Benton county citizens fight to keep their paper ballots….A new Florida corporation calling itself “Voter Verified Inc” files patent infringement against ES&S (and Diebold/Premier)…Bloomberg Spent $102 Million to Win 3rd Term yet won by fewer than 5 percent points…Complaint filed with Westchester County NY Board of Elections when two candidates names were missing from ballot at one of the polling sites…”FACT CHECK: Gouverneur Times vs. NYS Board of Elections”….
For some in military, power of vote now guaranteed…Franklin County PA used a central count scanner to do a recount, and says that it proved the precinct count to be accurate….
Philippine Elections and Murder Inc: “Elections in the Philippines are historically and perennially — they’re always violent — they only vary in degrees, for instance in the number of people killed every election period,” he said. “It has always been a problem for the Philippines, particularly in Maguindanao.”
AR: PUBLIC VIEWPOINT: Don’t Throw Away Paper Ballots
November 27, 2009 …Benton County proposes to be all-electronic, trusting our entire election to electronic voting machines that have documented vulnerabilities. In fact, counties across the country are scrapping these machines. Either the Election Commission knows something most of the country does not know, or they are way behind the curve.
http://smn.nwanews.com/news/2009/nov/27/public-viewpoint-dont-throw-away-paper-ba-20091127/
Optical Scan cheaper to own and operate, see
Voting System Cost Studies and Reports
http://www.votersunite.org/info/CostStudies.asp
States rush to dump touch-screen voting systems
States are increasingly abandoning touchscreen voting, scrapping multimillion-dollar systems purchased since 2000.
Arstechnica. August 20, 2008 It’s a good time to pick up an electronic voting machine on the cheap—provided you’re not a stickler for things like “accuracy” or “security.” States are scrapping tens of thousands of pricey touchscreen systems in response to mounting concerns about the machines’ reliability.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/08/states-rush-to-dump-touchscreen-voting-systems.ars
CA: City unveils improved election Web site
VoteSantaClarita.com provides voter essentials in English and Spanish
…VoteSantaClarita.com includes links with information on how to register to vote, how to vote by mail as well as an interactive form that shows voters their nearest polling place…
http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/21239/
FL: Voter Verified, Inc. v. Election Systems & Software, Inc.
RFC Case Number: P-V09-1969E
Court Case Number: 6:09-cv-01969-ACC-GJK
File Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Plaintiff: Voter Verified, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Anthony I. Provitola of Anthony I. Provitola, PA
Defendant: Election Systems & Software, Inc.
Cause: 35:271 Patent Infringement
11/19/2009 1 COMPLAINT against Election Systems & Software, Inc. with Jury Demand (Filing fee $ 350 receipt number 32920), filed by Voter Verified, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibits, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(LAM) (Entered: 11/20/2009)
11/19/2009 Summons issued as to Election Systems & Software, Inc. (LAM) (Entered: 11/20/2009)
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=52130
Voter Verified, Inc. v. Premier Election Solutions, Inc. et al
RFC Case Number: P-V09-1968P
Court Case Number: 6:09-cv-01968-PCF-KRS
File Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Cause: 35:271 Patent Infringement
11/19/2009 1 COMPLAINT against Premier Election Solutions, Inc., Diebold, Incorporated with Jury Demand (Filing fee $ 350 receipt number 32919) filed by Voter Verified, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibits, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(LAK) (Entered: 11/20/2009)
http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=52129
Florida Profit Corporation
VOTER VERIFIED, INC.
Filing Information
Document Number P09000092637
FEI/EIN Number NONE
Date Filed 11/10/2009
http://twi.cc/agBZ
NY: FACT CHECK: Gouverneur Times vs. NYS Board of Elections
Editor’s Note: This FACT CHECK is a companion article to “Ghost in the Machine”
“Virus” or “Source Code Bug”?
…The ImageCast systems used were untested and uncertified and contrary to election law, the source code was altered days prior to the election. The State has confirmed that the paper ballots have been secured and chain of custody is intact but that they have only counted them in the few districts where the ImageCast systems malfunctioned during the election. The paper ballots have not been counted in those districts where the source code was modified
http://www.gouverneurtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8309:
fact-check-gouverneur-times-vs-nys-board-of-elections&catid=60:st-lawrence-news&Itemid=175
or use this tiny url http://twi.cc/nuQm
NY: Bloomberg Spent $102 Million to Win 3rd Term
To eke out a narrow re-election victory over the city’s understated comptroller, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spent $102 million of his own money, or about $183 per vote, according to data released on Friday, making his bid for a third term the most expensive campaign in municipal history.
…
On Election Day, Mr. Bloomberg won by fewer than 5 percent points, at a cost of roughly $20 million for each point.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/bloomberg-spent-102-million-to-win-3rd-term/
NY: County legislators to discuss General Election problems
11-25-2009. Members of the Oswego County Legislature want answers as to what went wrong with the Nov. 3 General Election and they are hoping to get those answers when the Community and Consumer Affairs Committee meets this afternoon.
