Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 12/09/05

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday 12/09/05


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Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

Thanks to John Gideon at Voter's Unite for link

December 7, 2005

Invisible Ballots
It’s 11pm. Do you know where your votes are?
by Mick Youther


http://www.opednews.com

I recently watched a documentary called “Invisible Ballots”. In it, investigative reporters, election reformers and computer scientists offer a compelling argument against the use of paperless electronic systems in our elections. Invisible Ballots should be required viewing for all election officials—especially those who make purchasing decisions.

Most people were shocked by what we learned during the drawn-out presidential election of 2000. We learned our voting system routinely fails to count hundreds of thousands of votes in our national elections. We learned that electronic voting machines in one Florida precinct could register a negative 16,022 votes for one candidate. We learned that our election system was a disaster.

Seizing the opportunity, the Bush Administration managed to turn that disaster into a windfall of tax payer dollars for friends and supporters, while advancing the Republican stranglehold on the voting process.


“Two Republican dominated corporations, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), and Diebold Voting Systems, now control 80% of the vote count in the United States” --Lynn Landes, Portland Independent Media Center, 8/24/03

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mick_you_051207__3cb_3e__invisible_ballo.htm

Diebold to repurchase shares
Thanks to John Gideon for the link!



By BRANDON GLENN

9:43 am, December 8, 2005



Directors of Diebold Inc. (NYSE: DBD) have authorized the company to repurchase 4 million shares of its stock.

CEO Walden O’Dell called the company’s stock “an exceptional value at current market levels,” according to a statement from the Green-based manufacturer of automated teller machines, security systems and voting equipment.

Diebold’s stock has tumbled 34% this year, closing Wednesday at $37.03.

The company is authorized to purchase another 500,000 shares, part of a 2 million-share purchase authorization in August. Diebold management has purchased 3.3 million shares of the company’s stock in 2005. The company has nearly 69 million shares of common stock outstanding.

“snip
The company has posted declining year-over-year earnings in all three quarters of 2005. Diebold officials have cited a host of problems, including weak demand from banking customers and poor supply chain management.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/FREE/51208001/1003&Profile=1003

Vote Trust USA


Legislation
Thanks to John Gideon for the link!




Rep. Holt Introduces Bill To Stop Voter Intimidation
By VTUSA
December 08, 2005
Bill Would Provide Voters with Protection from Voter Intimidation
and the Dissemination of Inaccurate Voting Information

(Link to Press Release) Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today introduced the “Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2005,” (HR 4463), a House version of the bill (S. 1975) offered by Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) last month. Both bills are designed to prevent voters from being denied the opportunity to vote through deception or intimidation.

“As we’ve learned from previous elections, there are still people in the country who try to prevent their fellow citizens from voting so that their party or candidate can win,” said Holt. “Both parties have an interest in making sure that the federal government has a zero tolerance policy for that kind of conduct. Passing these identical bills in the Senate and House would send a clear message: disseminating false information or intimidating others so that they will not vote is punishable by large fines and jail time. Voting is the fundamental act of a democracy, and no one should be allowed to interfere with or intimidate another citizen’s right to vote, period.”

"One of our most sacred rights as Americans is the right to make our voice heard at the polls," said Obama. "But too often, we hear reports of mysterious phone calls and mailers arriving just days before an election that seek to mislead and threaten voters to keep them from voting. And those who engage in these deceptive and underhanded campaign tactics usually target voters living in minority or low-income neighborhoods. This legislation would ensure that for the first time, these incidents are fully investigated and that those found guilty are punished."

Snip
The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2005 would establish harsh penalties for the perpetration of such deceptive acts. In particular, it would:

* Prohibit anyone from “knowingly deceiving any other person” regarding the time, place, or manner of conducting any federal election, or regarding qualifications or restrictions on eligibility to vote;
* Provide voters with a private right of action to seek relief from deceptive practices;
* Preempt the negative effects of deceptive practices by requiring the Department of Justice to provide voters with accurate election information when allegations of deceptive practices are confirmed;
* Require the Attorney General, in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission and the Election Assistance Commission, to study the feasibility of using public service announcements, the emergency alert system, or other forms of public broadcast, to provide corrective election information;
* Require the Attorney General, after each federal election, to report on the allegations of deceptive practices, the actions taken to correct deceptive practices, and any prosecutions resulting from allegations of deceptive practices; and
* Provide a criminal penalty for engaging in deceptive practices, with penalties of up to $100,000 or one year imprisonment or both.

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=457&Itemid=26

Judge rules lawmaker must leave office

By PAUL DAVENPORT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thanks to John Gideon for link!

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.07.2005
advertisementPHOENIX (AP) - A judge ruled Wednesday that state Rep. David Burnell Smith must leave office because of campaign finance violations.

