See it on iTunes: Dan Rather’s “Digital Democracy in Doubt”…TX vote flip video is on internet again..3rd NC county reports vote flipping…VerifiedVoting on Vote Flipping & Touch Screen Calibration…NH voters beware internet voting scam…S Carolina voting system needs overhaul..Report vote probs by cell phone 866-OUR-VOTE..Still Time for Overseas Voters to get ballot…Serious system failures in Canadian muni internet voting…Ahmedabad India Congress leaders sue to stop internet voting…
All this and more in today’s voting news.
AK: Write-in lists ruled a violation of election law
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/blogs/political-animal/7294-write-in-lists-ruled-a-violation-of-election-law In a ruling sure to disappoint supporters of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a temporary restraining order was issued against poll workers providing voters with the names of write-in candidates.
AR: Ballot Problems For Some Voters In St. Francis County, AR*
http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-saint-francis-county-races-story,0,5413549.story
Races For District 51 House Seat & Forrest City Council Position Impacted
Alex Coleman
In Saint Francis County, Arkansas, early voting is underway, but some voters ran into a problem trying to cast their ballots for a city council position in Forrest City, AR.
…
Patton said, “I don’t know every detail, but I do know there was a problem with a position of the candidates on the ballots that one of the candidates had drawn and was supposed to be in a different position and the ballot wasn’t printed that way.”
The Saint Francis County Election Commission found problems with some of its ballots.
The race for Arkansas State House of Representatives between Democrat Marshall Wright and Republican Anna Grizzle was also affected.
…
The ballot problem will mean the election commission chairman, Frederick Freeman, will likely total out voting machines and maybe restart the early voting process.
AZ: Restrictive Voter Registration Law Struck Down In Arizona
http://networkedblogs.com/9GsmI
By a 2-1 vote (the majority included retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor), the court struck down Arizona’s documentary proof of citizenship requirement for all new voter registrants because it is superseded by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
CA: Voter fraud warning: Don’t give ballot to door-to-door solicitor* (dirty trick)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/105890433.html
If someone comes to your door asking for a mail-in ballot, don’t give it to them. That’s the warning from Kern County Elections officials.
CO: Boulder voters given wrong ballot language on tax question* (ballot info wrong)
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_16440973
Electronic voting machines that should have shown early voters in Boulder the text of the proposed utility tax ballot measure instead showed the text for the county open space measure. Those voters’ yes and no votes were then recorded for the utility tax.
Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall said election workers discovered the problem around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday when a voter noticed the discrepancy.
Electronic voting was immediately discontinued for the day, and a new ballot program was uploaded to new voting
CO: Election glitch sends ballots with wrong state house district to Fort Collins senior complex* (ballot missing contest)
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20101027/UPDATES01/101027020/Election+glitch+sends+b allots+with+wrong+state+house+district+to+Fort+Collins+senior+complex
http://tinyurl.com/268pueg Mary Willhite wanted to vote for her friend Bob Morain in House District 52. But when she got her ballot in the mail, it listed the House District 53 race.
CO: Mayor Ireland to vote to repeal Instant Runoff Voting
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/143323
CT: Federal Court Tells Connecticut that Voters at Polls May Wear WWE Wrestling-Related Clothing to Polls
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/27/federal-court-tells-connecticut-that-voters-at-polls-may-wear-wwe-wrestling-related-clothing-to-polls/
FL: City Commissioner arrested in absentee ballot fraud*
http://www.news-journalonline.com/breakingnews/2010/10/daytona-beach-city-commissioner-arrested-in-absentee-ballot-fraud.html
DAYTONA BEACH — A Daytona Beach City commissioner and his campaign manager were arrested today on multiple charges of felony absentee ballot fraud
…
Henry and Robinson requested 92 ballots through the elections office website, four of which were found under a computer keyboard at Henry’s home on Sept. 23, Davidson said.
GA: Error Sends Out Triple Absentee Ballots*
Elections Director: Staff’s Mistake Is ‘Inexcusable’
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16437951
The Central Contra Costa Sanitary District race was left off 2,863 ballots in Alamo, Danville, Pleasant Hill and Danville, according to Steve Weir, Contra Costa’s elections chief.