…
“We are going to discuss the snafus with this election,” Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann said Monday. “All of the legislators are concerned and we don’t want this happening again.”
http://www.valleynewsonline.com/viewnews.php?newsid=87442&id=1
NY: Poll site snafu disrupts Westchester County board outcome * (candidates names not on ballots)
November 27, 2009 Republican challenger Susan Konig has filed a court action against the Westchester County Board of Elections and Burton, she said, stemming from an issue on Election Day at one of the polling sites. District 9 covers Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton-on-Hudson and part of Cortlandt.
Konig, an author and former Croton village trustee, explained that at Blue Mountain Middle School in Cortlandt Manor — election district 11 — neither her nor Burton’s names appeared on the voting machine but John Testa and Dominic Volpe, county Board of Legislator candidates representing District 1, were listed. The problem, she said, was rectified after 93 voters had cast their ballots that day.
Those first few dozen votes that went to Testa were then given to Konig, and Burton, in turn, received Volpe’s. Konig came out ahead in that instance, she said, with roughly 37 votes. However, 25 people did not cast a vote on that line, she said…
http://www.lohud.com/article/20091127/NEWS02/911270328/-1/newsfront/Poll-site-snafu-disrupts-Westchester-County-board-outcome
OH: Ohio elections official takes fight to high court
Nov 25, 2009 – Jack Morrison Jr. has launched a pre-emptive strike to keep his seat as chairman of the Summit County Board of Elections. Morrison, convicted on two misdemeanor counts of ethics violations, filed a writ of prohibition Monday in the Ohio Supreme Court to stop Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner from removing him
http://www.ohio.com/news/73289047.html
PA: Recount shows accuracy of Franklin County’s vote tally (machine count proves other machine count accurate?)
A recount of Franklin County votes for four Superior Court judgeships came within a handful of votes of the count on election night.
…
Franklin County commissioners chose to recount the votes on the central tabulator that Cumberland County uses to count absentee ballots, rather than hiring a vendor to conduct the recount at a cost of $1 a ballot or having staff spend days on a recount by hand.
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_13863080
TN: Oakland candidate files suit over election
November 25, 2009. The Oakland resident who is questioning the outcome of the last mayoral election after losing by 15 votes will take his case back to court Dec. 9.
…
If Ferguson, a 30-year-old who is seeking his first public office, wins his case, a second mayor’s election will be held.
Since November 2008, Ferguson and his attorney Lang Wiseman have tried to prove that at least 15 people who voted in the election should not have.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/25/oakland-candidate-files-suit-over-election/
VA: Board tells group to ID source of Va voter data
November 24, 2009 RICHMOND, Va. – A nonprofit group has until Dec. 3 to identify the source of voter information it planned to use in a mass mailing to 350,000 Virginia households.
http://www.wtvr.com/news/dp-va–votermailing1124nov24,0,6144253.story
VA: Kaine urges nonviolent offenders to seek rights restoration
…Virginia and Kentucky are the only states that require people who have lost their rights through felony convictions to apply for reinstatement. In addition to voting rights, convicted felons in Virginia may also not serve on juries or hold public office.
“I think folks who serve their time should have their rights restored, especially those who have been convicted of nonviolent felonies,” said Kaine.
…
“Our analysis of Virginia law is that I can’t just do a blanket restoration — I have to restore people by name,” the governor explained….
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional
_govtpolitics/article/KAIN25_20091124-133602/307640/
or use this url http://twi.cc/0V4s
National
For some in military, power of vote now guaranteed
11/24/2009. It often takes about two months for a service member to receive an absentee ballot overseas and send it back to the states to be counted, Bysiewicz said. The MOVE Act will make it “much easier for our service people to vote and for elections officials to process the ballots,” she said.
http://www.theday.com/article/20091124/NWS01/311249922/1018
Fly the Sleazy Skies
November 26, 2009. The Federal Election Commission — the supposed referee of fair campaigning — has just created an ethics loophole big enough for lobbyists to fly a corporate jet through. The commission has taken upon itself to reverse the Senate’s self-restriction against lawmakers’ cozy cut-rate travels on corporate jets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/opinion/27fri4.html?_r=1
International
Election Violence Hits New Heights in Philippines
This week, authorities in Maguindanao, in the southern Philippines, made the grizzly discovery of 57 bodies of those who were attacked while traveling in a convoy to file candidacy papers for provincial governor…
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asia/july-dec09/philippines_11-27.html
Filipino who lost wife in massacre files candidacy
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM
5ha6FJ6JRsaJkvGnvppty2USWW8UAD9C7TB7O0
or use this url http://twi.cc/7KYj
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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