Solari: Annual audit to include $4,000 bank error in Indian River County Supervisor of Elections Office
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jan/29/solari-annual-audit-to-include-4000-bank-error/

The Voting News Daily: NYT urges caution on Internet voting; voter ID bills debated; MD voting system costs debated

The New York Times weighs in on Internet voting with a strong editorial, legislatures in South Carolina, Virginia, and Utah consider voter ID legislation, and Maryland’s transition to optical scan voting generates debate over cost estimates.

This and more in today’s Voting News below…

AZ: New technology planned for poll consolidation
http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=34762

GA: Election suit appeal fails
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/5665479/article-Election-suit-appeal-fails?instance=west_ga_news

IL: State Election Officials: No Red Flags in Rock Island County
http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897058
Illinois State Board of Elections officials overseeing Thursday’s set-up and testing of the election equipment for Tuesday’s primary in Rock Island County found no red flags.

IL: RI County officials called before grand jury
http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_375aeb8e-0afe-11df-a73d-001cc4c03286.html

KY: Former Perry circuit clerk pleads guilty in vote-buying scheme
http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1115750.html
A former circuit clerk in Perry County pleaded guilty Thursday to taking part in vote buying in November 2008.

MD: State elections head says new voting system costly, not effective
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_028125950.html
A House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing Wednesday in Annapolis turned out to be an opportunity for state election officials to explain how the 2010 election will proceed.

MI: Grand Rapids clerk wants to cut number of precincts to save money
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/01/grand_rapids_clerk_wants_to_cu.html

MN: Polling place accessibility funds are awarded
http://www.hometownsource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12236:polling-place-accessibility-federal-funds-are-awarded&catid=13:capitol-news&Itemid=29

NM: Bill would resolve years-old question: Who has to maintain voting machines
http://newmexicoindependent.com/45343/bill-would-resolve-years-old-question-who-owns-voting-machines
January 27, 2010 – The state would be responsible for maintaining the state’s more than 1,000 voting tabulators if a Senate bill introduced this session becomes law.

NY: New voting machines to debut in September
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20406357&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574908&rfi=6
When you go to the polls for the September primaries the old Shoup 3.2 mechanical voting machine, used in city polling places for about half a century, will be gone, replaced by Elections Systems & Software’s DS200 Scanner and the AutoMark Ballot Marking Device.

SC: SC senators reach deal on photo ID requirement
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897668
Legislators have worked out a compromise on a bill requiring South Carolina voters to show photo IDs before they cast a ballot.

SC: Compromise reached on voter ID bill
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/1132521.html

SC: SC photo ID voting could affect 178,000 voters
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/1129757.html

UT: House shoots down Medicare card as voter ID
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14287179
A sharply divided Utah House rejected a bill Thursday that would have allowed voters to show a Medicare card as identification at the polls in November.

VA: Senate Committee Vote Kills Obenshain’s Voter ID Bill
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/82814897.html
January 27, 2010 – On Wednesday, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) questioned the partisan effort of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections to act to ensure the continued integrity of the electoral process in Virginia.

National: Internet Voting, Still in Beta [editorial]
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/opinion/28thu4.html
Internet voting is in its infancy, and still far too unreliable, but states are starting to allow it and the trend is accelerating because of a new federal law that requires greater efforts to help military and other overseas voters cast ballots.

International

Philippines: Congress may ask SC to stop full poll automation
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/28/10/congress-may-ask-sc-stop-full-poll-automation

[Note: The Philippines’ transition to optical scan voting generates more daily coverage than is reasonable to index in this digest.

The Voting News Daily: Optical scan funding: Maryland lawmakers hear testimony; some Illinois Clerks refuse to implement undervote warning; Russia considers e-voting

Today the Maryland House of Delegates’ Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the funding of optical scan equipment for the 2010 elections. Governor Martin O’Malley has not included funding in his recently released budget. The Illinois undervote warning law inspires a few Clerks to refuse to implement it, and Russia looks at electronic voting in future elections.

All this and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: County criticizes PUSD’s tax ballot
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_14280174
A mail-only ballot could lead to low voter turnout and cost Pasadena Unified more money than a consolidated election, a county election official said.

IL: State Capitol Q&A: Illinois primary also a test of new eVoter Web site
http://www.sj-r.com/state/x231958180/State-Capitol-Q-A-Illinois-primary-also-a-test-of-new-eVoter-Web-site
With the Feb. 2 primary election fast approaching, a Florida-based company is pushing a Web site to get Illinois voters prepared for the polls.