His office spent Tuesday mailing correct ballots to those households, he said, and expect them to arrive in mailboxes today.
HI: Overseas Troops Can Vote For Free
http://www.kitv.com/r/25511596/detail.html
Troops May Print Ballots Online, Return Without Paying Postage
IA: Do Black Hawk officials really count absentee ballots?
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_db925654-e115-11df-aff8-001cc4c03286.html
IL: Vote By Mail Glitch in Illinois Could Affect Thousands of Voters*
http://indiepropub.com/vote-by-mail-glitch-in-illinois-could-affect-thousands-of-voters/311649/ Voters are complaining that when they received vote by mail requests, that the return address isn’t sent directly to their local election official, but instead to a PO Box. One Chicagoan, Rosia Carter said “By the time I filed it out and sent it in, my vote would not get counted.” Carter noticed that the return address was to the Illinois Democratic Coordinated Campaign and complained to the local media.
IN: Vote machine public test deadline missed – ballots to be hand counted
http://www.carrollcountycomet.com/news/2010-10-27/Local_News/Vote_machine_public_test_deadline_missed__ballots_.html
The Carroll County Election Board paid consultants Election Systems and Software (ES&S) to train board members Denise Strasser and clerk Nancy Mattox to perform the necessary duties and responsibilities for the Nov. 2 general election.
MA: STAFF EDIT: Registration intimidation
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/opinion/staff-edit-registration-intimidation-1.2383527
MI: Clerks told not to notify voters of invalid absentee ballots
Ballots cast for now-deceased candidate won’t be counted
http://michiganmessenger.com/42842/clerks-told-not-to-notify-voters-of-invalid-absentee-ballots
NC: Voting Machine Issues Getting National Attention
http://www.wcti12.com/news/25529051/detail.html
NC: Double Take: Touch screen voting casts doubt with some voters* (Lenoir)
http://www.enctoday.com/news/screen-69164-kfpress-touch-voters.html
Ervin Norville, a registered Democrat, said he was trying to vote for a straight party Republican ticket Tuesday Oct. 19, at the McLewean Street polling place. He said when he reviewed his ballot, several Democratic candidates were selected.
…
ones — a former high school government teacher at South Lenoir — said he used three machines before finally being able to get his ballot correct.
“I voted and I decided to do something I don’t normally do and I reviewed my vote, and four of them were not what I pressed. It was not doing right,” Jones said. “I called the ladies over and they called the county office and went to another machine. Finally, I got it on the right one and I voted.”
Jones said he was not voting a straight party ticket but noticed three races that were voted opposite of what he had pressed. He added the woman next to him also had some trouble voting.
NC: ViewPoints Radio -Joyce McCloy, NC Coalition for Verified Voting and Sean Flaherty, Policy Analyst for Verified Voting (podcast)
http://viewpointsradio.blogspot.com/2010/10/joyce-mccloy-nc-coalition-for-verified.html Discussion of verified voting, touchscreen vote flipping, internet voting, and statewide IRV contest begin at 10:24.
NC: Instant runoff voting highlights NC judges’ races
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NC_JUDICIAL_RACES_NCOL-?SITE=NCMOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
(AP) …But the “instant” winner actually may not be known for several weeks if no one receives more than 50 percent of the first-place votes
NC: Poll observers upset voters (makes national news)
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/27/762442/poll-observers-upset-voters.html
NH: AG warns NH voters of internet voting scam (dirty tricks)
http://www.necn.com/10/27/10/AG-warns-NH-voters-of-internet-voting-sc/landing_nation.html New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney is warning voters not to believe callers urging them to vote using an Internet website
NV: GOP raises “issues and discrepancies” in early voting* (more votes than voters)
http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/politics/GOP_raises_issues_and_discrepancies_in_early_voting.html?ref=783
The Republicans said “extra votes” — one or two apiece — appeared on seven voting machines in Clark and Washoe counties.
“These troubling discrepancies suggest that these voting machines may have recorded extra votes erroneously, or that people were allowed to cast votes without signing up (thereby potentially allowing them to cast multiple ballots.)
