Do you wonder why “If we can bank by ATM, why not vote by the Internet?”~ CTVoter explains… Fox news report: Internet Voting Arrives -But Is It Secret and Safe?…Chuck Tyson, Craven County NCGOP Chair on NC’s touchscreen problems: “I think every vote cast should get to the right party no matter what party they put the vote for,”…”Dead Voters” and the early vote…Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE for help or reporting problems voting…See vote411.org to find your polling place…
All this and more in today’s voting news below…
Please email voting news and reports to us at votingnews (at) earthlink.net
AR: Arkansas Supreme Court Won’t Decide Republican Nominee Eligibility Until After Election http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/11/01/arkansas-supreme-court-wont-decide-republican-nominee-eligibility-until-after-election/ On November 1, the Arkansas Supreme Court issued a one-sentence order in Fite v Kilgore, 10-1112. This is the case over the eligibility of the Republican nominee for state house, 83rd district, Tommy Fite
CA: Thousands of Ballots Hold Error on Prop 23*
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/Thousands-of-Ballots-Hold-Error-on-Prop-23/lWjxauZTRkKs5SYH4z_Nrw.cspx Fresno County Elections Chief, Victor Salazar, admitted his office made an error when it sent out tens of thousands of ballots with some incorrect language to describe proposition 23.
The ballot states the measure would suspend laws requiring “major polluters” to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
CO: Slow voter turnout is perplexing (Larimer County)
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20101101/LOVELAND01/101101001
Doyle said. “I would say if you are going to a vote center, you might plan on being there a while.
We could have some pretty good lines.”
CT: Sign-Up for the November 2010 Post-Election Audits Now!
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/sign-up-for-the-november-2010-post-election-audits-now/
Investment? One Day. Value to Democracy? Priceless
DE: Disabilities Law Program to monitor accessibility of voting site
http://www.doverpost.com/news/election/x1696241354/Disabilities-Law-Program-to-monitor-accessibility-of-voting-sites
FL: Judge says Sarasota vote recount unnecessary
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101029/ARTICLE/10291061/2055/NEWS?Title=Judge-says-Sarasota-vote-recount-unnecessary …a circuit judge declined to order a recount in Bolam’s close race for Charter Review Board in the August 24 primary election. The judge also cleared Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent of wrongdoing in the case.
IN: Indiana BMV expands hours to provide voter IDs
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20101101/NEWS01/11010332 INDIANA — Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles license branches will offer extended hours today and Tuesday to issue state ID cards and driver’s licenses that can be used for identification at polling places.
MI: Americans overseas can cast votes easier, faster
http://www.freep.com/article/20101101/NEWS15/11010347/Americans-overseas-can-cast-votes-easier-faster
MN: Amid voter intimidation, the right information
Here’s the information you need to know about how to vote
http://www.mndaily.com/2010/11/01/amid-voter-intimidation-right-information
MN: Federal District Court in Minnesota rejects request for TRO in Tea Party Garb /”Please ID Me” button lawsuit http://electionlawblog.org/archives/017731.html
MO: New Electronic Machines Will Check-In Voters
http://www.ksmu.org/content/view/7566/66/ (Greene Co)
Struckhoff says a voter can simply type his or her name into these machines, or they can use a bar code found on the back of their Missouri driver’s license to scan in.
MS: Questions About Fairness For Hinds County Elections (video available)
http://www2.wjtv.com/jtv/news/local/article/questions_about_
fairness_for_hinds_county_elections/212722/ http://tinyurl.com/37kozn6
Commissioner complains about lack of training
Questions about whether someone could tamper with voting machines
NC: Judge orders that voters be warned about voting machine issues
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/machines-91889-voting-warned.html
…Judge Malcolm Howard also required in his temporary order that records from the iVotronic Voting Machines be preserved..
NC: Local Race To Use Instant Runoff Voting Method (video available)
http://www.wsoctv.com/politics/25597600/detail.html “It’s our responsibility to make sure, as legislators, that the ballot remains simple and easy for the voter to better comprehend,” Rucho said, adding that many voters have complained to him about the complexity of IRV.