IL: Undervote law stirs clerks, prompts recall
http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2010/01/26/61168315/index.xml
It [the law requiring undervote notification] has caused such consternation among county clerks, one filed a suit that was dismissed and inspired a handful of refuseniks who will not follow it.

IL: La Salle voters need to listen for ballot beeps
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=396429
A “beep-beep-beep” from the ballot scanner on election day will be a signal for La Salle County voters that there may be more voting to do. Or not.

IL: Early voting totals down as deadline approaches
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/01/early-voting-totals-down-as-thursday-deadline-approaches.html
Early voting for the Feb. 2 primary ends Thursday, and while turnout has been relatively low this year, election officials still expect a last-minute rush of people trying to beat the deadline.

MD: No funding for new voting machine system
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_026233125.html
Gov. Martin O’Malley did not include funding for a new voting system in his proposed budget for fiscal 2011.

That doesn’t mean, however, that advocates for a system some feel is more accountable to the voters will stop pressuring lawmakers to proceed with a new system — a change the Maryland General Assembly approved of, but did not provide funding for, during the 2007 legislative session.

MA: Marlborough may become first Mass. town to require voter ID
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1685421601/Marlborough-may-become-first-Mass-town-to-require-voter-ID
If the city’s proposal to require all voters to show identification at polls is approved, it will be the state’s first municipality with such a rule.

International

Philippines: Smartmatic: some sectors ‘salivating’ to punish us
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/182649/smartmatic-some-sectors-salivating-to-punish-us
Smartmatic, the supplier of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the 2010 elections, said on Wednesday that some sectors were “salivating” to penalize it over the reported delay in the delivery of the equipment.

Philippines: Manual count possible in 30 percent of precincts
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/182590/manual-count-possible-in-30-percent-of-precincts
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is bracing for the possibility of holding manual vote-counting in 30 percent of polling precincts nationwide even as officials expect poll machines to be delivered on time and pass field tests.

Russia: Russia studying Indian EVMs for its own elections
http://www.ptinews.com/news/487134_Russia-studying-Indian-EVMs-for-its-own-elections
Russia is taking a leaf out of Indian elections and is studying the use of electronic voting machines (EVMS) and electors photo identity cards (EPIC) for implementation in its federal, regional and local polls.

The Voting News Daily: Oregon special election winds up, Cybersecurity in the news, CO lawsuit settled

In Oregon, voting ends today in a statewide election today on two tax measures. Turnout is expected to be high. Oregon elections are all vote by mail. NPR’s Fresh Air does a program on cyber-crime; hopefully at least some who are interested in the Internet transmission of secret, voted ballots listened to the show. Internationally, the Phillipines’ planned adoption of optical scan voting continues to generate a flurry of news media coverage.

All this and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: Yee proposes law to let voters register on election day
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_14267253

CO: Primary election to take place by mail
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2010/01/25/012610_3a_primary_mail.html
Mesa County voters will go to their mailboxes rather than their local school or town hall to cast their ballots in this year’s primary election.

CO: Secretary of state, activist groups settle voting suit
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14266743
The Colorado secretary of state’s office and a trio of activist groups have reached a settlement in a voting lawsuit that rattled the state’s election system in the days prior to the 2008 election.

The groups — Colorado Common Cause, Mi Familia Vota and the Service Employees International Union — sued then-Secretary of State Mike Coffman, claiming that he wrongly canceled tens of thousands of voter registrations too close to Election Day. Coffman said the cancellations were for legitimate reasons.

IL: Sparse ballot takes shape next month http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2010/01/26/madison/news/0124cvj-madelection0.txt

IL: Officials: Undervote rule may confuse some http://www.southtownstar.com/news/election/2012002,undervoting-0126.article Some county election officials in Illinois worry voters will be confused and voting might take longer on Election Day because of the state’s new undervoting notification rule.

NY: Villages get OK to use old voting machines
http://www.poststar.com/news/local/article_12efcf22-0acb-11df-ab78-001cc4c03286.html
Villages across Washington County will continue to use the traditional lever voting machines in their March elections because the new state-mandated machines will not be ready, state officials said Tuesday.

OR: Oregon tax election under national scrutiny
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Oregon-votes-on-higher-taxes-for-rich-businesses-82684412.html
With a surge of last-minute votes expected, Oregon voters will decide Tuesday whether to impose higher taxes on businesses and people whose income is well into six figures.

Polling suggests the results on Measures 66 and 67 will be close, and the outcome may depend on turnout.