The 44 page letter to NV SoS, including must see polling place docs
http://media.lvrj.com/documents/Letter+and+Attachmen.pdf
NV: E-Vote Trouble in NV & My Article at Truthout Today: ‘Hacking Harry Reid (or Sharron’s Angle)’ http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8152
After reports of ES&S touch-screen votes flipping away from Republicans, for a change, over the last several days in North Carolina and in Texas, reports are now coming in from Nevada about similar occurrences on that state’s Sequoia touch-screens
NV: Hacking Harry Reid (or Sharron’s Angle)
http://www.truth-out.org/hacking-harry-reid-or-sharrons-angle64548
Sharron Angle should start filing the lawsuits right now. Then again, so should Harry Reid. However, it might be a bit more difficult politically for the Senate majority leader, given the undeserved support Reid has shown in the past for Nevada’s 100 percent unverifiable, error-prone, hackable, illegally-certified, electronic voting systems the state forces all voters to use at the polling place.
NV: Voting Machines Selecting Default Candidates*
http://slashdot.org/story/10/10/26/1428226/Voting-Machines-Selecting-Default-Candidates Some voters in Las Vegas have noticed that Democrat Harry Reid’s name is checked by default on their electronic voting machines. By way of explanation, the Clark County Registrar says that when voters choose English instead of Spanish, Reid’s Republican opponent, Sharron Angle, has her name checked by default.”
NV: Nevada voting machines automatically checking Harry Reid’s name; voting machine technicians are SEIU members http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Voting-machines-in-Clark-County-Nevada-automatically-checking-Harry-Reids-name-Voting-machine-technicians-are-members-of-SEIU-105815608.html
NV: County Denies Voting Machine Malfunction Claims
Voters Advised Touch-Screens Are Sensitive
http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/25524494/detail.html
NY: U.S. District Court Won’t Force New York State to Reprint All its Ballots
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/10/26/u-s-district-court-wont-force-new-york-state-to-reprint-all-its-ballots/
SC: South Carolina voting system needs an overhaul
http://www.moultrienews.com/column/-27FRANKEDITORIALMUST–
Contrary to what the State Election Commission has told the public, our iVotronic voting machines are not reliable, our voting system is not secure, the ballots cannot be recounted, and we do not have a transparent election process.
…
Through the Freedom of Information Act, I obtained the Charleston County audit logs of the 391 voting machines used in the June 8, 2010 primary.
This data, over 59,000 lines on an Excel spreadsheet, details many voting machines having error messages and shutdowns throughout the day.
SC: Website with FOIA docs on SC’s Primary Election citing machine problems
http://www.scvotinginfo.com/
TX: VIDEO. Voting machine in Dallas, TX, changing votes right in front of your eyes. Taken by my coworker at the Audelia Library. Watch as it selects all the members of another party after he presses on one entry to vote for someone. Happens right after the 10 s
http://www.myvidster.com/video/520818/Voting_machine_in_Dallas_TX_changing_votes_right_in_ front_of_your_eyes_Taken_by_my_coworker_at_the_Audelia_Library_Watch _as_it_selects_all_the_members_of_another_party_after_he_presses_on _one_entry_to_vote_for_someone_Happens_right_after_the_10_s http://tinyurl.com/23cfrty
TX: Judge: Assisted voting may continue in contested Precinct 1 commissioner race
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/voting-43948-continue-edinburg.html
(Hidalgo County)
WA: Franklin County Auditor defending missing ballot problem* (mail ballots)
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=13393287 PASCO, Wash. –Franklin County auditor Zona Lenhart is standing up to the republican law makers who voiced their concerns regarding the 75 ballots reported missing by voters last week in a statewide conference call.