NC: Taylor: Election workers threatened
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10102134/article-Taylor–Election-workers-threatened?instance=homefourthleft Roy Taylor, the GOP candidate for Durham County sheriff, claimed that a captain in the Durham County Sheriff’s Office harassed and threatened three teen election workers campaigning for him outside the Board of Elections office Friday afternoon.
NH: READER OPINION: Voting machines cause of concern, by Deborah Sumner
http://sentinelsource.com/articles/2010/11/01/opinion/letters_editor/free/id_415868.txt
On Nov. 2, Jaffrey will conduct a public hand count of the U.S. Senate or Representative race after the polls close.
NM: Voter registration form tampering reported
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_16465298 LAS CRUCES – Unauthorized changes to at least seven voter registration forms have been reported to the Do-a Ana County Clerk’s Office, and the Las Cruces Police Department has begun investigating.
NY: In Case of ‘Screw-Up,’ Tweet or Call
Bloomberg Urges Voters to Report Any Repeat of Primary’s Problems at the Polls
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704477904575586511891067010.html
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, worried there could be a repeat of what he branded the “royal screw-up” of last month’s primary election, urged New Yorkers on Sunday to report any problems at polling sites Tuesday by calling 311 or posting messages online.
NY: Matt Damon: Be careful with those bubbles tomorrow
http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2010/11/01/matt-damon-be-careful-with-those-bubbles-tomorrow/ “Hey, Matt Damon here again with an important warning. New York has a crazy new voting system this year and if you’re not careful, your vote’s not going to be counted correctly,” he said in the 45-second video.
NY: Matt Damon Makes You Tube, Explaining New York Ballot Problem for Voters who Want to Support Working Families Party http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/11/01/matt-damon-makes-you-tube-explaining-new-york-ballot-problem-for-voters-who-want-to-support-working-families-party/ therefore, the Working Families Party, the Independence Party, and the Conservative Party, are all alarmed that many voters are likely to vote twice for one office, for the same candidate. When that happens, the vote-counting machines will count those votes as valid for the party that appears first.
NV: Scrutiny will be intense at Nevada’s polls
http://www.rgj.com/article/20101101/NEWS19/11010324/1232/news19/Scrutiny-will-be-intense-at-Nevada-s-polls
OH: Election Day Polling Mix-Up Could Cause Confusion*(OH DEM postcard wrong)
http://www.wkbn.com/mostpopular/story/Election-Day-Polling-Mix-Up-Could-Cause-Confusion/lyi1_Q_9aESujpB0edP_mg.cspx “What are the democrats doing?” asked Mahoning County Republican Chairman Mark Munroe. “They are sending postcards out to people telling them to vote at the wrong polling locations.”
The Democratic Party in Ohio sent out postcards across the state reminding voters to hit the polls on Tuesday. On the back it it gives the address of where you’re polling station is. The only problem? Many of the polling places are wrong.
OH: Voting-machine-allocation method could reduce voters’ wait time by 36 percent
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-voting-machine-allocation-method-voters-percent.html
Nevertheless, Yang has been excited to see officials take his work seriously. “The local board of elections was really happy that we could provide them with a new easy-to-use tool that didn’t ask them to buy more machines,”
TN: Shelby County voters set to head back to polls, with Aug. 5 election dispute barely settled http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/01/shelby-county-voters-set-head-back-polls-aug-5-ele/
TX: Feds on the lookout for voter abuse in Lubbock, other cities
http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=13419815 The Justice Department will have “Designated Election Officers” in several Texas cities including Lubbock.
WA: Ballot Problems Concern Voters in Clallam County
http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/2010/Oct/clallam_ballots.html
As November 2nd approaches, many local people have not yet received their ballots. The ballots were mailed a week ago.
According to elected Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand, there are 759 “undeliverable” ballots. She said 158 ballots were temporarily waived, at the post office, on Monday, October 25th.
WI: Brown County Clerk: Time to Replace Voting Machines
http://www.nbc26.com/Global/story.asp?S=13413762 The county’s voting machines are 10-15 years old. Bruce VanHorn is responsible for keeping them in working order.