OR: County starts ballot count http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/01/26/news/county_starts_ballot_count_559.txt

National

Fighting Cyber-crime, One Digital thug at a Time http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=122958695

International

Phillipines: Comelec: Machines have 16-hour batteries
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100127-249674/Comelec-Machines-have-16-hr-batteries

Phillipines: Comelec to open PCOS source code for public review
http://www9.gmanews.tv/story/182544/comelec-to-open-pcos-source-code-for-public-review

Phillipines: 6,739 surplus poll machines
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/240422/6739-surplus-poll-machines

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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The Voting News Daily: MD paper ballot transition in jeopardy, US oil companies face cyberattack, IL county cuts pollworkers

Election costs were a common theme in voting stories today. Illinois jurisdictions continued preparation for the Feb. 2 primary. An cyber-attack on U.S. oil companies offers another reminder of the vulnerabilities of even more secure computer systems.

All this and more in today”s Voting News below…

CA: Court tosses challenge to San Diego polling policies
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/01/25/24009.htm
A California appeals court refused to block San Diego County elections policies that limit photography and video recording in polling stations.

FL: District 58 primaries uncertain, expensive
The estimated cost of Tuesday’s primary elections is about $150,000, and for the Feb. 23 general election it is about $140,000. The state will reimburse the local elections office for most of the expense.

IL: How much money will be saved by using fewer election judges for primary?
http://www.bnd.com/news/local/story/1102941.html
The number of election judges posted at each precinct in St. Clair County will be reduced from five to three judges for the primary election on Feb. 2 in an effort to save more than $79,000.

IL: County clerk candidates answer election, turnover questions
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/article_4511dce2-07bb-11df-af1e-001cc4c03286.html

IL: Early voting tally low in primary so far
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2009340,6_1_NA25_EARLYVOTE_S1-100125.article
With less than a week left for early voting for the Feb. 2 primary, the numbers in DuPage and Will counties — as well as across the area — are low, according to election officials.

IN, International: Indianapolis Moving Company Supports Community Voting System in West Africa
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/indianapolis-moving-company-supports-community-voting-system-in-west-africa-82610452.html
Indianapolis movers, Kenny Woodson and Keith Galliard were proud to be a part of the project that will update the Benin’s antiquated system of paper ballot voting with the Micro Vote 464 machines.

MA: Massachusetts ‘Deja Vu’ Senate race: Questionable Counts and Speedy Concessions [OpEd]
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Massachusetts-Deja-Vu-Se-by-Lynn-Landes-100125-498.html

MA: Stanley to state: Pay for U.S. Senate election
http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/x1685420734/Stanley-to-state-Pay-for-U-S-Senate-election

MD: Budget crunch may mean touchscreens stay
http://www.stardem.com/articles/2010/01/24/news/109625.txt
January 24, 2010 – With the necessary funding omitted from Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget, local officials are unsure if they will be using a new optical scan voting system or continuing with the touchscreen system already in place for the Sept. 14 primary and Nov. 2 general elections.

OR: State looks at claim of vote fraud
http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_7ddf1320-09f3-11df-8637-001cc4c002e0.html

OR: Oregon voters not fooled by imitation ballots
http://www.tdn.com/news/state-and-regional/article_f5f41872-09fa-11df-b6b0-001cc4c03286.html
Oregon voters have not been fooled by a mailer that mimicked the official ballot for Tuesday’s tax election.

WA: Make military and overseas voting easier [editorial]
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2010889539_edit26ballot.html

National

US oil industry hit by cyberattacks: Was China involved?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0125/US-oil-industry-hit-by-cyberattacks-Was-China-involved

Proposed law could help U.S. voters register online
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/1002486.html

International

India: Blogging after months, Advani still talks of EVMs [electronic voting machines]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Blogging-after-months-Advani-still-talks-of-EVMs/articleshow/5500290.cms

India: Election Commission of India celebrates Diamond Jubilee year
http://www.bloombergutv.com/stock-market/stocks/commentary/368028/election-commission-of-india-celebrates-diamond-jubilee-year.html
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday listed electronic voting machines (EVMs) as one of the breakthroughs that had lent credibility to the Indian electoral process.

India: EVMs enhance credibility of India’s elections: PM
http://www.dailytimesindia.com/2010/01/92504.htm

The Voting News Daily: Analysis of Massachusetts election continues, Kansas SoS begins planning for future of elections

Ireland’s voting machines are likely to be scrapped, discussion of the Massachusetts Senate race continues.