…
We mailed out approximately over 25 thousand ballots, and so far we’ve reissued, replaced about 211 ballots total. So it’s not a huge number, it’s about normal for this type of general election,” says Lenhart
WV: Kanawha voting machine breaks down during test
http://wvgazette.com/News/201010260999
Internet Voting Watch
CNN Video: Professors find out how easy it is to hack internet voting systems. CNN’s Deborah Feyerick reports. (With Professor Alex Halderman, U of Michigan)
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2010/10/27/feyerick.vote.hacking.cnn
(Hack on DC’s Internet voting system, potential memory card attack against electronic voting machines, and PacMan demo
Analysis: Professor exposes more voting system flaws
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/25/voting.system.flaws/index.html
Hacked! E-Voting, E-Nightmare
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/tech-mainmenu-30/computers/5006-hacked-e-voting-e-nightmare
CNN: Hacking the vote
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/27/hacking-the-vote/
The Risky Business of Internet Voting
http://www.commonblog.com/2010/10/26/risk-analysis-of-internet-voting/
Canada: Online voting system a bust* (LTE)
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2819432
Canada: Voter’s vote wasn’t counted*
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2819444
“Too bad my vote wasn’t counted in the process…I gave up in frustration.”
Canada: Arnprior voting extended by 24 hours due to technical issues*
http://papervotecanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/arnprior-voting-extended-by-24-hours.html
Many, many stories about this yesterday and today. Not just Arnprior was affected, but it’s the only one that took the extraordinary step of extending voting by 24 hours. Other municipalities extended voting by an hour.
This is a serious voting system failure. I think “glitch” is a bit of an understatement. First you hand your voting system over to a private company, and then it doesn’t work? That’s a surrender followed by a failure, not a glitch
Canada: Technical snags won’t be repeated: Intelivote
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2818573
Company’s excuses for failures that blocked some people from voting
India: Gujarat High Court seeks details of EVM, e-voters
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a177459.html They also feared that the privacy of e-vote would be compromised in absence of any safeguard to it. “There is no safeguard to make sure that the person has voted in isolation and as per his own wish,” the petitioners contended
(Lawsuit to stop online voting in Gujarat)
National
Moritz College of Law: Top 10 Election Issues
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=7615
866-OUR-VOTE is live now. Report problems with voting, get help.
http://www.866ourvote.org/
Digital Democracy in Doubt (with video)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-rather/digital-democracy-in-doub_b_774137.html
In our latest segment examining the use of e-voting machines, “Das Vote,” we will show again that there’s no guarantee that these machines count votes correctly
Download the show on iTunes http://bit.ly/cUPaUD
Verified Voting: Vote Flipping and Touch Screen Calibration
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/10/27/1205 Vote flipping can be caused by a voter touching the screen in two places, for example resting one hand on the machine while making selections with the other (see pp. 20-22 here), but the most likely cause of “vote-flipping” is miscalibration.
Rice electronic voting expert available through Election Day
http://www.newdesignworld.com/press/story/207442
Rice University computer scientist and electronic voting expert Dan Wallach is available for news media interviews about previous electronic voting problems and current concerns with voting machines, voting software and Internet voting.
Where’s My Ballot? There’s Still Time for Overseas Voters in 2010
http://www.expatexchange.com/lib.cfm?articleID=3693
Even this late in the election cycle, it’s not too late to get your ballot and return it on time if you’re a U.S. citizen living overseas
NYT. Feds: 65,000 Overseas Voters Protected Before Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/10/27/us/politics/AP-US-Overseas-Votes.html?_r=2&ref=politics
NYT: Fraudulent voting re-emerges as a partisan issue
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39868329/ns/politics-the_new_york_times
Some groups organizing ‘surveillance squads,’ offering rewards for proof of fraud
CBS: Poll Watching Efforts Draw Scrutiny
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20020773-503544.html
NY Times: Tea Party mounting voter-registration challenges
http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_16441222
Jon Stewart knows how your vote’s being counted!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMQMePcKLBc
International
India: Parties had sought advice of EVM ‘thief’
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Parties-had-sought-advice-of-EVM-thief/Article1-618350.aspx
Prasad, a software company owner, is out on bail and is in Hyderabad at present. According to the police, Prasad was contacted by minister of state, Madhav Kinhalkar after he lost the 2009 elections.
…
The officer also said that Prasad had sought the help of foreigners for the research where he had found out that after the memory chip of the EVM machine is changed it can be operated even by a mobile phone miles away.
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