Internet Voting Watch
Canada: More than one problem with e-vote ( Stratford )
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2826004
I didn’t have any trouble voting on line. In fact, I got to vote twice.
…
I voted using my PIN several days before the polls closed. My husband then told me whom he wanted to vote for and gave me his permission to sign in again using his PIN and register his votes…
…
Come to think of it, maybe next time I’ll just intercept his PIN when it arrives in the mail and cut him right out of the voting process.
US: Internet Voting Arrives…But Is It Secret and Safe?
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/01/internet-voting-secret-safe/print
On Tuesday, for the first time, voters in 33 states will be able to vote using some aspect of the Internet. But no matter the outcome, experts say no one will be certain those votes haven’t been tampered with.
“We are still a decade away from being sure that Internet voting is secure and not subject to manipulation,” said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president of the Overseas Vote Foundation, which helps servicemen and Americans living abroad to vote in elections using the Internet.
US: If we can bank by ATM, why not vote by the Internet?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/if-we-can-bank-by-atm-why-not-vote-by-the-internet/
However, banking is not all that safe. Today in Connecticut we have a report of the vulnerabilities of credit cards and ATM transactions in the Hartford Courant..
US: In line for online voting
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/
11/01/in_line_for_online_voting/ http://tinyurl.com/26cc35t The problem, strangely enough, is technical: the potential for fraud and manipulation is huge. You’d think that, if you could buy a flat-screen television online, it should be possible to create a system secure enough to cast a mere vote.
…
But the toughest problem of all is security. The incentive to hack into the system and manipulate results would be huge. Imagine being able singlehandedly to change just a few votes in Florida and choose the next president
National
1-866-OUR-VOTE
http://www.866ourvote.org/newsroom/
Vote 411 – Polling Place Finder
http://www.vote411.org/pollfinder.php
10 Ways to Protect Your Vote on Election Day
http://www.thegrio.com/politics/10-ways-to-protect-your-vote-on-election-day.php?page=1
“DEAD VOTERS” AND THE EARLY VOTE
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/017728.html
In writing about the “dead voter” non-phenomenon a few days ago, I mentioned that despite a few real examples, “dead voters” far more often either aren’t dead, aren’t voters, or are different people altogether from those flagged in state records.
I should have added that even finding real deceased voters doesn’t always reveal unlawful activity.
Election Lawyers Get Ready for the Day After
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/11/election-lawyers-get-ready-for-the-day-after.html
Washington lawyers who specialize in election law are bracing for recounts, complaints and other aftermath expected from the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Opinion: Cast Your Ballot Against Electronic Voting
http://www.aolnews.com/elections/article/opinion-cast-your-ballot-against-electronic-voting/19698017 They’re easily manipulated, constantly flip votes from one candidate to another, often fail even to turn on at all, and they are never ever verifiable as accurately reflecting the will of the voters who used them. Yet election officials continue to force their constituents to cast their precious votes on them nonetheless.
What are they? Direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems — usually touch-screen voting machines, though sometimes they have a wheel or push buttons. Either way, they all work — or don’t work — the same way…
More Voting Headaches Ahead?
Election officials say they’re ready for Tuesday, but wild cards could disrupt the voting process once again. http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/rules-of-the-game/wild-cards-could-roil-election-day-20101101 …when things are close or go wrong, noted Norden, “the first thing people blame is machines.” It’s only one of many possible voting flash points this year.
Election Fraud Charges Swirl Even Before Election Day
Democrats and Republicans Gear Up for Legal Battle Over Tight Races
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/vote-2010-elections-voter-fraud-charges-election-day/story?id=11997231
Voter fraud hysteria
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44478.html
Voters need to know their rights as well. If they are subjected to inappropriate interference, they should alert the Election Protection hotline, 1-866-Our-Vote.
On NY’s WBAI This Morning on ‘Citizens United’ and the Ensuing ‘Bastardization of Our Democracy’…(also has podcast) http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8167
Election battles spread to polling places
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/77654/20101101/voting-rights-election.htm
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