All this and more in this weekend’s Voting News below…

IL: Early voting in Primaries ends Thursday at numerous locations in Cook County
http://www.examiner.com/x-34720-Cook-County-Elections-2010-Examiner~y2010m1d23-Early-voting-in-Primaries-ends-Thursday-at-numerous-locations-in-Cook-County

KS: Thornburgh: Voter access is goal
http://cjonline.com/news/legislature/2010-01-23/thornburgh_voter_access_is_goal

MA: Mack Urges Mass. Secretary of State to Quickly Certify Brown Election Results
http://www.bignews.biz/?id=836694&keys=Congressman-Mack-Connie-Massachusetts

MA: Demographics may explain Coakley’s 3% win of hand-count paper ballots
http://www.examiner.com/x-1969-Boston-Progressive-Examiner~y2010m1d23-Demographics-may-explain-Coakleys-3-win-of-handcount-ballots
The election integrity community has been vigorously discussing the wide variance between hand counted ballots and machine counted ballots in the recent special Senate election in Massachusetts.

TN: County gears up for busy election year
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/county-gears-up-for-busy-election-year-cms-21518

WV: The Internet is not a secure-enough platform for overseas voters [OpEd]
http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/OpEdCommentaries/201001210473

National: An Open Letter to U.S. Media on Elections
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mimi-kennedy/an-open-letter-to-the-us_b_434390.html

International

Canada: Voters can cast ballot by phone or Internet [local election]
http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2274619
The city of Pembroke will be letting its residents vote from home in the Oct. 25 municipal election.

Ireland: Voting machines set to go – Gormley
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0125/1224263036307.html
“Electronic equipment that cost the State some €50 million but has never been commissioned is now likely to be cast off completely, the Minister for the Environment John Gormley has confirmed.”

Philippines: Delivery of voting machines completed by February 14
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/239961/delivery-voting-machines-completed-february-14

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note “for Voting News” in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.”
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn

Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in “Voting News” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers’ ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.

The Voting News Daily: Alabama House approves UOCAVA Internet voting bill, Citizens United decision shakes up U.S. elections

Alabama’s House of Representatives approved a bill allowing Internet voting for overseas and military voters today. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case Citizens United vs. FEC naturally dominated today’s media coverage of election issues. There is too much reporting, analysis and commentary of the decision to summarize here. Election Law Blog (http://electionlawblog.org/) is a strong resource for background and discussion of the case.

All this and more in today’s Voting News below…

AL: Alabama House OKs military, overseas voting legislation
http://www2.eprisenow.com/ent/news/local/article/alabama_house_oks_militaryoverseas_voting_legislation/124082/

IL: Toppert asks for state board to eye R.I. County election
http://www.wqad.com/news/wqadtopppert-asks-state-board-election-help012210,0,5437439.story
…”On Wednesday, [Rock Island County Clerk candidate] Toppert fired off a letter to the state election authority asking for extra eyes to watch polls and the electronic voting machines around the county.”…

MN: Our View: Beware of New Voting Systems
http://mankatofreepress.com/editorials/x1059039783/Our-View-Beware-of-new-voting-systems

TN: Election commission votes for new building
http://www.decaturcountyonline.com/article.asp?art=1495

TN: Casteeel pleased with delay of bill regarding voting machines
http://www.tullahomanews.com/news/view_article.asp?idcategory=9&idarticle=8667

National

Court Reverses Limits on Campaign Spending
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016942930090152.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories

How Corporate Money Will Reshape Politics (wide-ranging commentary)
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/how-corporate-money-will-reshape-politics/#richard

Citizens United vs. FEC: Is it Time for a Free Speech for People Amendment?
http://www.voteraction.org/news-article/2010/citizens-united-v-fec-time-free-speech-people-amendment

International

Kenya: IIEC to use electronic voting system
http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=62014

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note “for Voting News” in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.”
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn

Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in “Voting News” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers’ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.

The Voting News Daily: EAC, OAS sign agreement on voting initiatives, Finland puts the brakes on e-voting, Illinois prepares for first "undervote warning" election

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission signs an agreement with the Organization of American States that, among other provisions, calls for cooperation on “the standardization, testing, auditing and implementation of electronic voting initiatives,” Finland becomes the latest country to put the brakes on electronic voting, and Illinois election officials prepare optical scan and DRE equipment to provide an undervote warning for state offices in the February 2 primary.