If the state prevails on appeal, the Scottsdale Republican would be the first legislator removed for violations of a state's public campaign finance funding system law.
Judge Mark Aceto of Maricopa County Superior Court granted a motion filed by Attorney General Terry Goddard to force Smith from office based on an order by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
Aceto also granted the commission's request to dismiss Smith's lawsuit challenging the order that he leave office because of approximately $6,000 overspending by his publicly funded 2004 primary election campaign. And he denied Smith's motion to dismiss the state's request to oust him.

"The court finds that Representative Smith has usurped, intruded into and unlawfully holds or exercises the office of District 7 state representative," Aceto's order stated.
At Smith's request, Aceto later delayed implementation of his order for two weeks so Smith can ask the state Court of Appeals to review the case.

Smith said he was surprised by the judge's ruling and disappointed the judge ruled as he did, without hearing testimony and without explaining his legal reasoning in his written order.
The judge issued his ruling one day after hearing 40 minutes of legal arguments on the requests made by each side.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/105949.php

Blanco mulling Ater's recommendation to delay April elections



The Associated Press

December 08, 2005


A statewide election scheduled for April should be postponed, saving money that could be used to inform voters displaced by hurricanes about their voting rights, the state's top elections official said.

The election set for April 29 consists of two constitutional amendments that Secretary of State Al Ater said are not time sensitive. Ater said putting the vote off would save $2.8 million and the amendments could be put on the ballot for the 2006 congressional elections, when voters will also approve or reject five other proposed changes in the state Constitution.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco has final say on postponing the election and has not yet decided whether it needs to be put off, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Blanco has already followed Ater's advice in delaying elections that had been scheduled in February, for New Orleans mayor, sheriff and city council.

Ater said the money, which has not been appropriated for the April election, could be used to

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/APN/512080769&cachetime=3&template=dateline

Thanks to john Gideon for the link!

Gov. Bush picks major Republican donor to oversee state elections

By John Kennedy
Tallahassee Bureau
Posted December 8 2005
Thanks to Voter's unite for the link!


TALLAHASSEE · Gov. Jeb Bush turned to an old family friend and contributor Wednesday to succeed former Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood as Florida secretary of state.

Sue Cobb, 68, a Coral Gables lawyer who served as U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica the past four years, will take over as the state's top elections official in January, Bush said.

Cobb earlier worked with Bush as a member of his first transition team, helping set up the new administration following the 1998 election. She stayed on several months as interim director of the Florida Lottery.

Cobb and her husband, Chuck Cobb, also are major Republican donors with ties to the Bush family that stretch back almost 20 years.

"It sends a very bad message," Karen Thurman, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, said of Cobb's appointment. "She has no experience with elections and her background is with the party. She's a political appointment."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fcobb08dec08,0,4662473.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

Article published Thursday, December 8, 2005

OHIO ELECTION LAWS
Democrats boycott vote to forward revised plan
Republicans expected to send bill to Senate

By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
Thanks to voter's unite for the link!


COLUMBUS - The battle of ballot issues next year could be affected by a massive election-law rewrite sent last night to the full Senate solely with votes from the panel's Republican majority.


Democratic members of the Senate Rules Committee decided to boycott the vote.

"They haven't worked with us at all," said Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo). "We started out with a 200-page bill. It's now 400 pages, and we have had less than 24 hours. And they're not dealing with what's really wrong with Ohio's elections."

Under an amendment before the committee, the attorney general would join the secretary of state as the only statewide elected officials prohibited from serving as treasurer or some other official capacity for ballot-issue campaigns.

The bill, opposed by the League of Women Voters and other government watchdog groups, would also require voters to provide proof of identification before casting ballots and would make it tougher for petition-driven issues to reach the ballot in the first place.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWS09/512080429

Consolidation Election Fraud?
Voter Fraud?
Stephanie Wurtz


When they received a city and a county ballot with the same name and identifying information, elections officials investigated, and are taking specific precautions to make sure all ballots are legitimate.

"We're always trying to protect against voter fraud," says elections commissioner Elizabeth Ensley.

They've already started organizing and counting ballots, one thing elections officials didn't count on, this case of suspected election fraud.

"Our election board officials did catch that as we were checking the signature and the address as they do on all the envelopes," Ensley says.

Officials follow a specific procedure to make sure all ballots are accounted for and cast legally.

http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/2060946.html

Recount zaps out Gov. Taft's cousin

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1134121335194271.xml&coll=2

Friday, December 09, 2005

...Another recount may be necessary.

"We speculate this is a chad issue," Jane Platten, spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, said in explaining why the new vote total may be different from the original.

She said it is possible that a ballot had a hanging chad - the tiny dabs of cardboard made infamous by the 2000 Florida presidential recount...

Taft, a second cousin to Gov. Bob Taft, said: "I was stunned. I don't believe the recount. It didn't work."


Coin flip settles tie in Pepper Pike council race

Thursday, December 01, 2005

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/ispol/1133457380181730.xml?ispol&coll=2

...Taft had won two previous elections by comfortable margins.