All this and more in today’s Voting News…

IL: New voting rule takes effect in primary
http://www.galesburg.com/news/x1301086263/New-voting-rule-takes-effect-in-primary

MA: Coakley winds the Hand Counts
http://www.gouverneurtimes.com/frontpage-news/10818-coakley-wins-the-hand-counts.html

NE: Council: No recount
http://www.nptelegraph.com/articles/2010/01/20/news/60005311.txt

NJ: Judge orders new election for Park Ridge Council seat
http://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/012010_Judge_orders_new_election_for_Park_Ridge_council_seat.html
Citing voting irregularities and the difficulty in determining for whom some disqualified voters cast their ballots in the Park Ridge municipal election Nov. 3, Superior Court Judge Robert C. Wilson on Wednesday ordered that a new election be held for a seat on the Borough Council.

International

International – OAS and the United States Sign Cooperation Agreement on Electoral Affairs
http://www.sflcn.com/story.php?id=7830

Finland: Electronic voting will not be developed further on the current basis
http://www.isria.com/pages/20_January_2010_95.php

India: Compulsory voting against democracy, EC says
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Compulsory-voting-against-democracy-says-EC/articleshow/5481993.cms

India: 58 to 60 percent registered in Chotila by-polls
http://www.ptinews.com/news/477551_58-to-60-per-cent-voting-registered-in-Chotila-by-polls

Philippines: Traders to get first-hand demo on voting machines
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/239407/traders-get-firsthand-demo-voting-machines

United Kingdom: Voters with learning disabilities ‘disenfranchised’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8469533.stm
…”Looking further forward, it [a study by charity United Response] believes a new strategy is needed to boost democratic involvement, with all elected representatives taking more account of the needs of those with learning disabilities. “…

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note “for Voting News” in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.”
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn

Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in “Voting News” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers’ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news,research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.

The Voting News Daily: Ballot irregularities charged in MA, IL election officials prepare for undervote warning, Google hack post-mortem continues

The Massachusetts special election dominated discussion of voting issues today, and the Google hack continues to make news.

As of just before 9pm EST, the Massachusetts election is too close to call. Results can be viewed at these sites:
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2010/senate_race/

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2010/by_county/MA_US_Senate_0119.html?SITE=AP&SECTION=POLITICS

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/index.html

http://wbztv.com/

All this and more in today’s Voting News…

AL: Military voting bill gets out of House committee
http://www.clantonadvertiser.com/news/2010/jan/18/military-voting-bill-gets-out-house-committee/
January 18, 2010 – A bill aimed at making it easier for members of the military to vote while serving overseas passed out of House committee Thursday.

IL: Clerk outlines changes in voting procedure
http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/news/x1672016794/Clerk-outlines-changes-in-voting-procedure
Livingston County Clerk Kristy Masching recently explained a new law enacted by the State of Illinois that will affect voters in the Feb. 2 primary election.

MA: Mass. secretary of state dismissed vote problems
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/19/AR2010011903906.html
The Massachusetts secretary of state is discounting reports of voter irregularities in the state’s Senate special election.

MA: Coakley campaign alleges voting irregularities
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/coakley_campaig_3.html
The Senate campaign of Democrat Martha Coakley said this evening that ballots pre-marked for Republican rival Scott Brown have been given out at several polling places across the state.

MA: Conversation with Maynard Town Clerk Michelle Sokolowski
http://www.wickedlocal.com/maynard/town_info/government/x1560339308/Conversation-with-Maynard-Town-Clerk-Michelle-Sokolowski

MA: Orange Alert Must Galvanize Galvin, Election Watchdogs Say
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/orange-alert-must-galvanize-galvin-election-watchdogs-say-82056497.html
Wanting to be certain that today’s Senate race in Massachusetts is not hijacked by the computerized optical scanners that count votes inside black boxes away from the public view — as highly-respected computer scientists have proven is too easily possible — citizen groups are asking the Massachusetts Secretary of State to take extra precautions.

MA: Alert! Coakley Voters Report Receiving Ballots Pre-marked for Brown
http://www.marthacoakley.com/news/press_releases/details/2010-01-alert-coakley-voters-report-receiving-ballots-pre-mar
We’ve received several independent and disturbing reports of voters across the state being handed ballots that are already marked in favor of Scott Brown. This is obviously a serious violation, and our legal team is taking immediate steps to protect the integrity of this election.

MA: Explosive turnout and charges in Massachusetts
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31674.html

MA: Galvin: Decision to seat MA winner ultimately rests with the Senate
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/19/galvin-decision-to-seat-ma-winner-ultimately-rests-with-senate/

National:

Digital Fingerprints for Chinese Attack on Google
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/technology/20cyber.html

Fearing Hackers Who Leave No Trace [more follow-up on Google hack]
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/technology/20code.html
…”Given the complexity of today’s software programs, which are typically written by teams of hundreds or thousands of engineers, it is virtually impossible to be perfectly confident in the security of any program, and tampering could very well go undetected.”…

International:

Canada: County Internet voting likely by fall [Prince Edward County, Ontario]
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2263819
January 16, 2010 – Prince Edward County residents should be able to cast their vote in this fall’s municipal election without leaving the comfort of their home.

Voting News by Joyce McCloy
.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018.

The Voting News Daily: Google hack making waves, Massachusetts special election raises concern, and Kansas SoS report

The Google e-mail hack continues to make waves: today a New York Times feature quotes security experts as saying “the ideal approach [to Internet vulnerabilities] is to carefully identify a corporation’s most valuable intellectual property and data, and place it on a separate computer network not linked to the Internet, leaving a so-called air gap.”
All this and more in today’s voting news below…

KS: Secretary of State Releases Report on the Future of Elections in Kansas http://www.morningsun.net/blogs/politics/x532579080/POLITICS-BLOG-Secretary-of-State-releases-report-on-future-of-elections-in-Kansas

View the full Secretary of State’s Report:
http://media.morningsun.net/news/Election%20Future%20report.pdf

KY: County Switching to New Voting Machines
http://www.wlky.com/news/22234655/detail.html
January 14, 2010 – A northeastern Kentucky county is casting its lot with optical scan voting machines and doing away with paper ballots.

The Ashland Daily Independent reports that Greenup County has ordered 32 eScan machines at a cost of $120,680. The machines should allow the county to place one in each precinct.

MA: Election Watchdog Groups Fearful of Electronic Voting Fraud in Massachusetts Senate Election
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017553930?Election%20Watchdog%20Groups%20Fearful%20Of%20Electronic%20Voting%20Fraud%20In%20Massachusetts%20Senate%20Election

MD: Maryland Needs Secure, Verifiable Voting System
http://www.gazette.net/stories/01152010/policol151412_32553.php
January 15, 2010 – The state of Maryland will be making a foolish choice if it decides to renege on its promise to replace our risky paperless touchscreen voting machines with a paper ballot, optical-scan voting system.

NE: County sticks with voting machine vendor
http://www.post-trib.com/news/porter/1993916,pcelex0116.article
January 16, 2010 – A Nebraska vendor will continue to service electronic voting machines for elections in Porter County.

NY: Concerns About NY”s New Voting Machines
http://reformny.blogspot.com/2010/01/concerns-about-new-yorks-new-voting.html
January 15, 2010 – …”At least one of the two [new] systems, the ES&S DS200 (to be used in New York City, among other jurisdictions) has an unusual feature: unlike most optical scan systems, if a voter makes a mistake (voting for two candidates when she was only entitled to vote for one, for instance), the machine doesn’t “spit” the ballot out and direct the voter to correct her mistake.”…“Paul Malischke, a voting rights advocate in Wisconsin, tells me that his state conditioned its purchase of the DS200 on a promise from ES&S that the machine be reconfigured to immediately return a ballot to the voter if it detects an overvote.“…

TX: Upshur County discusses primaries
http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/2010/01/16/01162010_upshur_county.html January 16, 2010 — Upshur County will make its voting machines available to the Democratic and Republican parties for their primaries, if both parties agree to use the entire system and contract with Fort Worth- based Hart for the machines’ programming and tabulating.

VA: DOJ cites county for 242 ADA violations [pollworker training discussed]
http://www.swvatoday.com/news/article/doj_cites_county_for_242_ada_violations/6666/
January 15, 2010 – Already facing mandated courthouse renovations and possible construction of an administrative building and a school, Smyth County is ordered to start bringing buildings into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act at a yet unknown cost.

National: Companies Fight Endless War Against Computer Attacks
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/technology/internet/18defend.html?pagewanted=2
January 18, 2010 – …”Security experts say the ideal approach is to carefully identify a corporation’s most valuable intellectual property and data, and place it on a separate computer network not linked to the Internet, leaving a so-called air gap.”…

The Voting News Daily: GA voting case moves to Valdosta, EAC oks 3rd ballot scanner, AL internet voting bill, Google hacked

Alabama House considers military internet voting bill today. Meanwhile Google disclosed significant attacks on their servers…Project Vote’s releasing election recommendations for 11 states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada,New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia… Should voter history be private or public information?…EAC Certifies Third Optical-Scan Voting System….Election tension mounts as Ukraine PM cries foul

Dr Barbara Simons on Voter Registration…Government of Sri Lanka Condemns Election Violence

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

AL: Alabama House committee reviews 4 election bills today (includes internet voting for military) http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006347.html

CA: Wall Street Journal Article in San Francisco Green Party
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/01/13/wall-street-journal-article-in-san-francisco-green-party/
January 13th, 2010 The two articles are not the same, although they both emphasize that by some indicators, the party is weaker than it was in the past.