Pepper Pike Mayor Bruce Akers, a Fred Taft friend and politi cal ally who witnessed the coin flip, said the councilman's support may have eroded because of his family ties to the governor, whose popularity has plummeted in recent months - in part after a coin investment scandal.

"I don't think is warranted, but I think it is obvious," Akers said. The mayor called Taft to notify him of the coin flip victory and joked, "I can't call you Landslide Taft anymore."

Councilman Taft said in a telephone interview he is not sure why his political stock has tumbled but that he doubts it is be cause of the governor...

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS09/512090385

Sen. Marc Dann calls tax accusation a 'dud'

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER


COLUMBUS - Attorney General Jim Petro's office took legal action last month against one of his prime critics, State Sen. Marc Dann, who is running to take over Mr. Petro's job next year.


Mr. Petro's office, on behalf of the Ohio Department of Taxation, filed a lien against Mr. Dann on Nov. 22, claiming his political foe in 2002 failed to pay $561.74 in taxes for employees in his suburban Youngstown legal practice in 2002.

Mr. Dann called the accusation a "dud" during a Statehouse news conference yesterday morning, saying he did not owe any money and that he expected the lien to be lifted because it was filed in error.

Mr. Dann - an outspoken critic of GOP leadership and Mr. Petro's handling of the investment scandal at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation - has been under siege from Republicans, who have called him a "hypocrite" and said he is "unworthy" to serve as the state's next attorney general...

Coverage of TrueVoteCT press conference 12/8/05

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Fox 61 News at Ten

Voting Machines

(Shelly Sindland, Earl Glazier)

December 8, 2005

http://fox61.trb.com/news/wtic-news-videogallery,0,4709483.videogallery?coll=wtic-home-1&home1

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WTNH News Channel 8

Voting machine choices challenged - by Mark Davis

http://www.wtnh.com/

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WNPR News

Critics target choice of new voting machines
Av Harris, WNPR

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wnpr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=852644

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New Voting Method Faulted

Group Urges State To Forgo Computers
December 9, 2005
By MARK PAZNIOKAS, Courant Staff Writer

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-voting1209.artdec09,0,6127117.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

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Other recent, related press coverage

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Secretary Of The State Will Give Towns Optical Scan Option For Balloting

By John Voket, The Newtown Bee

http://www.newtownbee.com/News.asp?s=News-2005-12-08-14-35-58p1.htm



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AP STATE WIRE


Group of professors in battle with state over voting machines

December 8, 2005
Associated Press



http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-08013203.apds.m0008.bc-ct--votidec08,0,540212.story



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Worth A Vote Of Confidence?

November 6, 2005

Michele Jacklin, Hartford Courant



http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/columnists/hc-jacklin1106.artnov06,0,3487532.column?coll=hc-utility-opinion



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Hartford Advocate

No-Confidence Vote
A Trinity prof and the secretary of the state square off over new voting machines

by Adam Bulger - November 24, 2005



http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:134741

PA: Counties receive reprieve on buying voting machines

J.D. Prose, Times Staff
12/08/2005

snip

Monday memo from Harry VanSickle, the commissioner of the Department of State's Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, instructed county officials that they can meet federal requirements by either signing a contract with a voting-machine vendor or having the county commissioners pass a resolution by Dec. 31 obligating funds for new machines.

snip

http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15715002&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6


Can they do this?

Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x404415

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-21/1134167345277550.xml&storylist=cleveland

12/9/2005, 5:21 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio's new statewide voter registration database is ready, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said Friday.

The system will give elections officials and voters in all 88 counties access to voter registration information. When officials in one county enter information, it will be immediately available to all Ohio election officials through a high-speed network database, Blackwell said.

"With this extremely secure and up-to-date voter file, we now can quickly resolve voter registration accuracy and duplication issues," Blackwell said in a statement. The $5.9 million project was funded through the Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress in the aftermath of Florida's chaotic 2000 presidential election. The federal deadline for the project is January 2006.

High-speed fiber optic lines connect the counties with the Central Voter Registration System at the secretary of state's office in Columbus. The network can also host secure video teleconferencing...

http://www.sos.state.oh.us

Article published Thursday, December 8, 2005

Republicans expected to send bill to Senate

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWS09/512080429/-1/NEWS

By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU

COLUMBUS - The battle of ballot issues next year could be affected by a massive election-law rewrite sent last night to the full Senate solely with votes from the panel's Republican majority.

Democratic members of the Senate Rules Committee decided to boycott the vote.

"They haven't worked with us at all," said Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo). "We started out with a 200-page bill. It's now 400 pages, and we have had less than 24 hours. And they're not dealing with what's really wrong with Ohio's elections."

Under an amendment before the committee, the attorney general would join the secretary of state as the only statewide elected officials prohibited from serving as treasurer or some other official capacity for ballot-issue campaigns...