CA: California ACORN breaks off into new nonprofit group
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-acorn13-2010jan13,0,7260819.story
The community organization group will keep the same mission and many of the same staffers, but will not belong to the troubled national alliance.

GA: GA voting case moves to Valdosta (where Ray Lemme ended up)
http://bit.ly/5LgcZg January 12.
I am going to Valdosta this week to provide expert witness testimony in the bizarre case against Laura Gallegos that will be heard on Thursday January 14th at the Lowndes County Courthouse.

In this case, a known voting machine defect allowed 947 test votes to be included in the 2008 Lowndes County certified election results.

IL: Illinois and the Law of Unintended Consequences
http://bit.ly/5dBM2i
January 12, 2010 In Illinois, now home of the nation’s earliest primary elections for federal offices, early voting has begun.
…
So the Illinois legislature never got around to amending the law and changing the date of its primary elections back to the traditional March date.

NC: Maker of fake Cary political Web site comes forward
http://www.carynews.com/news/story/15502.html
The legislature has made no laws regulating campaign Web sites, Ragan said, so the elections board would have no jurisdiction over the content of any site.

NE: Nebraska online voter registration might be possible
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=11806528
Jan 13, 2010 – It might soon be possible to register online to vote in Nebraska. A bill (LB 875) State Sen. Bob Giese of South Sioux City introduced Monday would require the development of an online voter registration system. KNTV. Read More

NH: N.H. voters suprised by special election poll hours
http://bit.ly/6TN092
Jan 13, 2010 – Any early risers who planned to cast a vote yesterday were in for a surprise. Polls in the three Manchester wards that hosted a special primary election weren’t open for business until 11 a.m. Mark Hayward, Union Leader

PA: Rep. Wolf Takes Voter Intimidation Case to Judiciary Committee
http://bit.ly/8ZhOaw
January 12, 2010 Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) continues to try get answers from the Obama Justice Department about a voter intimidation case in Philadelphia. The incident which occurred during the 2008 presidential election was summarily dismissed by Eric Holder’s office

TN: State senate delays paper trail for voting
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/22215960/detail.html
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to delay a law requiring a paper trail on voting machines until the 2012 election cycle.

The Voting News Daily: Delayed – Tennessee paper ballot law, GA SOS hopeful blasts state undercounts

The US Dept of Justice readies lawsuit to undo voting machine merger…Libertarian candidate for Georgia SOS blasts Diebold machines and state-wide vote undercounts…Votes and Doubts in Detroit….Bill to Delay Tennessee Voter Confidence Act until 2012 Passes……Please check out the “Universal” Ballot Counter by Mitch Trachtenberg…For sale on Internet – Ukraine’s election votes…

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

CO: How Aspen Violated Colorado Ranked Choice Voting Rules
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-aspen-violated-colorado-ranked.html
[Mike LaBonte, an election quality advocate from Massachusetts posted the following summary of one portion of his work related to the Aspen election…

GA: Libertarian Secretary of State Candidate David Chastain Blasts Georgia’s Infamous Diebold Electronic Voting Machines
http://bludgeonandskewer.blogspot.com/2010/01/libertarian-secretary-of-state.html
So it looks like our good old Diebold’s are dropping votes. Lots of votes. Which is a rotten shame considering that the votes were cast by citizens who went to the polls in good faith to perform their civic duty.

GA: SOS candidate informs Cobb group of state-wide vote undercounts
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/January/11/David_Chastain.html
…In December, Chastain spent a day in the research room of the State Archives studying election records from county referendums around Georgia. He focused on single-issue referendums where there is only one question on the ballot

IL: Voters will find fewer polling places as funds, judges become scarce
http://bit.ly/6yDcsm
January 10, 2010 DECATUR – Voters are going to be casting their ballots at a smaller number of polling locations, starting with the February primary election, Macon County Clerk Steve Bean said.
MI: Votes and doubts
http://metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=14701
Barrow demands recounts, then an investigation. Here’s why.
Asserting that “probable cause exists” to believe that a criminal conspiracy involving “vote tampering, ballot box stuffing and electronic vote manipulation” occurred, Barrow has asked authorities at every level to investigate. Among those sent the complaint were state Attorney General Mike Cox, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

NJ: Essex County elections chief back to work after being charged in employee pay scheme
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/essex_county_elections_chief_b.html
January 11, 2010 NEWARK — Carmine Casciano, the veteran Essex County superintendent of elections, was back on the job today, just days after he was charged with official misconduct in a scheme to give paid days off to employees who worked on political campaigns.

TN: Bill to Delay Tennessee Voter Confidence Act Passes
http://www.liberadio.com/2010/01/12/bill-to-delay-tennessee-voter-confidence-act-passes/
The bill to delay the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act passes (mostly along party lines) in the Senate, 22-10. It now goes to the Governor for his signature…

TN: Republicans Delay Voter Confidence Act
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2010/01/senate_votes_to_delay_voter_co.php
…the Senate voted 22-10 to delay implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act until the 2012 elections.
…
With great fanfare, Republicans and Democrats alike embraced this law in 2008 to eliminate the hazards of paperless, unverified electronic voting.

TN: What Would Jesus Do If He Were a Tennessee State Senator?
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2010/01/what_would_jesus_do_if_he_were.php
There is only one correct, moral, patriotic decision left to make. That is to keep the Voter Confidence Act intact and on-track for 2010.

The Voting News Daily: Just say no to Internet Voting, DoJ Voting Rights Fight Reboots, Absentee voting growth market for fraud?

DoJ Voting Rights Fight Reboots…LTE: Just say no to Internet Voting – “as a programmer, I must caution you. Not only do programmers make mistakes, some of them can be bought.” Lisa Pease, electronic voting activist…Hawaii lacks funds to send Rep. to Congress…“Absentee voting is the new growth market for election fraud,” said Richard Hayes-Phillips -responding to news of the Detroit recount…Vote Fraud charges in Independence Louisiana….Tennessee is Poised to Move Backwards Again due SB0872 – the bill that if passed would delay implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act (TVCA) until 2012…Overseas military will have to register again to get ballots this year…

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

CA: Party pays thousands to signature collector at center of past controversies
http://bit.ly/93aRti
…In 2006, Burkett’s firm was hit by voter-registration fraud allegations in Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Dozens of voters claimed their party affiliation had been switched to Republican without their knowledge by signature collectors working for Burkett.

HI: Hawaii lacks funds to send Rep. to Congress
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115825§ionid=3510203
A vote-by-mail special election scheduled for May 1 could only be held if the state collected the USD 925,000 it would cost. This is while a walk-in election would mean 1.2 million for the election office coffer.

IL: Election law angers county clerk (machines would beep)
http://bit.ly/4uUb8v
McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz has told the state that she will not comply with a controversial election “undervoting” law for the Feb. 2 primary.
…
Lake County’s voting machine software is able to accommodate the new law, County Clerk Willard Helander said. But she called the law flawed and unnecessary and said it could mislead people who chose not to vote for a statewide candidate to think that they made a mistake.

“[The General Assembly] didn’t seem to care if you skip voting for Congress, County Board or sheriff, so there’s no equal protection. It seems to be a very flawed law. It’s Illinois at work,” Helander said.

LA: Voter fraud charges causing change in Independence police dept.*
http://www.wwltv.com/news/Voter-fraud-charges-causing-change-in-Independence-police-dept-81182412.html
January 11, 2010 …Maurer was elected Police Chief in February 2008, but is now being charged in a Federal Bill of Information with illegally registering voters for that election.
…
“A number of people from the Town of Independence called and came in,” Tony Radosti, the Vice-President of the Metropolitan Crime Commission told Eyewitness News Monday. “They were telling us about people being registered to vote in the city who were not residents.”

MI: Voter fraud in Detroit?
http://bit.ly/8Ajkug
DETROIT — Former mayoral candidate Tom Barrow is waging a battle to expose what he and others call massive, historic election fraud in last November’s mayoral race. Over 51 percent of the votes cast were compromised, Barrow charges, including all 41,458 absentee ballots deemed unrecountable by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers last month.
…
BenDor said elections in counties across the state are rife with absentee voter fraud, insecure chains of custody of paper ballots, and other irregularities…

NY: First Look at NY’s New Electronic Voting Machines (video)
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/station/as-seen-on/First_Look_at_NY_s_New_Electronic_Voting_Machines_New_York.html